lambda Saturday, 09 July 2005
Posted by MJCS @ 07/09/2005 12:22:59 | Category: Hosted Site
Source: The Survivors
Three new members have made their way onto the developer team... Calypso - modeller, ReSGame - mapper, and Panagos - concept artist. I hope they all enjoy their little stay with the mod and can help take it only highter in it's journey through development. Now with all these new members joining and beginning work, a lot of media has been produced... as you know there wasn't much to show off in the last update, but I think this little surge of media eye-candy should make up for the lack of media in the last update.

Without delay, I give you Hinkle's L85 A2, machete, Calypso's shovel, molotov cocktail, and a map preview from Rusty-Nail:


More to come over the next few days. I should be getting in some concept art any time now, as it's being colored as we speak... so stay tuned. In the mean time pop by the forums and drop us a line!

...and before I sign off, I just want to give my condolences to those that were affected in this morning's terrorist attack in London. Stand strong, you have our prayers.
Posted by MJCS @ 07/09/2005 12:19:16 | Category: Half-Life 2 Modification
Source: Science and Industry
The Science and Industry 2 development team currently has a number of vacancies in various positions, and we are looking for experienced personnel to fill them. We have places available in the following areas:
  • Modelling - We need modellers capable of creating player, weapon and prop models for use in the Source engine. Any models created should fit with the slight 'comic'-like visual style of Science and Industry - please bear this in mind when applying. If you are capable in any of the three areas, please see the application details below. You do not need to be proficient in all areas to apply.

  • vAnimation - We need animators able to fluidly animate the models created for the MOD, including player, weapon and prop models.

  • 2D Art/Textures - Team members in these areas will be responsible for creating the 2D art and textures to be used throughout the game, including model skins, map textures and possibly promotional artwork.

  • Concept Art - Concept artists would be tasked with creating detailed drawings of the various elements of the game, from characters and weapons to map props and environments. Artists would need to be able to work from a written description and rudimentary sketches of the required object to create a fully-formed design for modellers, texture artists and mappers to use.

  • Sound - Sound artists would be responsible for most, if not all, of the sound featured in the game, including player and character sounds, vocals, weapon sounds and environmental noise. Music may also be required for menus, map sections and promotional material.

  • Mapping - Members of the mapping team will create all of the maps and environments used in the MOD. Mappers should be able to work from their own thoughts and ideas whilst staying within a specific visual style, and also should ideally be able to create detailed map designs and plans and work from those created by other mappers.

Ideally, applicants for all positions should have previous experience working with either the Half-Life or Half-Life 2 engines and tools, however this is not essential. Familiarity with the Science and Industry universe through Science and Industry is appreciated, however is also not essential for any applicant.

All applications should be made to env@simod.com with the subject "S&I2 Development Team Application". The position you are applying for should be clearly stated at the top of the e-mail. All applications should provide detailed examples of previous work, either in the form of links to an external site or as attachments to the application e-mail. Any applications made without examples of previous work will be dismissed immediately. Applications are open until otherwise stated.

Good luck to anyone who applies for any of these positions. Any questions or problems can be raised in our discussion forums, accessible from the link on the left of the page.
lambda Friday, 08 July 2005
Posted by MJCS @ 07/08/2005 14:41:13 | Category: Steam
Source: Steam
Updates to Counter-Strike: Source and the Source Engine have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Counter-Strike: Source

New Features/Improvements
  • New Source remake of classic Counter-Strike map cs_assault

  • New "Phoenix Connection" Terrorist model (replaces existing model)


New Player Animations
  • Walk/run cycles now include whole-body motion

  • Players automatically raise their weapon and aim through the sights when they stop to fire

  • Weapon-specific reload animations with removable ammo clips added

  • Shotgun reloads animate each individual shell reload

  • Animated the bolt pull for each shot of the AWP

  • Added upper-body recoil animations for shotguns and AWP

  • New grenade throw and knife animations

  • Spectator UI now resizes controls to account for long map names

  • A notification is now displayed to all players when auto-balancing teams

  • Added message for players who try to defuse the bomb while another player is already doing so

  • Added item_nvgs and item_ entities for fy_ maps

  • Can no longer stab with the knife while defusing or during freeze time at the start of a round

  • Player count in dedicated server interface now includes bots

  • Dedicated servers can now use the "timeleft" command

  • Dedicated servers are now secure by default, add "-insecure" to the command line to run in insecure mode.


Bug fixes
  • Dedicated servers no longer crash when setting "name" via the console

  • Fixed bug that would occasionally make player weapons disappear

  • Low-violence death animations no longer float if the player dies while in the air

  • Fixed bug that caused the grenade throw animation to incorrectly play when spectating in the game

  • Fixed view jitter caused by prediction errors when near physics objects

  • Spectators now hear weapon pickup sounds

  • Armor is now given with game_player_equip

  • Extra pistol ammo no longer given at round restart

  • Weaker flashbangs effects no longer cancel out stronger ones

  • maps/cfg/.cfg aren't exec'd if they don't exist (fixes console warnings)

  • Fixed bug that caused hostage scenario HUD icon showing 1 hostage left when all were rescued or dead

  • game_player_equip removes player equipment before adding new items


Bot Changes
  • Bots can use sloped ladders now

  • Bots open +use doors better

  • Bots don't think they're stuck when hiding

  • Bots using knives can break breakables while pursuing enemies now


Navigation Mesh generation improvements
  • Nav generation ignores doors and breakables better

  • Non-planar nav areas aren't merged into larger areas

  • Added nav_generate_incremental to generate additional nav areas starting from a walkable marker, without destroying existing mesh

  • Areas no longer get connected to ladders multiple times (caused a crash if the ladder was deleted)

  • Added nav_restart_after_analysis

  • Fixed bug where some areas would be incorrectly marked as crouch


Navigation Mesh Editor changes
  • Nav areas draw a background color, making them more visible

  • Nav_update_blocked warps the local player to the first blocked area

  • Added nav_build_ladder (point at a climbable surface so the cursor is green, and type nav_build_ladder to automatically create a nav ladder)

  • Added nav_no_hostages, to mark an area as not suitable for hostage navigation

  • Added nav_remove_unused_jump_areas to remove extraneous jump areas

  • Fixed a crash caused by manually creating an area before doing a nav_generate on a new map
Posted by MJCS @ 07/08/2005 14:36:52 | Category: Half-Life 2 Modification
Source: Leave No Man behind
I would like to inform the public about what’s been happening the past few months. First I would like to address the lack of progress. Our head modeler, Hoppie, had to leave his home for personal reasons, and we are unaware if/when he will return. For the time being, we are in search of a Weapon Modeler, Weapon Skinner, Player Modeler, Player Skinner, and an Animator. If you or someone you know are interested, feel free to contact me or post on our forums. Second, I would like to address our forums. In the process of a much needed update, our database became corrupt, and we lost all information. We had talked about moving to the websites built in forums for a while, and now seems like the most appropriate time. I would like to apologize for this inconvenience, and would like to assure you that if there is anything that I can do to recover this information, I am working on it.
lambda Thursday, 07 July 2005
Posted by MJCS @ 07/07/2005 19:23:38 | Category: Site News
Hello:
I am curently in need of some news posters for hlgaming.com. I have had less time than I expected this summer for the website. If you are interested please e-mail me at mjcs@hlgaming.com

Please provide me with your MSN, AIM, ICQ, and or Yahoo messenger client(s). Also include why you would like to devote some extra time to helping out hlgaming.com.

Thank you!
lambda Tuesday, 05 July 2005
Posted by MJCS @ 07/05/2005 09:17:02 | Category: Half-Life 2 Modification
Source: BRAWL
Our latest map models are underway. Our mappers will be pleased that the bikes look even better in-game!

In other news Swiss-Cheese joined and will be helping once he gets a free moment from his mod. Thanks again for the massive emails and private messages on the forums with ideas and support.
lambda Monday, 04 July 2005
Posted by MJCS @ 07/04/2005 13:35:38 | Category: Hosted Site
Source: Borg Wars
It has come down to this...We do not have enough help to do this mod. This might be my last time asking for help before the whole project is scraped. We have put quite a bit of effort into this mod already. We have a few chapters already scripted already.

If you are interested in helping out with any aspect of the mod please e-mail me at mjcs@hlgaming.com. I am in a great need of the following:
  • Mappers

    • A mapper would be responsible for looking at concept art or just reading about a place and then taking those ideas and making it into a workable environment

  • Programmers

    • Programmers are responsible for the coding aspect of the mod. You would be responsible for creating how weapons function in game as well as other aspects of the game.

  • Texture Artist

    • As a texture artist you will be working closely with our concept artists and myself in finding the right feel for any given item

  • Concept Artist

    • The concept artists will be working closely with me and other members of the team to accurately depict what is happening in the mod.


Well for some good news I have been holding off on these two images for a rainy day...
Posted by MJCS @ 07/04/2005 13:11:34 | Category: Hosted Site
Source: The Survivors
Ok, sorry about not getting this news post up yesterday, things were rather busy and I found myself buried with other issues. But, I'm here now and I have some things to show off to you all... First off, I'd like to welcome ReSGame, to the developer team. He's currently working on a map for the mod, and media of the map will be shown here today. Now as for The Fox, he's been testing some lighting effects for a new map, that currently has no name... but it's location is in a shopping mall. It is a bit dark, but keep in mind this will not reflect the final map itself. So here you are:

I do have some renders of the L85 with me now, but it's not quite ready to show off. I should have some new ones by the next update, so please bear with me on this one.
Posted by MJCS @ 07/04/2005 13:11:15 | Category: Half-Life 2 Modification
Source: Insurgency
As some of our Forum menkeys are likely aware, we have a new composer named Rich who has ample experience and loads more of talent.

Within hours of Tarky contacting him, Rich already had some sample cues. After a few days of constructive criticism, the entire team fell in love with his music (and him). The work that Rich is doing for us is inspired by the great composers Hans Zimmer and Bill Brown.

Here you can have a listen to my personal favourite cue titled "Insurgency Anthem." Mind you that this is a work in progress and the final version will be longer... but this 58 seconds definitely makes me want to hear more! This cue isn't even the majority of the team's favourite either. We want to save the others to be fresh when you hear them!

Finally, I would like to congratulate one of our very talented level designers Evert who just last week was hired as a level designer by GRIN, a Swedish Game Developer who are developing Ghost Recon 3! Don't worry though, his work will still be seen in Insurgency. A big congratulations again to Evert for achieving this amazing job!
Posted by MJCS @ 07/04/2005 13:10:59 | Category: Half-Life 2 Modification
Source: Jungle Mist
Wow, so finally here it is. The past month has been a rather hectic one for us, but by all means a good one. I would like to open up this update by saying this, we have merged with Fireteam: Incursion. For all of you who are at first hesitant, no they are not remaking Firearms for the Source engine. Their Game Design Document was actually quite similar to ours in several ways. With this merger, we are keeping all of our staff from both sides. We have dropped the use of Angel within our mod at this point and time but will always keep it an option to implement later. We have also been discussing other ways to make use of Cale’s wonderful code.

There are going to have to be some changes along with this merger. The site will be completely different and our domain is going to change. We are going to keep the vBulletin forums but they will be re-skinned. We will be going by the name “Incursion” at this point in time. Our IRC channel will be located on gamesurge at #incursionmod. Our new site will be located at http://www.incursionmod.com Our vent server will remain the same but its name will change. This can be found at:

Incursion Ventrilo Server
IP: 63.209.18.129
Port: 3808

We should be releasing a couple documents soon for public viewing. We also plan to have a new alpha out within a few weeks. Hopefully we will be able to show you guys some screenshots. We are starting alpha development with a simple strategy, taking things one step at a time. We are creating this mod from influences such as: Enemy Territory, Day of Defeat, Firearms, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and several other games along with the community. We all still believe this game will be one that the community determines its ultimate direction. We hope you will be as happy with this change as we are. As usual, thanks for your patience.

Sincerly,
- The JM Team