Well, it took longer than we expected (which is not entirely uncommon, I admit :) ), but we finally have the first batch of new SC2 media ready for you!

Please note that, while all of the shots below were taken in-game (including the black-background shots), the features themselves have not yet been implemented and WILL NOT be included with the first released version of SC2. Our current plan is to release a beta version of the mod as soon as we have the HL2 single-player storyline working well co-operatively... giving you all something to play (and the mapping community something to work with) while we work on more advanced features.

Note also, however, that what you see below isn't all we've been working on over the past few months -- Expect another media release in the not-too-distant future. As for the mod's current status: Due to Nev's efforts and Zhyla's, we presently have a majority of the HL2 storyline in a playable state (complete with equipment being carried between levels, etc)... but there are still plenty of bugs to be fixed and problems to be solved before we're done with it.

Thanks to Mad Jonesy for the item descriptions.

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Tor - Xen Overlord - Model by Shannon Caldwell, texture by Teddy Bergsman & James O'Donnell

A race of highly intelligent, highly powerful Xen aliens that acted as Nihilanth's Generals. The Overlord acted as a leader for the Voltigaunts when not in direct contact with Nihilanth. Towering over the players, the Overlord is armed with a powerful melee attack and a staff weapon for long range blasts. The staff also grants the Overlord some other special powers.

Following the fall of Nihilanth at the hands of Gordon Freeman, the Xen overlords have hidden themselves throughout various planets and dimensions and aligned themselves to various leaders. One of those, Tor, is said to have sympathies towards the Rebels and the humans cause.

Combine Super Soldier - Model by Richard Gardner, texture by Teddy Bergsman

The Combine Super Soldier is the ultimate warrior, not even really human anymore, just a collection of limbs and organs within a full armour suit.

Standing at about 1.5 times the size of the player the suit provides all-over protection, life support and integrated weapons systems including a Minigun and rocket launcher. The soldier is designed to be able to tackle groups of infantry, aircraft and vehicles.

Armour is lighter on the back of the torso where the powerplant and life-support systems are located -- smart players will attempt to distract and get behind the SS to attack these parts. Taking down a Combine Supersoldier will require heavy firepower, teamwork and innovative methods of attack. The soldier's joints are also vulnerable to attack.

The Combine Super Soldier is based upon an unused Valve concept sketch.

Sven Co-op BTR-70 APC - Model and texture by Marcel Vijfwinkel

Abandoned by UN Peacekeeping forces during the initial struggle against the Combine, the Russian-made BTR-70 APC has been left to face the elements for several years, before being commandeered by Rebel forces to help in their struggle against the Combine.

The APC includes a heavy machinegun and steel armour plating, protecting a group of players against hostile forces. Its main role will be to help players breach heavily defended areas as a single squad, with one player driving, another in control of the turret and the rest safely inside as passengers.


The above shots show near-final versions of the models, by the way (still a few tweaks to be made in some cases)... afraid we weren't able to get the Supersoldier's weapons onto the in-game version of the model in time for this media release, for example. You can check a test render of them HERE, if you're interested.

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The Sven Co-op team is currently looking for an additional character animator... If interested, please send examples of your work, details of past experience and any other relevant information to animator@svencoop.com. If some of the features we're discussing go ahead, we could have some very interesting work for you (in addition to plenty of standard tasks, of course :) ).

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P.S. - The impressive rope trick you see in the SC3 co-op trailer is actually very much like something we were planning for SC1 at one point. Maybe we'll get around to it for SC2, at some stage.

CHANGELOG:

• Added support for Half-life 2 Maps.


• Added a history of the recent maps.


• Added option for resetting the configuration to the default values.


• Added option for updating of DevCompiler.


• Option to set the default game to work with DevCompiler. The default game can be changed setting a new "Fast Configuration" that will be loaded when Devcompiler is restarted.


• Fixed the link of "About..." dialog, that didn´t work properly.


• Fixed a problem with the directory used to save the batch file.

The Hostile Intent 1.4 train powers forward still, refining gameplay, improving maps, squashing bugs and adding features. MasterMind has just finished his final exams (congratulations) and is back in the saddle perfecting the code that drives the game.


Enjoy these screenshots taken in some of the new maps, and one taken in a new incarnation of an old favorite. With fear of sounding like a broken record, HI 1.4 is close. The team appreciates the patience and support of the community. They are all commited to making sure that 1.4 is perfect, and none will rest until it is.

In other news, Squad has been leading the HI:PR mission design team for quite a while now. Many exciting and innovative maps and missions are in the works for Phoenix Rising. Next week, I'll bring you a sneak peak at some of these amazing maps and mission types.

The CPL announces a new point system for the $1,000,0000 World Tour.

This new point system, developed in conjunction with Bill Connolly (aka Wiseguy), rewards consistent achievement over the course of the World Tour and provides bonus points for players who win a match over higher-seeded players.

Overall, the new point system will provide a more fair representation of a player's performance in the CPL World Tour.

At the World Tour Finals the tour participant who accumulates the most points will be awarded $20,000 by Intel (Title Sponsor of the World Tour) as the Most Valuable Player of the league. Using this new point system, it is possible for the recipient of this $20,000 to be someone other than the World Tour champion.

Point accumulation will be the primary information used to establish seeding for each Tour Stop throughout the year.

This week we'd like to give everyone some information on our new Counter-Strike: Source map that we've been working on, as well as a new Half-Life 2: Deathmatch map we'll be releasing next week.

It is a bit daunting to learn a new Counter-Strike map right as it's released, so we've gone through de_port and tried to give people an idea of what our design intentions were. Click here to get to a page that outlines six different strategies to try once the map is available. We're still shooting for release of de_port (along with a redone de_inferno) in a couple of weeks. Next week's Steam news will include some pictures showing off what de_inferno looked like as it was being built from scratch.

We'll be releasing a new Half-Life 2: Deathmatch map this coming Monday the 25th. This new Valve created map is called dm_runoff and was inspired by a Half-Life 1 favorite, Crossfire.

de_port pre-release strategy guide

Here, we present to you Artguff's outstanding rendition of a squad of MDF Soldiers, framed in the fictional publication, The Woodridge Review.

The Woodridge Review is one of many publications distributed by The Woodridge Institute, an organization in the Badge of Blood universe that specializes in the collection and publication of all matters relating to defense and intelligence. Articles from these faux publications will serve as the primary medium through which we present background history, technical specifications for weapon systems & equipment, important characters and places, and many other subjects relating to the Badge of Blood universe.

These articles will be accessible via our content browsing tools, which should make their debut in the coming weeks.

We will also have desktop wallpapers of the piece available for download later this week.

Also in the news, work continue on the texturing of our current set of weapons, and the mesh for the ESMECAL Mark 2A is in the process of being tweaked and completed as we speak. We also have an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for the MDF in the works, as well as squad utility vehicle for the GPA. Plus, we also have two more maps in the works, and we've completed few dozen static & interactive props.

Whew!

We're a bit late with our timings but the update is finally available.
Today we're going to discover pdark_villa, pdark_ravine, the famous Laptop Gun render and a little surprise. Enjoy!
First of all, Iggy's Villa conversion which is more bright than ever


Next, Gectou4's Ravine conversion which takes place in a volcano, it's already too hot for us : p

The Laptop Gun render, vicious weapon for vicious persons, with his stand-alone sentinel !

And finally, the surprise : Iggy's Trailer, enjoy it ! [CHECK PERFECT DARK WEBSITE FOR DOWNLOAD LINK]
At least, the website's media zone is available, so you will be able to see some artworks and other interesting things.

So the time has come again for a new update from us in the Nus:R mod.
First up is a big team update.
Our mapper One_Ar has unfortunatly left us, so the progress on the stord raid will be put on hold for now.

We have gotten a new webmaster TheM33p. He has gotten us a new forum which we have been keen on getting and look forward to more updates on this forum and on the webpage.

We have also gotten a new graphic designer: Merih and a new modeller/texturer: Lestat.

We have also gotten some new talented mappers: Strave and Pampers and a historian: Skomaker and a player model skinner: Venombt

And now for the goodies.

Development have started on operation gunnerside, gråbeinhølet and fossum bridge.

Pampers has been working on Gunnerside and here is a teaser pic.

Willy has been working hard on the Midtskogen map, and it's coming along great.

Pampers has been working on the menu screen.

Spaghetti has made textures for Meltons MP40.

We have also made gotten the Colt machine gun ingame and working by Pondus and Spaghetti.

And last but not least a Work in Progress pic of the german soldier model by Zoneman.

And lastly we are still looking for animators (1-3), skinners (1-3), and a mapper.
Enjoy!

Plan of Attack is happy to announce its first Official Mapping Program. People who apply and are accepted into the Mapping Program will receive the full support of the PoA team in developing a map to be included in a future release. Over 40,000 people downloaded and played our Beta 1 release last Friday - this is an excellent opportunity for your work to be seen.
The PoA Mapping Program is for experienced mappers; an amateur group will be started at a later date. Interested mappers should have prior experience with Hammer and have at least one published, high-quality map.

Once accepted into the Mapping Program, all mappers will receive the following support:

• Tutorial on PoA map design concerns, including timing and objective layout


• Art assets for your map, including props and textures


• Infrastructure to host your map for testing, including a group of dedicated testers


• Continual support from a close-knit community of fellow mappers

All maps that successfully come out of this program will be included in future releases of PoA. If you're a mapper and you want to work with a very dedicated and committed team, and showcase your work to tens of thousands of gamers, this is for you!

To apply, just send an e-mail to info@planofattackgame.com with work samples.

New screenshots from our work-in-progress map, "The Subway", have been added to the Screenshots section of the website. What I think everyone will be able to appreciate is that our team mapper, Dark, has provided us with 18 completely new screenshots of the subway and the surrounding street above. "The Subway", just as the name indicates, takes place among the desolate and abandoned buildings located near a city's now deserted subway station. Or is it deserted? More then rats scurry along these tunnels… The real question is, can anyone hope to survive down there long enough to find a way to escape from the zombie-infested city?

Here are a few of those screenshots:

Keeping in mind that this map is still being worked on, we hope to further customize it and our other maps with new textures and models in the days ahead. So you can look forward to seeing these maps as we draw them even further in the grim reality that is life after the zombie apocalypse.