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| 2010 Status Update |
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Greetings Troopers!
It has been quite a long time since we last gave you all a general update of how things are going due to the fact everyone has been working so hard on content for the next release. Things are calming down for some of the team as their projects are completed, giving us ample time to update you all on what is going on within the First Strike Team and Community.
EA/DICE/Punkbuster Bug
First off we'd just like to comment on the EA/DICE/Punkbuster bug issue that has been plaguing our mod, and in fact the actual source game BF2142 since before Christmas. We're quite annoyed that EA, DICE or Punkbuster have still yet to resolve this problem. The problem we speak of is an intermittent lag/framedrop/freeze which some people get which makes the game almost unplayable. It is a global issue, everyone seems to have it to some degree. Restarting your game tends to get rid of it, but it returns in time. We'll be looking at ways to combat this until the powers at be deal with it. We'll be experimenting with disabling PB on some servers to see if that alleviates the problem. If it does we'll let you know, and run our servers in this fashion until the bug is fixed. We'd also like to make it clear that this bug is not a problem with the mod, but an issue at EA's end that they have to rectify.
Recruitment Drive
With the team gearing up for a new release, we are in serious need of more developers to help out. No matter your talent, be it coding, skinning, modelling, mapping or even Music Composition, we could use the help. If you're interested in joining the team please let us know via our RECRUITMENT FORUM (http://forums.fsmod.com/viewforum.php?id=9), please note that evidence of previous work WILL be required.. We are in need of some BETA TESTERS, if you are interested in helping out with our beta team, read THIS form.
Apprentice Program
The FS Dev team has recently renewed the apprenticeship program, where we take on people with some basic skills and they get assigned with tasks which improve their skills, give them vital experience and also benefit the mod through their work. Currently there are two apprentices on the team and both have been hard at work fixing some of the long-time bugs that have been in First Strike and also doing some small work in improving some of the content for the next release. The team is willing to take on more apprentices, however be aware that it will be MUCH harder to get into this position than it will to apply as an experienced Developer due to the fact we have few people with the time that is needed to mentor and we have more need of experienced people.
Bug Destroying
Our apprentices are hard at work, and like good mentors we want to make their lives miserable. Please help us out by reporting any bugs that are in the mod so we can task these guys with fixing them. If you have spotted anything in game which looks out of place or think something isn't working right, please post it in our BUG REPORTS forum. If the bug is possibly game breaking, or you do not want to register a forum account, then please send the bug details to the e-mail address FirstStrikeMedia@gmail.com.
Community Games
Unfortunately, the Shattered Planet community is unable to continue hosting the First Strike Community Events, however the BlackIntel group have stepped up again and offered their services as the Community Night server. We would like to extend our thanks to Shattered Planet for supporting the mod, and it's with a tear in our eye that we see them go. The BlackIntel group have agreed to appoint some more community admins to help moderate the games rather than just having their own members in control. We appreciate this move and look forward to the games this weekend! Don't forget to come online at 8PM GMT (3PM EST) this Saturday and Sunday!
New Team Structure
Recently First Strike's Lead Coder and Development Leader, Imperial, has resigned from his position due to lack of time to commit to the mod. There was recently a meeting of the First Strike Team and we have the following changes to announce:
TALON has now been promoted to Dev Team Leader and is in charge of handing out assignments to developers and establishing deadlines.
Twigs has been raised to the position of Assistant Team Lead to handle the Distribution side of beta content and also working as our new coder.
Gwynzer has been dragged into the position of Testing Team Leader, he'll be conducting all the testing sessions and he's the man to see if you have any questions about the testing team.
Finally after ingesting all this information, here is a little eye candy to help wash it down. The first in a series of screenshot previews showing off the new Jundland Wastes map.
 
    Stay tuned for further updates on as we approach the eve of our next release. | |
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| Introducing the Sentinel Landing Craft |
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| Greetings Troopers!
Welcome to another content update as we storm ever closer to the next release of First Strike. Believe me, when you finally get your hands on this you'll see why it took so long. This update will reveal the final shiny new toy we will show you before release.
The Imperial Sentinel Landing Craft has been on a long voyage before it finally arrived in game within First Strike. I started work on building this not long after I first came to join the Dev Team, and though it was finished in a timely fashion, at that time there were no maps suitable for an asset of this size and power, and more importantly, no texture artists which were available to put the considerable time and effort in to get this beast textured, coding was also an issue, you have to remember this was before we'd even got the Lambda Shuttle flying. As a result the Sentinel lay in mothballs for some three years.
Then in 2009 with work beginning on Jundland Wastes the opportunity arose to resurrect the Sentinel, with this map being set around the time of A New Hope on Tatooine, it was the perfect fit for the scene in the movie where you actually see the Sentinel drop off Imperial troops as they search for a pair of rogue droids. There would never be a more appropriate map on which to reveal the Sentinel. With his impressive work on the Jawa Sandcrawler already under his belt, Krenyo was the natural choice to take on the task of texturing this massive Imperial war machine, and as you'll see from the renders below he has done a grand job.
 
    So just how will the Sentinel as an asset play within First Strike? Well the Lambda is one of the most popular craft in the mod so far, it's tactical applications are near limitless with it's impressive array of firepower and ability to swiftly transport a high volume of troops pretty much anywhere on the map, in the right hands it is a force to be reckoned with which can turn the tide of a map. The Sentinel is all that on very strong steroids. The ship operates as a mobile command post, wherever it lands troops can be deployed at a moments notice with impressive fire support from the Sentinel's defensive blasters, shielding over the troop deployment ramps will mean that if enemy troops wish to plant explosives inside to deal heavier damage they'll have to venture on board to do this. Life has just gotten that much tougher for the Alliance. When Rebel troops see the silhouette of this monster on approach it is time to run. | |
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| First Strike Enters ModDB Top 100 |
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Greetings Once Again Troopers!
We just want to convey our thanks to you all for voting for us in the ModDB Mod Of The Year Awards. It means a great deal to us, and we're extremely happy and grateful to make it past the first phase of voting and into the top 100. However, the competition isn't over yet! Last year we placed fourth in the competition, in order to show up in the top 10 we'll have to place 3rd or higher this year, so get voting again!
Unfortunately, due to the way ModDB accepts votes, unregistered users votes don't count unless there is a tie, which is extremely unlikely with the thousands of people voting, so we'd greatly appreciate it even more if you could register to ModDB and vote when you've logged in.
Votelink: http://www.moddb.com/events/2009-mod-of-the-year-awards/top100
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Closed Alpha Test & Deth..
