Gal Civ: Prelude to War Announced

Stardock announced that a free expansion for Galactic Civilizations will be released by the end of the year. More on Prelude to War can be read at the Gal Civ site.

Vendetta Online's Upcoming Changes

The Vendetta Online site has been updated with a detailed progress report that covers changes from Monday, December 20 and beyond.

EVE Ship Comparer

Megacyte has released a new EVE Ship Comparer, which can be picked up at EVE-I.com.

For the People, By the People: Monday

Bridge Commander:

A few new missions, Abandon and the Romulans, BOPS-KIB-Card-1 (Bird of Prey against Cardassians), Borg-KIB-Vorcha (Vorcha versus Borg), and Sov-sb-Cards (Sovereign-Cardassian), all by TiqHud.

Freelancer:

Lancers Reactor today features the FLModelTool v1.0a Beta 5 by Anton and Serafina Model in FLMM v1.0 by Yedan and Asmo.

Freespace 2:

A demo version of "The Wheel of Fire" campaign has been released. There is more information on this Babylon 5 campaign and a download link in this thread at HLP. Also, DeepBlue has released a ship pack that features both textured and untextured models.

Hardwar UIM.02 Preview

Ian Martin has posted a screenshot from the upcoming UIM.02 patch for Hardwar, which will feature 24/32-bit display. He also reports that the 32-bit textures are almost complete.

For the People, By the People: Sunday Drive Edition

And this one is very short and sweet.

Starshatter:

Damocles X has released a final version of his Babylon 5 HLT and a set of missions to accompany the ships. There's also a new ship, the Arcadia/Atlantis.

X2:

Reven has released the Xenon Shipyard Respawn Inhibitor AL Plug-in v1.0. As you might guess, the plug-in prevents Xenon shipyards from respawning.

Privateer Remake v0.9b

The CIC now hosts the Privateer Remake v0.9b version (full version and a patch for v0.8), which includes bug fixes and some campaign additions.

SWG: JtL Q&A and Novice Pilot Guide

SWG Warcry sports an article-formatted Q&A with Jump to Lightspeed associate producer Julio Torres, who discusses the design of the add-on. Also, SWG Vault has a Novice Pilot guide.

For the People, By the People: Saturday

Bridge Commander:

New at BCFiles.com: Morgan2010's Intrepid-class USS Saratoga, Starforce Productions Team's Theseus-class, SPT's Wycombe Prototype, SPT's Britain-class Carrier, and Mackie's Excelsior Kitbash. There are also a few new maps and missions, including TiqHud's Klingon Patrol-Trouble with Kardassians, TiqHud's Cargo Escort, and TiqHud's Capture Card Hybrid. Lastly, there is a single bridge retexture--scottpkeane's S4 NX Bridge Re-texture.

At BCU, there is a new
Starbase background by Orion 5, Mine Version v 04 by Defiant, Direct Hit Bridge Alerts by DJ Curtis

Freelancer:

From the Lancers Reactor comes v1.3 of the Omicron Bandit Server Mod, a Cut Scenes On/Off tool, Daves Addon System v1.0 (single and multiplayer), Nightstalker's WTS-World v2.4 Ship Pack Add-on v1.02 (sixteen vessel ship pack), and IONCROSS Game Data for the aforementioned ship pack.

Freespace 2:

Lynx posted a series of pics at HLP that show off the Venture-class EW Corvette from the Wing Commander Saga TC.

Klingon Academy:

Romulan Dawn Part One has been upgraded; for those who have not finished the first six missions, a Mission Enabler has also been released that unlocks those missions.

Recent ship releases include Moogle's Romulan N-8 Mandukam Class Scout, Whitestar and Cortez Explorer, and diforces' Galaxy Class. Phoenix Experimental Shipyards previews the upcoming D'Hatham Warbird.

Nexus:

Darkdrone's Age of War has been released, albeit in alpha status. Age of War is a Star Trek modification that will feature two co-op missions and the Fed, Romulans, Borg, and Klingons.

Arparso's Nexus Skirmisher v0.3 is now available. The tool allows modders to create custom missions and now features full mod support.

Wing Commander: Secret Ops:

The CIC reports that Standoff will be released on December 23. Impressions of the campaign are included in the news article.

X2:

X2 Source reports that Egosoft has released a 120-page behemoth known as the "MSCI Programmer's Handbook", which is all about X2 scripting (must be a registered user to download).

X-Wing Alliance:

XWA Upgrade has a screenshot of the VSD, which is expected to be released in time for Christmas.

Gal Civ 2 Screenshots

The Galactic Civilizations 2 website has screenshots currently only viewable by Totalgaming.net subscribers and/or owners of Gal Civ: Altarian Prophecy. Since I fit neither category, I'm afraid that's as specific as I can manage.

Hardwar UIM.01 Changelog

Ian Martin's posted the readme for the recently released UIM.01 patch for Hardwar:

Requirements
------------

Hardwar should still run on a 1998 era PC, but DirectX9 is required. Please download
this from http://www.microsoft.com/directx. We detect the DirectX version, and report if
DirectX9 is not detected, but do allow the user to continue anyway, just in case the
detection code, which uses DLL file versions, shows a fault.

Features and fixes for UIM.01
-----------------------------

1) A server side bug where menu options were displayed but no longer valid at the client side due to lag, is fixed. The bug caused a crash on the server.
2) The tunnel between Reservoir and Downtown is opened permanently.
3) A bug in some of the navigation, causing AI pilots to get confused, is fixed.
4) Retire pilot in a multiplayer game has a confirmation screen.
5) Some new explosion graphics are added, for Direct3D users only. These are high quality 256x256 24 bit colour images. There is an option to retain the original ones. This has been tested on a 32Mb NVidia TNT, and a 128Mb GeForce4.
6) A bug with USB gamepad axis values is fixed. This has been tested on a Thrustmaster 12 button gamepad.
7) An old frame buffer problem which has been present since 1998 is fixed, for Direct3D. This caused a very occasional crash.
8) There is a new fog distance option, for Direct3D, which allows most of the largest craters to be seen at all times. This is only intended for contemporary fast machines and has been tested on an Athlon 2600, Celeron 2.4Ghz and faster machines.
9) There is an option to limit the number of remote players in a network server. This is intended for users who host servers with modest bandwidth. Hardwar does require a lot of network bandwidth (though this is being looked into) and if you allow 64Kpbs per player, you should be able to host a server. If, for example, you have a 256Kbps upload speed (from your perspective) you should be able to have 4 remote players.
10) Some work has been done to compress the network data, and tokenise the information. Data sizes have typically fallen by 20% but this can be much lower.
11) The manually activated autopilot now flies to a lightwell.
12) Direct3D W buffering is now enabled, where the accelerator supports it - most cards do. This cures the z ordering problems in tunnels, and other areas. It defaults to on, but there is an option to disable it - at least one user has reported a problem with an old Voodoo card.
13) The flares cast a less harsh but richer light.
14) A new server side clicking bug is fixed - caused by unloading cargo.
15) The joystick throttle problem has been addressed, and there are additional config options.
16) The maximum number of players in a network game works.
17) An option is added to simulate lag, in a single player game. Each frame lags by 10 frames.
18) If a pilot is named "I am a victim" most of the AI pilots attack him. If the pilot is named "I am a made victim" then he is invulnerable. This was done to test the engine at its limits, both in terms of display capabilities and control code.
19) When games are saved, dead pilots are not saved.
20) When using developers info, it was always allocating a huge buffer, not needed.
21) The CD music selects random tracks during extended flying.
22) The sky colour is changed to be more like the real Titan.
23) Remote players in a network game, are updated at 10 fps when using radar, messages or hanger display, to minimise network bandwidth.


Compatibility.
--------------

DirectX9 required.

UIM.01 will only connect to itself in a network game. It has a new network GUID.

UIM.01 will load U3.04 save games, but not earlier ones. This has been tested with a save
from a long term server U3.04 (5000+ days!).


Making Videos
-------------

Some time ago, a facility was added to allow silent videos to be created. There are
problems with this facility, but used with care, it can create effective videos.

This is acheived by recording your actions for a short period, then replaying that recording,
grabbing each frame into incrementally numbered 24 bit BMP files. Use a third part
utility to create an AVI, MPEG or QT, using those BMPs.

a) To record, set the detail options for highest speed. You need to be able to record at
12 or 24 frames per second.

Start a single player game, and get to the point where you wish to start recording. Save
the game. For this example , your save is called "vid1.sav"

In the command prompt, go to the hardwar directory, and enter:-

hardwarw.exe /t:load "vid1.sav" /t:recordsave

Act out the scene. A maximum scene of 30 seconds is recommended.

b) To play back and grab at 24 frames per second:-

Set the detail options to maximum. Choose a sensible resolution for the video.

hardwarw.exe /t:load "vid1.sav" /t:recordplaygrab24

Lots of BMPs will be created in your hardwar folder.

You can then use these to create a video. Specify 24 frames per second.


It's not perfect, and it's not easy.

EVE Chat Log

EVE Gate has posted a log of their chat with CCPers Kieron and Oveur. Topics include ice belts, projectiles, bounties, battleships, and drones.

SWG: JtL Q&A

RPGVault has a very vanilla Q&A with various Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed developers, who discuss favorite ships in the add-on pack.

For the People, By the People: Thursday

Bridge Commander

Bridge Commander Files serves up the Ber'taa Battleship, Nemesis Red Alert Sovereign LCARS, and the Nemesis Sovereign LCARS.

Freelancer

Recent additions to the Lancers Reactor include the v1.65 patch for Freeworlds (clients and servers) and NG Resonance.

Freespace 2

TopAce announces the release of his second campaign, "The Journey to Epsilon Pegasi", at the HLP Forums.

Starfleet Command 3

SFC3.net released the Generations at War Server v2.0 in late November.

Wing Commander: Secret Ops

The CIC has posted four screenshots from a Standoff mission. More screenshots and commentary are in this thread.

Hardwar UIM.01 Released

Dust off your favorite Moth. Ian Martin announced the release of the full version of Hardwar patch UIM.01:

It's a 4.93 Mb executable, which will extract and install the upgrade. Please download and save to your local drive. It will be deleted from the above web space in 10 days. All beta versions are now withdrawn.

This will upgrade Hardwar F2.0, or any of the SR upgrades, to UIM.01.

If there are any major problems please do report them here.

There is a direct link to the patch available, as well as a mirror.

EVE Guide

Battleclinic now offers a free EVE guide. You do need to be registered in order to download the file via their forums. Because of that, I am unable to check out the guide at this time. The guide is said to contain "really good source material".

IGF Entries Preview

Game Tunnel and DIY Games offer previews of Independent Game Festival entries for the coming year. Space-related games (I didn't include the straight up scroller shooters) include the already-released Dark Ore, along with a not-quite-bevy of other to-be-released games, including Eschaton: Chain of Command, Rock Station, Sector 13, Star Sonata, and Z1: AI War, which seems to look and sound a bit like Descent.

Thanks Blue's.

WCU Steltek

The CIC has has thumbnails and pics of the Steltek drone and scout from the Privateer Remake.

For the People, By the People

I'm a bit pressed for time, so I'm posting an abbreviated version of FTP, BTP. It's going to take a few days just to catch up, in any case.

Freespace 2:

Gai Daigoji's Unification Prequel campaign for Freespace 2 is now available, as is Noise's Into the Depths of Hell, Chapter Four. Also, ngtm1r's Cleaning Crew has been released.

Freelancer:

Recent downloads from the Lancers Reactor include a new version of the Trade Route Calculator, Skystalker's Ship Pack, Spawn's Oregon WTS Add-on v1.02 (for the WTS-World v2.0 mod), Prometheus Mod v1.2, the Omicron Bandit Freelancer Server Mod v7.1, Battleship Wrecks v1.0, and Logical Jump Holes v3.0.

Hardwar:

Hardwar patch UIM01 Beta 4 has now been sent out for testers.

Ian Martin asks what next after the UIM01 testing is completed and the patch is released. If you have suggestions, check out the thread at Captain Zedo's.

Homeworld 2:

SW Warlords has been updated to v.40. The SW:NR site has four new screenshots from the Star Wars: Invasion TC.

X-Wing Alliance:

The B5 for XWA TC has been revamped; the site now features screenshots of the Bakari Takushni Fighter and the Poseidon Supercarrier.

Privateer Remake v0.8, German Starfighter Elite, an I-War Glidewrapper, and a New DosBox

Big thanks to Nick to sending in the following bevy of space sim-related items:

• Privateer Remake, a Vegastrike engine-based Privateer TC is now at v0.8 for Windows and OSX machines.


• Nick writes: "The German version of Elite-Starfighter is out, with a planned English version to follow, sometime in December."


• DosBox v0.63 is now available at SourceForge. The program allows older games to run normally on current hardware. Nick has tested it with "many Space Sims including Privateer, Privateer - Righteous Fire, Frontier - Elite II, Star Crusader and Inferno."
  
  The latest version mostly contains bug fixes.


• zeckensack's Glide wrapper (still at v.80e) website has shown recent signs of life that indicate a new release is forthcoming. This wrapper is known to work well with I-War (and I-War Deluxe), but Nick also informed me that it works well with Secret Ops (in a Win98 partition).

Vendetta Online Now Available

Vendetta Online, a massively multiplayer space sim, is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux. The game can be purchased either online or at a local EB or Gamestop.

A description of the game from the VO website:

Vendetta Online is a massively multiplayer game, shipping now, which permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe. Users may build their characters in any direction they desire, becoming rich captains of industry, military heroes, or outlaws. A fast-paced, realtime "twitch" style combat model gives intense action, coupled with the backdrop of RPG gameplay in a massive online galaxy. Three major player factions form a delicate balance of power, with several NPC sub-factions creating situations of economic struggle, political intrigue and conflict. The completely persistent universe and detailed storyline add to the depth of immersion, resulting in a unique online experience. See the Vendetta Introduction to learn more about this newly launched product.

Thanks to Geert-Jan for the heads up (and possible upcoming review of the game).

EVE Chat on Thursday

EVE Gate will be hosting an EVE Developer chat on Thursday, December 9 at 8 PM GMT/3 PM EST/12 PM PST. The chat will be held on irc.coldfront.net, channel #EVEGATE.

EVE: Exodus CS Issues

Eve-I has posted GM Arkanon's lastest blog post, which covers customer service issues in the wake of the add-on pack Exodus. It's directed mostly to newbies (or n00bs).

And yes, I am back with internet access finally (although not broadband--but not dial-up, either).

Flight Commander Released (And a Small Update)

(Just a quick note that I'm still not back. I'm posting this from a public coffeehouse with free wifi access that has the initials DD. I'm still hoping to have access by the beginning of November, but I'm not certain. How's that for conclusive? Anyway, on with the good news.)

From Ed Benowitz:

Ed Benowitz announces the release of Flight Commander 1.0. The Flight Commander space combat engine was programmed from the ground up starting in 1999. After 5 years of effort, the Flight Commander 1.0 release represents a full-fledged game engine created by and for Wing Commander fans. Flight Commander takes advantage of hardware acceleration, providing scalable graphic detail, 3d surround sound, and force feedback joystick support. Although the game programming was done from scratch, graphics, sounds, stats, and gameplay are similar to Prophecy. Gameplay allows for capital ship torpedo runs, defense missions, and patrol missions. Flight Commander music dynamically changes as the battle progresses, and features an original song as well. Flight Commander is meant to be easily modified and customized. It provides simple interfaces for mission and campaign creation; a mission design, complete with a spoken briefing and 3d graphics, can be completed in under 10 minutes with an
easy to use graphical mission editor. For downloads, screenshots, and more features, visit http://flightcommander.solsector.net.

Congrats to Ed for the release of Flight Commander. We hope to chat with him in the future about Flight Commander.

Delay

Sorry everyone about the gap in news. Beth is moving, so she doesn't have time to post, and I've been too busy with university to worry about looking for news.

But not to worry - we're hoping that everything will sort itself out within a week or two. Until then, hang in there.