Computer problems Date: 4/1/00 Updated by: Sven Viking
Well, don't think it's anything to do with Y2K.. (some sort of Y2K virus that Norton couldn't find, perhaps?).. but I've been having a lot of computer problems lately, and won't be able to get much of anything done 'till they're fixed. Somehow. (Will probably have to do a full HD format :( ).
Have also lost a few important SvenCo-op files (might have a backup somewhere... but probably not :\ ). Good thing I'm too lazy to do more than contemplate suicide ;). If everyone in the world carried cyanide pills about with them at all times, I doubt that there'd be anyone left.
Maniac's going to take over the news and site in general in the meantime, so send any maps, or site-related E-mail, to him (am sending him the maps that I didn't get to post before).
Wish me luck :), I expect that I'll need it :/.
Y2K Update
It has just passed midnight here in NZ, and everything is in utter chaos! Don't have time to explain it here, read my message on the message board. Save yourself
The end is coming... (and new maps!) Date: 31/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Update: Oops, link was wrong, fixed now. Thanks to those who noticed!
Hi all... I just had a big computer crash a couple of days ago. Was unable to update news until now... still lots of things to re-download/reinstall/reconfigure/etc. :(.
The End-of-Civilization-As-We-Know-It is less than 6 hours away, here (and just when CS beta 5 was released :(. Oh well, HL isn't working for me at the moment, anyway), so I thought I'd better release any co-op maps I had on hand :). "Map Pack 2000" is up on the Files page, containing 4 maps (map packs will be re-arranged later... if there is a later ;).
Haven't been able to actually test any of these maps, 'cos HL hasn't been working :/.
AlienDie2 by LordSlayer - More and improved Killing-Aliens-In-Interesting-Ways devices.
Defend by Shooter - Defend a house against grunts. Map completed when all grunts die.
Fishing2 by Kune - The Ichthyosaurs Revenge... this time, the fish try to catch you!
PackAnimals2 by BurnOut64 - New and improved Houndeye map. Higher difficulty level.
BTW, BigGuy and I have decided to delete the source code and RMF files for SvenCo-op and various maps. Won't be any use to us, since the world is ending tomorrow/etc...
Just joking. However, it is relatively likely that the power will be off for a couple of days where I am, so if you don't see me around, that'll probably be why. Everyone check out the Y2K-related Penny Arcade strip :).
P.S., Kune asked me to post this Half-Life Printable Board Game he made (sort on a mini RPG)... perfect for fending off withdrawal symptoms after your computers explode and/or power goes down :). Each image should be printed as a full A4 page for best results.
Xmas Map Pack Date: 25/12/99 (Christmas!) Updated by: Sventa Claus
'Tis the season to type "model santa" into the console... and to honour the occasion, there's a "Christmas Map Pack" up on the Files page! Maps contained in the pack are:
BTW, have begun work on SvenCoop2 again... only get enough time occasionally, though, and often when I do get time I end up playing Counterstrike or something, so it's still a long way off :/. Only good thing is that v1.5 or something might be out by the time I finish it, and so I might be able to include some special features :).
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and a non-disasterous new year!,
Sven Viking
Over 40,000 Hits Date: 17/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
The SvenCo-op site just hit 40,000 hits, BTW (please note that the counter was only added to the page a while after the SvenCo-op site moved to Planet Half-Life). To mark the occasion, Killer99 sent in the image below (on right). Unfortunately, I missed the actual 'hitting' of 40,000 by one :/... but 40,001 looks good, too :).
New Maps, help wanted, etc. Date: 16/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Two new maps are up on the Files page...
Dockbat, by Mad Jonesy (creator of Helebat1/2). A really big and difficult map with two large ships and a dock area. Should be great over a LAN with lots of players.
And Aliendie, by LordSlayer... a well-made map where you kill different types of aliens in different ways.
More maps should be coming soon.
The "Mappers" page is up, with various information on how to make co-op maps and map CFGs. Check it out if you're interested in making co-op maps!
I also need people to tell me about any problems they find while playing the single-player game in co-op (that aren't already mentioned on the Single-Player Maps page).
Light_dud is still looking for to help with his unannounced SvenCo-op-related project. He needs mappers, modellers, and sound people (both voice actors and sound effect ppl, I think), so if you think you could help, E-mail him an example of your work. Thanks.
Various Date: 15/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
The FAQ and the "Single-Player maps" pages are up, and there are several new maps coming soon. Also, Audin asked me to post these co-op logos that he made... so I did.
Mapping and server pages not up yet, sorry :/. Been busy.
Kune Map Pack Date: 13/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
The Kune Map Pack is up on the files page, containing 4 old maps and 4 new maps (8 maps in total, for the arithmatically challenged)... All made byKune.
SvenCo-op Map Pack #1 Date: 12¾/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Map Pack #1 is up on the Files page, containing 2 new maps and 4 old maps! (all with CFGs, of course). A "Kune map pack", containing around 6 more maps, is coming soon.
BTW, to prevent more E-mail about this, merging SvenCo-op with OpFor isn't possible (unless Gearbox gave us the source code and permission to change and distribute it freely, i.e. "Here's our add-on and development secrets. Alter them and give them away!"). Sorry :/
If you haven't already, Vote for SvenCo-op as Best Mod, thanks! Don't intend to pass FireArms, but a few more votes should move us into 5th place, which is a nice comfortable sort of place for a co-op mod imho. Also, everyone should check out the Message Board... it's pretty funny in there, and would be a pity to let all the funniness go to waste.
One last thing... if you find bugs in 1.3, E-mail me the info, thanks! Can't fix them if we don't know about them.
SvenCo-op Version 1.3 Released!! Date: 12/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
I actually had the urge to make that heading Blinkng text, but someone sensed my thinking about it and hit me over the head with something heavy... so you've all been saved from terrible eye pain, or something!
Sven Co-op Version 1.3 is out! New maps, new features, and all sorts of new other stuff ! :). Can't list it all here... for details, check the Readme and What's New pages while you're downloading.
Map packs with new and old co-op maps, all with CFG files and some with minor changes, are coming soon! (Will start making them up tomorrow, need to get some sleep as soon as I upload this stuff... been waiting all night for phone lines to come back up :\ ).
It should now be quite possible to run permanent SvenCo-op servers (using co-op maps)... if anyone would be interested in running one, contact me, thanks. No Linux version available yet :/, there'll be a Linux port in the future, but don't know exactly when (to be precise, I don't have the foggiest idea of exactly when :/ ).
Thanks to BigGuy for all the work he's been doing on the DLL !!... read this thread for info on the lengths he's had to go to (don't worry, it's not boring coding stuff... it involves robots, lasers, and marmalade), and thanks to Light_dud, who's computer was virtually destroyed by IE5.01 recently :(. Thanks to all the free-lancers and people... and, of course, thanks to all the fans/users. Without you, there wouldn't be a SvenCo-op, would there? :).
Important Date: 9/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Update: Had forgotten about this. Does anyone know who made the map named "WAR.bsp"? (involving grunts). Got the map from GoldFinger and Kune, but they don't know who made it. If you made it, or know who did, tell me! Thanks.
First, the not-so-important stuff. PHL E-mail is back up, so if you want to E-mail me, you can use sven@planethalflife.com again. Also, BigGuy has found a host for his coding tutorials site! (Half-Life Programming Planet).
On to the important stuff. We're having problems with getting the single-player maps to work in v1.3 (it seems that they're larger than was said on the message board :/ ). They can be fixed, but we don't know how long it'd take.
What I need to know, is whether you'd prefer:
v1.3 to be released soon (probably about 3 days), with full support for co-op maps and beta support for SP maps... and have a small (probably server-side) patch released to fix the SP maps later on...
Or whether you'd prefer it if we waited 'till we had the single-player maps working properly and well tested before we release v1.3.
Use the poll to the left of this text... need to know asap. No cheating, thanks.
E-mail Date: 6/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Update: I think I've found the reason... all PHL E-mail seems to be down. Hopefully it'll be fixed fairly quickly.
Hmm, don't know why, but my Planet Half-Life E-mail address isn't working :/ (I can check for mail, but mail coming in results in a "user not found" message).
For the moment, please use the address: dd2@iname.com instead. Also, please re-send (to the aforementioned address) any mail sent to me within the last 24 hours.
P.S., everyone go HERE and vote for SvenCo-op! ;). Don't intend to win, but would be nice to finish with a bit more than 0%. Thanks.
Background Images Needed Date: 5/12/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Think you could make a better menu and/or console background for SvenCo-op than is currently being used? Before Thursday? (the 9th). If so, please try :).
No guarantee that anything you submit'll be used, sorry... depends on whether I like it or not (and there's no telling what I'll like :) ). If it is used, you'll be credited in the Readme and on the site, of course (and would seem fair enough if you put your E-mail address in the corner of the image... just as long as it isn't huge or terribly distracting).
Console backgrounds must be 320x200 pixels... menu backgrounds must be 640x480 pixels. No JPGs, thanks! Zip submissions before sending if possible.
When making menu backgrounds, please take into account the SvenCo-op logo avi (with the moving Chumtoad), and the buttons (no good if buttons can't be seen 'cos the background's purple, or stuff).
Update: Console font is now purple! (with a dark border, like the HL console font). Thanks to BigGuy for purple-izing it (although, considering that SvenCo-op involves Barney-s, all this purple is getting scary ;) ).
When making console backgrounds, please remember that people'll have to be able to read the orange Half-Life console font well enough... so preferably the console background shouldn't be wildly colourful.
Send any submissions to me at: dd2@iname.com . Thanks!!!
Guess I should put a poll up.. and a contact page with info on the various team members.. and lots of other stuff I've forgotten. It's 5am and I haven't slept yet, though, so not feeling like it :/.
As far as v1.3 goes, I would say "It'll [almost] definitely be out next week-end!" (or similar).. but whenever I say that, things don't seem to work out... so I won't.
Message Board Date: 27/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
TheMessage Board is back up! (so those of you who haven't died of withdrawal systems, head on over there).
Hmm, am afraid that a (this) weekend release for v1.3 looks pretty unlikely :(. This is partly because the single-player game is more of a problem than I'd expected, and partly because, due to various circumstances, BigGuy and I haven't been online at the same time for the last couple of days (little communication = little progress)...
Update Date: 22/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
Hmm, message board stopped working overnight, for some reason :(. Will E-mail Gamespy about it.
BTW, Light_dud is / has been working on v1.3 as assistant to BigGuy, helping with ideas, testing, and various other useful things (and will probably be helping with programming later on).
On v1.3's status: Couple of problems with map transitions and a currently unannounced feature (although unannounced feature works well enough, just not perfectly)... hopefully they'll be fixed in not too long.
Been working on getting the PS maps to work in a reasonable fashion, lately. Hopefully it'll be possible to run the SP maps on a permanent server. Not sure of whether to release v1.3 when it seems reasonable, and hope for the best, or to try to get it thoroughly/properly tested... If it's not properly ready by the week-end. but there's nothing seriously wrong with it, will probably release it anyway :). Can fix bugs later, I guess... not as if we're charging for it (it's v1.4 that we'll be charging for!)
{Please note: charging comment was a joke}
Site has moved! (slightly) Date: 22/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
As you may have noticed, the SvenCo-op site has moved to its own subdir. Please update any old bookmarks or links.
http://www.planethalflife.com/svencoop/
Update: The problem below was caused by speech-marks (or "quotes") where speech-marks should not have been :). It's OK now... 1 or 2 more problems yet, though.
Latest version of v1.3 seems pretty good... except that there's zero gravity and players can't walk. Oops :). Shouldn't be big problem, though... will just give everyone a gauss gun at the start of the game, so they can gauss-jump about...
(joke). It'll probably be a small thing to fix. v1.3 should still be out sometime this week (though nothing in life is definite... including, of course, the theory that nothing is definite).
v1.3 Delayed Date: 21/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
SvenCo-op v1.3 has been delayed due to the anti-trust suit filed against SvenCo-op® by Australian-based OlavCoop® (who claims that SvenCo-op has a monopoly on Half-Life co-operative play). Check this page for more information.
P.S., the stuff above is a joke (thx to Socrates for thinking it up :).
However, it's highly unlikely that v1.3 will be out this week-end.. testing revealed one or two serious(-ish) bugs. Should be fixed up and released within the week, at least.
New Map Date: 20/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
A map named BattleZone, which was made by Terminator, is up on the Files page. It's sort of a cross between Marines and a 2fort map :).
It's possible that v1.3 will by released sometime this weekend, BTW... BigGuy already has more stuff working than I expected to have in 1.3, and had expected 1.3 to take 2 weeks or longer. Have to try to get it tested, though.
BTW, v1.3 will feature features ( :) ) such as Bug Fixes®, generally working map transitions, an end to player-killers (generally), maps can have their own configs, a new scoring system (get points for killing monsters), some misc/useful stuff, and maybe one or two (or 3) bonus features that I'm not talking about yet.
New Team Member Date: 17/11/99 Updated by: Sven Viking
The Gamespy Network (hosts of PHL/etc.) have been experiencing some problems, or something, so things have been messed up rather... the files on the Files Page (new and old) should now be working (or, if they're not, there's a work-around on the page).
The main reason I'm updating, though, is to announce that BigGuy (writer of numerous coding tutorials) has joined the SvenCo-op team as Lead Programmer. So the SvenCo-op "team" now, in some ways, consists of 2 people -- and in other ways has consisted of hundreds for a time before this (and hopefully will for a fair time after this).
BigGuy already has level transitions working (not exactly as they would in single-player, but it saves you from typing "changelevel whatever"), as well as several other things... hopefully SvenCoop v1.3 isn't that far off...
If you want to check out BigGuy's tutorials, go to his site: "Half-Life Programming Planet". BTW, he's currently looking for a better host for the site, so if anyone could help help with that sort of thing, contact him.
Poll Results:
Do you think these polls are fixed (rigged)?
Of course not! (9466) 99.998%
Yes. (0) 0%
Don't know/other (1) 0.012%
;)