Sven Co-op: Pleasing Taste, Some Monsterism

3.5 Progress and an Interview
21 April, 2004 | by Sniper

Well, we're doing great so far on Sven Co-op v3.5. The team is in full swing for the most part. There's a lot of work to be done though, so we'll try to keep you up to date as we make progress.

Just a few days ago, Barney and a squad of Grunts were the first to shoot explosive crates in Half-Life 1 history. This little feature will be important for the Invasion game mode, where players need to defend things. We're also probably going to expand off of that to allow monsters to break down barricades and such, to gain access to areas.

Here's a screenshot demonstrating the AI's ability to shoot brush-based objects (explosive crates):

Lastly, I've been interviewed at Beyond Half-Life regarding Sven Co-op 2 and Sven Co-op v3.5. For anyone wondering about a few things regarding Sven Co-op's development, it should be a good read. Click here to read the interview.

Also, our friends at Jolt Online Gaming have offered to provide a special first come first serve password protected server to the community. Every Friday night, 6 PM GMT, members of the community can ask for a password to enter their private server on their IRC channel. It's designed for those who would like to play Sven Co-op with their friends privately on a fast server. If you're interested, visit their website for more information.

That's all for today. We're still looking for some possible v3.5 maps utilizing one of the four game modes in v3.5, so post your map in the forum if you're working on one. We'll surely take a look at it.

Real 3.5 News
3 April, 2004 | by Sniper

The last news update was of course fake, it was April Fools Day after all. However we really are in need of a texture artist to join the team. We're looking for someone with experience in developing photo-realistic / semi-photo-realistic weapon and/or organic skins. If you think you have what it takes (serious applicants only), send past work/examples to sniper@svencoop.com.

Other than that, we're slowly but surely getting work finished on 3.5. Here are the game types we are currently interested in / working on implementing, with a basic description:

VIP - Players must escort a fellow player or NPC to a defined point. Mappers have the option of setting up spawn points for guards to various routes along a path the VIP must take.
Assault - Players must run into an area guarded by NPCs and destroy specified objects. Can be an unlimited amount of objects, specified by mapper. Upon destruction, object triggers something. Can have time limit.
Invasion - Players must defend structures or NPCs within the given time period from invading monsters. Structures and NPCs can be repaired, and the mapper can define whether or not a given entity is allowed to be repaired by the players. Via the class system, players will have the ability to build things like sentry guns or other defensive structures.
Rush - Players must bring various keys/items to defined points. Mapper creates as many or as little "rush points" as possible. The rush points are guarded by respawning monsters. Players with keys/items are considered to be the highest threat (nemesis) by the guarding monsters. Other players help the main player with the key (can be anything) get by the guards and reach the goal.

Keep in mind, the above game types are subject to change at any time, and they can be mixed with the player class system. You can start mapping now for these game types, but will not be able to see them in-action on Sven Co-op 3.0. We're interested in seeing what the community can come up with. Later when we're closer to release, we'll put up the 3.5 Hammer FGD for download so mappers can add in the newer systems.

In other news, Mr.Franswa, the level designer of Resident Evil: The Awakening and the upcoming Resident Evil: The Awakening 2 was on Half-Life Radio recently. He had a good lengthy interview on his Sven Co-op mission, so listen in to Half-Life Radio to see if the show is aired again. RE: The Awakening 2's website is located at http://www.retheawakening.tk or http://www.bidybag.com/re.