I've been doing some more work on WCHF lately. First of all, the development version of the mod is now compatible with WCSaga final, and thanks to someone on the HLP forum, we got WC Saga running on standard FSO builds. I'll be starting a short beta test soon.
Wasn't happy with the stupid amount of lines on the old Scimitar texture, so I K.I.S.S.ed it goodbye and re-did the bumpmap.
Wing Commander Hostile Frontier has posted a new Dev Diary on the subject of level design. The article highlights the steps that result in a new mission. Overall, the concept is simple, but the technical details require a sharp designer. Kevin Caccamo is also looking for people who might be interested in making more missions for the game. Check out the WCHF Dev Diaries here.
Well, we are making good progress on some of the missions, but there is still much more work to do. Designing good-quality missions from the ground up is a long, involved process. The first step involves writing the mission script, which outlines what happens in the mission, what characters and ships appear, dialogue sequences, briefings and debriefings, objectives, etc. The mission script is NOT the one-and-only basis for the actual mission, although the mission events that the script outlines remain largely unchanged in the finished version of the mission.
------------------
And at the end, it is indeed amazing to see how far the mission has come since it was started. I still have a few videos showing early versions of the WCHF missions, and after watching them through, I'm proud of my accomplishments so far, and I'm still improving my missions to perfection. Also, don't forget that we're still looking for people to help make the missions. If you're interested in joining the team, please contact me on the WCHF forum on HLP or by e-mail.
Here are the videos:I've been working on a simulator mission to help players learn essential combat tactics. Many players couldn't get past mission 2 of the WCSaga Prologue, supposedly because they kept getting hit by enemy missiles. This video mainly shows the scripted ship selection system that will be used in this mission and other new simulator missions: http://wchf.hard-light.net/videos/wchf-tactrain.ogg
I just find it awesome when a Sha'kar transport explodes: http://wchf.hard-light.net/videos/wchf-explosion.ogg
These videos are encoded in OGG Theora, but they're viewable in a web browser like Firefox 4 or Google Chrome. There's no sound in these videos because I wasn't using recording software that supports audio capture.
After so much hard work in Blender and GIMP, the new WCHF Bhantkara-class Supercarrier is now ingame! This ship represents the supercarrier KIS Karga which attacked the Landreich after the (formal) end of the Terran-Kilrathi war, and was then driven off by Landreich and Confederation forces.
A new milestone has been reached in the development of Wing Commander: Hostile Frontier. After much writing of HTML/CSS code and content, the project finally has a website. It was an interesting challenge to set it up, and there may still be some little glitches, but for the most part, the website is stable.This website is the official home for Wing Commander: Hostile Frontier. On this page, you'll find official announcements, progress updates, Developer Diary entries, and hiring calls. We are currently looking for people to help with mission scripting, translation from English to German, and maybe even testing the missions for gameplay balance.
Here's another big batch of cockpit screenshots from the Wing Commander Hostile Frontiers mod. This is an especially explosive batch with lots of capship combat in view. Kevin Caccamo has also posted a lengthy history on the mod and how it got to where it is today.
And now for another big batch of screenshots, showing off lots of capships, lots of firepower, and lots of explosions.A history of WCHF
WCHF started in 2007 as a "Landreich Campaign" mod for WCSaga Prologue when I was on the Saga team, but shortly after, I left the Saga team due to "creative differences". It went very slowly in 2007 and 2008, and I needed help with the textures if I was going to move on. I was going to get JasonRocZ to do some texture work, but he wasn't always available, and the project was in hibernation for a while due to my lack of knowledge on how to make good textures.
A month or so later, I finally got an idea on how to make half-decent textures. I sometimes refer to the time before this texture idea as the "Old Hostile Frontier" because, when I put that texturing idea into action, it almost seemed like the project had taken a completely different direction. Then, I did a lot of retexturing, converting, and coding the Standoff models into the game, and progress on the project's assets went much quicker. I also made some of my own models, like the Andrew Carnegie and the Rapier II, and converted them to work in game.
After that, I got involved with another (as of yet unannounced) WC project, and I was able to improve my texturing style greatly. Unfortunately due to my unwillingness to read (or re-read) the WC novels, I made 3 unsuccessful attempts to begin progress on the missions, which is one big reason why it's taking so long to get this project released.
Now that I have a stable base to build my missions on, release time will depend on my commitment to the project, the time I have to work on the project, whether the script is complete for the mission I'm working on, and if I have the skills to make the mission.
Here's some shots of Hostile Frontier's new cockpit layout. The Rapier cockpit depicted below is fairly accurate, and the superimposed Freespace 2 HUD fits decently well. Kevin Caccamo has also provided a list of recent updates relating to missions, graphics and artificial intelligence.
Cockpit update: The cockpit rendering bugs are fixed. I have a few new screenshots of the Rapier cockpit, showing the Indy (my nickname for FRLS Independence) getting destroyed by a spread of CSMs and dogfighting Landreich Raptors in a test mission. The blinding effect seen in the third screenshot is caused by the CSMs destroying the Indy.Mission update: I've gotten a fair way with the WCHF demo missions script, and I'm pleased to say that the missions are just starting to be made, after at least 3 failed attempts to try and begin progress in this area. Wish me luck.
AI update: Just recently, I added a more challenging AI to the mod, which gives AI pilots the ability to fly more like humans. There is a new AI profile and 4 new AI classes, for Rookie, Veteran, and Ace pilots, and capital ships (the AI class of the capship determines the turret firing rate).
Graphics update: Since the 3.6.12 mediavps are now out, I've integrated the new explosions, and the flashy deaths/flaming debris effects scripts into WCHF. I've also started to make debris pieces for the fighters.
If I had to rate the progress of the WCHF demo from 0-100%, I'd say the demo is at 70%.Kilrathi ships update: Thanks to JasonRocZ, I now have a Ralaxath model! The geometry was cleaned up, details were added, and the whole model was remapped from scratch. The Ralaxath was the last Kilrathi ship I was waiting on for the demo.
Landreich ships update: All of the Landreich fighters and capships that will be used in the demo are now in place. The fighters may need to get recoloured to be accurate to the Landreich colours in FA, and the Scimitar texture will need to be redone at some point. The Wake and Exeter will need to get returreted, recoloured, and rebalanced. But other than that, the fighters are balanced and usable.
Here's a preview of the Wake escort carriers and Exeter destroyers that are set to appear in the Hostile Frontiers mod. The latest texture maps help to give the ships a cool metallic shine. Previous updates show off some of the Ferrets and Rapiers that will be flying off their decks.
Here's a peek at the Ferret that will be used in Kevin Caccamo's mod for Freespace 2, Hostile Frontier. He's also considering implementing an idea from the novels and mounting a "corvette" engine on the thing. If so, it would handle very differently than the patrol fighter we're familiar with. The fourth shot shows an engine overheat warning system that could accompany this.
In addition to new ships, Kevin Caccamo has added some cockpits to Hostile Frontier. The first two images show off a Hornet and the third is the beginnings of a Scimitar. It looks like things are carrying along decently well with this project, but Kevin is also requesting assistance with texturing and mission scripting..
What needs to be done/We're hiring!Missions need to be scripted and completed, and cockpit models need to be textured and imported into the game. If you would like to join the team (It's just me right now) then please post in this thread or send me a PM. Different conditions apply to different positions. Also, I'm not really looking for professionals, but I'm looking for people with considerable modding experience.
I recently finished converting the Wake-class and the Exeter-class. I also tried to do some high-polyization to the Wake-class model, e.g. recesses for the windows and bulkheads at the back, cylinders for the engines, and modeled bumps on the "bumpy thing" on the top. The modified model also has a changeable nameplate, so it can have "FRLS Independence" or "FRLS Magna Carta" written on it without having to create a new model. Thanks again to the Standoff team for the Wake-class and Exeter-class models.
Here's some Hornet and afterburner shots from Kevin Caccamo's Landreich-themed mod of WC Saga, Hostile Frontier. The engine exhaust color was tweaked to look more "realistic." I'm not too sure that the proper color of a futuristic ion drives can be determined exactly, but the orange flame certainly stands out distinctly in space. He's also been working an optional upgrade that attempts to give the engine a more intertial feel similar to classic Wing Commander games.
Lastly, I've been experimenting with the game engine to try and reproduce the good old inertia/newtonian physics of WC1/2/Prophecy/Secret Ops. The results aren't quite satisfactory, but it does work to a certain extent; it's good for combat, but not so good for carrier takeoffs and landings.I'll release this physics mod as a separate download from the main WCHF package to give players a choice and a bit of a deviation.
Here's some of the new stuff that I've been working on for the past few months. I've been experimenting with GIMP to make textures for the ships. Here's what I came up with for a Landreich Raptor. Thanks to the Standoff team for the Raptor model.The base texture is made of three layers: a plain white layer, a layer with Perlin noise, and a pixellated noise layer. On top of the base texture, I have a multiplicative layer for the coloured parts of the ship and a layer for stuff like the cockpit glass and the intakes. I also have two invisible layers for the bumpmap and the UVs.
The next updates will give away some of the plot details about the main character and the beginning of the campaign, and possibly an interview. As a little preview of what's coming next, the main character's callsign is going to be Rider. Belated credit goes to Travis Baldree for the Hornet model.Oh, and you know the reverse afterburn thing that Bondarevsky does in FC while escorting the Bonadventure on its kamikaze run? Although it's against just about every safety regulation, YOU CAN DO IT TOO! I added a reverse afterburner to the Raptor, thanks to a new feature in 3.6.12. To activate it in-game, press the decelerate key and the afterburner key at the same time.
Follow or Contact Us