Apprehension development has resumed after a 4 month quiet period. Development slowed to standstill after previous mod leader Lilguy stepped down to take up a fulltime development role at Raven software. Parallax, formerly co-leader, has stepped up to take Lilguy's place as mod leader. Parallax is a professional firmware programmer who has been involved in game development to an increasing degree in recent years, but is still to get his first major game under his belt. Previously known as "Asylem Escapee," Parallax was involved in the development of QWar2, a popular RTS mod for Quake 2.
Although development was quiet, the Apprehension artist oXYnary has been working hard and has created a mesh for our most important custom vechicle : the Heavy Roamer. The heavy roamer plays a pivotal role in Apprehension as it performs as both a heavy lifter craft and a ground assault craft. It is able to fly low and slow with a number of heavy weapons to decimate a heavy base. The heavy roamer can also transport the otherwise slow moving Ion tank directly into battle, and lay down the air support nescessary to keep it there.
Moving forward, the Apprehension team are looking to expand their team as development scales up towards a hoped for mid year release date. New features are being added to the build each week while the design doc is being fleshed out and new ideas tested under the heavy fire of internal scrutiny.
Looking good!
Ah, yes: morale plays a huge role in indie game development, I've found, and losing a vital team member can be devestating. It's great to see that your team is bouncing back, though! I hope you'll find that every loss is followed by revision, reorganization, and a renewed spirit of progress!
Thanks for your comment, I agree that morale is an important component of mod development : Morale was indeed low. This is further worsened by the fact that we lost our leader, rather than just a mod member. This left us in a position where we had to suddenly motivate and lead ourselves. When the person who was leading (Lilguy) also leads the creative vision, it can be hard to stand up and take that mantle yourself.
I'm enjoying it though. Lilguy is still standing on the sidelines cheering me on as I go - and progress really is being made. I've decided to spend every Monday (9-5) on Apprehension, and that commitment is already starting to pay off.
-Parallax