Ok, first up, excuses as to why v0.4.7 isn't ready.
About a week after posting the previous status update, I ran into an error that defied my best attempts to track and fix it - saved game corruption.
It affected every save I made, auto, quick, or manual. All saves made after a certain point became corrupted either immediately, or very soon after, including those made on a new game. Previous versions of the mod and vanilla, however worked fine. I *probably* could have finished v0.4.7 despite this, however, I didn't want to go ahead with this, and release a mod where everyone suffered from the same unsolvable error.
I think it was combination system/game engine thing. The XRay engine is an odd thing. Some things are known to cause ctd's and problems ingame randomly (overly long dialogs called from scripts will cause ctd's for one person, but not for another, up to date versions of DX disable DX10 mode, and up to date graphics drivers cause major hits on performance and slow everything down whereas older versions don't etc, just to name a few). So, chances are something on my system changed/updated, and XRay + mod didn't like it for some strange reason nobody knows why, and decided to bugger up all my attempts to save.
So, v0.4.7 isn't ready, because of aforementioned problems, and I didn't know if it was because of the mod or my system.
That and exams and subject presentations for University have also been taking up time and energy.
So, onto some good news.
News Regarding v1.0
Yes, you read that right. I'm shoving v0.4.broken to the side, and planning stuff for the final, full version (barring patches and updates). The list of features exists somewhere on my desk on a piece of paper or 4 somewhere, but I've already been making tracks in this direction, trying out new things on vanilla, and setting up a brand new gamedata folder, and decompiling the vanilla Clear Sky levels into the SDK, not to mention implementing some of the new levels for the mod, and getting them working ingame under XRay 1.5.10. I have working DX10 mode now, so I can finally work on the SoC levels that I've been wanting to add without worrying about them not working in DX10.
Some features from the earlier versions will be kept for v1.0, others will be discarded or modified to fit. v1.0 will be a complete redesign from the ground up, and I'm going to be working in the Clear Sky SDK to speed things up (less time collecting co-ordinates ingame to add and delete stuff, and more time adding and deleting stuff), and because I'll need the SDK + its toolset to properly implement the new levels.
I'll post a list of features here for v1.0, so you know what to look forward to, as soon as I find the list in this mess of exam study notes, and as soon as I get that features list uploaded, I'll open a forum thread/board where you can suggest ideas and features. No guarantee I'll implement/use them though.
I intend to start major work on v1.0 within a week, although I have some basic foundations inplace for it.
I think that's all I have to say on this for now. I'll update with videos and screenshots later on, when I have something more interesting to show than an empty SoC level in Clear Sky.
And I've been messing around a bit with Windows Movie Maker a few weeks back for a few hours, so future video's should be a bit for classy and sophisticated. Adding fancy effects isn't that hard.
~fluffy22
Good luck with fixing that annoying error, man. Success will make You international hero of STALKER community.
Or, a "Hero of the Soviet Union"!
Man... if I could get my hands on that award...
All levity aside, you have a truly unique experience here and you have our support for a successful project!