Well I suppose it is time again for another update. We have quite a few updates on the happenings of Borg Wars. New concepts and ideas keep trickling on in and progress is being made.
Interview
First I was recently interviewed by Trickster from the Star Trek Gaming Universe fan site. It is a fairly long interview that details many aspects of the game that have not been addressed so far. Here is a small excerpt from the interview:
What are your main goals for Borg Wars?
My main goal of Borg Wars is to bring a very fascinating and enjoyable game to the HL2 community while staying true to the spirit of Star Trek. I hope to bring something that most people have never seen done in a video game let alone a modification for one.How far along is the production?
We are still in the developmental stages. We currently are having model work and concept art done. I am looking forward to a December 2005 or Jan/Feb 2006 release. But this is still undecided.Will there be any beta testing or a demo released before the full version?
I do not think there will be any beta testing except for some internal testing by the staff and by a few of my friends. This is subject to change.What do you think about the current state of star trek gaming. Is there more of a positive outlook for modding with new Star Trek games?
I think that since the cancellation of Star Trek people are going to still want to get their weekly or daily dose of Star Trek. This mod will be able to provide this. The next scheduled Star Trek game to come out that I know of is Star Trek Online, the MMORPG. Since there is a big gap between now and the time that game comes out, I believe it is the best time to start to re-invent some of the ways we look at Trek gaming today and hopefully I will be able to do this.What sort of weapons will the player be able to use?
We plan to have your standard weapons like the type 3 Phaser and such but we also have planned to create some new weapons that will help to combat the Borg and Species 8472.
If the interview has not covered something that you want answered please go check out our FAQ. It can be view Here or ask on the message boards. I am sure someone will be happy to answer any questions you might have. In order to post though, you will have to register.
New Game Style
For the second bit of news I am happy to announce a new system for releasing the mod. After some careful planning, we have decided to release the mod in chunks instead of releasing everything all at once.
This is best explained in a quote from the previous interview:
This way every few months a new chapter in the story can be released. It would take too long for use to develop the mod and then to release it all at once. This way the community can provide feedback on how they managed to complete each chapter. This will help us to determine how the next level should be planned out.
By allowing the community to participate in the development in the modification, we can only hope to make something that the entire community will enjoy. More information on this subject will be release sometime soon.
Concepts
Finally I have some new concepts to show to all of you.
Personal Ablative Armor Protection Suit
This fantastic conception was designed by "Edwin Schuss". It is a new tactical space suit called the "Personal Ablative Armor Protection Suit" or PAAPS for short.
They have almost stereotypical sci-fi full body armor, comprised of personal ablative armor plates, a helmet with a reflective HUD visor over the eyes, and a metal faceplate over the lower half of the face. On the side of the helmet is a flashlight mount, with the sensors from a tricorder underneath a light, with the tricorder controls on the right forearm, and the information feeding to the HUD display.
Basically it will take almost anything that you toss at it. You will not be wearing the suite the entire game as it is meant for space walks and use in other in-hospitable environments.
Shuttle Bay 3
We have also been considering to not using the Prometheus as our ship. I feel that is necessary to try to use as much Non-Cannon items as possible so as to not piss off Paramount all that much.
The next item we have for you was done by Jade Taggart. She is one of the most capable modelers I have seen to-date. This is a view of inside of the new Shuttle Bay #3 of a ship that she has designed.
TR-189 Plasma DRAGON
Finally we have “The Dragon” created also by the one and only Jade Taggart. This is actually something that she made before joining the Borg Wars team just as with the previous image.
Once Ex-Starfleet-issue TR-189 Plasma DRAGON Assault Rifle. It fires depleted trilithium bullets at 30 rpm [rounds per minute] and fires a compressed plasma stream as its secondary fire mode, hence the name Plasma DRAGON. Ammo limit of 52 rounds.
Coming Soon
Hopefully coming up in the next update, which I also hope will not be to far off, we will have a concept or two of another new weapon to combat Species 8472 and the Borg.
The standard weapon is affectionately nicknamed 'spike-driver', and uses modified tractor-beam technology to throw a tritanium encased depleted dilithium (TEDD) round at hypervelocity speeds, with an inertial dampener in the stock to deal with the recoil from a projectile being shot out that fast. The intent of the weapon was originally to counter Borg adaptive shielding, but since it was just as effective against other beings, it was made the standard Federation Marine weapon. It's also an over-under design, with a downscaled pulse Phaser cannon underneath the main spike-driver barrel.
Nanite-loaded rounds for use against Species 8472 can be swapped in.
Website Updates
I have recently updated the Borg Wars website as well. You can now check out the major character Bios in the Cast Page. All three species are included. Also if you would like to see who is working on the mod please feel free to check out our staff page.
Help Wanted
If you are interested in helping out with any aspect of the mod please e-mail me at mjcs@hlgaming.com. I am in a great need of the following:
- Mappers | 1-2 highly skilled Mappers
- Programmers | 2 highly skilled programmers
- Texture Artist | 1 highly skilled texture artist
- Concept Artist | 2-3 highly skilled concept artist
Requirements:
- Able to show past work or able to create something for us to see
- Able to work with other people
- Can finish tasks on a deadline
- A passion for Star Trek
- Willing to agree to a Non Disclosure Agreement
Well until next time…this is MJCS-gTFC- signing out.
:)