News Update #1
Contents:
-
Latest News
- Comeback to ModDB
- FAQ Article Posted
- New Website Under Construction
- NFSUnlimited.net Sponsorship
- First Wallpaper Available!
- Creating the Menu's Song
-
A Look into After Hours Racing
- Introduction
- Main Features
- Vehicles
-
Latest Media Screenshots
- Ingame Scenes
- Environment Structures
-
Closing Thoughts
- Community Spotlight
- Join the Team
- In the Next Issue
- Links
Latest News
Comeback to ModDB
Welcome to the first News article for SHIFT: After hours Racing. Put simply, it is a summary on the development and progress made. We plan to release these meaty articles about once every 2 - 4 months. You are currently reading our very first one.
If you have not heard, Afterhours Racing, or AHR for short, has made a comeback to ModDB. Originally, this mod was archived for almost a half year due to inactivity but in light of recent events, this mod is back on track. After the comeback almost one month ago, we have been hard at work to get an improved internal alpha working and so far, I am extremely pleased. We hope to keep steady progress and activity from now on. The contents of this article revisit the main highlights of the mods progress since the revival almost one month ago. Enjoy!
FAQ Article Posted
After coming out of the coffin, I have decided to post a FAQ article to give people an idea of what to expect with this mod. As you know, there are not many racing mods for HL2 so this will give you the chance to put it into perspective that not only is this mod possible, but it will also be fun.
If you can spare the time and are interested in this awesome HL2 total conversion, take a look at it.
New Website Under Construction
If you want to take a look at our website, don't bother. Its still under construction. In fact, we have made 5 revisions of the website since this mod has started. Below is an image of revision number 3. I cannot promise that the official site will be up and running this month, but I will try my best to have it up by the time that the next news article rolls around. Stay tuned!
NFSUnlimited.net Sponsorship
If you enjoy racing games like I do, you may have heard of one by the name of Need for Speed. I have followed the franchise since I ever first started playing PC games. Today, I am proud to announce that Need for Speed's number one fansite, NFS Unlimited, has agreed to sponsor this project. They are offering free webhosting, news publicity, poll data, and other great things to help AHR on its way to success!
First Wallpaper Available!
With the help of 3 people and myself, we have created a free wallpaper for the fans of AHR. The wallpaper is 1920x1200 in resolution so it is perfect for those of you who have a large monitor or just love high resolution art. We are proud of our work and we hope you enjoy it. In case you havent done so yet, you can download it here!
Creating the Menu's Song
A good friend of mine by the name of DJ Tstorm was enthusiastic about getting the opportunity to help create the AHR's official theme song. We pulled inspiration from the city and club scene to give the mod a dark but alive feeling. I believe Tstorm captures that atmosphere flawlessly.
It is still unfinished and being perfected at the moment, so if you have any suggestions or opinions, make sure to leave them with us in our media/videos section!
A Look into After Hours Racing
Introduction
In case you have been living under a rock, a racing mod for the original Half-Life named HL Rally failed at attempting to bring racing to HL2. This is where AHR comes in. Almost 4 years after the demise of HL Rally Source, AHR plans to bring epic singleplayer and multiplayer street racing to the players of HL2. I have done thorough research on what brought HL Rally Source to a halt, as well talked to many programmers and modders. I can assure you that AHR will be a new experience unlike any other mod for HL2. In later news articles we will reveal more and more details on AHR. For now, enjoy the first look.
Main Features
- Multiple customizable vehicles
- Detailed Race Environments
- New Characters
- Advanced Vehicle Code
- Engaging Storyline
- Custom HUD
- Complete Original Soundtrack
Vehicles
Take a look at these custom vehicle models. Both are still waiting to be textured. You shall see them textured in later news articles.
One big feature we hope to pull off are custom parts. Think we cant do it? Stay tuned and be amazed.
Sound
A guy I know who is a car enthusiast agreed to let us use his sound recordings in our mod. In later news articles we shall delve into the implementation of these sound bytes via code.
Latest Media Screenshots
Ingame Scenes
Empty Shop
Below is an in game screen capture of the very first "scenes" for AHR. It was originally designed to be a backdrop for the menu but after walking around in game, decided that it will be used for a "scripted sequence" instead.
Night Sky
The stock night skies available in HL2 just didn't fit the atmosphere and look that we were going for. So, we created one from scratch. The screen capture below is actually in game.
Environment Structures
What would the city level be without buildings? Each month we will showcase the latest and greatest in game structures for you to see. So go check them out!
Closing Thoughts
Community Spotlight
Each news release, we will give a shout out to a community member who really did the community a great service. This month, that person is Sebo. Without him, I would never have even bothered to touch AHR again, but he gave me the hope and confidence to pick this mod up and make it happen. He contributed several structures to the mod and also laid groundwork to creating the first level for the mod. Most importantly, he taught me many things about how to use the modification tools to their fullest. Unfortunately, he had to leave the community due to recent events but we still remember him and his impact to this mod. Thanks goes out to Sebo.
Joining the Team
This mod would NOT be where it is with out the help of my talented friends. If you think AHR is something you would be proud of and would want to help out, send me a PM over ModDB and I will arrange it.
Currently, all the main roles to get this mod working are already taken, but we are still looking for several people to fill these roles to help this mod advance.
Priority Positions Available:
- 3d Environment Mapper
- Lead Art Director
- 3d Prop Modeler
- 2d/3d Character Artist
In the Next Issue
For those who need to know everything that is going on, you will always find this closing preview at the end of every article. At the moment, we are working on wrapping up the alpha code, creating a custom road texture to replace the awful stock ones, creating more structures as usual, laying out the first city level, creating a new vehicle to use in game, and the unveiling of our first licensed artist for our soundtrack! I bet you cant wait. :D
Links
If you are interested in AHR and want to be a part of the community, make sure to visit these links.
WOW !!!!. Never liked this mod looked really bad. I love the new design and everything incredible work :D. Can't wait to see more.
wow dammit this mod coming for glory!
Longest news post EVER! and quite an impressive array of fantastic media. Well done!
nicely written news post. i like hl rally very much and since the cancellation of hl rally source i always hoped for a new racing mod for hl2. until now the stuff looks good, especially the environment buildings. i would suggest focusing on the actual game, rather then bothering with wallpapers and website though, at least at this stage of development (1 month). otherwise it looks promising. watching :)
Great job, this looks like it could be an awesome mod. I hope you over come the huge problem HL2 has with vehicle code, it just sucks and feels wonky. Stearing in any HL2 mod is just plain bad.
sexy looking website draft, pm me if you need any help with coding or scripting (xhtml/css/php/mysql/js/ajax), also buildings are looking sweet, and car parts, looking great overall. Keep up the good work :)
Nice update :D. Big, like I like em.
cool, I like the song!
Looks pretty NICE!!! You takes my atention! Tracking :)
This mod looks really really good! However, the only thing holding this mod back is the apprehension of Source's terrible vehicle networking. *cough DIPRIP cough*
Cautiously optomistic though. I'll be watching this!
looks fantastic
VERY NICE !!!
for funding you could sue EA for stealing your name. Gametrailers.com
Nice !
looking good lads.
Wait, what happened to moving to crysis engine? i hope you are not gonna be like hurry up and release this mod on HL2 and be done with it so you can focus on crysis and stuff like that.
Looks good, I hope I can use my G25 Racing Wheel.
Im totally tracking this mod right now, the Japanese car scene is just awesome for a mod, and I like the style and presentation of everything I saw about this. Proper good job team! ^^...
by the way, nice GTR 33, Im gonna wait for the Skyline GTR 32 too =P
Also, the Silvia is pretty good. I suppose that Initial D fans should be pleased with the add of a 86 levin and trueno, also dont you thought anything about Mountain roads? I could be really great to add all the mountain pass to let people drive uphill and downhill over the net...
It would be really awesome if you guys would upload these pictures in high resolution to images gallery... awesome very long news