What the heck is going on - June 11, 2022
Yup, I disappeared for a long time and you haven't seen progress updates in a while.
My deepest apologies that I haven't released a new version of the mod. I should have taken advantage of all my time off from work during the winter but unfortunately now I am back full time at IRL work.
The good news is that I see the NeuWon network is back online. For the longest time it was down and I was starting to get discouraged that we would never see it back up. However the Swat 3 server is non-functioning until the owner of the network works out his CD key authentication.
I work on a Canadian TV show that is syndicated around the world and we just started a new season of filming. Normally we are given 4 weeks to rig the studio but this season we only had 2 weeks due to complications. Needless to say things are going to be crazy for a few more weeks until we catch up. After this time I hope to actually have some energy at the end of the week to actually work on the Last Resort mod. Right now my weekends are spent crashing.
This mod may look dead, but it isn't.
Write comment (2 Comments)Working on new textures - March 4, 2022
The last few days I have been working on making new textures for MissionA (the one with Martin Brenner). What is new territory for me is that I am actually using a camera to generate new higher resolution replacement .TGA files.
.TGA files are the kind of textures that have transparent backgrounds and are usually decals that get applied on the floors or walls of the maps. Specifically in MissionA I am replacing old 64x64 pixel images that appear very blurry in game. Most of them are objects like newspapers, magazines, clothing, and papers that can be found on the floor or on desks.
I am using a cheaper older version of this light to bounce off the ceiling and my phone's camera to capture the images. I own a nice Nikon digital SLR but my phone's camera is good enough for the task. Once the photo is taken I import it into Photoshop on the desktop computer, remove the background manually, and create the final .TGA file.
I noticed that the NeuWon network has been down again for at least a week (I haven't checked in a while so not sure how long it has been down). While NeuWon is a fantastic idea it has been extremely difficult trying to get support from the owner. I have been thinking about removing the server tab from the Last Resort launcher due to a concern I have anyways that the server would get flooded with trolls. If the NeuWon network finally does come back I might reconsider.
Write comment (1 Comment)Almost Back To Modding - February 25, 2022
I previously mentioned how we lost my wife's computer to a simple power outage. This is the computer that she was using when working from home during the pandemic. Of course her work was more important than the Last Resort mod so I put it on the backburner until I could build a replacement. I ordered parts to upgrade my gaming/modding rig but partially because of supply shortages and also because of a 3 week shipping error it has taken several months to get this done.
She now has my old 4th generation Intel 7 as her computer and I have a shiny new Intel 5 12th generation that screams with speed.
I did a fresh Windows install onto a M.2 drive so it will take be a little while to get all my programs and tools re-installed for modding.
Don't worry all the mod files are safely backed up.
Write comment (0 Comments)Microsoft Buys Swat - January 18, 2022
A bit of a click-bait title, but it is true that Microsoft has bought Activision-Blizzard. You can read the announcement on their website.
I assume that this means that Microsoft now owns the Swat franchise since Activision-Blizzard bought it from Vivendi-Universal back in 2013.
In terms of the Last Resort mod so far we have been lucky to not have lawyers knocking on the door. Some studios don't like mod makers. Hopefully the new owners will also leave us alone since we are a benefit to their meager Steam and GOG sales for Swat 3.
Write comment (3 Comments)Welcome to 2022 - January 4, 2022
Yay me! I put the right year in the title instead of writing 2021 out of habit.
The holidays were a very productive period for me on the mod. Many new AI textures were generated. Copy-cat, the resident mad scientist, was working on a hack to create larger load screens but more work still needs to be done on it.
Sadly my wife's computer died during a power outage (looks like the power bar we had sucked as a surge suppressor). I ordered parts to basically build a new machine (I5 12th generation) for me while she gets the old 4th generation I7. One thing I neglected to take into account when I bought my motherboard was how difficult it is right now to buy DDR5 memory at a reasonable price. Woops. I refuse to buy from a company taking advantage of this pandemic situation.
What this means is during the week she needs the "modding" computer for remote work. Considering we are single income during the pandemic she has priority access.
The summary of all that is that I get less time to work on the mod until I get a second computer built.
Write comment (2 Comments)Ready or Not Selling On Steam - December 18, 2021
Ready or Not is now available for purchase on Steam's early access !!
The price is CAD $45.99, USD $39.99, GBP £30.99, EU €35.99, NZD $49.99
Remember though this really is still the alpha version that they were forced to release early. The Team17 partnership with the developers seems to have folded and to keep generating money to finish the game they needed to go early access to get more Steam keys.
Merry Christmas!
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