Quickie
This week's development mostly involved the continuation of work on our major in-progress items. Getting the lightsaber system to work exactly like it should has proved to be the challenge we expected, but the artists are hard at work on smoothing out the rough spots, and I am confident the final results will be everything we've hoped for. The mappers are awaiting the implementation of a few new entities before getting started on the single-player levels again, but with the effort they put into getting the DM level finished up, they deserve the brief break.

Ender continues to crank out the sounds at an amazing rate, finishing up the sound set for the rathopper as well as a few enviornmental sounds such as doors and computers. He is taking great care to assure that each of these fits into the Star Wars universe, and the result is unique sounds that would not be at all out of place in any of the films.

My times is a bit limited this evening so I'm afraid I'll have to cut this one short, but the team continues to devote as much time as possible to assure that you see a release of the mod as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'll continue to keep to posted here, and see about getting a new screenshot or two posted prior to the redesign. [Red Knight]

On We Roll
Ahh, build time. The point when we discover just how differentiated individual copies can get amongst the team members, and when a bunch of awesome additions get implemented. Worth a special mention today is the translucency effect for the hologram and rain models, a big thanks goes out to Skid of the now-canceled Generations mod for assisting us with this. Build time is when we also step back from the project a bit and take a look at how far we've come, how far we have to go, and most importantly, to assure that the quality of the work is at the level that we want it to be. Since we're in the process of doing this now, there are not many other major development items of note to report, but here are those that I do have:

First off, Grey Knight has returned to active duty after a brief battle with Real Life, and he's gotten right back to work on the Thalkos and Intel Center levels. The Thalkos levels have become a real source of interest for him, as he's fleshed out the background considerably, and given the planet a lot more history and life, and this shows in the level design. Though Thalkos is still in its early stages, it already has a unique environmental theme, one that isn't seen in most levels, and one that should make the planet an even more interesting location to visit.

Next, the sound department continues to fly along at an impressive rate. MamboKing is preparing to finish up the music for the Dominance, Jalus Nebl has completed some additional player sounds and is hard at work on the sounds for the Force powers, and Ender has completed another batch of sounds for the NPC droids and is currently working on new sounds for the critters.

Finally, the models department continues to stay active, with Privateer working on some new explosion models to give SWQ's booms more "BOOM!", ViolentBlue continues to tweak the player's lightsaber animation to get them just right, and Brad has once again found time for the TC. Having just finished up a new face for the bystanders, he will now be doing some "quick work" in the form of skinning the remaining ammo and item models. I think that about covers it, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to stop by our forums and voice them! [Red Knight]

Team Position Open
The SWQ team is currently seeking an experienced 3D animator to join our staff. Prior experience is required, but the applicant need not have any game-related animation background, knowledge of animation in another program (such as 3DS MAX/Character Studio) will be more than adequate, as the transition from using one of these packages to animating our models is very simple to overcome. If you're interested in working with us and have the time to devote to the project, please email Red Knight with an example of your work, and we will get back to you immediately. [Red Knight]

Through the Keyhole
Once again I'm a day late with the update, for that you have my apologies. The first order of business this week is to give a big welcome to our newest mapper, KungFu. He'll be creating a new multiplayer level for us, which will bring the number of levels planned for the initial DM release up to six, counting the newest map put out by Asylem Escapee. This latest map, designed for 8-16 players and set in a space station, is inspired just a bit by Quake 3's curved surfaces, which Asylem has managed to include quite a few of while still keeping the framerate high. The result is a very visually appealing map which is still a blast to play on, I think you're all going to enjoy this one immensely.

In other news, CaRRaC continues to plug away at a few elusive bugs, BFett has skinned the new health and thermal detonator item models, ViolentBlue has added to the R2 unit animations, and Ender has created some new sounds for the mousedroid, weapons, speeder bikes, and Force powers. Finally, below is a screenshot from the inside of the Academy hangar, which will become a very valuable place to you at one point in the game... Until next time! [Red Knight]

The Banners Advance
This week saw CaRRaC's introduction of the "critters" into the game. Watching the rathoppers, birds, and various droids run about the levels is not only a fun feature, it also adds to the sense of being in a living world. Speaking of the levels, Asylem Escapee has completed his multiplayer level and as well as adding the music tracks to the Academy levels. The new ammo models have been added into the game, ViolentBlue and falkon2 are working on the lightsaber animations for the player and v_models, respectively, and BFett has completed a new skin for the player model. In other news, a long put-off redesign for the web site is in the works. And though it may be a while until complete due to most of our time going into the actual mod, if anyone has any suggestions for something they'd especially like to see, feel free to let me know. [Red Knight]

Comings and Goings
That vile beast Real Life...the uncontrollable element that is the cause of so much trouble for all mod teams. Due to its dreaded bite Santaclaws has been forced to depart from the team, and we wish him the best of luck in his future projects. We'd also like to take this time to welcome Ender, our new sound effects engineer, who will be working to give more of the audible elements of the mod that magic Star Wars touch. [Red Knight]