While downloading, why not check out the Manual or Changelog?
After installing, remember to add "-num_edicts 4096" to your Launch Options or server commandline!
If you experience low framerates, ensure that you're using OpenGL mode under Video Options, and maybe try reducing your Particle and/or Decal Limit under Multiplayer Options > Advanced.
If that doesn't solve your problem, watch for the Low-Def Models Pack planned for release within the next few days.
Server ops: RAR available here and here. Run updateoldmaps.bat (and the batch files for HLSP/OpFor Support if you want those), and copy \SvenCoop\fmodex.dll to the parent folder.
Mappers: Silencer has been working on a guide to all the various new advanced entities and entity properties in 4.5. Watch the news for more about that soon.
The release should be coming within the next few hours. We're currently holding a release party on the Sven Co-op IRC channel. If you want to stop by while you wait, it's possibledefinite that download links will be available there earlier than on the news...!
Or you could just play RastaMonkey. Or -- even better -- do both at the same time!
UPDATE: You can also download this updated map pack, if you want. It contains a new & improved version of Never, and some minor tweaks to sc_spaceviking2.
Unfortunately a couple of things came up which have prevented us from releasing on schedule.
First, we found that we were no longer able to edit SC's Launch Options automatically. Changing the launch options allows us to raise the entity limit, and is necessary for many Sven Co-op maps.
Investigation revealed that this was due to Steam changes relating to Steam Cloud. We contacted our old Linux coder Alfred, who now works at Valve, and he kindly offered to add a liblist.gam property to allow mods to specify launch options (Thanks!). This should be of use to other Goldsrc mods, also.
Note that it will be a while before the relevant Steam update rolls out, and until then, everyone will need to change their Launch Options manually. This will make things awkward for people who don't read the news, or can't read English. If you're reading this and know other SC players who aren't, please remind them to do the following after installing v4.5:
Immediately after sorting that out, we noticed that the FMOD EX team had significantly improved sound hardware compatibility in a recent update (FMOD is the library that powers Sven Co-op's sound engine). Since most people are sick of dealing with sound-related problems by now, we felt that minimizing them was worth the couple of extra days needed to upgrade to, and test, the new FMOD (can't just drop in an updated dll -- the SC code needs to support it).
Anyway, we've finished the upgrade now, and from initial testing it's not looking like there'll be any problems with it. This should be the final Release Countdown post... we may put something up on SvenCoop.com a few hours before the files are made public, though, just to let you know they're coming.
Alternately, if changelogs aren't your thing, you could play Rescue: The Beagles, or even Counterclockwise (3D Tron!). I would, if I had time for that sort of thing.
Sven Co-op 4.5 Release Countdown 3 28 August, 2010 | by Sven Viking
We're currently testing a pretty promising release candidate... In the meantime, here are details of some of the sound-related changes coming in version 4.5.
Major sound changes of interest to all users:
All known sound-related crashes have been fixed.
Steam issues causing auto_soundlist.txt to be downloaded repeatedly have been remedied.
The sound engine is now much more error-tolerant than in Half-Life.
Ambient sounds are now automatically refreshed for new players joining the game.
Added distinct footstep sounds for walking on Wood and Flesh materials, and added a new 'Snow' material type.
Changed priority levels for game music / player weapon sound effects to keep them from cutting out.
Fixed most cases of turrets' sounds not working correctly.
Fixed fan sounds' pitch not ramping up during func_rotating's spinup sequence.
Improved sound engine compatibility with some sound cards.
The in-game media player now supports all of the following sound types (including tracker formats) :
Speaking of which, a new Playlist Editor has also been created for 4.5 (by AdamR). In addition to supporting the above formats, it can check for missing files, import playlist files from other programs, etc. Try it out right now if you'd like, and prepare a playlist in advance of the release:
Just place PlaylistEditor.exe in your \SvenCoop\ folder before loading it. To use your existing SC playlist (mp3.txt), rename it to playlist.txt or use the program's 'File > Import' option to import it. Report any issues in this thread.
Sound changes primarily of interest to mappers:
(but which will allow for more aurally appealing maps in future)
The following sound formats are now fully supported for use in maps:
Non-WAV sounds (excluding some tracker formats) no longer loop by default. This means they can easily be used as weapon sounds, monster sounds, etc.
(A legacy hack prevents this from adversely affecting existing maps)
Added a way for mappers to set material types (vent, dirt, grate, metal, slosh, tile, wood, computer, glass, flesh, or snow) for custom textures. Affects footstep sounds, impact sounds etc.
Ambient_generics can force sounds to 'Loop' or 'Play Once' with a simple setting.
You can also force a sound to loop by adding "_loop" to the end of its filename, e.g. "mysound_loop.mp3". Useful for monster sounds etc.
Looping WAVs can be forced to play once by adding "_once" to their filenames.
Optional 'Linear Rolloff' options have been added to ambient_generics, allowing specific Minimum Radius and End Radius values to be defined.
These give mappers fairly precise control over sound radii. Sounds play at maximum volume within the specified Min Radius and can't be heard at all from outside the End Radius. Especially useful for music.
The global sound-replacement file (globalsoundlist) can be set in map CFGs, now, as an alternative to worldspawn.
Some of the recently completed features missed from the last news post were posted on our Steam Community Group a few days ago, by the way, including such things as "Fixed Sniper Rifle Autozoom". While you're waiting, why not sign up for timely updates? Also, have I mentioned The Legend of Princess?
Sven Co-op 4.5 Release Countdown 2 21 August, 2010 | by Sven Viking
While we said we were hoping to release 4.5 by the end of August, we had actually been aiming for a while earlier than that (i.e. today). Unfortunately, though, we uncovered some last-minute problems and ended up busy with those -- which put us behind schedule. Here are some of the features we would have been forced to leave out of the release, if we had kept to our original target:
At least two new maps.
Client-side prediction for the M16 (it's no longer delayed by lag)
Switchable fog. Fog can be enabled, disabled, or have its properties changed mid-map, instead of having to be the same throughout the entire map as in earlier versions.
The trigger_vote entity. This allows maps to give players choices that they can vote on.
Repairable func_breakables. This allows for breakables that can be repaired using the wrench. Useful for objectives that players need to defend from monsters. Using a trigger_condition to check a breakable's health, mappers could create things like structures which players must build and keep in repair in order for them to perform a function (like manufacturing weapons or allies).
HUD Info for func_breakables. This allows a breakable's health (and name if it has one) to be shown in the same way as for monsters. This is especially handy for repairable objects -- which show as Friendly -- or brush-based enemies.
Legacy support features preventing existing maps from being adversely affected by new sound engine changes.
While we were fixing those, some other features were also completed:
The sound engine can now ignore missing/non-precached files without problems. This would have caused the game to shut down in HL1/SC3.0, or a total loss of sound in SC4.0x.
Mappers can prevent Sniper Assassins, HWGrunts and Shocktroopers from dropping their weapons via a simple option (Shocktroopers already had this feature, but it could not previously be used from squadmakers).
Friendly monsters can now be commanded to move to & guard a specific location.
General fixes to existing features that were also made during this time:
Fixed monsters sometimes running in circles or running in place (separate issue).
Fixed Slime and Lava from dealing damage incorrectly.
Fixed linked doors occasionally causing massive lag when blocked.
Fixed monsters sometimes shooting at corpses.
Many other miscellaneous fixes and improvements to AI, maps, models, weapons, etc.
Hopefully you'll find that these were worth the extra days. Hopefully you'll find that these additional changes were worth waiting a few extra days for. In any case, the release is still planned for this month, so we're technically still on schedule :). More news shortly.
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