Sven Co-op: Pleasing Taste, Some Monsterism

Tiny update, Steam sale
31 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

I was planning a larger news update, but noticed that Valve had Opposing Force and Blue Shift on special for .99 cents at the moment, so thought I'd mention it before it's too late. If you don't have them already, it's a great time to pick them up. Opposing Force co-op support is planned for Sven Co-op in future (always possible that someone might do Blue Shift, too), but you'll need the original to be able to play it. Sale ends on the 2nd of January.

We're planning a "Beta 2" bug-fixing patch release for Sven Co-op 4.0 fairly soon, by the way. Could be in about a week if things go well, though that's only a guess. If you missed out on donating for 4.0B1, we can probably get you in on this one if you're quick.

In the meantime, if you're having problems please check out the Bug Reports forum -- particularly the Known Bugs and Possible Solutions thread.

Sven Co-op 4.0B + They Hunger Co-op Beta RELEASED!!!
24 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

191 Comments

Well, it's been a while, but after years of waiting, finally the time has come to tell you that Sven Co-op 4.0 was a hoax all along, and everything was photoshopped.

More seriously: I know you've been waiting a ridiculously long time, and I apologise. It's not that we haven't been doing anything, though. Download links are below the list of changes made just since this September. Note that commits (each line) can contain anything from a tiny tweak to multiple new features, so they're not any specific guide, but you get the general idea. The team has been working really hard lately, and I'm genuinely proud of them -- it really feels like they've achieved the impossible at this point ;).

Art:

Maps:

Code:

General game changes:

Check out the SC4.0B Manual!
Join the Sven Co-op Steam community group and find people to play with!
Check out Doc's heavily remixed versions of Gluem's SC3.0 menu theme!
Wonder what the Secret Bonus Feature is. Is it really the Otis Summoning Device? Nobody is sure. We've made it fairly difficult to find this time, so we suggest the community work together to find it. (Unfortunately you will need to have donated prior to the release).
If you're a server op running a stand-alone dedicated server, remember that you need to add "-num_edicts 4096" to your HLDS command-line arguments. Also see below.

Notes:

As mentioned, it is a beta and there are some bugs/unfinished features. Report any you find on the Bug Reports forum, which will be reopened shortly (if it's not already). Check the list of known bugs in there, first, though.
The installer is designed to be able to update SC3.0, but if you have problems, maybe try a clean install.
Unfortunately there's no way to filter SC4.0B servers from SC3.0 servers in Steam's server browser at the moment. Please put "SC4" at the start of your server name so people know it's running 4.0!
Edit: The version of ripent.exe used to update maps like HLSP seems to require a .net framework dll. Most people have it already, but if you get any dll errors on install, try extracting this file to your Windows\System32\ folder (or install Microsoft's .NET framework).

I think that's it for now. We hope to release an update to fix bugs much, much sooner than last time ;). Merry Christmas everyone -- hope you enjoy 4.0!

Merry Christmas!
23 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

126 Comments

And hope you have a great New Years! We'll see you again in January sometime.

Just kidding ;). I'd check back in ~24 hours if I were you.

Just so you don't expect too much, the release will be called "Sven Co-op 4.0 Beta" (4.0B), and will contain some bugs and unfinished features. We didn't want to miss Christmas again, and so much has changed in 4.0 that it would be difficult to find everything that needs fixing without an open beta. There's a crazy amount of new stuff, though, and most of it is pretty close to final, so we hope you'll enjoy it!

Desktop backgrounds for everyone! (feel free to resize)

1600x1200 1680x1050 (widescreen)

...
23 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

51 Comments

Sven Co-op News, Images, Requests. Not long now!
19 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

63 Comments

Quick update...

Donations from this point on cannot be guaranteed to get you the bonus features in the upcoming release (you'll still get them in the release after that, of course). If you do donate, please make sure to include your SteamID with the donation in order to stand a chance!

If anyone works for a big files host (or knows someone who does), and could help us speed the process of getting some fairly large files released, please contact me. We're also going to need servers... don't know if we'll be able to arrange things ahead or not, but server ops: please be ready.

SC4 FGD file for mappers! Sorry, no time for entity guides right now... Load the FGD in a text editor for some info on new entities.

Random testing screenshots for everyone! The first two show new weapon skins on map sc_reflux. Second two are from They Hunger Co-op Ep1. Third pair is just general craziness.

Proper announcement as soon as there's the chance. Super busy at the moment :/.

Last Call for SC Bonuses -- New SC4.0 Feature Announcements & Screenshots!
8 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking

82 Comments

Just to let everyone know that the cut-off date for bonus features in SC4.0 is coming up soon. This is not a request for extra donations -- no need to donate unless you want to -- but if you were already intending to, I'd suggest you do so before next weekend (by the 12th of December) to ensure that you receive your electric crowbar/gold Uzis/new secret bonus in SC4.0. Edit: Remember to include your Steam ID with the donation! (e.g. STEAM_0:1:2345).

Alternately, if you've already donated but did not receive a reply saying "Steam ID added" or similar, please re-send your Steam ID to me with any details that might allow me to find you in the list, like the e-mail address and/or real name used when donating. (If you did get a reply saying your Steam ID had been added, you're fine, and don't need to do anything).

IMPORTANT: Steam IDs should look like this: STEAM_0:1:23456. They are different from your Steam username. Check this page for details on finding your Steam ID.

The below images show some of the new weapons, maps, etc. coming in Sven Co-op 4.0, many of which have not been previously announced. I'd hoped to spread these out into smaller news posts, but there never seems to be time for that, unfortunately :).

Our new shotgun and handgun were announced a while back. The handgun was modelled and animated by Caldwell, skinned by Flewda. The map shown is Silencer's Danger of Collapse. The shotgun was modelled and skinned by Pete, animated by Toadie. It now has an automatic fire mode in place of 'double-barrelled' fire. Map is of course Stadium3 (by me).

You may have seen our new M16A2 in the recent SC4.0 trailer. Like the real weapon, it fires in 3-round burst mode. Also, the under-barrel grenade launcher now needs to be reloaded manually. Model and animation by Caldwell, skin by TeddyBear. Maps shown are sc_Persia by Skacky, and Richard_Boderman by JJ45 (updated by JPolito, Puchi and Hydeph).

Toadie's MP5 was shown briefly in the SC4 trailer, too, but that was before he finished the aimpoint (red-dot sight) texture. The rest of the skin was made by H4wk. Map shown is sc_Mazing by A1win.
The new Uzis were also modelled/animated by Toadie and skinned by H4wk (with some tweaks by Toadie). The map is sc_Activist by Frel.

These shots show the M249 SAW, once again modelled and animated by Toadie, skinned by H4wk. The map is Sandstone by tdw, thoroughly re-worked by Hezus.

The new sniper rifle was modelled, skinned and animated by Toadie. It's a bit more powerful now than in SC3.0. Map shown is sc_royals by LemonSoda.

Certain old weapons have received high-res reskins by H4wk -- like the Tripmines and Hivehand above, and the Barnacle Grapple below. Maps shown are it_has_leaks by Skacky, and Hezus' Last Stand.

Some model updates have come from outside the team, like the new Snark model by Sproily. The map shown is Crystal by AzShadow.

We also have a new crowbar, the electrified version of which can be seen at the very top of this news post. The map in that screenshot is 4.0's new Half-Life SP Portal map, by Puchi. Sven Co-op 4.0 includes a far more complete and polished co-operative version of the original Half-Life storyline than previous releases, made possible mostly by the work of edman747.

There's a lot of other new stuff, but afraid I don't have time to post it at the moment. Keep checking back for more info. Hopefully some good news before long, too.