Today, the
MechWarrior: Living Legends team brings you a glimpse into current project development, some new features for the upcoming 0.4.0 release and some new additions to the MWLL team.
New Team Members
Our July/August recruitment drive has paid good dividends and we are proud to welcome the following members to the MWLL Development Teams:
Team Drawing Skills
caribcanuk - modeling
Chris Germann - modeling & texture artist
CrazySealPup - modeling
Deathbane - level design
EmAr - modeling & level design
Solusphere - modeling
Team Code Monkeys
DarkLite - LUA programming
i59 - C++ programming
Threesan - C++ programming
Team Flash
CHHs Deathshade - HUD scripting
The team is still accepting applications for qualified applicants
per this thread, in particular we are still looking for a qualified animation artist. If you are interested in contributing to the team in one of the requested positions, please
submit an application thread today!
Ares Medium Clan Tank - Work in Progress
Cujo has been hard at work on the one of our new medium tank models, the Ares. As you can see from these renders, the model is coming along nicely. To realise the model in practical MWLL terms the missile pods have had to have their mount positions slightly modified when compared to CBT line drawings. You will also note that the player cockpit on the CBT line drawings shows it to be low-hull mounted, in the MWLL version the player will still have a first person view that is tied to the turret.
The renders below are high-poly detail with 223k tris. The treads are still pending some additional work to improve their compatibility with the Crysis physics system, but the overall model is essentially complete and has moved into texturing and in-game implementation phases.
Morrigu - Clan Heavy Tank Completed
In an admirable collaborative effort from our development team, the Morrigu has had final polish applied. It has now moved into final testing internally and is flagged to be included with 0.4.0
The Morrigu is classed as a heavy fire support 'Mech, and in MWLL it fulfills that role very well with some of the most devastating loadouts available to our tracked armour category.
Many thanks to our fine developers: Sherrell, Sturmadler, Keeper and Toth for their efforts in bringing this asset to life.
TC Death Valley
Shadowkiller and his Level Design team have been busy at work producing maps for the upcoming Terrain Control game mode. The first level to reach presentation quality is Death Valley:
"
Set on a remote and desolate moon, Inner Sphere and Clan forces battle to control the meager resources of this strategic outpost."
TC Death Valley supports all of the asset types currently available in MWLL; 'Mechs, tanks, VTOLs, aerospace and battle armour. The map has several areas of open, flat terrain for long engagement distances as well as rugged rock outcroppings and base/factory areas that allow for close-ranged combat opportunities. The moon is under a constant barrage from incoming meteors.
Game Mode Renaming
In the interest of bringing MWLL game modes more in-line with historical game modes of the MechWarrior series, the next major release will undertake a renaming schema as follows:
Solaris Arena (formerly advertised as
Free For All)
- this mode will use maps that have been built specifically for this mode
Last Man Standing (a variation of
Solaris Arena above)
- this mode will use maps that have been built specifically for this mode. This mode will be a round-based variation of the every-man-for-himself gameplay of
Solaris Arena.
Team Solaris Arena (formerly/current
Solaris Arena mode)
- will use all maps fomerly denoted as Solaris Arena
Test of Strength (unchanged)
- this mode will continue to use
Team Solaris Arena maps
Terrain Control (unchanged)
- this mode will use maps that have been built specifically for this mode
These changes will affect community maps, which will need to have a minor naming change and re-exported to the playerbase. All existing Official MWLL maps will be included with this name change.
Next Release 0.4.0 Estimated for End of September
We are currently on track for the release of MWLL Public Beta 0.4.0 at the end of September. This release will include the new Terrain Control (TC) game mode with supporting maps as well as numerous other features, extensive bug fixes and a hearty portion of surprises...
This is KingLeerUK, signing off. I'll see you on the field!
