This is the first of the World Foundry News Reports. _#News.#_ #1. The World Foundry website moves to a new home.# #2. Explorer 2260 Development update.# #3. Maim & Mangle is revived.# #4. Next News Update# ~~~~~~ #1. The World Foundry website moves to a new home.# Very soon the TWF website will move to it's new home (www.worldfoundry.com) with a new look to it. This should make it much easier to remember where our site is as the Monolith redirection has stopped working and the old site's true address is quite a mouthful. #2. Explorer 2260 Development update.# Development of E2260 has been developing well with much of the station systems which is the heart of the game making good progress. Work is also progressing well on several of the game editors that will be used to create data used for the game (and will most likely be included with the final release). Screenshots won't be appearing for at least a few months I'm afraid. We would like a release of a demo in the 2nd quarter and the finished game in the 3rd quarter but none of this can be guaranteed so both demo and finished product releases could well fall back into the 3rd and 4th quarters respectively. #3. Maim & Mangle is revived.# After the game being originally cancelled after George Hornmoen's departure from the team to pursue a PC games development career, the rights and code for the game were passed onto us. With work needed heavily on E2260, trying to find a new team to revive M&M was put on the back burner. We now have found a new team to work on the game and development has restarted on the game. Some of the features have been updated because as there are more PPC Amigas available and better 3D support we feel it would help make a better game and stand out against similar realtime wargames such as Napalm, Operation Counterstrike, Forgotten Forever, etc. Test have been performed on a 3D engine and we have decided it is viable and so has been given the go ahead. Only test graphics of the 3D engine have been used so when we have progressed a little with the engine So here is the info for those who have not heard of the game before and updated feature list planned for the game. _*Game Information*_ Maim & Mangle is a Dune 2 or Command & Conquer style realtime wargame for the Amiga computer but will have plenty of unique features never seen before on an Amiga. It will be one of the most technically demanding Amiga games released to date. However, despite all of the wizardry involved, game-play will always be the top priority. *Feature List* Some of the features you can expect to see in Maim & Mangle are: *Total 3D: ** Thats right! When Maim & Mangle was originally started to be developed it was to have a 3D landscape but things have changed since then with improved Amiga systems supporting 3D hardware acceleration so this time the game will be in total 3D. The landscape, buildings, vehicles will all be in 3D. The player will be able to move around the map and rotate and zoom in on units to check for damage and info on them. Since the landscape is in 3D, gameplay can be different from other similar games of this type as units can hide behind hills, infantry can scale cliff faces and canyons, vehicles can fall off cliffs, etc. Units will progress slower up a slope and faster down a slope. Units on a hilltop will have a longer range of fire, however, they will have a 'blind' spot immediately below them. *Multiplayer games via TCP/IP:* Maim & Mangle will have full TCP/IP support, so whether you have two Amiga's linked together over a serial cable, or they are on a network, you will be able to fight your friends to the death! Save option for multiplayer games: Hey, waging a full out assault takes time, and you might not be able to fit it into one session. So we've included the provision to save a multiplayer game. *Night-time combat: ** Present day wars don't always take place during the day-light, and the wars of the future will be no different. Therefore, night-time combat will also be present in Maim & Mangle. To complement this, infantry will have flashlights, vehicles will have headlights & bases will have searchlights. Additionally, night-time vision equipment and flares will also play an integral part on the Maim & Mangle battlefield. *Weather effects:* As all battles do not take place during the day, likewise they do not always take place during fair weather. Thus, weather effects such as rain storms, dust storms, fog, etc. will also be encountered within the game. *Way-point navigation:* To complement the movement currently found in games of this style, Maim & Mangle will have a 'way-point' style of directing your units. This will allow the player to tell the units to avoid known landmarks and enemy encampments. *Light Sourcing: ** Explosions and lights in Maim & Mangle will also light up the surrounding terrain. This will be especially stunning in the night-time battles. Plus many more! In addition to the above features, Maim & Mangle will include several other features such as a R & D element [akin to Genesia], an on-line library system of known units, and an extensive plot to support the action! *** Visual effects of this nature may require a 3D Hardware accelerated or PPC Amiga to make the most of it. *Predicted System Requirements* - Amiga computer. Minimum 040 processor. - PPC boards supported from Phase 5 or G3 card from Escena. - WarpOS PPC kernal will be used. We will provide installation scripts for installing Warpos and a detailed FAQ for those people who experience problems using warpos programs. - Minimum 8MB Ram. - CD drive (recommended 4x). - Hard Drive (uncertain at this time how much space will be needed). - GFX Card Recommended (Essential for those with only an ECS Amiga). AGA will also be supported. - Warp3D V2 driver system will be used to provide an independent of hardware standard for 3D on the Amiga. - Modem (33.6+ recommended) and internet account for network games. - AHI installed. Support for 68k Amigas has been decided for now but may have to be reassessed as the 3D engine becomes more advanced. Possibilty of a restriction to a 060 and GFX card if speed is not good enough in lower systems. #4. Next News Update# When we have something interesting to say. :) Next update will be likely in about 3 weeks time or around the 1st of March and probably continue on the start of each month from then onwards. All the best, Ed. -- ________ _________ \___ \ / \ / ___// CEG Home : http://www.worldfoundry.com/ceg/ | \ \\_/\_// __// CEG Mirror: http://www.explorer2260.home.ml.org/ |_ /__\____/_// TWF : http://www.worldfoundry.home.ml.org/ ===================================================================== The World Foundry Ltd - Amiga PPC - Explorer 2260 - Maim & Mangle