Ok well here's the deal, Night Raiders Beta v2.0 was content completed a little over a week ago, however I have decided to not release it because it is currently fully unplayable.

During last moment testing it was discovered that there are some critical problems with the game. Things such as the server crashing for all non-local players rather quickly after connecting. This is the only problem that needs addressing and as such must be solved before NRb2.0 can be releases.

The down side is the fact that though I have completed the content of the version, you all shall have to wait for an undefined time since UNI work MUST come first. This is the final push before everything is submitted, as such it gets a little crazy.

Such is life.

Later, I have also been informed that NR Beta 2.0 is highly anticipated be several of you, so I'll try to get it done before month's end.

I am pleased to anounce that I have managed to get my list of things remaining to be completed is now a list of things that are completed for NR Beta 2.0 not a single item that remains. (installer packing and map icons pending)

The last remaining 3D vector calculation error has been solved, and with it all the problmes encounted.

The down side is the fact that though I have completed the project, you all shall have to wait for a few days since UNI work MUST come first. Today is over, thursday i'm at uni most of the day, and friday at 2pm I have a 40 page essay due ... (which i might add I am yet to seriously start writing). However saturday I shall be at uni working until the late some ungodly late hour, sunday I shall be putting the finishing touches on to the package, then it's merely an email and a ftp away from release.

Such is life.

Later, I only hope that NR Beta 2.0 can live up to the hype.

I am pleased to anounce that I have managed to get my list of things remaining to be completed in NR Beta 2.0 is merely reduced down to a mere single item that remains.

The remaining item is a 3D vector calculation error, I have already discovered the source of the error and now i need only perform some basic math calculations in order to determine the values that need be inputed.

The down side is the fact that though I may have a 4 day weekend this weekend, today is over, saturday I shall be at uni working until the late some ungodly late hour, sunday I'm out at a BBQ. As for monday, I'm meant to hand in a 40+ page essay document for which I must state that I have neither started, nor received all the information required to complete it.

Such is life.

Later, let us hope that the next time I update shall both be soon and anounce the completion of NR Beta 2.0.

You may have noticed that I have managed to get this website updated and re-vamped so that it is a far more pleasing design for the eye.

Other things to note is that my list of things remaining to be completed in NR Beta 2.0 is merely reduced down to a mere 3 items that remain.

Later

Well it is that time once again, the time where I return back to my mundane uni work and place the next Night Raiders release onto my pile of "things to do when it's the weekend".

Here is an overview of what has been acheived for next release over the past week, the following are complete:

• SKA model of the weapon is completed, skin, texture and animations as well.
• 2 separate maps, each containing around 3000 World Polygons, a Volcano Tunnel Map and a Lava Basin Map.
• New model for a health powerup (special Night Raiders style health power up model)

The following is a list of things that still remain to be completed:

• Those code issues still lingre on.
• Animations for the player model (though I have corrected the weight map on the player model)

as you can see by compareing this list with the list from one week ago , not all that much has changed, but there is even less stuff that needs to be completed before I shall release it.

overall I have been playing BTBA quite a lot and I am quite impressed at just how much Asko and the rest of CAD Creations have managed, even given their skills this is truly stunning.

I know that I said Beta2.0 release would be released before the end of the holidays, but Farcry is fun, also one week is not enough time for one person (even one such as myself) to be able to complete such a task.

In other news, check out the media section, as I have posted several images of the new maps.

feel free to Email Me any cheering at the progress, or anoyance at the impending delay of beta2.0.

Later

Hello again
It has been a little too long since I last did an update so I decided to recap on what has been done so far, and yet to be done.

The next upcoming version of Night Raiders: Street Gangs shall be known as Beta 2.0 (I decided on using the number 2.0, it makes it much easier for me to keep track if I number it like this).

NR beta 2.0 (it's shorter to write) will have the following, most of which is already complete:

• SKA models (player and weapon).
• only one weapon, a 6 shot pistol. (ska model) ;)
• a 2160 World Poly Tunnel Map.
• New sounds for the pistol.
• Working Engine sound(s).
• and an updated physics engine.

The following is a list of things that still remain to be completed:

• There are still a few minor code issues in the physics calculations, these are yet more purely conecptual problems (cos used instead of sin sort of errors) but take time to find.
• Animations for the player model, these mainly require the completion of the pistol model.
• The Model of the new pistol shall be worked on tomorrow (yep, easter sunday and all).
• I still need to add the final touches to the Volcano Tunnel map, otherwise the map is complete.

as you can see by compareing this list with the list from last month, not all that much has changed (I am only one person :P), but there is realy not all that much that needs to be completed before I shall release it.

note: shooting will still be limited to forwards only.

feel free to Email Me any cheering at the progress, or anoyance at the delays below.

Oh yeah it seems that my naming of the updates is sadly true, more than a month between updates, but I have been a bit busy. :P yet I hope to be able to atleast get this version completed before the end of next week (man I hate puting dates out, this version is already 6 months behind my inital statement)... so all going well I shall be able to get most (if not all) of the work done over the next few days, then all that remains is 'testing' the game.

Later

Saturday Night (AKA The Feburary :P) Update

Today I spent the entire day drawing and re-drawing a motor cycle, getting everything right, suspension, steering, engine, exhaust, rider's seat padding, controls, handles, wind shield, and general shape of the exterior. Considering I spend an entire day working on it, one would be amassed that I seem to have ended up with little more than a dozen drawings of shock absorbers and tail light configurations. go figure. Believe me when I say that next generation of bikes will far surpass the existing model.

Currently I am planing to complete the current work and then I shall update my concept thread in the Night Raiders Forums.

Wednesday Update

Well at the moment here's what, I have acheived (or rather have nto acheived) for the next release, I am yet to:

• Correct the non-working code (can be downgraded to previous version but what's the point then)Finish the half complete rider model (still need to replace his head)Start on the updated pistol modelStart modeling of the new bikeStart animation of the rider modelStart on the updated pistol model (therefore the same for the animations)Start on the new gun models (therefore the same as the animations)Even start coding in SKA support (the model support that the code will need)
• Seriously begin creating the map, since the bikes will handle differently than the previous version the map must be designed last.

But is isn't all bad news, the main reason for the code errors is that it has been decided that the physics code needed re-vamping, as such the physics will now become 8 times as complex than the previous version. Oh and if you're wondering when can you expect a release, probably sometime around one month after I go back to uni (Q1-Q2 2004 :P), but seriously within the next 6 months I should have all this completed.

The so called 'Weekly' Update

Since I just realised that I have not done an actual update in quite some time I have decided that some images of the current work being done on Night Raiders: Street Gangs. Check it out over in the media scection.

Happy New Year!

I would like to wish everyone a happy new year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

'Weekly' Update

Ok well, it's been a while but please be reassured that I am working on geting everything to look several times better than that which previously existed.

oh and in other news, I got top uni marks, it seems that somehow I have been almost 'overstudying', not to worry though as I have summer break untill march. Which will hopefully be plenty of time to get another release of Night Raiders out.

Minor Update

Ok well here's the low down of what I have been doing.

• The mod is getting there, I am still working on it (even though I have uni finals this week)The Laser weapon (i'm yet to decide if it is a Laser Cannon or a Laser Rifle) has been modeled 5 times now, one model for each concept image style that I came up withModeling, or rather Re-Modeling of the players is yet to begin, as I do not want to over stretch my modeling time.I am considering programing in SKA Studio models for Third Release or atleast a later release of Night Raiders: Street Gangs.
• I would also like to state that due to exams and uni assignmets I have been {without|beer} for over a month now. (the fact that I have run out, and that I'm broke is irrelevant .. ok well maybe there have been some other contributing factors, other than mere uni work)

Monday Afternoon Update

There are a few things that are generating some minor problems with the further development of Night Raiders: Street Gangs.Mainly uni work, I have 45% of my entire uni course work load for this semister due in reports and assignments due in the next 10 days.As such the time that I am able to spend on writing updates, and actually making something that would contribute as being content for these updates is even more scarce.

Also my ISP is realy messing around with me (DNS errors when trying to acess anything on seriouszone.com), I am actually unable to even know if this page has been uploaded correctly and works. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

In other news, I am still working rather hard on getting some high defination polygon models ready so that I can show them off.

Expect some wicked images and perhaps a video of the model in action in the upcoming month(s)

Mod Work Update (aka 2.00am Sunday morning update)

Ok people, well it has taken me the better part of today, but I have managed to actually get the bike's engine sound (one of the few features I would have liked to implement into release 1.1) to work! My thanks goes out to (no little part) asko and child for their supreme support and knowledge of the Serious Engine SDK. Another thank you goes to zaWasp for his help in supplying the initial code.

Night Raiders Second Release

Night Raiders Street Gangs release 1.1 has been completed.The sequel to the popular inital release of Night Raiders is far more refined than it's previous incarnation, has been sent over to Seriously so that it can be hosted and mirrored. This should not be long, infact by the time of reading this it would have been done.

Screenshots are aviable on the media page

Final stages before testing

Night Raiders Second Version, is in it's final stages before testing of a new RC can commence.
Therefore next-release should be released before mid-october.There are only a few things that remain before it is complete, however my uni work must come first (cause i have to pay to go to uni), but dont worry, holidays are coming up so lots of time so pollish it.

oh and hopefully there will be no crupt files this time :P

Why the lack of news?

Once again I apologize for the lack of updates of late but rest assured that the next release is well under way.Here is the news as it stands:

• The mod is getting there, I am still working on it (as per last update) The next release 'could' have been released as soon as next week, however due to my real-life commitments, it may become closer to 3 weeks. Whenever the release may end up being the fact remains that: "it shall soon be here".Work on an updated CityCircuit has been almost completed (only some minor lighting issues remain
• I was amaised at the speed (no punn intended) that I was able to alter the code from it's previous controlls to having a fully working throttle.

It's been a while

Well, first off I apologize for the lack of updates of late but I have been rather indisposed.Here is the news as it stands:

• The mod is getting there, I am still working on itThe next release 'could' have been released as soon as 1 month ago, however I felt that more features were needed to be implemted before the next release.Uni assignments and exams have strangled my tome away from mod creation.I have managed to get someone to create music for the credits and menu system.
• I currently am considering altering most of the current mod to introduce some more features or to merely release it as is and keep them for next release.

Popularity Rises

Well it seems that Night Raiders: Street Gangs Inital alpha 1.0.0.0 was rather popular, in the 2 months following it's release to my knlodge the inital release has been published on 4 game magazines. The mod has also been downloaded almost 1500 times on Seriously! and over 120 times on fileplanet that's equal to a 5.3Kb network connection contineously downloading for 2 months. All this points to one thing, I will have to work much harder on the next release to make it even better than before.I have also decided to allow some modules of the modification to be devided out to other people (new members of Team Night Raiders), I am only waiting for their reply before I will add them to the team page.Next release will hopefully contain some 'never before seen* in the likes of games' weaponry, some which will require a large amount of coding to be created. A vast bike selection. Several entirely new maps with original music created just for Night Raiders. Since the next release will contain several times more content than the previous version, do not be suprised if the file size increases by a large amount (the next version currently without any compression it is 30MB, and that is without many of the new features that are still being worked on).

*According to my knowledge.

Expect Delays

This is just a short update to inform people that the next version of Night Raiders: Street Gangs will be delayed for a month or longer.

This is due to several problems pointed out with the mod during the inital testing phase. The main issues were the persistant existance of some errors that I was almost shure had been corrected. Also the maps that was shiped with the testing version suffered from several flaws, as such they will require an entire re-creation of the map from scratch. As you could probably guess, creating an entire city section does take a lot of time.

Night Raiders Competion

Hay,
For all of those who are intrested I am currently running a competion for Night Raiders: Street Gangs. The reason for the competion is two fold, to get the chance to see what others think the evolution of Night Raiders should take as well as to drum up some more fame and attention on the eve of the next release. The competition details are as follows:

Modeling Task: Design a Bike and/or Rider
Mapping Task: Design a Level
2D Art Task A: Conceptal Designs of what you think a Bike or Rider should look like.
2D Art Task B: Conceptal Designs of what you think a Level should look like. Note: You need not preform all tasks to enter.

The Constraints are as follows:

• The Riders need to be of human-bipedal form ie. 2 legs, 2 arms, normal person style (no aliens or keer accepted).
• The Rider needs to be relativly low polygon count.
• The Bikes will need to beable to look like it would hold a human siting on it.
• Any Bikes will need to be of a average polygon count (anything up to 2k/\s is alright as long as it's used well.
• Levels should either loop around eventually or contain a track width sized portal that will teleport the player back to the start.
• There are no specfic concept releated constraints, other than the images will need to be scanded in if hand drawn and that it is advised that an un-compressed version of the image (tga or bmp or something like that) should be kept in the event that too much detail is lost in the compression.

I have decided to not limit the number of wining places, it could be 0 (ie. no one entered or nothing could be made to work with the Moded engine) or it could be 100 (though that is a little excessive but should there be 100 separate bikes all looking jsut as good as the others).

The prize for wining is as follows:

• Name in credits.
• Possiable chance to be offered to join Team Night Raiders.
• Your work included in next release of Night Raiders (though there may need to be some changes required).
• If you live in an undisclosed area you may get to meet the creator some time.

All submitions should be sent to:
daplaya@seriouszone.com with a subject of which task you under took. The content of the email should contain your name (so I know what to call you, be it real, nickname or made up).

All questions should also be sent to the same address or posted in this thread.

Testing Update

This is just a short update to inform people that the next round of testing for Night Raiders: Street Gangs has begun.

Also I have resumed my UNI studys this week, hence I will be looking for any reason to 'not do (uni) work' this means that I most likely will work more on next relese soon.

Lazy Tuesday Update

Ok well the bad news is that the testing round has not begun yet, since I still have to complete the next map, Well more news today, I have spent many hours working on getting better sectoring for the map.The news is that I might not beable to do any work tomorrow, meaning no screenshots of the map for atleast 2 more days. it will take about a day to texture. But with me busy tomorrow nothing can be done. The reason for so much time and work being put into the map is because the Inital release map was pointed out as one of the major problems, since most of the other problems have been corrected I feel that it would be best if I were to get this complete.My uni studies will resume soon, and this will either entice me to work harder on the release, or slack off. However since I can not slack off much more than I currently have.

In other words, "Expect Delays" (as the airport signs say).

Super Minor Thursday Update

Well more news today, I have spent 12 hours creating 2.5 square km of city buildings to sround the track that will be the main map for the next release. Sadly it's far too late for me to post images now, it is untextured and I have been working for 12 hours merely on it's design. Other cool things is that I have once again randomly selected some people from the large numbers who emailed me wanting to be testers, well several more have been selected in an attempt to remove or atleast point out any bugs prior to release.The news is that I might not beable to do any work tomorrow, meaning no screenshots of the map for atleast 2 more days. it will take about a day to texture. But with me busy tomorrow nothing can be done.The next release should be released around friday next week (I'm leaving that open as to wheather it's friday the 18th or 25th), keeping in mind that testing must be done after the map is completed.

Wow this was meant to be a minor update ... well things don't always end up as they are planed, that is why there have been many mods on all engines that have got part way through and failed due to the team falling apart, usually over the most trival of things (like what sould the teams be named) however sometimes it's something more common (like should we change to that uber sweet engine that just came out and loose most of our work that we have done).

Minor Wednesday Update

Well the good news is that I have completed working on today's update. Therefore I have added some wallpaper images over on the media page (link).The next release bike models are completely finished (inc. textures and animations). The other thing is that the code is also complete for the next release. All that remains to be completed now is the map(s) for next release and then the whole version will be ready for testing.

In any event enjoy the wallpapers.

Today's update is done, this means that there is some realy nice and cool images over on the media page (link).Also something cool is the fact that I have been working realy hard at getting the next release version of Night Raiders: Street Gangs. The reasoning behind this was the large number of times that night raiders inital alpha was downloaded. I figure if that many people are intrested then I probably should be delivering a more close to prefect version than what was planed.

There have been some compleications with my computer, (it got formated) however the week's work or so that was lost has been made up for over the past 3 days. We're (ok well I'm) almost back on track again.

Ok well it's simple. I'm working on the next release of Night Raiders: Street Gangs. As such I require the assistance of testers who will test the mod release version before the mod is released to the public. I have a small number of pre-public testing acounts that are currently open. therefore I am looking for anyone who is intrested on obtaining a pre-public test version of the next release and to be have your name included in the credits, should email me daplaya@seriouszone.com (subject something containing "Testing") please include the following details:
Prefered Nickname:
Age:
Sex (M/F):
Location:
System Specs:
Some words or less why you are intrested in the pre-public release testing of Night Raiders: Street Gangs.Testing should commence in around a 9 days, you will be notified in advance.

Note: Those of you who emailed me to join in the inital testing but were not rantomly selected need not contact me as i already have your details and will be selecting some of you for testing, emailing you and asking if you are still intrested...

I am here to anounce that the next testing stage of Night Raiders has been delayed another week.

Today's lesson is 'Always when you've finished work for the day, come home and do the wife or the girlfriend thing.'

new features:
basically i'm aiming to:

• fix the turning problems,
• fix the problem with normal sam controlls being overwriten,
• add in some spark effects,
• add in weapons (though animations will fully be bad),
• add in another bike (with same rider),
• add in skid marks to the bikes when breaking hard,
• fix the speed counter on the hud,
• and some other minor things

it will be a little work trying to get it done in time with uni exams coming up this month, i work best with a foot in the back of my neck, the implications of this are simple. sometime eairly augest the next version of Night Raiders: Street Gangs will be released. i cant promise that anything will be released on time, i can promise that i'll try my best to procrastenate untill the last moment :P.

Though I have some monor bad news, my cd drive is playing up so untill I can get this problem fixed there shall be an unexped delay before testing can commence.