We've been receiving a lot of entries for our logo competition -- judging is going to be difficult! Some people have been posting their entries in the comments thread, so have a look if you're interested. If you hadn't heard about the contest yet, see the previous news post for information and prize details. Entries end on the 27th of August.
In the meantime, here's a hint at a sub-project we've been working on that should be released along with SC4.0 (see right). The skin was created for us by past team member Teddy Bergsman Lind. After working on Sven Co-op, Teddy moved into professional game development with Black Widow Games, and is now working on two top titles including Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.
Something I should have mentioned some time ago is the Sven Co-op Map Database. Functioning as a Wiki, the site is attempting to catalogue the hundreds of available Sven Co-op maps; complete with screenshots, download links, and information for each.
Through a community effort, SC Map DB provides a centralized resource where players can easily find Sven Co-op maps. In doing this, we hope to honor all the hard work and imagination mappers devote to providing us with fun worlds to play in.
We began in March 2008 with very little content, but have already come a long way thanks to the community's help! We aren't done yet, however. Our goal is to make accessible every Sven Co-op map ever made.
See their Contribute page to learn how you can improve this great community resource!
Sven Co-op Logo Competition! 11 August, 2008 | by Sven Viking
With Sven Co-op 4.0 development finally nearing completion, we're going to be posting news more frequently to keep you updated on our progress. We had been intending to start off with a brand new SC4 trailer, but perhaps we'll try something a bit different before that: A logo competition, with the winning logo to be used in the trailer itself!![also prizes]
The logo we want is actually for the Sven Co-op team rather than the game itself. It should (legibly) read "Sven Co-op Team", using the same capitalization (unless all capitals), with a hyphen in 'Co-op'. For example:
(The text doesn't need to be all on one line, of course). I'd also consider "SC Team" if you had a good design for it.
The prize is your choice of Steam games up to the value of US$50.00 (which pretty-much covers any game in their library).
The competition ends on the 27th of August (about two weeks from the time of posting).
You can submit as many different images as you want.
Anyone can enter except those wanting to sue us for infringing on their trademarks, above. They can't.
Please work in a high resolution and save to a non-lossy format (e.g. .PSD), but just send medium-sized JPEGs in your e-mail to keep things small, and we'll request the original files if we need them. Preferably all your entries shouldn't take up more than 2MB.
Logos can be as simple or as complex as you want, and in any style -- though of course, something that doesn't clash with Sven Co-op's usual colour scheme is probably more likely to be selected.
Obviously you agree to let us use the logo freely.
If you haven't donated, and want to put part of your prize towards the donor bonus features, you're welcome to do so ;).
Prizes will be given using Steam's Gift system. Note that some games may not be available to all regions.
The above logo examples are jokes -- please don't submit anything that will actually get us sued.
Check back later for the results. Also: If 2D art isn't your thing, don't worry -- we're planning to hold more contests in the near future.
Many thanks to Andy Nemer of ParanormaL Games, who has been working with us over the last few months setting up infrastructure which has really helped to speed up development! He has recently moved on to other things -- Farewell to him, and best wishes for future projects!
Thanks also to Trinity Gaming, who have been providing us with development and test servers! Cynu has been especially helpful in getting us set up and working with us to solve various problems. If you're looking to hire a game or voice server, be sure check out TrinityGames.com :).
Forums (were) down tremporarily, etc. 1 June, 2008 | by Sven Viking
UPDATE: The forums are working again now! The database had to be restored from a backup, however, and it looks as if the last 24 hours or so of forum activity have unfortunately been lost in the process :/.
Just a quick note to mention that, as you may have noticed, the forums are down. Our host is having some problems with its database server -- hopefully it'll be fixed soon.
Sorry about the lack of news recently, by the way, and apologies especially to those who've donated but have not yet received a confirmation from me :(. This time the cause is that we've been busy making real progress on the mod, though, so I hope you'll forgive us. If all goes well, it shouldn't be too much longer before we begin to have some good news to bring you.
In the meantime, here's a screenshot Sniper took earlier. I felt it came out really well :).
Sven Co-op: The Movie Cancelled? 2 April, 2008 | by Sven Viking
We've just been informed that studio executives were not satisfied with an early cut of Sven Co-op: The Movie (apparently calling it "the greatest travesty known to man"), and as such, have decided upon a major change of direction for the film. They've signed on a new director who we're told is planning to focus more on the zombie elements of the film, minimizing Sven Co-op content. Though we're unhappy to hear this news, we hope that the changes will facilitate the production of an even finer piece of cinematic art. The film is now to be released under the title "Zombie Massacre" sometime in 2010.
We're currently trying to convince Rick to send us the rubber suit that they were going to use for Tor, by the way... I bet that thing would sell for a fortune on eBay.
Sven Co-op Film Project Finally Official! 1 April, 2008 | by Sven Viking
Late last year we were contacted by Echo Films founder Rick Daniels, who expressed a great deal of interest in the concept of Sven Co-op. Film studios have been trying to get hold of a HL-related license for a long time now, but except for Half-Life: Uplink and the DoD miniseries, Valve have refused all offers. Echo Films saw Sven Co-op as the best available option for a film adaptation. It's important for independent films to be original due to stiff competition, so we were told not to inform the community right from the start. Now that scripting is done and the actual production is underway, however, Mr. Daniels has given us permission to tell you a bit about the movie.
Echo Films is the international version of Russian independent film studio "KinoCafe". They have made appearances on the New York Film and Video Festival with short films with numerous themes and Sven Co-op will be one of them soon. They have some big names working on this film, including Michael Yaremchuk of Cube and Sleeping Dogs Lie, so you know it's going to be good!
The story basically follows the concept of Sven Co-op: A group of random people suddenly find themselves in a situation they must get out of through puzzles or by force. This group consists of such diverse individuals as a scientist, a gardener, two Iraq veterans, a teacher, a single mother and a few other characters. They do not know why they suddenly spawned into the area they find themselves in, but they know they have to get out alive, as unknown soldiers and monsters want them dead. And the only way to do this, is to co-operate. Rick Daniels tells us that while the movie will be action-packed, it will also feature depth and drama, showing what happens when human beings are forced into a corner.
Do not expect this to be a Half-Life movie -- Valve holds the rights to all Half-Life content. Zombies and soldiers are fine, though, and Rick Daniels promised to give Tor (because he is a creation of Sven Co-op) a vital role in the movie! We are very proud that Sven Co-op will be featured in this independent film. Look for Sven Co-op the Movie at the New York Film and Video Festival in Fall 2008!
P.S. - Rick just sent us the following behind-the-scenes still from yesterday's shooting. This shot is exclusive to svencoop.com -- no direct links, please.
