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 SteamIDwith 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! 7 December, 2008 | by Sven Viking
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.
As mentioned below, we've been giving out free copies of HL1 lately. Just updating to say that we've now run out of them. Sorry to anyone who missed the give-away, but overall I think it went really well. Some of the people who received copies have been replying to the last post's comments thread if you're interested.
With ModDB recently posting a great "10 Years of Half-Life" video feature which included both They Hunger and Sven Co-op in its list of Top 5 third-party mods, it seemed like a good time to officially announce something that many of you may have already guessed at... (Incidentally, "Quite possibly the best Half-Life mod of all time" is a pretty good quote. If we had a box, that'd be right on the front. Thanks ModDB -- your cheque is in the mail!)
The first episode of They Hunger Co-op is set to be included with the next Sven Co-op release, with the second following soon afterwards! Featuring numerous improvements in addition to co-operative multiplayer, it provides yet another incentive to re-play Black Widow Games' classic They Hunger series before its commercial follow-up They Hunger: Lost Souls comes out.
The images below show some of the changes that have been made to Episode 1. Note that we've been in contact with Neil Manke and the BWG team throughout development to ensure that it remains an authentic TH experience -- In fact, some changes actually bring it closer to their original vision.
Various sprites used for vegetation have been replaced with models, in addition to many other small visual improvements. The actual structure of the maps, story sequences etc. remain identical to the original, however.
Certain weapon models like the TH pistol and Thompson submachine gun (below) have been updated by Flewda. Weapons are replaced using SC4.0's new Global Model-Replacement system.
Outdoor lighting tends to be slightly darker, while the hard, inky shadows of the original are retained indoors. You can see Teddy's Zombie Otis in this shot, by the way. Being tougher than regular Zombie Cops, the addition of Otis helps to keep things challenging even with multiple players.
The TH Zombie Head (left) has been replaced with John Carpenter-style Headbugs (legs by Civilian^Soldier, assembled and animated by Peter Kavanaugh). Also, Shp!nx replaced the TH Snarks with an actual Zombie Rat. This brings them closer to what Black Widow Games originally had planned, but were forced to cut due to time constraints.
Sven Co-op's medkit looked out of place in They Hunger, so we made the syringe shown above (model by Peter Conneely, animated by Peter Kavanaugh). The green fluid is used for healing, while purple is used for revival. Note that players are also restricted to They Hunger player models on the TH maps via one of SC4.0's new customization features.
Check back for more They Hunger Co-op and Sven Co-op 4.0 news shortly.
Sven Co-op's Half-Life Give-away: Valve was running a Steam special on Half-Life for its 10th birthday. Seemed like a great chance for people to pick up an extra copy for a friend or relative to play Sven Co-op with -- or for people who, for whatever reason, actually haven't played it before :) -- but I thought it must be frustrating for those without access to a valid payment method.
So anyway, we have more than twenty-five(UPDATE: See below) copies of Half-Life to give away! If you'd like one, just send us a brief note to explain why you can't easily get hold of one yourself. You don't need to be a starving orphan or anything, just something along the lines of "I don't have a credit card..." is OK. 'Prizes' will be delivered in the form of a Steam gift code (no physical copy). Obviously stocks are limited, so be quick.
Update: The response to this has been much greater than I expected... I sort of assumed most people here would either have all the Half-Life they needed, or be able to buy from Steam, but apparently that's not the case. If anyone feels like donating a copy of Half-Life to needy fans: [Edit: The sale is now over.] We'll then hand the code out to someone without the means to buy it themselves (or alternately, if you know of anyone, just send it to them directly instead). Obviously I don't expect this of anyone, it's just a cheap way to pass on the joy of Half-Life if you feel like it :).
UPDATE #2: Thanks to people's generous donations of HL1 gift codes, we now have a considerable number of copies to give away! Though the Steam sale is now over, we still have some left, so if you need one, just follow the instructions above.
It's Sven Co-op's 10th birthday pretty soon too, by the way. Looking like we should have a new version out before then.
