Hope all you spacers had a pleasant month of May.
Got a couple things to discuss and some new toys to show off
this time around.

::: Challenge :::

First off I’d like to announce that we are establishing a schedule
for Tachyon games, in which we hope to further facilitate players
to meet up with each other.

Tentatively, if you’re up for a game, there should be people
online Saturday or Sunday, 8 to 10 PM EST (that’s GMT -5 time zone
for those outside the USA. No one of course is require to be online
at those times, just that you’ll have the most likely chance within that
time bracket.

DarkRaven also has also thrown down the proverbial gauntlet with
a statement squarely aimed at veterans:

“I am also issuing a challenge to all the old timers who just seem to talk and
talk but do not show up. Lets see if you are as good as you talk…”

So get your stick out of mothballs, clean yer’ rust bucket’s windshield,
and bring a body bag. This could get ugly fast.

I’m considering putting up a permanent server like NB Overkilled has,
but this will depend on many things coming up.

If you’d prefer another time period, or have a suggestion, please leave a
comment in this thread: http://www.fringespace.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=1389#1389

::: Our Status :::

Secondly – I’d like to explain some of the reasoning behind our
lack of updates.

As most folks are either experiencing or are aware of, the US economy
took and continues to maintain a nosedive. Thus leaving jobs and
stability a rare commodity.

In our case, here’s how we stand:

RK – has been “on leave” for both job, family, and education since
about July of ’08. Nothing much changed here. He’s not dead and still
posts and checks in about the time we start to wonder if Baron Hajod caught him.

Carl – still pluggin away at models. His job has forcibly required
more from him and he’s had to battle a computer virus which ate some of the
more recent stuff he’d finished.

Nutri – still available for working on audio and music. Most recently he’s
been able to complete out most of what we needed for the Wells Cargo test mission.

Backslash – Got hit by a megavirus and pretty much wiped out all his
computers. Also still around and trying to get back up running.

Sonic / Killjoy – Job situation managed to settle down some, but of course
it requires more time. In the process of moving houses.

Megaman / 5XL – Haven’t heard from in a while. Anyone want a
bounty contract? We’d prefer “alive” if possible, no desentigrations.

JGZ – What business I’m related in, has been very up and down week by week.
Some times it seems good and others you wonder if you’ll be in bankruptcy
tomorrow. My primary laptop PC, keyboard died on it, and then it caught
over 20 viruses. Got a new laptop for a month, returned it, then built a
desktop. Currently looking for a cheap laptop. So my files
have been displaced all over the map. Looked into taking some college
courses on game design and artistry, but just don’t have the income to
manage it right now.

So in a nutshell, that’s why we’ve been sidetracked since about March.
Technically, things started getting tough in September, but as you can
see we’re still around and pressing forward as we each can.

Main reason I do these kind of updates, is that I know as fans, you all
like to know there’s progress still being made. There’s legitimate
reasons for the delays, and we hate delays every bit as much as you do.
So take comfort in knowing we’re still on the right track, with goals in mind.

::: “We Need Bigger Guns” :::

So enough with the mushy stuff, how about some eye candy!

Here we have the newly textured torpedo weapons from Carl:

Please note that we’re not sure if the electric green is better than
blue right now. It’s something that can be changed if it becomes an issue,
so don’t be too concerned if “that’s not right!” popped into your mind.

Plus we have the new textured Bora lasers to pair with the earlier Galspan set.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you
in some weekend games soon.

We have the Fenris Bouy, all decked out and scuffed up by Carl.
Ain’t she a pretty piece of polysteel?

Concerning that gameplay video I mentioned I’d be putting up a
while back, still haven’t managed to get one. Mainly because I’d like
to get the HUD in place, and FRAPS seems to have developed a major
problem so I’m looking into other recording app options.

We’re in the process of tweaking all the weapons and I’ll probably be adding a couple more from Tach to the set we already have.

Nutri’s been getting the Voice Actor clips in and we’ve just about got a
full mission acted out.

That’s about all I can comment on for now. Short but sweet. Quick and dirty,
to the point… you get the idea.

Merry Christmas citizens of the Fringe…

Carl’s gone and given us a present early in the form of
an update on some of the new map models we’ll be using
for the alpha testing.

We’re also in the process of acquiring several people to voice
act some roles for use on said maps.

Click on the images for a higher resolution version.

WIP wireframe of the Fenris Bouy:

Fenris Bouy against a Archangel:

The new ECM powerup all finished:

A Fenris Tower WIP shot:

Hope y’all survive the holidays and we’ll see you in 2009.

An extra thick update w/ half the trans fat:

First off for those who don’t watch the forums, the tournament
ended quite some time ago. We’ve awarded the winners as such
and established a internal forum just for the alpha testers.

*Alphas – Note that you need to be signed in to see it*

Secondly, Carl has finished the base texture for the Star Patrol
Capship!

Click on the images for a higher resolution version.

Thirdly, it wasn’t particularly announced, but we’ve added
Megaman ND to the mod team as our resident map producer.
One of the maps we’re working on for alpha is the Fenris Arena.

We’ve also been able to secure someone to make what we needed
in the way of code to get all the original powerups working for arena,
including a new one or two in there as well.

Lastly, all tournament related threads in the forum have been
moved to the archives section in order to better fit the expanded
forum layout.