Star Wars: The New Era

Our coder EmielRegis has recently written the first TNE developer diary. In this issue, you can find out a bit about the backgrounds of the coding work behind TNE. EmielRegis introduces you to the dynamic 3D scopes that shall make rifles more realistic.

This developer diary also contains 3 screenshots of the A-280 W.I.P scope in ironsight mode.

During the last two weeks we have received more than 100 applications for our closed beta team. Since we are going into beta phase very soon due to the FedCon release event, we now need to close the application process to review your numerous applications.

Since the closed beta team will work closely together with the developer team, we will be reviewing every application very closely. The decisions are based on numerous factors, so in case you have applied and do not make it - don't be worried. The launch date is not so far ahead and soon, you shall also be able to play the first version of the mod.

We would like to thank all applicants for taking the time to fill the form. Due to the sheer amount of applications, please expect another week until the team is settled down. You will be informed via eMail if you've made it to the beta team.

You have been waiting for this day and now, the time has come. We are starting to put together our beta team. If you are willing to participate, you will be part of our quality assurance. As a tester, you have a direct influence on the quality of the released mod and do have the ability to play early versions.

However, beta testing is a serious task as well if we want to make it a productive effort. Before you apply, there are certain aspects of the beta you should be aware of. You can find this information in addition to the application form in our forum:

We have just updated our site software to a new version. Some of you might experience problems logging in.

This procedure should work for any client. If you encounter any problems, please report in our IRC channel:

Today, I am very proud about the announcement that I am privileged to make. We have started back in late 2006 as a small team emerging from the Jedi Academy mod "Movie Battles II". Our vision: To create an authentic and exciting Star Wars gaming experience with the advanced visuals of the Source engine. Ever since, our team has grown and we have been able to welcome several very talented artists. Now, after a year of intense production phase and despite initial doubts, we reached a state that we could only hope for in the beginning: The mod is approaching its release!

But, we will not just silently release the mod from our download page. As the first Star Wars mod for Half-Life 2 that reaches this state, we have organized something special for you. Star Wars: The New Era will be released on April 18th on the biggest Science Fiction convention in Europe: The FedCon 17!

This release event takes place in association with Shuttle who kindly provide us with 14 Shuttle XPC gaming systems for you to play the mod on! Yes, that's right: As a visitor of FedCon, you will be privileged to play TNE as the first!

Read more for all details on our release event!

We are happy to introduce our first batch of player models to you. Today's update covers the player models from the era of the Clone Wars. Having your server set to Clone Wars, you will be able to play as Battledroid or Clonetrooper in the CIS or Galactic Republic factions. Our modelers and texture artists DT , o0paradox0o and Retro-Cow have been working very accurately to give you a very authentic Star Wars experience ingame.

And here, you can see the result. The shots below show the actual game models and textures.

Stay tuned as we will also present the player models of the Imperial Era in the near future!

Our level designer Fazzer and texture artist Shadow have been working hard to create a majestic Deathmatch map of Jabba's palace. And it's become a blast! The map spans several levels, including the entrance, throne room and the dangerous and dark underlevels.

ModDB.com has relaunched just a few weeks ago. The commonly known platform for mods and indie games has now gained quite a couple of new and innovative functions. Starting next week, we will be able to display videos on Mod DB.

The broad update did not prevent Mod DB from hosting the traditional Mod of the Year Awards. During the first phase (until December 20th), you will be able to nominate your favourite mods. You may nominate as many as you want. If you would like to give TNE your vote as well, you may do so by visiting our Mod DB profile (click on the image below) and click the vote button there.

Read more to see which awards are given away this year.

You have been waiting for it - here it comes. Our report of the Kultima Festival 2007 in Paris. Before we go into detail - enjoy our Kultima video with impressions from the Festival:

Jean "jeantyu" Dellac talks about his experiences at Kultima and how TNE has been received by the visitors:
Star Wars: The New Era was holding a booth at the Kultima Festival in Paris the 2rd, 3rd and 4th of November 2007. This event aimed to concentrate all the western imaginary cultures from comics to video games and from Sci-Fi to fantasy worlds. But this event was not alone, in the same hall was the Chibi Japan Expo, who was dedicated to Asian cultures...