Post Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:20 am

Big Thanks and Latest News

Ok, as according to the post on the Freeworlds Development Forum at:

http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=715&mforum=fwt

We have finally finished 1.66 (wahoo, only 1 and a half years of my life lost to it). The file will soon be available to download from there once we have sorted out host out, and a copy of the mod is also being sent to Lancers Reactor for hosting as well. Right now, there are so many people I wish to thank especially regarding this project for the help and support given over the last year and a half. I am bound to forget someone, so apologise in advance if I do:

Argh: Where would we be without him? The conversations between myself and Argh fuelled the Total Conversion of the THN's in Freeworlds, helping me to find and learn where bits and pieces were in the THN code and get the custom THN's built. Not only this, but Argh came to our rescue once again, helping us with instructions of how to set many of the models up into DDS format instead of TGA (trust me, the mod might have been even bigger than it already is otherwise), as well as provided the adapted version of Chips OpenSP coding that works with MP Mods and Argh's subtly improved special effects stuff. Big Thanks Argh.

Chips: I am aware that Chips has given help and support with this mod in the past, and in 1.66, it Argh's altered version of his OpenSP that has been included to enable the new mod to be both Multiplayer and OpenSP compactable.

Ston: When people give thanks to the mod team, they always seem to overlook poor old Ston for some reason, though he has been just as responsible for finding errors and developing the code for Freeworlds as I am. The 3db files, interface changes and new economy are Ston's work and I want to thank him for taking these things on, we couldn't have made the mod what it is today without him.

CzW: A thank you is owed to all those who have provided models for Freeworlds 1.66 and their names appear in the credits, but CzW deserves one of the biggest mentions. Not only did CzW provide endless amounts of models that either he had built or had managed to source from other artists (in fact, the trouble with him was trying to tell him to stop, we have more ships than we can manage!) but he also worked hard to convert many of the ships into DDS format following Argh's advice as well as taking onboard and fixing every model and texture problem that our testers found.

Burnout: Though Burnout left Freeworlds development halfway through 1.66 development, this guys work on the ship coding at the beginning and contributions to the mod go like many others above the call of the duty. Never a more sound and solid man to work beside, we miss you man, come back.

ZaccaR: Admin extrordinary, who has managed to keep the admin running and going this year since Burnout left of the Freeworlds RP Server.

Gumba: Who kindly provided hosting services for both Freeworlds RP Server and the Test Server.

The rest of the Development Team: They know who they are, they know how they helped, thank you all of you for your assistance.

Our Testers: What can I say, you were all stars, working to find those errors that have enabled us to get the mod to the ready state that it is now.

Analogue: Off all the testers, Analogue deserves a special mention. Reading her posts on the testers forums, she was not only one of the most dedicated Testers for Freeworlds 1.66, but she was quite often found to be organising the test teams, making sure everything was covered the best it can in a mod of this size. Nice work Analogue.

The Freeworlds France Team: Who also provided a test server and team of testers from their people as well as various other support and assistance with the mod. Merci Beaucoup.

The Previous Development Teams of Freeworlds: From the original developers who began the mod right here on Lancers Reactor to people like Wasabe who were involved in 1.65's development. You gave us a mod which inspired and entertained us for many years when the original Freelancer had lost it's appeal for many of us. Your work has been the basis from which we have springboarded 1.66 into existance and I thank you all for your efforts in the past.

The Mod Developers of other Star Wars Mods: You would think that with several people building mods based on the same game (Freelancer) and theme (Star Wars) would be against assistting one another, but this is not further from the truth. I would like to thank both the Tides of War Team and Silvik of the TIE-Universe for those times when coperation has occured, as well as builders of the Star Wars ship packs in the past like Porsche and wish them all the best of luck with their projects and projected releases of their own mods.

George Lucas and LucasArts: For the inspiration that is Star Wars in all it's many forms and glory. My appreciation (and budget spent on LucasArts products) has increased these last two years as I gain more and more love of this wonderful creation that they have built.

Digital Anvil: May they RIP, they have created a game engine that has once again inspired so many of us, as is witnessed by the continued development and releases of mods based on Freelancer still to this day, many years after the game was released.

The Lancers Reactor: Whose unbiased support and assistance with the development of Freelancer mods has made it the central focus of the Lancer community. Whether people just want assistance with the original Freelancer game, or want to build Total Conversion mods such as our own, they have been there with a place to find tutorials and assistance every step of the way. Thank you once again Lancers Reactor, the Freelancer Modding community wouldn't be what it today without you.

And finally, the players of Freeworlds: Whose enthusiam and support of Freeworlds has kept the mod alive and growing these last several years since it was built as the mod continues to grow, change and evolve.

Apologies if I forgot anyone.

Freeworlds Mod Developer
Author of Modular Station

'There is no Good nor Evil in the universe, just perceptions and circumstances.'

Edited by - Aldebaran28 on 1/18/2006 11:21:04 AM