SHADOW WARRIOR DEVELOPMENT JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1997 [ Main Shadow Warrior Page ] Update: 03/28/97 Well, it's been awhile since the last update and yet again we bow to the pressure of the teeming millions, yelling for an update. We have spent the majority of the last week getting ready for the first beta version to go into testing. We are getting very close, but we want it to be at least 95% complete before the testers see it. First impressions are very important at this stage. We hope to have beta #1 ready by the weekend.

Doug has been working on the Sumo boss and has started working on a new character we all call "The Chick Warrior". You've all seen Xena right? Nearly all mapper focus has been on the shareware maps the last week. Once again tweaking for frame rates and adding cooler and cooler stuff. We kinda wonder just how much stuff we can cram into the 4 planned shareware levels, but it seems like a lot. Looks like 2, maybe 3 of the levels will be cool for DeathMatch, with one HUGE single play type level to wrap it up. We will also probably include a net only capture the flag level or something.

Yes, we went and added capture the flag. It's pretty cool and needs some tweaks, but you actually see a guy carrying a flag and there are built in score counters all over the map to see what the score is. It's pretty cool, but we put some of that stuff on hold when we decided to go for the beta version.

Got back about 700 different voice takes from the studio the other day to go over for the character's voice. Some really cool stuff in there and you can catch some of it in the interview with Lo Wang on the main Shadow Warrior page.

Screen shots are in the ever "still coming" phase, but we will really try to get to them. The game looks a lot better than a lot of the shots that are up here now.

Until next time, be patient and Shadow Warrior will be out soon.

Update: 01/28/97

Well, it's been awhile since the last update, so we figured that it was time for a new one. (The many emails threatening our lives for the lack of an update had nothing to do with it).

First off, it's been real hectic at the offices lately, as we are remodelling quite a bit of it. (1) The painters have painted everything (even some sleeping Shadow Warrior developers) (2) We're getting a whole new kitchen complete with fridge, dishwasher and newer/larger cabinets (all a necessity when you live here), (3) new carpet throughout (to rid us of the foul smelling coffee stains), (4) new cool looking black desks for everyone, (5) the new "Super Lounge" complete with couches, chairs, pinball machine, tv/vcr/laserdics and a THX sound system (for reasearch don't ya know) :) So, throughout all this distraction, we contiune to jam away on Shadow Warrior.

The last couple of weeks have seen a lot of net play, as we try to get it all together. We are mainly dodging constant sync errors, and trying to focus on things like weapons, item and armor balancing. Things are going well, and we hack away on this late every night for a couple of hours as we wind down. Stephen Cole was kicking everyone's ass and we thought he was some sort of god, until Jim announced a bug where player #1 always had auto aiming and the other players did not. Things will be back to normal soon, with Stephen's time at the top of the food chain at an end.

Most of the mappers have moved on to maps in the full verison for several reasons. (1) We are really far behind schedule and this is a pitiful attempt by all of us to move on (2) They are really sick of those 4 levels. So the last 2-3 weeks have seen 5-6 new maps appear that are all very cool and promise great net play. Problem is, every time a cool idea get's done, I seem to want it in the shareware maps, so they start cutting and pasting.....and cursing me under their breath (I know they do, I know it).

Jim and Frank keep coding like madmen trying to keep up with the never ending bug lists, or requests for new features. Jim has coded all of the inventory items. They are: Toolkit (fix broken vehicles), MedKit (Like in Duke), Night Vision goggles, Gas Bomb (will "gas" an area for 30 seconds or so. Great for respawn points in net play), Flash Bomb (will blind nearby opponents for a time, Smoke bomb (causes you to dissapear for a time), Caltrops (drop these evil spikey things on the ground and watch the fun).

The shareware maps are as far as we can take them, except for final "cool idea insertion" and lot's of net play. But the game still needs lots of work in the net stability and overall code completion.

Lot's of new sounds have gone into the game, further polishing it. Jim also added a "Nuke" option to the rocket launcher. This is the third firing mode (after normal, and heat seeker). Man, this is cool. You get a quick count down, warning, then firing......then your ass better not be anywhere near ground zero when this thing goes off. Fair warning...this will be cool in net play. Utter destruction balanced by a delayed/complex firing sequence.

Still working on the new screen shots. Any day now we swear. So keep checking the page often. They will be here soon and hopefully the next update won't take quite so long.

Update: 01/06/97

We keep getting zillions of emails asking "When's it going to be ready?". Our response has always been and always will be "When it's done", but we can also tell you it won't be in January.

Today, marked the first real day of studio recording for the character's voice. We are all pretty excited about the prospect, as we expect the game to take on its own attitude and mood when we start getting the voice samples into the game. The character will say some things like "You velly bad man", or "You have no honor". We are sure that the voice effects will come into their own like Duke's did. We are still working on a main character name.

The shareware version is starting to take pretty solid form now, and the level architecture, shading and general layout have achieved their "final" state, subject to the final rounds of endless tweaks that go into balancing them, or adding secrets and pop culture gags.

We will spend the month of January trying to get all the features into the game that are going to be there; and in general, just getting the game into a solid state for crunch time.

Randy's current level has grown so large that it has gained intelligence now, and it has scared him into working on level 1 some more.

Lots of cool little code things have been added like shells ejecting into the world and making "ping" sounds when they hit the ground, blood splats on walls, bloody sandal prints, and other little details that make it feel like you are there. More will be added up until the time we release the game.

We are going to release some new screen shots soon, so be sure to check the Shadow Warrior page often for updates.

In order to keep loading time to a minimum, only the current month's entries will be on this page. You can get older months pages via this index.

August/September 1997
July 1997
June 1997
April & May 1997
March 1997
January & February 1997

The older updates are still being worked on. When they're converted, they'll appear here again.