New server - December 22, 2020
Well that was a surprise. If you are reading this the LR website is now on a new server.
Haystakk (our generous website host) on the 20th contacted me to inform me the site needed to be immediately moved. Immediately as in that very day. It turns out the server he had the website hosted on was going to jack up the price over 50% as of December 22 and somehow the poor lad never got an email about it. Yikes, panic.
With his kind help the site got moved and all bugs fixed (as far as we know).
I want to thank him for handling this move especially during the stressful holiday season.
Write comment (0 Comments)Some New Textures - December 11th, 2020
As mentioned in the previous blog entry I have restarted work on making new replacement high resolution textures for the Christmas release of the beta.
The bottom image shows new wine bottles and glasses that are done as sprites in the game. Up until recently these sprites were limited to a maximum of 256x256 but thanks to Copy-Cat this limitation has been removed and with Last Resort can have up to 1024x1024 pixels. The end result is much clearer textures in higher resolutions.
Write comment (0 Comments)Testing Phase - December 8, 2020
All the new code changes are done to the Last Resort launcher and the menu graphic files to support the NeuWon multiplayer server. I have to start the testing phase over again though because there was enough code changes to warrant final complete checking if I buggered something up.
In my last blog entry I mentioned adding the feature to turn off the Last Resort custom menus while still keeping the mod active. I started to code a checkbox on the "Other Settings" tab to turn off the menus and realized shortly that this complicated things immensely. After sleeping on it for the night I determined that it would be a lot easier (and more logical) that I simply included it as a radio button on the 2D menu tab of the launcher.
Click image to enlarge
After the testing phase is over I will probably release another beta for people in the community to help check for bugs if they wish to do so.
Write comment (3 Comments)All Menus Fixed - December 4, 2020
So all the menus have been fixed in terms of being centered and modified with new graphics. This is something that has bothered me for a long time and I didn't think would be an easy fix. Thankfully my son is good with Python and wrote a script to make the process fairly painless.
Now that I have finally finished this I may delay the release of the next beta. I am thinking about adding a feature to give the ability to turn off all of the modified 2D menus and use Swat 3's original menus. One or two people have requested this feature in the past.
This will involve making an additional hacked game executable and modifying the Last Resort launcher. I still need to think about this more though to confirm there won't be any unexpected complications.
Write comment (1 Comment)Back To The Mod - November 3, 2020
I want to once again thank DarkSynopsis for keeping the forums clean of spammers while I was busy with work the last few months. I am not sure how to fight the forum spammers but if anyone has a suggestion please comment below.
The TV show I work on was scheduled to finish shooting this season on November 11 but I decided to leave early due to Covid reasons. The numbers have jumped in my province and I no longer trust our Covid procedures at work to keep me safe. Working in close contact with 100 people on a film set is very dangerous and my biggest fear was to bring it home to my family. It just isn't worth it.
The domain name for this website must be renewed by the end of the month. I imagine with security additions and taxes it will cost me $20 CAD for the year.
Write comment (2 Comments)I made a terrible mistake - August 9, 2020
As a Canadian it is my legal obligation to start by saying sorry. I should have released the next version of the mod a while ago.
When Covid isolation first hit I grew lazy and didn't work on the mod anywhere near as much as I should. Like everyone else I was stressed so I avoided working on the mod and instead played games and just took care of the home life. I should have worked harder on getting the mod finished before the Covid lockdown ended here in Canada.
Now suddenly I am back to real life work. The TV show I have worked on and off for 13 seasons is back shooting and I am on that full time until roughly Christmas (shorter season this time due to Covid). However I hope to get the mod finished and released before then if I can find the energy. I am about 10-15 photoshop screens away from being done. Sounds easy right?
PS: If I can wear a mask for 12+ hours a day then other people can wear it for an hour in the shops. Please be responsible and kind towards your fellow humans!
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