I have been both inspired and overwhelmed by the increased interest in Red Eclipse lately, and as you all may have noticed, I have started implementing some changes to the way we do things in order to compensate for that. The tracker, since placing it front-line, has seen an explosion activity, resulting in a lot of work getting done; thanks to good organisation and a cohesive checklist of things to do.
This is a good time to remind you that if you’d like your content in the game, that the tracker is now the place to do make your submission. I’ve seen some great stuff on the forum, and very little of that making the transition to the tracker (I’m looking at you particularly, “cyanide”). Also of note is the problem of hanging tickets; by this I mean that I have bounced the submission back to the owner to make some fix, only to never hear back from them. I will probably start closing these if they go unresolved, so please, keep on top of your submission after you make it to the tracker.
Now, on to the subject of a release.. I know the deadline has come and gone, but we have gotten a hell of a lot done in the last couple of weeks. I think release preparation is actually what sparked a major increase in use of the tracker. I’d like to thank everyone that has been testing, playing, and reporting back; it has helped make what we have for 1.4 really solid. A release will probably happen soon, but I’d like to get everyone’s submissions done first. For those who haven’t quite been following development, the next release has some really neat (some of which may be subjective based on personal preference) improvements.
What you have known in the past as “arena” is now on by default, this in turn makes RE a loadout-focused game. You can get the former default behaviour back by selecting “classic”, and other mutators like “instagib” or “medieval” remain unaffected. This is probably quite a controversial change, but one I have decided to make unilaterally; I haven’t enjoyed playing a classic DM game for a very long time, and I think most of us these days enjoy having a weapon from the start (which is why “arena” was created). It has been too difficult to get people to vote on an “arena” combo when they’re focused on their own unrelated configurations.
You will also see the new weapon, our “mines”. I think this little project has really demonstrated what can be done with community involvement, as I had never really seriously considered adding this type of weapon due to a possible overlap with the “grenade”. Indeed, at first I wasn't quite happy with it, and I added some interesting weapon features like invisiblity (which is no longer used by any default weapons, but remains), proximity detonation, and more importantly, complete control over your “flak”. Each setting that a weapon may have used has been expanded to include “flak” variants, so now the “mines” shoot out greenish “rifle” flak, which stuns you. It will be interesting to see how this goes in the next release.
As I’ve highlighted recently on the forums, there will be an expansion to the “auth” system to implement a larger set of access levels, ranging from a simple registered player, to global administrators, to creators (me!). There has been so much negative focus on moderators that I thought it was time it became something people regarded with more respect. I will no longer be taking verbal reports from the community about moderators unless it can be proven (and not with a text log, demo recording will be on by default in 1.4). Basically, anyone who is now an “administrator” can give me an IP address and I will globally ban/mute it, so everyone needs to be more mindful about how they treat people online, please.
Away from a sombre topic and to something a bit lighter, people who have donated or contributed in some way to the project or its community will now be given special “supporter” access keys in the near future, this will verify their identity as well as show they’ve helped make the game better for everyone. I hope this helps give the recognition to the people who deserve it, while continuing to foster a good community. Seriously, RE would not be what it is today without everyone who has been a part of it.
I’ve been so blessed lately with a blossoming community, a beautiful new baby girl, and the eyes of the world on RE thanks to continuing efforts by the community, and things like the IllumiRoom, it’s hard to sum up just how much I have to be thankful for. As I approach my 30th birthday on the 9th, I see the path I have been on all these years has lead me here. I may still be struggling financially, but the satisfaction I get from seeing how far we have come more than makes up for it.
All that being said, it’d be a good time to donate if you can afford even a small amount. Cinta and I will be staying up in Queensland so the father to her first two children can remain involved in their lives, and my Victorian registration has now expired (as of the 4th, ironically). I need to fix the “safety issues”, namely my door handle and give the car a general service, so that I can get a roadworthy to allow me to transfer my registration to Queensland. I have enough to cover six months of registration right now, and my current paypal balance should cover getting the roadworthy. Ideally, I would just buy a new car, preferably a four wheel drive. If only we were all rewarded so graciously for our efforts, hey?
With the pathetic begging of a starving open source game developer out of the way, I suppose I should wrap this up. There is plenty more that could be covered, but I’ll leave that to another Thoughts article, for another time.
My son is born on the 9th of february too, so I'll be thinking of you (only a little though 
