Orion - Closed Beta Announcement and Release Dates announced!

[Praz]

ORION - RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED / FILEPLANET CLOSED BETA

We are proud to be making this announcement. We have finalized the public beta and are working on the last few changes and making great progress. We are extremely excited to get this out to you guys and cannot wait to start fragging. This has been a long time coming... many versions of the game, having to rebuild the game more than once, and plenty of other obstacles. But we did it. We are here.

The following is the Release Schedule:

Friday, December 4th, 2009.

We will be launching a private beta, available to ALL registered members of FilePlanet (free registration) located here:
https://login.fileplanet.com/login.aspx

The closed beta will take place from December 4th - December 11th (1 week exclusive) on FilePlanet. We are doing this in order to conduct larger-scaled tests and server activity. We'll do the last of the small touch ups and modifications to the game during this week and we'll release it to the public on the following Friday, December 11th, 2009.


PART B.) ORION MAPPER SDK FILES

We will be launching the Orion SDK to EVERYONE on December 4th, 2009. This SDK includes audio (ambiences, items, and more), models, materials, shaders, particles, as well as example maps to show how the level designers on Orion made a few things (as well as for reference and tips).


Friday, December 11th, 2009

The official first beta of Orion gets released on the home web site as well as a majority of the servers. We'll be releasing both Windows builds as well as Linux builds for server hosts.

We have also went ahead and created a brand new compilation of game play segments from our recent Private Beta Test that we just conducted with the folks from HalfLife2.net The test took place on November 22nd, 2009. Enjoy! (I also pulled off a sick headshot in it!)

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VIEW TRAILER:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/orion1/videos

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Friday, December 25th, 2009 - 1 (of 3) Content Updates - Released (WINTER UPDATE)

Shortly after the first release of Orion we plan to release the first of three planned Content Updates. These updates are typically significant and usually as large of a release as the first beta will be.

The first Content Update is planned to have the following:

>> TWO (2) GAME-MODES: DEATHMATCH & TEAM DEATHMATCH
We will be going old school with the Deathmatch in Orion. There will be no player classes and everyone starts with a default weapon (can be modified by server hosts, however its the pistol). Everyone has a jetpack by default and weapons are scattered around the map in a retro-deathmatch style.

>>5 NEW MAPS:
We will be releasing five (5) new levels with the Winter Update. 4 of them are winter-themed (for some holiday awesomeness) and will be for Capture the Flag. The fifth level is called ctf_opposing _bridges which was designed by Daniel Doerksen and developed for Orion by Joe Janet.

We are attempting to include two new DM levels as well as making reincarnations of some current levels for the Deathmatch and Team-Deathmatch game modes.

<h3>>>ALL ALIEN WEAPONS ADDED:

However, don't worry! only a few weeks after the first release we will be including all of the alien weaponry and swapping out the placeholder human counterparts.

For more information regarding the Spring 2010 Update (2 of 3) and the Fall 2010 Update (3 of 3) stay tuned to our website:
http://www.orion-project.net

If you are interested in getting into the beta even sooner, then register on our forums over at:
http://www.orion-project.net/forum/ucp.php?mode=register

 

[Lucid]

Never heard of this mod before, looks pretty cool.
Sort of like Tribes.

 

[simon]

This mod has been around for a number of years, I think 5, I remember it used to be a different name as well. Nice to see it's getting released, congrats!
Also, please add a youtube trailer link, the moddb one isn't working so it seems?

 

[Shinobi]

Congrats on getting everythiong finished up!

look forward to playing it.

 

[Naph]

It doesn't look like a mod. Hopefully it feels 'finished' in-game, unlike most HL2 mods..

 

[Praz]

Here is some new media from the soon to be Beta 1 version:

 

[MultiVaC]

Wow, it's been a long time coming, but I'm looking forward to this. Some pretty impressive dedication to stick with it all these years, not many mod teams can pull something like that off.

 

[Praz]

We are sad to announce a slight delay in the Closed Beta event with FilePlanet. Due to some extremely inconvenient circumstances that arose in the last two days involving the flags and grenades (currently being fixed right now), we have to announce a three (3) day delay of the Orion Closed Beta.

It will now be launching on Monday, December 7th, 2009.

However, everything else is ready. We are honestly just waiting on two files (server.dll & client.dll). So we do have some good news as well.

We are releasing the Orion Developer SDK - Release 1 early! This is a compilation of assets and references of Orion. Level Designers can get their hands on it and start messing around and making community Orion maps! We will be announcing a Level Design Competition shortly after the Public release of the game.

The Release 1 of the SDK includes a handful of level textures, world objects, vehicles, trees, our detail objects and foliage, as well as .vmf references to show how we went about and created things for our levels.

These references include:
A.) Capture the Flag demonstration ( entities and more ).
B.) Door functionality.
C.) Keypad functionality.
D.) Structure design.

We will be constantly updating the Orion SDK just like we will the actual Beta. We will be adding plenty of more content (not all of it was included as we need to re-organize a handful of it). Release 2 of the SDK is currently scheduled to release around Christmas of THIS year!

DOWNLOAD THE ‘ORION DEVELOPER SDK’:


Again, we apologize for the slight delay.. But if you are a level designer - go enjoy yourselves!

We also want to thank HalfLife2.net for recently attending a few private playtests of Orion. They have written a hands on preview of the game located here:
http://www.halflife2.net/2009/12/02/orion-mod-hands-on/

I also personally sat down for a 1 on 1 interview with Glenn. You can read about Orion, its roots, and the future and what is coming your way in 2010!
http://www.halflife2.net/2009/12/02/orion-interview/

Sincerely,
The Orion Development Team.

 

[Praz]

Orion just went LIVE on FilePlanet!

Go and download the Closed Beta right now!!

<h2>Download the 'Orion FilePlanet Closed Beta 1':</h2>



Keep in mind:
PROBLEM #1:
We want to make everyone aware that the VGUI Objectives are not appearing in the FilePlanet beta. These WILL be addressed by this Friday (the Public Beta). However, the maps are very symmetrical and it should be relatively easy to figure out where the enemy flag is (if you can find your flag you'll know where there flag is).

However, Quagmire has somewhat of a different set up that is still undergoing some development. But you'll notice force fields around your flag and the enemies flag:

In order to disable the enemy force field, all you need to do is get to this area on the map and "Hack" the keypad using the O.S.O.R Kit (slot 4).

PROBLEM #2:
Also there are some important issues we must discuss. We've noticed that the Options / Keyboard menu is missing a few binds. So please use these to enable them manually via the Developer Console:

Step 1: Go to Options -> Keyboard.
Step 2: Clicked 'Advanced'.
Step 3: Go back to the game. Hit the ( ~ ) key (next to the "1" key).
Step 4: Type the following commands to obtain the desired effects:

bind g +grenade1 / Throw Grenade.
bind t +hudoverlay / View Objectives (temporarily broken).
bind 6 +cloak / Enable Cloak (Sniper Class only).
bind b +dropflag / Drop the flag as the Flag Carrier.

PROBLEM #3:
If you are going to host a server for Orion, please edit your server.cfg file located in Orion/cfg/server.cfg to say sv_gravity "600" (instead of "300") for the Jetpacks to act properly.


Also, if you would like to play with the developers, we have a server for you. We'll be making our private test server a public beta test server for this week and possibly next week. Most of the devs and official testers will probably be in here. The server information is below:

LZ LinuxWarz Gaming Server - Orion Beta 1
IP: shinigami.linuxwarz.com ( connect shinigami.linuxwarz.com )
Port: 27015
Admins: Praz / Linuxwarz / TingPing / Ezekel



Please post feedback, impressions, and crits here so we can keep it organizsed and hopefully respond to everyone in a timely fashion:
http://www.orion-project.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=352

 

[Praz]

Orion Closed Beta testing via FilePlanet has just begun yesterday! We have been playing endless amounts of Orion and have recently created a to-do list based on feedback, bugs, and other things in order to prepare for Friday (The Public Beta release event!).

**Also, before I continue, I want to stress something - WE HAVE OPTIMIZED BOTH THE MAPS AND THE CODE FOR THIS PATCH - if you were experiencing any framerate drops or having to lower the settings, Patch 1 will fix a lot of those problem!**

People have been asking me: "Is the FilePlanet Closed Beta the same build as the Public Beta 1.0?" - The answer is no. We are going to be doing over 30 changes to the game by Friday. We will have two download links available on Friday. The first is the brand new FULL Installer .exe file. The other is an 'Upgrade' patch for FilePlanet users that have already downloaded the mod.

On top of this, we are releasing 4 new levels for Capture The Flag:

CTF_SHADOW:

CTF_MYST:

CTF_CATCHMENT:

CTF_QUAGMIRE:

Here is the to-do list that will be released in Orion Beta 1.0:

GAME PERFORMANCE / BUGS:
01. Remove bug: Server Crash / Lock-up.
02. Increase range-of-damage for Melee Attacks.
03. Make the Flag a 1-hit-kill.
04. Remove secondary firemodes for Shotgun and Sniper Rifle.
05. Remove the delay on 3-burst for the FNC-30
06. Change the Respawn System. Remove the waves and make it a default timer (default is 5 seconds).
07. Add VGUI for keypads (disable / restore, etc).
08. Add more death icons.
09. Remove Dynamic Scope overhead stuff (creating lots of FPS problems).
10. Remove Bullet Push feature on guns (where it launches the player).
11. Optimized textures in: materials/quagamire.
12. Optimized textures in: materials/scale.
13. Optimized textures in: materials/glacier.
14. Fix Health Dispensers: If you are Support class you cannot get health unless you are under 100hp.
15. Enable Flag Reset (after 60 seconds idle - somehow it got broken).
16. Enable Objective VGUI (got broken - probably due to the pre-game stuff we did with the flag entities)
17. Added Menu Option: Missing binds from the Options -> Keyboard portion.
18. Decrease (slightly) Player Speed: Running Speed (leave sprint the same). (they are currently the same speed).
19. Add Multiplayer Menu Option: Toggle Iron & Scope / Hold Iron & Scope.
20. Add Multiplayer Menu Option: 1st-Person Death Cam (default) / 3rd-Person Death cam.

ART / VGUI RELATED:
01. Incorporate new VGUI: Team Selection Menu.
02. Incorporate new VGUI: Class Selection Menu.
03. Incorporate new VGUI: Carrier Win Logo.
04. Incorporate new VGUI: Altair Win Logo.
05. Remove Shader: Damage Blur (red scren) (Replace it with directional damage indicators instead).

WEAPON RELATED:
01. Update weapon: Shotgun (15 ft. spread cut-off (50%damage renders) / (25 ft. cut-off (25% damage renders).
02. Update weapon: RNC-44 (fix / use original iron animations & origins & fix spread damages)
03. Update weapon: MX-4 (fix / use original iron animations & origins & fix spread damages).
04. Update weapon: CV-10 Pistol (fix / use original iron animations & origins).
05. Update weapon: M-40 Magnum (fix / use original iron animations & origins).
06. Update weapon: Sniper Rifle (non-scope is now less accurate / modified damages).
07. Update weapon: FNC-30 (reduce recoil / remove delay between 3-burst shots).
08. Update weapon: Light Machine Gun (reduce damage / slightly reduce accuracy).
09. Update weapon: CTF Flag (increase speed of melee animation).

LEVEL DESIGN RELATED:
Add level: ctf_catchment.
Add level: ctf_shadow.
Add level: ctf_quagmire.
Add level: ctf_myst.
Modify level: ctf_incursion: Remove Fog & Smoke / Re-do lighting and fog-fade distance / Optimize.
Modify level: ctf_geode: Optimize the middle / Increase the brighntess.
Modify level: ctf_quagmire: Modify keypad functionality (streamline it).

We are also going to be announcing a Release Party event tomorrow. We are still deciding whether to do it on IRC or via SteamGroup Chat. So if you have a preference make sure to hop over to our forums to let us know!
http://www.orion-project.net/forum/index.php

Also - if you have downloaded the Beta and have questions, comments, hate words, suggestions, or ideas, please let us know! We aren't making this for money! You guys are going to be the ones playing so let us know what's on your mind and sign up on our Forums and post in the 'FilePlanet feedback thread':
http://www.orion-project.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=352

It'll help make it easier as all the feedback will then be in one place - as it's difficult to continually check forums and sites!

We'll fill you guys in as more details are ready to be announced!

 

[Shakermaker]

Looks very nice.

 

[Lucid]

I think I'll wait for the Friday release.

 

[TimoJay]

even if that friday release becomes a monday release?

 

[Lucid]

And that Monday release becomes a Friday release again?