it's been a few weeks since giving an update, so i'll give one:

More updates will be available at our forum

March 09, 2007:

Well, it's been a while for an update, and alot of new stuff is happening, first of all we updated our version of the engine and have started to convert our existing code, models, and levels to the updated engine version. Second PreVa is getting a makeover, i have started to shorten the code, adding Preloading for the entities (for less strain on framerate), and the code is being worked on to make it more effective and less framerate heavy. The models, i.e. the mechas, weapons, bullets, etc are now also being edited to be less strenuous. The ai for now has been postponed until the first 3 mechas (and possibly all the mechas) have their code done. Animations are coming to play, and the saber has been attached properly to the slim mecha, meaning that animations will be done soon, also a new added feature is that the arms will follow the camera's movements, so you are actually pointing at your target. Overall work has been great the last few weeks, and things are coming along as they should. After the game has been changed to a more framerate friendly version, we will start the rest of the work on the other elements of the game. A list of the new improvements is below:

1. New Camera: this may have been mentioned before, the camera system is different, the first person view is still the same, however, third person has been changed a bit. Rather than being behind the mech the whole time, the camera can be rotated around the mecha when you are not moving or firing, this makes it easier to spot your enemy, as soon as you start to move or fire, the mecha will quickly turn around to face where the camera is and start moving or firing in that direction.

2. New Bone Movement: So far the mecha may now move his arms up and down to face his target, so it looks "right" when the mech starts shooting someone above him. There are also plans for new movements like this one.

3. Ai: Although the ai hasn't been updated in a while, it has a little bit of a change, the ai will normally stay on someone now rather than just sitting there. The ai still has bugs, but these will be worked out after we finish updating the game.

There are many future plans for PreVa as well, including speed changes, Level changes, new modes, and more...although they are not at the top of the improvements list, most will be implemented.

Until the next update, Manslayer101...