03/04/06
Although this site has not seen any updates for over a year, there has been progress. The XWAUP asteroid base is all but done and has been submitted to the XWAUP team for testing. However, there is one item that is now ready for you to download. Yes, the upgraded PLANET.DAT file is finally available (only a year late after I made it). That means you can at last have new and improved backdrops for XWA, including planets, asteroids, nebula and galaxies. Just click on the new "BACKDROPS" button in the menu bar to get to the download page.
08/16/04
Over a year without an update! Anyway, several people have E-mailed me about the Ashgard Campaign files not being available. TIMMAY hosted these files and unfortunately, his account expired. Now, General_Trageton has stepped up to the plate and is hosting the files at his site. Many thanks to General_Trageton for making these files available again!
Yes, there is progress on the Ashgard Campaign. I completed Battle 6 last winter and got about half way through Battle 7. This coming winter, I hope to complete the campaign once and for all! The current release (which is an interim release) includes up through Battle 5. I don't anticipate any further releases until the campaign is complete, so be patient. Just know that the final release will come with some surprises, so stay tuned.
04/20/03
There is an error in the Battle 3 XMOD for the Ashgard Campaign. A corrected version of this XMOD file has been uploaded. However, it is not necessary to re-download the file because the error is easy to fix. If you have already installed the Ashgard Campaign XMODs, go to your FLIGHTMODELS folder and find the monremon.opt file. Rename that file to MonRe.opt and that will fix the error. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If any other errors are discovered, please let me know.
04/13/03
This is a rather large update, and perhaps the largest this site has ever seen. What is being released is the sum total of all the work I've done over the last year. What could this be? I've completely revamped XWA with new craft stats to be more movie-like. This mainly involves increased craft speeds and weaker shields. For more details please visit the Ashgard Campaign page and read the introduction. Even more detailed information is available at this thread in the XWAUP forums.
Why is this important? The Ashgard Campaign has been completely revamped to work with these modified craft stats. In the process, several missions were cleaned of small errors, enhanced with larger fleets, both Imperial and Rebel, and improved in other ways. In another major improvement, the Ashgard Campaign is now available in XMOD format! That means all missions and third party OPTs can easily be installed with the X-wing Install System (XIS) from Defiant’s Flying Temple. Moreover, another new battle, "The Battle of Endor," has been released and Battle 2 now includes the long-awaited Battle of Yavin missions! Finally, some other missions now include flight in planetary environments. So what are you waiting for? On your way there, please read the installation instructions and the FAQ carefully. Have fun.
02/22/03
Something wierd happened with the planet surface OPT that was just released. It was brought to my attention that the flight group colors were bungled up and some areas had snow textures in places where they shouldn't be. I don't know how this happened as I checked the OPT on my hard drive and it is fine. However, I re-uploaded the planet surface OPT, so if you downloaded it before, please download it again. Sorry for any inconvenience.
02/09/03
I haven't updated this site in how long? So, what have I been doing with all my time? Well, I have a more permanent job now, so that leaves much less time for XWA. Believe it or not though, I've been getting things done. I'm working on a total revamp of the Ashgard Campaign to include atmospheric missions while adding more to the storyline. This includes the completion of more OPTs including two ground-based turbolaser turrets.
I've also cancelled the Yavin Shipset. After so many months (or was that years?) of not seeing certain parts of the shipset get done, and as I've watched interest in XWA dwindle, I finally decided to officially announce the long-overdue cancellation. However, let me assure those who contributed to the shipset and those still interested in the work that was done that none of this will go to waste. I will release Battle 2 of the Ashgard Campaign with the Yavin missions soon. Moreover, the fruits of the Yavin effort will be used in other missions as well. When these missions are released, the Massassi Temple, Mos Eisley city block and spaceport, and other OPTs will also be released.
OK, some of you are looking for downloads. I've had a number of E-mail requests for existing surface OPTs that have not been released. You have been heard, so now the planet and second moon surface OPTs are ready for download. Hopefully some of you mission makers out there will find a use for them.
I have a number of other items that could be released in the near future. I've updated the YT-2400 to have turret autofire capability, along with twin laser and twin ion cannons to fire from the cockpit pod. Also, I've repositioned the warhead hardpoints to fire from the main hull like they do in the YT-1300. I've also added laser hardpoints to many of the unarmed stations like the Cargo Facilities, Shipyards, Repairyards, etc.
06/21/02
As some of you already know, combat simulator mission DAT pictures have been created for the Ashgard Campaign by Michal. These pictures feature XWAUP craft and other third party craft used by the Campaign. This DAT file is now available to you from the Ashgard Campaign downloads page. Many thanks to Michal for this fantastic contribution.
05/31/02
My staff page is finally up. Those who have contributed and/or are contributing to AMCO projects are now formally recognized for their efforts. In order to become a staff member, a person must submit at least one completed contribution. Those who are working on their first contribution will be added to the staff page when their project is complete. There is an award and promotion schedule in place for recognizing contributions. Due to the varying importance and quality of contributions, the criterion for awards and promotions is subjective. However, every effort will be made to be as fair and objective as possible. The first few awards will be relatively easy to earn with higher awards requiring sustaining contributions of great importance and quality.
There are no new downloads to available with this update. My summer job has started and my recreational life outside of XWA editing has kicked in. Therefore, I will not be able to work on XWA editing much until next winter. Some of you may have already noticed that I'm most productive in the winter. However, I hope that staff members and staff members-to-be will be able to get alot of work done during this time. For the summer months, I plan on finishing the Yavin Shipset by texturing Freelancer_MSE's Mos Eisley spaceport DXF. I will also work on Ashgard Campaign missions as time allows. I thank all of you who have continued to visit this site in spite of the recent lack of updates.
04/23/02
The retextured Pirate Shipyard is now available. As with the other asteroid OPTs, it comes with flight group colors for variety. I would like to thank Mouse for zeroing out the software vectors on this OPT. Until OPTech is upgraded, zeroing software vectors remains a very tedious and boring task.
Darksaber has released his Raven's Claw OPT and it is a beauty. It too has no software vectors, so you can enjoy it with amazing clarity in the game. Get it at Darksaber's OPT Station.