Player Head Customization, M82A1, and Crossfire Revisions

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Thursday, June 25th

Hello FA:S community! We have some media from all fronts this update. First off, we have a new feature that will be included which is our Player Head Customization. So just like in the original firearms, you will be able to choose what your player will look like. For our first release candidate, we will allow you to choose between few different heads and different eye wear. The NVG monocle however is only given if you choose to load out with NVG's. This will be the case with a few items that you will see on our player models.

Next, we get to finally show off our M82A1, modeled by Thisismyname09 and Schmung, and textured by Dr.Hubbler. The M82A1 is not meant for the front lines and actually receives certain mobility penalties in FA:S. Unlike the M24 and the SR25, you can't run while scoped with this weapon. However, you will be able to crouch walk and prone crawl with it scoped. For those who like to dig in and sit back, with the bipod deployed you will be able to fire faster and with greater accuracy. This beast comes in at 21 credits, but if you see an enemy in light armor, one shot to the chest will bring him down instantly.

Thirdly, there have been quite a few map edits going on in the background, as usual. Our maps are one of our many assets that keeps evolving throughout testing. Here we have a few revisions of ps_crossfire. The area is the new blue spawn that has been almost completely redone to improve some gameplay issues as well as upgrading the aesthetics. A few other maps are also under going changes, like you may have noticed with last update's tc_rubble.

As a final note for our dedicated fans, we have recently created a Twitter account for FA:S. On the twitter account you will see less formal news and update on average about twice a day. You can follow us @firearmssource, although if you are a Facebook Fan, you already get our twitter updates.

 

 

Red Player Model, Prone, and TC_Rubble Showcase

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Saturday, June 6th

Howdy folks! I apologize for the lengthy delay in releasing this media update. It's our intention to produce these every two weeks, but the size and scope of today's news post caused considerable delays. However, we think the time spent on this one was worth it.

I introduce to you the new Red Force player model. Last year, at the team leadership's request, Schmung created a new red player model to replace the CSS stub you've been seeing us use up until tonight. Shinobi has weighted the model to a new set of animations done by Christian Oelund, a former FA team member, and the skin you see has been done by none other than the very talented StealthSilver. Those "new" animations include not just prone, which is pictured, but brand-new animations for every other player action in the game: Running, jumping, shooting, reloading, and crouching. Nothing is used or taken from Valve, and is all original work by the FAS team.

The big feature Hitman has been working on, and mentioned in his developer journal post, was none other than prone. The original implementation from last year needed considerable work (a weekend's worth) to get the ACT names and reference poses working right. We ended up adding a temporary thirdperson camera to test it, and ran into some issues, which have since been resolved. Long story short, prone is good to go, and will be in Firearms: Source for Release Candidate 1.0. We look forward to getting this into formal testing as soon as possible.

The past couple weeks, I have been slaving over with Christian and Hitman to get the new player model in game. It has been a pain staking experience but it was worth it. I have also compiled a brand new set of high-quality (but yet, non-performance affecting) world models for each weapon. The magazines in each world model can be detached for the reload sequences, adding extra realism.

Speaking of the reload sequences, and animations in general, they've been done by military expert Christian Oelund with input from military adviser TheUltra4sshole. Our animations are exceptionally accurate and realistic. StealthSilver has done considerable work on the player skin, as well. It's gone through several iterations, and suffice to say, without his talent we probably wouldn't be where we are with it now.

Last, but certainly not least, is TC_Rubble. I have to hand it to DysPatch, he's done an amazing job with this map. Each new revision gets better and better. The latest iteration has a more engaging skybox, with new, customized ground textures and better brushwork. It also looks and feels more war-torn, with burning buildings and more destruction. A second TC flag was added to assist in creating a more dynamic and interesting game flow, but the overall size and scope of the map has remained relatively unchanged. I think it's safe to say Rubble is the best looking FAS map we have, and it's most definitely a tester favorite.

Firefights on Rubble tend to be fierce, but objective-oriented. Teams fight almost hand-to-hand combat inside of the warehouse to gain control, and then must deploy themselves into defensive positions to retain control. Rushing attacks with flashbangs, hand grenades and smoke grenades are common. Open space in the middle of the map allows for mid-range engagements as well, letting the M79, machineguns and assault rifles see considerable use.

What do you think about today's update? Do you have any ideas for our prone implementation? How about custom animations? Let us know your thoughts by posting on our forums, or by going to our moddb page at http://www.moddb.com/mods/firearmssource.

 

 

Status Update and Future Comings

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, May 6th

Hi there Firearms: Source followers, I am glad you can join us for our fortnightly news updates. I hope you enjoyed your Cinco De Mayo, and if you didn't, we have some tester screenshots to brighten this week a bit. I would suggest getting excited for the next news update as it will be quite substantial. We will be unveiling something that that team has been working very hard on. So today I would like to do a bit of a recap of what has been going on recently with Firearms: Source.

The first thing I would like to mention are the developer journals. If you haven't been checking them out, I would highly recommend it. DysPatch has recently updated his developer journal with an update to his PS_Snowstorm and has also made a lengthy entry about the whole construction for TC_Iwojima and the various stages it has gone through. Hitman recently posted a hefty entry that covers all the maps that have fallen during the testing stages. Maps like TC_Asylum, PS_Juarez, and many more had their development halted as Hitman moved from dedicated mapper to dedicated programmer. Undertone also made a new entry describing his current status with the development as well as his future plans. So please, if you haven't check them out yet, do so.

I would also like to inform you about what has been going on behind the scenes. Vigorous testing has really helped us making sure FA:S is not released with game breaking bugs. That is not to say, expect FA:S to be a bug free game, but we are doing our best to make sure the game is stable. All the weapons are getting the balancing tweaks they need. Recently our machine guns have been getting some serious attention. Balancing the immense fire power and high rate of fire of machine guns against the other weapon classes is no easy feat. We have also been playing around with the credits, so that if we like the way a gun feels but is very cheap, we up the credit cost to help balance it. For example, our fully automatic pistol is a killing machine in close quarter combat, but is useless else where, so to help balance it against the other pistols, we increased its credits.

Lastly, we would like to inform you to check out our latest Picture of the Month. This month was the first month that we have started a Picture of the Month contest for our testers. During testing, whatever interesting or silly screenshots they take ingame, they get to vote on to see which gets added to the website. Our first Picture of the Month winner is Skitz, aka Pork Fried Squirrel. You can view his PotM entry at the top right of this web page. The other entries included "Icey Death", submitted by DysPatch showing a last stand on PS_Snowstorm, "Meat Stack" submitted by Bald_Eagle showing a pile up of dead bodies, and "Killer Flatulence" submitted by StandingCow showing a player crouching in the middle of a mine field with explosions all around him.

Ending this update, I would like to remind you all to register on the forums and make sure you don't miss the next news update, because it will be a good one.

 

 

Map Showcase: TC_Derailed

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, April 22

Welcome back to another bi-weekly update from the Firearms: Source team. Today we will be focusing on a recent favorite of testers called TC_Derailed. Derailed has been in production for a while and was recently changed from a PS map to a TC map with a few game play changes. The urban setting based around a train yard provides a whole new environment like none other in our line-up. Being a rather new addition to our map cycle, TC_Derailed is quickly evolving into a favorite of the testers.

"Derailed is well balanced, and has a lot of places to hide and ambush unsuspecting players" - StandingCow

With an emphasis on vertical game play, there is no doubt an ambush around every corner. The train yard trusses allow snipers and machine gunners to climb on top of the roofs and take positions around the capture points. But climbers be careful, its a long and deadly fall if you take a wrong step while fleeing from bullets. From below, you will find ragdoll corpses dropping from rooftops as you clear each section of the map. Also, you may want to take caution of the M18A1 claymores, as they provide a deadly surprise at the end of the ladders.

"One of my favorite aspects of Derailed, is its diversity with open and close quarters. You can choose what type of combat you want to en gauge in." - Rambo

Besides the showcase, there have definitely been developments elsewhere. You can check out the Developer Journals for some inside information on how the development is going in the eyes of the developers themselves. Whether it is a journal on a maps entire production, maps that didn't make the cut, or even what new bugs our coders are squashing, you can find all of that there. Our Facebook fan page has also been growing everyday with new members from all over the world, so if you haven't checked it out yet, you can access it here. We would like to send you off with an excerpt from Naota's latest Firearms: Source screenplay set in Derailed.

"...the alley's walls anointed with deepest crimson, human remains dangling from girders like vast rusted meat hooks, lifeless hands still grasping for some long-departed salvation, disemboweled heads drowning open-mouthed in the concrete mire."

 

 

Status Update and Tester Carnage

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, April 8

As you may have figured out, the Driver I/II skills was our contribution to April fools, along with the Battle Bicycles/Tricycles. Unfortunately you will not be seeing those in-game, but it was fun for a laugh. So to hold you off for our next update, I thought you would enjoy some tester on tester carnage on our server, hosted by Ultimate Game Server and Nuclear Fallout!

Oelund wreaking havoc and holding down a chokepoint with his M249 on ps_sand (left). Red force has pushed through the west tunnel as Dekier deals out some lethal blows with his 1911 and claymore in retaliation, on tc_iwojima (right).

Testing has been going very smoothly and as you can tell from Hitman's Journal, he has been busy squashing bugs and balancing weapons. Over on the art side, the weapons are looking very nice as usual and we should have a juicy update for the next bi-weekly update to help us get back on track with our update schedule. We have our animators hard at work bringing everything into motion, as well, and perhaps we can show you some of that with a video. Our mapping department is also very busy sharpening their maps make sure everything looks good and feels smooth. We are paying close attention to our map line up, making sure we have plenty of diversity between the game modes. So you can expect a couple map showcases in the upcoming news updates.

Inveramsay dropping Bald_Eagle with the M4A1, while his teammate takes damage and begins bleeding (left). Blue force soldier sprinting to cover after attempting to capture the bridge (right).

We have also been branching out a bit to appease the social networking gods and have created a Facebook Page for Firearms: Source, so show your support and ! We have been uploading weapon renders and map screenshots in albums for you to check out (Note: it is just a collection of the renders posted on the website). You can also feel free to join us on IRC at #firearms-source at irc.gamesurge.net. We always have a few Firearms Source Developers idling there at all times so stop on by and ask a few questions if you are bored. We hope you enjoyed the vehicle renders from last week's news as you will see a few of those in our maps as static props.

Until next time...

 

 

Skill Showcase: Driver I/II

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, April 1

Hi folks, today we are finally ready to reveal to you the biggest shake-up to Firearms gameplay that you're ever likely to see. In order to strengthen the mod and give something unique to you all we have been working hard behind the scenes these past months to implement a feature that we're sure you'll all welcome. We are proud to announce our latest addition the Firearms, the new skills Driver I and Driver II. Adding drivable vehicles to Firearms Source was no easy task, and we decided the best way to implement them, was to make it a skill that the players can earn. Now, make yourselves comfortable and prepare to feast your eyes on what we've achieved so far and how we got where we are today. I will be going through the design process starting from the first vehicle prototype.

When we first began to include the vehicles, they were not planned to be part of a skill, but the vehicles would just be placed in the map to begin with. Our first addition was the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which seemed like a perfect choice, as it both included weaponry and armor. However, one of its set back was its maneuverability which we felt balanced out nicely. As we tested the Bradley, we noticed that it was much overpowered as the cannon ripped through groups of rushers on the bridge of Durandal.

Bradley modeled by Sulsa and textured by Maggie.

That is when we decided to ditch the armaments on the vehicles. We switched over to the M35 Deuce and a Half. We felt the Deuce was a nice design choice, though is still lacked maneuverability. Many Firearms Source maps rely on chokepoints, which tend to be narrow areas that make driving a truck through very difficult. We liked the fact the Deuce and a Half could also be made into a troop carrier, but its large size we had to think smaller.

M35 Deuce and a Half modeled and textured by Schmung.

Wanting to keep our troop carrier idea in game, we moved onto a more urban choice, a Toyota pick-up truck. It provided more maneuverability than the M35 Deuce and a Half, but allowed player to sit in the bed of the truck for progressive spawns. Since there were many bugs with the progressive spawning with the Toyota trunk and other balance issues, we again had to throw away another prototype.

Toyota modeled and textured by Sulsa.

Since we felt that the Toyota was very unfitting of a military game, we decided to get back on track. We also ditched the idea of progressive spawning with our vehicles since it was often buggy and ended with a lot of spawn killing. So we kept the vehicles strictly to increase troop movement to the front lines, so what better choice than the Land Rover Defender? It's medium size seem to fit nicely in the game, but we often found very few people using the vehicles as it really didn't do anything but provide cover for teammates behind you.

Land Rover "Defender" modeled and textured by Schmung.

This is when we finally found our perfect vehicle and implementation of vehicles. We decided to add a driver skill and include 2 new vehicles, the Armed Recon Bicycle (w/ Mounted Vollmer) with Driver I and the Armed Recon Tricycle (w/ Mounted MG3). With Driver I, you will be able to use the bicycles in spawn and use the mounted Vollmer on it to gun down enemies while racing for the intel. These light weight vehicles were perfect for maneuvering through the battlefield and have some deep historical background, which you can view at the bottom of this news post. Without further adieu, I present to you the Armed Recon Bike and Armed Recon Trike.

Armed Recon Bicycle w/ Mounted Vollmer modeled by Schmung.

Vehicle Historical Background:

PPAVs (Personnel Powered Assault Vehicles) initially limited action in the Second World War where the French resistance would jury rig Sten guns to their bicycles in order to ambush German patrols in occupied French towns. This unique form of guerilla warfare was never widely adopted though and laid dormant in the minds of military strategists for many until the cold war, where both sides revisited the concept of attaching fully automatic weaponry to bikes, trikes and even in one notable instance - a scooter. This coincided with a unique and indeed somewhat worrying thread of research into threat detection and response by troops whereby military hardware was increasingly disguised as innocuous everyday objects. The vehicles you see here are no exact replicas, but rather game play balanced progressions of the concepts explored by the Russians, British and American forces. The MG trike is loosely based on an American trike system with a suppressed MP5, but for balance purposes we have fitted a heavier weapon to it. The BMX is an expansion of a British design whereby a Bren gun was fitted to a Raleigh grafter - our interpretation is lighter and more maneuverable and re-uses the Vollmer asset that we have already created.

 

 

M24 SWS, M14 Rifle, and DV-2 Combat Knife Showcase

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Thursday, March 12

Welcome to another bi-weekly FAS update! Isn't this getting fun? Today, we have even more weapons to show. Our art team has been doing a hell of a job on finishing our weapon assets, and so we are proud to present to you the M24 SWS, M14 with Aimpoint, and DV-2 Combat Knife.

The Model 24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is our "light" rifle. It costs 17 credits, which still allows snipers to grab carbines and submachineguns, or body armor and a pistol. As a bolt-action rifle, the rate of fire is slow, but it makes up for it with incredible killing power and accuracy. Headshots earn the shooter an instant kill, whether the victim has a helmet on or not. The bipod can be deployed for greater stability and slightly increases the rate of fire, but immobilizes the sniper as a result.

The M24 SWS was modeled and textured by Naota.

Next up, we have the powerful Model 14 Rifle. Despite it's semi-automatic nature, this battle rifle can take out targets at close range and distance. Coming in at 11 credits, the rifle allows you to load up on armor and get a back up sub-machine gun for those pesky rushers. With a 20 round magazine capacity and an aimpoint, you'll be able to take out targets across Durandal's bridge with ease.

The M14 Rifle was modeled and textured by Dekier, and animated by Thisismyname09.

The last weapon we have in this update's line up, is the Dalnya-Vostorchny Spetsnaz 2. A lethal blade that comes free with every load out, except when choosing to hack people to death with our machete. We have chosen to stray from the typical KA-BAR, and go with its Russian counter-part to add to the diversity of our arsenal. So next time you are out of ammunition, remember, you always have your trusty DV-2.

Again, keep checking www.firearms-source.com as we'll be having bi-weekly updates up until release.

As always, we are looking for talented artists, so if you think you can contribute in any way, please scontact me at Shinobi@firearms-source.com.

 

 

PS_Crossfire, M3, and M79 Showcase

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, February 25

Hi All,

Welcome to our new bi-weekly news update with some new FA:S content. Firearms: Source's development has been progressing very smoothly, and each day we are getting closer and closer to our public beta. Over the past few updates we have been receiving help from our community, and have been impressed with the new team members helping us along.

First we have PS_Crossfire, created by me. This is an original map with a focus on intense close quarter combat. The layout is fairly linear with a lot of intertwining routes. This new addition will help differentiate our map line up while conforming to the classic FA gameplay we all cherish.

Next up, we have 2 new weapons to show off, both of which have been textured by our fairly new Team Member, Dr.Hubbler. The first weapon we have to showcase is our M3 Shotgun. This brutal inclusion will yield some lethal close quarter combat on the FA:S battlefield. The M3 shotgun, also modeled by Schmung and animated by Thisismyname09, will be semi-automatic opposed to the usual pump action. It will be our only shotgun for our first release candidate.

Our second model we will be showcasing is the very old, yet classic, M79 Grenade Launcher. This single shot grenade launcher has been an FA staple for as long as we can remember. We have done wonders balancing this weapon to make sure that it can flush out sniper and machine gun nests, but also reduce the spam levels. This specific model was created by the same art team as the M3 shotgun, modeled by Schmung, textured by Dr.Hubbler, and animated by Thisismyname09. They are doing a great job at plugging in some great art to FAS.

Keep checking www.firearms-source.com as we'll be having bi-weekly updates up until release.

Also we are still looking for someone with Source specific character animation experience (specifically with compiling) as well as self-reliant, talented artists. If you are interested you can contact me at Shinobi@firearms-source.com.

 

 

PS_Sand, M4, & FAMAS Showcase

By Shinobi, Team Leader

Wednesday, February 11

Hi I'm Shinobi, I'm currently taking over as the mod leader for Hitman while he focuses on his coding duties. I've been the art lead for 2 years and on the FAS team for 3.

Firearms:Source development has been progressing very smoothly, we've been spending the last few weeks tweaking environment art, completing game art, and working on a getting a new major build update finished. Things have been very busy over here. We have a lot of new content to show the community.

First up we have Ps_Sand, another classic FA map recreation by our very talented resident mapper Undertone. He's worked tirelessly to recreate the gameplay while elevating the visuals to new heights. Playing this map will induce moments of nostalgia for oldschool FA vets. I look forward to many fierce, tight firefights in this map over the years.

Next we have 2 new weapons to show off. First is our new FAMAS model which was done by Schmung and Racer, 2 very talented artists. Second up we have our new M4 model, entirely modeled and textured by Racer. We look forward to fragging with such nice weapons models.

 

 

New Web Design and Map Showcase

By Dave "Hitman" Reeves, Team Leader

Saturday, January 17

Today we're releasing a new web design. I won't bore you with the details, but do check out the various subsections; you might be pleasantly surprised with what you find. Such as new weapons and maps (hint hint).

Before I begin, we really do need weapon animators and skinners. The one piece of Firearms that is truly keeping us back from a timely release is artwork. Even though our current team is working hard on churning out the remaining content, it's just plain slow going. Do you want to help? If so, shoot me an email.

With that said, I'd like to introduce DysPatch's latest creation: The Source-engine conversion of ps_sandblast. But instead of being yet another boring desert map set in the Middle East, he's taken great pains to turn the dust and grit into a beautful, war-ravaged winter landscape. As a result of the change in scenery, we've renamed the map ps_snowstorm.

As with the original ps_sandblast, ps_snowstorm is a 3-flag Push map. While it's not too confined, it's small enough in size that the fighting is intense, brutal and non-stop. Firefights will break out across the open terrain inbetween destroyed buildings, involving entire squads of players, while the stealthier types will be able to sneak through various side routes and pop up on your flanks unexpectedly. I can't wait to get the map into larger testing, and I know the testers are probably itching to play it.

In other news, we've been on a multi-month hiatus as we concentrated on finishing off a ton of work and putting the final touches on the code. This media update was actually supposed to happen last month, but was delayed for various reasons, much to our chagrin. (We really don't like keeping people in the dark.) In any case, I'm hoping we can keep the update schedule more regular as we continue on towards release day.

Be sure to check out the Developer Journals while you're here. Some of them have gotten good updates lately. Also, check out the FAS Report if you want to know more about what's going on. Grunt does a good job at piecing together official information that gets leaked or posted informally on our message boards, IRC channels and elsewhere.

Do you run a FAS-related website? If so, do you want an icon on firearms-source.com? Check out the right-hand sidebar under the title "Community Sites" for information on how to get your link included.

More to come soon!

 

 

Weapon Showcase Recap and MC51B Vollmer

By Dave "Hitman" Reeves, Team Leader

Tuesday, September 23

Howdy folks, big update today! As you can see from the images below, we've finally added the Vollmer. We've been working on the Vollmer for a long time, and it's been one of the weapons which I have personally mandated as a top priority for official inclusion. For those who don't remember, the Vollmer was a featured weapon in Firearms: Half-Life up until around 2002, when it was cut from the lineup. We're proud to be including it in FAS, and I think you all will agree that the model and skin seen here do it justice.

Before I get too far into weapons, I want to mention a few community developments. First, server hosting company NuclearFallout.net has graciously offered to provide free voice server hosting for our alpha testers. They're now an official sponsor of Firearms: Source. This is exceptionally nice of them, and on behalf of the FAS team, I would like to thank them. We're already using the voice server, and I'm even scheduled to appear on the Radio channel for an interview on Friday by a member of the FAS Report.

Behind this effort is community member Skitz. As I said, we'd be bringing you more community-driven events in one of the last updates, and this is another part of that program. Skitz and the PR team are working hard on reaching out across the net and providing exclusive interviews, screenshots and information about FAS to sites like FPS Banana and Planet Half-Life. Since the team doesn't have time to rabidly push out PR beyond updating the webpage (we're much too busy making the game), volunteers like these are really doing us a great service. Thanks to guys like Skitz, we'll be getting better coverage and securing better file hosting for minimal problems on day one. Big thanks to the PR team - you guys are doing a hell of a job!

But back to death, chaos, mayhem and destruction.

The always-talented Schmung is the author of the model. This was one of the first projects he did after joining us as an Affiliated Developer, though it's certainly not been the last. Our military adviser, OIF veteran and former 11B TheUltra4sshole (aka U4), has provided his typical firearms expertise to help us get the Vollmer looking as accurate as possible. You'd be surprised, but there's not exactly a lot of references images for this weapon floating around the internet. Racer445 has busted his ass getting us the skin, which as you can see, is amazing. thisismyname09 has done the animations, though they're incomplete - we're planning on adding the 'remaining bullets in the link' so when you only have a few rounds left in the belt, you'll actually see them dangling out of the feed tray and slowly being consumed until they're all gone. Expect to see more of that in future updates.

Today's update isn't about just the Vollmer; we have a lot of other guns we'd like to talk about in a short recap of the last few posts. But before I talk about them, let me go into a bit of detail about the Vollmer and how it's going to be coded. First, a quick review of the credit system: As you should be aware, Firearms does not use a typical weapon slotting system. We're the only game I know of that lets the player completely customize their loadout in whatever way they choose. When joining a server, each player is given 30 credits to spend on whatever combination of firepower, body armor and items they want. With over 36 guns (and counting!), 3 vest types, 3 kinds of armor addons, and numerous misc items, there's an unfathomable amount of options available. With no resrictions other than the 30 credits, players can choose all kinds of setups from traditional primary/secondary/knife/grenade and "medium" amounts of body armor, to carrying five pistols and six grenades, two assault rifles and a helmet, a sniper rifle and a submachinegun, three submachineguns and a pistol, or just go full heavy armor and a shotgun.

The Vollmer fits into our lineup as a 12-credit automatic weapon. Thanks to its super-short barrel, light weight, 50-round box magazine and belt-fed feed system, combined with the fact that it fires the 7.62x51mm NATO round (yes, you heard that correctly), it's not going to function like any other weapon in our lineup. And we like that - cookie-cutter weapons that you see in every shooter on the market today are uninteresting. The Vollmer, on the other hand, will be anything but uninteresting in Firearms: Source.

Well, I said there'd be more than the Vollmer, didn't I? I'd like to recap on some of the last few updates we've done. First, the M16A2. Keep in mind as we go over these the concepts inherent in the credit system and the ways in which you can configure your player.

The M16A2 is implemented with semi-auto and 3-round burst only. As an 11-credit assault rifle, it falls on the cheaper side of the lineup, which is about in-line with the reduced capabilities given the lack of full-auto. However, it's still a beast at medium and long ranges, with exceptional accuracy. Good players will be able to take advantage of this for rapid headshots on burst at short range, and use the high accuracy of semi to pick people off at longer distances. Personally, I love the M16A2 - it's got a perfect mix of stability, range, accuracy and power to be useful no matter what map you're on, and yet plays very differently than the other weapons. Accuracy and shot placement, just like with the G3, are the key to success with the M16. Our M16A2 was modeled by SiD, skinned by Stoke and animated by thisismyname09.

Speaking of the G3, Schmung modeled us one a few months ago and racer skinned it for us. Truly amazing work, if I may say so - but then again, you saw their work above, so this should come as no surprise. The G3 is implemented much like the M16 in that shot placement is the key to winning firefights. The G3's full-auto mode is crippled by its massive recoil, meaning it's not useful beyond short distances. Semi-auto mode mitigates this to a good extent, but the ROF differential vs other automatic weapons means shot placement and headshots are crucial to survival. Those with great skill in aiming, or who to like to play "stand-off" and "pseudo-sniper" with their assault rifles should find the G3 a joy to use.

Then of course, there's the Beretta 92FS. This is yet another Stoke/SiD combination with brilliant animations by thisismyname09. You can see our video of the Beretta 92FS in action on either Moddb or our Renders page. The 92FS is currently the only silenced pistol in FAS, though we're planning on changing that. The silencer can be attached/detached with the alt-fire key, and does not need the Stealth skill to enable it. However, the stealth skill does hide your Beretta kills from the enemy team when you have the silencer attached, so it does provide a very useful purpose. For sneaking around the enemy's backfield, the 92FS can - when shot good placement is used - be the sneaky player's best friend. They'll literally never know who killed them.

And last but not least is the OTs-33, our first fully-automatic pistol. This one has been modeled and skinned by Naota with animations by thisismyname09. The update you saw earlier in September actually showed the OTs with an outdated skin. The renders you see here today fix that. As a full-auto 9x18mm double-stack handgun packing 18 rounds, this thing is a beast. It's about a credit shy of being on par with some of our lower-end submachineguns, making it a great alternative backup to the rest of the handguns, none of which have full-auto capability. Snipers who find themselves bushwhacked up close but not having the credits for a bigger gun will love the damage output potential of the OTs, whereas rushers will love being able to pour out firepower quickly when their primary runs dry.

As far as development progress goes, we've just accepted the very talented Stealth Silver as our newest player model skinner. He's actually been working with us on various projects since July, and I'll leave that to your imagination for the time being. We are VERY excited about showing off his work in a near-future news update, and I'm sure he is, too. Stealth has been busting his balls on getting us 2D artwork, and we on the team have been very impressed with his dedication and expertise. If you happen to see him in IRC or around the forums, please give him a "Welcome aboard!"

Pace is strong on all fronts. Weapons are still our weak point, as we started off the summer not having any weapon modelers and needing to cut around 70% of our lineup due to permission issues. But as you can see above, we're knocking them out about as fast as we possibly can. As far as the code goes, I'm hoping to show you all some features in the next update, due out in about 2-3 weeks.

And finally, we have an IRC channel. It's been around for a while, but we haven't really advertised it that much. The dev team actually hangs out there and talks to people when we're available, so if you want to hear more about the game or just be a more involved member of the community, feel free to stop by. Our channel is #firearms-source on GameSurge.

As usual, we're still looking for talent. Can you do quality maps? Can you do quality animations? Are you a sound artist looking for work? If so, don't hesitate to contact me at hitman@firearms-source.com.