Ok folks, we have finally fixed the main page for BCU...almost all the links are working. There are a few more that need some work, mostly on the source side, but it is ongoing. The news system has been restored as you can see.

Second, BC2 has taken a step forward...I have learned how to texture models. This means, at the very least, that the model making process will be shortened dramatically. Perhaps, if my skills improve enough, I will be able to model my own designs. We will see.

Gamecloud have conducted an interview with Larry Holland, founder of Totally Games, developer behind the X-Wing series, Secret Weapons over Normandy and of course Star Trek Bridge Commander. The interview covers what the studio have been up to in the past year, and the various mobile based games they currently have in the works.

Quote:

In the past year and a half Totally Games has re-invented itself. During this time we've been flying under the radar while we've been working in a number of exciting, totally new areas. Very soon we will re-emerge with products that have new directions that we hope will capture people's imaginations. So be on the lookout from Sega for the first evidence of our renaissance.

It appears that the development studio is now facing a totally different direction than a few years ago, and the interview is a very interesting read. Check it out for yourself.

Another large modification has been released for Bridge Commander, namely the BC Supermod which is currently in a second beta form. Primarily designed to enhance the single player experience, the mod replaces the stock ships and stations with higher quality retextures and/or new models from the best modellers in the community - which of course means some pretty high computer specs needed to run the game successfully.

The mod has been put together by CaptainRussell, and more details as well as screenshots can be viewed over at the BC Universe Forums and if you are interested, you can grab the mod over at BC Files.

Kobayashi Maru
The successor to the amazing FBCMP mod for Star Trek: Bridge Commander is now available!

Grab it here (bcfiles has been submitted, should be available on files.stgu.com soon):

http://bckobayashimaru.de/files/KOBMARU-0.9-full.zip from European Server (Germany)
http://www.collectivealliance.trek-o...U-0.9-full.zip from US Server (West Virginia) - thx to zach21uk
Download KM0.9 zip-file(368MB) (link awaiting) from bcfiles
Beta testers: Just run the update tool a last time.

For the torrent-downloaders:
KM0.9 torrent for 368MB zip: http://bckobayashimaru.de/files/KOBM...ll.zip.torrent

Important note: The zip file is too big for windows to extract it with its included zip utility, please use a professional program like winzip to extract the file.

A project which introduces new and old technologies, integrates the best mods available for BC to be used in QB and also in MP. Kobasyashi Maru allows you to literally wage war against your friends in multiplayer, or ally against a hoard of AI vessels in the best ever MP project available for Bridge Commander...

Featuring:
NanoFX
MVAM Infinite
Core Ejection
Cloak Firing
Blind Fire
Shuttle Launching
Tractor Beam Inversion
Foundation Technologies
New AI
Point Defense Phasers

and many more exciting technologies and enhancements which inject new life into a complete and exciting project...

Battle dangerous species in quickbattle such as the Borg, Sona, Dominion...or join others to re-inact famous battles such as the Dominion War, Wolf 359, the Nemesis engagement and many more...With a huge list of ships at your disposal and a variety of new and exciting weapons combined with a more stable Muiltplayer experience, Bridge Commander gets closer to the game we always wanted.

Kobayashi Maru is further complemented by the best bridges made for BC to date along with an endless list of the best mods and enhancements for Bridge Commander.

More Trek
More Techs
More Ships
More Bridges
More Enhancements

Wage war like never before....

Kobayashi Maru

Only the brave survive.....

Visit http://www.bckobayashimaru.de for more information.

Check out the Video Trailer for the mod!

Chess Note: Special thanks to Dragon and GamesFunk who's posts where used to make this news entry.

Work continues on BC2, both in-house and on BCU. I will try to populate the news on other boards as well to spread the word on our status. Right now we are concentrating on the ships, as they are the largest and most difficult part of the mod.

Nano is currently working on a game engine, and we hope to be the first to use it for BC2. We still intend to create a mod for the original BC however.

Chris Jones has created quite a few systems for the mod, and is prepared to create more for our needs when that arises.

Right now we have the likes of Smiley, Scotchy, Armondikov and Moonraker working our models. Viper is currently working on the CGI Scorpion bridge, and we plan to contract him for the Infinity bridge as well. We also have a team of Maya mechanics working on CGI backdrops for the other bridges, both in-game and for sequences.

The storyboards continue to be worked, cut and reworked. We were about 80 percent done, but had to go back to lean out the storyline a bit...so we are back to about 50 percent. We have decided to delete some of the lengthy cut scenes to improve the flow of the game. One of the victims of the cut party was the Seth, but we still may release that part of the Infinity storyline later as an add-on mod.

As you may be aware, our funding was cut drastically for this project, but we continue to seek other sources. We hope to refill the coffers soon.

No release date as of yet has been set. As always, we will release parts of the mod (NanoFX, systems, models, etc.) as they are completed.

Greetings Trek Gamers and Bridge Commanders,

I recently chatted to Darkshimmer, about his mod for Bridge Commander, MPMP.

For those who dont know what MPMP was, it was a groundbreaking multiplayer mod for Bridge Commander, which integrated such things as NanoFX, into the multiplayer games, which basically meant, really really BEAUTIFUL explosions. Additionally, there were loads of new federation ships added, which were INCREDIBLY balanced, other races were to be added in a later version.

v2.1 of MPMP was to include even more features, including warping WITHIN systems, during a multiplayer game, and advanced damage systems.........however v2.1 was never completed, and devestated MPMP fans were left with a highly buggy beta version of v2.1.

Anyway, as i said, i recently spoke to Darkshimmer, trying to find out why the mod was never completed, and if there was any chance of him completing it.

Here is what he had to say:

Quote:

when i released 2.0 there were 2000 downloads in the first month, 1000 in the next, so thats 3000, when i released 2.1 out of the 3000 people who downloaded it, only 100 downloaded in the first month and only another 86 the second month, thats a huge loss of interest, and modding bc is alot of work, plus i could not get nano's co-operation in fixing the mp warp issues, or apollo's on his ATP3

However he did state, that if there was enough interest in the community, that he WOULD consider completing v2.1

Everyone that has Bridge Commander, i suggest you download v2.0 of MPMP, which is a stable release, switch on all the mutators, and get into a multiplayer game with some friends, i assure you, you will be astounded, and you will want more.

http://bridgecommander.filefront.com...ain_file;17925
http://bridgecommander.filefront.com...MP_Fix_1;17926

If you like the mod, and want more, then please reply here and show your support

Thank you,
Regards
Zach.
Trek-Online.com

"Calling all Star Trek: Bridge Commander fans and modders!"

Star Trek Gaming Universe has announced a new community focused project that will result in an incredible set of resources for Star Trek: Bridge Commander fans and the entire Star Trek gaming fan community! The project is called the STGU Wikiverse and consists of four Wiki based resource sites that everyone can contribute to! You can read the initial announcement by clicking here, and you can find a dedicated forum board for the project by clicking here.

The four sites that make up the Wikiverse are a Game Information and Historical site, a Modders Tutorial & Resource site, a Star Trek: Online MMOG dedicated site, and a Star Trek Gaming Digital Media site. These sites are code-named 'Starbase One', 'Spacedock Alpha', 'Stotography', and 'M-5' respectively. As these Wikis grow in content they will become a fantastic community resource!

We call upon all the Star Trek: Bridge Commander fans to help capture all aspects of the game, and all the modders to help define and contribute to the Star Trek: Bridge Commander section of the modding wiki!

The software has been installed and the Wiki's are ready to go, but there is some basic planning that is will be occuring in the Wikiverse dedicated forum boards to help make the launch as smooth as possible. Stop in, show your support, and contribute to this worthy effort!

Just wanted to notify all of our patrons that there is a new system up for TUN....as you know, we support TUN as our portal for crosspromotion and cooperation between all of the games we support at present....SFC, EF and BC. At present, our SFU and EFU forums are located at the TUN site, and I would like to invite all patrons to come and take a look at the changes.

The site is now called the Star Trek Gaming Universe, and is located here:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~starmada/forum/

It has all brand new graphics, a new structure, and is now based on the VB system. Run over and take a look.

Nanobyte's beta version 2 of NanoFX has made it into August's issue of PCGAMER.

PCGAMER wrote:
This major special-effects overhaul for Star Trek: Bridge Commander makes the game's stock events look boring. BC's weapon impacts and sounds are all much improved, and the new warp-core-breach explosions are brilliant. Just as dazzling are subtlier effects like warp engines that flash when activated, and leak plasma trails when hit. Once you've played BC with NanoFX, you'll wonder how you ever played the game without it. (www.bcfiles.com)

That just about sums up this incredible addition to the Bridge Commander game. Congradulations to Nanobyte on a job well done.

More info here

Raven Night has setup the following times for an official staff meetings

12PM EST - 12AM EST Saturday 19th June, and again during the same times on Monday the 21st.

We would like to announce that the chatroom is offlimits to all non-staff members, and any user joining will be kicked from the room, as we have sensitive matters to discuss.

We are sorry for any trouble caused, and hope you will not be dettered from using the chat room in future occasions.

The mod you've all been waiting for, Multi Vector Assault Mode version 2 is out and ready for download. Including both the Galaxy and a new High-Detail Prometheus, this is a fantastic addition to any BC game.

Yes, normally news items aren't devoted to a single mod but this deserves special attention.

But wait, theirs more. Its expandable. That means that with the proper models and a little patience, you can add your own seperating ships to the game.

Download it on BCFILES or read through the 60 pages of stuff on it HERE

After a few short weeks of waiting, Season 3 of the Star Trek 24 RPG is back, this time, with a few surprises.

Firstly, it has been moved to a new server, and a new phpBB board, with a few tasty modifications which includes some features installed at BCU, plus others which are not.

Secondly, it has already started! So come on down to http://section31ctu.tk and read the RPG! You don't have to register to view it, but you do to post comments, so feel free to register and share you views on the new 24 RPG

After recent events, our intrepid leader, Raven Night, has made an addition to the rules concerning the posting of models, scripts, and other mods

Any product that violates BCU regulations if it was a post is considered a post with relation to the rules, and is therefore not allowed. An example would be a product that promotes any racist or hateful agenda, direct or implied.

Raven commented that he didn't feel he had to post this, but apparently, certain elements have forced him to.

For the full post, check here

Lynx,
News and Information Minister

The last few days at BCU have been full of action.

The long awaited NanoFX2 has been released in BETA form by Nanobyte. This is an abosolute must get so go take a look here. Theres also some great pictures here. Keep in mind it is a BETA so expect bugs. Its even got its own screenshots thread here

I don't think we've ever had two bridges released so closely together. Both the Consitution Refit and Excelsior bridges have been released. Go download the Excelsior Bridge here and Consitution Refit Bridge here. Also, if you don't have the patch for the Excelsior Bridge, its also available in the same thread.

Theres an absolutely outstanding model of the Valdore in construction, pics of whic are here.

And of course, if you haven been keeping updated, be sure to check the BC2 forums here for the latest progress reports.

Have any news that should be here, email me admiral_ames@sfhq.net

Today it seems that BCU was not reaching a too high level, but was the victim of a Hacking attempt, specifically, a session overflow hack.

Raven Night issued this statement:

BCU was attacked by a session overlow hacker last night. The user utilized a bot to automatically sign on the forum over and over until the sessions table was full, essentially shutting down the forum. No less then 15 separate attacks were attempted. All Nightsoft properties, sites and forums endured attacks of different types as well. Most have been halted before they could be sucessful. Those that were sucessful did not cause any major damage, and all properties are up and running at this time.

The offending user's account has been terminated and the table was flushed. Measures are being implemented to prevent this type of attack in the future.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our patrons.

All available staff have been re-assigned to prevent the problem from re-occuring.

Raven also urges all users of ANY type of phpBB board to take defensive measures againts this type of attack.

Please send any information that you feel is helpful to the_phoenix_lynx@hotmail.com and your message, if leads us to the hacker, will earn the admiration of BCU.

Thank you for your time.

Lynx,
News and Information Minister.

We are again sorry to report that they are down again.

Myself having little expertise with SQL and php, and of course phpBB can only guess that the sessions.php file and the relevant SQL tables are unable to handle the high traffic that BCU gets.

I can only hope that this problem will be fixed soon, as I am sure that you do to.

Scroll down to the first news item for information as to backup Rants and Raves/ Spamming Forums.

Once again, we profusely apologise for any trouble this is, and will cause.

Lynx,
News and Information minister

The phpBB boards at BCU will be down until further notice.

This is due to a critical SQL file being full, and no new sessions can be created until the action required is taken.

We are sorry for any inconvenience, this issue is the top priority.

For all those requiring access to Spamming/ Rants and Raves forums, my own forums can accomodate you, they are setup to talk about Tech stuff in Star Trek, but have also been retrofitted with the aforementioned forums, you can go to them here

Please ignore the SQL errors, untill I move to a new host, I will be unable to remove these.

Once again, all the staff at BCU and Nightsoft are sorry for the inconvenience.

Lynx,
News and Information Director

I think its time for another update, as its been a while.

Cpt. LC Amaral continues his hard work on the V2 excalibur. Its comming along quite nicely. More on this here

DY has released a BETA of the Ambassador bridge. Its still not finished and has a few bugs, but its a great start. Take a look here

Lord Apophis is in the process of doing a neat Norway kitbash. See some pics here

And the Las Vegas Hilton is being purchased (for a nice 280 million USD) Its not yet sure whether "The Experience" will be remaining. In depth article here

And the gap between UPN and WB is apparently closing. Read about this here

In a dawn raid by Coalition forces, Saddam Hussein, former ruler of Iraq has been captured. Initial reports tell of a Coalition raid discovering Saddam in the cellar of a house, after a tip off. American and Kurdish soldiers found a dreary Saddam in a 8 feet hole, and had to dig him out of it.

For a fuller news story from Yahoo, go here

Also, President George W Bush will make a full statement at 5pm GMT, please check local listings for channels and so forth.

I am sure most will agree that this is a lasting step forward, towards world peace.

This is the_lynx_effect signing off, on a tearful and happy day for the oppressed of Iraq.

I know this isn't exactly Bridge Commander related but since Enterprise represents a big piece of Trek (like it or not) I think its important to dispel the rumors that Enterprise could soon be cancelled.

Taken off syfyportal.com:
"A source for SyFy Portal at UPN said that the Star Trek spinoff is not in any immediate danger of cancellation after this season, although there is always a small chance it could be cancelled until the network makes official announcements"

Many were speculating on this after the confirmation that UPN is indeed shortening the production schedule from 26 to 24 episodes. These rumors are not true and Enterprise will be continuing on.

Hello and Welcome to the BCU news, i'm the_lynx_effect. In top stories today:

Scotchy, after doing a superb Akira class, has now opened to the boards, a beta of a Generations galaxy. Many have released a Generations galaxy, will this one break the ice? decide here.

Starforce2 is asking the board if anyone wishes to become a tester for his TMP era Ships. Anyone interested should go here.

Cpt. LC Amaral is showing the community the Sarajevo class starship, one year later. Check out this thread for more information.

USS Phoenix is asking for Beta Testers for Poseidon 2.0, answer the call here.

And Finally in top stories for modding today, Raven Night Is showing off the concept drawings for a Ferengi Alliance Dkal Cruiser. See it, and post comments here.

Birthdays for today!
If it's your birthday today, happy birthday! Users celebrating today are: AL SANDERS He is 55 Today. BrandonJ He is 24 Today, and otter007 He is 24 today. Happy birthday from BCU to you all!

All the staff wish everyone good fortunes, in the run up to Christmas
This is BCU information minister the_lynx_effect, saying "Good Night" and "God Bless."

A few updates for the day.

Scotchy has completed his Akira Class - you can download it here

Cpt. LC Amaral has a new Pegasus class model. Its absolutely amazing. Its not done yet but screenshots can be seen here

Executioner_de is working on a BC version of his Vorcha Class. See its progress here

Tim_Scott_2000 is texturing Rikers Armoured Intrepid. More on this here

Theres a new Shield Effects mod which makes the BC shields much more realistic here

USS Phoenix has done some P81 kitbashes. They're up for download here

Viper Leader is doing a nice new constitution class. View it here

If I missed your mod, email me admiral_ames@sfhq.net

Well, heres another update for you

DarkGUNMAN's has released a major BC Improvements Pack. It really adds to the BC experience and its compatible with MPMP. More on this here

Nano and DarkGUNMAN have some nice NanoFX movies to watch. Take a look here

LC has some sweet models that were never released. He's back and he's got pics of them here

Raven has some nice new concepts here, here, and here

Anyone needing technical support make sure to visit our technical support forum.

It has been brought to my attention that certain users are posting in topics, referring to the white pride movement. (Symbols, sayings, beliefs, and language.) Raven Night, and all other staff members under the whole Nightsoft Tree will not accept any form the postings from the White Pride movement, or any other forms of racism. Any users found posting breaking these constraints will be punished to the fullest extent possible

In other news:

DaAan Designs has finished the modelling of his USS Hawk and is beginning to texture it, see the work here

Apocalypse7000 is advertising his Vienna Class (Version 2) with WIP Pictures, see them here

Nightsoft CEO Raven Night, and all around nice guy is showing the gob-smacked community the UFOP Firedrake Class, (I believe it is based on Firedrakes own design) and continues to deliver perfectly orchestrated Gob Smacks with the added pages on comments and additions. See the progress here

Nanobyte's NanoFX 2.0 is continuing to astound all, check out the newest post of thread progress here

Check out these threads and more here

the_lynx_effect's final thought:
What is the point of the saying 'You can't have your cake and eat it'? If you have a cake, what else can you do apart from eating it. And you can't eat what you don't have. Surely, a better saying would be 'You can't have a cake and eat it all' hows that?

[/url]

Sorry it's been so long since an update.

Executioner_de has released WIP's of his 3rd CGI Model, check out the dude's uber work here

Darkmatrix has released a few beta pics of his pre-tos ships, check out the cool-looking vessels check out link here Darkmatrix is also advertising the old Modpacks here

Lorik continues to show off the stage 2 Enterprise. see it here

The Dreamyards crew, (some members of the limbo'ed DAP) are doing some modifications of the Excelsior, check out the lists and links here

Mackie is trying his hand at the ol� kitbashing, check out the work here

Also from Darkmatrix (Someone PLEASE unassimilate this dude, he is doing too much!) a few gorn ships to download, check them out here

Finally, MVAM 2.0 is in full swing, Mr 'I am a blooming good scripter, bow down to my wraith!' Sneaker98 is really pulling out the stops to it, check out here

For more on these stories, and others, go to the Modding Forum, here

Peace out!

the_lynx_effect's final thought:

What is the point in saying 'Don't thrown stones in glass houses!?! I don't know about everyone, but most people don't throw stones inside houses anyway! What kind of person sits in a room and thinks these sayings up?

Hello and welcome to the Nightsoft News Cronicle. I'm the_lynx_effect, and here's a list of today's top stories:

Sneaker98 has come up with the idea of a program like BCMP/BCMI in conjuction with MVAM to create MVAM ships easier, check out the progress here

sfc3fan claims to have imported the Black Hole from Armada 2 into Bridge Commander, more on that story when I get it.

Raven Night, Owner of this board and general pain in the rear has released a "work in progress" picture list of the ship that seperates from the ventral area of his Infinity supership, check out his work here

Thunderchild is advertising his Federation/Romulan War Pack, check out the carnage here

Darkmatrix continues his work on the USS Lincoln, which looks like a cross between a Federation Daedalus class, a TOS Romulan Warbird and the Enterprise 1701 refit, make your judgement here

mldaalder is Pushing his skills to the limit, creating a D'Voridex ship, check the dude's mastercrafting here

Finally, Apocalypse7000 is trying his hand at the Dominion Supercruiser, see his efforts here

That was the news from Nightsoft Inc, brought to you by the 'Trek Universe Network. The peeps with da news!'

the_lynx_effect's final thought:
Don't buy Microsoft Products, just 'borrow' them from dumb people.

OK just a quick update here, sorry if I missed your item, just line me a drop (lol) at the_phoenix_lynx@hotmail.com.

Darkmatrix is working on some type of model called Littenell ii (ship/station, I dunno?)check it out here

Discussions continue over the new Generations Galaxy here

The Supreme Dictator of BCU, Raven Night, Continues to bombard the pages with a Tholian Armada devestatator WIP here

USS Phoenix Shows us an uber Cardassian ship here

And finally, Matsch-Klon continues work on the slightly controversial 'USS Generic' See the ship become on with the Nightsoft Collective here

Peace out everyone. Remember, If I missed your news item out, drop me a line at the E-Mail Above.

Lynx's final thought:
Smile
Hell, you may end up dead tommorow, what are you gonna lose in the first place anyways?

This is going to be a very brief list of mods (limited to Chris Jones, sorry)

Please note; if you have anything you want reported, please mail it to:
the_phoenix_lynx@hotmail.com with the heading 'My News Item' or words to that effect.

Chris Jones, the author of the newest and greatest systems for BC has posted a link and description of a mod that comprises everything he has done for BC. The list is as follows;

Enemy FleetOrder
Neutral FleetOrder
New Mutator Buttons for previous Mods

You will need:
1. Dasher's SOL system
2. Nemesis Pack
3. USS Defiant by 9 of 9.
Added to this is V3 of Elminsters hardpoints.
4. Rick Knox Intrepid Class
5. Breen Battleship
6. BanzaiZap System Pack 14
7. ZM SystemPack
8. 8472 Bioship by Book
9. 8472 Mothership by Dr. John

It's a good idea to have:
1. Dasher's Acceleration Intercept
2. JWattsjr's Warp Intercept
3. Sneaker 98's Warp Core Ejection Mod!
4. NXDefiant's FleetOrder Mod

Check it out here

BCU/Iraqi Information Minister the_lynx_effect Signing Off. . .

Raven Night is working on a rework of his KDF Conqueror. For some pictures of his progress and more details check out the thread here

Starforce2 has released his "Klingon Excelcior era Battlecruiser". It's still in beta stages but feel free to grab it here.

Chris Jones has released "Neutral Fleet Order". Here's a quote from Chris Jones as to what the mod does:
This will allow you to command any neutral ships in a system (that have a yellow color to them in-game) to do certain things, in the same way as the Fleet Order Mod does for friendlies. You, as the player, can get the neutral ships in a system to become your allies.
Grab the mod from here.

Keep checking back here as we will post new news as it comes later today.

Ok I think it's about time we got the news going again!

Lord Apophis has released two mods they include: the Uss Prevaricate, the species 8472 biopack. For further details and the download link click here.

P81's Niagara Class has been released, for more information visit this Link.

Terabyte has released 3 new files, they are the following:
Model Property Editor Tutorial.
Andromedan Heavy Cruiser.
Achillies Class Battlecruiser.

tim_scott_2000 has released a new Bridge Commander loading screen for more information check out his post here.

NxDefiant has released a docking script check out his post here for more info.

MRJOHN has released a Dark KVort Cha get the file and further details here.

Snozzlefeet has posted his Warhammer Class Runabout take a look at a picture of the mod and then grab it from here.

tooie32 has released 2 of his ships the Monterra Class and the Gemini Class go grab the Monterra Class here. And get the Gemini Class here.

MRJOHN has also released a TOS Fed Shuttle pack grab it here.

Chris Jones has released All his 2003 systems in 1 download. Grab the download here.

Now the news that you have been waiting for [fade:d5c1e30981]NANOFX 2.0[/fade:d5c1e30981].
Whats new in NanoFX 2.0?
ExplosionFX upgrade with DebisFX and SparkFX
WarpFX
PlasmaFX

For more information and TONS of pictures check out this huge thread NanoFX 2.0

Some more big news, Scotchy has posted an update about his Generations Galaxy.
Words can not discribe scothy's work so I will just give you the link to his post and you can be AMAZED by the pictures take a look.

Well thats all the news for this update. Hopefully we can keep up with the modders this time, lol.

For all those who don't know DAP is down because their host has terminated service due to the fact that DAP was hosting Mods for BC on their server.

I am not sure why they terminated DAP, but it was definately unwarrented because they follow the License agreement set forth by the SDK and are allowed to distribute Mods for BC as many many other BC sites do.

I myself have made an inquiry about this, and I encourage everyone else to do so in a professional manner as well. Question them about their actions, demand answers to why they have affected one of our beloved Trek Sites... defend our community!!!

You can do so here:
http://www.domainwebservices.net/contact/

NX-Armada has asked me to post the next part for anyone who wants to help DAP get back on their feet. So please help them if you can. Thanx guys!

Help bring Dream-Arts Productions back. Please Make a Simple Donation. Please Choose the Link BELOW:
https://www.paypal.com/xclick/busine...da@hotmail.com
Any Donations that you can give us well be really helpful on getting us back online.
Thank You,
NX-Armada

Captain KoraH is working on a new Klingon Battlecruiser, the BaQ Class Battlecruiser. It's looking very good so far, for some pictures and a little background information check out Raven Night's thread here.

Six ships have been released by Starforce2. The ships are: The Vdan, the Dvethex, the Dmad2.0, the Vorath 3 pack 2.0, the Chimera, and the Concorde. For the download links visit his thread here.

_VIP_ is working on his version of the TOS Romulan Warbird. For some pictures of his work check out his thread here.

A mutation of the Galdon class concept by Raven Night called the Hendor is Raven Night's latest project. For a picture of the new concept, check out his thread here.

Actvision, one the leading video game produces world wide has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Viacom. For those of you who don't know, Viacom owns the Star Trek franchise. Activision states that it is crucial to the success of video games such as Star Trek Elite Force, and Bridge Commander, amongst others to have product exploitation and support promised by Viacom.
"However, through its actions and inactions, Viacom has let the once proud Star Trek franchise stagnate and decay. Viacom has released only one �Star Trek� movie since entering into agreement with Activision and has recently informed Activision it has no current plans for further �Star Trek� films. Viacom also has allowed two �Star Trek� television series to go off the air and the remaining series suffers from weak ratings. Viacom also frustrated Activision�s efforts to coordinate the development and marketing of its games with Viacom�s development and marketing of its new movies and television series."
The complaint goes on to say that by failing to exploit and support the Star Trek franchise Viacom has significantly diminished of Star Trek licensing rights, including the ones received by Activision.
As a result of the breaches by Viacom, Activision has terminated the agreement and seeks to recover the damages it has suffered and will suffer due to Viacom's failure to abide by its agreement.

No news on Viacom's response.

And I quote from Activision's press release:
The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are �forward-looking statements.� The Company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause Activision�s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These important factors, and other factors that could affect Activision, are described in Activision�s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this press release are referred to such filings.

Raven Night is working on a new concept. The concept is called the Cardassian Galdon Class. For more information and a picture check out his thread here.

Lord Apophis has released a Venture Class Scout. For more information and the download check out his thread here.

MRJOHN has released and posted some pictures of a re-texture for P81's Intrepid. The re-texture is a Borg Intrepid. For more information and the download go here.

darkshimmer has released MPMP 2.0 Alpha release. For more information and the download go to his thread here.

Nixon_26 is working on a Bird of Prey model. For more information and several pics go to his thread here.

Starforce2 has released a beta version of his USS Chimera. For more information and the download link check out his thread here (Remember this is a beta version and Starforce2 would like feedback.

Sneaker98 has finally released his MVAM script! You can get more information in his thread here. And you can get the script off of bcfiles here.

USS_Salem-C has released the most cannon Nemesis bridge I have ever seen. For more information and the download link check out his thread here.

Jordan Evans has released a mod that allows you to relieve your officers on the bridge. (Finally no more Saffi!) For more information and the download link check out his thread here.

Lord Apophis has released P81's Bird of Prey with his hardpoint. P81 never released his Bird of Prey because it didn't have a hardpoint. And now it does, so go here to grab it: P81 BOP Released.

mldaalder has released his "Rain Bow" torpedo. The torpedo changes color every time you fire it! For more info and the download link go here.

Raven Night is working on a new Federation concept. He calls is the "United Federation of Planets Seefalke Class Combat Tug. For more information and a picture visit his thread here.

Wow, that was a lot of news! If I missed your news drop me a private message on the forums here at Bridge Commander Universe.

Starforce2 has posted a request for some beta testers for a Tactical Icon Editor. For the download link and more information check out his thread here:Beta testers needed for Tac icon editor

CJones and JWatts have released a system pack. The system pack has 8 systems in it! For lots more details and the download link go to this thread:CJones and JWatts Systems released

Raven Night is working on a Steamrunner class refit. For more information and a picture visit his thread here...UFOP Steamrunner class refit concept

Raven Night has finally got Nightsoft's forums active! For more information and a link to the forum go to his announcement here: Nightsoft forums are finally active

Sim Rex has released a Graphical User Interface of his Mission Builder. The build is 0.2. For more information visit the following thread: Gui Mission Builder v0.2 released

Admiral_Ames has released the W'ked Class. For more information and a picture see this thread: W'ked Class Released

Starforce2 has released the USS Aleric artilary cruiser. For more information and lots of pics, visit his thread here: USS Aleric Artilary Cruser and for the download go here: Download USS Aleric

ussrelativity has posted an update on his Klingon Enhancement Pack. For more information check out his thread here: Klingon Enhancement Pack Update

Defiants_Return has released a retexture for DamoclesX Negh'Var. For more information, and the download instructions visit his thread here: DamoclesX Negh'Var Retexture

ASDB_J has released what appears to be a Star Trek III version of the USS Enterprise A. For the download and a screenshot go to his thread here: ''A hero's welcome, is that what you'd like, son?''

Raven Night has posted a picture of his Bird of Prey status panel. For more information and a comparison picture between the stock version and his version go to the following thread: My version of the Klingon BOP LCARS panel.......

Additional news items will be posted as the day progresses.

Wes Janson has released a beta for new impact and explosion sounds for Nanobyte's NanoFX. He is designing collision sounds right now. For more information and the download go here: Wes Janson Audio Patch for NanoFX

Raven Night is working on a Torrens Class Battleship. Apparently its a Sov size battleship. For more information visit this thread: UFOP Torrens Class Battleship Concept

Raven Night has posted an update on his Catalpa class he is working on. For more information check this thread: Update On Catalpa

Raven Night is also working on a Reman Rapier Class sub-predator concept. For more information an a picture check out this thread: Reman Rapier Class Sub-Predator Concept.

Cpt Hooker has posted a sketch of what he calls a Klingon Netek class ship. For more information check out his thread here: Klingon Netek

A new update to BanzaiZAP's System Pack is now available. It includes two new locations, and modifications to many of the previous star systems. Examples include: Banzai system now in 4 warp points, new nebula-backgrounds, minor bug fixes. For more information and a picture visit this thread: BanzaiZAP SystemPack 12 released. You can download the pack and see another picture in this thread: Download BanzaiZAP's SystemPack 12

Several members at Frost Works are working on a Freelancer Total Conversion mod. They are looking for 3D meshes for the conversion, and they are looking here for them. If you want to help visit this thread: FrostWorks/ST:TC Looking for help.

Smiley is working on his take on John Eaves' first idea for the Federation Holoship in Star Trek: Insurrection. For more information and a picture of his idea check out this thread.

Starforce2 is looking for some help in trying to get a 98,000 poly model in Bridge Commander. Apparently its in game but with some problems. For more information and a picture visit this thread.

There's an interesting thread in the Bridge Commander Scripting Forum about Navigation, Communications, and some minor effects. For more information visit the thread here: Navigation, comm, fleet movements, SHADOWS overhall idea.

Raven Night is working on a new concept for a Federation vessel. The vessel is a Catalpa Class light cruiser. For more information check out this thread: Federation Catalpa class light cruiser concept...... He is also working on a re-texture for Moonrakers KCA. He calls it the Dark KCA texture redo. For more information check out this thread: Moon's Dark KCA texture rework pics........

DJ Curtis, a new member on BCU's forums is working on a new ship which doesn't have a name yet. For more information and some pictures of his first ship for Bridge Commander, check out this thread: A New Ship

Sneaker98 has posted some updates regarding his work on the MVAM (Multi Vector Assault Mode). He says the release date for it is sometime before June 27th. For more information visit this thread: Multi Vector Assault Mode

USS_Salem-C has posted some pictures of a re-textured TOS Enterprise. They look very modern. For more information and pictures visit his thread: TOS Enterprise Retexture

Starforce2 has posted some pictures of a Defiant Shuttle by skinman. For more information visit the following thread: Preview Defiant Shuttle By Skinman

ASDB_J is working on a Star Trek 3, USS Enterprise "accurization". I don't believe he is doing hardpoints for it, just a re-texture and some minor touch ups. For more information, and a picture, take a look at this thread: Star Trek 3, USS Enterprise "accurization"

ASDB_J is working on a side project. a Starbase 220 Texture Fix. For more information visit the following thread: Starbase 220 Texture Fix

In the Bridge Commander 2 Project Forum there is a thread about the logo for BC2. Some of the logos look very nice. Take a look for yourself here: Bridge Commander 2 Logo

Jimmy Obrien is working on a 3d model of the Enterprise D Engine Room. The model currently stands around 85,000 polys (amazing). He says he may expand to other areas of the Enterprise as time permits. For full details have a look at this thread in the Graphics Art Forum: Enterprise D Engine Room

I think that does it for the news update. If I missed something, please email me at Dave@Mystarship.com , thanks.

As you can see Bridge Commander universe has been redesigned. The forum links have been moved from the left to the right side of the main page and now include almost all the forums. Also under the forum category there is a link to the BC forums at Trek Universe Network. Some of the links are still being worked on but they should hopefully all be up and running soon. There are screenshots, information about ships, FAQ, and general information about Bridge Commander on the left under Game Information.

I would also like to take this time to say a big hello to all you Bridge Commander fans out there! I will be helping with the news for Bridge Commander Universe from now on. Should be fun!

Well, the mods just seem to keep on coming. Heres a list of some recent mod releases.

Klingon Enhancement Pack by ussrelativity - Here
CJones System and 7 QBR Missions by Chris Jones - Here
DamoclesX Neghvar Retexture by Defiants_Return - Here
Firehawk Textures by starforce2 - Here
Self Destruct Countdown by NxDefiant - Here
Low Poly Borg Cube by Admiral_Ames - Here
Constitution Refit Texture Pack by pentserv22 - Here
Stock Warbird HP Upgrade by Dave - Here
Nine of Nine's Defiant HP Upgrade by Dave - Here
Sovereign S by MRJOHN - Here
Matrix Cube by MRJOHN - Here
KUU Update for 1.2b Download by kenjar - Here
All 5 Shield Torpedoes by MRJOHN - Here
New Hardpoints by MRJOHN - Here
RHCD Script Pack v1.4 by RedHotChiliDog - Here
Prometheus Class by Terabyte/Dawn - Here
Stargazer-A and Enterprise-B by ASDB_J - Here
Borg Galaxy Bridge by Thermos - Here
Rescaled Type 6 Shuttle by Admiral_Ames - Here
Borg Sovereign Bridge by Genty - Here

Yes there are more and if anyone wants there mod put up here, email me using the "Submit News" button.

Nightsoft has started negotiations with New Breed Software to have a completely original paint program designed for the modding community. The program will be called the Paintmachine, and will contain about half of the filters and options that PSP contains. The program will sit around 10 MB and will focus on texture generation. We are still unsure as to whether we will charge for the program, but it is unlikely..........it will probably be open source if it is free.

What we need from the three communities is a list of vital options and filters that would be needed to mod your particular program. This program will be used to make textures, but not install them, so what we need is just the tools and options needed, file types, plug-ins, etc.

You can post your suggestions by replying to this post.

The Trek Universe Network, of which Bridge Commander Universe is a part of, has opened its Trek Gaming Portal. The Gaming Portal is the heart of TUN and connects all of the GameSpy Universe sites and other members of TUN together through one interface, allowing one place to give news and updates on games such as Bridge Commander, Starfleet Command, Armada, Elite Force, and other Trek Games. Here is ChessMess' announcement.

[left:c2cc74ac1f]http://www.strategyplanet.com/starmada/tun/portalshot.gif[/left:c2cc74ac1f]The Trek Universe Networks latest achievement has opened to the public. ON SCREEN, TUN's Trek gaming portal is a great way to stay on top of the news in the Trek gaming world! Registered users can access special news feeds not available to guests, plus totally customize what and how much news they see! Its looks to be a huge hit and expect it to grow and grow as more sites jump aboard!

Check it out!

http://Portal.TrekUniverseNetwork.com

In other news, I now have some free time on my hands and will work on getting the site in working order in the coming months, since there won't be many changes to the original content. The BC2 Project will occupy its own sections.

Yes, I realize this is a BC site, but most of the patrons here are also SFC fans, so I wanted to post this here as well. Well, here it is.........

Admiral Frey, Forum administrator for SFC3.NET announced that the site is working on a new model database. The download area will include vessels for all flavors of SFC, and as a bonus will contain pictures and a background for each vessel. Take a look at the thread here for more details.....and make sure to check the forums for the latest downloads for SFC3.

The Trek Universe Network has now opened its news system to the public. The news system is the same one that BCU uses, allowing you to post news to your site through a message board interface while giving your site publicity throughout the Trek Gaming community, which includes the Armada, Starfleet Command, Bridge Commander, and Elite Force communities. View the press release Here and check out the Trek Universe Network forums at http://forums.trekuniversenetwork.com].

The team that brought us the Star Trek vs Star Wars mod for Armada I are back under a new name, Project 90. Their site can be found at http://www.nightsoftware.com/project
Future plans for the team include the ST vs SW mod for Armada II and Bridge Commander, plus a Star Wars Fleet Command mod for Haegemonia.
Also, the team is looking for anyone interested in helping, including modelers, artists, and coder/scripters. Email JC Angel at angel@aenonimity.com

I feel it necessary to reiterate BCU's policy on kitbashes and improvements to public released work from other artists. This should clear up any confusion on the issue.

Nightsoft supports kitbashing. We ask that permissions are secured as a courtesy to the artist, and we will not allow any product to be stored on or released from our properties without the express permission from the original artist.

If proper credits to the original artist are displayed and placed in the readme, however, we will not block an announcement on our properties for release of the product from a server or site that is not owned by Nightsoft EVEN IF PERMISSIONS HAVE NOT BEEN SECURED. Nor will we block a user in this instance. If your work is truly original, IE; not based on copyrighted material, the preceding rules do not apply, and your work will be treated by Nightsoft like copyrighted material, with all rights and privileges thereof.

I want to be very clear that we strongly urge all kitbashers to secure proper permissions. Nightsoft respects the rights of original artists, but it must be said that public release of your work, outside of copyrighting that work, is public domain and opens it to alterations. If you do not wish to have your work altered, you should not base your work on copyrighted materials.

It should also be said that any artist is welcome to approach Nightsoft to secure compensation for their model, in order to facilitate universal permissions for kitbashing if so desired. The Scorpion is a good example........a model concept designed by myself and constructed by Greg Strong, AKA Lord Bile, purchased by Nightsoft and open to kitbashing by anyone that desires to do so. All you need to do is credit myself and Bile in the readme, and you can do to the design what you see fit.

I hope this clears up a few things for all of you. Thank you for your time.

Raven

After all this time, BCMI finally gets an upgrade!!! This will be the last upgrade BCMI gets (unless there are lots of bugs to be fixed) which has quite a few new features and a 200-300% increase in performance.

FYI, .NET is the latest version of Programming, which I am currently upgrading all my programs to, so BCMP will get a .NET update with newer and better features as well!

If you havn't been keeping your computer up to date (which you should be!!!) with Windows update... you will need to download and install .NET Framwork to get BCMI .NET to run, just like you needed VB 6.0 Runtime in the past (VB .NET is actually VB 7.0)

Go to the Dowload Page on my Site to get .NET Framwork Redistribution (if you need it) and BCMI .NET now!
http://www.federationshipyards.com/B...BCMI_index.htm

A list of the new Features are on the Page as well.

In an effort to fix the problems with the forum (images/attachments and login/cookie problems), the BCU Team attempted to test out several forum software packages. Unfortunately, it seems GameSpy has limits on MySQL and so the installation on PHPBB renamed/overwritten some of the tables for Vbulletin. The latter seems the case, as we still have admin access and users and threads are searchable. The problem is currently being diagnosed and will be solved ASAP. However, it may require emailing GameSpy, which could take a few days to get sorted out. In the mean time, feel free to use our other boards at Trek Universe Network at http://forums.trekuniversenetwork.com . Note that these forums do not have a rants and raves forum and vulgar language is frowned upon. We apologize for the incovenience.

Its been a long time since any updates have been done but I will be doing the news from now on so hopefully updates will occur more frequently.

Tons of mods have been released in the last while. If I forgot anyone let me know.

Multiplayer Stabilizer Patch from SSMike - Here
Vulcan Surrok Class Cruiser from NinjaDriver - Here
All Good Things Uniform Mod from BlackRook32 - Here
Reman Scimitar from �ކ 2X��M� - Here
Vorath Class from starforce2 - Here
Galaxy Class from �ކ 2X��M� - Here
USS Lakota TNG Excelsior Refit from �ކ 2X��M� - Here
TMP Uniform Conversion from BlackRook32 - Here
Masamune, Federation, Romulan BOP, Romulan V1, and Gabriel Class Destroyer from Anduril - Here
Deep Explosions 2 from isolar801 - Here
USS Norway Beta 0.1 from �ކ 2X��M� - Here
Excelsior Mark 2 Refit Beta 0.1 from �ކ 2X��M� - Here
Nemesis Sovereign from Chronocidal_Guy (Hawkeye) - Here
First Contact Sovereign BETA from Scotchy - Here
Defiant and Excelsior from Dreamarts and Pneumonic81 - Here

Originally posted by Raven on December 12, 2002

We can now offer unlimited space on the Nightsoft server. We ask that any material stored or website be sci-fi gaming related, and that you do not store the usual banned items, such as warez or pornography. We will soon be able to offer chat rooms and individual message boards, as well as control panel access to our hosted clients.

If you are interested, send me an email at my ravennx@hotmail.com addy with the subject line "space for storage", "space for website" or "space for pictures" with your desired username, password and foldername and we will get you set up.

Originally posted by Nanobyte on December 11, 2002

We have finally decided on our new Moderators. I'd like to thank all those who applied and we will keep your Application on file for any future positions on BCU.

There will be one Moderator per forum except for the busier forums, in addition Krenn sutai-Rustazh will be the Global Moderator and he will report to DamoclesX who is in charge of all the Forums.

The following people have been assigned as Moderators to the Following Forums

Modding Forum- Durandal AND Viper
Scripting Forum- Sim Rex
Mods and Downloads Forum - MinioN
BC General- pentserv22
BC Multiplayer- Armodikov
General- RCGothic
Suggestions- {CGEN}001David{GD}

I would like to ask these people to Report to DamoclesX at
damoclesx@hotmail.com for an orientation and so DX can set you up as a Moderator.

Thank you...

We still have other positions open as well and I will post an ad for them in a couple of days. Anyone will be free to apply to these positions as well.

NanoByte out...

Originally posted by Nanobyte on December 8, 2002

To All BCU Forum Members:

Some of the pics in the Signatures of your profiles are too large. Due to 56k Modem users and to maintain fast running Forums, we now have to enforce a Size Restriction on your Signatures.

The Following Restriction Size is as follows...

By the new year we will be enforcing this new restriction. Please downsize your total signature size by then and remove all scrolling scripts.

Thank you for your Attention.

Originally posted by Nanobyte on December 4, 2002

Some people have been telling me they are having trouble logging in or thinking that they are banned!

This is not the case. There is an issue with Session Cookies and the Login on the Forums. We are currently trying to resolve the issue.

As a Temporary fix for Internet Explorer�
1. Click on the �Tools� Menu then go to �Internet Options�
2. Click on the Privacy Tab
3. Click on the Advanced Button
4. Click the �Override automatic cookie handling� Checkbox
5. Select to Accept all First Party and Third Party Cookies
6. Check the �Always allow session cookies� Checkbox
7. Click the OK Button
8. Now go the General Tab
9. Click on the �Delete Cookies�� button
10. Now you are Done in Internet Options so Get out of the screen by clicking its OK Button
11. CLOSE Internet Explorer and Start again

Now go to BCU�s site� and Click on the Link for the Forum Index� scroll to the Bottom of the Screen and you will see 2 Textboxes for you to Login
Using that Login should allow you to log in and from that point you should be able to post on the forums as normal. It is important to note that you need to have the latest version of IE, IE6, for this to work.

If you still have problems email me at nanobyte@nightsoftware.com
NanoByte out...

Originally posted by Nanobyte on November 23, 2002

Attention all BCU members... we are now currently taking Applications for the following openings:

1. Forum Moderator Staff Members
2. News Staff Members

If you think you have what is takes for one of these two positions then email me here

NOTE: Only active, qualified memebers need apply.

When Applying for a position, please tell me...
1. Your User Name
2. What position you are applying for and...
3. WHY you believe you are qualified for the position you are applying for.

Good luck to all who apply and we look forward to reveiwing all your applications.

NanoByte out...