Welcome back for a special Forgotten Hope news update. There has been a lot of discussion--even some argument--in our public forums about what our first release should include. I am happy to be able to announce that our first release for the BF2 engine will focus on the desert campaign in Africa. Our first efforts will be to bring a selection of the battles between British and German forces in Egypt and Libya to BF2. McGibs made a special wallpaper in honor of the occasion (you can get some different sizes in the media section.)

We had many alternatives, which held various attractions and advantages, and we considered them all. In the end, though, we decided that this was the best way to get a reasonably complete and enjoyable first release of Forgotten Hope 2 into your hands, as quickly as possible. Some of you may feel disappointed that your favorite theater or army won’t be in the first release, but rest assured, this is only a beginning. We will be expanding the mod to all of the theaters it currently occupies, and more, in the course of time.

On the topic of making our first release, we are looking to expand our team of developers. We are particularly looking for people to work on sound, animation, and skinning but we will consider talented people in other areas, as well. A mature attitude is as important as modding ability—applicants should be able to work as part of a team, to give and accept criticism, and to pay attention to detail in all their work. Be prepared to provide examples of previous work, and to undertake a test project. Contact ArminAce at arminace@aol.com for more details.

Moving on, we know you won't be satisfied without a glimpse of some of the goodies you will be seeing in FH2. We aren't ready to show you our player models yet, but Zero has prepared a tiny taste of things to come. His German tropical helmet is a auspicious indication of just what can be expected for FH2.

Next up is a new version of the Kübelwagen in the colors of the Africa Korps. Many kübels sent to the troops in North Africa had special low pressure tires for the sandy terrain, based on aircraft tire designs. Besides the special tropical tires, Rad also created a unique equipment loadout for his DAK kübel .

One recent source of griping on the forums has been the absence in our news of any Panzer IIIs skinned for North Africa. We didn't forget them, we were just waiting for a special occasion to bring them out. The African versions of the Panzer III Ausf J, M and N were modeled and skinned by Rad.

   

That's all for this week, but be sure to come next week when we present a preview of the opposing British forces. Until then, feel free to visit our public forums to discuss this update and other news.

Welcome back for another Forgotten Hope news update. This one is devoted to revisiting some familiar faces that will get a fresh new look for Forgotten Hope 0.7. Some of these, of course, will also be showing up in FH2, even if they don't have an FH2 Compatible logo yet.

Before I get to the new things for the mod, we want to thank Adamward and Rogue of Macologist.org for their efforts in bringing Forgotten Hope, as well as many other mods, to the Macintosh game community. The initial port of BF1942 for the Macintosh was unable to support the heavy demands made by some of the largest mods, including FH. The folks at Macologist.org were able to help game publisher Aspyr identify the bug and test a patch, which seems to have been very successful. More details about the patch are available here, and FH 0.67a for the Macintosh can be downloaded here.

Starting off our second looks, we have a major remake of the Bren Mk I, the primary LMG used by British, as well as many Commnwealth forces during WWII. The Bren was based on the Czech ZB vz.26 LMG with modifications to accept a .303 rimmed round, and the appropriate magazine. Reliable and accurate, the Bren was popular with British troops, despite its weight and comparatively low rate of fire. The new FH Bren was modeled and skinned by McGibs, based on the original model by Omni.

Rad has also been giving attention to some old familiar faces. The M10 Tank destroyer and the M8 Greyhound both carry the extra baggage and equipment that Allied crews tended to accumulate during a campaign. In addition Rad gave the Greyhound a new turret interior and new wheels, as well as improving the skin.

     

That's all for this week. Be sure to check back next week for another update, and, in the meantime, feel free to visit our public forums to discuss this update and other news.

---

I'm convinced that the infantry is the group in the army which gives more and gets less than anybody else.

--Bill Mauldin

---

Welcome to another Forgotten Hope news update! Today, we have a change of pace from the vehicles we have been featuring in the last few updates. Instead we will focus on an assortment of interesting tools for the ground pounders.

Before I get to the goodies, I want to welcome ctz to the Forgotten Hope Development Team. ctz will be joining HDN, Major Hartmann and Primo_Itch in the coding department. He has already coded several of the new weapons being featured in the update today. Lets give a warm welcome to our newest member!

First on the list is the Beretta 34. The Beretta Model 34 was a standard sidearm of Italian officers in WWII. Light, compact and reliable, it was also popular with Allied soldiers lucky enought to capture one. The Beretta Model 1934 was modeled by The Jackalx2K and skinned by The Jackalx2K and special guest skinner Dark Nemesis.

Next we have the M1A1 Bazooka, which was modeled and skinned by McGibs. Named for a home-made musical instrument popularized by American radio comedian Bob Burns, the Bazooka was developed by the U.S. Army in 1941. It was an extremely simple but effective design that delivered a rocket-propelled, shaped-charge round through a steel tube. Although created almost as an afterthought during an effort to develop an antitank rifle, the army dropped its original plans and embraced the new weapon, after a demonstration by designer Col. Leslie Skinner.

The busy McGibs has also created a new antitank weapon for the Red army--the PTRS-41. Less common than the simpler PTRD, the PTRS was still fielded in large numbers, and estimated 400,000 being produced during the war. Both weapons used the same ammunition and had similar penetration characteristics, but the semi-automatic PTRS could deliver a much higher rate of fire than the bolt action PTRD.

In case you were wondering whether the stylish Panzer III renders we showed off last week might be a misleading guide to how it really looks, here are a couple of screens that prove otherwise. Seeing how they already look in BF1942, we can't wait to see how they turn out in the BF2 engine.

   

That's it for today's update. Feel welcome to visit our public forums to discuss this and other issues of the Forgotten Hope mod.