Version Updates
There's another tiny version update that extends across Reach and the Wrestling MPire series. While I was reworking the contract negotiations for Popscene, I realized that the contract length had less of an impact than I intended. Unless the booker had a particularly bad "attitude" it barely mattered, but now all payments decrease substantially with shorter contracts and increase with longer ones. Upgrade to make negotiations just that little bit more sophisticated. Editors may also be interested to know that racial masks now apply to the hip area, which was previously exempt for fear of ruining shorts. There's no conflict now though, so you've got that little bit more freedom to make thongs and such. As I said, all of these modifications are universal across the past 3 games so just head to any game's page for the latest trial or boxed game patch...   

Popscene 2 Latest
One development that I couldn't quite shoehorn into the latest update is that Popscene has tinkered with the editing possibilities a little. As in real life, the characters are slimmer than wrestlers by default so I had to make sure the "Slim" model was especially thin this time. The "Normal" model looks positively muscular by comparison, so things are definitely being put into perspective! We can expect a similarly modified "Female" model soon too (the one shown above is still a weighty wrestler). This game also does away with "Weight" as a means of choosing the model, and once again allows you to select a specific build. That freed me up to reinstate the "Big Jaw" and "Chubby Cheeks" variations, which are handy for caricatures of people like Elvis and Jay-Z respectively. An entirely new development is that there's now a separate "Accessory" option for applying things like jewellery and watches as if they were hats or spectacles. As in Hard Time, they're 3D too so they look better than they would as 2D drawings (and it also means they can be mixed and matched with ANY outfit)...

Updates for 9th June 2008

Packaging Debacle
Not content with botching the release of Wrestling MPire 2008, CafePress have now taken to screwing up the publishing process itself. Anyone that ordered Management Edition or The Heavyweight Titles in recent weeks may have noticed that the images on the back of the product seem to have been rendered too small. Rest assured that has nothing to do with the artwork I submitted and everything to do with the way the manufacturers have used it. Still, I apologize on their behalf to anyone affected and will be doing everything I can to arrange a replacement for those that require one (once the problem is fixed). In the meantime, if the packaging is important to you, I would suggest that you refrain from ordering the boxed games until I tell you otherwise...

Updates for 3rd June 2008

Popscene 2 Latest
I can't promise Popscene 2 will be a "conceptual" revolution, but it's already guaranteed to be a visual one! The revamped new instruments continue to complement the improved character models. As you can see, a polished new drum kit is the latest example. It has been redrawn from scratch with a more realistic structure (including a hi-hat instead of 2 cymbals) and better texturing. The animation for interacting with it is equally good too - right down to the cymbals shaking every time they're struck! Even the microphone has been redrawn for the first time in 5 years. It's such a small piece of equipment that I never worried about it before, but I thought I might as well give it an overhaul for this game. The result isn't drastically different, but it is noticeably better when the camera gets up close. So far the only downside is that the animations aren't as foolproof as I'd like (although they're still substantially better than what we had before). As with walking animations, the problem is that you're taking lengthy, unpredictable movements and trying to break them down into short loops - which can be painfully noticeable at times. Still, I'll be hoping to alleviate the repetition by throwing more routines in than ever and having the performers switch between them from moment to moment. If you'd like to put things in perspective once again, I'll leave you with a reminder that this is what the drum kit looked like last time...

Updates for 25th May 2008

Updates for 20th May 2008

New Compilation On The Way
Rest assured that Management Edition is going to become available over the course of the next week. In the meantime, I thought I'd remind you that the game wraps up another quartet of releases which will be available as a compilation before the end of the month. As the name suggests, "The Heavyweight Titles" features the 4 huge games that have taken my games to another level over the past 12 months. They'll all be available on one great value disc for around $30, so consider waiting for that if you intend to buy any 2 games individually...

Popscene: Track 2
I don't normally like to talk about the next project before the previous one has even been released, but fans of Popscene may like to know that they're up next for a revamped sequel! "Track 2" will have teased into production by the time you read this, so don't hesitate to get your suggestions in. As with Management Edition, I can't say I'm falling over myself to do yet another remake of yet another industry sim - but it's now or never for the concept to benefit from recent developments. It has always been my most popular project outside of wrestling, so let's bring it to its most highly evolved state before it's too late...