~THG July 2022 Update~

FROM THE TEAM - This is going to be a big update when it comes to pictures. Hope you enjoy it!

FROM JAMES - Hello from the open sea!

My contract aboard this cruise ship is finally winding down and it is certainly a bitter sweet feeling. I am excited to return to land in under a month but sad to leave a life I've always felt I was meant to lead! But I will no doubt be back one day.

But enough about that! You want to know if I'm actually working on the game! Well yes, in my ample free time I have been researching and writing (my favorite things). I'm still focused on the voice overs that will appear in PROJECT 401 and likely the Alpha as well, but lately I've been deep diving into survivor testimony, most notably George Behe's ON BOARD book and I'm just blown away by it all. It's giving me AMAZING ideas for both 401 and THG. Im just so excited to continue putting this all together with the others.

And of course every day I get pictures from Derek of PROJECT 401 and pictures from Kyle of the Alpha and I send whatever thoughts I have as they continue their incredible work.

Stay well everyone!

FROM DEREK - Hello all!

Demo 401 is chugging along nicely. Approximately a week ago a development build was sent out to our QA team. This was one of the several levels that will make up V1.5. More specifically, it's the exterior level. I am happy to report that things have gone well, and most bugs have been ironed out, optimization has concluded with very promising results, and we are now ready to head indoors.

You can all expect to see some new images soon of more spaces redone in V1.5 quality.

FROM NICO, GIO, CHRIS, & JASON -  (Written by Matt) You don't hear much of some of our long-lasting talented team mates (and newest member Jason who you have in the last update) but time to hear some!

Nico Murgia is our main historical texture guy making all the fabric patterns along with complicated stain glass. He recently finalized the first class lounge designs - all twelve.

Gio Castro is just an amazing modeler and render artist. If you follow anything with recreations and Titanic you know his work. But did you know he creates real-life Titanic objects? Including an Olympic-class café he owns and his own home? He's currently making cabin B52 - for real. Check out the pic!

Chris Daley (who coined the name of the game) focuses hard on certain Titanic subjects and currently it's the phones. After finding an extremely rare photo he's finishing up Titanic's Wheelhouse phone system. He's really toying with the idea of trying to prove that the photo he found in question, from December 1913, might (and it is a big might) be from the world's most famous ship. There's a lot of reason for that which might get explained one day.

And last but not least our newest volunteer Jason Chester. You've seen his fabulous fans, so here's an emergency lantern in progress. These were actually all over the ship - but you don't see them because they were in areas where the sun didn't shine.

FROM MATT - A small update from me as a lot of my stuff is on hold (and that is okay, I've done a lot of interior stuff.) I am trying to help with research, etc. But I am working on some RMS Britannic deck plans! This comes at the request of not just a bunch of fans but some historians and researchers. It has actually aided Titanic already in several ways. I have to read and re-read the Britannic spec guide to death (which I should be doing always) and notice new things. For example I read that around the Engineers' Store rooms on G deck there were sparred walls. I asked Kyle if he thought what I was thinking and he checked a Britannic photo and sure enough, he found sparred/barred walls. So these two rooms were opened to the Reciprocating Engine room. It's neat to us.

I am only going to work on this 433 plan for July then switch gears to ventilation and systems to try and help Kyle with the Blockout, when I am back in my homebase. Yay. I absolutely love ventilation.

Now the best for last...

FROM KYLE - Hi folks!

As you may have recently heard, my snowball on Demo/Project 401 has come to an end. This means I've been free to model things for the Alpha, and so that's what I've been doing. A lot can be said about the previous year and change of Alpha work, but one thing is certain: You need a good base to build from, and we did not have that. So I am now building that base, and what better way to start than laying down our virtual keel!

We've mentioned the Alpha Blockout, and that's what this is, or rather the beginning. I've been working on shaping an outline of the hull, followed by finer adjustments, and I'm now getting into some of the steelwork. In fact, the Blockout isn't just going to be temp models and guides, it will also include, if not mostly be, finished or near-finished models. At the moment what you see in the included screenshots is near-finished models. These comprise the keel bars, keel plates, stem casting and stem, and stern frame, and yes, every piece of steel is modeled out.

This steelwork is actually pretty important. Not only is it the base structure of the entire ship, it's also the guiding force of all interior fittings to come. Even where no steel is visible, it affects how rooms go together. More than that, steel is a prominent feature of most of the ship's interiors and exterior. It's visible to various degrees across some 80% of the ship, with much of the visible steelwork being hull and deck plating, frames, and beams. Structural steel is entirely exposed in around 33% of spaces. It will be vital to map out where these elements go, and so that will be one of my primary jobs while working on the Blockout.

Of the many pieces of steel that went into the real ship, the keel bars were the first to be laid down. With this keel, the Alpha begins as it should have. From here, aspects of the hull and rough internal structure will be worked out, probably with an eventual focus towards the bow and forecastle. For now I'm making sure we have a solid keel to build this ship on. I look forward to sharing more updates with you all as things progress and get more exciting!