Ninjas vs. Pirates: Houston we are go for beta

Update
DarkCombat Entertainment is proud to announce that at 9:00PM PDT we will have the beta 1 build for Ninjas vs. Pirates available for download. All those who have signed up for beta will receive an e-mail with the download instructions. During beta 1 we will have weekly game patches to enhance the game as well as fix bugs. The primary focus of beta 1 is to test the netcode, obtain performance metrics, and ensure back-end server stability.

This week's build of Ninjas vs. Pirates includes the following:
Captain Model
Ninja Leader Model
Idanoklu Maps (FFA, TDM, CTF)
Ranged Weapons
Character Specific Weapons

While melee has been coded into the game, the animations are not complete. We are scheduled to release the melee animations on 04/14/06 with the first game patch.

Player Characters
It is time for us to let the cat out of the bag on this one. Here are the player characters and weapons they will be using. We have not included their strengths and weaknesses, there needs to be some surprise:

Ninjas
Tengu (Ninja Leader)
Weapons: Naginata, Exploding Ninja Jacks

Kyudoka (Ranged)
Weapons: Bow, Short Ninja-to

Kunoichi (Female Ninja)
Weapons: Duel Wield Sais

Yamabushi (Ninja Mountain Soldier)
Weapons: Duel Wield Kamas

Shinobi (Ninja)
Weapons: Med Ninja-to, Throwing Stars

Pirates
Pirate Captain (Pirate Leader)
Weapons: Saber, Henry Morgan Grenades

Musketeer (Ranged)
Weapons: Musket, Blunderbuss

Wench (Female Pirate)
Weapons: Sickle, Throwing Knives

Swashbuckler (Pirate)
Weapons: Cutlass

Cook (Pirate)
Weapons: Duel Wield Meat Cleavers

Game
We have been successful in compiling the game for Mac and we will be testing the Linux build of the game next week. We plan on having all three platforms available for beta 2 which will occur in approximately 30-45 days. Now for the fun stuff, pre-beta release screenshots:







Beta Information
We still have a couple of spots open for beta. Those of you interested in beta 1 or if you are interested with testing on your Mac or Linux boxes, here is the information:

Please send an email to ken.reed@darkcombat.net with the following information:

Your first and last name
Your email address
Your system specifications (processor, mobo, vid card, RAM, etc.)
Connection speed

Those of you who have signed up for beta already, your e-mail is coming.

Thanks
I would like to say thank you to all the people that have gotten us to this point. We still have a ways to go, but we are one step closer to release. A special thanks to GarageGames and the community for the help and support.

Contact
Game Website: ninjasvspirates.darkcombat.net
Company Website: www.darkcombat.net
E-mail: info@darkcombat.net