Just a very minor update here. I have reinstated the old map page so that those of you that are interested can get hold of the old map packs. I removed the link last time I did a major overhaul of the site because I planned to significantly update the map packs. Suffice to say, that task was only partially completed and I'm not quite in a position to resume that job at the moment. I've received a few emails about the maps so I thought it was better to have an old map pack available than none at all.

I would also like to thank the user "William Bennington" for taking the time to add some kind comments to the guestbook. It's always nice to get a guestbook message once in a while after all these years. so thank you William; you have earned your place on the front page!

I also have another game recommendation for you all. If you're longing for a bit of tasty space combat, check out Sword of the Stars.

As you were, Soldiers.

Long time no write, fellow Homeworld aficionados. Within a few short days it will be the 9th anniversary of Jst-Online, a momentous occasion indeed (though not as momentous as the 10th year will be!).

I've nothing particularly new to report other than I am alive and I still have access to the site :D

Just to briefly fill you in, I had constructed a revamped page design for my university project as expected and indeed made a database back end for it. For the most part it worked perfectly fine. However, I did not feel it was completely up to the task of replacing the site and therefore planned on making additional refinements once university was complete. Unfortunately, that never happened. A year on, I've forgotten some of those skills and so chances are if I do get around to doing it, it will be some time off. Perhaps for the 10th anniversary...that would seem fitting. In the meantime, while we are all waiting for next year to come and for Homeworld 3 to be announced, check out the following links:

1. Revamped Design - A screenshot taken from my portfolio website.
2. GameRanger - An excellent way to play Homeworld online, now that WON is dead. I've tried Hamachi and Wippien, both VPN clients. They are good. But GameRanger is better! It makes it much easier to get a match going and emulates the experience of WON and the old ways of finding games using 3rd party tools.
3. Sins of a Solar Empire - A game I had been playing quite a bit of up until recently. A beautiful game that runs well even on modest systems. Its a bit slower than Homeworld but once you get the hang of it, chances are you'll love it. It should pass the time until Homeworld 3 (there will be a Homeworld 3 damnit!).

So until next time friends, take care.

P. S Feel free to add me on GameRanger or send me random messages of goodwill on the good ole Guestbook!

As I have been busy with Real Life™ and university commitments, I haven't had time to do anything more to the site as of yet. However, due to user demand, I am uploading the old tools page (with some minor modifications) until I get around to adding all the additional tools I have. The most common tools you should need are there including HWSE, Winbig and liflist.

Shortcut: Tools Page

Done:

Updated Links Page - Many new additions, many old ones removed and current ones updated.
Downloads Page - Mod downloads for Homeworld and Cataclysm have been re-instated. A massive grand-total of 96 mods are now available to download, which means by my counts an extra 20 mods as well as any updated versions of the 76 mods that were available before.
Main Page - Links to the forum and the official Relic sites updated. A moddb topsite link has also been added.
Main Menu - Streamlined and removed some links. Navigation should now be a little bit more efficient.

To do (Short Term Goals only):

Finish updating the Homeworld 2 map pack.
Finish the Tools Section page.
Finish the Jst-Online Mods page.
Update the about page.
Improve descriptions for many mods, including author's own description where possible.

Once this is done, I will do a formal announcement that the site is fully re-released and will post as such on the Relic Forums. I had planned to do it all in one go, but due to impending time constraints due to my University course, I am spending less time on the "to do" list than I would like. So, while you all wait for more, enjoy the biggest single collection of Homeworld mods that has ever graced this planet, as always, courtesy of Jst-Online.

"Status Report Mr. Scott?"

I just wanted to let you guys know that I am still working on the update as promised. The mods section is almost done and its looking as if there will soon be 96 (yes 96!!) mods for you to download. In addition to this, I am attempting to update the Homeworld 2 Map Archive. On that subject, I will soon post a list of maps and I will request that anyone with a map that isn't on that list submit it to me as soon as possible for inclusion in the next version!

On an interesting side note, I found that after over a month of working on this, I got a bit sidetracked the other day and started making a new mod, based on a mod I played years ago called the "Nuclear Probe". The details of this mod will be released at some point in the near future. Essentially, it will contain some simple script changes for 3 of the non-combat class ships, but I will be balancing it out quite nicely to facilitate some interesting strategic options for some unique gameplay! I will also include some nice descriptions of the ships. There will be no custom models for now, however after releasing the mod, if someone offers to make some for me I will of course include them.

On that note, I will say thanks for visiting and come back real soon!

Welcome to the new address for Jst-Online. As is often the way with a site this old, moments of inspiration for doing updates are few and far between. The priority of the update switched up a gear recently when the site went offline from its old address at homeworldarchives.com and I recently reinstalled Homeworld Cataclysm just to give me further motivation! So, luckily for the remainder of the homeworld community, Jst-Online is back and will be better than before!

Allow me to outlay briefly the future plan for the site:

Short Term Goals - Get downloads section online and up-to-date.

Mid-Term Goals - Put up old versions of the site for posterity and update all non-download pages.

Long-term Goals - Simplify and stream-line update process. Ideally I am hoping to do this for my final project at the end of this year at university, if possible. I would like to re-code the site to use a database so that I don't have to create html pages for every single mod. This would make updating the site and its layout much easier. If the site is easy to update, I am more likely to continue to do so!

Note: There will no longer be any forums for Jst-Online. Instead, the forum link just directs you to the RelicNews Forums.

My next post will hopefully not be too long away, in which I will announce that the downloads section is back online. Until then, I bid you adieu!

Well some of you may be pleased to know that I have uploaded a couple more tools that have been on my hard-disk since at least September 15th last year. Apparently I re-did the section on that day, however I did not upload the tools or update the page because I did not have the webspace (I'm guessing). Well, you will be pleased to know that as my TGU webspace is down, I managed to persuade Troff to give me a generous extra 200mb of webspace, bringing my total to 950mb currently. I would like to personally thank Troff for this, as I know that he has said my site alone takes up 10% of his server capacity.

I would also like to highlight that Jst-Online has been experiencing an upsurge in traffic/bandwidth usage at the moment. Troff and myself are quite impressed with the results for this year so far:

Jan 2006 - 6.01gb
Feb 2006 - 4.92b
Mar 2006 - 5.36gb
Apr 2006 - 1.69gb (at the time of posting)

Not bad for an old game! Once again, thanks to all those who visit and provide positive comments. I hope some of the additional tools (HWSE, FEMAN, BTG, liflist etc) come in handy!

Hi there folks. Just a minor adjustment to the site this morning. I have recently stopped checking almost all my old email addresses, either because they have broken or because they have received too much spam. In response to this, I have changed the contact page so that it is no-longer a form, but rather simply showing my email address in a manner that hopefully only humans (and not spambots) can understand. I have also removed the Homeworld Ladder code as it was practically useless and also removed the DHTML menu that I created so long ago. Basically I didn't make it from scratch but rather used a tool to do it. I don't have that tool anymore and I'm not keen on the menu how it was so I have modified it into a simple IFRAME/CSS menu which will do for the time being. I know most of the code on this site is pretty untidy but its functional so I'm not going to invest any major time in sorting that out at this moment in time. Finally, I altered the code of the disclaimer so in addition to being a mouse over, clicking it will give you a java popup alert. This is especially useful for Firefox users as I noticed the alternate text on the image does not display upon mouseover.

In other news, like clockwork my Gaming Union address and infact the whole of TGU seems to have once again disappeared in its usual timely fashion. I don't know if it will return or not at this stage.

Additionally I checked my guestbook for the first time today in what has been probably a year! I was surprised to see a few comments, so I would like to thank those that still visit this site. It has now become (as I foresaw, and indeed intended) the last bastion of Homeworld modding. So many of the mods on this site can now only be found here and still to this day, it makes me glad that I decided to archive mods and maps! I know there is a lot that could be added and indeed I did work on it probably 1~2yrs ago but stopped half way through. However all the files are on my HD still and perhaps someday, I will make sense of it all and do one last uber update. Fan pressure / threats may speed up this process ;) In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone making mods or discovering new ones would inform me via the appropriate channels (i.e. via contact page or submit mod page).

Until next time, take care! (also, Happy Mother's Day!)

I've uploaded the Raider Retreat mission (full and lite) to my new gaming union webspace. It has much higher bandwidth so you should get it much faster than you would have done from the Homeworldarchives server. So if you've yet to download the file, now is a perfect oppurtunity! Just use the navigation bar to take you to the download page for this old but still fun missing Homeworld mission.

As my server business is always crazy, my Gaming Union address, like clockwork, is once again pending restoration. Once its up, I will eventually do one last update of the site and restore the forums. For the time being, the forums have been restored on Homeworldarchive.com. The address is http://jstonline.homeworldarchives.com/forums

Hopefully a day will come when I don't have to swap between servers, depending on which one is working at the time!

Just a quick post; thought I'd let you all know I'm still alive and still planning on finishing this site one day. Unlike most web developers who abandon their site, I continue to update, albeit at a significantly decreased pace per update! So what have I got for you? Not much at the moment. This is just a forewarning that I may update this site soon. As well as that, I have word that the Homeworldarchives server is soon shutting down so this site will probably move back over to my Gaming Union address. More on this when it nearer when it happens.

I haven't been around too much in the Homeworld scene recently. Even my activity on the relic forums has drastically reduced (I have been consumed playing The Matrix Online). However I'm still easily contactable if anyone needs me. Also, just a sidenote, I just went and checked to see if my guestbook is still active after all this time (5yrs almost!) and horray it is. Thanks to all those that posted, some of the comments brought me much cheer.

Ah yes and the forums currently seem to be broken. It may be that they have been hacked as their are dubious references to a "nigger" program which google informs me is some kind of phpbb hack. Who would be so low? I don't know but in this day and age it doesn't surprise me.

EDIT: 02:35am - I have managed to restore the forums using my clever know how! However they are now located on my Gaming Union web address. The new URL for the FORUMS is http://jstonline.tgu.org.uk/forums

First of all I'd like to with you all a Happy New Year. Hopefully your Christmas (or other festive celebration) was a good one. I know I'm not looking forward to getting back to work again! However, as a belated Christmas present (which was actually ready on the 22nd of December but I was not able to upload it due to ftp login problems) I have v1.1 of the Homeworld 2 map pack for you all to enjoy!

Version 1.1 of the Homeworld 2 Map Pack includes Skeeter's Map Pack v2 which has the following new maps:

PSARULEZ (2P)
Cloak and Dagger (4P)
Debris Field (5P)
2v2v2 BattleArea (6P)
SpaceWars 2v2v2 (6P)
PSA_2v2v2_Map3 (6P)
Homeworld (6P)

I uploaded the latest version of the SWNR mod, the T-MAT mod and the Beast Balance Mod. I also added a Homeworld 2 Map Pack. The pack was made months ago and was ready for compiling but due to some problems with a map author, it was delayed. I finally got around to doing it tonight and the was only a handful of maps to add to it. Its the most comprehensive map pack for Homeworld 2 full stop. There may have been additional maps made available within the past few months that I am not aware of so if you believe you have one of them, please send them to me so that I can make them available to all.

Also, I would like to say a short welcome back as its been a month or two since the site was up due to some server problems. Apparently HWA was hacked! Anway, both this server and my TGU server are back up now and I will be offering files on the TGU server as a mirror as I know that this server isn't the faster ever! The forums are also back so take a visit if you feel like it.

Hope to do more updates soon including those damn interviews which I have been sitting on for months and haven't completed. Then I should probably do a backup of the whole site onto DVD so that its safeguarded! Peace out.

Greetings all. Just a small update. I fixed a small problem with the links to the Homeworld and Homeworld Cataclysm Map Downloads. You can download the maps again now! Im still working on the Homeworld 2 Map Pack however I promise it will be out shortly. I also have to get around to uploading those interviews I mentioned last month. Oh yeah I made the forum link have an area on its own in the menu as I don't think many people have noticed Jst-Online has forums! Other than that, the site seems to be ok. My TGU webspace is back online so I am able to use that again. It has a higher bandwidth than this HWA server so I may be providing a second mirror from there. I have already mirrored the Raider Retreat file now so it is available from HWA and TGU. I have also pointed the TGU url to go to here for the time being.

Thanks for visiting. I'll keep you posted guys.

After many failed promises, missed opportunities, failed forums, failed hosts, exams, work and the release of a bajillion mods, the new and improved Jst-Online is online and operational. (Note 07/08/04: At the moment the tools section is still uploading but all the mods should be available). Yes its been a long time coming, yes I had been saying that it would be released over a year ago (before HW2 was released!) and yes I know it was supposed to be out yesterday, but unfortunately server problems prevented me from being able to connect to my FTP. Yesterday was the fourth birthday of Jst-Online, a momentous occasion for myself, as I never even dreamed the site would remain for so long with updates and interest intact. I am pleased that Jst-Online is back and I hope that it will help many mods get the attention that they deserve. Mod authors put huge amounts of time, effort and often money into their work (just as I have with this site!) and it is important that this work is not lost into the void of cyberspace. It is sad that I have not been able to save and resurrect every mod ever made for Homeworld but at least we have been able to get a large proportion of them.

So what's new then?

Well, the short answer to that would be, basically everything. As best as possible, I have sought to return each mod to their original release state. In the past I have been hoarded for repackaging the mods and this past is now behind us. Where possible, even the original filenames and mod descriptions as given by the authors have been used. Some authors had better spelling than others so beware! I admit, I have not yet been able to give accurate descriptions for every mod; this is something that still needs developing. My main effort has been in restoring the mods to how they were meant to be. Additionally, in the past, I have been told that not enough information was given about the mods. As a result, many download pages include screenshots, author contact details and the URL of the mod homepage. Please note that many of the homepages have disappeared over the years and the link is simply given for posterity. Those mods that did not include installation instructions have been given a small text file detailing instructions by me. All mods contain a small html readme file written by myself. It contains important information that all users should be aware of. The most important sections are those of the distribution permissions and disclaimer sections. Mod authors do not like you to steal their work or use it without credit. My readme seeks to emphasize this. Additionally, the disclaimer reminds all users that a the majority of the mods on this site were not made by me but by various community members and teams and therefore I take no responsibility for the work that has been put into these mods.

Some mods now come with interviews. A selection of mod authors have kindly taken the time to fill in a small interview which gives users insight into the often long, painful and rewarding road to modding. Perhaps these interviews will help educate potential new modders of the various pitfalls and the amount of work involved when undertaking a mod development. (Note 07/08/04: These will be added to the site later today or tommorow - they are still being converted into HTML documents)

The site features an all new design and forums made and setup by myself. The site is best viewed at 1024x768. I admit, it doesn't handle too well under larger screen resolutions at the moment as its size does not auto-adjust. As a result, the viewing area is somewhat small for these users. This is something that will hopefully be dealt with at a later date. The forums are active and have a few members already. These are not meant to replace Relicnews forums in any way. They are simply a means by which visitors to this site may discuss with other members or get in contact with me. If any serious mod makers who have a release or an upcoming release are interested in having a forum created in the Jst-Online forums specifically for their mod, then please feel free to contact me and we will arrange it.

Recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of people seeking maps for Homeworld and Homeworld 2. Therefore, in the near future I plan to improve the map facilities of this site. This site was once renowned for its map packs and soon shall be again. For now, if you have a map to send me, please contact me using the email address provided in the staff page or use the contact form to inform me that you have maps for the site.

If anyone knows of any Homeworld or Cataclysm mods that have not been included in this release or there is an updated version and knows where to obtain the file, please contact me immediately.

If you are the author of one the the mods included on this site and you would like to provide additional information regarding your mod or provide screenshots for the download page, then please feel free to contact me. If you currently have a website hosting your mod and do not want it mirrored on this site at the present time, again, please contact me. I will keep the download page up but remove the download link; instead it will point to your homepage. Several mods have already been treated in this way (mostly the TGU mods!).

My thanks go to those mod authors who have given their permission for their mod to be hosted/mirrored on Jst-Online. You serve the community well.

Currently, Jst-Online will not be mirroring any Homeworld 2 mods. By this I mean I am not planning to go out downloading them all and making pages for them. I have done enough of that for a lifetime with HW and don't want to go though it again just yet. However, if you need hosting or would like your Homeworld 2 mod mirrored, then feel free to contact me. I always have time to spare!

If anyone is interested in helping out in any way, either in the way of mod management or perhaps becoming a moderator in the forums, then please contact me. If you are good at writing and keen to test out the mod that Jst-Online has to offer, then I have a special job for you. As well as a spec sheet for interviews, I have a spec sheet for reviews of mods which gives guidelines on the sorts of things you can rate a mod by. If writing reviews is your sort of thing then there's lots you can be doing!

This is quite possibly my longest news post ever. However, it is quite justified, there is a lot to say after such a long period of seeming inactivity. I probably have more to say however it escaped me at this moment in time. I would like to finish by saying thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy all the marvelous mods and maps that are on this site. The list will no doubt increase, along with a better catalogue of tools, more detailed descriptions of mods and perhaps if we are lucky, reviews and more interviews too! For now, simply enjoy!