Bitfighter Changelog

What's new in Bitfighter 019d

Jan 3, 2015

Fixes:
Fix downloading recorded games
Other minor game recorder fixes
Images uploaded to pleiades are more consistent
Fix HTF score saving/loading precision
OS X crash
LineItem rendering fixes
Several game crashes
Fix seeker sound being heard from everywhere
Partial fix for chats disappearing when changing levels
Fix several Lua API contructors
Prompt before uploading to the level database from the editor
Partial fix for inconsistent turret rendering in the editor
Fix non-global Text/LineItems not being rendered
Fix saving last login name
Fix some memory errors
OS X 10.4 compatibility fixes (does anyone still run this?)
Fix polywallify editor plugin
Fix showing level name on the master server when testing a level
Features:
Move to LuaJIT for levelgens and robots. This increases performance significantly.
/map command can take case-insensitive names
Experimental 'Host on Server' option. This can be used to upload a level set to a remote server started with -hostondedicated flag.
New icons! Slightly less ugly.
Other Changes:
OS X Universal download for OSX 10.4 is now split into two downloads: PowerPC and Intel 32 bit. This will probably be the last release that 10.4 is supported.

New in Bitfighter 019 (Dec 2, 2013)

New features:
UI changes everywhere. More sleek and shiny
Font changes everywhere. This improves rendering performance in many cases
Level database! with upload from editor. See http://bitfighter.org/pleiades/
Loadout, Goal, Nexus zones have icons instead of text
LineItems have a 'Global' option to be viewd by all teams. This is default
Weapon changes:
Bouncer uses slightly less energy and stays alive the more it bounces (with an upper limit)
Phaser does slighly less damage
Triple does more damage and uses more energy (2 hit kills now)
Burst uses twice the energy
Seeker uses half as much energy, does less damage, shoots faster, and does area damage
Mines do not explode unless a burst is within proximity circle. Also Mines in a mine field will not all detonate at once
Module changes:
Shield uses slightly more energy
Armor is slightly stronger, resistant to impulse forces, and it takes 2 asteroids to kill you. Also remove Bouncer advantage against armor
Turrets do not hurt themselves with their own weapons
Asteroids split when you run into them
Many Lua API changes, additions, and enhancements. See http://bitfighter.org/luadocs/ Notable ones include:
Geom library enhancements. These are very useful with editor plugins
Removal of old addLevelLine()
More control of many game objects, like a ship's loadout
Added a Lua debugger
Increase limits on points for most objects
Increase limits in the level parameters section of the editor
Add ability to change points-per-minute in HTF gametype
New server permissions level: Owner. They can kick admins if needed
New editor plugins: 'draw_stars' and 'item_select'
Levels are saved with real coordinates now. Levels created with 019 are *not* backwards-compatible.
No more 'GridSize' level parameter.
New plugin dock for the editor (F9)
No blanking out background when going idle
Add ROBOTS in-game menu to add remove bots easily
Add ROBOTS menu when hosting game
Add option to have robots intelligently force balanced teams
Add marks for regenerative turrets and forcefield projectors
Teleporters are repairable
3 new badges! Raging Rabid Rabbit (RAB), Hat Trick (SOC), and Last-Second Win (CTF)
Removed score penalty for being killed by Asteroid/Turret in Rabbit gametype
Always select first weapon when changing loadout
In-game help system. Can be turned on/off in the OPTIONS menu
Increase game object limit. We'll see how this goes...
Add /rate command for levels that are in the online database
You can now edit text in the middle of the word in all the various interfaces
Added several text effects for things
In-game kill streaks (not recorded in stats yet)
Command /shownextlevel to see what the next level in rotation is
Command /undeletelevel to undo most recently deleted level with /deletecurrentlevel
Editor: Add ability to rotate objects about their center of 'mass'
Remove showing keyboard keys in joystick mode
Levelgens upload/download with levels now
Bug fixes:
Fix team sorting with ratings
Standalone fixes
Fix /shuffle
Fix several /idle issues
Several Lua API problems, crashes, and memory leaks
Turrets no longer target cloaked players with a resource item
Fixed score transmission updates using up bandwidth
Fix most window bugs on Windows and OSX
Normal weapon-damage rules apply to single-team Rabbit gametype
No repairing of other players in single-team Bitmatch
Keep currently selected weapon when respawning
Fix commander's map zoom glitches
Fix some energy desychronizations
Miscellaneous editor bugs
Fix several rounding errors that led to objects inching around slowly in the editor
Fix screensaver problems on some Windows systems
Fix some 'punching through firewall' issues
Other changes:
Asteroids give off different sounds when a different size is destroyed
Minor S_Bot AI changes
Triangulation now done with poly2tri
CMake is used for Windows now, too
Lua scripts are now run in sandbox. No 'io' for you!
LineSmoothing option is back (adjustable in the INI). Turning this off helps speed up rendering on less powerful hardware (but looks much uglier)
Several performance improvements with network, UI, and game logic

New in Bitfighter 018a (Mar 2, 2013)

New features:
Add an /announce command for server administrators
Add /showids command to see each object's ID (in test mode only)
Added CMake build system for Linux and MinGW
Server option to disallow team changing. Check in the INI
More statistics tracking: distance, objects engineered, asteroids, turrets, and force-fields killed
New ZC and Core default maps (courtesy of Quartz)
Bug fixes:
Standalone install fixes
Server voice chat enabled by default
Nexus team spawns spawn appropriately now
Fix crash when exiting Editor
Fix Editor full screen scaling issues
Several idle fixes
Fix asteroid initial velocity
Fix Zone not triggering EnteredZone event
Fix Zone not getting IDs
Fix odd crash with Zone Control and returning flags
Fix Rabbit 'carrot' color
Fix robot default Names
Fix Editor saving IDs of objects to file
Fix ForceFieldProjectors from jumping to incorrect walls in the Editor
Fix levelgen scripts not actually working
Fix really old bug where bursts only added horizontal force to moving objects
Fix timers in Lua scripts
Fix/add several Lua API methods on many objects
Fix teleporter not teleporting multiple people when triggered
Fix not being able to chat when engineering a teleporter
Fix possible Windows update problem
Fix crashes with Robots picking up various items
Fix phantom forcefields being in games after using the Editor
Don't publicize testing/debug servers on master
Fix loading of joystick presets on Linux
Fix fading UI when typing a message on death
Several SpyBug fixes related to kickback and destruction
Allow larger barrier width in Editor curve tool
Fix crash in OSX with provided a predefined nickname
All wall corner snapping for PolyWalls
Fix multiple vertex selection in Editor
Fix other crashes
Fix connection speed bug
Fix Robots not having the proper colors in Rabbit
Fix /random level display when voting
Fix weird Editor vertex problem on PPC (endian problem)
Fix Lua API crash with Soccer ball
Other changes:
Lua API change: Constructing objects that require points must use a Lua point.new() instead of simple coordinates
Small rendering performance improvements
Server processing performance improvements
Update lua-vec to use Lua 5.1.5
Increase default Core health to encourage longer Core games
Kick old authenticated logins if you rejoin a game
Google Code-In contributions from: Dmitry Morozov, Martin Bede, Vasil Bozhurski, Donny Mitsov, and Martin Kirilov

New in Bitfighter 018 (Dec 6, 2012)

New features:
New weapon: Seeker
Teleporters can be engineered
Energy recharges faster if idle for 2 seconds or more
Simplify energy recharge rules -- no longer change rate in friendly, hostile, enemy, or neutral loadout zones
Added /mnext and /mprev commands to cycle music
Added /random to randomly jump to another level
Added /idle command to let you go 'away from keyboard' without game penalty. There is a 5 second delay when wanting to rejoin
Bot auto-balancing option added to server (See INI)
Levelgens can now stay alive and react to game events... the dawn of triggers and switches is here. To be continued in 019.
Can merge two polygons in editor (select both, press J, just like joining two line segments)
Chat flood protection
Core game scoring is more intuitive
More badges: BBB ranks, Zone Controller, Level Contest Winner
Sensor module changes: passive detection at a certain radius, active placement of spybugs (removed double-click placement)
Better Lua documentation (but still a work in progress)
Tracker music now supported (via libmodplug)
New menu/game/credits music
Music now fades in and out
New command line option: -nomusic
OSX has an updater built in
Migrate Windows and Mac to SDL2 framework
Migrate to GLES 1.0 in preparation for possible Android/iPad releases
Migrate to LuaWrapper for internal Lua binding
Bug fixes:
Fix credits scrolling
Robot decision making has been reduced to limit CPU usage
Fix precision and language on editor arc script
Fix chat instructions
Fix 'Allow Robots' level option not saving
Fix not being able to type in lobby if the server list is empty
Fix editor bug with dragging CoreItem
Fix same-team turrets not firing at objects in front of you
Fix self-repair circle feedback
Fix accessing global chat from NameEntry screen
Fix several memory leaks
Fix some /commands and their documentation
Many, many more
Other changes:
Major overhaul to robot scripting -- increased efficiency, and set stage for future enhancements. Breaks some existing bots.
Restore white color of Core panels
Performance improvements to game logic
Screenshots taken at default canvas size (800x600) unless in editor. Improves consistency and quality of shots.
Remove launcher scripts for all platforms
Add new joystick profile (Firestorm Dual Analog 3)

New in Bitfighter 017b (May 10, 2012)

New in Bitfighter 017a (Apr 2, 2012)

Cores altered significantly
First achievement implemented (25 flags)
Better idle handling of players
High scores menu and better help menus
Lots of bug fixes
New features:
Core now features shootable panels
New menu music
Pulse: new kinetic component to the Boost module. Uses all available energy; speed is dependent on available energy
Voice chat mute by player with /vmute
25 Flags achievement/badge: return 25 flags during nexus in an official game with not flag spawns or preset flags
High Scores screen selectable from main menu
Other enhancements:
Ctrl+left-click no longer translates to right-click on Windows or Linux
Can drag & copy in the editor with ctrl+drag (meta+drag on OSX)
Editor performance gains when copying large numbers of objects
Can now use variable substitution in chat messages; designed primarily for bots, ideal for explaining how to do something Use %XXX% where XXX can be the name of a keybinding (get the names from the INI), or %playerName%. Vars are case insensitive.
Hostile load-out zones always drain energy, even if moving
Hostile FFs allow flags through again
Save previous level's loadout as on-deck for the next level, if the next level has load-out zones
Music for menu and in-game is separate. Bitfighter looks for menu.ogg in the 'music' folder, anything else will play in-game
New help page for in-game indicators like scoreboard marks
Scroll wheel can be used in menus and in-game weapon switching
In case of unrecognized joysticks, use a default profile from the INI so users can edit it
Fancy text effect when returning more than 100 flags in nexus
Idle players are grayed-out in the scoreboard
Idle players are no longer included in game statistics if they've been idle the entire level
Idle players may be kicked if they've idled too long
Server will suspend if all players go idle
Server command line options: -nolevelchangepassword, -noadminpassword
Bug fixes:
Sparks from previous levels are cleared when a new level loads
Fixed bullets not shown in commander's map with sensor module equipped
Mac basic shortcut keys work
Fix game shutdown crash on PPC
Fix Mac fullscreen crash by forcing fake fullscreen for now (you will have to hid the dock)
On Windows, fix playing music spiking the CPU and not allowing the bitfighter process to finish
Fix gametype instuctions (F2)
Restore movement in quickchat menus
Fix repair distance behavior. This may allow healing at a slightly longer distance
Fix music not being played from local music folder on Mac
Fix some memory leaks
Fix some connection issues
Fix several random game crashes
Fix s_bot on Retrieve gametype
Fix some Editor object copy problems
Fix Editor not reading in 2-point walls with both points the same
Keypad numbers should work as regular numbers in-game
Fix mouse menu scrolling
Single-team game leaderboard should now always display correctly
Fix inserting vertices into diagonal barriers
Fix black screen of death when chatting + idle on level change
Fix several player idle/spawn-delay issues
Better handling of idle players and balancing teams
Fix animation of Core not spinning when game time was set to unlimited
Fix Core stuttering with time changes

New in Bitfighter 016 (Feb 1, 2012)

New game type: Core
Weapon and module changes and upgrades
Better voice chat for all platforms
Screen shots fixed
Soccer pick-up dropped and soccer ball inertia added
Gameplay:
Added Core game type. Destroy enemy cores to win. Core health can be set in the editor.
Added loadout presets. Players can save loadouts with Ctrl-1/2/3 and load them with Alt-1/2/3. Loadouts are saved via INI and can be viewed with the /showpresets command.
Upgraded Sensor increases passive viewing range and allows spybug placement without using a weapon slot. Spybugs are now placed with double-click
Added spawn shield. Protects newly spawned players for several seconds until they move, activate a module, or fire a weapon
Energy recharge rate increases while idle and doubles while idle in a loadout zone. Hostile loadout zones drain energy.
Removed soccer ball pick-up. The ball is now “heavier”, and other objects, like TestItems, are heavier as well.
Triples consume about 20% less energy than in the 015 series
Bouncers are more effective against the Armor module
Loadouts no longer carry over from level to level -- now you start a new level with the default loadout
Added top scores in single-team games like Rabbit and Bitmatch to lower right corner
Player ratings are determined by kill/death ratio. If you die more, your rating is negative
Forcefield engineer abuse has been greatly reduced. Note: Original forcefield behavior can be accessed through 'EngineerUnrestricted' instead of 'Engineer' in Specials
Team bitmatch suicides no longer hurt team score
Teleporting onto a loadout zone triggers loadout change, just like flying onto one
Client:
Added music sub-system. Plays Ogg Vorbis music files. You can test it by placing files in the 'music' sub-directory
Fixed screenshots; now use PNG format
64-bit Intel Mac build available now
Fixed voice chat for all operating systems, with improved quality
Reduced leave/join spamming in lobby
Allow /mute in server lobby
Fixed some game lobby bugs with leaving/joining being out of sync
Added scoreboard marks for admins (@) and level changers (+)
Joystick profiles are now kept in a separate INI, joystick_presets.ini, that can be adjusted and added to for your joystick
Smaller text should look crisper throughout the game
Line smoothing is now officially part of the game
Removed -jsave and -jplay cmd line options. It's been ages since they worked, and it's unlikely they ever will
-help cmd line option now displays meaningful help
Added engineer to help screen
Added Bitfighter icon for the taskbar
Diagnostics work a little better and will not show joystick info if none is attached
Allow for more than 32 different types of game objects for future expansion
Reduced CPU usage on diagnostics screen
Reduced CPU usage for overlapping asteroids
Migrated from GLUT to the SDL framework. This brings several improvements like faster rendering on Mac and nicer Input programming.
Fixed message rendering problem with disabled loadout indicators
Multi-line chat is now indented to prevent spoofing
Prevent impersonations with spaces in a username
Editor:
Added mouse wheel zooming in the editor
Implemented 2-tier snapping in editor -- hold space to disable grid snap, but still snap to wall corners and other items; hold shift-space to completely disable snapping
Added plugin system for the editor -- users can write scripts to generate items in the editor and bind them to hot keys. Includes simple curve generation tool as a sample.
Added editor option to disallow robots
Added 'tab' filename completion in editor levelname entry screen
Added mouse wheel scrolling for existing level names on levelname entry screen
Removed dedicated wall-editing mode (Ctrl-A)
Game statistics not recorded when testing a level from the editor
Hosting:
Added /leveldir admin command to change folder where levels are read. Change affects current session only, and will not be saved in the INI.
Added /ban and /banip for persistent server ban lists.
Added /resetscore command
Added /shuffle command for admins
Removed optional hostAddr cmd line parameter for -dedicated . Specify host address (only rarely needed) with the existing -hostAddr option
Removed -server cmd line parameter; not sure it really ever worked at all
Incorrect admin and levelchange password entries are now logged in server log
Fixed rare crash with bot zone generation
Console command history now working in a sane manner
Bots & Scripting:
Robots are smarter with forcefields
Robot team messages now only go to the team
Robots only spawn if a valid script is detected
Removed deprecated getMove() method -- if your bot still relies on this, it will no longer work
Migrated onTick() to a standard event -- this will let bots unsubscribe to onTick events if they like (bot start out subscribed to onTick by default). See wiki for how to use this to make the bot sleep for a time.
Added nexusOpened and nexusClosed events. See wiki for details.
Lua added copyMoveFromObject, Lua getCurrLoadout and getReqLoadout can now be used for ships
LUA scripts print to the OGLconsole

New in Bitfighter 015a (Apr 21, 2011)

New Features and Enhancements:
Players can now see cloaked teammates.
Added Robot:dropItem()
Fixed selecting loadout that is same as ship after selecting new loadout, now avoids changing ships loadout when canceled.
Can now choose one of multiple joysticks. If there is no joystick, then you cannot change input from keyboard to joystick.
Indicator now shows which team possesses the flag in CTF, ZC, and rabbit in team mode.
Rabbit and Nexus no longer always spawn with current loadout where there is loadout zone.
Added support for PS3 joystick.
Tab-expansion when typing a /command has been much improved.
Added /pausebots and /stepbots commands, also mapped alt-] to /stepbots, and ctrl-] to /stepbots 10
Added /addbot, /addbots, /kickbot, /kickbots commands
Added /mute to mute a noisy player
Added /gmute to globally mute a noisy player (Admins only)
Increased rendering speed for most game objects
Improved edge rendering for barriers in-game and in the editor
Vastly improved performance for auto-generated bot nav zones
Bot nav zones now auto generated for all levels at load time; no further need to manually create zones; manual zone creation will be removed in future version
PolyWall item added to editor -- works just like a wall, but is edited like a loadout zone or other polygon item. Note that this replaces the undocumented item "BarrierMakerS" which is now deprecated.
Chat/Command box now in lower-left of screen. Chats now appear immediately above it.
Multi-line chat in game lobby
Game statistics are kept in a local SQLite database
Robots are smarter now; they avoid running into walls, turrets, and forcefield projectors
Robots can use teleporters now
Robots paths are cached - can speed up performance on large maps with many bots
Primordial voting system added; disabled by default; will improve upon it in the future
Add level option to allow soccer ball pickup
S_bot is the default robot when adding a robot
Admins can upload local .level files to a server
Bug Fixes:
Fixed bug with crossing forcefields when using engineer module
Fixed bug letting some players pick heat seeker when the weapon doesn't yet exist
Fixed a possible server crash when client sends invalid weapon or module in loadout
Fixed Robot:getReqLoadout that returns invalid third weapon.
Fix problem where kicking a player will lag, delay disconnect other players at the same IP address or same computer
Some minor adjustment to SpeedZone to avoid any possibility to get through one way SpeedZone path, reduce lag while using SpeedZone.
Can add or remove joysticks while in the options menu; no longer requires restart
Fixed giant memory leak with editor and /showzones
Fix editor crash if all teams were deleted
Fix missing sound on some Intel sound chips
Fix missing sound when using /suspend
Linux joystick fixes
Fix CPU timing issues
Fix broken rating sort - teams should sort better at start of rounds now
Fix large scores being chopped off of the display

New in Bitfighter 015 (Apr 21, 2011)

New Features:
Engineer module -- build turrets and forcefields by grabbing resources; activate with /engf or /engt; only works on levels containing line Specials Engineer
Armor module -- makes ship stronger but harder to control; always active, uses no energy (Experimental, may be removed in future version)
Upload/download resources (levels, levelgens, and bots) from remote server (if enabled, and you have the password) via cmd line parameters
Added /getmap command to allow anyone get a currently playing map, if server enabled it.
Bots can be added to levels without nav zones, and the zones will be generated automatically
User Interface:
Pressing enter now advances to next menu item on most menus
Scripting:
Levelgens can be names .lua or .levelgen, and can be stored in either the levels folder or the lua scripts folder
Levelgens style scripts can be run from the console with run {args}. Scripts can be names .lua or .levelgen, and can be stored in either the levels folder or the lua scripts folder.  Specifying the extension is optional.
added game:isNexusOpen() game:getNexusTimeLeft() GoalZone:hasFlag() FlagItem:getCaptureZone() FlagItem:getShip() Ship:getMountedItems() bot:engineerDeployObject(EngineeredTurret or EngineeredForceField)
Robot errors now appears in game console when hosting.
Added /showbots to show all robots, /drobot to show robot paths.
Editor:
When creating a new level, credits line is prepoluated with current player name (unless it's ChumpChange)
Max level size now unlimited, individual lines limited to c. 4000 characters, which is plenty
Can place neutral spawnpoints: Any team can spawn at these
When running command from console (run ) any created items are now selected
Entering 0 time will create unlimited time games. Just because you can doesn't mean you should!
Allow bypass level warnings and errors when trying to test level.
Misc:
Passwords now stored in plaintext in the ini file; gives increase in convenience with only small decrease in security; still transmitted via hash
When master server is unreachable, server will remember recent game servers and will try to contact those
Can define multiple servers in the INI to always try contacting without assistance of the master (good if you are running several servers locally)
Engineer module can no longer create crossing forcefields
Added /linesmooth /linewidth /maxfps commands, and they are available in INI
Added /setscore and /settime commands that set the score and game time for the current level
Added /getLevel (/getmap ?) command to download current level to local machine (only some game servers will allow this)
Near instant display of bot nav zones with /dzones, but now only works on local hosts (i.e. when you are hosting in-process)
Bot nav zones can now link both nav zones with teleporters, this allows robots to use teleporters.
Some bandwidth saving by sending updates less often on slow moving objects.
Added /pm to send private message in a game server.
Bugs:
Fixed issue of wrong player being selected on change teams/kick menus
Fixed rare but very annoying problem of flags that can't be picked up
Fixed bug with verified names not appearing verified with arranged connection (i.e. most of the time)
Ingame Bitfighter logo display issues corrected.
Bitfighter logo now positioned almost exactly where the generating text is located, at all zooms and rotations Note that if you have levels with the Bitfighter logo, it's position may have shifted!
Fixed soccer sync problems
Fixed long loading and lag on level maps with lots of bot zones, /dzones will work only when hosting
Fixed crash on maps with: missing GameType, missing Team; FlagItem, Soccer and HuntersNexusObject on wrong GameType; out of range team number, Neutral flag in CTF.
Fixed lots of Robots problems. Robots can now score, hold nexus and rabbit flags, and allow admin to kick robots or change robots team.
Fixed rare nexus problem with extra flag appearing that doesn't exist on server or other clients.
Fixed burst and lag while going forward, bouncing off your own ship.
Fixed some random turret hits self.
Fixed score board not sorting with lots of players.
Fixed problem with unable to see all ships in your teams in full map view.
Fixed bouncer going through ship when too close to the wall.

New in Bitfighter 014a (Apr 21, 2011)

New in Bitfighter 014 (Apr 21, 2011)

Soccer Mods:
Can pickup, carry, and pass ball
Verified accounts:
User names now verified against forums user list -- if you want to play with a name from the forums, you need to supply the forums password for that account
OS X:
Major crashing issues on Intel Macs now, finally, resolved!!!
New, fancier installer
User Interface:
More menuing overhaul -- nicer colors, and much better design internally to support multiple menu item types on a single menu
Overhaul of game lobby; long lists of servers better handled, chat-server divider now moveable by dragging
Added /connect command, available in game lobby. Usage: /connect :. Bypasses master server
Minor Enhancements:
Better user message when server is full
(1) button on joystick acts like select on menus
Experimental forcefield color enhancement
Scripting:
Added setGameTime(time_in_mins) command in levelgens.
Included new geometry functions (thanks Joe!)
Reorganized layout of lua functions. Made vectors available in levelgens (largely untested).
Added output console to show all output from levelgen and bot scripts. Visible with "/" in the editor, "Shift-/" in game.
Added pointCanSeePoint(point1, point2) function to levelgens, to provide line-of-sight information for a pair of points.
Editor:
Changed shortcut key for splitting walls at selected node to "\" (so "/" can be used to open console)
Can insert spaces into level names again (accidentally disabled in a previous release)
Added Ctrl-I key to editor that copies results of levelgen script into editor (must run levelgen first with ctrl-R). Entities can then be edited and saved like entities created by other means.
Bug fixes:
Rare teleporter crash resolved.
Rare flag crash issue resolved when flags spawn on top of one another.
Min/max player level params properly handled.
Leveldir param now properly handled with specifying an absolute path.
Scores over 99 now visible in team nexus games.
Player names now guaranteed unique on any given server (again).
Game no longer crashes when too many mines explode at once.
Ship colliding sound no longer plays on server
CTF game no longer crashes when two flags are place on top of one another.
Can no longer carry multiple flags in CTF game
Fix for too-many-collisions-bogging-down-the-server bug
Fix for F2-causes-crash-on-level-change bug
Fix for flickering black bars bug
Fixed rabbit flag issue where clients would on occasion lose track of where the flag was

New in Bitfighter 013e (Dec 28, 2010)

New in Bitfighter 012a (Jan 16, 2010)

New in Bitfighter 011 (Dec 7, 2009)

General Enhancements:
Levels that don't have designer-specified names can now be accessed from the Level Change menu on in-game options via their file name
Retrieve game ->can't pick up enemy flags, so more complex level designs are possible. Actually, maybe not true... maybe this is a lame feature.
Fixed scoring message on Hunters levels
ZoneControl ->When ship takes flag in an uncaptured zone, they immediately take control of zone without having to leave/reenter
Reassigned default key for loading loadout menu from Q to Z (Mac build, change made in Windows version in 010)
Added client IP address to server log
Added time disconnected and connection duration to server log
Un-needed vertices now removed from walls to improve both appearance and performance
Added screen saver suppression (Windows only, sorry, and only kind of works)
Enhanced flashing effect of zones in ZoneControl game
Added yellow flash to ZoneControl and Retrieve zones when touchdown is scored (like Nexus effect in Hunters game)
Indicator added to player's name when they are in chat, global chat, or options menus
Screenshots now saved in .BMP format
Scores displayed in LR corner of main game screen now sorted from high to low
Name of current game server now displayed on global chat screen
Changed Zapmatch to Bitmatch, the least controversial of the proposed game name changes.
Changed Hunters game name to Nexus, a very controversial name change. Nothing like instigating a nice ol' flamewar!!!
Team chat message entry box colored appropriately
Objective arrows now rendered correctly for levels with multiple Nexuses (Nexii??)
Improved rendering of labeling of loadout zones and nexii
Added spaces to level files written by editor to make them easier to read
Better handling of items with invalid parameter lines in .level files
Enter commands using "/" key, or by starting a global or team chat message with "/"
Added /restart command to restart current level
Added instruction page to explain available chat commands
Increased level description length from 32 chars to 60 (thanks Bobdaduck!), and enhanced parameter editor to better enforce those limits
Increased max level size from 64K to 96K
Private chat messages entered in [F5] chat now relayed to players in-game
Better messages when killed by turret or asteroid or mine
Soccer game can now be played in no-teams mode by defining only one team
It is now possible to add top-level quick chat items, meaning you can now create a flat, one level simpler quick chat menu with section like [QuickChat_Message1]
Levelgen scripts offer options for more dynamic and flexible levels. See the wiki for details.
List of players in global chat mode now displayed when in global chat
UI/Menus:
Improved menu navigation instructions for joystick users
More intelligent wrapping on long menus
On levels menu, pressing first key of level name will take you to levels starting with that letter, the next press will take you to the next, etc.
Username entry screen now remembers last name used
When hosting a game from the UI, game load progress info displayed
When loading a level from a local or remote server, progress bar is displayed
Mouse now works on Define Keys, Level Params, and Team Config menus (should now work on every menu)
Message displayed when connection to game server fails for some unknown reason
Joystick now works on all menus except for those in the editor
Items:
Can now specify regen time for health packs... currently, add 3rd number on definition line to specify respawn time in seconds (min val = 1 sec, default is 20secs). Cannot change value in editor, but will survive load/save cycle.
Turrets and Forcefields can now repair themselves, if you specify an additional argument on their definition line (secs / 10% repair... i.e. entering 1, item will fully repair in 10 seconds). Again, cannot change value in editor, but will survive load/save cycle.
4 alternate gofast graphics available for testing... set in [Testing] section of INI file
Can specify gofast speed as optional last argument in level definition file (min 100, max 5000)... no editor UI available, but will survive load/save cycle in editor
Can specify whether ships snap to center of gofast with optional additional parameter in level file
Gofast are now almost deterministic in where you end up -- very precise corridors now possible, when snapping enabled
Default gofast speed reduced to 2000
If ship is sitting on repair when it respawns, ship gets the repair (no longer have to move)
FlagItems are automatically converted to HuntersFlagItems when loading Nexus levels
Flag spawns now spawn flags periodically in Nexus games. Can control rate by appending a number to the FlagSpawn entry in the level file (number in seconds). Cannot modify value in editor, but entries survive editing process when level is manually edited.
Flag spawn points now work as soccer ball spawn points in soccer game
Asteroids... you figure it out!
Specifiying levels:
".level" extension now optional when specifying levels with the -levels param
-leveldir can now specify any folder on disk, but can still be used to specify a specific subdir of the levels folder. Be sure to use quotes if path includes spaces! example: -leveldir abc will load levels in abc subfolder under levels folder. -leveldir c:levels will load all levels in c:levels
If no levels specified on cmd line or in INI file, all levels in levels folder will be loaded, much as if the -alllevels param was specified
Level folder can now be specified in the INI file, either as absolute or relative path.
Scoring:
Full scoring information available with -rules option
Individual scores now replaced with rating (from 0 to 1) that persists between games. Rating calculated as ratio of points player makes divided by total scores all players make during that players time in the game
Killing turrets now a scorable event, 0 for all team scores, 1 for individual scores (-1 for own turrets)
Teams now assigned on basis of individual ratings, rather than randomly... should help better balance teams
Added scoring events when flag is removed from enemy zone in Retrieve and HTF games
HTF now requires flags actually be held full 5 seconds before scoring occurs
Editor:
Moved turret/spybug ranges display onto Tab-down display
When tab down, test items, resource items, gofasts, teleports, asteroids, and soccer balls all display at actual size, making precise positioning possible
Added more editor checks (flags in non-flag games, team flags in non-team-flag games)
Fixed problem with inserting vertices into wall segments that caused vertex to jump to location of its neighbor
Improved operation of text labeling, may cause slight change in text placed in earlier version of game
Display gofast speed and snapping on item
Better display in editor when in ctrl-A mode, can no longer select hidden items, tab now shows all items
Switched F2 and F3 keys
Can now type first letter of game type in GameParams menus to quickly select (still have conflict with "R"s Rabbit/Retrieve)
Can edit respawning times for items that support them in the editor
Can edit GoFast params in editor
Added script/params to game config menu
Many minor rendering improvements
Bug fixes:
Speed zones now rendered on top of loadout zones
Walls now rendered on top of loadout zones, goal zones, and the like
Fixed heap corruption error in editor that caused crashes after some deletes. Bad, long term problem now resolved!
Fixed (I hope) seemingly random crashes that occurred with a new level is loaded, lingering from original Zap code
Changing other player's team in 3+ team game with 3+ players no longer switches a random player
Fixed problem with multiple flags returning to single spawn point in Retrieve games... Flags now only return to an empty spawn points
Fixed problem with mis-crediting players for shooting soccer ball into goal (also caused crashes in some cases)
Old messages now properly cleared out when game is started
Fixed rendering wonkiness with really goofball loadout zones/goal zones/nexii in editor and in main game
Fixed rendering bug on ship config menu in joystick mode
Fixed scaling issue in editor when only one point item is present
Server menu enhancements:
Fixed minor rendering issue on servers menu
Color coded status messages on servers menu
Trim server names too long to fit in column on servers menu
Added indicator ("T") for servers in test mode
Replaced max player listing with number of robots

New in Bitfighter 010 (Oct 24, 2009)

Upgrading:
Note existing rabbit2.level has bug, and will crash version. Copy included with this game is fixed. Change flag from team 1 to team -1 to fix.
Administrative:
Added separate level change password to allow users to change levels without granting player admin permissions (-levelchangepassword on cmd line, or in INI file)
Added -alllevels and -leveldir cmd line parameters for specifying levels
Added some server-specific logging, such as names and join-times of players playing on your server.
This is stored in a different file than regular bitfighter logs
Timestamps added to login on Master Server
Sending salted MD5 of level change and admin pws rather than pw itself... This is probably unnecessary at the moment, but will pave way for universal uids in the future
Added server description line visible in the Join Game menu. Configure with INI option or -hostdescr command line arg
Added -rules cmd line parameter that prints out some potentially useful info about the "rules of the game" so to speak. Not yet fully developed.
UI:
Revamped game options menu such that admin functions are no longer in a submenu, and menus dynamically update when permissions are requested. Previous action was to dump users back to game after passwords were entered.
Added nexus status label next to timer for hunters game
[F2] now cancels level info display at start of level
Configure ship menu no longer times out -- now stays visbile until manually cancelled
In keyboard mode, users can now use config ship menu display key to toggle menu
Mouse now works on all standard game menus (but not on DefineKeys, GameParameters, or DefineTeams menus)
Added new "All Levels" option on level selection list
Improved the way scrolling menus work
Enhanced in-game chat: messages can be longer, visual cue as to how much more you can type
Separate voice chat volume control (temporarily replaces music volume, which will be back when we have music!)
Join Game interface now continually polls master for new servers, and pings servers for updated stats
When client is forceably disconnected (i.e. if kicked, or host is shut down, or connection fails), message is displayed to client explaining what happened
When client is kicked from a server, server address hidden from list of active servers for duration of ban
Changed icon for dedicated server on Join Game menu
Added different message display modes: normal (6 msgs), persistent (6 msgs, no timeout), long (20 msgs, no timeout) (ctrl-M to toggle)
Remapped screen shot key to Ctrl-Q so as to not interfere with save shortcut in editor
Reassigned default key for loading loadout menu from Q to Z (Windows only, will be added to Mac build in release 011)
Bugs:
Fixed several journaling bugs
Fixed bug causing crash with certain maps with unusual spybug configs
Fixed wall rendering glitches where borders of overlapping walls not properly rendered
Fixed bug preventing team change on games with more than 2 teams
Ship now correctly points at crosshairs when starting a game or entering/exiting commander's map
Quitting game during connection process no longer leaves app in connected/not-connected netherworld
Fixed zombie copy of self from appearing after team-change immediately following death
On occasion, turrets would shoot themselves. This no longer happens.
Fixed bug when moving and composing chat message, movement no longer becomes locked
Temp file now removed after level tested
Fixed obscure display bug that shows ship config menu after involuntary disconnect and rejoin
Fixed problem with testing editor levels when the -leveldir parameter is used
Fixed but wherein ships not propelled when destroying friendly spy bugs
Fixed crash with certain levels involving multiple pre-positioned spy bugs or mines
Fixed save message when saving from menu in editor
Fixed crash in editor when dragging existing item as first editing action
Fixed crash when changing teams while level is loading
Fixed UI problem with mouse and splash screen
Clicking on mouse when not pointed at menu item no longer activates highlighted menu item.
Concave loadout zones now rendered properly in game (though not yet in editor)
Fixed rabbit game -> ship colors now rendered properly
Modules no longer stuck on when restarting game after quitting while activated
Removed timeout on QuickChat menu --> now same as loadout menu
Fixed incorrect button labeling for Saitek 440
Fixed mouse on menus in full screen mode
Editor:
Spybug vision ranges now displayed in editor
Holding [Tab] will show a reference ship along with its viewable area
Turret shooting range now depicted in editor
Neutral (and hostile) spy bugs can now be placed in the editor. All players can see what neutral spy bugs see, no one can see what hostile spy bugs see (so these may not have much practical value, except, perhaps, as decoys)
Other:
Turrets now target resource and test items
Eliminated -crazybot option
Now builds under Linux
Added rudimentary robot code -- doesn't do much, but the network framework for non-user programmable robots is now there (mostly removed for this release)
Tinkered with mine visibility
Cloaking no longer automatically disabled when another ship is using sensor module.
Cloaked ships no longer visible in cmdr map and when on top of loadout zones
Doubled spybug range
Enhanced burst graphics (varaitions controllable with an INI parameter in [Testing] section)
Added flag spawn points -- flags will return to a random spawn point. Initial flag locations are treated as additional spawn point.
Added extend game option to admin menu
Added reserved names: in INI server hosts can define a set of reserved names that require a PW to use
Ctrl key can no longer be bound in key def screen. Sorry!
Added screenshot taking ability. Hit Ctrl-S to take a shot of any screen in the game.
Teleporters can now have multiple destinations -- to create, simply create two or more teleporters with the same origin. When players use them, they will arrive at a randomly selected destination
Teleport destinations now shown on cmdrs map
Phasers no longer damage shooter
Mine/spybug explosions now kill phaser shots and other projectiles within blast radius
Zapmatch is currently the only game that awards points for killing other players --> scoring for all games will be revisited in release 011
Reinstated a slightly modified Colosseum level. Hopefully will work better on OS X
Tinkered with Geowar level -- bumped up gridsize, fixed a few quirks resulting in changes in rendering algorithm