1.1.23 Released!

Changes since 1.1.22:

• Flak Trikes now cost 250 up from 200
• When Flyer Repair is enabled at the HTF, flying units will retreat after taking any damage (previously they only retreated after being driven down to 33% health)
• PageUp and PageDown keys can now be used to zoom in/out
• TEAMCHAT is now enabled. :)  Pressing Enter will Team-Chat, while pressing Y will use All-Chat
• In-game chat font size has been doubled

1.1.22 Released!

Kind of a drastic update, and rather random in nature.  I needed something fun to code in a couple hours. :)

Changes since 1.1.21:

• Added a new terrain type, Treacherous Dunes!
• This spawns on random maps about half as often as regular Dunes
• It is completely impassible by any ground unit (due to sinkholes, water traps, worms, etc)
• It looks like a high contrast version of regular Dunes and shows up slightly lighter colored than sand on the minimap
• Doubled the cost of Refineries and increased build time
• Hear me out on this one... I realized after much thought that somehow down through time I had allowed Refineries to get much too cheap.  In the original game they were 400 Credits and while the first Harvester was free, every additional one was 300 credits more.  Now in that context, 800 credits for unlimited harvesters (albeit one at a time) doesn't seem so unreasonable.  And the simple fact is that it is just too easy to rush to a massive economical advantage.  Yes, this change will slow down the early game, but I think the change to the meta game will be fantastic in that nearly every game should make it to mid-game (especially with the recent defensive buffs), and making good building decisions will have a greater effect toward the late-game.  Battles will be smaller and more interesting.  There will be more time to build strategies and counters.  I'm very interested to see the ripples this will make through the community!
• Added graphical icons showing when units are receiving a defensive bonus (from Dunes or Crags)
• Fixed more bugs associated with new queues being created in odd circumstances for Flyers at the HTF

1.1.21 Released!

Changes since 1.1.20:

• Guard Towers now do 5 damage (down from 6.25)
• Subtitles are now enabled correctly when sound volume is set very low
• Aggressive Units is now set to Enabled by default to cause units to fire at unarmed enemies/buildings more readily
• Fixed bug preventing clients from building where infantry had moved in some cases
• Fixed bug with Radar Upgrade not working correctly in some cases
• Fixed bug with visible power produced by Atreides Windtraps being at 200%

1.1.20 released!

Hey guys,
Felt like doing a little fun coding this weekend, so I sat down with Frontliner and went over a bunch of ideas.  This version has some sweeping changes for faction balance.

Changes since 1.1.19:

• Faction bonuses for health and speed no longer apply
• Instead, each Faction has certain research items granted or restricted to effect a total playing style.  Atreides now have bonuses that make them both more effective and more reliant on using open rock space and spreading out.  Ordos have greater intelligence but cannot build heavier units.  Harkonnen cannot build faster and cheaper units but begin with combat advantages researched.
• Atreides
• Cannot build Troopers, Raiders, Devastators or Deviators
• Cannot research Power upgrade
• Begin with Auto-concrete and Microwave Power researched
• Harkonnen
• Cannot build Infantry, Raiders, Trikes, Tanks, Sonic Tanks, Deviators, or Ornithopters
• Cannot research PSM Detection
• Begin with Siege Tanks, Trooper Squads, and Armed Harvesters researched
• Ordos
• Cannot build Quads, Siege Tanks, Sonic Tanks or Devastators
• Begin with MTP and PSM Detection researched
• Fixed bug preventing client from using HTF controls to force flyers to return and remain docked (Ornis should be easier to keep alive now)
• Fixed bug sometimes preventing Tier 2 research items from showing up
• Fixed some minor issues

Gas Powered Games out of business?

Hey guys,
Chris Taylor is a legend in the games industry... he created Total Annihilation, one of my favorite games of all time, as well as many other popular and excellent games.  However, his company Gas Powered Games has had a bad run on Kickstarter and he was forced to make massive layoffs.  All is not yet lost however... the funding campaign still has over two weeks left and hey, who knows, maybe a whole bunch of people will find out about it and save the project and the company.

Please, when you have a good block of time, check out this interview.  There's a lot more to the layoffs I think you ought to know about.  You might already be a fan of his, or you might just gain respect for him, or maybe you'll just get some good insights into the gaming industry.  But, I'm a backer for the simple reason that I want to see Chris Taylor continue making games.

Matt Chat Interviews Chris Taylor

Playing on Linux

Just a quick note... I recently heard from a community member that the Linux software called Crossover will run the Windows version of D2TGP seamlessly.  I've also heard Wine will work, but success there seems to be very mixed.  At any rate, I've taken down the Linux download link, since I couldn't maintain a working environment for development and the last version I finished was old and largely non-functional.  And no, there are no plans for another Linux version.  Developing and supporting on that OS is pure hell in my opinion. :)  However, my future projects will have much better support for multiple platforms.