The Wirehead Studios team is proud to announce the upcoming release of
Generations Arena version 0.99c. The new version includes many bugfixes and new features, and will be released on Tuesday, August 12th, 2003 at 8pm Eastern Standard Time.
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Please read through this file to see what's changed and what hasn't. BE SURE to read the "Known Issues" section BEFORE submitting any bug reports. This is still a beta build and we always want to hear about any bugs that we might have missed, but we don't need to hear about the ones we already know of.
If you DO happen to run across a bug then please check out the bug reporing section at
http://forums.wireheadstudios.org' target='_blank'>
http://forums.wireheadstudios.orgProvide as much detail as possible. If you're having trouble installing .99c or getting it to work online please read the "troubleshooting.txt" file for assistance.
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New Features for v99c
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This is a list of new additions and dramatic changes for 99c. Some changes are listed in the manual. You DO read the manual, don't you? Please check it out after reading through this file. A lot of questions you might have can be answered either here or there.
General Features
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The in-game server browser is now fixed. It should report any Generations servers it can find. Give it some time to scan, then hop in a game. You can always add servers to your favorites for the next time you want to play.
Custom model support has been added on a per-class basis. Models will be restricted to certain classes. Example: You can select the TankJr model if you're Strogg class, but not if you're Doom class. For which models are available for each class, please check the Generations Arena Manual. Please note these are currently restricted to the existing models within Generations. Model changes will be deferred to the scoreboard or player death, as in normal Q3 gameplay, and will update immediately in spectator mode unless you're following another player. Custom models could be created for use with a specific class later down the road. We do not encourage this at this time as we still have new animation stances to add in. Third party model support will be a feature in Generations 1.0 and an SDK produced at that time.
Maps will now continue to rotate even if a server is empty. This ensures there will always be a good variety of maps in play at any time, and you should almost never connect and see the game sitting at a scoreboard anymore!
BOTS now work properly for Tournament mode. Feel like a little 1 vs 1 practice? Not a problem.
We've added an option to choose either Additive dynamic lighting effects or standard Quake 3 dynamic lights. See the "New Commands and Cvars" section for details. Additive dynamic lights work better to light up dark areas in a more realistic manner, whereas Quake 3's standard "mutiply" lighting tends to make bright areas brighter and not light dark areas.
New ammo and health boxes have been modeled and added in.
We've added voting ability for dmflags and Genflags. Want a Doom vs Slipgate game with all weapons? No problem. See the Commands and Cvars section for details.
Map-based shooters have been added for every conceivable weapon, from a blaster bolt to a BFG, including Q2-style lasers and even Q1 style lavaballs. A SDK and some sample maps will be forthcoming for this.
Commands and Cvars
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A few new commands and cvars were added for 99c. Some were also changed. Please take note.
Addbot
addbot - [botname] [skill] [team] [msec delay] [altname]
Adds a bot to the game. "Skill" represents the bot's skill, from 1 to 5. Bots no longer need to have their class specified as in v.99b, this is automatically assigned by the game.
Fmodel - [model/skin]
"Full Model" command. It works the same way as the "model" and "team_model" commands, except it sets teamplay, headmodels, and FFA models all at the same time. You like "Doom/red" for FFA, teamplay, and don't feel like messing with headmodels? Just type "/fmodel doom/red" from either ffa or teamplay. Please note that if you prefer to use a separate team model or head model you will still have to set these manually. Please note that models MUST be set from the console for now. The UI will support model changes later.
Added cvars:
Since Generations 99c now features support for models in each class, we have included "model memory" for each class. Whenever you return to a class you will have the same model and skin from the last time you used it. These are set automatically when you select a model in the game. Say you were switch to the "crash/blue" model as a Doom Warrior. You then hop over to Slipgaters for a while, and decide to rejoin the Doom Warriors. You'll be right back to using "crash/blue" as a Doom Warrior again. Teamplay models are remembered separately from FFA and tourney. Here are the cvars for each class's model memory. These can be set manually but it is advised to let the game handle this.
earth_model
doom_model
slipgate_model
strogg_model
arena_model
earth_teammodel
doom_teammodel
slipgate_teammodel
strogg_teammodel
arena_teammodel
cg_dlighttype - controls the behavior of dynamic lights. Options are:
cg_dlighttype 0: default. Q3 standard "multiply" dynamic lights
cg_dlighttype 1: additive. Lights work in dark places, much brighter. Might wash out textures a bit.
cg_dlighttype 2: additive + multiply. Uses 2 dynamic lights to light up better and not lose texture detail.
Option 2 is recommended only for VERY fast video cards. It also limits the number of lights that can be added to the scene. It is best used with lower cg_dlightlevel values, such as the "muzzle flashes only" setting. Use this cvar in conjunction with cg_dlightlevel.
DMFLAGS have been changed to reflect a new setup as well. If you're having trouble please check your autoexec.cfg file.
DMFLAGS
No Health 1
No Powerups 2
No Armor 4
No Falling 8
Fully Loaded 16
Infinite Ammo 32
Powerups drop 64
Spawn Farthest 128
Force Respawn 256
Fixed FOV 512
No Spectator 1024
Enable CTF Techs 2048
Allow Grapple to Sky 4096
Allow Grapple 8192
Offhand Grapple 16384
No Footsteps 32768
"No Spectator" has been disabled and will probably be changed to a different function later.
/callvote dmflags # will allow voting on the server if g_allowvote is enabled
GENflags - used to restrict certain classes. If a player attempts to choose a restricted class, they will be unable to. Default value is 0. Genflags are "latched" and any changes will not take effect until the map cycles or a warmup completes. If genflags are changed and your class is no longer allowed you will be put back into spectator mode and allowed to choose a new class. If random class is required on a server you will automatically randomize after a map change. Setting 63 (everything banned) has a failsafe and will force back to the default 0.
0 - standard, all classes allowed
1 - No Earth
2 - No Doom
4 - No Slipgate
8 - No Strogg
16 - No Arena
32 - No Random
Single-class server setup
62/30 - Earth Only
61/29 - Doom Only
59/27 - Slipgate Only
55/23 - Strogg Only
47/15 - Arena Only
31 - Random Only
You can set up a server to only allow one specific class, like only Doom Warriors or only Earth Soldiers. Instead of figuring the values all out by hand, we've done that for you. Either of the two values listed will work as Random Class is automatically disabled when only a single class is permitted. While Arena-only may seem kind of pointless (after all, why not just play Q3?) remember that you still have access to Gen's other nifty features, like the CTF techs and the Lost Soul of Vengeance. Setting 31 enables all 5 classes and forces randomized class, for some REALLY chaotic action!
/callvote Genflags # will allow voting on the server if g_allowvote is enabled.
New team mode:
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There is a new team mode: Team Dedicated. This is a dedicated spectator mode that is primarily designed for use in tournement play when you only want to watch and not cycle into play, but can be set at any time from the console. Players can step into and out of line to play through the Join menu in tourney.
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List of changes
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Here is a list of changes from 99b to 99c. Some changes might not have been completely documented, but it's here for the curious.
Full code update to 1.32 compatibility
Custom model/skin support based on player class
Bots now auto-choose class based on model
Headmodel support across all classes
Implemented "fmodel" global model change command. Works for FFA, Team, and CTF.
Added "Team Dedicated" to replace "Team Scoreboard"
Respawn times for guns for Team Deathmatch are now set to FFA respawn times by default
Improved dynamic lighting code
Slipgate pickup for Railgun changed to Super Nailgun.
All projectile velocities and damage calculations for Slipgate and Strogg corrected.
All projectile velocities for Doom corrected
Tweaked Slipgate grenade launcher
Added Personal Teleporter back in. Now alternates spawns with Lost Soul.
Playerclass information stays persistant in tourney matches
Bots will now work with tourney mode
Game now advances levels when no clients or only bots are on the server. This prevents maps from hitching in the intermission screen and keeps the mapcycle running.
Bots no longer get kicked for bad password during level advances if password set
Lost Soul of Vengeance physics changed
Lost Soul of Vengeance switched to 15 second activation timer
Hitbox on Soul increased and health boosted slightly
Soul's flight speed slowed to a more reasonable pace.
"Rolling" skull fixed.
Player now see's through the skull's eyes when the soul is chasing someone down.
Nails no longer roll in flight.
Vengeance now explodes when shot down instead of just dying.
Added interpolation to the soul's movement on the client.
Launch vector on the soul changed to launch upwards. Checks ceiling height and will adjust if too low to compensate.
Strogg, Earth, and Doom physics enhancements have been made
Strogg strafe-jumping speed increased slightly.
Strogg jump corrected to Q2 jump physics.
Strogg jump sound playing while spectator/noclip mode fixed.
Doom jump delay removed. He can now strafe jump about the speed of a Q3 player. Still has limited air control away from bouncepads.
Earth jump distance increased. Strafejump speed about the speed of a Q3 player.
Secondary muzzle flash from dualgats spawning at map origin has been corrected
Bot information is now assigned using session data.
Added Napalm launcher, mortar, mp5 models.
New Earth invulnerability and Strogg invisibility effects
Doom invulnerability effect fixed
Visible range on BFG lasers corrected for predicted client.
Modified some ammo pickup quantities
Changed default class config files to not set a model each time they're exec'd.
Modified chainsaw behavior
Enum for "CLASS_GLADIATORS" was changed to "CLASS_ARENA"
Code now parses arena.cfg, not gladiator.cfg for class changes. Class-change command will except either "class arena" or "class gladiators"
Changes of class while in spectator occur instantaneously unless you're following another client.
Added ammo boxes
Added health boxes
