We have recently set up a new bug and feature request tracker for FreeDroidRPG, and it can be found at

bugs.freedroid.org

This tracker is simpler and faster, and is customized to best serve our testers and everyone who wants to file a bug report or request a feature. The old tracker at sourceforge.net will remain in place until all the bugs have settled in their new home; if anything about the new tracker seems odd or broken, please open up a ticket right on it!

-The FreeDroidRPG Team

Hello, this is FreeDroidRPG's monthly progress report for July! As always, the developers are working on improving the game in ways both highly visible and more subtle. This is what we've been up to this past month:

Programming department

• Maria Grazia Alastra implemented global Lua variables, which can simplify complex operations in dialogs and are already in use in several.

Graphics department

• The Tux and NPC animations were the latest and final additions to the club of graphic assets that utilize a texture atlas, which is a more transparent format that also yields better performance than the previous. By Józef Kucia.
• Multiple layers of floor tiles are now implemented, enabling various combinations of transparent floor tiles. Thanks to Józef Kucia.
• The Exterminator gun is a fearsome weapon, the strongest in the game; firing it is not for the weak of character, and it now shows in its blast graphics. Thanks to Infrared.
• Each add-on now has its own unique graphics, by Infrared.

Writing department

• Xenux implemented dialog topics, enabling dialogs to be subdivided into several subdialogs simply and easily.
• The player now needs to be in possession of proper credentials in order to enter the Hell Factory. By Matthias Krüger.

Smaller, but no less significant changes:

• The behavior of the Toggle Grid button in the level editor has been changed: left-clicking on it enables or disables the grid, while right-clicking on it changes the grid mode (full grid or partial grid). By Cătălin Badea.
• When the screen resolution is too small to display all of a menu's content, the menu scrolls. By Hike Danakian.
• When scrolling in the level editor, scrolling speed is consistent regardless of FPS. By Józef Kucia.
• A bug preventing waypoints and floor tiles from being dragged on to the northern and eastern borders of a level was fixed. By Matei Pavaluca.
• A bug was fixed that enabled selection past the last item in the top row in shops. Thanks to Samuel Pitoiset.
• It is now possible to load unfinished nethack games in c-net. Take frequent breaks! By Miles McCammon.
• Many, many other bug fixes, tweaks, polishing and applications of duct tape.

All in all, 114 changes were committed in July.

July was exciting indeed, and we wish to thank everyone who contributed and helped improve the game. If you have an idea, something that bugs you or even an actual patch, don't be afraid to contact us and talk about it (and of course submit the patch!) You might even find your name on this list!

-The FreeDroidRPG Team

Hello, this is FreeDroidRPG's monthly progress report for June! It's summer for those of us living in the Northern hemisphere, but the devs are nonetheless working through the scorching heat (or not) to bring you a better game. Here are some of their achievements in the past month:

Programming department

• A workaround for a system lockup or broken rendering experienced by users of some Mesa driver versions has been implemented by Arthur Huillet.
• Pavaluca Matei implemented drag & drop support for waypoints, for easier creation of levels.
• Support for events triggered by the death of a NPC has been implemented, thanks to Xenux.
• A level exit event has been implemented, along with a first use-case in the quest involving Ewald's 296 droid. By Maria Grazia Alastra.

Graphics department

• Obstacle graphics have been moved to their own texture atlas that is generated when the game is compiled, thus improving performance. Thanks to Józef Kucia.
• Graphics reloading now includes floor tiles, and works in SDL mode too. By Józef Kucia.

Mapping department

• Xenux added a disused stockroom level and a mini factory to repair the player's equipment.
• Beware of surprises and traps in the Hell Fortress! Thanks to Matthis Krüger.
• Various small improvements and tweaks have been made in all levels, by Matthis Krüger.

Writing department

• JK Wood improved and standardized some of the grammar and spelling in various dialogs.

Some of the smaller changes made:

• The game now detects automatically what resolutions are supported by the screen, replacing the hard-coded list that was previously used. Thanks to Bryan Conrad.
• The game window is now centered on the screen on startup, thanks to Bryan Conrad.
• The lines connecting special waypoints in the level editor are now colored in red, for easier recognition and handling. Thanks to Pavaluca Matei.
• Innumerable bug fixes, improvements, tweaks and cleanups under the hood that make the game faster and more stable.

All in all, 110 changes were committed in the past month.

That concludes the month of June; once more, we wish to thank each and every contributor for adding to the game, and urge everyone who wants to do the same to contact us or even drop in a patch. Who knows, perhaps next month your name will be on this list!

-The FreeDroidRPG Team

Hello, this is FreeDroidRPG's monthly report for the month of Maying! These are the notable changes of the month:

Programming department

• A level enter event has been implemented by Maria Grazia Alastra, enabling scripted events to be triggered upon walking into a level and opening many new and exciting possibilities.

Graphics department

• Józef Kucia implemented animated bullets, and de-hardcoded the definitions of obstacles; now adding your own scenery to the game is much easier. Go ahead and try!
• The shotgun bullets are now animated and increase their spread over the course of their flight. By Infrared

Sound department

• Michael Mendelson implemented positional audio: now you can tell where and how far away that pesky droid is!

Writing department

• More dialog has been written for the Hell Fortress server, and the relevant quest has been expanded slightly, by Matthias Krüger.

Among the smaller changes:

• Performance in OpenGL mode has been improved and relevant code has been simplified, by Arthur Huillet.
• For easier testing of new graphics, obstacle and item graphics can now be reloaded without restarting the game using a key combination: Left Ctrl + Left Shift + Left Alt + G. Thanks to Józef Kucia.
• The player now gets a reward for sparing Koan's life in Duncan's quest, thanks to Thor.
• In the first use-case for the level enter event, the player can now fight in the arena in the town without asking the arena master to respawn the bots there after the first time. Thanks to Maria Grazia Alastra.
• Many bugfixes and minor tweaks.

All in all, 138 changes were committed in May,

Once again, we wish to thank every contributor, and ask anyone with an idea for a change or an improvement to contact us or submit a patch.

-The FreeDroidRPG Team

Hello, this is FreeDroidRPG's monthly progress report for April! This month's focus was mainly on development tools, namely lua and the level editor, and under-the-hood changes that make FreeDroidRPG's framework a saner place. Let's get started:

Programming department

• A has_met() function was introduced to the lua dialogs, which means a cookie no longer has to be assigned whenever a NPC is first encountered, thanks to Józef Kucia.
• It is now possible to add and remove obstacles through the dialogs, thanks to Samuel Pitoiset.

Mapping department

• Much polishing and many tweaks and small changes have been made on various levels by Matthias Krüger.

Writing department

• A new quest involving a new character, Ewald's long-lost servant robot, has been added, thanks to JK Wood, Matthias Krüger and Infrared.
• James rewrote the beginning of the game (the conversation with Francis) so it is more fast-paced and involves more action.
• Chandra, the town sage, now knows more about Linarians, the player's race. Thanks to James.

Some of the smaller changes made this past month:

• An options menu appears when the player dies, by Manuel Biot.
• A bug in the level editor that caused the player to spawn outside of the map while playtesting on a resized level has been fixed, by Cătălin Badea.
• David H tweaked the hit areas for the in-game program page buttons, making it easier to change pages quickly.
• The widgets in the level editor are now semi-transparent for easier overview of the map, particularly in smaller resolutions, by Matthias Krüger.
• The meme plague continues to claim victims across the world of FreeDroidRPG, and even Kevin's girlfriend started showing symptoms of it; avoid infection, or something might happen to your base. All of them. Thanks to Matthias Küger.
• Numerous other minor fixes, tweaks, cleanups and other changes in all departments.

All in all, 196 changes were committed in April.

We would like to thank the contributors, and ask anyone who wants to change or improve even the slightest thing in the game to send in a patch to rb.freedroid.org, or come and discuss it with us.