September & October Progress Report

Tue Nov 01 2016

Hello, and welcome to FreeDroidRPG's progress report for September and October of 2016!

From Halloween to All Hallow Eve. On the past two months, we've been hunting performance ghosts to improve the game speed. Many changes were done on OpenGL mode, we'll list some technical improvements below:

  • Thanks to ahuillet, you should notice a significant performance rate improvement when running on OpenGL mode.
  • Thanks to ahuillet, FreedroidRPG will use better NVIDIA features.
  • GLEW (>= 1.6) is now a dependency of FreedroidRPG.
  • Thanks to Gregory Lozet, code indentations and memory-leaks were fixed.
  • Thanks to ahuillet, a potential bug which could provoke health bars to be drawn before obstacles was squished.
  • Thanks to Fluzz, an important bug which skipped titles when compiling without sound support or running on silent mode was fixed.
  • Thanks to Fluzz, fewer problems will show up on level editor when doing various actions. We're constantly working to make our Level Editor a good tool so everyone can contribute with new maps.

A game is not done only of performance improvements, but of content and dialogs improvement too. Of course the game content department didn't cross its arms. With the help of contributors regardless of their coding abilities, these are the changes on those two months:

  • Thanks to can-ned food, some typos were corrected and new funny names for hacked droids are now available.
  • Thanks to skangas, “multiplicity” was renamed to “amount” on the HUD, improving the English on our game.
  • Thanks to Jesusaves, skills were totally rebalanced ingame. Skills were divided in three groups based on their power level, which are unlocked as player progress on the story. Some skills had costs and power redone for a better gaming experience. You'll also be able to buy a new kind of source book when the last group is unlocked.

And we are almost done with the special content which was promised a few months ago. As we know you're eager to know when this special content comes out, Fluzz added a RSS Atom feature to the website. You're now able to accompany our game progress on the way which is more convenient for you!

We'd also like to thank all contributors whose names weren't mentioned here. This game is done by the work of many people which without them this game wouldn't be possible.

However, not all ghostly bugs and typos were found yet. If you want to join our bug hunt, or want to contribute to this project, you have many options: multiple ways to contact us, a handy bug and feature request tracker for specific feedback, and, for patches, we have ReviewBoard. Who knows, you may even find your name on this list in the future!

Also, check out our translations on FreedroidRPG's page on Transifex!

To make this the best game possible, any help and feedback is appreciated!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


July & August Progress Report

Thu Sep 01 2016

Hello, and welcome to FreeDroidRPG's progress report for July and August of 2016!

We hope you had nice vacations and enjoyed the Olympic Games! We surely did, and this why we have a quite big changelog this time. As to not waste your time, we will only write the most important changes here:

  • Thanks to can-ned_food, jA NaM and Justin Johnson patches, many typos were and are being fixed.
  • Thanks to Miles, Iris will teach tux a new passive skill.
  • Thanks to Michael Mendelson, when you attack a bot, you'll fell like you're actually hitting a metalic object, instead of using a light saber.
  • Fluzz and Gregory Lozet are replacing static arrays with dynarrays. No more crashes because the game ran out of bullets!
  • Thanks to Matthias Krüger, now it's possible to limit max framerate.
  • Thanks to Gregory Lozet, bot corpses won't be colored when the bot died.
  • Thanks to Matthias Krüger, you won't be spammed by "game needs restart" anymore.
  • Thanks to Jesusaves, Droids from class 400s to 600s are now explained ingame.
  • Thanks to Jesusaves, Duncan sells you bigger bombs after you join RG.
  • Fluzz reworked and improved our 'title' interface. (Screens with only text and music) The code is also more reliable now, no accidental title skipping.
  • girix8 and Fluzz added voicing to some title screens, like when starting the game and upon defeat.
  • Translation updates.

Besides that, Fluzz also changed various codes to make the game more stable, and Jesusaves is preparing a special surprise behind the scenes for the next release. Do not miss it!

And now, we'd like to thank all contributors, and remind anyone who wants to become a contributor that they have many options: multiple ways to contact us, a handy bug and feature request tracker for specific feedback, and, for patches, we have ReviewBoard. Who knows, you may even find your name on this list in the future!

Also, check out our translations on FreedroidRPG's page on Transifex!

To make this the best game possible, any help and feedback is appreciated!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


First Semester 2016 Progress Report

Wed Jun 15 2016

Hello, and welcome to FreeDroidRPG's progress report for the first semester from 2016!

Since the 0.16 release many changes, bugfixes and translation updates were made, and we also released 0.16.1 release.

Here is a quick list of major changes you'll notice from 0.16 to 0.16.1:

  • Italian and Spanish languages are now available.
  • Various bugs were squeaked and some optimization was done.
  • FreedroidRPG is now more Freedesktop compliant.
  • There is now a savegame converter framework, so you may be able to resume your game from 0.16! Please note it's only able to resolve simple differences.
  • Documentation update for easier installation.

Source tarball, Windows and MacOSX installers are available on ftp.osuosl.org

Note that our Git repository is on GitLab.

But 0.16.1 release wasn't all that happened on this first semester. Check out some cool things which happened as well:

  • New website! You probably already noticed the difference as we are now using docpad, a static website generator. Take your time to browse and enjoy the new website of FreedroidRPG!
  • Data dirs restructured: Now we have a data/ folder where game content is kept. This was a huge change to make storyline development easier.
  • Droid specs were lualized, opening new possibilities.
  • For performance reasons, when precaching item graphics droid's images will also be loaded at game start, for a smoother gameplay (if you have memory).
  • New tiles arrived for underground development.
  • Do not build with -ffast-math by default. Does not affect game as long that we don't do any 'extreme' computations.
  • Fix various potential memory leaks and typos.

We want to take this opportunity and call out to testers and translators - we need your help to make the game as polished as possible! Bugs need to be found, and translations need to be proofread by as many eyes as possible.

Check out our translations on FreedroidRPG's page on Transifex,

Show us a bug you found in the wild,

Try to write a bugfix or a feature yourself,

Or just come and talk to us!

To make this the best game possible, any help and feedback is appreciated!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


Merry Christmas 2015 - FreedroidRPG 0.16 Released

Fri Dec 25 2015

The FreedroidRPG team is proud to announce the release of the 0.16 version of this famous open source RPG game !

This version has been in the making for 4 years and contains many changes and improvements, representing the work of many contributors.

Source tarball, Windows and MacOSX installers are available on ftp.osuosl.org

Note that our Git repository is now on GitLab.

Here is a quick list of some major changes from 0.15.1 you're likely to notice:

  • Translations are back! The game can now be read in a selection of languages, and the following languages are bundled with the game by default: Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, German, French, and Swedish. More languages are being worked on by volunteers, and translators (and proofreaders!) are always welcome to join us on Transifex.
  • The various interfaces of the game have been re-factored and are now widget-based, allowing them to be displayed better in larger resolutions.
  • Higher-level bots will now see through the Invisibility program.
  • The arena in town has been redesigned entirely. Bots are now fought in waves and in several difficulty levels.
  • The game ends a little less abruptly, and the player has the opportunity to enjoy compliments (and other words) from several characters.
  • Background images have been added and remastered, including wide-screen versions.
  • A new, rhythmical music track has been added, and can be encountered near the Hell Fortress.
  • For the modders among you, the game's dialog engine has been restructured, and now uses pure Lua and employs bindings for NPCs and the player. Many new Lua functions have been added and can be called via dialogs and events. The remainder of the game's data is now also specified in Lua, for many of the same advantages.
  • An effect timer can be shown in the Heads-Up Display by enabling it in the game's settings. No more waiting blindly for Emergency Shutdown to wear off!
  • A new terminal model has been announced, advertised to be more hardened and robust than the classic model. Many of those with security in mind have already switched to using this new model, and if you have the right clearance, you can already see secure terminals in various sensitive locations, silently guarding their secrets.
  • Water runs. From who? To where? Only the water knows.
  • Countless annoying bugs were squished and shiny tweaks were squeaked.

Note that this version breaks compatibility with older savegames.

Specifically, new or modified map elements will not be available when playing with savegames from 0.15.1, and this may cause a crash when the game goes looking for them. To make the most of the current state of the game, please start a new character.

We want to take this opportunity and call out to testers and translators - we need your help to make the game as polished as possible! Bugs need to be found, and translations need to be proofread by as many eyes as possible.

Check out our translations on FreedroidRPG's page on Transifex,

Show us a bug you found in the wild,

Try to write a bug yourself,

Or just come and talk to us!

To make this the best release possible, any help and feedback is appreciated!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


August 2015 - 0.16 RC1 Announcement, Call for Testers & Translators

Tue Aug 18 2015

The FreedroidRPG team is proud to announce the first release candidate for version 0.16! This version has been in the making for several years and contains many changes and improvements, representing the work of many contributors.

Source tarball, Windows and MacOSX installers are available on ftp.osuosl.org

Note that our Git repository is now on GitLab.

Here is a quick list of some major changes from 0.15.1 you're likely to notice:

  • Translations are back! The game can now be read in a selection of languages, and the following languages are bundled with the game by default: Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, German, French, and Swedish. More languages are being worked on by volunteers, and translators (and proofreaders!) are always welcome to join us on Transifex.
  • The various interfaces of the game have been re-factored and are now widget-based, allowing them to be displayed better in larger resolutions.
  • Higher-level bots will now see through the Invisibility program.
  • The arena in town has been redesigned entirely. Bots are now fought in waves and in several difficulty levels.
  • The game ends a little less abruptly, and the player has the opportunity to enjoy compliments (and other words) from several characters.
  • Background images have been added and remastered, including wide-screen versions.
  • A new, rhythmical music track has been added, and can be encountered near the Hell Fortress.
  • For the modders among you, the game's dialog engine has been restructured, and now uses pure Lua and employs bindings for NPCs and the player. Many new Lua functions have been added and can be called via dialogs and events. The remainder of the game's data is now also specified in Lua, for many of the same advantages.
  • An effect timer can be shown in the Heads-Up Display by enabling it in the game's settings. No more waiting blindly for Emergency Shutdown to wear off!
  • A new terminal model has been announced, advertised to be more hardened and robust than the classic model. Many of those with security in mind have already switched to using this new model, and if you have the right clearance, you can already see secure terminals in various sensitive locations, silently guarding their secrets.
  • Water runs. From who? To where? Only the water knows.
  • Countless annoying bugs were squished and shiny tweaks were squeaked.

Note that this version breaks compatibility with older savegames. Specifically, new or modified map elements will not be available when playing with savegames from 0.15.1, and this may cause a crash when the game goes looking for them. To make the most of the current state of the game, please start a new character.

We want to take this opportunity and call out to testers and translators - we need your help to make the game as polished as possible! Bugs need to be found, and translations need to be proofread by as many eyes as possible. Check out our translations on FreedroidRPG's page on Transifex, show us a bug you found in the wild, try to write a bug yourself, or just come and talk to us! To make this the best release possible, any help and feedback is appreciated!

-The FreedroidRPG Team