March 2019 - 1.0 RC1 Announcement, Call for Testers & Translators

Sat Mar 30 2019

The FreedroidRPG team is proud to announce the first release candidate for version 1.0! 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

Our Git repository is on GitLab.

Here is a quick list of some major changes from 0.16.1 you're likely to notice:

  • Fonts were changed! Previous ones had missing glyphs. The new ones have the Unicode at their side, for all languages on Transifex.
  • We changed the directory structure, to make development easier.
  • More skills were added, and the order on which you can buy them was changed - Tamara will periodically restock the library after major game events!
  • Also, minor changes were done to help with immersion. Like a new sound effect, and voiced title screens. Do you remember the opening text? Dvorak now got a voice.
  • Duncan will sell his full arsenal to Red Guard members.
  • You can know learn about all droid class - ever wondered what those pesky 800's droids were used for? Well, now this info is available for you!
  • Master arena was redesigned one last time. It may not be there for next release, as Xenux works on even better challenges.
  • A new quest is available. Where? Only the shores know this secret.
  • Spencer won't give the Electro Laser Rifle anymore. After all, who said you are using a gun? Depending on your choices, he'll give you a different weapon!
  • Master programming and melee fighting - who needs guns, when you have brain and fists, after all?
  • Some boss-grade bots were added ingame. Be careful out there, it is a dangerous world.
  • You can cancel an ongoing attack by right-clicking on the screen. Let's not waste ammo on small fry.
  • Level editor, when zoomed out, will be easier to see, as the object labels will be omitted.
  • And we finally finished act 1. A preview about what is to come past the 1.0 landmark is available - have fun in this new area, with challenges and optional boss - exactly what a post-game player would want.
  • 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 0.16.1, 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


March, April and May Progress Report

Sun Jun 10 2018

This is FreeDroidRPG's progress report for March, April and May 2018.

Since 0.16.1 release, GitLab accuses that a total of 411 commits.

Anyway, during these months it was mostly Code Depto. finishing the pendencies we had. Check out:

  • Better keyboard input handling. Thanks to a patch by fluzz, modifier keys are likely to work better, and some special characters can be used (like cafĂ©). However, be aware that only letters and numbers are allowed on character names!
  • Jesusaves removed an unused image, making your game a few KB lighter.
  • Robin Gareus improved the message which is displayed on the console during level respawn. Please report if this somehow slow down your game!
  • Julien Puydt provided a patch to update our appstream file.
  • temp_trisquel reported on IRC about some situations on which you can make the game unwinnable. If you somehow make the game unwinnable, you'll get a warning on your screen.
  • Jesusaves changed a line which allowed Doc Moore to give multiple Brain Enlargement Pill antidotes - these doesn't works on Linarians, and it could be confusing.
  • Following a bug report, Jesusaves changed a little the program specs of invisibility to take Emergency Shutdown in consideration.
  • Robin Gareus proposed and Fluzz skillfully added a feature which allows you to cancel an ongoing attack by right clicking. That'll activate your current selected skill.
  • Gregory Lozet is thinking ahead, and added a patch to null pointers - a small step, but needed one, if we ever make resolution changeable ingame.
  • Xenux refactored some code, so obstacle triggers still work if the obstacle is destroyed via ranged weapon.
  • Robin Gareus reordered init calls, which was needed for Act 2.
  • Jesusaves touched a little the level editor, to omit obstacle labels when zooming. This way, these labels won't omit the map content.
  • Christoph Franzen and fluzz fixed a few bugs, like items on ground losing quality, or repair item making the item indestructible.
  • Fluzz fixed a bug which did not displayed the big "Game Won" message on screen when game is over. You deserve that for finishing the game!
  • Fluzz also fixed a bug which made some bots respawn even after Firmware Upgrade was deployed. Your own bots may still be hacked again by MS, beware.
  • Jesusaves fixed some weird issues on An Explosive Situation quest.

If you noticed any bug when playing, or want to request a feature, consider filling a bug or feature request. You can also Contact us. Patches can be sent at Review Board but most likely won't make it for next release.

We want to thank everyone who helped the game, and without them this project would not be possible. Even a playtest counts!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


January & February Progress Report

Thu Mar 01 2018

This is FreeDroidRPG's progress report for January and February 2018.

Here is a short summary of all changes introduced in these two months.

  • Correct bug about teleport anchor not being initialized. Credits goes to Fluzz.
  • Make Butch more consistent and move him. Redesign the Master Arena, but be warned, this might be the last release where it exists as it is currently. Credits goes to Xenux.
  • Fix a typo at Butch, at Dixon, Samson, and fix a crash because missing map label. Also, optimize waypoint routes at level 59. Thanks to Sydney. (How Jesusalva added so many typos and bugs?!)
  • Rework Open Sesame quest so it closes properly.
  • Many typo fixes, and some dialogs sightly changed.
  • Add some items to Karol's shop, nothing you can't find in the town.

IMPORTANT: With these changes, Game Storyline & Content Depto. finished all the ToDo lists and is NOT pushing new patches until release. The sole exception is Act 2, which is already complete but because a code bug, could not be pushed to master. (It was playtested, no worries!)

If you noticed any bug when playing, or want to request a feature, consider filling a bug or feature request. You can also Contact us. Patches can be sent at Review Board but most likely won't make it for next release.

We want to thank everyone who helped the game, and without them this project would not be possible. Even a playtest counts!

-The FreedroidRPG Team


November & December Progress Report

Mon Jan 01 2018

Merry Christmas! This is FreeDroidRPG's progress report for November and December 2017!

Ah, the end-year holidays are a great time to develop stuff... or to do more work! With the leader of code depto. busy since the time begin, no code changes were committed - this include the bugfix for broken teleport and other minor things which can all be found at our Review Board. You should give a look at it, you won't find only nice patches waiting to be tested, but you can submit your own! Who knows, your name may be on this list next time!

Anyway, the storyline & content depto. did have free time, and with help from some contributors which appeared at our IRC Channel, here are some changes we've done during these two months!

  • Some item descriptions were changed, and other items were rebalanced. Most of the rebalances were done thinking at Act 2, but they provide a more linear increase in weapon power as game progresses. Jesusalva is the one to blame for your favorite weapon being different from what you last remember it.
  • Fix a bug which allowed you to receive Iris' reward twice.
  • For sake of consistency, Ewald will only give you water to drink if you are carrying a mug or a cup with yourself. You will also only receive the starting mug when you talk to Ewald for the first time - it is not at the chest anymore. Please save our environment by not using discard-able items. Bringing your own eating kit is mandatory!
  • Easter Egg added. Only cheaters will find it.
  • An inconsistency introduced at Bender dialog was fixed: He will no more claim to be guarding a gate with a 614 when he is in the middle of the town. He does not go to said gate for at least four years!
  • Thanks to Robin Gareus hasty report, you shouldn't be struck without access to the Mini Factory anymore. If you are, however, please do report.
  • Jesusaves was once again polishing the weapon you receive for clearing the DSB. After discussing with the contributors who were online at the IRC channel, you can now influence the selection. Four weapons can be obtained in total. Please note that the new savegame filter is not done (yet).
  • Thanks to Robin Gareus, Erin was rebalanced and a minor rewording was done.
  • The Singularity was not aware of the Firmware Update. But as Appoox pointed out, there were MS droids in the tunnels, so, the Singularity will now notice their deaths.

If you noticed any bug when playing, or want to request a feature, consider filling a bug or feature request. You can also Contact us.

This game is done by the work of many people, and without them this project would not be possible.

-The FreedroidRPG Team


September & October Progress Report

Wed Nov 01 2017

Hello! This is FreeDroidRPG's progress report for September and October 2017!

With all developers busy with real life, and a real shortage of contributors, the game did not progress much in the past two months, but this doesn't mean that nobody was able to snatch away from work for a few minutes and do something for FreedroidRPG. While the list is not that big, the game did change, check out!

  • Terminals dating was corrected.
    • Previously, we relied on system time to generate the date which would be displayed on the terminals. Well, not anymore! Now, the time and the day are the ingame time! Yes, the one which appears on your HUD! We hope to provide more immersion this way.
  • Some Red Guard Members reacts to Exterminators.
    • You got that big gun, is using it, and no one notices? Well, not anymore! Thanks to Jesusalva, Spencer and some other characters will react differently when seeing that you are armed with it. Which ones? When? How? Oh well. I do not want to spoil the surprise! You'll have to get your own (Super) Exterminator to figure it out!

Meanwhile, on review board, Act 2 finally reached alpha stage. It took longer than expected, specially with so few contributors and testers, but it nonetheless reached this important milestone. This doesn't mean that Act 2 will be merged anytime soon in master branch, but it's closer than it was before.

You can also submit a patch! Who knows, your name may be on this list next time!

If you noticed any bug when playing, or want to request a feature, consider filling a bug or feature request. You can also Contact us - humans, and even linarians are welcome! ...We pass on the bots, though.

This game is done by the work of many people, and without them this project would not be possible.

-The FreedroidRPG Team