It took eight builds since Lua was first introduced, but there are now primitive draw functions that allow modders to, well, draw stuff. Things like simple boxes, circles, and lines can be drawn using Lua, instead of having to make a bunch of MOSRotating or MOSParticle objects with the sprites of what the modder wants displayed.
FrameMan:DrawCirclePrimitive(Vector pos, int radius, int color)
FrameMan:DrawCircleFillPrimitive(Vector pos, int radius, int color)
FrameMan:DrawLinePrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int color)
FrameMan:DrawBoxPrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int color)
FrameMan:DrawBoxFillPrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int color)
On the content balancing end of things, we’re aiming on giving each faction there own strengths and weaknesses in terms of durability and weapons, along with a differing play-style for each faction.
Feedback thread and more information here.
FrameMan:DrawCirclePrimitive(Vector pos, int radius, int color)FrameMan:DrawCircleFillPrimitive(Vector pos, int radius, int color)FrameMan:DrawLinePrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int color)FrameMan:DrawBoxPrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int color)FrameMan:DrawBoxFillPrimitive(Vector start, Vector end, int colorssda
An issue often brought up about CC’s difficulty is the AI, specifically, how it can direct every actor at once, while the player is limited to controlling one actor at a time.
To get players on more level ground, we’ve been working on a Squad function activated in the Pie Menu. Once you press it, the actor you’re currently controlling becomes the ‘leader,’ and you can grab allied units within a specified distance around you that will follow the leader.
When the squad is disbanded, either manually by pressing the pie menu button again or having the leader die, the followers will copy the leader’s AI mode at death, so you can direct large number of units to positions without having to set them on Go To one at a time.
Update: Some gifs to show that only weapons of the same “type” will be fired. That means rocket launchers will fire with rocket launchers, bullet sprayers with bullet sprayers, and so on.
It’s too much fun messing around in it that some of us on the team (read: me) are getting distracted from actually getting work done:
(the game is actually running at a much higher framerate than the 15FPS captured in this gif)
However, our tools are reaching a quite sophisticated level of polish, so they’re pretty fun to work in too:
Another quick update: our Twitter stream has now been fixed so it will yet again announce all our code checkins
for both Cortex Command and Planetoid Pioneers.. stay tuned to it for the latest tidbits:
Hi! My name is Jake ‘The Heartsman’ Harold, I’ve recently joined the Data Realms dev team, and I’m here to tell you about the first job I did: Steam Trading Cards!
6 cards to collect, 6 badges, 10 emoticons and a bunch of Steam profile backgrounds, meaning you can now show off just how much you love Cortex Command to all your friends (and probably enemies). This is the start of a lot more Steam integration for our games; there’s a lot of exciting stuff ahead of us!
I have some good news for veteran players of Cortex Command: the infamous Scene Gib Bug has finally been thoroughly eradicated! For those not in the know, it was a very hard-to-reproduce critical issue where your actors (including your brain!) would sometimes inexplicably explode in a shower of blood as they walked across the wrapping ‘seam’ of scene. A poor game experience, to say the least.
So, I am glad to report that my long suspicion was finally confirmed that the bug originated in the decade-old locomotion physics algorithms. Long story short, they were not fully taking into account the wrapping of some spatial delta calculation between absolute coordinates in the scene. This would only be relevant when the character headed across that otherwise seamless-looking wrap line, with his limbs on the ‘other side’, pulling his body forward on the first side, causing huge impulse forces due to the misinterpreted mathematical distance.
After having unsuccessfully tried to track it down for a very long time now (it was tough to even reproduce reliably – often the nature of physics simulations), I can with relief and pride say that it has been verified to be a resolved matter. It took the renewed efforts and fresh eyes of two very dedicated and talented members of the official Cortex Command team here at Data Realms, Weegee and Abdul, to both produce the special tools necessary to find, and then to fix, the issue once its general whereabouts were nailed down.
So, a BIG HUZZAH to them! Here’s a test scene/script that has been running for many hours, sending actors crawling across that former line of random death:
2009 started out a bit rocky for progress on Cortex Command. Distractions large and small got in the way of serious development for all of January, but I am happy to report that we’re now back on track and chugging along just fine. We are working through a backlog of important features and fixes required by the content team and mod community – and then it’s on to development of the meta game in earnest.
The meta game is what will be going on in the planetary view, tying all the surface missions and activities together. It will be turn based, where the player gets to build his mining bases to generate income, which in turn can be spent on expanding and exploring new sites and discovering the dangerous secrets of the planet.
Also, we are thinking about making some Cortex t-shirts and other neat stuff like fridge magnets and stickers. Please let us know if you would be interested in buying such things with sweet prints like you see to the left. If there’s a lot of interest, we’ll get it going sooner!
Yep, fixed some of the reported problems with build 12:
- Mouse + Keyb and Classic keyboard conflict resolved, no longer maps across anymore
- D-Pad control scheme now controls the buy menu properly
- Mouse control fixed so that the direction you’re facing and your movement can be different while in the air, without the two inputs fighting
- Grasslands map can now be played without insta-win. It only has one brain in the map, so the other team’s brain gets placed automatically (buried in the ground)
- Fixed so that the game doesn’t end if a team runs out of money
- Mouse wheel can now change inventory items!
- Jetpacks’ bursts are now more consistent, better control
- Some other small stuff
Enjoy!
UPDATE:
If you downloaded this before this message appeared here, then re-download. There’s a major bug in it that has been fixed. Causes the game to exit when setting up controllers 🙁 Sorry, but fixed now! Everyone else can ignore this message.
UPDATE 2:
Whoops. The insta win problem was only partially fixed… if you’re on the red team with only one player, it still happens with this build. It’s fixed for sure for the next build though. For now, just play grass duel, it’s the same map with a few more bunkers.
… or Bummer, if you had to program and test it all :p
There are many very significant improvements to this version:
- 1-4 player split screen, co-op against the CPU, or versus each other on two teams!
- Multiple players on the same team can share the single brain and order what they want, when they want.
- Easily configure any damn controller under the sky to work beautifully, including…
- … Mouse + Keyboard support!
- Sharp aiming support for all control schemes; doesn’t go through walls
- AI spotting, aiming, and firing logic is vastly improved… your AI guys are now useful guards!
- Early implementation of ballistic shields. Wielding logic needs a lot more polish though.
- Select which scene you want to play in! (yes, really)
- After ordering new equipment, select where it should be delivered on the terrain.
- No need to wait for the last order to arrive, queue up as many as you want and can afford, and order them to land wherever your strategy needs them!
- Pause a game and bring up the main menu with [Esc], then resume the same game after changing controls and options!
- Several more improvements and bug fixes which I can’t remember right now…
You can safely install this version over the last (11), but I can’t guarantee that all your user mods will still work. If you’re concerned, we recommend you install into a separate directory, and move one mod over at a time.
Enjoy blasting with and against up to three of your friends!