
Here’s a new mailbag! We didn’t promise one EVERY Monday, did we?! (um, actually, seems like we did.. oh well here is a double dose anyway – be happy for what you get!
)
I’ve noticed that, when an actor is wielding a shield along with a single-hand weapon, if the said actors crouches while pressing any other movement keys, the shield will disappear from it’s hands, to reappear magically (or not) a couple seconds later. Is there any hope that this issue will be solved in the next build? – Areku
A: Ah, this is probably because the arm holding the shield is being used to crawl.. will add to the bug list, but can’t promise it’ll be fixed by next build! – Data
What cool new things are being done to help the modding community? – Cody
A: As always, more Lua bindings to the engine and documentation for them. There’s also talk of some modding database integration in the forums. The forum admins know more about that, I’m sure there’s a thread or two kicking around in there. Looking at making the AI routines run in Lua instead of the C++ code… however, since I’m not so comfortable with Lua, I will probably ask some community hostshots to port the AI Update functions for me while referencing the current C++ code. Any takers? – Data
At the moment, the AI is a bit reckless and they sometimes end up wiping out their team mates. Will the AI eventually be able to ’see’ better and distinguish friend or foe more accurately? - matty1
A: See the previous answer above! When the AI is run in Lua, you can make any changes to it that you’d like. Next build should have a Lua-based AI Update function that will override the native C++ one in there right now. – Data

I’ve been watching CC since the third build, but haven’t seen any information yet about implementation of hardware acceleration for graphics, which would greatly improve the performance and lower requirements on the processor and ram end. Are there any plans to implement this feature? – Brian Frazer
A: There actually is hardware acceleration done in the blitting of bitmaps in CC, albeit very primitive and limited (DirectDraw7 on windows). The next Data Realms project is already being built on top of Direct3D/OpenGL to take better advantage of the the power of GPUs out there (yet still in 2D) – Data
Are there any plans to add multicore support to the CC engine? – Cody
A: Nope – we looked seriously at this since CC’s physics engine is CPU-bound. However, the extra work and complexity involved in retrofiittng it to become multithreaded (and still portable) just doesn’t appear to be worth it. Next project, maybe… – Data
Will it ever be possible to have 4 players on 4 seperate teams? – Matthew
A: Yep, I’m currently rewriting the way teams work because of the Metagame.. if things go well, there will be support for up to four teams, each with their own little symbol/icon instead of the red and green hearts – Data
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>>Next project
This is kind of disappointing to hear. It’ll be awesome, but not CC’s special brand of crazy awesome.
Lua AI sounds cool though.
On the subject of offhand devices, any plans for official implementation of dual wielding?
Have faith that any DRL project will have a special brand of crazy awesome…
>>Any Takers?
Hell yes. If the forums received the cpp code I’m sure we could work it into something usable in lua.
DRL’s next project is still 2D? I thought those video clips of the 3D models you showed a long time ago was going to be the next project.
Believe it or not, I’m actually more stoked that the project is going to be 2D!
Huzzah! New devlog post!
Love the promises of the future, but will he deliver?
Nice! Just don’t spend to much time on the “new project” until CC is done :3
Nice to see Data is reading here though!
*Nice to see Data is POSTING here AGAIN though!
Oh, I didn’t notice.
This was posted by Data! huzzah!
“Yep, I’m currently rewriting the way teams work because of the Metagame.”
Fuck yeah.
Devlog!
The Lua AI sounds bloody handy.
I noticed that big turret is next to the brains is it a brain?
Ahh, the devlog posts always make me feel so comfortable knowing that something is happening. I hope that the next buid will be out for christmas.
!!!!1111oneoneoneeleven
Brain crab be climbin’ on my walls, stealing my grill.
yayyyyyyyyyy
@Ch33n: I look forward to squishing many a crab brain.
@Kzerog: I second it!… be funny if it made the christmas mods obsolete tho :3
They seemed to have done a good job making brains even more helpless!
Better have a little jet then…
Hm, I should probably get to work on the contest prizes… Only a few weeks until they’re due.
>>Next project
Do not want
‘nextproject’
I thought Data Realms would support CC with new content for a while before moving on. Guess you could still do it AND work on a next project at the same time.
Figures working on the same project for many years must taking its toll.
Yay for update.
Try not to spend too much of the CC money on the “next Data Realms project”.
New project?
Methinks CC needs finishing first.
RE: Whining about new project
Every game developer usually has side projects, due to the inherent boredom of working on one thing day in and day out. And anyway, anything DRL will probably be pretty “crazy awesome” regardless
the problem with that being that I paid for CC, even if I was not explicitly sold updates, I still expect the brunt of that work to go to what I paid for, not the next project which I will also have to pay for
Basically, I’m not comfortable with paying someone so I can pay them again later and end up with a “Well, this one’s too old” when trying to actually use what I paid for
I’m running on a three year old machine, which isn’t great, but good enough to run any source game on high. Due to the lack of hardware scaling, though, I have to play in 320 by 200 fullscreen and I still end up with a horrible FPS if more than one thing is going on
I don’t want more content, the engine still being broken and all
@above: look on the forums for a topic by me about reducing lag on old machines. the engine isnt broken, its just cpu-intensive.
“Next Project”
I really hope its an RPG…
I’m very happy about more devlog posts, regardless of the topic. This post also makes me more encouraged to learn lua! Since data posted, that means that his computer’s working again, right?
forgot to put this in the last post… I would be really happy if, besides improving
lua, some more simple .ini variables were added, like maybe elasticity or non-terrain stickiness. Not sure if this kind of thing is feasible, just a thought.
@23:
Your meager little $18 had contributed to the progression of a 7+ year in the making game. So shut it.
Note that everyone (incl me) who worked on CC is still working on CC until at least the metagame is solid. There’s a new guy working on the engine for the next project so we don’t have to start from square 0 when we do transition over to it. I don’t want the next project to take another decade to do.
Also note that there were never any guarantees that CC would be finished at all – that’s why the early price is discounted. That being said, since the beginning of the project, I made a personal vow to myself to get CC to a state where I feel comfortable calling it a complete product. We’re still going after all this time, so I think it’s a good bet that it’ll get there.
whoops, wrong email above <_<
more updates on the meta-game and how its planned to work would be awesome, data and co
@Data:
Nice to hear some reassurance. Just looking at the history so far of CC, a total lack of completion seems unlikely; though it’s always nice to hear it from the horses’ mouth.
So it sounds like Datarealms has expanded somewhat, also! Hopefully that works out well. It should be interesting to see what comes of whatever experience was garnered from the development of CC.
NEWS FLASH:
Data saves drowning children!
(Kind of)
@Data,
Can we get some info on the next game?
Anything really. Hype is good ;P
“Next build should have…”
Implying that it is not going to be released for a while.
Could this new project be the Ant Attack thing?
@Data
You skipped around the issue completely. I paid cash for a game “on your word” that it would be finished, not “on your word” that the next project would be better.
@Whitty
So it’s seven years old and I still can’t run it properly on a computer less than three years old?
Must be some alien supertechnology Data stole.
@innerfire34: You were never promised a finished game. As I recall you paid 19$ for a game without promises that it will be finished or a little more to help the developer.
I don’t know about your disclaimer because I paid a little extra to support Data but my web page had a disclaimer that it’s possible that the game won’t be completed.
And Data just confirmed that he does plan to finish the game so I don’t understand what’s your problem.
@TinyWhinyBitches:
you paid for CC on your own initiative, you were never forced, so don’t try to tell Data what he should do with his money.
Lizard, that makes it sounds like Data is intentionally conning us. Wait.
sorry if you got that impression XD
Also, he’s probably using it on energy drinks that makes him code faster… Well wouldn’t that be cool at least? No?
@lizard
No, I’m pretty sure I bought CC. It doesn’t give me the ability to tell him what to do, it gives me the ability to tell him what I don’t like.
He doesn’t have to listen, and I don’t have to give him my money. (Not really threatening him. I’m not gonna boycott and indie developer for not being perfect.)
I was mostly talking to other whiners, because your post seemed perfectly reasonable.
Hahahah. He never gave you his word it would be finished, in fact he implied that he wasnt sure it would be. He does, however, want it to be finished, and he’s getting there. I dont see what the problem is.
Also, the initial builds werent as CPU heavy as CC currently is, so no, there is no alien supertechnology or whatever bullshit, it’s just more intensive now as it’s going a shittong more calculations. Also, your computer was probably pretty shitty 3 years ago if it cant run CC “properly” now, unless you mean without lag, before you’ve tweaked the settings, on death difficulty, using lots of mods.
Regardless, you’re still whining. Its getting predictable as well, this whole devlog shindig. People sook until a build is released, then they are temporarily in love with data, then they start sooking again.
*Cuts in*
With a sabre;
O’hai.
Innerfire34: Yes, you can tell him what you don’t like (that’s one of the best ways for a developer to improve the game) but this isn’t anything new; did you ever read the description for the game before buying it?
“This is the normal deal which will get you all updates of Cortex Command up to and including the full campaign IF and when it is completed. This option is discounted from the full final price because the whole campaign and content are currently NOT in the game yet.”
There’s no guarantee that it would ever be finished; you got what you payed for, that is, a ‘half a game’ since you only payed half-price. To be honest Data is taking some of these hateful comments rather well; I’d have lost my patience a long time ago with some of the other comments’ display of how their authors can’t read the fine print- which in this case wasn’t fine but rather in plain sight next to the “BUY NOW” button. But keep in mind that Data has no real obligation, moral or legal, to complete Cortex Command, and yet he and the other developers are still trying hard to please the fans and get it as far as possible if completion can’t be a reality. Be patient and realize they have limitations.
TO THE REST OF YOU (ie Exalion, sin2051, etc)WHINING ABOUT THIS NOT BEING A PERFECT GAME: Piss off. Go whine to your mum, punch a hole in your wall, do anything to get rid of that anger that makes you seem like a herd of wild neanderthals, but please stop defecating on the Dev Log because your childish fantasies might not be fulfilled, you naive ignoramuses.
“DUDE WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS TOTALLY NOT JUSTIFIED WHY’D YOU GET SO MAD???”
Because I hate idiots, and I really hate people who act like idiots but should know better (which should be most of you)
Ragdoll Your right on alot of points. But consumers get to complain if they want. Now I will be sad if cc doesn’t get completed just like many others. But I will hope his next project is just as randomly godlike.
Thanks 4 the news.That`s not too awesome to understand that there won`t be a multiplayer,but still it`s my favourite game,thanks data.
Take an easy on innerfire guys. He just didn’t remember/read the fine print, and is a concerned customer. It’s a human thing.
Be glad he isn’t whining like some people would with all caps, 10+ spelling errors, and other weird things that the other guy would have thrown into a complaint.
Anyway, I would sure be glad to see the next build by Christmas too. I believe Data has done things like that before, so I’m confident.
I wonder what the next project will be. If it’s as fun as cortex command, then I’ll be excited.
Well said, Ragdoll.
Most everything is released by christmas so people buy it for their family. CC is not an exception.
Now the real question is, who will get the screenshot of the 99999th redirect to the devlog from the forums?
I don’t care if it’s finished.
I care that I can fucking play it.
As of now with a 2.2ghz dual core CPU, I can not.
@Geti
Your sarcasm meter’s broken.
My point was “seven years in development” doesn’t matter if it’s been “playable” for three of those and available for purchase for two.
Him saying it’s “too much work” to actually optimize the code is the equivalent of saying “FUCK YOUUU” to anyone who bought an indie game but doesn’t have a newer computer
@Innerfire34
Him saying it’s “too much work” to actually optimize the code is the equivalent of saying “I will develop this game until I feel it’s a complete product and because I don’t exactly know how many or what features I will add it’s pointless for me to optimise because optimising means cutting corners and you can only know what’s unnecessary when you have everything in place.So rather than optimising and reoptimising and reoptimising whenever I add something new I will concentrate on features which push the game closer to being ‘complete’ rather than working on a fast running half-game.”
Oh and I have an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2Ghz CPU(I’m pretty sure it’s older than yours) and 2Gbs of RAM and I can run the game on an enjoyable level.
@InnerFire34:
It’s not quite that bad, surely?
You could probably minimise your lag a bit by following this excellent guide from the forums:
http://cortex.datarealms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14593
Also, on older and/or more bloated computers Game Booster may also help a bit, pausing and or temporarily stopping some unnecessary processes to save resources. It can be found here:
http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html
I smell smoke, can it be a flames?
Innerfire, how much RAM do you have?
I have a 2.0ghz dual core AMD and I can run CC fine.
Two gigs
CC’s erratic and doesn’t like to put up well with some systems
DDR2 RAM, right?
fo sho
Odd. I have a 2.2GHZ aswell and only 512MB of RAM and I can run it fine, usually at a 0.80 timescale (4/5 of the optimal speed isn’t really bad, I usually don’t even notice) on a crowded map. Only when there’s a lot of action going on with explosions and bullets hailing down from ten or more actors does it dip down to 0.60 or 0.50.
Of course you might still consider that slow since most games wouldn’t even get to 4/5 of the optimal speed unless there was a crapton of activity going on, but it’s bearable (IMO)
I start out .28, and it only gets worse from there
@innerfire34
Dude, one of the “hottest” machines I run CC on is a machine with 2gb of ram and an AMD 3800+ (2.0ghz single core crappeh) processor. From everything I can see, it is smooth on this machine; and trust me, this is anything but high-end (it was like 300$ around 2 years ago).
If you “can not” play CC, then it’s likely that your computer needs a major software overhaul; one of the biggest causes of people “requiring” new computers is that their old one is too jammed up with old crappy software chunks. Seriously, I’d recommend a full reformat and OS reinstall (not as hard as it sounds). On my machines, CC runs remarkably well on even a 4-year-old-falling-apart-junker of a laptop. Of course, optimization would be sweet as hell, but it’s not like it doesn’t work already.
Wait, scratch a part of that, the 3800+ is a dual, not single, core. Still a piece of junk though, just put the wrong word down. I mean, they don’t even sell these things anymore, at all; the lowest end available chips are the 5000+ and 5200+, and those are like 60bux.
I’m using a 4000+.
I reinstall once every six months, ISO’s and install files on D, windows and programs on C
I can’t wait to attach my brain to what appears to be a plunger.
I’ve got a AMD Sempron 3000+ Single core with only 767mb ram. I can run CC Pretty fine as long as the computer mod is not enabled.
Innerfire34: If you can, try clearing out older programs that you don’t use or rarely use (or back them up by uploading them onto a file sharing site) and see if that helps any. Check to make sure your drivers are all up to date, too.
Also keep in mind that the more .rte’s you have loaded in a given game, the slower Cortex Command will run, so in case you’ve got like 20 mods being loaded, try to cut down on that.
If it’s still a no-go, you can try buying more RAM for your computer to make it more ‘high-end’ without having to buy a brand-new one.
(Though on a related note, if you have enough money, I’d suggest building your own computer; much cheaper than buying a pre-made one and it can still be pretty high-end machinery)
mewant new project NOW
c’mon post some concept art or something
and what graphics library is cortex built on?
The mod system should be reworked. It’s not too efficient that it takes 10 minutes to load CC, but you end up only using 1 or 2 mods. Sure you could remove them, but sometimes you have conflicts and etc. :/
I have a dual core at 2.0GHz with 2GB of RAM and It doesn’t run very good. :/
@Ragdoll
I’ve built every computer I’ve used for 5 years, bro
It’s not a matter of me being a stupid consumer, it’s a matter of Data deciding that the mainstream hardware of today just “ISN’T WORTH CODING FOR”!
Maverick, there’s a bomb in your base!
@Anonymous: According to the readme, Allegro.
In Credits.txt:
ALLEGRO, FMOD, LUA, LUABIND, LIBCURL, OGG VORBIS, MICROPATHER, MSVC8 CRTs
@innerfire: Well, other’s have had better luck than you with worse hardware, so theres either something up with your computer or something up with their computer. And it’s unlikely that alterations or odd combinations are going to cause a performance _increase_, so it seems to be your end.
Have you followed the lag reduction guide yet?
ignore some idiot apostrophes in there, its early – -;
except I’m not the only one with ok to good hardware and shit performance
Except your not the only one with okay to shit anti-virus software.
no, but there are a lot of people with okay to good hardware and good performance, or okay to shit hardware and good performance. the fact that there are more people doinitrong doesn’t mean you aren’t.
I think it just likes some processers more than others. I have an ATI 200 (Which by the way, the website doesn’t even have that as an availible update) and I don’t have too much trouble running CC.
Oops, I meant ATI Radeon Xpress 200. Same still goes.
These (soon to be hostile) discussions makes me a sad chinchilla D:
This all kinda makes me glad I haven’t bought the game yet. It’s been over a year since I started playing it at my friend’s place and there’s been almost NOTHING aside from user-created content for this game. Not encouraging progress and if I were a paying customer, I’d be more than a little pissed.
Users shouldn’t be the ones creating almost all the content and levels for a game while the developer does god-knows-what with their money. Call me a troll if you want, but it’s the truth.
Monday? I thought not…
ME WANT MAILBAG.
I do hope your not serious MLC. Be thankful for the increase in posts.
It should be happening weekly.
‘We didn’t promise one EVERY Monday, did we?! (um, actually, seems like we did..)’
@Captain Kicktar
An “ATI Radeon Xpress 200″ is, unfortunately, an onboard graphics processor as opposed to a CPU; as such, CC doesn’t actually use it at all.
I also know that that is the same GPU as my laptop runs, however, and I’m also pretty sure that my laptop runs (mostly) on a Turion ML37 CPU… Which, I can say, I do actually play CC on, somehow. 2ghz single core + 1gb ram = win? Not really, but it sorta works.
Then again, “sorta works” is also somewhat hampered by the main LCD and also the sound card crapping out. But it definitely ran to an acceptable (to me; could be subjective) extent before the computer began to disintegrate!
@echo: Uh, in the last few years the amount vanilla content has skyrocketed from the initial AK, SMG, Pistol, Flak Cannon, Shotgun etc. We now have factions and missions besides the tutorial and the like.
Yeah, Echo, If you think this is bad you should have seen it a year or two ago. It’s just the all the interesting content is made by modders, there’s a reason official content is called ‘vanilla’.
As for the lack of new builds, more wait usually mean more content.
I don’t know whats worse. People crying about CC,Devlog,Etc. or the people crying about the people crying about CC,Devlog,Etc.
Less blasphemic(I know its not a word):
I want details on the next project.
IE: Is it a physics oriented game? Is it 3D? Will it be modable? ETC.
Also a question on CC how long will the campaign be?
The afore post is not aimed at anyone in particular…
Y’all gonna make me get all troll-like up in here! There gonna but some trolls in ya hood!
oh man, Data hired a bunch of forum modders who made content before they were hired, and now we have official vanilla content!
that and glowing was worth two years and twenty bucks!
Argh.
whats that about the devlog getting personal? its almost two weeks now and still no frequent not so related updates….
… If he hired some of the better modders IE. Grif, TheLastBanana(might already be a dev?), Abdule Ahazrad<-(Spelled wrong), Etc. then thats awesome.
Welp of course, he did originally hire AAL guy and Bubs, so hiring modders in and of itself is not wholly new. Wouldn’t be surprising if he decided to give it another go though, considering Numgun’s strange behavior and the apparent addition of even more factions.
If more people have been brought on, can’t really be a bad thing, in any case.
TLB is a dev. And you can’t get a much better modder than CapnBubs. numgun is likely not actively devving. Data is likely not hiring though, he hardly uses his devs now. Iirc, TLB has said that most of the time they’re waiting for sprites and content data from Prom and Data. Once in a while they get something and stick it right in, but for a good portion of the time they have nothing to do.
Just FYI, the forums are broken. Just brings me into the “change your password” page over and over.
Only for you. Also, 100th, until I get ninja’d/time warped by Mouse.
dumbgun err i mean numgun should never have been a dev