Thank you!
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Many thanks to all the individuals and organisations that contribute towards SourceFort's success and an enormous thank you to FogCreek Software for providing us with FogBugz!
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Latest Tweet Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:18:47 +0000
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sourceforts: I can has walljumping? Yes, yes you can. -dr
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Follow SourceForts on Twitter!
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In our continuing effort to better connect with the community, the SF Team has created a Twitter account! We'll be posting small updates on there when we can - that way, we don't have to create a whole news post when we want to share our progress. Who knows, maybe there will even be a screenshot or two!
You can follow us at twitter.com/sourceforts, or just click the image below.
NB: Since there will be more than one person posting updates, we'll be signing each update. Here are a few examples of our signatures:
-sn for Snuffy
-oj for Oddjob
-dr for Draken
You can follow us at twitter.com/sourceforts, or just click the image below.
NB: Since there will be more than one person posting updates, we'll be signing each update. Here are a few examples of our signatures:
-sn for Snuffy
-oj for Oddjob
-dr for Draken
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SourceForts Reshuffle
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SourceForts has once again had a reshuffle of priorities. 1.9.5 in its current state has been cancelled. However fear not SourceForts will soon release the final of the 1.9.x series fixing one serious bug along with updates for most maps texture fixes, along with a few new textures and maps.
A sneak preview of grassy being remade to be included in Sourceforts 1.9.4.2
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/579...dfinal0000.jpg
the spawn room
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/545...dfinal0001.jpg
block spawns and flag
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/687...dfinal0002.jpg
overview of the red base with the buildwall.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/873...dfinal0003.jpg
red and blue bases.
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/534...dfinal0004.jpg
view of the middle grassy area.
We hope we havent kept you waiting long for the next version.
A sneak preview of grassy being remade to be included in Sourceforts 1.9.4.2
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/579...dfinal0000.jpg
the spawn room
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/545...dfinal0001.jpg
block spawns and flag
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/687...dfinal0002.jpg
overview of the red base with the buildwall.
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/873...dfinal0003.jpg
red and blue bases.
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/534...dfinal0004.jpg
view of the middle grassy area.
We hope we havent kept you waiting long for the next version.
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Just a Quickie
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Slice, our resident modeler, is working on a SourceForts v1.9.5. Nothing official yet, but it will hopefully contain some new content. So sit tight.
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Merry Christmas!
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Happy holidays!
As you well know, the year is quickly coming to a close, and development is starting to speed back up again after a week of hangovers and too much food!
Firstly we wanted to let you know about 1.9.5. Yes, you heard right. Slice, one of the teams modellers and apparently a closet coder decided to give himself a challenge with the current 1.9.4 and see where he could take it. Unfortunately there isn't much work available for the teams artists currently, due to so much of the art style having a dependency on some of our gameplay decisions and so whilst coding and design still powers ahead, the art team have been looking a bit abandoned recently!
It's been great to see what Slice is capable of and give him some more practice, while also making some interesting changes to the 1.9.x series. So far there are a couple of bug fixes, some small balance changes (requiring more testing) and a number of aesthetic changes, especially with the player models.
Now, onto what you've all been waiting to here. The next version of SF is still under heavy development and I must apologise for the great delay in getting you more news of it. A combination of the festive season and some really heated design discussions have caused some timing problems and some last minute change ups in the design document.
We'll be looking to announce the new name for the next version soon, but in the meantime we'd love to let you take a look through one of our current general design documents and see what you think. It of course goes with the normal disclaimer that nothing is final, many small things get changed often and many parts remain untested. The current document for release is also heavily limited in scope, it's a milestone marker for a solid testable build and doesn't contain much of the flair of a polished product.
There is still internal disagreement over a couple of aspects of the design document, but we thought we'd throw you one idea and see what you think of it and if anyone has any other ideas for it.
You'll find the design document in the Ideas and Suggestions section of the forum and we'd love to hear some debate on the issues presented. We'll likely post a revised design document once we've heard the communities thoughts on the ideas.
Thanks, and from the SF development team, have a happy new year!
PS, Santa left a present under the tree.
PPS, apologies for the odd sizing in that picture, the players haven't magically shrunk, nor are the blocks bigger in 1.9.5! That should be fixed up soon. The scout also over-starched his top before going to work, hence the stiff arms.
PPPS, for those who are already formulating their 1.9.5 flame posts in their head, take a breather for a moment. Slice already has a lot of SF 2.0 work under his belt, he alone decided he wanted to do some work on 1.9.4 as a challenge to himself and as a learning experience programming the Source SDK. If his work on 1.9.4 gives us an advantage in future version of SF, I think it's well worth it. If however you have some worthwhile, constructive criticism, or any ideas or suggestions for him, you're welcome to post them here.
As you well know, the year is quickly coming to a close, and development is starting to speed back up again after a week of hangovers and too much food!
Firstly we wanted to let you know about 1.9.5. Yes, you heard right. Slice, one of the teams modellers and apparently a closet coder decided to give himself a challenge with the current 1.9.4 and see where he could take it. Unfortunately there isn't much work available for the teams artists currently, due to so much of the art style having a dependency on some of our gameplay decisions and so whilst coding and design still powers ahead, the art team have been looking a bit abandoned recently!
It's been great to see what Slice is capable of and give him some more practice, while also making some interesting changes to the 1.9.x series. So far there are a couple of bug fixes, some small balance changes (requiring more testing) and a number of aesthetic changes, especially with the player models.
Now, onto what you've all been waiting to here. The next version of SF is still under heavy development and I must apologise for the great delay in getting you more news of it. A combination of the festive season and some really heated design discussions have caused some timing problems and some last minute change ups in the design document.
We'll be looking to announce the new name for the next version soon, but in the meantime we'd love to let you take a look through one of our current general design documents and see what you think. It of course goes with the normal disclaimer that nothing is final, many small things get changed often and many parts remain untested. The current document for release is also heavily limited in scope, it's a milestone marker for a solid testable build and doesn't contain much of the flair of a polished product.
There is still internal disagreement over a couple of aspects of the design document, but we thought we'd throw you one idea and see what you think of it and if anyone has any other ideas for it.
You'll find the design document in the Ideas and Suggestions section of the forum and we'd love to hear some debate on the issues presented. We'll likely post a revised design document once we've heard the communities thoughts on the ideas.
Thanks, and from the SF development team, have a happy new year!
PS, Santa left a present under the tree.
PPS, apologies for the odd sizing in that picture, the players haven't magically shrunk, nor are the blocks bigger in 1.9.5! That should be fixed up soon. The scout also over-starched his top before going to work, hence the stiff arms.
PPPS, for those who are already formulating their 1.9.5 flame posts in their head, take a breather for a moment. Slice already has a lot of SF 2.0 work under his belt, he alone decided he wanted to do some work on 1.9.4 as a challenge to himself and as a learning experience programming the Source SDK. If his work on 1.9.4 gives us an advantage in future version of SF, I think it's well worth it. If however you have some worthwhile, constructive criticism, or any ideas or suggestions for him, you're welcome to post them here.
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Yawn.
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Well it's 8am and so another night of work is drawing to a close. Dan and I have made a fair amount of progress this week and it's great to watch the game come together around us.
I started writing this post 30 minutes ago and wrote a short essay on where we're currently headed with the game development, however on second thoughts I'm going to leave it for a developer diary when I'm feeling somewhat less brain dead. By the time I'd repeated the same sentence four times, I decided it was better to leave it for another day ;).
I'm also currently toying with the idea of a more technical in depth series of articles on my personal blog, I've yet to decide exactly what they'll ential however it's likely they'll cover a range of topics; specific work from the next generation of SourceForts; Source SDK articles; general game development and so forth.
Would anyone be interested in something like this?
I started writing this post 30 minutes ago and wrote a short essay on where we're currently headed with the game development, however on second thoughts I'm going to leave it for a developer diary when I'm feeling somewhat less brain dead. By the time I'd repeated the same sentence four times, I decided it was better to leave it for another day ;).
I'm also currently toying with the idea of a more technical in depth series of articles on my personal blog, I've yet to decide exactly what they'll ential however it's likely they'll cover a range of topics; specific work from the next generation of SourceForts; Source SDK articles; general game development and so forth.
Would anyone be interested in something like this?
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Winter '08
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Winter '08
New Staff
We've had a slew of new staff recently, so firstly I'd like to welcome them.
First Order of Business
Firstly an apology, for not getting this announcement out sooner. A huge amount has happened in development land recently and whilst I've been trying to get some of our new media ready for this release but finally conceded that's it's better just to release it and let the media come later.
New Forums
The design and development team has now finished moving itself onto our new servers and work has started on establishing the new public forums on the site.
There will be a lot of changes on the new forums, different forum software for a start. The new server itself is also a big change, we have a nice, powerful, unmanaged server to play with, rather than a badly load managed virtual user.
More on this will come out closer to the time.
Public Design Document
We're close to the release of our next update to the design document. As we'll be releasing a snapshot release there are a couple of areas we still need to make decisions on. The snapshot releases work differently from the original design document in that they are a direct snapshot of the internal document at a given moment. They contain specific implementation details and a lot of absolutes; it is however important to note that none of it is absolute. There will be some very silly features, some absurd statements, contradicting ideas.
As we move further with development we made quick decisions on many ideas so that we end up with builds that contain a wide variety of functionality, much of it that will be dropped by the time we hit beta. The design document will probably be out of date a couple of hours after release, whilst it is constantly changing it's designed so that if the entire team were suddenly wiped out, a programmer could make a complete game from the document. The game would be terrible, but the programmer wouldn't have to do any inference or guesswork.
What I'm trying to say with far more words than necessary is that the document is no where close to final. Anything in it is there purely for quick referencing. It's a lot easier to search a single document for a definitive answer, than to read 18 pages of heated argument.
The document will also contain several blacked out areas, these don't concern features of the actual game but are spoilers of what's to come regarding the game that we'd rather have to surprise you with. None of it will effect how the game plays.
1.9.4's Future
We're currently looking to set up a small team of C++ developers to work on the 1.9.4 codebase and produce official patches over time to ensure 1.9.4 remains a viable alternative while we steam ahead with the next major version of SourceForts.
The application criteria won't be as stringent as those to join the main programming team, however I have to warn anyone interested in joining that the code itself is an extremely complex beast. There has never really been a proper design for the code and the words "modular" and "encapsulated" could certainly not be used to describe it.
If you are interested in the challenge however, please send an email to info@sourcefortsmod.com with the subject "1.9.4 Development Team". Please include details on your experience with C-like languages, C++ and the Source SDK. All applicants will be considered, regardless of your involvement with game politics.
Hiring
The SourceForts development team is currently on the look out for some new talent.
C++ Developers
Requirements
Edit: Oh go on then.
The post looked fairly bare, so here are some current work in progress's from Slice and Khuskan.
First we have one of Slice's latest weapon models, then a very early WIP from Khuskan's new map. At this point these screenshots are more concept art than anything else, the bridge and it's "thing" will, like many complex map elements, be produced as models rather than brush based. I've also included an early clay render of the bridge's "thing".
Enjoy.
New Staff
We've had a slew of new staff recently, so firstly I'd like to welcome them.
- Oddjob - Design
- Dan Munn - Programmer
- Ben Overmyer - Concept Artist
- Daniel McClintock - Modeller
First Order of Business
Firstly an apology, for not getting this announcement out sooner. A huge amount has happened in development land recently and whilst I've been trying to get some of our new media ready for this release but finally conceded that's it's better just to release it and let the media come later.
New Forums
The design and development team has now finished moving itself onto our new servers and work has started on establishing the new public forums on the site.
There will be a lot of changes on the new forums, different forum software for a start. The new server itself is also a big change, we have a nice, powerful, unmanaged server to play with, rather than a badly load managed virtual user.
More on this will come out closer to the time.
Public Design Document
We're close to the release of our next update to the design document. As we'll be releasing a snapshot release there are a couple of areas we still need to make decisions on. The snapshot releases work differently from the original design document in that they are a direct snapshot of the internal document at a given moment. They contain specific implementation details and a lot of absolutes; it is however important to note that none of it is absolute. There will be some very silly features, some absurd statements, contradicting ideas.
As we move further with development we made quick decisions on many ideas so that we end up with builds that contain a wide variety of functionality, much of it that will be dropped by the time we hit beta. The design document will probably be out of date a couple of hours after release, whilst it is constantly changing it's designed so that if the entire team were suddenly wiped out, a programmer could make a complete game from the document. The game would be terrible, but the programmer wouldn't have to do any inference or guesswork.
What I'm trying to say with far more words than necessary is that the document is no where close to final. Anything in it is there purely for quick referencing. It's a lot easier to search a single document for a definitive answer, than to read 18 pages of heated argument.
The document will also contain several blacked out areas, these don't concern features of the actual game but are spoilers of what's to come regarding the game that we'd rather have to surprise you with. None of it will effect how the game plays.
1.9.4's Future
We're currently looking to set up a small team of C++ developers to work on the 1.9.4 codebase and produce official patches over time to ensure 1.9.4 remains a viable alternative while we steam ahead with the next major version of SourceForts.
The application criteria won't be as stringent as those to join the main programming team, however I have to warn anyone interested in joining that the code itself is an extremely complex beast. There has never really been a proper design for the code and the words "modular" and "encapsulated" could certainly not be used to describe it.
If you are interested in the challenge however, please send an email to info@sourcefortsmod.com with the subject "1.9.4 Development Team". Please include details on your experience with C-like languages, C++ and the Source SDK. All applicants will be considered, regardless of your involvement with game politics.
Hiring
The SourceForts development team is currently on the look out for some new talent.
C++ Developers
Requirements
- 2+ years of experience with C-like languages
- A solid working knowledge of the C++ language
- The ability to follow standards and conventions
- The ability to produce clean, coherent code even in complex environments
- A willingness to engage in discussions of both technical and gameplay design
- Source SDK experience (not essential if you're quick to adapt and have a solid grounding in complex applications)
- Experience in rapid application development using C#
Edit: Oh go on then.
The post looked fairly bare, so here are some current work in progress's from Slice and Khuskan.
First we have one of Slice's latest weapon models, then a very early WIP from Khuskan's new map. At this point these screenshots are more concept art than anything else, the bridge and it's "thing" will, like many complex map elements, be produced as models rather than brush based. I've also included an early clay render of the bridge's "thing".
Enjoy.
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Happy Birthday Khuskan!
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Happy Birthday Khuskan!
To celebrate his birthday, we'll be announcing some new stuff and giving a couple of updates shortly.
To celebrate his birthday, we'll be announcing some new stuff and giving a couple of updates shortly.
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New SF theme on NewGrounds
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I've just uploaded the 194 SourceForts theme tune to Newgrounds!
You can head over there and download it, and of course vote it up if you want!
Click here!
You can head over there and download it, and of course vote it up if you want!
Click here!
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1.9.4.1 hotfix
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This is a patch that fixes many of the map bugs and exploits in 1.9.4. It is available in two formats - A patch which updates your existing SourceForts installation and a full release which will reinstall SourceForts from scratch again.
Incremental Patch (Use if you already have SourceForts 1.9.4)
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...41-Updater.exe
Full Release (Use if you do not have SourceForts)
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...941-Client.exe
Linux Server Incremental Patch
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...Updater.tar.gz
Linux Server Full Release
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...-Server.tar.gz
Changelog
This may not list all changes, some small changes may have been made but not processed in the bug tracker.
Map fixes (some won't be listed here and some haven't been found in 1.9.4 yet, but are fixed):
- sf_abandon roof bug
- sf_fronts ammo box
- sf_fronts disposer (has been moved to the back of the block spawn room)
- sf_skywalk players spawning in walls
- sf_canyon skybox seam
- sf_overload spawn doors fixed for blue team
- sf_sphinx is now sandy
Other bugs:
- 0 bound to slot 10
- phys_swap bound to G
- Default mouse sensitivity changed to three
- Bleop noise on talk removed
- Spelling in the buildwall decal fixed
- Spelling on the sniper description fixed
- Spelling on the rocketeer description fixed
- Listen server creation window set up properly for SF
- Dedicated server GUI set up for SF
Incremental Patch (Use if you already have SourceForts 1.9.4)
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...41-Updater.exe
Full Release (Use if you do not have SourceForts)
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...941-Client.exe
Linux Server Incremental Patch
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...Updater.tar.gz
Linux Server Full Release
http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/downlo...-Server.tar.gz
Changelog
This may not list all changes, some small changes may have been made but not processed in the bug tracker.
Map fixes (some won't be listed here and some haven't been found in 1.9.4 yet, but are fixed):
- sf_abandon roof bug
- sf_fronts ammo box
- sf_fronts disposer (has been moved to the back of the block spawn room)
- sf_skywalk players spawning in walls
- sf_canyon skybox seam
- sf_overload spawn doors fixed for blue team
- sf_sphinx is now sandy
Other bugs:
- 0 bound to slot 10
- phys_swap bound to G
- Default mouse sensitivity changed to three
- Bleop noise on talk removed
- Spelling in the buildwall decal fixed
- Spelling on the sniper description fixed
- Spelling on the rocketeer description fixed
- Listen server creation window set up properly for SF
- Dedicated server GUI set up for SF
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Updates
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Woot!
The release went as well as we could have hoped. There were no game breaking bugs as far as we're aware and the bugs that were missed didn't effect gameplay too much.
We're going to put out a small patch containing fixes to the bugs that have currently been found; this will also provide us with some more insight into how we'll be managing releases in 2.0.
We're going to aim to really use the release early, release often methadology. For some unknown reason, SF releases always seem to be monolithic and so with 2.0 we'll be aiming to update every couple of weeks, prioritising bugs for each patch. We will of course have a much better system for updating built into the game as well as manual update options and likely SVN update for servers.
The CPU bug that causes servers to use a huge amount of CPU is being looked into and was before release; we don't really have any ideas on this and our current thinking is that it was caused by the engine change to EP1. We are still looking back through the early 1.9.4 changes that might of caused this.
Thanks for staying positive guys, and thanks for all the help locating bugs.
You can stay up to date with progress on 1.9.4.1 in the IRC channel, the topic will note the bug count as we go.
The release went as well as we could have hoped. There were no game breaking bugs as far as we're aware and the bugs that were missed didn't effect gameplay too much.
We're going to put out a small patch containing fixes to the bugs that have currently been found; this will also provide us with some more insight into how we'll be managing releases in 2.0.
We're going to aim to really use the release early, release often methadology. For some unknown reason, SF releases always seem to be monolithic and so with 2.0 we'll be aiming to update every couple of weeks, prioritising bugs for each patch. We will of course have a much better system for updating built into the game as well as manual update options and likely SVN update for servers.
The CPU bug that causes servers to use a huge amount of CPU is being looked into and was before release; we don't really have any ideas on this and our current thinking is that it was caused by the engine change to EP1. We are still looking back through the early 1.9.4 changes that might of caused this.
Thanks for staying positive guys, and thanks for all the help locating bugs.
You can stay up to date with progress on 1.9.4.1 in the IRC channel, the topic will note the bug count as we go.