Dune 2: The Golden Path Blog (formerly, The Sleeper Has Awakened)

DuneCraft Minecraft world back up :)

2012-01-29T17:48:00.002-06:00

Please check the forums for updated texture pack and IP address. We also have online dynamic mapping and permissions are in place, so you will need to request build access. Hope to see you there. :)

Happy Holidays

2011-11-29T11:39:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

Just taking a lunch break to get a post out to you guys. As a few of you know, this year has brought a lot of changes for me, and I've had almost no time to myself for most of it. I did have a long vacation a month ago, but aside from that I've been on the move constantly. I do still check the forums though and it's good to see people still enjoying D2TGP.

Frontliner started up a new chat room that uses some security measures, so hopefully it won't get spammed into oblivion any time soon if I post it here:
http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=dune2TGP
We'll call this the "Official Chatroom" of D2TGP for now. There is of course also the forums and the Steam group, and you can find other resources on YouTube and Facebook. But when you want to find a game with someone else, check out this chatroom first.

As for me, I've still got a lot of work to do, and hope to get settled into a new place early next year. I haven't had time for any kind of a project but I hope to get more free time after that. We'll see how it goes.

I hope you all have a great holiday season!

Cheers

Dunecraft world for download

2011-07-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,
My new job is fantastic, but I don't have time for much else nowadays, and I've got some ambitious plans moving on. So, I'll no longer be hosting the Dune 2-based Minecraft server. The hosting company went down and I was lucky to get one last backup of my world files, and I don't have the time anyway. So, head to forum and download the world files if you so desire. I'd love it if someone else hosted it and spent more time on it.

Have fun guys.

-Drackbolt

Dunecraft changes

2011-06-12T11:46:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

Well things have moved along... I start my new job tomorrow, and I've successfully moved the Dunecraft server to an online hoster, as well as gotten a number of mods installed (my curiosity ran right over my apprehension :) ) and set up permissions. So, the server is now open to the public at 50.22.62.244:25568, but you still need to post in the forums if you want permissions to modify the world. However, this will at least give anyone interested the chance to come in and look around.

Cheers

New job!

2011-06-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

I just scored myself what looks like will be a fantastic new full-time job in Chicago, so I'm going to be pretty busy over the next month getting my old position wrapped up and settling into the new one. This happened unexpectedly quickly so it's going to put a hold on my new projects for at least a while. But, I think it will be a huge step up for me and has the potential to be the best job I've ever had. :)

On a related note, I'm tired of the Minecraft server hogging my personal bandwidth and time, so I'm going to buy space on a hosted server to run it. I'll keep the boards in the D2TGP forums updated to show the new address and keep you guys informed. My plan is to keep up with the whitelist, but I might also use the hosted server's tools to add some mods or other neat stuff. Stay tuned on that!

I hope everyone's having a good year so far. See you guys on Steam, the forums, in Dunecraft, and YouTube. :)

Cheers

Dunecraft!

2011-04-24T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'm now making my Dune 2-based Minecraft server public. It is whitelisted however, so you'll need to go to the forums and post your username in the General Topics board so I can add you.

http://dune2.krizik.com/index.php?topic=511.0

Cheers!

New chat channel

2011-04-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

Hey all,
Frontliner has found and set up a new chat channel for people interested in some D2TGP games with others. Head to the forums to get the info. It doesn't require Steam or anything but a browser to run. :) However, since it is wide open in terms of security, please only direct people to the forum if you'll post about it elsewhere; do not post the link to the chatroom. If you put the actual address up here (or if I did that), we'll end up with a ton of bots spamming the living daylights out of the room in no time.

Cheers

Another status update

2011-04-10T17:46:00.001-05:00

Hey everybody,
Well, the big changes in my life are still getting along. Hopefully some things settle down soon.

First, about D2TGP. I am basically ceasing development on a personal level. The rest of the code that contains bugs and other issues is either too old or no longer supported much in the libraries that were used, and it's not equitable anymore for me to spend my time on it, especially since the game is actually pretty stable at this point. However, I have begun a fledgling partnership with the honorable gentleman Tibit (creator of the early network library I used in D2TGP) and we are now embarking on at least one other project; sort of a "warm-up" game to see how good of a team we can make. I'll probably put up details now and then on this site. If things go well, we have many other ideas to work on afterward, so times are exciting and optimistic right now. One of those possible projects may involve use of some of my D2TGP code, which is one of the reasons I can't yet commit to releasing the source code.

I'm also going to start creating a lot of YouTube content. This will include the Dune 2-based Minecraft server I am putting up, some Dune 2 casts now and then, and other random topics. It will all go up at the http://youtube.com/Dune2Online channel, so I hope you'll visit and subscribe.

One last thing; I won't forget you D2TGP Donators when and if we actually release something. :) Stay tuned as we plan to have something to show for ourselves before end of the year.

Cheers
Drackbolt

1.1.16 fixed

2011-02-28T17:50:00.000-06:00

Sorry about the bad uploads yesterday... should be fixed now!

1.1.16 Release (Win)

2011-02-27T14:43:00.001-06:00

I'm in the process of moving to a new place, so I don't know when I'll get back to coding. It may not be the smartest idea to release at such a time, but I wanted to get something out for you guys. These changes have been in place in the beta for a while and appear to be working pretty well.
Please PAY ATTENTION to these changes as some of them alter gameplay significantly.
Changelog since 1.1.15:

Spice is now very evenly distributed during random map generation. No more giant "no spice zones". This affects a lot of things so I'm looking forward to feedback.
Merc group costs raised by 25% (yeah you guys beat me down on this)
Carryall strength lowered by 25% and Harvester strength reduced by 33% to make harvesting easier to harass effectively (also happens to make offensive drops harder)
Fremen: +2.5 Strength, +3 Bonus Damage
Wall: production time halved
Gun Turret and Rocket Turret: +1 Range
And finally, drum roll please... Tier 2 upgrades! This includes damage and strength upgrades for all types of units, and also an upgrade here is required in order to be able to access Mercs. These options can currently ONLY be accessed after ALL other IX upgrades have been researched.
Fixed bug with canceling Barracks orders not applying to Fremen
Fixed bugs with Alliance access to Barracks/WOR

General status update

2011-01-31T19:17:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,
As some of you know, I've got some big changes coming up in my life, not least of which is relocation. I'm looking at places and have a heck of a lot to do and plan for, so I'm not devoting a lot of time to D2TGP right now. Any free time I have goes to my personal life or playing Minecraft to chill out. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all the forum members who have donated and also to all those who have been working hard to get extra players involved in the community and bring them up to speed once they arrive. I no longer feel like I have quite the burden I used to. Currently the biggest contributors are Puxii (aka Frontliner), Sevain, and TheRaffy. So, if you see any of these players online or have the pleasure to talk to them, rest assured that you are talking to long-time users with a ton of experience and knowledge to pass on.
Thanks for your patience everyone. Things will pick up again in a couple months most likely. I'll keep slowly chipping away at betas though in the mean time.

Jesse

1.1.15 Release (Win)

2011-01-09T17:08:00.000-06:00

Many, many fixes for stability and bugs. This version was taken a long way through beta in the Donators forum and is now ready for public release. I've also had reports that network games with more than 2 human players are at least sometimes possible with no lag or crashes, which is great!

Linux release will come later.

Changes since 1.1.14b:

Altered map sending from network to client to send only Seed value when in Random mode
Updated and fixed many issues in Mapmaker mode
Enabled Vertical Sync to smooth graphics
Some resolutions are now available only in full-screen mode
Fremen are now Infantry units with altered statistics (Forum Manual will be updated)
Map scrolling is now restricted to map boundaries
Fixed bug with larger maps causing client to timeout in network games before all data is received (adds a 1-second delay to the game start)
Fixed bugs with crashes in full-screen mode
Fixed bug preventing Infantry from being visible after losing Radar or changing Zoom level
Fixed bugs with some objects being visible in certain positions in unexplored areas
Fixed bug with Frigates drawing in unexplored zones
Fixed graphical bugs with drawing stealth circles, turrets, and damage smoke at high Zoom
Fixed bugs with disconnect messages sometimes not showing names
Fixed bugs with selecting buildings in high Zoom
Fixed bugs with unit Deviator Conversion having previous Orders locked in place
Fixed bug with client not showing harvested spice as cleared sand on minimap
Fixed bug with system timer causing crashes if a user's computer was on for many days in a row

Future

2010-12-23T00:21:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody,
First of all, happy holidays to all! And thanks very much to those special few who donated recently. As some of you know, I'm back early from my overseas trip, due to some medical issues. In the interest of staying sane, I've been looking at D2TGP and the new project I've been working on, and decided to make some decisions (that I will actually stick to this time). They are as follows:

My next project (see previous blog post regarding that) will now get almost all of my free time by priority. D2TGP is full of so much legacy code, I don't even want to look at it any more. :) This is the main reason so many bugs keep popping up as I add new features (or even fix other bugs). It's time to start over completely instead of plastering half the body.
There will be only one more major update possible for D2TGP. That will be upgrading to a new network library as previously mentioned, and possibly one final change with the Fremen. No other new features will be added now that waypoints and the new zoom effect are in place.
New versions will be less frequent, and as stated, will involve a beta test period available only to donators. They will be focused on fixing bugs and occasional optimization.
The source code may someday be available, but hasn't been up to now for the following reasons:

I don't know how to manage an open source code project while protecting against version splintering
I code in Blitz, which not many others know, and I have almost no knowledge of C, so working with others collaboratively is difficult
It has always been possible that some of what I created for this project will be used in a future commercial effort (i.e. the next project)

In short, I have not decided to release the source, but I have decided to make a decision on it some day. :)

So effectively, I am declaring D2TGP as being out of the design stages. If you wanted, you could say it is out of alpha, and halfway through beta. Any changes to design at the moment would be minor and will run through the beta process.

So please, continue to report bugs and help the project along. Good things will come in the future, both for stabilizing this project and for an entirely better system in development.

Cheers

1.1.14b Release (Win)

2010-12-09T22:51:00.001-06:00

Last release of the year. Just a small one to fix some bugs. Please see the previous two posts. I'm off overseas tomorrow and won't be updating anything until January at least. I've tested this release as much as I can, locally and networked, and remember that you can find links to older versions in the forums (in case there's some huge bug here I missed)!

And just FYI, the reason so many odd bugs popped up is because I needed to rewrite a substantial amount of code to work with the new zoom system, both to allow the same normal functions at any zoom level, and also to draw so many elements without taxing the average computer system.

One big caution about this update: random maps now take a lot longer to generate! I will try to optimize this later, but the upside is that drawing the map itself is faster. So please, have a bit of patience when starting a game. It may seem frozen a few seconds but it should complete.

Changelog since 1.1.14a:

Fixed bugs with concrete slab behavior
Fixed bugs with spice behavior
Fixed drawing positions of Starport queues

Other known bugs will have to wait for later. And remember that Donators will have access to the beta program starting next year, which may also include other projects in the future.

Happy Holidays everyone and see you next year!

Holidays and beta program

2010-12-07T07:49:00.000-06:00

Hi all,
I hope you're enjoying the new zoom effect, even though it created some new small bugs. It took a lot of work to figure out and implement, since it is actually in 2d. I'll try to get another bugfix version out this week but I'm not sure I'll have time. The crashing appears to have been fixed though, so I won't feel too bad about the state of D2TGP if it has to stay this way a month.

Now that we have over 100 forum users, when I come back I will be starting an official beta program. Donators will automatically have access to it. I will be making early versions available for testing to that select few, and stable versions will start to be released much more slowly to make sure they have as few bugs as possible.

On a related note, I could still really use any donations anyone might be considering. I leave this Friday and I've only had one donation so far, from someone who already donated before! Even if it's only $1, that's enough to get you in as a Donator at the forums and to have my thanks. Obviously you don't have to, and you shouldn't feel bad if you are unable (we're all poor right now). But it's all appreciated very much.

Thanks everyone

1.1.14a (Win) Bugfix Release

2010-12-06T09:57:00.003-06:00

1.1.14a is now available for download.

Windows graphics drivers now set to DirectX 9 in an effort to resolve many visual bug issues for certain users (was OpenGL). It's been used in older versions so there should be no new issues because of it
Fixed bad limits for scrolling using keyboard direction keys
Fixed Frigate scaling
Fixed several issues with graphics being drawn in unexplored areas

Please see the previous post for full changes in 1.1.14.

1.1.14 Release (Win)

2010-12-05T12:00:00.001-06:00

Ok guys, if anyone is feeling the holiday spirit, now's the time to help. I am leaving in 5 days for my vacation to Europe and I'm very short on funds (i.e., I will be eating berries from bushes unless I get some help). Thanks a lot for all your support, and I will be very thankful for anything you can spare.

Since I'll be leaving soon, this is the last update for probably at least a month. I don't plan on doing any development while I am gone. When I come back I'll see also about a Linux release, but I don't have time now unfortunately. However, this update should make all you Windows users (which is just about everybody) happy. It adds a big new feature and should resolve the crashing issues people have had lately. I'm very proud of this release and I hope you agree it's a great one.

Changelog since 1.1.10:

"2.5"-d zoom is now available. This is basically the same as what was previewed in the YouTube video on D2TGP 2.0 (but we're not quite there yet). Keep in mind it is a computational zoom effect in 2d, not full 3d in any sense. It will require some smoothing out and tweaking later I'm sure
Infantry cannot be seen on the main map unless the Zoom level is at normal (you will see the Observer graphic on your GUI), or the Improved Radar upgrade is active. They are still always invisible on the minimap.
Clicking the mousewheel button now always scrolls the map. Rolling the mousewheel now zooms in and out when the player has an Outpost
Multi-threading core has now been completely disabled (suspect it was making problems for older computers even while disabled, and too many players were using it accidentally or on purpose and then complaining about stability)
Random Infantry no longer eject from destroyed buildings (I know, it's cool for tradition, but I don't feel the random nature of it fits the rest of the game)
Added sound effect for players joining
Changed sound playback to stop "Base Under Attack" message repeating too often
Fixed bug with scattering routines potentially causing crash
Fixed bug with IX menus potentially causing crash
Added a Donate button on Configurator screen

1.1.10 Release (Win)

2010-11-24T09:31:00.002-06:00

I had planned to make my next update the big switch to the new network library, but that's going to be a bigger job than I anticipated based on the time I have available. So, here's a minor update to tide you over.
Changelog since 1.1.09:

Added Unit Aggression option at Outpost. When enabled, all units will attack any unit or structure they see when on Attack orders (instead of just military units)
Added RMB Move/Attack option at Outpost. This will control whether Right-clicking with a unit will cause it to Move or Attack
Harvesters on Return orders will now request Carryall pickup at any distance to Refinery
Fixed bug with some bad Waypoint draws
Fixed bug with Default Retreat setting at Outpost failing to apply to new units

1.1.09 Release (Win and Linux)

2010-11-19T16:27:00.002-06:00

Minor release, mainly to fix a couple very old bugs. After this I will be focusing on the major switch to a new network library.
Changelog since 1.1.08:

Clicking on the minimap now issues orders/waypoints
Fixed last remaining known issue with Maintain flag at Refineries failing to replenish lost Harvesters
Fixed last remaining known issue with Sonic Tanks causing freeze/crashes sometimes when all power is lost

UPDATE: Linux version released also. May still have problems with the music version due to lack of a perfectly functional streaming music library (and my inability to test distributions), but otherwise should work well.

1.1.08 Release

2010-11-15T16:23:00.000-06:00

Changelog since 1.1.07:

Units on Attack orders will not fire on non-combatants (units or buildings without weapons). This is to maximize effective combat between armies and I think you'll like it once you get used to it. Units on Guard, Stop and other orders will still attack them normally (remember that Attack defaults to Guard orders on reaching its destination), so you should still have good control over things while getting better AI behavior from your military units
By popular request, queues may now be drag-dropped by holding down the left mouse button
Cargo weight now affects Carryalls even more (maxing to about 50% slowdown)
Double-tapping F1 will select and also center on a ConYard
Finally made good progress on the bug with Refinery "Maintain" functionality. Not perfect yet but much improved and I know the remaining issues, so it should be fixed completely soon
All non-combatants avoid the special homing effect of enemy weapons when on Move orders (previously this only applied to Harvesters)
Fixed bug with pressing Space key during chat causing screen to jump to last event
Fixed bug allowing dragbox while trying to place queues
Fixed another bug allowing Armed Harvesters to be selected in a dragbox with military units
Fixed bug allowing non-combatants to given Attack orders

1.1.07 Release

2010-11-11T22:37:00.001-06:00

First let me say something about the forums. I DO read everything placed there, and I always give consideration to ideas both good and bad. Do I get snappy? Sure, I'm a busy guy. Will I yell at you for not following rules? Of course; the rules are there for the benefit of everyone who appreciates this project, and they will benefit you too if others follow them. So, please continue to use the forums whenever possible. Bug reports are especially important. It's very disappointing to me to hear that a version is basically non-functional or something in a big way, sometimes for days or sometimes for weeks, without anyone breathing a word. Times like that make me wonder why I still keep this project public. I understand if you really don't want to donate, but at least don't let me lay around in ignorance. I often have more time to code than I do to actually test the game or discuss it, so I'm dependent on your help if you'd like the game to improve or you want the community to grow.

That being said, I had a few free hours today to get an update done and test things out quickly. This update is mostly a bugfix but it does have some significant changes. I promise this time it is at least playable by network. ;) PLEASE download and try it out, because I think it is really starting to come close to the performance and playability I have been aiming for.

Units on Move orders will not longer automatically Retreat when fired upon. They will move ahead and still take twice the normal damage, but I will leave it up to the player to decide if he wants the unit to Retreat or not by using the Retreat Threshold toggle (A donator recently mentioned that he felt Retreat wasn't very useful. On reflection I had to agree that it no longer worked the way I envisioned, so this will change things up a bit)
Retreat orders now dramatically increase speed and turning radius while active
Clients in network games will now draw waypoints (still isn't perfect)
Units just produced and on their way to Queue locations will now show waypoints
Fixed enormous bug with ordering system causing odd player/unit overlap and most of the orders in a network game to fail
Fixed another bug with network ordering
Fixed bug with non-combatant units not following waypoints properly
Fixed bug with "N" key not working for Harvester Return orders

1.1.06 Release

2010-11-07T14:55:00.000-06:00

Possibly an even more important update than the last, this should significantly improve performance over both local and network games. This may introduce some superficial inconsistencies in network games, but I hope to iron those out in later versions.

Changelog since 1.1.05:

Restructured network communication for units in motion to leverage existing cell-to-cell motion
Introduced more staggering routines to prevent massive troop orders from causing lag
Removed many instances of debug code causing unforeseen performance issues
Fixed bug with Death Hand menu item being unclickable
Fixed bug with Armed Harvesters being unselectable

Performance issues

2010-11-06T14:47:00.000-05:00

I'll probably be making another release soon, but right now I'm pulling my hair out, trying to find a performance issue with pathfinding that crept in at version 1.1.02. If you go back versions you'll see that 1.1.00 had noticeably faster response when moving large selections of units. The problem is that I cannot for the life of me figure out what was added to cause this change in behavior, and I've gone through almost every bit of code in each version.

The good news is that the next version will have reduced network traffic needs, but until I can get the local performance issue resolved (which also affects 1.1.05), you won't even notice the improvement.

Also keep in mind that I will be working a lot and then leaving for my long vacation (DONATE PLEASE!), so I probably won't be making more updates until the next year. If I do, they will be mostly bugfixes.

1.1.05 Release

2010-10-31T21:35:00.000-05:00

An important update, so be sure to get it. This fixes some huge memory management problems that have cropped up, causing very high RAM usage and even crashes because of it. It also introduces Multithreading as an option, but this is very experimental so far, so don't expect it to do much good yet (and do expect it to crash). It's really only for my own development.

Full changelog since 1.1.02:

Waypoints are now useable by either holding Shift or by holding down an order hotkey. This functions perfectly in both Host and Client, but the Client does not yet show the waypoint sequence lines
Multithreading has been added as an option. It currently only applies to network games and is not stable, but may be expanded upon in the future
Flags now draw only if a building is finished
Buildings can now only be produced at a distance from finished buildings (i.e. you cannot lay walls out to infinity now before they are built)
Combat Victory conditions now ignore the presence of all 1-cell sized buildings
Building rangefinding now measures from the center of each building correctly
Windtraps no longer provide power when they are "unpowered" (read: Mindgassed)
Fixed combination of issues causing massive memory leaks to reduce requirements down to 20% of previous versions (a normal large game should take less than 200mb of RAM)
Fixed bug causing Rocket Launchers and Saboteurs to fail to do extra damage vs Defended buildings
Fixed bug with units remaining selected after being converted by a Deviator
Fixed bug preventing Death Hand from being purchased
Fixed bug with buildings losing power and still being half-selected
Many other changes/fixes behind the scenes

Statement of (re-)direction

2010-10-28T10:59:00.001-05:00

So what the heck has been going on here? First I say I'm abandoning this project in favor of a new one, and then I start updating this one even more frequently than I ever did before. First I say I don't want the project community to expand too much due to concerns over intellectual property, and then I turn around and start casting games and talking to nearly every member who contacts me on Steam or in the forums. What gives?

Well, things definitely have shifted around a bit. Not long after I started on the new project, I began speaking with the developer of the network library I use. He and I have since decided to collaborate directly on a new project, upon which I will most likely base my new project. In addition, I continue to learn good programming practices and what is possible, and I've been doing all that at a fast rate lately. When I get some good ideas I need to start working with them right away, and since I'm not working on my other project at the moment, I have lots of leftover creative energy. So, I've been taking a lot of those ideas and, even though it is sometimes a waste of time or sometimes a bit crazy, bringing them into to D2TGP.

As far as the community goes, I've decided it's worth the risk to start building it up, and I'm finally proud enough of the project that I want to introduce everyone to it. I've made a lot of good friends (and a couple great ones) from Europe and Asia and I'm starting to feel more like a member of the "world community", which feels great.

On a similar note, I am in enormous need of money, to keep all my resources going. So, if you know any millionaires, or even just have a few bucks lying around that want to go on a plane ride, please donate to this project. I will be most thankful.

So, thanks for your time and keep your eyes open. You never do know what will happen with me I guess. :)