updated version of DEFCON notes
An updated version of DEFCON.
Change List:
=============
v1.43
2nd July 2007
=============
- Fixed potential exploit:
Fleets could be made to sail through land masses if sent to certain
hotspots around the world. (Eg subs could sail through America).
Only the Server needs to run this fix to prevent the exploit.
- Improved the way local IP is determined. Should help people who have
problems creating games on their local system.
===============
v1.42
3rd May 2007
===============
- Fixed bugs in 1.4:
-some serious performance problems related to fleet activity
-Bugs with City Assignment (negative city populations etc)
-Radar not working properly in the pacific (over the seam)
-Placing a unit over the seam sometimes caused ships to vanish
-Nuke queue counter was often wrong
-Word wrapping in the chat window could go very wrong with long strings
===============
v1.4
12th April 2007
===============
- Cross platform compatability
PC/Mac/Linux versions are now network compatible with each other
- AmBX support added (PC only, requires amBX hardware of course)
- City Populations game option added
Default : as before
Equalised : all cities have the same population
Random : all cities have random populations
TotallyRandom : same as Random, and random cities are chosen
instead of the major world cities
- Bug fixes and improvements:
- Very rarely a plane could crash over a ground target and effectively
nuke it, causing population death or building destruction
- Mods no longer disappear from list when deactivated
- "Can't place here" circles now show when territory display is on
- Can no longer set blank or overlong player name
- Word wrapping algorithm improved (most obvious in the chat window)
- The game start countdown will now abort if a player leaves
- Attempting to set a very long username no longer crashes DEFCON
- Removed unused "Level 8" button in Tutorial interface
- Users can no longer join incompatible games, even if they really try
==================
v1.3
8th January 2007
==================
- New White Board system
Allies can now share a battle plan directly drawn on the world map.
- Additional option to change the player name directly from the option menu
- In the lobby, the last game name is now remembered
- Various minor improvements and fixes
-Restart Ambience and Music (if in a game) when applying a mod.
-Fix the crash when applying a mod removing sounds.
-It's now impossible to start a game with a empty name.
-Fix start up crash involving missing game name in game-history.txt.
-Don't advertise a new version on the main interface if the current version
is higher than the latest version advertised by the meta server.
-The version update link on the main interface is no more opened when
clicked if there is a menu over it.
==================
v1.2
12th December 2006
==================
- New MOD support system
Mods can be loaded and unloaded in-game from a new MODs window.
Mod authors can provide details on their MOD : a screenshot and a data
file, which will be shown in the MODs window when the mod is selected.
MODs can be made to give Defcon a complete graphical makeover, eg making
the entire game look like it's set in space. Or they can be entirely new
maps - eg Defcon played out over a map of Australia, with new territories
and cities to match.
There are two types of MOD:
Critical MOD : required by all players connecting, eg a new Map
Non critical MOD : graphical/audio only mod
When joining a game server any Critical mods that are required will be
activated. If those mods are not installed you will not be able to join.
The Server Browser now has a new column to show what MODs are running.
Servers that are running MODs you do NOT have installed will now show up
yellow in the Server Browser (as opposed to Red which signifies they are
running an incompatible version)
- Additional minor MOD support
Image "data/graphics/explosion.bmp" is now only used by Explosions.
Previously it was used to render population and radiation, making it
impossible to mod explosion graphics without modding those too.
- New preferences option : RenderNodes
Very usefull for people making new maps for Defcon.
Set this option to 1 (by editing your preferences.txt file) to render the
Nodes used in-game. Red = AI Target, Green = AI Placement, White = Travel
The white lines represent the possible routes ships can sail along.
If you have a team selected the Red AI Target markers will fill to indicate
a sensible target within striking range of any enemy.
=================
v1.1
18th October 2006
=================
- Improvements to the Server Browser Window
The number of players in any game is now rendered visually:
Bright green box = human player
Dull green box = CPU player
Grey box = open slot
This makes it much easier to see at a glance which games are interesting
The Server browser no longer displays the version column (eg Defcon v1.0)
The Server browser now displays the Game Mode in its own column
The Server browser will remember which servers you have joined recently.
They will be drawn highlighted in your list, so you can see them at a
glance. The browser will store the previous 10 connected servers, and
will also save the list and reload automatically when restarting.
Note: Does not save your own game servers that you connected to
- Makes it easier to see which games are not worth trying again
- Makes it easier to rejoin a game you got disconnected from
Can now filter the list :
All Games
Games In Lobby only
Games In Progress only
Recently joined Servers only
LAN Games only
In addition, you can choose to filter out less desirable server types:
Hide single player games (games in progress with just 1 human player)
Hide demo games (games created by a demo user, 2 players max)
Hide default named games (ie games with the name 'New Game Server')
(Click on the Filters button to access these options)
You can sort the server list by clicking on the column headings
Sort by name (alphabetically)
Sort by Game Mode
Sort by Game Time
Sort by Num spectators
Sort by Num players (sorts by num human players)
Click once to sort by that column
Click again to sort backwards by that column
Click again to return to default sorting
The 'Server Details' window (opened by right clicking on a server) now
includes a button to Join the server you are observing.
===================
v1.0
25th September 2006
===================
Initial release
An updated version of DEFCON.
Change List:
=============
v1.43
2nd July 2007
=============
- Fixed potential exploit:
Fleets could be made to sail through land masses if sent to certain
hotspots around the world. (Eg subs could sail through America).
Only the Server needs to run this fix to prevent the exploit.
- Improved the way local IP is determined. Should help people who have
problems creating games on their local system.
===============
v1.42
3rd May 2007
===============
- Fixed bugs in 1.4:
-some serious performance problems related to fleet activity
-Bugs with City Assignment (negative city populations etc)
-Radar not working properly in the pacific (over the seam)
-Placing a unit over the seam sometimes caused ships to vanish
-Nuke queue counter was often wrong
-Word wrapping in the chat window could go very wrong with long strings
===============
v1.4
12th April 2007
===============
- Cross platform compatability
PC/Mac/Linux versions are now network compatible with each other
- AmBX support added (PC only, requires amBX hardware of course)
- City Populations game option added
Default : as before
Equalised : all cities have the same population
Random : all cities have random populations
TotallyRandom : same as Random, and random cities are chosen
instead of the major world cities
- Bug fixes and improvements:
- Very rarely a plane could crash over a ground target and effectively
nuke it, causing population death or building destruction
- Mods no longer disappear from list when deactivated
- "Can't place here" circles now show when territory display is on
- Can no longer set blank or overlong player name
- Word wrapping algorithm improved (most obvious in the chat window)
- The game start countdown will now abort if a player leaves
- Attempting to set a very long username no longer crashes DEFCON
- Removed unused "Level 8" button in Tutorial interface
- Users can no longer join incompatible games, even if they really try
==================
v1.3
8th January 2007
==================
- New White Board system
Allies can now share a battle plan directly drawn on the world map.
- Additional option to change the player name directly from the option menu
- In the lobby, the last game name is now remembered
- Various minor improvements and fixes
-Restart Ambience and Music (if in a game) when applying a mod.
-Fix the crash when applying a mod removing sounds.
-It's now impossible to start a game with a empty name.
-Fix start up crash involving missing game name in game-history.txt.
-Don't advertise a new version on the main interface if the current version
is higher than the latest version advertised by the meta server.
-The version update link on the main interface is no more opened when
clicked if there is a menu over it.
==================
v1.2
12th December 2006
==================
- New MOD support system
Mods can be loaded and unloaded in-game from a new MODs window.
Mod authors can provide details on their MOD : a screenshot and a data
file, which will be shown in the MODs window when the mod is selected.
MODs can be made to give Defcon a complete graphical makeover, eg making
the entire game look like it's set in space. Or they can be entirely new
maps - eg Defcon played out over a map of Australia, with new territories
and cities to match.
There are two types of MOD:
Critical MOD : required by all players connecting, eg a new Map
Non critical MOD : graphical/audio only mod
When joining a game server any Critical mods that are required will be
activated. If those mods are not installed you will not be able to join.
The Server Browser now has a new column to show what MODs are running.
Servers that are running MODs you do NOT have installed will now show up
yellow in the Server Browser (as opposed to Red which signifies they are
running an incompatible version)
- Additional minor MOD support
Image "data/graphics/explosion.bmp" is now only used by Explosions.
Previously it was used to render population and radiation, making it
impossible to mod explosion graphics without modding those too.
- New preferences option : RenderNodes
Very usefull for people making new maps for Defcon.
Set this option to 1 (by editing your preferences.txt file) to render the
Nodes used in-game. Red = AI Target, Green = AI Placement, White = Travel
The white lines represent the possible routes ships can sail along.
If you have a team selected the Red AI Target markers will fill to indicate
a sensible target within striking range of any enemy.
=================
v1.1
18th October 2006
=================
- Improvements to the Server Browser Window
The number of players in any game is now rendered visually:
Bright green box = human player
Dull green box = CPU player
Grey box = open slot
This makes it much easier to see at a glance which games are interesting
The Server browser no longer displays the version column (eg Defcon v1.0)
The Server browser now displays the Game Mode in its own column
The Server browser will remember which servers you have joined recently.
They will be drawn highlighted in your list, so you can see them at a
glance. The browser will store the previous 10 connected servers, and
will also save the list and reload automatically when restarting.
Note: Does not save your own game servers that you connected to
- Makes it easier to see which games are not worth trying again
- Makes it easier to rejoin a game you got disconnected from
Can now filter the list :
All Games
Games In Lobby only
Games In Progress only
Recently joined Servers only
LAN Games only
In addition, you can choose to filter out less desirable server types:
Hide single player games (games in progress with just 1 human player)
Hide demo games (games created by a demo user, 2 players max)
Hide default named games (ie games with the name 'New Game Server')
(Click on the Filters button to access these options)
You can sort the server list by clicking on the column headings
Sort by name (alphabetically)
Sort by Game Mode
Sort by Game Time
Sort by Num spectators
Sort by Num players (sorts by num human players)
Click once to sort by that column
Click again to sort backwards by that column
Click again to return to default sorting
The 'Server Details' window (opened by right clicking on a server) now
includes a button to Join the server you are observing.
===================
v1.0
25th September 2006
===================
Initial release