Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce the Battlezone 2 1.3 public beta #2. This is a rather extensive patch to Battlezone 2. A short summary of what's changed is at http://www.visi.com/~nathan/bz2/bz2_13.html if you want to read that. This beta is released as a 29MB (29,736 kilobyte, 30449664 byte) .exe download. There is also a 174KB .zip of the MP DLL source.
Note: this patch is available in English *ONLY*.
This Battlezone II 1.3 patch comes with no warranty, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Except when otherwise stated in writing the copyright holders and/or other parties provide the package "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and the accuracy of the information contained within it. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the package is with you.
In addition, it is *highly recommended* that you install this patch to a directory with a fresh [re]install from CD to avoid problems from leftover MODs, etc. Please do NOT install over 1.2 if at all possible.
The patch is available to download from the following mirrors:
Mirrored by CmptrWz/bzscrap.com:
http://www.bzscrap.com/downloads/Patches/Public1.3/
Verifying archive integrity: should you have access to md5sum (a checksum program), the info is:
930ed2d9e038067e362c7b24cd76fb6e BZ2_MPDlls_v13PublicBeta2.zip
e4c66f4b21870cc218088d02e255c544 BZ2_v13PublicBeta2_english.exe
Potential mirror sites, please verify these sums before posting.
A few notes I've given to the beta testers already:
- It's best to install this over a clean install from CD. That'll let you install multiple copies of BZ2, each with a different patch and/or set of MOD(s) installed. If you do install 1.3pb2 over an existing install, then your addon folder will be renamed off, effectively uninstalling most MODs. Please check that any MOD(s) are compatible with 1.3pb2 before installing.
- If you you want to whine about infinite hovering, then take it elsewhere. You may find that another BZ2 patch is preferable for you, and nobody is forcing you to play this patch. See above about multiple installs.
- In the folder you run BZ2 from, there's a file 'Battlezone.log' (Windoze will try and hide the extension by default; please fix that). That file is created each time you run BZ2, and last time's file is overwritten. Thus if you run into problems, you may want to copy it off for a minute.
- If you get a crash (== Access Violation), please do your best to copy & paste out the details of the AV. I may ask for your logfile (see above) to help debug it. Please report all crashes to me; we've fixed a lot of them, but there's still probably a few left. Everyone will benefit if crashes are fixed before release.
- Please note some terminology: a crash is an Access Violation or some other dialog box that pops up to note the game's quitting. A freeze is when BZ2 stops responding without any crash message box.
- In the folder you installed BZ2 to, there's a file called "changelog.txt." It is updated every build with what changed, with most recent things at the bottom. Please skim over the last little bit to get an idea of what's changed every build-- and it may be worth it to test the areas noted as changed.
- Suggestions for tweaks/features may be ignored or shot down. We know the code, and what's easy and what's not. Also, we'd like to finish this project up eventually, which means clamping down on tweaks, even if they'd be cool.
- You may want to look at the file addon\config\GamePrefs.ini . There are a number of user- tweakable settings in there I didn't feel like doing a way of editing them ingame.
-- GSH
No posts?
Well... FIRST!!
Wow, it was released early, and finally, after years of waiting. Thankyou Nathan And Ken and all the beta testers for all the work you've done FOR FREE in making this patch.
awesome!
I would of posted first :p, but I was too busy playing it. I love the respawn selection for Instants. and the extra options for Multiplayer.
omg i cant wait to start it on the weekends! i have school on weekdays =/
Where I didn't really like how the editor was completely seperate from the game last time, what you did this time by adding in SP and IA missions is totally awesome! ^_^
Now I can cheat in the SP missions and move the attacking force a few hundred meters back, or put a daywrecker in the way so they stfu. ^^;
I was a bit worried though when I hopped in my favorite BZ2 vehicle: The Jet Gnat.
I pressed C to engage it and it would always try to stick to the ground but I would move normally. So silly me, I pressed C again and it worked alright ^_^; Whew... was worried there. I can fly all I want all the same, any worries I had about the Jet Gnat not working in 1.3 aren't there anymore. Nathan, you shot those worries with a shotgun and they died ^_^;
I had a suggestion, don't know if it was implemented, didn't test... I don't even know if I suggested it ^^;
Stackable objects... putting an iceberg on top of another... or criss crossing bridges (One being a higher level than the other), or a bridge-highway running across the skyline of the city objects. I can already do these though, by placing the stacked objects in a proper place, then moving them above where I need it with the Move tool. However, sometimes the objects are fluid, my ship can move through them. I've always wondered if that could be fixed, unless of course it creates new problems if both objects remain solid if they are touching.
Another more practical application of stackability is deploying a recycler under a bridge. Reasonably, that should be possible if the bridge is high enough.
It's just a minor thing though. ^^;
GOD THIS PATCH KICKSÂ Â AS*
BZ2 works in 2 demensions, not three, in terms of building placement. Believe me, I've tried to stack objects even using the dll (spaced by a few thousand units) and it won't work if a building is anywhere under it...
I'm going to download it when I get home! Thanks for all your hard work GSH!!!! and to all you beta testers too!
Even if there is terrain between them?
Quote from: OvermindDL1 on March 01, 2006, 03:25:14 AM
BZ2 works in 2 demensions, not three, in terms of building placement. Believe me, I've tried to stack objects even using the dll (spaced by a few thousand units) and it won't work if a building is anywhere under it...
You mean like an underground tunnel going under a bridge? I think it won't let you.
The only fix I've heard of for this is making a single object in threed with everything you want for that square.
The AI in BZ2 does all its pathplanning in 2D only. That's not going to change.
-- GSH
Doesn't following terrain kind of get around the pathing some though?
And couldn't you give the object something other than a building class to get around the under/over restriction?
I've stacked objects before!
Geeze. All you have to do is place an object nearby and use the Move tool to move it where it needs to go.
What would be nice though is if both objects -remained- solid...but let's say I had a bridge over a tunnel, the bridge object that is over the tunnel sometimes would allow ships to pass through it as if it was made of air.
Yes. I believe that's what they're talking about. From what I hear though you can paste both object's into one and have the collision work for both of them.
Is there any list showing the new odf switches? One in particular I was searching for makes buildings unable to be demolished.
Edit: NVM, saw it in the Changelog
Silos? Sweet!
and allied Commbunkers? Very cool. Has the insane recycler been modified to showoff some of the new mpi aspects of PB2?
I'd play with it myself, but i wont be able to till friday.
Next week is spring break though :D
Quote from: BZDraconian on March 01, 2006, 01:58:45 PM
I've stacked objects before!
Geeze. All you have to do is place an object nearby and use the Move tool to move it where it needs to go.
What would be nice though is if both objects -remained- solid...but let's say I had a bridge over a tunnel, the bridge object that is over the tunnel sometimes would allow ships to pass through it as if it was made of air.
Which kind of defeats the purpose, I was having a high building act as another small 'level sub-area', it worked well, as long as it didn't have another building below it...
Ahh you have no idea how happy i was to find this after the day i just had. Thank you everyone who worked on it!
One question, how/where do i install the BZ2_MPDlls_v13PublicBeta2.zip file? Root directory? Should i even be asking this question here?
The DLLs .zip is for mod makers only who want to create DLLs in C++.
-- GSH
The allied combunkers never worked correctly if your talking about what i think you are.
crap! I love combunkers!
Thank again guys for all your hard work. . . I have been waiting since 1999 for this patch :-D
The reason you can't stack buildings is that each terrain cluster has only one slot for a terrain-owning object. Theoretically, that slot could be replaced with a linked list, but that would involve significant work with the editor to make it behave. I already have a well-deserved reputation for breaking things at inopportune times, so I had best stay away from that. :)
Is this the Kenster? Cool. :-)
Yup. The icon and name should have been a tipoff. :)
Getting the band back together? Hope so. :-)
Just for encouragement, I've tried HL2, BF2, BF/BF2, and all the other ones out there, but I still think BZ2 is really the best one around.
Wow, its been... a very long time.
What about buildings that are not terrain owning... and are spawned by dll... say 2k in the air?
THANKS for the ignore and unignore features!!! oh Yes!! I can ignore sean now!
Is that seanthegreat? If so, I see they're still being a PITA.
Quote from: BZZERKER on March 05, 2006, 10:19:55 AM
Is that seanthegreat? If so, I see they're still being a PITA.
Yes him aka .:.RKA.:.SeanTheGreat.:.Ldr.:.
He stole my clan title format thingy... the .:.
Quote from: OvermindDL1 on March 04, 2006, 11:24:40 PM
Wow, its been... a very long time.
Indeed. I looked back through the changelog, and my last change was a third of the way from the bottom. Wow.
Quote
What about buildings that are not terrain owning... and are spawned by dll... say 2k in the air?
That counts for anything that attaches itself to the terrain cluster ("ownsTerrain"), even if it doesn't hide the terrain itself ("isTerrain"). I'd need to change MapClusterClass::clusterMesh into a linked list (not hard), but making the editor handle it correctly is another issue.
(I wish I could port the Clone Wars or Battlefront editor improvements back to BZ2, but there may be too many game-specific changes in them for that to be practical.)
He came here about 2 years ago and started "borrowing" other ppl's avatars (including mine). I think he got a temp ban for that.
Quote from: .:.HMR.:.squirrel-Cmd on March 05, 2006, 10:22:40 AM
He stole my clan title format thingy... the .:.
Do you actually believe that it was original?
Ken is back. What does this foreshadow?
I still love him for fixing the mag weapon effects in BZ2.
Speaking of the MAG weapon, I'd like to know why one charge sound effect works and the other doesn't. Also, the use of holdRate.
The little .:. thing your clan uses.
Quote from: APCs r evil on March 05, 2006, 05:54:00 PM
The little .:. thing your clan uses.
i believe so since i have never seen anyone else use it, and i puit it on the title
Red
Quote from: Ultraken on March 05, 2006, 10:32:50 AM
(I wish I could port the Clone Wars or Battlefront editor improvements back to BZ2, but there may be too many game-specific changes in them for that to be practical.)
Initiating "Code Elf Defensive Screenâ,,¢"...
:-D
Ken, for the next week beware of running computers left unattended, it's FAR easier to get a Code Elf INTO the defensive screen than OUT OF it... at least in one piece. :evil:
-Av-
(while it's always good to see you, it's the end of the line for Nathan and he needs some closure...)
Quote from: Ultraken on March 05, 2006, 10:32:50 AM
That counts for anything that attaches itself to the terrain cluster ("ownsTerrain"), even if it doesn't hide the terrain itself ("isTerrain"). I'd need to change MapClusterClass::clusterMesh into a linked list (not hard), but making the editor handle it correctly is another issue.
(I wish I could port the Clone Wars or Battlefront editor improvements back to BZ2, but there may be too many game-specific changes in them for that to be practical.)
Well I only spawn things by dll (map edit? me? sure, if you don't mind the programmers graphics syndrome... :P ) so meh... :)
Don't bother though, I havn't made a dll for myself in a year, made some for others, but nothing that would use that.
Quote from: Red Devil on March 05, 2006, 04:32:50 PM
Speaking of the MAG weapon, I'd like to know why one charge sound effect works and the other doesn't. Also, the use of holdRate.
yes, i made a chargegun, and the timing is perfect, but the 1st charge sounds fire's with the 2nd charge. I couldnt figure out how to fix it :P
I don't understand what you just said.
I hope releasing this beta patch will be enough to lure Slaor out of his den.
Not to be a overzealous Prude, but could someone editHMR Cmd Reds(Whatever) avatar,....its fairly sick and lets have just a modicum of decency.
Foookin' 12 year-olds....
lol his profile says he's 15, and ...eh, yah i can count it on the fact that it contains nudity...
Quote from: General BlackDragon on March 07, 2006, 07:15:35 PM
lol his profile says he's 15, and ...eh, yah i can count it on the fact that it contains nudity...
whats funny is that it doesnt contain nudity, just partial, its my fav band Rammstein
and i am 15
Even if it is your favorite band, it still doesn't make it right. We do have younger people coming to these forums. :)
I didn't notice anything about it. I'm sure if you closely examined it and searched for anything, you might find something. To me it just looks like a person on fire, nothing strange about that...
Biscut, That's not the avatar they are talking about.
He removed it becuase I told him to.
Get back on topic please!
I wouldn't have posted if you hadn't said something very interesting. :evil: Does he do exactly as you say? Tell him to sever his left thumb and send it to you... Then post a pic of it. With him bleeding in the background. Holding a trunk-less elephant's right ear. That way you won't be able to fake it easily. :-D
Quote from: .:.HMR.:.squirrel-Cmd on March 08, 2006, 07:35:03 PM
He removed it becuase I told him to.
Get back on topic please!
you didnt tell me to do crap and dont say that you did, i only removed it out of respect for the admin and moderators, dont want any trouble...and apc i would severe my thumb if you had enough money...
Hey, I saw that one. Good movie.
WELL!
I want to welcome you all to the new AVATAR DISCUSSION FORUM!
Let's just Forget about the BZII 1.3 2 patch!
Can you tell by the title that this is the percect forum for avatar discussion?
thanks everyone for the overall improvements of the game. the bumpmaps work on my nvidia and is a nice touch to the aging graphics. my qurik: the scion warriors arch cannons split up whenever the warrior fires them as they turn. this is a disadvantage for my units but good for the opposing enemy as the sabre tanks only take damage from a single arch. the warrior's arch cannon should maintain its single shot regardless if it's turning or not.
The same thing happened in 1.2, and 1.1. That is how arc cannon is designed, no reason to change it. If you don't like it switch to blast tanks :-D
I don't like the blast cannon, it dosen't look cool, it should be blue, and look like the SP-Stap.
Just wanted to say thank you from a dedicated group of BZ2 players since the game's release. We love this game, it is easily one of the best games ever made for the PC, bar none! Your continued dedication to this product is something the industry as a whole could take an example from. Thank you to GHS, Ken and all the beta testers who helped make this possible. We bow to you in honor!
I would love to play with this dedicated group of players you state :-P
Thanks, I feel am truly blessed in this way. We have been playing BZ together since about a year after the release of the original Battlezone, and moved right on into Battlezone II when it was released in 1999. There are six of us that have been playing for that long, with a few new players joing or leaving our group from time to time. We tend to play MPI more often than not, but we also have the occasional MP-Strat to keep things interesting, and of course we use DM for warm-up before jumping into a longer brawl. My home LAN tends to be our battleground, using my group of older machines (650-750Mhz), but just occasionally I can talk the guys into bringing their own faster machines so we can have even more fun.
As for the new patch, I couldn't be happier at this point. One of the best and first things I noticed was the inclusion of a funtion key for a fourth thug in MPI utilizing F7-F10 functions keys. This has been a dream come true, and if it were the only change, I'd still be ecstatic. But it's obvious so much more about the game is better, from the map list to the user interface. I have not made any maps or missions in years, but with the new editor I may well try to revive a couple of my older maps for the new version of the game.
So,
what's the status of the 1.3pb2 patch? Is there a second version scheduled?
1.3pb3 or final you mean? Not a clue about schedule, but it is going along at a nice pace with even more fixes and the occasional bonus.
I was referring to the edits for the pb2 patch that needed to be made. I doubt that GSH wants to make PB3. :D
What edits? Why would there be edits for an already released pb instead of a new pb?
Sorry.
Brain Dump. The words "Public Beta" went in one ear, out the other, and didn't even stop to chat.
I now get what you said. What would follow Public Beta 2 with the new holes fixed and so forth would be called Public Beta *3*.
Sorry about that Overmind. :)
I wonder if there's ever been a patch under longer development/testing than Battlezone's 1.3 patch. This could go on for another year (perhaps longer).
Well,
if it was a company doing it, the patch probably wouldn't have taken so long. On the other hand, if the company was doing it, their wouldn't be all the new features and tweaks added in to it either. (Probably just more bugs)
Maybe I'm off base, but I get the impression that GSH wants v1.3 to be finished... soon. It's only my guess, but I think if there is no PB3 in the next few weeks, then v1.3 will come out without ever going to PB3.
So July is a critical month... squash those bugs!
I've gotten a response from Natty and he plans on using this patch for his new G66, which sounds like it has a long way to go. So, does the current download for this patch include the visual lag fix, and what ever else it might need, into one package? I want to recommend this patch to my friends and family.
how does 1.3 go along with the no-cd patch?
/edit
yes and my mipmap porblem is fixed :-D
fantastic guys
I think the no cd patch breaks 1.3, though you don't need a cd for 1.3 in the first place so I don't know why you would be using it.
I'm using the No CD patch with 1.3. :)
Though, I applied the patch while I was still 1.2 and upgraded it (I know, should have done it from a fresh install, but I couldn't find my CD and wanted to try 1.3 badly. :D )
Don't install the NoCD patch onto 1.3 until it asks for the CD. Simple, really.
-- GSH
The no-cd patch just hacks the exe, changing it so the cd check is gone, 1.3 always replaces the exe so you aren't using it lucky.
G66 will not work with 1.3 Battlezone. can you help
Hotshot
G66 2.0 is for 1.3.
Use this link to get to G66 for 1.3.
http://nattyscabin.bzuniverse.com/nc4downloads.php
Also if you want the Aegeis mappacks e-mail me at axeminister5@hotmail.com.
Then join me for some wild games in the evening with 1.3pb3 G662.0 games.