Beta #4 Released

Discussion of the new series of beta test releases of this game.
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Steve
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Beta #4 Released

Post by Steve »

Windows

Direct Download: (84 MB) http://www.starflt.com/tlcbeta4.zip
Torrent: (84 MB) http://www.starflt.com/TLCBeta4.torrent
Upgrade from Beta #3: (6 MB) http://www.starflt.com/tlcbeta4u.zip

Linux


Direct Download: (85 MB) http://www.starflt.com/starflighttlc-beta4-Linux.tar.gz
Torrent: (85 MB) http://www.legittorrents.info/index.php ... 86a581a39e

Linux Release Notes:

Run the starflighttlc script to run the game, this will set LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the bundled shared libraries and run the game binary itself (starflighttlc_bin). Note that you'll need to have a working OpenGL setup.

The binary and the libraries were built with gcc 4.4.2 and glibc 2.11.1; unfortunately this means that you'll need a fairly recent distribution to run the game. Anything released within the next 6 months and shipping gcc 4.4.x and glibc 2.10 or greater should be fine. To know beforehand if you'll be able to run the game you can type the following commands in a terminal:

strings /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6 | grep GLIBCXX_3.4.11
strings /lib/libc.so.6 | grep GLIBC_2.7

They should output `GLIBCXX_3.4.11' and `GLIBC_2.7', respectively. If they do not produce any output, then you won't be able to run the game.

This problem will get fixed when (if?) i find enough time to rebuild the game against an older environment. If you happen to know how i can convince a bleeding-edge gcc to build binaries that can run on old systems, that's even better.


Fixes and Features

* The game is now CMake compatible and buildable on other platforms
* Final plot stages playable and all communication text available in the game
* Many new communication features and long-existing communication system bugs have been fixed
* Background music does not restart from the beginning at annoying moments
* Full screen combat mode (F to toggle)
* Combat tweaks and corrections to item drops
* Cargo system completely redone with real cargo hold capacity correctly being shown and populated checked in multiple modules
* Life-form system completely redone with life form descriptions, new life form images, damage ratings, and placement
* Resolved all repeating sound effect bugs
* The doctor's skill now increases from use, and additionally the captain will replace the doctor when the doctor is dead. Injured crew members work less effectively than uninjured crew members, or at least they will when all of the skill checks are complete.
* The tactical officer's skill now increases when an alien ship is destroyed
* All known fuel usage bugs and exploits resolved
* Alternate quest rewards instead of ship upgrades if the players ship is already fully upgraded
* Aliens get tired of talking to the player after a certain number of questions, the exact number of questions depend on their attitude
* Aliens now attack if their attitude falls too low
* Combat system completely rebalanced, missiles are slowly moving, slowly firing high damage and long-range weapons while lasers are now nearly instantaneous streaming short range weapons with a somewhat higher damage per second rating.
* Ship shielding now operates correctly, slowly recharging during the encounter and recharging fully afterwards.
* Alien ships have combat statistics which change and improve in later plot stages. Some aliens have randomized ship statistics and other fields improve slightly as the player's ship improves.
* Many alien ships have high resistance to missile weaponry, others to laser weaponry. Since only one weapon type can be fired rapidly at once, the player must discover and choose which weapon is more effective. Scanning the alien ships will indicate which weapon will be more effective.
* Power ups now move slower when the player only has engine class 3 or less.
* Crew members must now be hired and assigned, all known personnel module bugs fixed

starflighttlc.exe - run game without debugging messages
starflighttlc-d.exe - run game with debugging messages

Windowed mode: copy data\globals-windowed.lua over globals.lua
Full-screen mode: copy data\globals-fullscreen.lua over globals.lua

Hyperspace encounter hotkeys:

F - Toggle Full-screen mode

If you have upgraded from Beta #3, you can enable the [F]ull Screen command by resetting your keys. From the main menu click on settings, then defaults.

F1 - PIRATE
F2 - ELOWAN
F3 - SPEMIN
F4 - THRYNN
F5 - BARZHON
F6 - NYSSIAN
F7 - TAFEL
F8 - MINEX
F9 - COALITION

Quite a few plot elements were not included in this release, namely ruins and all of the missions/quests that will be visible in the last three plot stages. Dialog is still completely unlocked at all times and quite a few extra dialog features will be added for the next beta.
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Steve
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Re: Beta #4 Released

Post by Steve »

Note: An old copy of input_map.cfg was packaged with this build for the first few hours. If you want to use the arrow keys to control movement in the game, either delete this file and let the game re-create it or go to the settings menu and reconfigure the keys.

Those who have download the game after around 2 PM (PST) today or later will not notice this problem.
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Steve
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Posts: 167
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Re: Beta #4 Released

Post by Steve »

Jan 8, 2010 Update: Anyone running the Windows version of the game without the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package installed on their machine would receive the message: "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."

As of January 8, 2010 the Windows version of the game available for download has been updated. Anyone currently receiving this error may download and extract this patch into the game directory to resolve the problem: http://www.starflt.com/beta4-patch1.zip
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