Game version 0.95.152 released

Notable changes:

• Earthquakes are now less frequent (Issue #785)
• Crash when shipwalking (Issue #788)
• Transferring capital ships between fleets didn't move the vehicles with them (Issue #792)
• English intro subtitle fix (Issue #793)
• Workaround for keys not responding on MacOS when run in fullscreen (Issue #794)

Lack of development progress

I just want to let the community know I haven't abandoned Open-IG, but I don't have the time nor the mood to work on it right now.

I myself feel how cool certain features, such multiplayer, would improve the game experience, but unfortunately, my daily job is draining all my energy right now.

The problem with other issues, like the AI or ground pathfinding, is that I don't have the slightest idea how to make them better. Such qualities of other games are trade secret and can't be found on programming blogs or even paid-for books.

Therefore, If there are enthusiasts out there who can program Java and willing to contribute, now would be a good time to join the project.

Game version 0.95.151 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed tax and trade calculation bug when running in the classical, non-continuous money calculation mode [Issue #779]
• The checkbox to toggle continous money calculation is no longer available during game. You need to set it before you start the skirmish/campaign.
• Few refactorings here and there, should not cause any problems or changes in behavior.

Game version 0.95.150 released

Notable changes:

• Modified population and money data structures to be floating point-based. This way, the new continuous money calculation won't lose fractional credits and "fractional population" change.
• Added a new column to the planets information panel, accessible through the "Lab info" button. It replaces the last column of the planet table with the name of the lab built on the planet. If there is something wrong with the lab, the name appears in light red:
  
  Click on the "Problems"  button to return to the original view.

Game version 0.95.149 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed NPE crash when using select same type units (via double click) and ground defenses were the target.
• Adjusted AI behavior to spend less by building static defenses on a single planet at a time.
• Fleets move on the starmap more smoothly. Modders: you need to set the "simulationRatio" parameter in the definition.xml to 10 (previous was 4)
• Added new Gameplay option to use continuous money/morale calculation (default off). This way, money is constantly accumulated from taxing and trade incomes instead of once per new day. It also affects morale calculation: mid-day issues that decrease the morale decrease the tax income as well, but only for the duration of the problem. In the day-by-day mode, the tax income was seriously crippled when an issue was present when midnight passed.
  
  In the new continuous mode, the difference numbers show the delta amount since the previous day's final values. This means that a planet population change indicator slowly counts up/down during the day.

Game version 0.95.148 released

Notable changes:

• The battleship received after promotion to commander is no longer equipped with hyperdrive if the pre-hyperdrive trait is selected. [Issue #774]
• Fixed AI behavior if the player attacks a Garthog fleet while the destroy the virus carriers mission is active. [Issue #776]
• Fixed issue with transferring ships between fleets, allowing more ships to be moved into a single fleet than the capacity limit. [Issue #775]

Game version 0.95.147 released

Notable changes:

• Profile selection screen implemented.
  
  Existing profile can be selected either via typing in the name or clicking on the list entry. Double click or press ENTER to accept the selection (or click the button). You can't delete a profile from within the game, but you can delete the directory in the "save" subfolder manually.
• Fixed satellite deployment/destruction related issues.
• Fixed unit selection via SHIFT+Click not adding units to the selection.
• Fixed some erratic fleet-AI behavior on higher game speeds.
• Modified damage calculation to a sublinear function of the number of attackers in space battles. For example, attacking with 10 units with 100 dps/unit yields an effective 400 dps. This new behavior can be disabled in the open-ig-config.xml under the key "spacewarDiminishingAttach" set to false.

Game version 0.95.146 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed transfer of Fighters incorrectly changing the counts. [Issue #773]
• Fixed selling fighters not reducing the fleet numbers. [Issue #773]
• Fixed French text for the antidote-trader spacewar chat. [Issue #645]
• Skirmish: The starting fleet now has one equipped radar if the technology settings allow it.
• AI: AI will now build spaceship factory earlier; satellites will be produced much sooner, allowing earlier colonization.

Game version 0.95.145 released

Notable changes:

• Added button sounds to some colony info buttons. [Issue #723]
• Added tooltip text to the auto-build settings on the colony info screen, explaining each settings. Note that due to the large tooltip, they might not be fully readable below 600 pixel window height.
• New gameplay option: allow the AI managed planets to produce items, default true. Some expressed annoyance with the original always-true mode. Note that the AI will still deploy items available in the inventory.
• AI: will build equipment factory to build radars to improve on exploration. [Issue #770]
• AI: will build military spaceport much earlier.
• Spacewar: fixed display of DPS, it no longer shows the fraction. [Issue #771]
• Spacewar: fixed select all button selecting rockets and kamikaze units.
• Modified diplomatic responses to allow positive AI answers to happen more likely.
• Groundwar: Units and barracks now prefer the more damaged enemy units in their fire range.
• Groundwar: Mines are now properly triggered by passing vehicles.
• Fixed mission 17 - prototype not catcheable with Pre-Warp trait. [Issue #772]
• Starmap: added indicator below the planets telling if there is an operational Military Spaceport on the planet:  . Due to lack of space, it is not shown on any of the information screens, and besides, it is meant to be a starmap aid.

Game version 0.95.144 released

Notable changes:

• Use PgUp and PgDown keys to jump between planets. [Issue #721]
• Fixed auto-colonization not working properly.
• Modified vehicle pathfinding to reduce the number of turn-arounds when the command was issued in-between two cells.
• Fixed AI patrol not moving anywhere and producing small zig-zag like movements.
• Fixed database screen's information button: now it opens the planet list instead of alien races.
• Fixed the production line's button tooltips.

Game version 0.95.143 released

Notable changes:

• Reduced speed of Garthog virus carriers in case the player has the Pre-Warp trait. [Issue #736]
• Changed rocket movement to avoid the stable-orbit around a target. [Issue #766]

Game version 0.95.142 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed Pre-Warp trait not properly disabling hyperdrives. [Issue #764]
• Fixed traders not catcheable on levels 1 and 2 if Pre-Warp trait was enabled [Issue #736]
• Fixed equipment showing actual numbers > 0 even if the slot was empty. [Issue #764]
• Fixed NPE when finishing a fleet split [Issue #765]
• Fixed AI Managed planets overfill vehicles if the player changed the vehicle mix manually. [Issue #763]

Game version 0.95.141 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed AI trying to remove the same building multiple times [Issue #762]
• Fixed earthquake occurrence time to be the ingame-time instead of the total time (which includes pauses).
• Fixed earthquake damage over time for non-default game speeds.

Game version 0.95.140 released

Somehow, I always find some additional bugs after just releasing a version.

• Fixed auto-colonization not available until the colony ship has been researched even if there was a colony ship in fleet.
• Fixed fleet movement-task tracking related issues, interfering with scripting and auto-colonization.

Game version 0.95.139 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed auto-colonization not using existing colony ships at the start of the skirmish
• Colony ships are no longer added to the starting fleet, but only to separate fleets.

Game version 0.95.138 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed several bug preventing the AI to upgrade its fleet or colonize planets. [Issue #758]

Game version 0.95.137 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed ship transfer again: moving ships between fleets now retains all equipment, statistics and health information.

Game version 0.95.136 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed transfer of large ship between fleets [Issue #756]

Game version 0.95.135 released

The project has still players! Fantastic.

Notable changes:

• Fixed issue with adding larger ships to fleets or stations to planets. [Issue #755]

Game version 0.95.134 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed crash due invalid current research [Issue #754]

Game version 0.95.133 released

Notable changes

• Fixed issue with attacking other fleets [Issue #753]

Game version 0.95.132 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed some campaign start and game load issues. Should fix the cases where attacking enemy planets wouldn't work.
• Fixed the Coffee Break achievement and Oldest Man achievements

Game version 0.95.131 released

First of all, sorry for the delay. My last few months of professional life was so intense, it drained all my enthusiasm and energy from Open IG. The current release is just a couple of easy-fixes:

• If the player goes into a trade agreement with another empire, the Trader ships travel to those planets as well (cosmetic) [Issue #596]
• Intro English subtitle corrections [Issue #725]
• Fixed crash when ship-walking on level 4 [Issue #727]
• Fixed the research tip on lab reorganization [Issue #733]
• Fixed earthquake frequency [Issue #737]
• Fixed hyperdrive availability problem in case of the Pre-Hyperdrive trait [Issue #747]

From this version on, the game requires Java 7!

Unfortunately, the main issues (such as the balance) and developments (multiplayer) are still on hold. Balancing usually can't be expressed scientifically, but worked out by testing, testing and testing. The issue with the multiplayer is that I need to change many things from the ground up, which is on the borderline of redesigning the whole game. 

I don't have the time nor the commitment anymore to do this now. I feel with each change and improvement, I only get diminishing returns, and many problems faced are becoming harder and harder to fix within the confinement of the (original) game. 

I'd rather put my efforts into a completely new game. I have some ideas, but nothing substantial yet.

Anyway, If you find any issues, such as things that worked before not working anymore, don't hesitate to report an issue (I messed up the ground battle due to the MP and tried to restore it to a playable state).

Progress on MP and some other news

I hit some functional roadblocks with the multiplayer part of Open-IG, namely how the game can handle multi-participant space and ground battles.

Ground battle is the simpler one, but the spacewar has some serious implications: how can other parties join in the fight, where can enter into the battlefield, what if the nearby planet wants to join the battle? Not to mention, if there is a huge many-to-many battle, how can I compute the battle statistics? Allies and enemies together complicate matters quite a bit.

---

Java 7 update 25 has been released with tons of vulnerability fixes.

Eclipse 4.3 has been released which promises performance boost over the quite slow 4.2 series. I found its "Whats new?" here.

Google Drive and updates

I've checked out the capabilities of the Google Drive in terms of programmatic access. Here is an example for the main game file:

https://googledrive.com/host/0B4T7ZW3brESKeU1jWnpqMGVnZ0k/open-ig-0.95.130.jar

Luckily GD has this host feature for a public directory where each file and subdirectory can be accessed by its proper file name instead of the cryptic File ID (this allows even hosting web pages).

So, the procedure will be as follows: game files will be kept on Google Code site, but changing bits will be now served from my GD account. One drawback is that there is no download counting on GD yet.

Google Code won't support file downloads any more

I came across this blog post about changes in the Google Code hosting. This is kind of sad, since the project relied heavily on the download section for the game files. Now I have to find a place for them. Google Drive is mentioned as a candidate.

In theory, this should not affect the self-update capability of the game, since the version check URL already points into the SVN, and the inner links may point to anywhere I choose. Hopefully, the Google Drive links are static and don't get disabled for too much traffic.

Java 6 support to be dropped

I'm about to drop the Java 6 support in Open Imperium Galactica. This means the game won't run on Java 6 anymore, nor the source code will be compatible with Java 6.

The reason for this is twofold:

• Java 7 language features allow me to write less code for the same purpose. This helps in maintaining and improving the game.
• The official Oracle support for Java 6 has ended, which might leave your system vulnerable to Applet based exploits, not to mention the performance drawbacks.

The upcoming version 0.96 with the multiplayer will use Java 7 only. My expected delivery time is about 1 month from now. The change will affect the Launcher as well. Since Java 6 won't run Java 7 class files, I'll add a small Java 6 bootstrap code that warns the user about the version problem.

Multiplayer started

I started working on the multiplayer. To simplify the development process, I designed the multiplayer setup screen with regular Java UI elements instead of Open-IG graphics.

Game organizers will be able to set up all game parameters similar to a skirmish game. AI players may be added to the game as well, which can be in the same group as the human players.

Game organizers may allow the client users to select their own properties: race, icon, traits and groups.

Announcement: Permission received from DR

ANNOUNCEMENT

I'm happy to report that I signed a contract with Digital Reality (the original developers who own the rights to Imperium Galactica again) and I received the official permission to use the original Imperium Galactica resources in this Open Imperium Galactica project, and make them or any modified/derived resources freely downloadable from this site.

In other terms, Open Imperium Galactica is now a completely legal project and you, the users can freely and legally download and play the game.

Soon I'll compose a FAQ about the subtle details of this contract and how it affects the LGPL part of the project.

Game version 0.95.130 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed the overlapping of Hubble 1 and Hubble 2 in the production screen, preventing the latter to be built if run with skirmish set to level 6. Note that Hubble 1 is a campaign-scripted satellite, and can't be really deployed. [Issue #720]
• Players can now build previously non-buildable tech in skirmish (e.g., Thorin @ lvl 6).
• Added option to campaign editor's copy feature to make copy of the default labels.

Game version 0.95.129 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed issue with non-human police stations not getting workers and power in case an earlier game was  loaded with a newer Open-IG version. [Issue #719]

Game version 0.95.128 released

Notable changes:

• Changed timing of mission 7 (protect traders) and mission 13  (escort Benson): there is less chance they overlap and the player can reach both parties if playing with pre-hyperdrive trait (Issue 718)

Uninstall all Java in batch

I usually have Java 6, 7 and 8 installed on my (Windows) machines, but whenever an update comes out, I have to manually, one-by-one uninstall them from the control panel. For 64 bit systems, this is doubled. However, I found a command which can do this automatically and for multiple versions at the same time.

You only need to create a batch file with the following content, and run it as administrator:


wmic product where "name like 'Java(TM) 6%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name like 'Java(TM) SE%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name like 'Java 6%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name like 'Java 7%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name like 'Java 8%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name like 'Java SE%%'" call uninstall /nointeractive

Game version 0.95.127 released

Notable changes:

• Space station equipment status is now saved and loaded properly. [Issue #715]
• Fleets are auto-reequipped only once after a battle (not on every approach to a planet with a spaceport).
• Space stations are auto-reequipped only once after a battle (not constantly, which made equipment management non-operational).
• Holding down the mouse over +1 and -1 buttons to change equipment counts works again.

Game version 0.95.126 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed the equipment screen to prevent adding technology to slots which don't support that particular technology (e.g., rockets to laser slot). [Issue #712]

Game version 0.95.125 released

Notable changes:

• Fixed diplomacy screen becoming inaccessible. (Issue #708)
• Fixed missing letter in the Russian font (Issue #711).
• Fixed some labels.
• Fixed some trader chats (Issue #711).
• Modified the loading to fix older saves where the aliens shared the same Police Station as the human player.