Gate 88 is a retro-style action-RTS where seemingly simplistic gameplay gives way to a myriad of subtle, yet complex strategies. It is reminiscent of Herzog
Zwei, Star Control, Subspace, Homeworld, and Parsec 47.
Gate 88 Version History
Dec05/04
-added: IRC (lobby) chat client (press "F1" at any time to join the chat)
-added: different graphical background styles
-added: server command to kick players (usage is "kick " -- use "getclientinfo" to get id)
Note: client will not be told that he/she is kicked. This will be fixed in the future.
-added: exit confirmation screen
-added: client accuracy option in multiplayer settings menu (setting this on will make the client more accurate but feel more laggy)
-added: menu item descriptions for multiplayer settings menu
-added: more information to tutorial
-added: ability to take screenshot during a replay
-fixed: movement+firing packets not resent when packet loss is present (the "I'm shooting it back it doesn't die!" bug)
-fixed: shipyard "launch cover" was not drawn correctly
-fixed: game hangs when task switching back into the game
-fixed: in full-screen radar, text drawn incorrectly on some video cards (eg. integrated SiS 741)
-fixed: in the first game, sometimes the ship cannot shoot and yellow particles are emitted
-fixed: signalling fighter launch at the exact same time all fighters of the shipyard dies causes assertion error
-fixed: rungate88.sh script did not work when run from outside the gate88 directory (linux specific)
-fixed: players with no command post were able to move other players' buildings
-changed: stars are now drawn with depth
-changed: "press s to place your command post" text to take into account different key configurations
-changed: tutorial cancellation key to "escape"+"enter"
-changed: made the power generator coverage circle brighter in high quality mode
Nov19/04
-added: keyboard configuration menu
-added: joystick configuration menu
-added: key repeat (eg. you can just hold onto backspace to delete multiple characters now)
-added: screenshot key
-added: server shows scores when the round ends
-added: server command, "getscore", to see current scores.
-fixed: incorrect assertions in server
-fixed: flying exactly left, right, up, or down causes stars to be not drawn
-fixed: incorrect assertion in client (msElapsed>0)
-fixed: player joining with a long name will cause assertion failure in server
-fixed: duplicates in the video settings -> resolutions list
-fixed: changing resolutions does not resize display area
-fixed: "0 x 0" resolution shown in the video settings resolution list
-fixed: replays recorded incorrectly when player paused
Nov5/04
-fixed: dedicated server used too much CPU power (it's MUCH better now)
-fixed: corrupted display with Intel Graphics Extreme video cards
-fixed: health status of building jumps around when shot
-fixed: opening radar exactly when the game starts causes crash
-fixed: alt+tab causes blank screen
-fixed: get "receiving entities" message when switching video settings while in a multiplayer game
-fixed: hard to read text during death
-fixed: typing "S" as the last character of a chat message may place command post
-fixed: effective rate not reported correctly in getclientinfo
-fixed: renderer should have drawn thicker lines
-fixed: timing problem in driver
-fixed: stars not appearing when flying diagonal
-fixed: player-death resource-bonus incorrectly took into account researched specials from previous rounds
-fixed: graphical glitch allowing fighters to build over capacity
-fixed: graphical glitch creating the illusion of an invincible fighter
-fixed: assert failure when going into video settings menu with video driver that doesn't support 800x600 resolution
-fixed: player is able to cloak indefinitely
-fixed: fighters appear in the wrong position when launched after being docked
-fixed: if fighter A targets fighter B and fighter B docks, fighter A goes nuts
-fixed: scores sorted in wrong order under Linux
-fixed: ship config research descriptions were wrong
-fixed: crash if radar is open and a player leaves
-added: health status indication of buildings on full screen radar
-added: alert indication in full-screen radar
-added: pause for single player (press "escape" to pause and go to menu)
-added: chat messages show in server console
-added: chat ability in server console (usage: chat _msg_ OR t _msg_)
-added: colour coding for chat messages
-added: "press escape to cancel chat" text when typing a chat message
-added: a message when player places command post
-added: visual quality setting
-added: bandwidth option for 33.6k modem (choose this if you have a modem and get disconnected a lot)
-added: the following characters to the text renderer: ~ @ $ ^ * | ` < >
-changed: tutorial to make explaination of braking clearer
-changed: round-end timer to be longer (15 seconds)
-changed: transmission rates for modem
-removed: "Player Guide" option.
Oct14/04
-added: full screen radar warning indicators
-added: semicolon drawing to text renderer
-added: equal-sign drawing to text renderer
-fixed: errors caused by late joiners
-fixed: sometimes player can make buildings but server will not know about it
-fixed: client was moveable on round end
-fixed: client could not see player left message
-changed: regen config now costs 200 to research
-changed: stealth config now costs 175 to research
-changed: jump gates now cost 30
-made code changes to support linux port
Oct5/04
-added: ability to disable sound on startup (via "nosound" command line option)
-added: name information to "getclientinfo" server command
-added: name of connecting user is displayed in server window
-added: name and life time of disconnecting user is displayed in server window
-fixed bug: client could not get server info from the server it has joined
-fixed bug: client reconnecting to same server causes server to crash
-fixed bug: player cannot seen new joiners
-fixed bug: names in chat messages appear as "???"
-fixed bug: resawpning player appears at the position of death for a split second
-fixed bug: assertion error caused by yard spawning a fighter while it's dead
-fixed bug: assertion error caused by yard adding a fighter while it's dead
Sept28/04
-added chat log to view previous chat messages (hold "L")
-added round time indicator when the amount of time left is less than 3 minutes
-added messages indicating when a player joins or leaves
-added more information in the tutorial to describe the heavy and stealth configs
-added more information in the tutorial to show the multiplayer-specific keys ("TAB" - scores, "T" - chat, "L" - chat log)
-added more information in the tutorial to clarify how to properly brake the ship (double-tap and hold down)
-added more information in the tutorial to clarify target setting
-added status messages for master server
-fixed bug: heavy turret still animating when not powered
-fixed bug: chat message flood
-fixed bug: enemy entities will appear to "rapid fire"
-fixed bug: chat messages could be written while in menu
-fixed bug: radar could be opened while in menu
-fixed bug: radar would cover chat messages
-fixed bug: radar would not show all visible enemies
-fixed bug: launching 30+ fighters in a network game caused unresponsiveness
-fixed bug: rare server crash when selling buildings
-fixed bug: late joining client gets flooded
-fixed bug: dead shipyards could still be sold
-fixed bug: offscreen particles would cause onscreen particles to not draw
-fixed bug: client showed incorrect HP for buildings and player
-fixed bug: malformed packets will crash the server
-fixed bug: new radar warning of a destroyed building causes crash
-fixed bug: level 5 signal stations could not see enemy buildings
-fixed bug: stopping and restarting replay causes crash
-fixed bug: client sometimes crashes when round ends
-improved server performance so that users with cable modems can reliably host multiplayer games
-improved turning and flying behaviour for players over low-quality connections (ie. reduced jerkiness)
-improved netcode to ignore malformed packets
-changed connection type settings to display more user-friendly messages
-changed sell range to be greater distance
-changed mass driver turret base HP to 12
Sept11/04
-added server browser
-added points for destroying buildings
-added bonus resources for destroying buildings
-added debug logger on event of crash
-added ability to refund buildings
-fixed bug in client where aifighters belonging to a destroyed shipyard would disappear
-fixed bug in client where bullets belonging to a dead entities would disappear
-fixed assertion bug in client: numEvents==lpAppData->getNumEvents() (main:453)
-fixed assertion bug in client: lpPlayer==NULL (abstractRenderModule:964)
-fixed bug where turrets would still be visible even though they are dead
-fixed bug where signal stations would not see enemy buildings
-improved movement behaviour when packet loss occurs
-improved build action behaviour when packet loss occurs