Archive for December, 2010

Thunderous Skies

Posted in Development on December 29th, 2010 by MimmoO – Be the first to comment

Thunderous Skies 1Since this scenrio did not make it into the current update, I decided to modify the current version of this scenario so its playable with the current release version.

Claim control over this sky island, which floats up high in the sky. Numerous weapons, spells and environment objects will help you to fight your enemies. Kill an enemy as the king, or kill the current king to score a point. You get healed by 30% of the damage you do, while you are the king.

Thunder

A King-of-the-Hill-round in great heights. Who scores 10 points first, wins.

Download the Scenario here.

Changes in version 1.1.3

Posted in Announcements on December 28th, 2010 by Newton – 3 Comments

This weekend, we fired out a big new update. It solves many of the problems that were reported in the bugtracker and otherwise includes minor improvements and balancing. Below is the list of changes.

Windows users will have to download and reinstall the new version from the download page. Linux users can use the built-in update function.

Engine
! fixed random sky color (#317)
* default control rate is now 3 in network games
! fixed fused dynamite hits clonks
+ artwork for OC installer
* script: FindConstructionSite return 0 when the search fails
! clonk doesn’t continue burning after death (#222)
* update XPM icon from CZ to OC
* changed default IRC channel for clonk client to #openclonk
! fixed possible crash in C4GUI::Container::ClearChildren()
* runtime join off by default because it does not work currently
! opaque submeshes are rendered before non-opaque ones
– removed FIGHT procedure and all related stuff
! win64: Fix crash when a C4String gets allocated at >4GB

Game mechanics
! cannon can’t shoot when turning around (#512)
! rope of grappler is not disconnected too early anymore
* continue to aim with musket after musket has been reloaded (#508)
* press on [Q] now opens the backpack menu even if another menu was open before (#515)
! fixed nullpointer exception on death of clonk that is in no crew
! javelin exits clonk on throw in right height now
! clonk can’t jump out of solid rock
! fixed typo and some “code never reached” warnings from C4DT
– removed the display of (A) and (B) hands in the HUD
+ new texture for the target balloon in the tutorials
! fixed zooming with gamepad (#536)
! fixed error causing variable declaration

Game content & Balancing
+ added missing German string in tutorial 3
* King of the Hill: only king gets a big malus for suicide (#520)
+ King of the Hill: goal now announces new king on the death of old king
+ King of the Hill: open weapon menu on game start now
+ Parkours: give a more informative goal short description (#547)
! Boomshire: various fixes
* Hideout: various map improvements and balancing adjustments, kill logs, adjustments to the magic gems
+ kill logs added to all melees
* CTF – flag: now attached to flag base, grabbed automatically and has a visual trail
* Frozen Fortress: frost bolt now only damages clonks
* sword damage lowered by 1 per hit
* changed mushroom mass to 6
* loam bridge length increased by one third
+ replaced lava texture with one that looks more liquid
+ added shield walking animation
! fix sword texture for Molten Monarch
* changed walking cycle of clonk to look less “chicken-legged”

Magic in OpenClonk

Posted in Development on December 17th, 2010 by MimmoO – Be the first to comment

OC logo on ScrollEven though we don’t have a real magic system in OC, there is already a lot of magic stuff. Mostly bound to scrolls, those magic items are one-time-usable. In the following, I will show up all the magic scrolls we’ve got, along with some useful hints how to use them best.

FireballFireball Scroll

The fireball is a medium to fast moving projectile, which explodes on enemy clonk contact, when it hits a solid wall, or after a certain time has passed. Characteristic for this spell is his flight curve – its not a straight line, but a sine-like wave, which makes the aiming a bit more challenging. Once it hits a target, it splits into three smaller explosions which are spread around the impact point in a small radius. Thus, the clonk takes high damage and is flinged around a bit. The smaller the distance to the target, the easier is it to hit with it – in close combat you just jump over the enemy and smash the fireball right into his face. On a medium distance, its still not that hard to evade, but combined with another fireball which is aimed a bit higher, you can almost not dodge it. Over a long distance, you need a bit of luck, since the enemy can see it coming from all over the map. Thus, its mostly better to get closer to the enemy for a better hit chance.

The Fireball is available in Overcast and Thunderous Skies (hopefully coming with the next patch).

TeleportTeleport Scroll

This spell is a defensive spell, and it can save you life if you use it fast enough. On use, it teleports you to a random place on the map, most likely next to a chest or to a safe place. Thus, especially in Overcast its very good to carry always one with you. Be it because you don’t find useful stuff in a chest and want to get to another quick, or because you fall down and would have no chance to survive. You can activate it out of tumbling, so its even more useful. When you’re not that fast with the backpack, it’s good to carry it always in one hand when moving in the lower area in Overcast, in case you fall down. For the fast-clickers, be sure to remember where exactly you put that scroll into your backpack – you have almost no time to react once you fall down.

This scroll is only available in Overcast.

Magic WindWind Scroll

The Wind Spell is an all-rounder: you can use it to defend, to move and to attack. After the delay of a half second, the area in the direction you clicked at will push any movable object in this direction.It is strong enough to push clonks in the air for the duration of the spell, which is 5 seconds. Arrows are mostly too fast to be fully reflected, but the spell is strong enough to change their flight curve, depending on the angle of the incoming arrow. With this strength, you can also make enemies fall down over the edge, or give thrown objects or shot arrows an extra boost. All in all, this spell is always useful – in almost every situation.

The Wind Spell is available in Overcast, Frozen Fortress and Thunderous Skies (hopefully coming with the next patch).

FrostboltFrostbolt Scroll

Like the Fireball, this spell release a fast moving projectile in the direction you click. But in difference to the fireball, this spell moves a lot faster and has a less strong sine-movement. Therefore, it is also very useful at long distances. The explosion is also different – instead of having a small and compact explosion, the Frostbolt splits in a lot of smaller explosions spread over a big area. This makes him pretty nice against more enemies standing together. But be warned! Because of the big radius, you can also hit your team members which are fighting against your targets very easily. You also need to know that the explosion does not deal any damage to buildings, such as the defense gate from Frozen Fortress. When you want to steal the flag, its always useful to have one of these – you can stop your chasers pretty easy with it.

This Scroll is only available in Frozen Fortress.

HardeningHardening Scroll

Change snow to ice! This seems not very useful in the most cases, but in Frozen Fortress, its a huge advantage, because you can not dig thought ice there. On use, it releases a small moving projectile, which begins to convert snow into ice over time on impact. The radius is rather small, so make sure you use it on the right place – the best for defending is directly under your main gate, if there is snow lying around.

This spell is only available in Frozen Fortress.

ThunderThunder Scroll

On use, after a one second delay, a lightning strike will appear from above, which hits everything near it, damaging it and flinging it in the air. Even if this spell is rather hard to hit, it is very strong. You can use it perfectly to fling enemies off edges, or just in the air, which gives you a time bonus, in which you can continue attacking. Once you casted it, make sure that close enemies stay close – hit them with a sword or shoot at them. It will also hit balloons flying above you, which can, if you do it right, deal a very high amount of damage to the enemy. You also don’t need always to be directly close to you enemy, you can also be under or over him, since the lightning will strike from above. Thus, you can defend this spell by simply hiding under solid material. For stealing kills, this spell is, when used right, very good.

The Thunder Scroll is only available in Thunderous Skies (hopefully coming with the next patch).

These are all Scrolls that are currently in the game, but I guess it won’t stay like this very long. Creating spells is just too much fun for me, so I will probably continue making more spells. I hope these tips and infos help you using them, and discovering new strategies.

Linux builds available

Posted in Announcements on December 7th, 2010 by Newton – 2 Comments

There are now automatically created linux builds available on the downloads page. Also, the nightly builds include a linux binary now.

By the way, it’s not big news that OpenClonk runs on Linux, it always ran under Linux. But now, we have automatically created builds available. 🙂

OpenClonk – Back to the Rocks 1.0 released!

Posted in Announcements on December 3rd, 2010 by Newton – 7 Comments

The first milestone of OpenClonk, the open source successor of the Clonk series, has been released!

Download here

Scroll down for some videos and screenshots!

This first release is a beta release. So please help us getting rid of any glitches and bugs by reporting them in the bugtracker.
If you want to give some feedback (please do!) or have great ideas in which direction we should advance the project in the future, please visit our forum.

This milestone focuses on some fast paced melees, races and a few experimental scenarios to choose from. All scenarios are meant to be played multiplayer through the internet (for hosts: ports 11111-11114 are used). It features completely new controls, a new HUD and many weapons and tools to choose from (see a more thorough description here). Also included are four tutorials that guide new players and veteran clonkers through the new controls.

From the main page:
OpenClonk is a free multiplayer action game where you control clonks, small but witty and nimble humanoid beings. The game is mainly about mining, settling and fast-paced melees. OpenClonk is also not just a game but also a versatile 2D game engine that offers countless possibilites to make your own mods.