DescentBB

Hello folks! Today, September 28th 2010 marks a big day for DXX-Rebirth.

Not only is it the 5th birthday of the project, it’s also the day of the release of v0.56 which was in the works for 20 months! Last but not least you surely have noticed that the website has changed as well. I hope you like it.

But first things first.

It’s the fifth anniversary for DXX-Rebirth. While it was only a small hobby for me in the beginning and for almost two years I rarely even worked on it, it somehow survived – growing. I never expected that, but I am very proud of it as well. I admit I always work very slowly (20 months for one release… gosh) and my lunch break times surely will some day crush the borders of the space-time continuum, creating a paradox which will swallow the whole universe (or at least this galaxy).

But you trustful players out there are my biggest motivation besides my love for the games in general. This is why I invested a lot of work into this v0.56 release.

So here is what you all have been waiting for – the most important changes of this release:

* Totally rewritten UDP code for Multiplayer – including LAN Netlist, Packet-loss prevention and many improvements
* All game parts now are window elements (you should not notice this but it’s a huge code improvement)
* Improved Music playback compatibility. Missions can now have their own descent.sng, using HMP, MID, MP3, OGG and AIF
* Extended Jukebox-feature to play your own music
* D1X-Rebirth now supports D1 Shareware, Destination Saturn, 1.0/1.4/1.5 game content
D2X-Rebirth fully supports D2 Demo, Destination Quartzon, 1.0/1.2 game content
* Improved demo recording. Views will always be correct in newly recorded demos, no matter how you jump through the demo. Descent 1 will record open/blown doors correctly when demo starts (all backwards compatible)
* Bug in Joystick reading fixed. Game should now support more Joysticks, buttons and axes than you can ever operate in your state of evolution.
* INI/command-line option added to use CAPSLOCK and NUMLOCK as normal keys
* FPS-based damage/screen-shaking of Fusion cannon fixed
* Old homing projectiles have been restored and now are FPS-independent
* Code has been improved so it should now compile on way more *NIX-like operating systems
* The game can optionally be compiled with/without IPX and/or UDP support
* Movies are now always displayed in correct aspect ratio
* The game will automatically detect supported resolutions of your system configurations and offer them in RESOLUTIONS menu
* Ability to dynamically load AddOn packs
* Tons of fixes and other improvements

Download v0.56 right away at www.dxx-rebirth.com

Well, I hope you have fun with the new release and the new website. If you have Feedback, Comments or something else you would like to say, drop me a line (zicodxx at yahoo dot de) or visit our Forums.

Best regards,
zico

Congrats!

Ooo! I will try this.

Very nice! Just assembled the files and tried it out. Looks absolutely fantastic! Thanks and Happy Birthday #5 for DXX and all of Zico's efforts!

One stupid little question though. Under the 'graphics options', what does checking the 'movie filter' selection box do in the game?

Hey guys - thanks for the nice words.

@tunnelcat:
Movie Filter will smooth out the Movies in the same way it affects the textures ingame using Texture Filtering - they won't look *that* pixilated anymore then.

However this effect can be a bit heavy on some machines (making movies choppy) and the quality increase might not be *that* noticable - that's why it has it's own option.

EDIT:
If you want to check it, you can compare it in the D2 intro sequence pretty good - with Movie Filter, the chorona of Sol in the very beginning of the movie is smoother. You can do a side-by-side check by making a screenshot sof movies with the PRINTSCREEN key now.

Thanks for the update. Installed it this morning but haven't had a chance to play it.

zico wrote:Hey guys - thanks for the nice words.

@tunnelcat:
Movie Filter will smooth out the Movies in the same way it affects the textures ingame using Texture Filtering - they won't look *that* pixilated anymore then.

However this effect can be a bit heavy on some machines (making movies choppy) and the quality increase might not be *that* noticable - that's why it has it's own option.

EDIT:
If you want to check it, you can compare it in the D2 intro sequence pretty good - with Movie Filter, the chorona of Sol in the very beginning of the movie is smoother. You can do a side-by-side check by making a screenshot sof movies with the PRINTSCREEN key now.

Tried it out Zico and it really improved the appearance of the movies! No choppiness at all either. Excellent work, as always!:) And thanks for getting DXX to look good in 1920 X 1080. Now I just need to just get my joystick mounted to my new desk...........

Zico you rule man! Thank-you for the best version of DXX yet. I haven't tried multiplayer out yet as I have been busy with work. /me raises beer glass to Zico... thank-you again!

tunnelcat wrote:Now I just need to just get my joystick mounted to my new desk...........

VELCRO

I already use that. It's the removable support for the joystick that I attach and remove with a couple of thumb bolts under the desk. I hate Velcro strips on the top of the desk. I'm also installing a wall mount to hold my monitor and get it off the desk. But I'm having to build a support in between 2 wall studs to hold the thing up.

I'm going to build this in 2 weeks for my setup

Share the plans/blueprints man!

That's my dream setup too BUBBALOU, really nice, but I don't know WHERE I'd put such a piece of furniture it if ever I built it! I could put in in the basement, but then I'd have to add heat down there, more work to do. Projects always seem to fill all available time.

68\" x 48\" is all this takes up... 4 sheets of 3/4\" sandply and a car seat with rails (pref Japanese drivers seat)

Oh, that does looks good BUBBALOU.

Very impressive.
Post some pics when it's done.

almost have all the hardware

[edit] have!

Been playing the new version on and off for a while. So far, looks and works great!

Yep. A great build - Thanks Zico