News Archive

26.01.2004:
Release 9 is planned within the next 2 weeks!

New Image. New pre-rendered GFX
New Image. more Magic/WeaponFX testing.
26.12.2003:
New Image. Magic/WeaponFX testing.
22.12.2003:
I have redone(extended) the lighting again.
Now it is really smooth, no rectangles visible at all :)

New Image. New Soft Lighting.
21.12.2003:
I played around with particles again...
Since it is worth of showing (At least I think so)
I created a short sample AVI to demonstrate the Particlesystem.
Look for "Effects-Avi" in the menu to your left ;)

Frostregen(SADDAM) & Thu
20.12.2003:
I was not able to update this site/or continue programming due to studying.
This game would have been playable long ago, if I did not aim for massive multiplayer.
It seems to be impossible to combine fast realtime action and massive multiplayer.
Take a look at Planetside...they have supercomputers, gigabit uplinks and it still does
not feel like an "action" game.

Currently I am thinking of a new game which fits to the
already well developed Engine. Take a look in the Forums...

For example:
World interaction realtime(driving/walking/etc)
But: Fighting Turn based(more RPG style...)

Hopefully I will get motivated again, and some small nice games arise from this engine :)
Greets,
Frostregen(SADDAM) & Thu
11.10.2003:
Currently Iam working on the Inventory-System. See Forum for details.
New Image. Inventory testing.
5.10.2003:
Just a quick serverside-only bugfix.
I disabled transfer of bullets, to prevent "Sendbuffer-Bug".
Reached 100 Downloads :D
4.10.2003:
Fantasy GFX Pack RELEASE: 1.0
Some really nice alternative graphics done by my girlfriend.
Download it from the menu on the left. It is definitely worth it!
Just unzip the archive into your Darkdrive folder and enjoy :)

Please post comments in the Forum. :)
hf,
SADDAM and THU
4.10.2003:
RELEASE: 8.5
Some nice new features added.
(they do not change network gameplay, so updating is not required, but still recommended ;)
Here is the feature list:

-New Frontend. Now supporting all game switches
-Frontend saves your settings now. (pwd will not be saved)
-ALT+TABing works!
-windowed mode available! (Switch -window)
-VSYNC can be disabled now. (Switch -novsync)

To run Darkdrive use Darkdrive.exe now.
Please DELETE YOUR OLD DARKDRIVE before installing R8.5.
Use Darkdrive.exe to start the game.
If you start Offline play ENTER "SADDAM" AS USERNAME!!!

hf, SADDAM
2.10.2003:
RELEASE: 8.1
Just a small update/bugfix.
There was one nasty bug in the Move/Collide procedure, which caused the Game to crash,
when both Items died as a result of the collision AND they were side-to-side in the MoveList.
There also was a small bug which caused the Server to crash, if someone logged in with wrong pwd

I added some small network-error-correction code, which makes the game playable :)
Kills are now recorded too. (not only deaths as before)
Every Kill gives you +1 MaxHealth, and +2 MaxEnergy. :)

hf again,
SADDAM

PS: 2 New Images with alternative level artwork =)
credits to my girlfriend :-*
2.10.2003:
RELEASE: 8
Finally Release 8 is here :)
Everything from the last news applies here too.
The only thing: You are able to run till your Energy is 0 ("Shift"-Key to run)
I just wanted to have a use for the Energy display ;)

Server is up at "saddam.ath.cx 1910"

hf,
SADDAM
2.10.2003:
Release 8 is nearly finished. Multiplayer works, shooting does damage, etc.
But because there is no "synchronize check/update" it is unplayable in terms of fighting.

I´ve redone the whole main game loop.
I threw out the crappy Timers I used and made my own sheduling system to divide resources
between Network/Game itself/Rendering.

The game itself runs strict at 40fps, while Rendering fps are much higher.
I added interpolation between frames to profit from the high framerate and have smooth animation,
without having to increase the game fps.
New Image. Chatting at the fireplace.
27.09.2003:
The last day´s I was experimenting with a Profiler.
It showed to me, that some really often used functions were sort of slow.
Because it was already minimal code, I learned assembler and speeded it up a bit.
More Information about this is posted in my Forum
24.09.2003:
RELEASE: 7,7
This Release is showing the Particle system in action.
The static pictures can´t give credit to this.
The main reason is:
The Ojects changed a little, so this version is incompatible over network with R7,6 and below.
22.09.2003:
Today I have finished the new particle system.
I thought it would be a good addition to the dynamic-object-based lighting.
It shows some possibilities of my engine, which is only ugly atm, because good
Images are missing.
Now I´m concentrating on Object-Collision and the Interface.
When this is done, there´s R8!
New Image: The Particle System
20.09.2003:
Currently I´m redesigning the rendering process.
Dynamic Object-based Lighting is implemented.
Now there are 5 Object-Layers. 0 to 4. 0 will be rendered first, 4 last.
It is possible to "hide" Objects under another Object and Explosions can be "always on top"
New Image: Dynamic Object-based Lighting.
18.09.2003:
RELEASE: 7,6 stable
Just install R7,5. Then copy this executable over the old one:
outdated: "DarkDriveP.exe 7.6 stable"

This implements a timeout function during Client-Join´s. The "PID-Creation" Code changed too.
If you log in with "wrong Password/illegal username/server full" the Client autmatically quits now,
instead of just showing a black screen
16.09.2003:
RELEASE: 7,5
A small bug in DDJoinManager.exe caused an exception on some systems,
when joining a Server. Should be fixed now
New Image. The JoinManager
16.09.2003:
RELEASE: 7
Things are going well.
The server should be stable now. The last thing to be done is timeout/abort during join
Players can´t leave the map now. Try it... :)
There is DNS support now. So you may use "-connect hostname 1910".

But the best of all is:
I have set up a permanet Server on "saddam.ath.cx 1910".
I plan to auto-update Server information and put it in the #darkdrive topic
AND
There is a Join Frontend now! Easy Server management, Login/PWD input.
Use DDJoinManager.exe instead of DarkDriveP.exe

I hope we´ll see us on my Server :)
cya, SADDAM
14.09.2003:
The disconnect procedures are done. Join/Disconnects are shown in the Chatsystem.
Server shutdowns will also be noticed by the Clients.
If you disconnect, your Player will be saved at the current location.

Next things to be done are:
Keep Players from leaving the Map.
Timeout functions
Some minor error checks (Player with PID <> nil)

If this is done, the Server should run stable, without needing to restart it often.
Maybe this is R 7. (But maybe the interface is first done...)
For R 8 bullets will definitely do damage...
13.09.2003:
RELEASE: 6
Now there is a connection queue. if multiple Clients connect at the same time,
they simply have to wait, till the earlier clients have joined completely.
There´s also a Account Create mechanism. The first time you join
a Server with your Nick, this Nick will be created with the
Password you specified. Next Time you wont be able to log on
with this Nick and another password.

As you are now able to walk around and talk, this was worth a Release.

So have fun with R 6.
SADDAM

PS: If you have any Question, please visit the Forum.
PPS: New Image. Chat-System ;)
12.09.2003:
The Chatsystem is implemented and working :)
Currently I´m trying to let more than one player connect at a time.
After this is fixed, there will be R6.
11.09.2003:
RELEASE: 5
Finally, Release 5 is here!
The multiplayer support is VERY basic. You are able to shoot,
but your bullets won´t damage anything.
You are just able to walk around together.
Theoretically up to 1024 players atm.
This Version is still buggy. Only tested via LAN.
Don´t let 2 people connect simultaneously.
At least, have some fun running around ;)

Next Step will be a simple Chat function and Bullets damaging Players.
It´s also time to implement the interface/inventory.
9.09.2003:
The Serverside is completed. First small tests went successful.
A Player (since no clientside, only a test-app) connected, and
walked a short distance forward. :)
New Image. 2 Players walking.
8.09.2003:
All Save Functions are rewritten now to work with multiplayer.
Some new problems...
But still only a few till first multiplayer release :)
2.09.2003:
I´m back from holiday´s now.
Work will continue...
15.08.2003:
Work is going well. All major required engine-changes for multiplayer support
are done and working. Some small network-protocoll parts are still missing,
but will be implemented soon.
Still the "Bullets" don´t collide(thus inflicting no damage). This will be
the last part which needs to be done before R5
At the moment I´m working on the Client-Connect procedures.
New Image. Player shooting around
10.08.2003:
RELEASE: 4
The Player is now able to shoot,
although there is nothing to shoot at ;)
Not really amazing, but there had been some problems.
(Weapon object creating bullet objects...)
1.08.2003:
New Image. The roof fades away as you walk nearer now.
If you are under a Roof, it will diassapear completely
31.07.2003:
http://saddam.ath.cx/ seems to work again. So both url´s are valid now.
Currently I´m finishing the TInventory Class. When this is done I´ll implement
TWeapon. ;) After this is done there will be Release 4.
Await something special for R 5 =)
30.07.2003:
Forum is up again.
It wasn´t reachable because dyndns.org seems to be down.
I switched to dyndns.dk. So the new address is: http://saddam.dyndns.dk/
30.07.2003:
RELEASE: 3
Auto Loading of Map and Player. Just execute and walk around.
New camera-follow method.
New (ugly 8-) Player animation.
30.07.2003:
RELEASE: 2
Player is implemented! You can walk under Roofs, which will dissapear.
New Image. Showing the Player under a Roof.
New Image. Showing the Player besides a Roof.
Note the smoother lighting effect.
29.07.2003:
New Image. Shows the new Roofmap.
I decided to remove the Decalmap and put in a Roofmap.
So you cannot see into Buildings from the outside
29.07.2003:
RELEASE: 1
First public release!
New Image. It shows a picture of myself. Seperated to maptiles with the new
ImageTiler program. Also the First Objects are implemented. Little Potions
28.07.2003:
New Image. New Maptiles.
27.07.2003:
This website was born. First image of the Engine available.
It shows the Map, the Decalmap (The "Water" blends over the map),
and a light effect.