Once again, this one is not compatible with older version, and makes you enter a different room than the previous versions. However, this version now includes a version check at the start of the program, and informs you if there's a newer version available.
-Game and Checker app have a new icon.
-Checker application can now be minimized to tray, and there's an option to have balloon notifications for players online. The notifications are set to happen every 2 minutes, if there are players online.
-Checker application now has a button which launches the game itself and closes the Checker app. This way you don't need to find the game executable and manually run it when you want to jump in the game after noticing someone is online.
-Chat messages make a subtle bleep sound.
-Main menu of the game now checks for latest version, and informs you if there's a new one available. You'll still have to manually download it, but hopefully in future I'll include an auto-updater or downloader of some sort.
-NOTE! Both basic gun and special weapon can no longer be fired simultaneously. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that it reduces network traffic and CPU load (less ammo, less to calculate), and it encourages more tactical use of the weaponry, rather than just spamming both. ;p
-Weapon buffs:
*Machinegun damage doubled (to compensate for the inability to use the main gun at the same time)
*Shotgun special ammo usage dropped from 10 to 8
-Weapon nerfs:
*Shotgun damage per bullet reduced from 3 to 2
*Psychic Wave special ammo usage upped from 10 to 12
-Colliding with walls right after receiving a hit from Psychic Wave or Shotgun doesn't count as a suicide, but gives the shooter a point. However, this only counts for 1.5 second in case of Psychic Wave, and 1 second with Shotgun. Other weapons have similar period as well, but only very momentary. Basically, unless you were hit by a Psychic Wave or Shotgun recently, colliding with wall will likely count as a suicide, and you'll lose a kill point.
v0.235
(this version is compatible with v0.234, but for your own safety and gameplay performance, use the latest. ;P)
-Fixes for Freezer Crystal related stuff client-side (shotgun damage corrected, no more getting stuck in ice/landing pad combo)
-Minor effect tweaks (mostly reductions).
-The application executable for both the game and the checker is now uncompressed. Those of you with stingy firewalls shouldn't anymore get alerts every time you run the game or the checker. (Thanks to SortaCore for the tip)
-The Arrow Clash Game Checker now has a new box that counts the number of other people using the checker application.
v0.234
- Three new special weapons (consider them beta though). See list at the bottom for descriptions.
- Some minor bug fixes.
- Game Checker Application should work again. Let it run and alert you when there are others online! Though it'd be best to take initiative and be the first one sometimes... ;P
v0.233
Been a while since last version. The previous versions used an outdated Lacewing client, so a build with a new one. Other than updating Lacewing from Build14 to Build17, there are mostly only minor weapon changes. See changelog included with the download for details.
v0.232
Some players have experienced having a slow ship. I fiddled around with a bunch of things, in hopes of fixing this. This version is backwards compatible up to v0.23, I believe.
v0.231
Added Options->Players to menu, to customize controls, if CTRL+Y isn't responding. This version is compatible with v0.23, so download only if you want to change controls.
v0.23
This version should be much much more stable than the earlier ones. The default server has also been changed to Aquadasoft.com's public one, as there were problems with Klikfarm's server.
NEW: Game Checker
No luck being in the game at the same as others? Try the Game Checker application included with the game. It's a tiny window you can set to check the situation in the game. You can have it auto-update the player list every 15 seconds, the window to stay always on top, and to alert if there are players on the server. Do some other stuff while you wait for someone to come online! Then again, if everyone just waits for others, there will never be anyone on the server, so try joining an empty game every once in a while.
This game is currently playable online only, and the title screen you will automatically connect to a defined server (Aquadasoft's public server) and join a public game. If you're interested in testing this in private, you can download a Lacewing server from http://lacewing.aquadasoft.com/Download , run it, then join it at 'localhost' on your own computer, or at the IP address of where the server is run.
I have tested the game online very little, and haven't optimized the code yet, so chances are it'll go wrong somewhere... but hey, that's what testing is for, and you can be my guinea pigs!
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INTRODUCTION:
Back in the DOS/Shareware era, cave fliers were a popular genre, at least here in Finland. Since then I haven't seen many new cave fliers. To honor the good ol' genre, this is my contribution.
Basic components of a Cave Flier have usually been
-Ships affected by gravity and damaged by terrain
-Lots of weapons to choose from
-Landing Pads to repair, restock and switch weapons
-Destructible terrain
Destructible terrain has to be excluded for now, since it's not very well supported with scrolling in Multimedia Fusion 2, the software I'm using to make this, but to make up for the lack of the feature, I'm making this my first online multiplayer experiment.
Originally the game was split-screen for two people, since it wasn't meant to be online, but with online modes the split screen is not needed.
Oh, and the game's interface and look so far is very much inspired, if not directly copied, from my favorite cave flier of all time, Rocket Chase. It's freeware now, so I can recommend giving it a try if you can run DOS games (like with DOSBox, or on an older machine).
Your ship's basic weapon fires tiny medium-speed projectiles. There's plenty of ammo for this weapon when you're fully stocked, and it does decent damage. Due to the projectiles' speed though, it takes a bit of practice to aim the weapon.
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SPECIAL WEAPONS (so far):
*Double Rocket
Two rockets are fired, highly affected by the ship's movement and direction. Don't try to use it when turning, or you might hit yourself!
*Bombs
Small bombs are launched from the back of the ship. Not very powerful, but can be launched in large quantities. Excellent at slowing down pursuers or dropping down on unsuspecting foes below.
*Machinegun
Shoots fast projectiles at rapid pace. Not very powerful, but fairly easy to aim.
*Shotgun
Shoots a bunch of small projectiles in a cone-shape formation. A single projectile isn't powerful, but a well-placed shotgun blast can do some serious damage. Watch out for the recoil when you fire!
*Dizzy Gas
Deals no damage, but if it hits an opponent, their left and right turn are reversed for four seconds! Mess up your opponent's orientation and then pew-pew them to death with your basic gun.
*Firecracker
Launches a projectile that keeps spreading smaller projectiles around it while it's in air. The smaller projectiles equal the damage of the basic gun, so there's potential for a lot of damage when utilized correctly. The main projectiles itself doesn't do much damage.
*Anti-gravity Bubble
Hit your opponent with this weapon, and their ship's gravity will be reversed for 15 seconds. See if your opponents are as good with avoiding ceilings as they are with floors.
*Phaseblade
A spinning green blade is shot forward. The blade passes through everything, and causes plenty of continuous damage to ships. The blade's trajectory is affected by your ship's movement as well, and is thus difficult to utilize at times, but the potential damage is lethal if you can get an opponent to stay in touch with the blade for long.
*Psychic Wave (beta as of v0.234)
Player's ship releases a short distance wave, which violently pushes other ships within the wave's reach away from the player. Doesn't cause any direct damage, but can be used to push opponents against walls for potentially big collision damage.
*Energy Bouncer (beta as of v0.234)
A small ball of energy is fired forward, which bounces off walls. The ball doesn't do much damage, but can be fired at a decent rate. The projectiles last for 8 bounces, or when they hit an opponent.
*Freezer Crystals (beta as of v0.234)
A small, harmless looking particle is fired. Upon reaching a wall or an opponent, the projectile expands into a stack of ice crystals. This weapons can be used to cage enemies or to create obstacles. The ice crystals can be destroyed with some damage, and they also slowly melt away on their own.
When you park your ship on a landing pad, you'll get the following benefits:
-You can switch special weapon with your main and secondary fire buttons.
-Your ship's armor/health is slowly restored.
-Your ship's fuel is quickly refilled.
-Your basic gun's ammo is restocked at a decent rate.
-Your special weapon's ammo is restocked slowly.
Remember that when you're landed, your firing buttons are used to switch weapons, so you can't shoot!
The few test games I managed to set up worked decently though, as long as played on aquadasoft's server, and not on Klikfarm like in the earlier releases.
Other Creations
You'll still have to manually download it, but hopefully in future I'll include an auto-updater or downloader of some sort.
Arrow Clash! (Previously titled 'Unnamed Cave Flier')
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