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Program Announcements / FIREWALL: Your Computer's First Defense

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Philip
21
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Joined: 15th Jun 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 20th Mar 2004 09:37
Bolt, the new bases are excellent. I think your idea to implement them is bang on the money.

I know exactly what you mean about perfectionism. I always applaud perfectionism. Indeed, as I have commented in an earlier post, what I most admire about Firewall is the attention to the little details which you've put into it. Thats craftsmanship.

I've also spotted something else interesting. When you click on the first poster robot then the shadowed copy of the poster (which would normally be under the mouse cursor) appears at the bottom left hand corner of the whole map. I'm guessing that you use an array to store the details of the posts and that the bottom left is 0, 0 of the array? Or perhaps 0, 0 word space coordinates? And that if the mouse cursor is not over the clickable part of the map then the shadowed copy of the poster defaults to 0, 0?

Anyway I just raise this as its interesting. This is not a bug.

Finally, let me wish you all the best for your university degree. Mechanical design engineering is a good choice I think.

Philip

What do you mean, bears aren't supposed to wear hats and a tie? P1.3ghz / 384 megs / GeForce MX 5200 128meg / WinXP home
CdPirate
20
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Joined: 16th Mar 2004
Location:
Posted: 20th Mar 2004 13:38
D/ling now. Sounds kewl, but it will take another hour to d/l, 44.5k modem.

Pentium4 3.06Ghz 512MB ddr ram 120 GB hard drive...

And Winblows XP.
Cyberflame
21
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Joined: 4th Sep 2003
Location: Im not sure....
Posted: 20th Mar 2004 15:01 Edited at: 20th Mar 2004 15:15
OMFG AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *goes and plays again*


I would soooo, buy this game if it was in stores... Seriously, this is a commercial quality game. (well, the models might have to be improved, but then again you dont really notice them when your playing.)

DANGIT NEO, YOU CHANGED THE CODE AND NOW THE MATRIX WONT TEXTURE RIGHT.
CdPirate
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Posted: 20th Mar 2004 15:52
This is kewl!!!

Pentium4 3.06Ghz 512MB ddr ram 120 GB hard drive...

And Winblows XP.
Xander
21
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Joined: 3rd Mar 2003
Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 21st Mar 2004 01:28
Glad you guys like it, but it seriously needs another patch...

I have noticed a couple serious bugs that need fixing, could someone tell me if you notice them also?

-The robots are seeming to wander off, usually to the lower left corner of the map...

-Sometimes the mouse cursor does not respond when it is moved on top of the robots. For example, usually when you put the mouse on a robot it shows the shield level and information. Sometimes, it seems like usually on the big maps, it doesn't show the information, and they are unselectable...

Hey Philip, I can't seem to get the runtime error to go off. I will keep trying, and hope I can find it soon...

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Cyberflame
21
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Joined: 4th Sep 2003
Location: Im not sure....
Posted: 21st Mar 2004 01:30
i get a runtime error 7. These might go away when you port to dbpro

DANGIT NEO, YOU CHANGED THE CODE AND NOW THE MATRIX WONT TEXTURE RIGHT.
Philip
21
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Joined: 15th Jun 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 21st Mar 2004 16:03
@Bolt, I don't get the mouse cursor error myself. What I do occasionally get is the mouse cursor "skipping" across the screen in big increments. However, I think thats due to the frame rate as it only happens when you are really pushing the computer, i.e. lots of things happening on screen all at once on a big map, etc.

I'm not getting the objects wandering off issue either. Is it possibly to do with your "retreat" code which causes damaged objects to flee and find a safe place to regenerate?

I think the runtime error 72 only occurs when you are on a map of 40 size. I can't get it to trigger on a map of less than 40.

Philip

What do you mean, bears aren't supposed to wear hats and a tie? P1.3ghz / 384 megs / GeForce MX 5200 128meg / WinXP home
Cyberflame
21
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Location: Im not sure....
Posted: 21st Mar 2004 16:09
I get a runtime error 7, not a runtime error 72

DANGIT NEO, YOU CHANGED THE CODE AND NOW THE MATRIX WONT TEXTURE RIGHT.
walaber
21
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Joined: 22nd Oct 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: 22nd Mar 2004 02:32
the game is really improving!! great job!

one problem... I was playing along, and *i think* at the exact moment my attack base was about to blow up (a laser had _just_ hit it), the game crashed with a "runtime 99" error.

Go Go Gadget DBPRO!

Athlon XP 2400+ || DDR-SDRAM 1GB || Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 AGP 8x 128MB
walaber
21
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: 23rd Mar 2004 04:30
by the way congrats on making the cover of the latest newsletter!

Go Go Gadget DBPRO!

Athlon XP 2400+ || DDR-SDRAM 1GB || Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 AGP 8x 128MB
Xander
21
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 23rd Mar 2004 05:10
Cyberflame: have you installed the 2.61 patch? Without it, the game will crash with a runtime error 7. And when you install it, you have to run it from the new exe, the old shortcut won't work. That is your problem.

I cannot get a single bug to show up on the version I am working on. I will upload it tomorrow. I probably fixed them without knowing.

Walaber: bases can't be blown up by lasers, only explode drones or by hacking at the posts.

I fixed the bugs I was talking about, they existed, but sporadically.

Thanks guys, I will upload the 2.62 patch in a little while...

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
walaber
21
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: 23rd Mar 2004 09:24
holy cow I just realized that I was using the old shortcut!! doh!

sorry to report a non-existant bug

Go Go Gadget DBPRO!

Athlon XP 2400+ || DDR-SDRAM 1GB || Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 AGP 8x 128MB
Xander
21
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 24th Mar 2004 05:46
The Firewall 2.62 patch is complete

You can go to my website to download it.

It fixes all the bugs I could find, and improves the intelligence quite a bit. The auto-posting is much better, and the computer intelligence uses drones and builds its memory faster.

This new .exe file can be dropped into the existing folder. Be sure it asks you if you want to overwrite the existing one, then click yes. The old shortcut will now work for this new .exe file. Sorry about the confusion from the last one. I better post a message in the general talk forum to tell all the people that saw my game in the newsletter about the patch...

Thanks everyone, and have fun with the new patched version...

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Toby Quan
21
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Joined: 16th Oct 2003
Location: U S A
Posted: 27th Mar 2004 07:00
I love it.

This game blew me away.

You are indeed a very skilled programmer - and I bow to you, like Conan O'Brien bows to guests that he envies on his Late Night show...

This game right here is what DarkBasic is all about. Period.
Humanoid
21
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Location: Finland
Posted: 27th Mar 2004 13:11
Nice game, put runtime error 'error 99' crash game
i use patch 2.62
Jess T
Retired Moderator
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Location: Over There... Kablam!
Posted: 28th Mar 2004 08:04
Hey Bolt...

Long Time no post for me here

I can see that the work on FireWall is going along quite smoothly. I'm glad that you got it going so nicely.

I guess you're not planning on porting the program over to DBPro at all now... And with good reason too.

After playing the latest version, I must say, it is an awesome game, and has developed into a title that fits perfectly into the Real Time Strategie genre.

The virus's that you are up against can be quite difficult at times, but it sure does make you think about what you're doing, and how you have to play the game...

I only have one little quirm with the game in its current state. And that is how the mouse jumps from the edges of the screen ( the interface ) the the centre when you move it across/up/down. If you had an option to turn this off in the next version, I would be much apreciative.

A question about the final version of FireWall ( the commercial version ).
If I were to buy it ( which I probably will end up doing ), Would updates come free? And what kind of support can you offer besides these and your personal forums?
I mean, if the game becomes a proper commercial title ( or rather, WHEN it becomes commercial ), for those that have limited access to the internet, will there be much support from your end? I ask this mearly out of curiosity, as I am wondering how far ahead you have thought this in terms of commercial advertising, support, etc etc.

Again, The game has quite obviously surpased any other RTS made in DB/DBPro to date, and I can see the wonderfull potential for sellability.

Keep up the great work Xander

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
suni
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Posted: 28th Mar 2004 14:37
Very great game!!!Congratulations.The effects are very nice!!!
MikeS
Retired Moderator
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Location: United States
Posted: 28th Mar 2004 18:39
Excellent Bolt!

I also got the runtime error 99. Not quite sure why.
My system specs are

radeon 8500, 1.8 ghz, 1024 ddr ram.

Also, a question about the game.

Every once in a while I see my robots with a white ghost thing around them(They're infected by a viris I'm guessing). Then they start posting for the other team or perhaps attacking my own bots.

1.) Is there any way to get this off? A base perhaps that removes effects? (Other than recycling of course)

2.) Can I infect the computer bots.


Keep up the great work!


A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
Humanoid
21
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Joined: 20th Sep 2003
Location: Finland
Posted: 29th Mar 2004 15:54
game crash, as enemy attack something ball weapong and hit own attack tower and game crash runtime error 99

i hope that bug fix next update
nice game, and fun

i use patch 2.62
Xander
21
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 08:12
Thanks for the support everyone, I am really sorry about runtime error 99. I wish that I had found it earlier, but it is fixed once and for all. A new version should be uploaded by this weekend.

Runtime error 99 happened when a robot was blown up and an implode drone was targeting it at the time.

Yellow: The bugs are meant to screw up the robots, and happen to random robots, yours and the computers. The computer usually recycles their infected robots pretty quick. Some people find them annoying. For this reason, they can be turned off right from the Options screen.

Here are some new screenshots with some new robots (only available in full version...)

http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new1.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new2.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new3.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new4.jpg

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
arroyo
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Posted: 7th Apr 2004 11:06 Edited at: 7th Apr 2004 11:09
hmmmm... i played the demo and... well, its a nice game

firewall's learning curve is not a problem, and the game isnt that hard to get along with... and despite the very simple objective, the game is nice and addictive, which is very good

in fact, its one of the best games ive seen on db so far... i dont dl a lot of them, but the visuals from the #15 newsletter really teased me... it looked very professional, and i was really curious about it

enough spoiling, though... plz dont be harsh with me, but i gotta point sum things i dont like

- shourcuts:
i missed sum classic rts shortcuts, concerning group management... ctrl+# to create a group, # to select... i think u can figure what i mean... its just personal, im a shortcut-freak

also, sum shortcuts to relief mouse-driven commands would be nice... sumthing like pressing P to quickly select which poster to build, H for hackers and W for wreckers... i hate using the mouse other than selecting/targetting purposes, and these shortcuts are kinda simple to implement... also, it would free up the screen to show the most important part of the game: the battlefield

- excess of units vs. micromanagement:
tho u controlled the number of robots by sum kinda point system, its very easy to get lost among so many botz... its ez to find urself with more than 20 posters, 10 hackers and a lot of wreckers at the same time... i mean the game loses sum late micromanagement, as u can just sit and build like a freak after u possess around 20% of the battlefield.

i started thinking about it... and the best solution would b sum kinda 'food' count, the very common rts way to control the number of creatures... im not sure if it should be implemented, tho; theres this nice 'things-outta-control' aspect, which resembles computers a lot

the good side about it: the game is really stable and fast, considering they're all ai-based units... u may not believe it, but im running a p2 300 box with 128mb ram and the game was running as 'smooth' as possible... well, at least it was playable

- the bug thingy:
hmmm, bugz are really annoying... in fact, the main issue with bugz is the lack of an alarm system... maybe, using sum kinda of warning to tell the player about an infected bot could be enough... but i like playing with this feature anyway

as i mentioned, its common to lose track of so many botz, and noticing the infected ones is just twice as hard... thats my only complaint about bugz

- overall:
i like ur game, too bad theres no campaign or multiplayer yet... i look forward for the next beta, since it seems to have a lot to grow yet

nice work, and good luck with it
MikeS
Retired Moderator
21
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Posted: 7th Apr 2004 20:46
Oh, thanks Bolt.

New screenshots are looking awesome.

Can't wait to buy!



A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
Clownpaint
20
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Location: London, England
Posted: 8th Apr 2004 00:48 Edited at: 8th Apr 2004 00:54
Bolt, you say this is your first 3d game in db, and how long have you been programming in db?

(loved the game btw)
Xander
21
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 10th Apr 2004 08:55
Patch 2.75 is complete
go to www.freewebs.com/boltsoftware to download it

__cLowN_pAiNt__ : I started programming in DB just over a year ago. Actually, I attempted to convert a different Basic game to DB two years ago, but failed. It was a 2D sprite based game, I had to experience with 3D back then. I started creating Firewall last year, April 17. Firewall's one year anniversary will be next Saturday

I have uploaded the Firewall 2.75 patch (there was a version jump because of un-released beta versions, sorry) and the new 2.75 demo. If you have downloaded Firewall before, you only need to download the patch. However, if you haven't downloaded Firewall before, you must download the 10.6 MB demo. It is much smaller than before because I removed unneccasary files.

Note: If you download the patch, and the game quits while loading, download the new demo. There may accidentily be some files that the new 2.75 needs that the old versions didn't have, I apologize for any inconvinience. At least the new demo is 2.2 MB less than the old ones

In this version, the Posters build much better and transport to new locations faster. The beginning of the games go much faster, be sure not to fall behind in the beginning or it will be tougher to keep up later.

There were many small updates, I can't think of them right now...

About support: I intend to keep producing patches as long as is neccassary, and they will always be free. I will also respond to any emails, and keep on my forums. Firewall will be sold from internet game publishers, so anyone that buys it will have internet access.

Thanks everyone, I really hope this patch is as stable as I hope it is. I have been playing it for hours, and I tried out all the situations I could think of to produce an error. I have found a couple, and fixed them all...

Oops, sorry MikeS, I have been calling you Yellow because of your avatar

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Jess T
Retired Moderator
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Posted: 10th Apr 2004 15:26
Nice work Xander.

Thanks for the reply to my earlier post

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
Egyptian Mua
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Location: htdocs
Posted: 10th Apr 2004 18:28
Did you use any programs other then DB?

-Egyptianmua
Logo, QuickBASIC, HTML, DarkBASIC
Xander
21
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 10th Apr 2004 22:28
Here is my programming history, for anyone that wants to know:
I first wanted to make computer games back when I was in grade school. I played around with QBasic, made an intro picture for a racing game with graphics commands, then gave up. A couple years later, I attempted a racing game in Visual Basic (I really know nothing about programming), and failed withing a couple weeks. In eigth grade I found METAL Basic, for the Macintosh. My first game ever was Gadget Pong, a beefed up version of Pong using sprites. There are weapons and many gadgets (I entered it in the Classic games contest a year to two ago, just for fun). Then I began making a platform game. I involved a character who used different weapons and gadgets to destroy robots and collect access cards. I hand-drew all of the graphics for that game, but never finished it. I never incorporated a story line. Then, two years ago, someone at school discovered Dark Basic for me. I downloaded the demo and attempted to convert Gadget Pong so my friends with Windows computers could play it. I was unfamiliar with the sync commands, and I distributed the game to all my friends, but it didn't work. That was a huge mistake. Then, a year ago, I got Dark Basic Classic for a present. I successfully converted Gadget Pong, then learned how to do 3D stuff. Within two months, I began Firewall. I have been working on Firewall for almost a year, and hope to finish it before this summer.

I have removed the Firewall 2.75 patch from my website, it didn't work with the old data files. You can still download the 2.75 demo, which is down to 10.6 MB. Please report any bugs. Thank you.

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
MikeS
Retired Moderator
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Posted: 10th Apr 2004 22:59
I changed my name Bolt no worries.

From Yellow-> MikeS.

-------------
New version looks good and I think I'll download and give it a run.



A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
(Formerly known as Yellow)
Xander
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 11th Apr 2004 04:58
Important:
I renamed the folder where it installs Firewall to "Firewall Demo". This caused a problem because the installation program that I was using still used "Firewall" as the folder name. Because of this, the shortcuts for Firewall will not work. The one on the desktop will not find the .exe file, and the one in the start menu will start it in the wrong folder, causing a runtime error 99 immediately on startup of the game. Sorry about this, but the game will work fine if you run the game from the .exe file in the folder, or modify or create new shortcuts. I will fix this in the next version...

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Egyptian Mua
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Posted: 11th Apr 2004 14:18
Can you tell me what other programs (as in texture maker, wings3D ect.) you used for firewall?

-Egyptianmua
Logo, QuickBASIC, HTML, DarkBASIC
xtom
22
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Location: Ireland
Posted: 11th Apr 2004 18:58
Cool game. I got runtime error 97 after about 20 mins of gameplay. It looked like it happened when I exploded a base.
Xander
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Posted: 12th Apr 2004 04:33 Edited at: 12th Apr 2004 04:34
Firewall 2.76 patch now available

www.freewebs.com/boltsoftware
The download is only 688 KB, a new .exe file

This patch fixes some computer and robot intelligence bugs, as well as a runtime error that occured when a base blew up a robot, and that robot blew up another one. Thanks xtom.

I used Milkshape 3D to create all of the 3D models in Firewall, LithUnwrap to texture them, and Corel Photopaint to create all of the textures and menu graphics.

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
CPU
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Location: Carlsbad, CA
Posted: 13th Apr 2004 05:06
nothing personal bolt but how old are you right now? i also started programing in 7th-8th grade in vb and made a simple "fighting game" in visual basic, i then turned to C++ and made one or two simple text based games, then a friend bought DB and i got in the game an bought it, i entered in the alienware contest but ran outa time with numerious bugs and extreamly low framerates. Now i've got DBPro and am working on a 20 line entry to be released when they start the contest up again. right now i'm 15, hopefully i'll be able to make a game as good as firewall that i can sell to make money for college...
Cheers,
CPU

Sparring - Loved by many, Pefected by few.

I'm going to live forever, or DIE IN THE ATTEMPT!!!"
Xander
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Posted: 13th Apr 2004 07:38 Edited at: 13th Apr 2004 07:42
CPU: I am 17 years old, and my birthday is August 31. I am young for my grade, a senior in high school, I will be 18 the day that I move into college. As long as you keep programming, and find a type of game that you really want to work on, and have fun, you will be able to make any game that you think you can. Never give up or lose hope in yourself.

Here are a few more screenshots for you too look at...

http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new5.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new6.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new7.jpg
http://www.dbspot.com/bolt/new8.jpg

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Jess T
Retired Moderator
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Posted: 13th Apr 2004 10:26
Those Hefty's look awesome in that last screeny

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
Xander
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Posted: 10th May 2004 05:03
I am sorry that there have been few Firewall updates for those of you who are interested. However, I have been hard at work on Firewall.

I have completed the 10 extra robots that will be featured in the full commercial version of Firewall. It won't be out for a while, I am creating a story line and different battle and arena modes to make it more fun, addictive, and varied. It will be a real game.

Here is a picture of the ten more robots that you will get when you buy the full version:


There won't be many more demo versions, since there doesn't seem to be too many bugs left. I will announce when the commercial version is ready to be beta tested for the few of you who wish to beta test it. Thank you.

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
walaber
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Posted: 10th May 2004 07:04
very cool! I'd love to test out the release version for you.

I especially like the looks of the "ROIO" and "PYRO" robots. I can only imagine the cool effects when they attack other robots

Go Go Gadget DBPRO!

Athlon XP 2400+ || DDR-SDRAM 1GB || Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 AGP 8x 128MB
Xander
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Posted: 11th May 2004 06:13
Thanks Walaber

Dang, I should really find a different font... Those "D"'s look like "O"'s. These are the names of the robots and some of their abilities:

Dish - can zap both fliers and ground units
Beemer - super strong beam that only zaps robots directly beneath it
Vooma - average robot with a budget cost
Canno - super long range with powerful ammo
Pyro - torches opponents with powerful plasma
Charjer - saves up its shots before it quickly unloads
Roid - strong beam and quick
Rover - very strong shields and long range with a taser zapper
R-Plane - can shoot fliers and ground units
Phere - sends out a strong pulsing sphere for its offense

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Jess T
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Posted: 11th May 2004 14:37
Wow,

Sounds quite good Xander

I'd be happy to Beta test the game once you get to that stage

I like the look of the canno in that pic
And the Arena sounds like a nice adition to the game

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
Retro Addict
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Posted: 11th May 2004 18:50
Definately one of the better db games out there. Keep up the good work Bolt.

PC Specs: AMD 1800+ 512M DDR, Radeon 128meg DDR - DB v1.13

To DB or not to DB............duh DB!
Peter H
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Posted: 11th May 2004 20:21
those new models are pretty cool!

BTW any time you need a beta tester just contact me


Formerly known as "DarkWing Duck"
MikeS
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Posted: 11th May 2004 23:40
Excellent Bolt. (Pyro and Roid look awesome.)

I'll definitly be glad to beta test for you if you need the extra help.



A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
(Formerly known as Yellow)
jerseyjew
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2004 21:46
all i have to say is, WOW. Great game, very addicting. Very easy to learn. Sat down to play for a few minutes and ended up playing for an hour...Keep up the good work, if this does come out commercially, i get first dibbs.
Xander
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Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 4th Aug 2004 14:45
Hey Jersey, thanks for the response, but this is an older post. I have a new post on Firewall in the Work in Progress forum. I hope you downloaded the demo from the website to get the latest version. Post any more feedback on the WIP forum post. Just to let you know, I am discussing Firewall with a couple publishers right now

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]
Bob 3456
20
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Joined: 1st Jun 2004
Location: In my computer chair
Posted: 4th Aug 2004 14:54
I have found a few bugs while playing the version 3.1 demo. When you move a turret it shows the turret's range as being at the base level, even if you upgraded it before moving it. It keeps upgraded range and speed, so it shoots outside of its displayed range. when you move a unit with many drones, many of them become temporarily invisible, making it hard to tell which ones it already has. If there are no unposted areas left, or the posters have no way of getting to them, they will randomely transport all over your base for no apparent reason. If more than one virus sends several implodes and/or explodes at a singular target, the first one will destroy it and the others will all sit on the ground until something comes within their range. Non-attack robots in large groups can push other units off of the visible map. Domer robots when low on hitpoints will not run away, and will not continue to shoot, but instead slowly float back and fourth until they are destroyed. The A.I. on some units like ring posters is lacking, they will post a zig-zag line instead of making orderly boxes. Also, I have played 3 viruses on a difficulty of 10 with a chipsize of 40, and the viruses were a pushover. That was the third game a played, it took 38 minutes to beat. You should consider options to team viruses, mae more virus opponents available, and improve their intelligence. They rarely use turrets, which are the ultimate weapon being immune to anything but explosion drones, and very powerful, mobile, fast firing, and long range. They never attack a turret with more than one explosion drone at a time, making it easy to defend them with just 2 implosion drones defensively costing the same as one explosion drone for them costs. You may want to make turrets vulnerable to attack from units, and upgradeable to increase their defense. Because with the current wituation you can defend you base easily with one fully upgraded turret and a few implosion drones to keep it alive. Turrets should be able to shoot eachother. Multiplayer in any fashion as long as it supports two human players would be sweet, because it would be so much harder. As a side note, a save feature and the ability to alt-tab the game while it is paused are things you want a commercialy featured game to have. Also, domers are the best unit no matter what you use them for because of their health, power, and extreme range.(assuming you matched them all fully upgraded) That is all the imput that I can think of tonight, I hope it helps improve your game, for I am anxiously awaiting the full version myself.
outSync
21
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Joined: 23rd Aug 2003
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Posted: 6th Aug 2004 01:03
I finally downloaded the game, and while I'm very impressed, I thought that the lack of micromanagement kind of detracted from the game. Near the end of the match, I didn't even bother with controlling my bots and I just started building new ones wherever I needed them. It would be nice to be able to settle down and control smaller groups individually, instead of just letting the unit AI take care of the work for you while you build more units.

All in all though, it's an excellent game. I'm sure that LAN/Internet games would absolutely rock if you choose to implement them.

"If you are wise, you will fear me. If you need me, I'll be playing with my teddy bear." - Garfield
Xander
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Joined: 3rd Mar 2003
Location: In college...yeah!
Posted: 7th Aug 2004 11:33
Bob: thanks for noticing the bugs, however, a couple of them are actual features (not kidding). For example, you can place implode drones anywhere you want, not just target them at robots. They will act as mines, going off when an enemy comes near them. Same with explode drones. Have you forgotten this is a demo? The full version lets you battle against up to 7 viruses in a 26 mission story line that brings twists into the game with battles against real viruses. For example, in a couple battles, the viruses have allied against you, in one battle, you don't get your memory back after hacking, etc... I should make computers use turrets more often, thanks. Also, Domers are not the best unit in the full version. There are 11 other unlockable robots, some that fly higher than the Domers...Just wait until you see the full version...

VariableS: Well, some people told me there was just too much micromanagement. So, I made the computer take over for moving poster, hackers, and wreckers when needed. You can disable this in the options screen. Sadly, I cannot make it multiplayer until Firewall 2, because this one is in Classic...

Thanks for the input guys, but...


THIS IS A VERY OLD POST. PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS ON MY FIREWALL POST IN THE WORK IN PROGRESS FORUM

Xander Moser of Bolt Software
Firewall: Your Computer's First Defense - Real Time Strategy game
[href][/href]

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