Eeeek A Bug!
by "Cajun" David Richard
Hi there!
By now you've probably encountered our newest time killer Escape Velocity.
This game is a new type of animal for us here at Ambrosia. Not only is it an action/strategy/space/adventure game, it's also HUGE. Well, the bigger the game, the more places for bugs to hide.
The first release of Escape Velocity had several bugs in it. As we fixed the bugs, we also added
several features to balance the game somewhat, and to make it a little easier to do things while
playing. However, with the addition of new features came, you guessed it, more bugs. We promptly fixed just about everything we could and released version 1.0.2 to the masses.
This latest version is pretty stable, but there are still a few nasties hiding in the game. We are
currently working on fixing this latest version, and will have version 1.0.3 released as soon as we feel it is bug free.
Following is a list of the bugs we have found in version 1.0.2 of Escape Velocity:
• Slow game play on some PowerMacs. This is due to a temporary work around that was
necessary to avoid a bug we found in one of the tools we were using. However, the
slowdown can be helped by trashing your preferences file and not using any third party
plug-ins that are not 1.0.2 savvy.
• Crashes while leaving a planet. You will notice this when on a planet. Some dialog will be
incorrect or garbled, and when you leave the planet, the game will lock up. This may also
be linked to visiting the shipyard as well. Because of this bug we recommend backing up
your pilot files. The pilot file can become corrupted, trashing any progress you have
made in the game.
• Problems using the map while on a planet. Strange map behavior, such as incorrect
drawing and such, characterize this one. It has been fixed in the beta version being tested at
the time of this writing.
• Bounty Hunters are endless. In the next version, a planet will send a certain number of
bounty hunters after you dominate a planet. If you defeat them all, you will be in the clear
(except for the results of your actions).
• Unable to buy Confederate ships when you are allowed. I don't want to give too much
away about the game, but if you complete a certain mission, they let you buy the big'uns.
The Confed ships are all not available at the moment.
• Strange cargo capacity behavior. This one works in your favor. If you lose an escort, the
cargo will not be removed from your total. Regretfully, it will be fixed.
• You can't have more than 2 billion(ish) credits. Why would you want more? Isn't that
enough?
• Unusual behavior of missions. All wacky missions will be fixed in the next version.
We will also be making some changes to the game to solve some machine specific problems, as
well as making the game a little more enjoyable:
• Game Speed Control. This will be a slider that will allow you to control the speed of the
game. This will help folks on slower machines to speed up the game and folks on the faster
machines to slow it down.
• Because of a new version of the above mentioned tool, and some revamping by Matt, the
game should load much faster across the board.
• You will also be able to switch secondary weapons while jumping into hyperspace. This
will come in handy when many ships are looking to do you in.
• Older plugins will also be translated properly to avoid possible conflicts and strange
behavior of the game in general.
The Delta_V mailing list
There will also be some additional changes to help plug-in designers. If you are interested in
designing plug-ins for Escape Velocity, please sign up to the delta_v mailing list. This is where all of the action is taking place. Many people on this list (including Matt) are there to help answer questions and to organize scenario design teams. You don't need to be familiar with programming either. The designers are always in need of artists and creative writers to help with story lines, new planets and the like. So if you are interested, please visit our Web site at:
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Lists.html to sign up.
If you run into any further bugs that are not reported here, please send a complete report to
help@AmbrosiaSW.com
