Early Access Update Fyrtiofyra (44)
build id: 5BE09DC5
nornware AB is happy to announce a new update to Space Beast Terror Fright.
Network Implementation 4 (Client / Server version 2)
The last update (43) introduced a new networking architecture to SBTF, with the express goal of enabling joining and leaving the mission at any time without any disruptions. Unfortunately it appears that many players are experiencing a much higher degree of latency as a result of this change, even to the point of making the game unplayable.
This update (44) is concerned with minimizing this perceived latency, and explicit high-latency simulated tests have shown it to be quite robust; of course, testing in the wild in real internet conditions will always be required to know for sure.
One side-effect of the techniques utilized is that both clients and hosts use more bandwidth than in Update 43. If bandwidth usage proves to be a problem, I have some ideas on how to reduce this if necessary.
Miscellaneous
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It appears that some user have trouble starting the game for the first time on a clean install, and that starting in windowed mode seems to solve this. For this reason the game will start in windowed mode by default (without a settings file). Alt+Enter will as always switch between windowed and fullscreen modes at any time, and the current mode will be saved in the settings file on program exit.
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The creation of the world / environment / "spaceship" mesh now uses a deterministic random number generator (based on the current mission seed) to ensure that it is generated exactly the same for all players in a networked game; this was not previously the case.
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A bug where fences would sometimes be rotated 90-degrees wrong has been identified and fixed.
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Party options (private / reinforcements / friendly fire) are now shown in the non-interactive advanced mission config screen (applicable for non-hosts)
As always, thank you for your support and patience.
/nornware AB c/o johno
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Changed files in this update