Let me know if the Debug.log says anything, and try running it from the command line. You may need to apt-get some SDL packages or something.

GambitDash:

I currently use a custom built P3 600 MHz PC, and have and run several of the latest versions of Ubuntu. Do I need any special unzip software to use this version of Transcendence, or is the software included in Ubuntu itself? I ask, because I am still very new to Ubuntu, and have not discovered all of its programs or potential as yet.

Darth, get Compiz Fusion! Awesome program. There are a few good youtube videos of it in action.

Hi DS -

Install simply by downloading the full package file, and extracting it to a folder on your desktop (Open by double-clicking). From there, just run the 'transcendence' binary by double-clicking on it, and you should be good!

The current version will be a bit slow; I'm currently in the middle of rewriting the graphics code to run much faster.

HOWEVER, if you change your screen resolution depth from "24" to "16" (Look in either the screen resolution widget or the /etc/xorg.conf file), it will run MUCH faster.

Cheers, and enjoy!
--G

Now that we have it ported to linux, I wonder... hmm... Maybe after a few of my projects...

VERSION 10 AVAILABLE

Executable Only: (not offered, package changes necessary)
Full Package: bz2
Magic Number: 198

Changes in version 10:
* 32-bit graphics engine!
* Should run MUCH faster on normal hardware and systems.
* Various new bugs introduced, various other bugs fixed.
* Several fixes over versions 8 and 9, including proper rendering for some weapon graphics, and missed files.

This version has had very very limited testing, and I make no guarantees whatsoever as to it's reliability or performance. There are some small graphical glitches still in effect, and I expect some weapons may not be rendering properly. Please feel free to reach me on IRC or pm here in the forums as you identify issues!

Enjoy!
--G

Great work so far!

Here are a few things I noticed. Some are already fixed in this new version and some are new:

fixed:
- activating a "first level" menu item inside a station takes two keystrokes
- some keystrokes are doubled:
- pressing "u"ndock in a station also pops up the "use item" menu
- invoking sust"a"in also invokes auto pilot
- invoking in"g"enuity also enables stargate - if near enough

new:
- menu text is cyan instead of white
- high score entries are unreadable

old (forgot to post):
- some characters (especially white space) are displayed as boxes (see above screenshot). Setting another $LANG does not help (e.g. LANG=C).

not sure (not seen in this version till now):
- I found 4 titanium barricades inside a corsair gunship, that doesnt fit: It only has a cargo space of 5t.
- salvager nomads seem to appear more frequently. I encountered 3 in a bunch, not sure if this really is a bug.
- strange new item: "centauri nanos"

good:
- I found out You can play both linux and windows version with the same data files. I put both binaries on my usb flash drive and can now play Transcendence everywhere. (I used a separate directory for testing the linux version though).

If someone is interested, I can provide Debian/Ubuntu packages for Transcendence.
More specifically: I thought of creating a source package which can be used to build binary packages for every Debian based distro.

Ah good, I actually slipped some fixes in for those things, since they were bugging me as well. Glad to hear they've been generally sorted!



Thanks for the screenshots! There are some definite color problems, as not all of them made the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit with... let us say, grace and dignity still intact :)



Yeah, this is an outstanding issue due to those characters not being represented in the font I grabbed to render against. It's fixable, but just a low priority.



I'd be downright intimidated if those had anything to do with the linux version, though 4 barricades inside a corsair does seem peculiar. Watch for that kind of thing, it could be evidence of datafile corruption. If you can consistently get it to happen through some mechanism, let me know. Also, if you find a wreck with those contents, without looting it exit, and take the savefile over to windows, and see if the wreck has the same stuff there as well. If it doesn't, create a new entry on the bugtrac and attach the save file.



Excellent!



That's actually a really good idea. I'd held off on it due to the "work-in-progress" nature of things, but it'd be nice to slipstream it into an apt repository somewhere a couple iterations from now.

Thanks for the comments and details! As always, vastly appreciated!

On a general note, I've added a bugtraq entry to track these various graphical glitches. Feel free to add to it as you discover more! (I've already added yours).

Cheers,
--G

i just wanted to tell gambit thank you for the work he has done....

juggling life and volunteering on a programming project... can be frustrating...

-Demanther

btw, testing on 64bit ubuntu.... needed to do this..

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-981039.html

to get libs installed for 32bit

reporting good FPS on an AMD Turion64 x2 1.6ghz dualcore...

Frames: 30 Paint: 4 Blt: 4 Update: 0
0: 0 SRS: 3 LRS: 0 HUD: 0 DBG: 0 BLT: 4 DONE: 0

Nice FPS there, Demanther :D

That getlibs program is pretty damn cool. Someday when I have a computer newer than 6 years old I'll have to try it out. Were you able to just do "getlibs ./transcendence" and have magic happen?

yup...


just a getlibs trancendence.... grabbed like 3 libs... needed the 32bit sound libs

VERSION 11 AVAILABLE

Executable Only: bz2
Full Package: bz2
Magic Number: 201

Changes in version 11:
* Fixed a crash involving timer manipulations from within a timer (thanks Alterecco and Demanther!0
* Fixed several crashes involving different weapons using Alterecco's wonderful mod-ship!

Known Issues:
* Various graphical bugs collected here.
* Sound is playing a few fractions of a second later then I'd really like it to be. I haven't looked into this at all, and likely won't until the remaining graphical issues are sorted out.

As always, let me know or add a bugtrac entry if you find a new bug! Any kind of crash or "strange item" reproductions would strongly benefit from a save file attached to the trac... otherwise I'm liable to shrug my shoulders and go "huh, that's wierd!"

Enjoy!
--G

I let version 11 run for a while, watching various ships blast each other up on the intro screen.
After a while it exited with

Im not sure what lead to this.

EDIT: Im speculating this has to do with XM900 missiles being shot a at ship, making that ship radioactive.
I can reproduce this assertion, when trying to use a barrel of readiactive waste on an enhanced armor segment. Savegame attached.

getlibs.sh:

I used ldd to find out which libs it needed and searched for packages with "dpkg -S".
Seems Debian doesnt have 32 bit versions of every lib, so I copied from my 32 bit chroot what was needed.
I remember Debian has tools (package "ia32-libs-tools") to create 32 bit packages of installed packages, but never really got that to run. Some versions seem to mismatch between i386 and amd64 lenny and testing. That caused the conversion to fail.

So I would also appreciate a 64 bits build - if that is possible with the current version.

Ah, good catch. An assertion '0' is basically a "Not Yet Implemented" note to myself. I'll try to loop out a version with an appropriate placeholder in the next few days (I may even fully implement it!).

There's actually two builds that I'd like to make, but lack the hardware for. The first is a 64-bit linux version. The second is a mac build. Should a computer younger than 7 years fall into my hands, I'll definitely spin a release.

Thanks for the info, CFG!