old_news2.htp

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<div class="newsdate">05-Jan-2014:</div>
<blockquote class="news">

Report on current activity:

<p>
Early last year (2013) I began work on another major version, V5,
which had some big changes: a better lighting system,
storing prefabs in standard Doom WAD format, and using large
prefabs (768x768 units) for laying out rooms.  There were
improvements in other areas too, such as better way to calculate
how much health to put into maps.

<p>
However the large prefabs for rooms proved to be unsatisfactory.
While they often looked good, it tended to make very repetitive
levels.
This could have been alleviated by making lots and lots of
different prefabs, but I feel that was the wrong way to go.
Instead I think a random map generator should be able to
create interesting things by the combination of a moderate set
of primitives and idioms.

<p>
So right now I am working on merging the 3.57 room layout logic
with the rest of the V5 codebase.  This is major surgery,
made harder by changing the grid size back to 192x192 units,
and it will take a while to get everything into a usable state again.
But progress is being made, and I'm excited at being able to
really take version 3.57 forward, and add lots of "new" stuff
to it....

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">02-Feb-2013:</div>
<blockquote class="news">

The 4.28 source package has been updated, since it was missing the
lua_src and glbsp_src directories (oops!).

<p>
In other news, I have been working on a new prefab system where the
prefabs are stored in ordinary WAD files (rather than using Lua code),
which I hope will make it easier to create custom content.
I have also implemented a new algorithm for DOOM lighting, which
should be better than the system used in 3.57, since it properly
accounts for blocking walls and distance to lighting sources.

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">28-Sep-2012:</div>
<blockquote class="news">

I hadn't been doing much with OBLIGE for a long time,
but for the sake of moving forward with the V4 codebase I am
happy to announce that.....

<p>
VERSION 4.28 HAS BEEN RELEASED

<p>
OK, it's true that this is not exactly an Earth-shattering release,
and compared with previous versions all the rooms are very plain.
However there are still some good things in this version:

<ul class="spacey_list">

<li>Quake support is much better than V3, there are no collision
problems, and the maps now have proper lighting and vis.
<li>Quake 2 support!
<li>Hexen is supported again, with hubs
<li>support for Absolution, the Doom64 TC
<li>support for HacX and Harmony
<li>multiple paths between rooms
<li>teleporters

</ul>

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to work on now,
but I definitely have some ideas that I want to experiment with.
The same vision that I had five
years ago -- that a random level generator can create levels
genuinely worth playing -- that is still something which
I want to achieve.

<p>
Anyway, I hope you have some fun with this release.

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">01-Jan-2012:</div>
<blockquote class="news">

Well it's a brand new year and work continues on OBLIGE.
I had hoped to get a full release of the new "V4" code out by
the end of 2011, but unfortunately that never happened.

<p>
Currently I am working on various aspects: outdoor bordering,
caves, hallways, and will start working on windows and fences soon.
When all that is sorted out, another WIP testing package will be
made available on the forums.
Hopefully that will be sometime before the end of February,
but it may take longer.

<p>
After that, I will work on making the levels a bit prettier,
such as pictures in walls, diagonal corners in rooms, normal doors,
etc...
Then I think OBLIGE will be ready for a proper release
(with a period of testing to shake out any outstanding issues).

<p>
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and here's wishing everybody
a great year in 2012 :-)

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">17-Aug-2011:</div>
<blockquote class="news">

OBLIGE now has a new forum.

This move was prompted by various problems and annoyances
with the existing "hosted app" phpBB3 forum.

<p>
All of the users and topics from the previous forum have been
successfully converted into the new forum, although certain
things did not make the transition, in particular: avatar images,
images in posts, and post attachments.

Users will need to re-upload their avatar images.

<p>
The existing phpBB3 forum will be kept around in a
read-only state for a few months, and
hopefully a method can be found to restore the
attachments and images in the posts
(otherwise I will fix the most important ones by hand and
not worry about the rest).

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">02-Jul-2011:</div>
<blockquote class="news">
Wow, hard to believe it's been five months since the last update!

<p>
OBLIGE development has been continuing and progress
<i>is</i> being made (slowly but surely).

Recently I have been working on improving the overall
structure of levels, such as creating multiple paths between
rooms and better hallway logic.  I have also worked on
adding some 3D architecture into the maps, as well as
getting more games (like Hexen) into a usable state.

<p>
I expect to make a new release by the end of the
year -- though for anyone really curious there will
be a couple of "WIP" (Work In Progress) testing
packages made available on the forums before then.

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">28-Jan-2011:</div>
<blockquote class="news">
Quick note to say that I am still hacking
away on OBLIGE :-)

<p>
Several months ago I started work on "V4",
which was a completely new way of layouting rooms.

However I was not satisfied with that new system,
so I have been exploring
what kinds of algorithms are going to
work best.

Once this been sorted out, development should
pick up pace again....

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">31-Aug-2010:</div>
<blockquote class="news">
Update on latest work:

<p>
It has been a while since the last release,
but a lot has been happening in OBLIGE's codebase.
The planning, room connection and quest code have
gotten an overhaul, with support for special room shapes
and teleporters.
Another large (and on-going) change is the introduction of
a Prefab system, which will be used to build nearly all
architecture in a level.

<p>
Most of the work has been on the QUAKE support.
I starting off with some new CSG code aiming to fix
the collision problems, but then continued on to
implement proper lighting, visibility and liquid areas.
Plus I'm really stoked that QUAKE 2 maps are now being
built correctly, and plan to support it well in the
next release.
There is still a lot left to do though.

</blockquote>


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<div class="newsdate">07-Apr-2010:</div>
<blockquote class="news">
Version 3.57 of OBLIGE has been released.

<p>
Major changes include a new system of lighting the levels,
which is rather simplistic and blocky
but a big improvement over what was there before.
Also this is the first version of V3 to include support for
other games, namely: Heretic and Quake, although they are
still in their early stages (especially Quake).

<p>
There is also lots of bug fixes and general improvements in this release,
like Chris's new E1M8 boss map,
faster CSG and node building code,
support for FreeDOOM,
and more restrained use of cavey areas
(TECH themes in particular).
So what are you waiting for, go grab it!

</blockquote>