We Want You…to Fight Nazi Dinosaurs

Ancient beasts walk the earth once again, forged into terrifying weapons by none other than Adolf Hitler. Grab your weapon and prepare for the assault...it's Dino D-Day!


Preview

The Bot Update!

Attention soldiers!

 

A brand new update for Dino D-Day has just been shipped which, among other things, adds FULL bot support for all classes and game modes.  In addition to this we’ve added a brand new “Create a Game” page which allows you to easily choose a map and game mode, adjust settings, and add a custom configuration of bots.  You can use this to play the game offline.  I’d also recommend it for when you want to gather a few friends together and still have a full server of players.  We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to do this while still preserving a lot of “customization” of the bots and their behavior.

 

Here’s a complete list of changes for this update:

 

  • Added bot support for all classes and game modes.
  • Added a new “Create a Game” page on the menu to easily create your own offline game or LAN server.
  • Overhauled the Dedicated Server browser.
  • Overhauled the Allied spawn area on dm_gela_trex (the T-Rex map).  Allied spawn area is now significantly bigger with better cover at the exits.  MG42s also added to this map to discourage spawn camping the Allies.
  • Made changes to Hilltop to strengthen the Allied spawn and add some additional exits.  In Deathmatch mode there are now two alternate spawns (one for each team) at the top of the hill.  This changes the configuration dramatically and should discourage people from spawn camping at the top of the hill.
  • Made a few minor adjustments to Canyon.  Added an extra route past the train near the tunnel into the mountain.
  • Added an extra route out of Axis spawn on Depot which gives them covered access to the tunnel beneath the map.  Took away access to the windows through which snipers could camp from spawn.
  • All 4 of these maps (Gela, Hilltop, Canyon, Depot) had a pass for player clips and other problem spots where you could get hung up on a wall or doorway.
  • Added 9 new achievements most of which were suggested on the forums.  See if yours made the list!
  • Fixed a crash related to jack rabbits when a round changes.
  • Fixed an MG42 camera bug.
  • Fixed a bug where players could be knocked down by T-Rex roar while manning an MG42.
  • Fixed a bug where players could be knocked down while already pounced by a raptor.
  • Added stomp damage for the T-Rex to prevent people from blocking his path.  You can now be crushed underfoot of the T-Rex!
  • Added death icons for stomp damage and MG42 deaths.
  • Fixed a bug where some classes had difficulty being healed by the medic’s area heal effect.

Creating a Game

 

The new create a game page warrants some explanation.  We tried to strike a balance between user-friendliness and customization which is always a difficult thing to achieve.  You can access the new menu by pressing “Play” on the main menu and then “Create a game”.  This used to bring up the old-style map creation menu from many-a Source game.  As you will see, it is now a rather elaborate menu for creating your own offline games, or a server from which you can host games for your friends (though this feature isn’t 100% done as we don’t have proper lobby matchmaking implemented quite yet).

 

The first thing you will notice is a thumbnail picture on the left-hand side that shows the map you want to load.  The arrows on either side of the picture will cycle through the stock maps you can load.  The very last says “Custom” and just means when that is selected you can then use a drop-down box to select a custom map that you may have created or downloaded.  It is important to note:  Custom maps must have a properly configured Nav Mesh for the bots to work!  We will have another post in the next few days that will explain the process of creating and customizing your Nav Mesh for bots.

 

One you have selected a map you can select the game mode from a dropdown directly beneath.  In most cases it defaults to “Deathmatch”.  On the left side there are a number of other text boxes where you can make adjustments to your game.  To the right of this, in the middle of the screen are options pertaining to the bots.  At the top you will see a “Customize bots” checkbox.  This checkbox allows you to choose whether you want to specify the actual class counts for bots in your game or if you just want the game to randomly add some bots.  Below this checkbox is another which allows you to specify if you want the game to “autobalance” bots, which means the game will automatically add/subtract bots from certain teams if one is stacked.

 

Below this is a drop-down box where you can specify the difficulty level for the bots.  There are four different difficulty levels.  “Dinomon” which basically means the bots won’t engage any enemies at all, they’ll just wander the map or try to accomplish objectives.  They won’t shoot at anyone unless they’re shot.  On “Easy” the bots are a little slower to react and do less damage to you.  Players do greater damage to the bots as well.  On “Dinomon” and “Easy” the bots will not use any special attacks.  So raptors won’t pounce, dilophosaurs won’t throw goats, compies won’t use their suicide blast.  On “Normal” the bots’ reaction time tries to approximate a typical Dino D-Day player.  Their are no damage adjustments.  On “Hard” the bots’ reaction times are increased and they do greater damage to players.  Players also do reduced damage to bots.  On both of these difficulty levels the bots will use their special attacks.

 

To the right of this section you’ll see all the classes for both teams and a text box next to them.  If you are customizing your bots you can enter the numbers you want for each class in these boxes.  You can balance things out for a normal game or you can take on 25 raptors all by yourself just for kicks.  The choice is yours!

 

 

Console Commands

 

The features described above are all controlled under-the-hood by console commands.  Below is a list of console commands with descriptions for server admins that wish to set up their own dedicated servers that use bots.

 

  • “bot_maintain” – bot_maintain is a console command which the game uses to maintain a certain bot count while a game is running.  Set this variable to 1 to have the game keep a server full of random bots, even as players connect to take their place and disconnect when they’re done.  Set it to 2 to have the game maintain a certain “quota” of bots but not necessarily a full game.  See “bot_quota” below.  Set it to 3 to have the game maintain the specific class quotas of bots that you have specified.  See below.
  • “bot_quota” – bot_quota is the number of bots you want the game to maintain if bot_maintain is set to 2.  So if you have this number set at 10 the game will make sure there are at least 10 bots in the game, 5 for each team.  If the game is full players can take these bots’ place and once the players leave the game will re-add bots.
  • “bot_quota_<insert class>” – There are additional bot_quotas per class.  i.e. bot_quota_hardgrave, bot_quota_dilo, etc.  If you have bot_maintain set to 3 the game will check the actual class counts against these quotas and add bots if necessary.  It will maintain the class quotas that you have specified even as players join and leave the match.
  • “bot_difficulty” – bot_difficulty is where you specify the difficulty level for your bots.  0 is “Dinomon” mode where the bots won’t engage the enemy.  “1” is Easy where special attacks are turned off and damage is adjusted.  “2” is Normal and recommended for your average server.  “3” is Hard where bot reaction times are improved and damage is increased.
  • “bot_add” – bot_add is a quick method to add bots.  You pass the class of bot you want to add via and argument.  i.e. “bot_add hardgrave” to add a Hardgrave bot to the Allied team.
  • “bot_add_random_allies” – Use this console command to add bots randomly to the Allied team.  You can pass a number as an argument.  i.e. “bot_add_random_allies 10” will add 10 bots to the Allied team.
  • “bot_add_random_axis” – Same as above only for the Axis team.
  • “sv_autobalance_bots” – Set this to 1 if you want your server to autobalance bots.  It will allow players to stack teams but will balance bots out if necessary.

The Future!

 

Implementing bots into the current game is the last step before we dive into a Survival mode for Dino D-Day.  We will be working on that next.  Stay tuned for news on that.  We’ll also try and get some videos up as we build it to whet your appetite for some serious dinosaur slaughter!

 

As always, thanks for playing!

 

The Devs


Jul 12, 2012 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments: none