That's right, I'm finally kicking KarBOOM 0.2 out the door and I need you guys to test it out! It has been a lot of effort to get it working online, and before I make a big deal out of it all over the rest of the internet, I'd really like you guys to help me find any bugs or urgent issues, and basically make sure it actually works.
Basically, I'm aware that the online mode is light on features. But every release of this game is a work in progress, anyway, so as long as there are no urgent matters, I'm keen to get as many people playing this as possible.
So please test this to pieces, and hopefully you'll have fun. Give me lots of feedback, and I'll take it all.
Check out the README that's included. It describes the changes in detail, but here's the short version:
ONLINE PLAY! Play against other players! If you're hosting, please make sure you are forwarding port 2300 to your PC if necessary. If you see a server in the lobby that is highlighted in red, it is because someone has had trouble connecting to that server even though they are connected to the internet. Unfortunately, this only helps the clients, as I'm yet to implement a way by which the server checks if players are having trouble.
BOOST mutator! Boost! Just what this game needed. Try it and see how it works. [Y] button on XBox 360 controller, CTRL if you're the cursor-keys keyboard player, or either of your shoulder keys if you're another keyboard player (Q or E for the WSAD player, for example).
THIEF mutator! In any score-based mode, a knockout will take away some of their points. But it's most interesting in Life-limit mode: knockout another player and not only will they lose a life, but you'll gain one! It makes for some really drawn-out games, even if all players only start with 1 life.
AA: Anti-aliasing, yo. Don't be shy to enable it in the options menu -- I don't think it's very performance hungry (hard to tell on my GeForce GTX 580), and because it is a shader/view trick it toggles on and off instantly.
TWEAKS and FIXES: Explosions are now a little more gentle, players are given more time before exploding out the ring, particle shadows are fixed, replay mode no longer brings back players who have run out of lives.
To play online you need an online account. You can create an account at KarBOOM.net. This account will automatically be "upgraded" to let you play online (otherwise it would only act as a forum account). Once 500 people have joined it will cost $5 or so for new accounts to be upgraded (that is assuming I get the Paypal system working by the time 500 people join), but if your account is already upgraded it will stay upgraded for free, for good.
The forum still needs some work, but is at least usable at this stage.
Thanks for your support, everyone!
Due to time-of-day stuff, I won't actually be hosting a game until at least tomorrow. I still have to set up port-forwarding. I did as much testing as I could from home with the help of my brothers, but for all I know you guys won't be able to play at all. Please let me know how it goes!
