1.0.0.0 - 06/07/2007

Nothing much to change after final testing. Adjusted level speed, so that it will be easier to progress past level 256.

0.0.4.0 - 25/06/2007

Added pause graphic and tidied up the pause mode a bit (some stuff was missing from the screen). Added a catch for the windows screen saver, so it won't break the game if it tries to kick in. Unless I can find a way to preserve custom DX surfaces, then I may have to disable windows interference altogether (no ALT-TAB etc.) or other processes butting in. Solved some problems with using sprites on the particle engine. Added a nice fx for player life icons when extra life gained. New life icons from Leon to replace my rubbish ones. Fixed some problem with speed regarding the use of PC memory vs Video memory. Tried some new fonts from Leon, but they need a rework. Continued working on the new highscore entry system: keyboard, mouse, Joystick compatible. Just about finished now.. need these final fonts and a couple of sprites / masks from Leon. New, nicer Mechatron logo. new ENFORCER bullets - easier to see. New TANK animated bullets. New fonts from Leon. New graphics from Leon for highscore screen. Confirmed joystick behaviour is correct now from several testers. Original ROM levelset difficulty is just about perfect now! Need more *star* players other than Spriggsy to confirm this! Final tweaks now on lining up new items and last few reported small bugs. Balancing more graphics between system and video RAM for speed. Added reworked original arcade music for game over sequence, thanks to Rocky for this. Got the new highscore entry working. Seems to be OK. Could add a few tweaks, but it's working ok. New fonts in use, I would say that this is the penultimate release.

0.0.3.3 - 28/05/2007

I think I`ve got the movement working correctly now for DPADS and other non-button input. Have added the option to mix digital buttons with DPAD type movement. I was thrown by the PS2 controller using the analog stick for both analog and digital signals. As I don't have any other controller, I hope someone can check this out and let me know if it's working correctly now.

0.0.3.2 - 26/05/2007

First joystick someone tries other than PS2 controller doesn't work - what a suprise. Have added config for full joystick setup (digital controls).

0.0.3.1 - 25/05/2007

Added "All time Highscores" to the web page for people to see. Need to add code that only allows the current version to upload and flush out the old ones as game develops.
Started with the complete rewrite of all font routines. The old one was turning out to be too slow and I was frustrated at the inability to set dynamic palettes
on directx surfaces with UnDelphiX.. bah. I now need to make animated fonts for these fx, but at least this will now be blindingly fast :) as well as give the
ability to define many custom font fx. Fixed small bug where title sequence faded objects were wrong when quitting / ending the game.
Grouped a few routines that require surface locking (particles, border fx etc.) into one block so as to perform less locks.
Player 2 details not displayed when in 1 player mode. Added "Game Over" graphic when game outro occurs. Disabled border hit sfx when there's no border. 2154 graphic remake and appearance effect on attract screen. Cleared rogue sounds from game over sequence. Made QUARKS faster. Tweaked the frequency of QUARKS dropping TANKS. Slightly extended lifespan of TANK bullets. BRAINS fire rate increased when no humans left on level. Some extra info given when connecting to highscore server. Disabled pausing while teleporting / dieing. Added credit section to attract mode.
Changed the way player's lives are shown: 5 extra lives is shown as a larger robot. This will allow for enough space for good players!
Got the ROM levelset from Jeff. Looks great! A few tweaks and it will be the same as dammit as the original game levels for the default set! Made some subtle changes to the progging sound fx - now it is possible to abort the extended sound fx when the human being progged is saved, the sound fx stops as well. Took the opportunity to add a few sound fx to the progs. Also changed the behaviour, so that any humans being progged at the time of the player's death will survive to the next respawn. Switched the level text / level number print order, so level is first. Handled 256 level game loop (as if someone ever would...). Correct Quark score to 2000 from 1000. Erm. A lot of scores were wrong - have been updated in the code and the legend. You now also get 25 points for hitting TANK and ENFORCER bullets. TANK bullets lifetime extended significantly - 80% on this build. TANK shooting aggression increased. New icons for program and designer from Jeff.
Added multiple signed levelset capability to the online service. Also recording accuracy, time etc for detailed stats and other highscore tables (fastest killer etc.) Only official levelsets can participate with the online scoring system, the first one shipping with this version is the ROM copy version. Added PS2 controller capability. Just the normal buttons for now, but will add the Analog control soon as well (one of the sticks is not working on mine!)
X-Arcade presets reversed, as they were the wrong way round.

0.0.2.5 - 02/05/2007

Picked up the project again after some interest from people downloading the demo. The main issue was the materialise function, and this was being looked at first.
Fixed missiles reorientating whilst player death sequence active. Fixed really annoying bug where walking sound was lost or stuck on 100% repeat. Fixed
another annoying bug where you could be killed walking into an exploding PROG. Massive speedup of the materialise function, by binning the alpha shader
used during the routine. Still insurmountable problems with dxsurface locking whilst using the DelphiX engine, so have to continue to work around, but
not too much effect has been lost. Added a pause function at last.
[Another big holiday from working on this project] - Thanks to Jeffrey Graham for reigniting my interest again.. will hopefully get it finished now!
Added key customisation for both player1 and player2. Selected mine types work now in the editor. X-Arcade controller default settings also added to key config.
Mines will use bullet inertia to explode now. Also added a sound effect for exploding mines.
Updated mines by Jeffrey Graham, also changed the movement and firepower labels the right way around in the key editor. Jeffrey has completed the 256 level set!
Ramped up the speed of the PROGS when they are created. Also, they are now bound into the GRUNT accelerator, so should be fun!
Fixed "wave 0" problem, where level info showed one less level than you were actually on. Fixed spawn points for double sized mine overlapping game area.
OMG! Another floating point error!?! I have placed additional checks in to stop this, as the exception handler doesn't catch it at all. No-one else seems
to get this apart from me, so maybe it's down to Athlons vs Intel... who knows, or perhaps its a compiler directive in my Delphi environment that's not right.
Checked a compiler option to detect faulty FDIV processor instructions, but I thought that was old intel processors? Switched it on anyway...
Powerups wrapped up with a switch and onscreen info switched off for more accurate playtesting. Changed levelnote to display original text if disabled in editor. 

Designer 1.0.0.3

Completely recoded sliders for level editing, wasn't very accurate and in some cases didn't work at all.

0.0.1.1 - 27/02/2006

Fixed dual monitor startup bug - game now runs on monitor 1 (bug found by bob). You can now quit the game from the title screen with escape instead of having to ALT-F4. Added cheat mode for bug testing. Again, fixed the orientation bug so that teleporting GRUNTS are facing the right way while teleporting.. Now, HULKS are inhibited from moving until player has teleported into level. Larger ENFORCER sprites added - look much better - and can be hit easier ;) 2 Player mode introduced.. more complicated than it should have been!!? but it's operational now. Added new QUARK graphic and hovering score fx (still needs some work). Added the modified TANK spawn animation with SFX. Finally tracked down sporadic access violation and quashed the floating point error. Experimented with power ups. Tweaked some animation speeds. Added a message at startup to indicate attempting to communicate with highscore server. Changed timeout of unsuccessful connection to 5 seconds. Added the ability to set WASD / arrow key reversed controls for either player - may be configured or dynamically toggled during game. Structures for family graphics have arrived. The family members are now correctly orientated upon level startup. Recoded the BRAIN hunting routines for the new family structure. Started experimenting with new level transitions. Also added some title screen effects, but will leave this until the rest of the gameplay issues have been addressed. Fixed some overlap of game area for mine spawning. Added PROG code. This is where the humans are caught by the BRAINS and transformed. Made a nifty searching routine, where the PROGS will avoid mines, but try to find a way around them if they are blocked. They are loosely targetted to the player, but have limited capability to locate the player. For instance, they may "forget" where they are going, go off random somewhere, then pick up the trail again. Also, added a nice trail effect to the PROG. PROGS will be faster, the more time has progressed in the level, so PROGS which are made later, can be really fast! Also, a slight deviation from the original game, if you shoot a BRAIN while it is progging a HUMAN, then the HUMAN will be released! Forgot to load the BRAIN preferred target type from the level info - fixed.
Fixed faulty sound on complex level startup, where walking sfx would start before player has appeared. Speeded up materialisation fx. Also changed PROG graphics and removed the trail fx too much slowdown :( Mikey is now a different colour to avoid confusion with GRUNT robot. Big delays whilst looking into rewrite of delphix (alphashading is crippling the speed). However, it never turned
out to be usable and I kind of drifted away from the project.

0.0.1.0 - 21/03/2005

Added player collision and all connected routines. Added death sequence to player(nice). Also added code to allow continuation of level after dying. Added FMOD support. Fixed bug where level won't continue if there are no GRUNTS or BRAINS left. Fixed bug where player death sequence GPF'd if player faced a certain direction. Added variable to control global SFX volume. Changed colour options for particle system, to convert parameterised colour to 16bit screen. Fixed leftover problem introduced at 0.0.0.9 where some timer routines became dependant upon PC speed (Bug found by Mike). Made sure level rebuild reconstitutes carrier robots (QUARKS and SPHEROIDS) from leftover TANKS and ENFORCERS, based upon current level payloads for these robots. Now keep track of destroyed mines, so they don`t return on level rebuild when player dies. Added todays highscore and alltime greats list. Now able to enter hiscores. Adjusted SPHEROID AI. Speeded up and improved text-writer routine, using new and better fonts. Partial game-over sequence in place. Added a small sample of the game music for extra "feel". This preview constitutes a working, playable game.. with one level :) Online highscores are working. Please test like hell!!

0.0.0.9 - 26/02/2005

Received new HULK sprites and added them to the game. These are also 16 directional sprites, so the ping-pong and angle routines have been included. Changed the targetting and movement routines to allow for the new spriteset, and optional targetting of any other game object. GRUNTS now are oriented correctly upon teleporting into the level. All pixeled teleports/explosions now use the actual GRUNT animation at the time of teleport/impact. New BRAIN graphics have arrived. Added the alternative teleport routines used for GRUNTS and BRAINS. BRAINS can now be shot by player. Have implemented a working cruise missile, which is fired by the BRAINS, using temporary graphics. Changed some level initialisation which allows a level to start with no GRUNTS (BRAIN levels etc). Precalced all of the orientations of the GRUNTS,BRAINS etc for the pixeled explosions / teleports / alternative teleports. Added the brain AI which allows selective targetting of certain human types. The BRAINS will hunt specific humans on specific levels (just like the original) unless there are none of that type (or set to hunt anything). When all humans are gone, BRAINS will move randomly (Targeting player will cause them to bunch up, and slow down the game like crazy). Added shooting and moving accelerators to the BRAIN. Added inertia to the particle fx of exploding missiles. Reduced particle fx of missile, and also set max missiles on screen. Some title screen / attract mode work completed. The new SPHEROID and ENFORCER graphics arrived, but the wrong size :( made the routine changes for the new graphics, and await the actual size sprites to arrive. Recieved new ENFORCER, SPHEROID, MISSILE graphics. ENFORCERS need to be a little big bigger or wider, as the model is now quite "slim". MISSILE graphics are animated and rotating, and the particle emitter is now connected to the correct point. Added some new TANK sprites, but these also need resizing.

0.0.0.8 - 10/02/2005

Total rewrite of the animation routines to allow for ping-pong animation, as well as anglular orientation of most sprites. All animation accelerators have been ported to the new model. Leon has begun his contribution with awesome new "3d style" animations, which been added for the main player and "GRUNT" robot, giving 80 frames for each. The player sprite has had tweening effects incorporated, where interim animation occurs for abrupt direction changes. Looks very nice. GRUNTS still need to be orientated upon entry to the screen - need to pre-calc the orientation and if I`m in the right mood, pre-calcing the pixeled teleport effects for each of the orientations :) Particle system has been updated to include sprites as well as pixel particles, both with/without alpha-blending. No sprite based particle effects active yet, until suitable graphics are developed. QUARK and TANK units developed. Both units have independant AI, but will require tweaking over time. Ammended fire rate accelerators for TANKS and ENFORCERS, so that level lingering becomes more difficult, although this should also include accuracy and shot prediction. Made database adjustments for site to take bug reports, change requests and other items, but this is still under development.

0.0.0.7 01/02/2005

Various tweaking while I wait for new graphics :) More work on the level editor which will allow ramping of any difficulty factor (everything from robot speed to SPHEROID payloads, ENFORCER accurancy, to delay timers etc). This one is worth a release because the feel has improved somewhat : using the ENFORCER shooting accelerator, it should be more realistic (less time for player lingering and family collection) also, added 10(!) ricochet sfx which I think adds a great deal - accenuating the firepower effect of the game. Particle system applied to HULK hits (need to specify hit position more accurately, but it looks quite nice already). Cleaned up some code that relied on GRUNTS being present in all levels. Paused animation for GRUNTS until player has teleported. Damped a few sounds, ramped a few others. Added spawn delay paremeter to SPHEROIDS, where they can`t drop ENFORCERS for x seconds (alpha is set for 5 seconds). Experimented with a "bullet time" style effect and then binned it.. didn't feel right. Next version may have an optional player collision enabled to test for difficulty on demo levels.

0.0.0.6 28/01/2005

Added firepower to the ENFORCERS. Again, weighted in a similar way as the ENFORCER movement - the further away, the faster the shot etc. Lifetime of the bullet is dictated by it's speed (distance to target). There is a certain amount of inaccuracy built into the ENFORCER aiming, which can become configurable via the level editor (already started). This reflects the original game, as the targetting of the players current position results in an effect of the bullets chasing you. As you would generally be on the move almost all of the time, it will keep you on your toes if a stray shot may intercept you! Adjusted the display (footer) alternates between (c) notice and wave info. Adjusted playfield bounds for main character, as he is somewhat slimmer now :) Added rudimentary particle system, used for SPHEROID explosion.

0.0.0.5 27/01/2005

Added the spawning ENFORCER from the SPHEROIDS. They behave really well and are weighted to corners and midpoints according to my observations of the original game. They are heavily weighted to chase after the player, but will dampen movement in proportion to the player's position (their bullets will also do the same when they are added - both the velocity and amount fired). Fixed a small bug from previous version which allowed repeated shooting of the SPHEROID in it's death cycle (gaining 1000 points all the while!). The death cycle requires some graphics/effect, but without them, the SPHEROID appears to hang around for a few frames. Added variables to each SPHEROID to control payload of ENFORCER and to self destruct after deployment. Screenshot save to file is activated with the 0 key (not the pad) and may assist debugging when testing. Added a decent amount of items to this test version. Added better quality and animated player graphics.

0.0.0.4 26/01/2005

Added reaction to HULKs when being shot by player. Players shots will push the HULK robot,but cannot kill it. Fixed bug with non-reactive shot (up-left).
Added property "HULK mass" so that shot effect can be changed easily. Increased shot effect on HULK to almost stop one walking towards player. Added SPHEROID class with some temp sprite animation. All they do is spawn right now in pre-allocated locations only (corners and midpoint edges). Tweaked HULK speed vs mass. Appear to have solved the "stuck behind mine" bug?. Added screenshot save to file procedure. SPHEROID movement now in place - they have a weighted preference for the corners (just like the original game). Movement routine isn't 100%, but it will do ok for now. Tried to add inertia/damping effect to the SPHEROIDS when they make abrupt direction changes, but it didn't look right. Starting to think about a level editor now. Tidied level parameters ready for editor. SPHEROIDS added to level parameters, so they count as active enemies while they exist (these and the QUARKs are unique in robotron, as they can disappear without being killed). Continued tweaking of behavior parameters for HULKs and SPHEROIDS.
Also need to think about separating the graphics from the main executable, for sharing with the level editor etc.


0.0.0.3 23/01/2005 

Lots more added. Changed resolution down to 640x480. Still plenty of game area, and something of a performance improvement. Added family members and HULK robots. The family should be working correctly apart from the spawning bug (appearing under mines) which affects HULKS as well (must fix this!). HULKs will kill humans and avoid mines, but won't react to player shots yet. Also added scoring, life counter etc. Added parameters to text writer for different effects. Temporary graphics in use are from Robotron RRC 2004. (Thanks to Dan Richardson). 

0.0.0.2 21/01/2005

Added framerate independant movement. Thanks to Traveller for the help. I hope this maintains the framerate properly now. Added some mines which robots can collide with (player remains immune from collisions for testing). Incorporated lame warp effect and looping level, so that testing is easier. Implemented 8 frame GRUNT animation. All appropriate SFX added. 

0.0.0.1 17/01/2005

Main game layout, control system for player. Default [GRUNT] robots have accelerated movement and curved targeting towards the player. Cool fragging (with alpha blending) and teleportation of both player and GRUNTS. Shots hit walls and react. Some sfx present. Basic level design in place (level parameters). Basic game structure (start screen and gameplay). 
