What’s new in 2.2

The first Release Candidate build of version 2.2 is now available. The plan is to release the final stable 2.2.0 before the end of the year.

To accompany the upcoming release, the demo video on the dengine.net front page has been updated. It shows a few snippets of gameplay with the default settings, without any additional mods. This time with audio and in normal speed!

Version 2.2 is a relatively minor feature update. It comes with a number of bug fixes and a bunch of modding enhancements.

Continue reading What’s new in 2.2

Doomsday 2.1.2 released

This is a patch release that addresses issues found in version 2.1.

A few more regressions related to 3D model rendering are fixed in this release. Also, on macOS the applications are now notarized and the bundle metadata has been fixed to contain appropriate IDs.

This also acts as a test for the revised build scripts that now live in a repository separate from the main Doomsday source code. The separation makes it easier to maintain the scripts while building releases from different branches.

Release notes

Download version 2.1.2 (build 3226)

Security issues in Catalina (macOS 10.15)

This year’s macOS update is out, and with it comes increased focus on protections against malicious software. The latest unstable build of 2.2 (#3209) now complies with the new requirements. I’m also looking into making an updated build of the stable 2.1 for macOS.

The new requirement is that applications must be pre-scanned by Apple (“notarized”) to ensure they are properly signed and contain no malware. It took a few builds to get this working right, as it turns out I was using quite an old version of the SDL2 frameworks on the macOS build machine and those were not being signed correctly.

Another issue you may encounter now with Catalina (and Mojave) is that looking around using the mouse/trackpad causes the player view to just spin around rapidly. This is because Doomsday’s mouse input relies on being able to reposition the mouse cursor while it is hidden. If an application wants to change the cursor position, this requires that the user has allowed it to control the computer in the Security & Privacy > Accessibility system preferences pane. If you encounter this problem, drag and drop Doomsday.app from the Finder to the list of apps on that pane.

Doomsday 2.1 released

Doomsday 2.1 has been released (build 2900), coinciding with the 25th anniversary of DOOM!

This version contains several improvements for an all-around nicer experience:

  • Graphics optimization. While games still use the classic renderer like in 2.0, all graphics are now drawn using OpenGL 3.3. This enables optimizations for more efficient rendering of the player view, menus, text, and the Doomsday UI.

  • UI improvements. The Doomsday UI look and feel has been refreshed. The game library is now more flexible and powerful with further game customization settings and view options.

  • Multiplayer convenience. Clients will automatically download missing PWADs from the server before joining the game.

Download 2.1

Release notes

Doomsday 2.1 RC3

The third and possibly final release candidate of 2.1 is now available (build 2898).

This build comes with a couple of Windows-related updates: the Qt library has been upgraded, and the 32-bit Windows build now has a fully functional FluidSynth audio plugin. This has been available in the 64-bit build for a while.

Unless any showstoppers are discovered, the next build will be the stable 2.1.0.

Doomsday 2.1 RC2

2.1 RC2 was released today (build 2895).

The issues discovered in RC1 were fixed but a couple of new ones were found. If you download RC2, please note the following:

  • MIDI sound font cannot be changed via the audio settings GUI. One can still change the sound font manually via the “music-soundfont” cvar, though.
  • A resource error occurs during the Ultimate Doom (BFG Edition) title sequence.
  • Some data files are inadvertently tagged as “hexen” (thanks to deus-ex for researching this!).
  • Data file version numbers are not always parsed from the file name.

In addition to these, there is an older issue that the 32-bit Windows build does not support FluidSynth for music. This will be addressed before the next build.

Doomsday 2.1 RC1

2.1 RC1 is now available (build 2890).

I’ve listed many of the changes in the previous post. Since writing that I’ve been optimizing rendering performance. You should find the engine running a bit snappier now.

However, there are a couple of known issues in this build:

  • Weapon switching keys are cycling weapons instead of switching to a particular weapon.
  • There are warnings about random “renderer.pack” issues.
  • Readme has not been updated with any of the new features, and some of the links are obsolete.

Let me know if you find any other issues. RC2 will be available once these are fixed.

What’s new in 2.1

Version 2.1 is now feature complete. While I originally hoped to focus on multiplayer-related enhancements in this release, it turned out a little differently. Roughly speaking the first half of 2018 was spent working on the foundations of the next revision of the renderer (not included in 2.1), and only during the second half I focused on 2.1 related work.

One important multiplayer improvement has been added for 2.1, though: clients can download mods (e.g., PWADs) from the server in case they are needed for joining a multiplayer game.

The stable 2.1.0 will be released before the end of the year. I intend to spend the remaining time on fixing bugs (some already listed in the roadmap).

Let’s have a quick look at the changes done over the past weeks.

Continue reading What’s new in 2.1