The Force Engine Version 1.0 Release

[Jules451]

I've been following this project for some time, it's fantastic to finally have a way to preserve Dark Forces outside of DOSBox. It's one of the most unique shooters of that era and it really deserves this treatment. I can't wait for Outlaws support to be a thing, though. I've had my eyes on that game for quite some time and have held back from playing the original version so as to play it on a source port.

 

That being said, I haven't tried this port out myself yet. Seeing that Linux support is one of the next things to be implemented, I'll wait some more time for that.

 

Also glad to hear Linux/Mac support will be one of the next things to be implemented. I'll probably wait for that before trying out this port myself.

[lucius]

Upcoming plans, including the next build (version 1.02): https://theforceengine.github.io/2023/01/06/Upcoming-Version-1-02.html

[taufan99]

9 hours ago, lucius said:

Upcoming plans, including the next build (version 1.02): https://theforceengine.github.io/2023/01/06/Upcoming-Version-1-02.html

I have another little question; will there be support for brightmaps, presumably after voxel support?

[lucius]

In Dark Forces a section of the palette is full bright. That is how glowing parts of wall textures and sprites works in the original game. TFE already has full support for that, including the GPU Renderer.

[Somniac]

I always resented having to play DF on DosBox at low res, so a big thumbs up for this big quality of life improvement!

[lucius]

Version 1.02 Update:

Due to a lot of progress over the weekend on version 1.02 - 23 out of 32 issues and improvements have been completed. The number of issues the build was meant to address increased significantly due to new bugs being found, mostly with mods. However, even with that increase, the release is about 70% complete.

 

Improvements include making several custom levels completable that either crashed or had INF errors, improving the mod loader so that it shows correct names far more often, greatly improving the keyboard input when using the PDA, fixing rendering issues such as sprites not always lighting up properly when firing and 3DO PLANE surfaces using the wrong texture offset, greatly improved autoaim, and more.

 

It is difficult to predict exactly when the release will be ready, but I think sometime this week is likely.

[lucius]

Version 1.02 Release

After a lot of bug fixes, mostly with custom levels, the version 1.02 Release is finally ready.

Download: https://theforceengine.github.io/downloads.html

 

Blog Post: https://theforceengine.github.io/2023/01/16/Version-1-02.html

 

Quality of Life Features

• Alt+Enter will toggle fullscreen in addition to F11.
• Frame limit options added to the Graphics UI.
• Load added to the main menu.
• The Mod Loader will now return to the main menu if escape is hit.
• The Mod Loader will close mod descriptions is escape is hit.
• A System Menu has been added with two options:
• An option to return to the main menu if you Quit a game.
• An option to return to the Mod Loader if you Quit, if you loaded a mod (assuming the first option is enabled).
• The Audio system will try multiple sound APIs, including Direct Sound, if the default fails.
• You can now select the output audio and midi devices.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash when playing Evacuation of Hoth custom level due to a frame scenery object being destroyed.
• Fixed a bug where levels wouldn’t load if they had spaces in front of certain keywords - such as Mission 2 of Don Sielke’s.
• Fixed a bug where items would be despawned in some cases where the sector heights were too small.
• Fixed a bug where briefings could be skipped in some mods due to an order of operations error.
• Fixed a bug where sprites didn’t always light up correctly when attacking.
• Fixed a bug where the Probe Droid would stay fullbright after firing.
• Fixed a bug where autoaim wasn’t working with 3D objects like turrets and welders.
• Fixed a bug where autoaim targeted farther away items instead of closer items in some cases.
• Fixed a bug where the player could save while dying and then be invulnerable on load until they healed.
• Fixed crashes when INF sectors don’t exist in custom maps.
• Fixed a bug where jumping up to sector second heights isn’t as forgiving in TFE as DOS, resulting in custom level progression issues.
• 3DO PLANE projection when using the GPU Renderer now matches the software renderer for non-flat polygons.
• Fixed a bug where the top and bottom textures were drawn even with the “no wall” flag set instead of showing the sky when using the GPU Renderer.
• Fixed a bug with crouch jumping that kept the player from fitting into small places, blocking progression in Boba Fett’s Revenge and other custom levels.
• Fixed bugs with exterior adjoins that caused walls to be incorrectly drawn where there should only be sky.
• Fixed a bug with INF messages using invalid delay values behaving different in TFE than DOS, making switches in some custom levels work incorrectly.
• Fixed a bug with invalid INF message types (such as “done”) being treated different than DOS, breaking different triggers and elevators in custom levels.
• Fixed bugs with Gas Mask rendering when using the GPU Renderer at 320x200 resolution.
• It is now possible to hold ALT and move, and use ALT for crouch and slow actions.
• Improve Mod Loader text file parsing so it can be reliably extract the mod names.
• Improved PDA input and fixed layer keys being swapped.
• Fixed another PDA input issue, where the mouse location could effect hotkey results.
• Fixed a bug with keyboard input on the Agent menu, where scrolling downward would not wrap if all levels are complete.
• Secret Percentage update after loading from a save, fixed LADATA save percentage issue.
• The GPU renderer now properly emulates several stretching mid-texture effects (these worked in the software renderer).
• Fixed a sky texture offset bug using the GPU renderer that caused the incorrect part of the sky to show up in part of Stars End.
• Saved games with no name given are now assigned a default name, so that they can be selected and loaded.

Edited January 17, 2023 by lucius

[Kroc]

Thank you for the continued updates!

Found an unexpected bug: When holding ALT, left+right click does nothing!

[lucius]

On 1/17/2023 at 3:34 AM, Kroc said:

Thank you for the continued updates!

Found an unexpected bug: When holding ALT, left+right click does nothing!

There was a smaller, follow-up release that fixed that issue along with improvements, such as being able to type cheats directly in the console (no more "cheat CHEATNAME"), and a few cheats to help with debugging - LAFLY (jump and crouch to go up and down), LANOCLIP (no clip), and LATESTER - which combines LAIMLAME (god mode), LAREDLITE (disable AI), LAFLY, and LANOCLIP into one cheat.

[hybridial]

@lucius

 

I understand if this would be a feature only considered down the line, but are you considering controller support at all? I'd appreciate that a lot.  

[irukanjji]

Hi, Lucius, with last version 1.08, same thing occurs with mod options, it freezes when the window opens, is there away to play mods from a bat file ?

[lucius]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:23 AM, hybridial said:

@lucius

 

I understand if this would be a feature only considered down the line, but are you considering controller support at all? I'd appreciate that a lot.  

TFE already has controller support, though you still need the mouse to use the windows/UI. I am planning on making the menus navigable using only the keyboard or controller in the future.

 

On 2/11/2023 at 1:46 PM, irukanjji said:

Hi, Lucius, with last version 1.08, same thing occurs with mod options, it freezes when the window opens, is there away to play mods from a bat file ?

I'm not sure what is causing that, unfortunately. However, you can load a mod from the mods/ directory by using the -uModFileName command line argument. For example, if I have biohazrd.zip in the mods/ directory the command line argument would be -ubiohazrd.zip

[Master O]

@lucius I have a question regarding https://theforceengine.github.io/Documentation.html:

 

What specific files from the Dark Forces game folder are needed for The Force Engine?  The above documentation only mentions auto-detection of GOG or Steam installs.   (I mean, like how people have to put doom2.wad and other Doom-engine game .wad files into the GZDoom folder in order to run those games there).

[lucius]

DARK.GOB, SOUNDS.GOB, SPRITES.GOB, TEXTURES.GOB, HOTKEYS.MSG, LOCAL.MSG, and the full LFD/ directory.

[Master O]

1 hour ago, lucius said:

DARK.GOB, SOUNDS.GOB, SPRITES.GOB, TEXTURES.GOB, HOTKEYS.MSG, LOCAL.MSG, and the full LFD/ directory.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Please also add the above information to the documentation page and README accordingly.

[Kyle07]

On 2/13/2023 at 6:34 PM, lucius said:

TFE already has controller support, though you still need the mouse to use the windows/UI. I am planning on making the menus navigable using only the keyboard or controller in the future.

That would be nice. :) I am currently also playing First Person Shooters on a big TV screen. So any support for controller would be awesome. But in worst case Steam could help out to map all the buttons, including mouse support via gyro.

[lucius]

Version 1.09 Release

This build adds both Sound Font (sf2) and OPL3 midi synthesis. External midi is no longer required on Linux. Note that midi settings will be reset with this build, if you want to change from the default (OPL3 emulation) - then use the Sound menu.

 

OPL3 support required reverse-engineering the iMuse "FM4" driver code, as well as changing the midi device/output architecture to support synthesis, and dynamically changing both devices and outputs during gameplay. In addition, the audio system now processes audio at 44.1 kHz (instead of 11 kHz) - which means upsampling the iMuse mixed digital audio.

 

Download: https://theforceengine.github.io/downloads.html

 

Changes

• Implemented midi device types to support system midi as well as midi synthesis.
• Implemented support for midi synthesis using Sound Fonts (sf2).
• Implemented support for midi synthesis using OPL3 emulation and the iMuse OPL driver.
• Implemented the ability to change midi devices and outputs during gameplay, the game music is restarted as needed.
• Added Roland SC-55 and AWE64 sound fonts.
• Added support for 800p in the resolution list for the Steam Deck.
• Update the Readme to reflect that external midi is no longer required on Linux.
• The midi device now defaults to OPL3.
• Reduced stack size requirements in the audio system to fix issues on Steam Deck.
• Linux/CMake: also install the Mods and SoundFonts folders.
• Linux/Paths: look for support data in the executable directory too.
• CMake: gitVersion: do nothing if Git is not available.
• Linux: name executable “theforceengine”
• Add comments categorizing keywords and noting those which are not implemented.

Video

 

 

[Dweller Dark]

I don't know if it's a new or old bug, but turning the game music slider up to 100% makes the audio really quiet. It'll also freak out if you slide it between 57% and 100% volume. I was playing the music at 100% before this update and it was fine, and I was using system midi and virtualmidisynth for the previous version and this one as well. And I'm not sure if it's just me, but the mouse cursor disappears if you open the console and you have to press Esc to get it back. 

 

As for potential features in the future, a screenshot button would be ideal as I wasn't able to find one in the Input settings.

[lucius]

59 minutes ago, Dweller said:

I don't know if it's a new or old bug, but turning the game music slider up to 100% makes the audio really quiet. It'll also freak out if you slide it between 57% and 100% volume. I was playing the music at 100% before this update and it was fine, and I was using system midi and virtualmidisynth for the previous version and this one as well. And I'm not sure if it's just me, but the mouse cursor disappears if you open the console and you have to press Esc to get it back. 

 

As for potential features in the future, a screenshot button would be ideal as I wasn't able to find one in the Input settings.

* I wasn't able to reproduce a volume issue when the music slider at 100% or issues between 57% and 100%. Though it is possible it only occurs with a specific sound font. You can try turning down the master volume and see if that helps. Actually, I figured it out - for now, 50% will be equivalent to what you had before, I will fix it for the next release.

* I was able to reproduce the mouse cursor disappearing with the console, that is a bug.

* The screenshot button is PrintScreen. Screenshots will be saved in the /Documents/TheForceEngine/Screenshots/ folder on Windows. I forgot to make it rebindable, which should happen at some point.

Edited February 16, 2023 by lucius

[Professor Hastig]

2 hours ago, lucius said:

* The screenshot button is PrintScreen. Screenshots will be saved in the /Documents/TheForceEngine/Screenshots/ folder on Windows. I forgot to make it rebindable, which should happen at some point.

 

Are you sure this is the proper location?

 

On modern Windows there is a FOLDERID_Screenshots and it normally points to /Pictures/Screenshots, not to 'Documents'.

 

[lucius]

8 hours ago, Professor Hastig said:

 

Are you sure this is the proper location?

 

On modern Windows there is a FOLDERID_Screenshots and it normally points to /Pictures/Screenshots, not to 'Documents'.

 

I consolidated everything the player would be interested in into the same Windows folder, which is why I used Documents. You will also find the log output, the ini, keybindings data, and save games there.

[lucius]

Version 1.09.100 Release

Hotfix release that addresses critical issues with version 1.09:

• System Midi volume bugs, causing notes not to play properly on some midi devices and volume issues with Windows GM synth.
• Linux crashes when not specifying the build type when using CMake.

[Professor Hastig]

13 hours ago, lucius said:

I consolidated everything the player would be interested in into the same Windows folder, which is why I used Documents. You will also find the log output, the ini, keybindings data, and save games there.

 

That's understandable - my issue here is that every developer is doing their own thing - almost nobody follows the official guidelines of the system.

Not that the guidelines are any good, but if this stuff gets scattered around my user folder, depending on developers' own preferences, it's all very hard to find.

For screenshots in particular it seems to be the wild west. Some games store screenshots under Pictures, other under Documents and I have even encountered some that store them in AppData...

 

[lucius]

11 hours ago, Professor Hastig said:

 

That's understandable - my issue here is that every developer is doing their own thing - almost nobody follows the official guidelines of the system.

Not that the guidelines are any good, but if this stuff gets scattered around my user folder, depending on developers' own preferences, it's all very hard to find.

For screenshots in particular it seems to be the wild west. Some games store screenshots under Pictures, other under Documents and I have even encountered some that store them in AppData...

 

Which is fair. For TFE I plan on adding a UI option to open the folder where this stuff is stored like OBS does (they have Show Videos or something like that). So at least the end user doesn't have to go hunting around for the files.

[Graf Zahl]

What would be really nice is if your port could optionally support portable installs like GZDoom.

I tend to keep multiple versions of in-development ports around and having a shared config is not really convenient for that.

 

[lucius]

13 hours ago, Graf Zahl said:

What would be really nice is if your port could optionally support portable installs like GZDoom.

I tend to keep multiple versions of in-development ports around and having a shared config is not really convenient for that.

 

That is definitely planned at some point.

[Master O]

2 minutes ago, lucius said:

That is definitely planned at some point.

 

You could name your portable install configuration files Graf_Zahl.ini, since he's the one who suggested it.

 

:D

[Gez]

Something self-explicit like portable.ini would be better, though! :p

[lucius]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:49 PM, Master O said:

 

You could name your portable install configuration files Graf_Zahl.ini, since he's the one who suggested it.

 

:D

Technically it was already planned since others have also asked for it first, but I agree with Gez. :)-

[lucius]

Version 1.09.4 has been released, read the blog post at https://theforceengine.github.io/2023/07/31/Version-1-09-04.html.

 

Example from the post - bloom with different strength and spread settings.

(Top left: off, Top right: default, Bottom left: high strength; Bottom right: high strength and high spread)

 

Various different shots with bloom with different settings.

 

8-bit versus 8-bit interpolated comparisons. The 8-bit interpolated mode removes most of the banding while still using the color map - so colormap tricks used to emulate colored lighting and fog still work.

 

And last but not least are the Smooth Vue animation feature and Closed Captions as well, see the blog post for animations and also for more and better quality images: https://theforceengine.github.io/2023/07/31/Version-1-09-04.html

Edited August 1, 2023 by lucius