2018-04-10 19:15:28

Odd, the webpage works fine for me.  Is it working for anyone else?

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-10 19:42:24

Just tried, and though I can get onto the site alright, I get the same error when I try to sign in to my account.

As always, can't say it enough, but thanks for all the work you're doing Aprone!

Los Angeles Based musician, blogger, and programmer.
https://artistibarra.com/

2018-04-10 20:04:46

Ah yes, now it finally stopped working for me as well.  I'll add it to my list of things to fix.  I have to fix a bug on the server that prevents new characters from being created in Swamp, or deleted.  It's being affected by the same system change that messed up logins.  I also still have to code and post patches for Castaways and Castaways 2, to fix the same issue Swamp had with the system change.  This is definitely keeping me busy, haha!  At the very least, it might be a good thing that I'm back programming again.  I've put home projects on hold since this happened, so it's the most time I've sat and typed out code in ages.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-10 21:15:07

Haha, I knew my plan of messing up ya internet would get ya programming again ;-)

2018-04-10 23:10:35

Alrighty, I've had a very busy but very productive day.  The website appears to be working now.  I've posted patches for Castaways 1 and 2 so they work after this server craziness, and also updated my server to run updated versions of both of those games.  Whew, time to cook some lunch!

As a side note (I wanted to mention this just because I'm quite excited about it), I just got word back from an artist I hired, and he's finally finished all of the characters for a card game I'm trying to produce.  There are still some tweaks and adjustments to be made, but he believes he will finish all of the art I've hired him to do within the next month!  Horray!  I'm excited because it's been nearly 2 and a half years since I first started the process of getting this card game's artwork ready for production.  Getting good quality artwork is a massive undertaking... it reminds me why audio games are such great projects to work on, ROFL!  big_smile

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-12 08:33:13

Wow. I look forward to hear more about the card game.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2018-04-13 01:52:37

hi all
maybe who have good swamp mod?
thanks

2018-04-16 02:09:14

server is down?

2018-04-16 06:04:18

Winds and freezing rain hit my area this morning and knocked out power for a lot of people.  I was lucky enough not to lose power, but my internet has been going on and off all day.  Not much I can do about it... I suspect it's due to them working on the lines.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-20 00:07:31

Version 3.7 has been posted.  The download link is on the first post of this topic.

Changes from version 3.6c to 3.7

- Fixed a long standing bug that caused the M240 to only use up 1 bullet instead of 5.
- Fixed a bug that caused people's account times to be incorrectly listed.  Anyone who had between 10 and 19 remaining months was incorrectly told they were on their last month.
- I've done some work on the way sound buffers are used, and reused, to squeeze a little better performance out of the game in places where a ton of sounds are trying to load at the same time.  Warehouse missions are a great example.  I only got between 4% and 8% improvement (depending on the situation), but I suppose it's better than nothing.
- Sound boost has been removed from the menu.  It's an older approach that never really helped enough to be worth having.  It was originally left in to slowly collect real-world data from players, to see if that approach to sound processing would be better than the default.  Turns out it's not helpful.
- Where Sound boost used to be on the menu, now you can adjust buffer settings.  Lowering the amount is not recommended because it can cause some sounds to cut out during intense moments, but it should improve performance.  Raising the amount can cause an initial lag as the additional buffers are set up and added to the mix, but overall it can improve performance.  So because this seems to be more of a personal preference, or dependent on the situation and computer, I'm allowing players to adjust this up and down to find what works best for them.  If I had found 1 perfect setting myself (I tried), I'd have just made that the new default.  The default is what Swamp already had before this update.
- I've improved accessibility for our miniority playerbase, and by that I mean those silly sighted players.  Graphics were really bogging down the game because honestly they were an after thought.  I went in and improved that code a bit to squeeze some better performance out of the game when graphics are used.  They still slow the game down more than if you play without graphics (any game would), but now it's less of a burden.  smile
- Everyone has asked for it, so I found a way to make it happen.  When playing on multiplayer, I removed "Save your progress" from the main menu.  It was really only about campaigns, so it didn't make any sense to have it show up in the multiplayer menu.
- In addition to removing the "Save your progress" option from the multiplayer menu, I've replaced it with a way to quickly change your character without exiting and logging back in!  Enjoy the convenience.  Let it wash over you like a refreshing river of singing dolphins.  Roll around on the floor and rub your hands all over your face, feeling the endless convenience as it warms your very soul.  These are things you can do.  big_smile
- When playing single player maps, the "Fully Armed" mode now begins each weapon already loaded, so you don't have to spend time switching to each weapon and loading it yourself.
- Two new starting weapon modes have been added to single player.  You can now choose to go into battle with only bows, or only rifles.
- In single player, if you choose to play on the map named Future, you will have an extra special challenge.  A lone Behemoth roams this combination of maps 1 and 2, years after the Swamp we already know.  Here are a few tips:  You aren't going to outrun that beast in an open field.  It isn't able to make sharp turns, especially when it's moving fast.  It can and will literally smash through buildings, though doing so slows it down, and may give you a chance to escape.  It has a lot of health.

Changes from version 3.6b to 3.6c

- FINALLY got the source code back up to date, from when the most recent backups were lost in a hard drive crash.
- Fixed a bug with a fort slot which was showing up as slot #0, and was not functioning as an actual fort slot.
- Fixed a bug with weapon accuracy.  Weapons that were powerful enough to kill a zombie with a single hit were not being counted correctly toward the average, and were throwing off the numbers.
- Shooting in CMM will no longer affect your accuracy.
- Swinging the riot shield around and using the field kit no longer affect your accuracy.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-20 00:35:30

so on the first page is the thing that says 3.6  3.7?

2018-04-20 00:41:38

The download link itself says 3.7, but I do see where it still says "3.6" is needed to play online.  I've fixed that, thanks.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-20 00:54:47

Ok because I don't want to download the whole game again unless you think I should.

2018-04-20 01:01:16

First of all I hope you’re doing welL Aprone. I like I’n sure everyone else appreciates you still working, and doing updates. Those are some pretty cool updates.   I haven’t been able to play due to an  uncomfortable  set up at the moment,   But that’s not gonna stop me from downloading the update, and checking it out at least. I’m not even sure if I still have time on my account. If I don’t I’ll re-up smile  again is appreciated, and you take care.

A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle…
" GamerTag is. ItsTBlaze & Twitter @TBlaze97
"One Love"

2018-04-20 01:01:18

**opens one eye... my good eye
I think its time for me to go back to swamp lol

follow me on
twitter
now go away, don't talk to me

2018-04-20 01:28:12

I am so very, very happy I still have time left.
Let's go burn a bunch of bandwidth!

2018-04-20 01:36:01

Wow. Thanks for the brand new update Aprone. It's very interesting that you release it right as I'm attempting to get things set up with Swamp again. Unfortunately though, I'm having a problem. Trying to run the game on my laptop running a 64 bit version of Windows 8 immediately results in a Run Time Error. (52) I've literally tried everything with no luck. (using the checkup program and the batch files to register the dlls, registering the dlls manually, running the game as an administrator, disabling my antivirus, etc) From what I could find on the forum, this doesn't seem to be a new problem, but in most cases, the people having this problem in the past were sent modified versions of the Swamp executable. If it helps, the game closes without writing a progress file or a debug log. I hope I'm able to resolve this at some point, I'm ready for a new addiction! smile

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. - Mark Twain

2018-04-20 01:45:01

Yaaaaaay! Thanks muchee for the update, I'll be goin' right now to get it! Take care and may you get extra portions of your favourite food!
Cheereo!

2018-04-20 04:55:58

Odd timing indeed, I've been thinking seriously about getting back into the swamp as I've felt the pull also.
big_smile
thanks for the fix and the update Aprone! Very much appreciated!
smile
Now if I can just get my old swamp buddies to fork over some cash to refresh their accounts, it'll be like old times! Shooter / Stinger may well ride again! rofl

2018-04-20 07:44:07

Nice nice update. Thanks so much Aprone...

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2018-04-20 07:48:48 (edited by cj89 2018-04-20 07:55:08)

Woo hey awesome. I guess Swamps been a bit of a nostalgia trip for a bunch of us. Been thinking of getting some time again with my friends. Curiously, do you have plans for bigger updates now that the source is a thing again? Or are you pretty much done as far as swamp goes
Edit: just gotten my question answered, and it's yes. Exciting stuff.

2018-04-20 09:25:53

wait wait wait, hold the zombie guts, did I just read one of these comments, and it said aprone is working on a card game??? please don't make me jump off this balcony in a koolaid smile happiness of over excited exploding joy

can i get a peace double harmony burger? no chaos

2018-04-20 09:28:11

btw whatever game you are working on aprone I am grateful, just glad to have you back programming man. o and this right here was my laugh for today lmaoooo "Let it wash over you like a refreshing river of singing dolphins.  Roll around on the floor and rub your hands all over your face, feeling the endless convenience as it warms your very soul.  These are things you can do."

can i get a peace double harmony burger? no chaos

2018-04-20 10:15:52

Gamedude, I'm not sure what to suggest.  So far everyone who reported that error later told me it fixed itself after trying to run the game a few times.  For them at least, it wound up being their anti virus software not yet "trusting" the newly downloaded program.

It does feel good to be programming again.  Real life projects are being delayed as a result, but I suppose that's okay, haha.  I'll get to them eventually.

The card game is a game I came up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-13 years ago.  Over time it was tweaked during play testing, and I went through dozens of versions.  In the earliest days I was printing out sheets of cards and carefully cutting the deck out with a razor blade, but as the years passed the hand made decks were replaced with professionally printed ones using companies that do such things.  It was just a game I played with friends, and even though I was often told I should try to market the game, it lived on exclusively in that small circle.

I'm not sure what kicked me into gear, but a few years back I finally decided to try and market it.  The placeholder artwork on each card needed to be redone, and I knew I didn't personally have the time (or possibly artistic talent) to make them myself and have them at the quality they need to be.  I shopped around and talked to several artists before finding a guy named Anthony who seemed like a great fit.  The only down-side was that his schedule meant he could only work on the game during free time, between other things he had to do.  I wasn't in any hurry (the game is frik'in old), so that was a good arrangement.  He hopes to have the last of the artwork finished within the next few months, so we'll see how the project goes from there.

I've got some big news, or at least it could be considered big news:

After speaking with a few people, I've decided to give Swamp a much needed kick in the pants, in an effort to breathe some new life into it.  The update yesterday was a start, but the next part is to try and increase the number of active players.  Swamp is a game that's more fun when the server is packed full of players, and no new updates are going to matter to people who aren't playing and won't see it.

I've gone into the database and given each and every account 1 free month.  This means that everyone benefits, but people who were out of time benefit the most.  My hope is that this free month will get people back into Swamp, even if they only stick around until the month runs out.  Since it's the 20th of the month, someone jumping in to use the free month is only going to get 10 days to play.  I realize that isn't the best plan, and some people would prefer to wait and start up their free month on the first of next month.  That would give them the entire month.  It's going to be up to the players to decide when to use it.

For this publicity stunt to work, people who used to play Swamp need to hear about it.  I can post here all day long, but relatively few players check here regularly.  Spread the word, if you will.  Even if we only get 10 days of the "good old days", where 50+ people are signed in and running missions, then it will be loads of fun and worth the trouble.  If people enjoy themselves enough, we might get some of those people to stick around longer, and give Swamp a bit of a revival.  I plan to work on a larger update than the 3.7 that I posted yesterday, but I'm not sure when it will be ready.  I'd Love to get the behemoth working in multiplayer, because that will be a really fun mission type.  I also have several bugs to fix, and some new feature ideas that I'm going to look into adding.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2018-04-20 11:21:08

yo aprone. i hope you could maybe put some efford in to making  some improvements to hc since right now i don't think it's really balanced. there are a number of clans that just dominate the srv  and forts. something to make hc challenging again and maybe atract people to it so that we could get some new clans and fights around