Version 1.5.2.1: Battlezone 15th Anniversary Build
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 4:34 am
I meant to post earlier but work got in the way.
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the release of Battlezone: Febuary 28, 1998. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been that long since it came out. Other times it's all too easy to believe it's been that long since it came out...
I wanted to put together something special for the occasion, though at this point it's mostly just promise and potential: Lua-based mission scripts. It's built upon experimental work Tug did about three years ago, extended to support every script function the original designers had at their disposal, script functions back-ported from Battlezone 2, and full save game support. The standard Instant Action mission script has served mapmakers well for 15 years and I hope this will keep it going another 15 years.
As a proof of concept, I transcribed the first NSDF campaign mission, Red Arrival, almost verbatim into Lua as a proof of concept. It plays identically to the original, including the opening cinematic and voiceover.
I've reorganized my Battlezone website so it's more useful and I plan to keep it up to date with links, build info, and documentation. That way everything will be in one place instead of duplicated on three separate message forums. I'll post announcements every time I make an update, of course. At some point I'll add a cascading style sheet so it won't look like an amateur website from the early 1990s.
Anyway, here's the links to get things started:
Unofficial 1.5 Patch, which is now the central hub and home to all the common files shared between versions. Everything else is reachable from here.
Version 1.5.2.1, with the download link and build notes.
Lua Script Utilities Reference, documenting all the functions available to Lua mission scripts. This list will grow and change over time. It's complete but a bit terse at the moment.
Decoda, a professional-quality Lua integrated development environment and debugger released by the company behind Natural Selection 2. It used to be a commercial product but went open-source a couple weeks ago. It works well with Battlezone and requires no modification to Lua scripts.
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the release of Battlezone: Febuary 28, 1998. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been that long since it came out. Other times it's all too easy to believe it's been that long since it came out...
I wanted to put together something special for the occasion, though at this point it's mostly just promise and potential: Lua-based mission scripts. It's built upon experimental work Tug did about three years ago, extended to support every script function the original designers had at their disposal, script functions back-ported from Battlezone 2, and full save game support. The standard Instant Action mission script has served mapmakers well for 15 years and I hope this will keep it going another 15 years.
As a proof of concept, I transcribed the first NSDF campaign mission, Red Arrival, almost verbatim into Lua as a proof of concept. It plays identically to the original, including the opening cinematic and voiceover.
I've reorganized my Battlezone website so it's more useful and I plan to keep it up to date with links, build info, and documentation. That way everything will be in one place instead of duplicated on three separate message forums. I'll post announcements every time I make an update, of course. At some point I'll add a cascading style sheet so it won't look like an amateur website from the early 1990s.
Anyway, here's the links to get things started:
Unofficial 1.5 Patch, which is now the central hub and home to all the common files shared between versions. Everything else is reachable from here.
Version 1.5.2.1, with the download link and build notes.
Lua Script Utilities Reference, documenting all the functions available to Lua mission scripts. This list will grow and change over time. It's complete but a bit terse at the moment.
Decoda, a professional-quality Lua integrated development environment and debugger released by the company behind Natural Selection 2. It used to be a commercial product but went open-source a couple weeks ago. It works well with Battlezone and requires no modification to Lua scripts.
