========================= What's New in Zeus 2.042 ========================= Changes in version 2.042 . bots are no longer solid right after dying and until respawning. . bots don't keep going after weapons they already have when deathmatch is set to 2. . removed the debugging message that was popping up each time a bot died. It said "Damnit!" and fit well with what the bot might be thinking if it were capable of such. Changes in version 2.041 . Fixed bot view. It was the llamas again. Changes in version 2.04 . NO MORE SPLASHING! . MAJOR changes to the roaming AI. Bot is now a lot better at getting out of rooms and finding new items. . Various bug fixes to the running frames, follow code, etc., that were causing dm bot's to stutter-step and look a bit jerky. . bots will shoot switches and secret doors that require it. . bots will follow owner and enemies through teleports. . bots now go for teleports, platforms, switches and doors. . bots choose appropriate weapons to shoot switches/doors. . NEW BOT VIEW with BOT DEATH-CAM. This is just totally cool. There's simply other way to describe it... just plain bad. . unreachable items at a high pitch should no longer confuse the bot. . Modifications to the Zeus skin. Still not finished, but I get bored working on it... . fixed a potential problem with bots spawning at the same angle the player was looking. If the player was tilted down in water while spawning a bot, the bot would be stuck looking down. This potentially affected movement and all sorts of things, but no more. . HUD updates are twice as smooth and do not lag annoyingly anymore. . bots no longer get their heads stuck in low ceilings. . bots will not run into shallow lava or slime (except when strafing or backing away in battle - much like humans). . bots no longer float when killed under water. They sink like bricks. . removed the "thud" sound that bots made when they landed. This sound is not made by players, so it's gone. The only side effect is that fiends will not make the sound either when they land. Too bad. Quake was making this sound without my help, so I just turned it into a null .wav file. . bots swim better and go for air better. . roaming bots can jump into the water sometimes for the hell of it. . helper bot's can go rogue. If you're helper Zeus gets upset with you, well, you had better run, or have a big gun. Once he's rogue, if you kill him in deathmatch he will keep respawning on his own as an opponent, but he'll go after everything with an axe. The bot will warn you when he's sick of your crap. . fixed the stupid "stand up" bug when a helper bot died. It was so lame I can't believe I left it in there. Some llama must have been grazing on my code. (thanks to JumpA for mentioning this, as I had somehow completely missed it!) . bot's now make pain sounds when in lava, slime, etc. . adjustments to aiming code to make bots miss more, especially on lower skill levels. . multiskin support. . disabled H-HUD in deathmatch. . fix a bug with the plasma gun that would not allow you to select the plasma gun when you were out of nails. . Increased plasma gun's velocity by 1/3 to make it more effective. Bolts now travel at the same rate as nails. . Players and bots now spawn with 25 cells, to make up for the lack of cells on most of the standard levels. . if you are killed by an opponent bot in death match, you may be lucky enough to be treated to the Zeus bot taunt cam. You'll know when it happens... Changes in version 2.03 . added the holographic HUD. . removed some of the water movement code. It was getting Zeus stuck in places he used to do fine. The end result is that he will get stuck more often when going for air. Changes in version 2.02 . helper bots no longer spawn on top of one another if the player doesn't move before spawning. . bots now drown and will go for air when they need it. . added the "throw backpack" command in an attempt to head off the email complaining about Zeus being an item hog. I'd say he's just damn efficient. . fixed bot jumping. Jumps are now more accurate, and bot's find ledges when they should. . bots can no longer jump amazing distances (it was cool, but it wasn't quite fair). . fixed ChanceToHit with shotguns so that non-moving entities always recieve the highest chance for that skill. Monsters that use MOVETYPE_STEP will always get highest chance, unless jumping or falling because they don't use actual velocity factors to move -- no big deal only affects helper bots. . fixed helper bot levels (they were not having their levels set, resulting in skill 0 helper bots, which is lame!) . implemented ledge detection. YES! This one REALLY SUCKED. Bot's are now much less likely to run off a ledge. But they may still jump into lava like the fools they are... =) . start-up info message added. . fixed a bug with unreachable items that was the result of my absentmindedness... . bot will now search for items above and below for up to 2 seconds before deciding they are unreachable. The bot used to check the pitch to the item, but this changes to much as the bot moves and was not doing the job. . modified bot's swim routines. Bot no longer sinks too fast. In fact, the bot is a damn good swimmer and will just barely sink at all. Changes in version 2.01 . Skill levels implemented. . Target leading implemented. . Target missing and chance to hit implemented (for line-tracing weapons such as the shotgun). . bots will no longer see invisible players unless they are attacked by one. . enhanced ability to chase player out of sight . fixed weapon ranges so bot will fire from greater distances Changes in version 2.0 . While this is the second version of the Zeus bot this was truly the first version of this code. Seeing as Zeus 1.0 was based on the TM bot and was my first attempt at doing anything with Quake C, it doesn't really count as the same bot -- it just has the same name. =================== Author Information =================== I'm a 25 year old who's been programming computers for the last 15 years. I studied computer science at Clemson University and am currently designing web pages for corporations in the Western North Carolina area. Besides being proficient in several programming languages -- 80x86 assembly, C and Pascal being the most notable -- I also draw and write music in my spare time. ============================ Answers to Common Questions ============================ Here are answers to some of the most common questions I recieve about my Quake C mods: Q: How can I use your mod when I'm playing internet deathmatch games? A: You must find a server that is already running the mod. That is the only way, besides starting your own server. Q: Help! How come I can't get your mod to work?!?!? A: You are doing something wrong. =) They work for everyone else. Please read the instructions very carefully and do everything exactly like they say. If something is still unclear, then email me, and please be clear about exactly the problem you're having -- "Cujo won't work" doesn't give me any clue as to what the real problem might be. For example: "I installed the file into C:\GAMES\QUAKE\CUJO and ran the game with QUAKE -GAME CUJO but nothing happens when I use IMPULSE 100." Makes a lot more sense and lets me know almost exactly what the problem is. If you recieve any error messages, be sure to include those in your mail also. Q: Can you add so and so or change so and so in the next release? A: Probably so. Please email any suggestions or complaints that you have. The whole point is to make something that other people enjoy using, so I've got to have other people's input! Q: Can I use your mod in a compilation mod I am creating? A: Read the copyright and distribution permissions, then please email me and tell me about it. If you use any of my mods as a base or addition to any other project, you must credit me and include an address\location where my original mod can be found. Also, I will try to help you if I can, but please do not expect me to bug hunt for you. If you modify my source code, the bugs that crop up are your ultimate responsibility. ======================================= Copyright and Distribution Permissions ======================================= The modifications included in this archive are Copyright (C) 1996 by Jonathan E. Wright and Quake C is Copyright (C) id Software. You MAY NOT use the modifications as a basis for other publicly available work without the written permission of the author. You may distribute this Quake modification in any electronic format as long as this description file remains intact and unmodified and is retained along with all of the files in the archive. ============= Availability ============= You can find this archive at the following URLs: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com http://www.trailerpark.com/phase1/nelno NOTE: if you downloaded this bot from somewhere other than http://trailerpark.com/phase1/nelno, then it is likely that you do not have the most current version. Please check the above site if you would like the latest version of the Zeus bot.