Hardwar Update
timski
bankrupt at the end of last year. The U3 beta patches had been in
development earlier in 2002, and after some debate, have started to
leak out. There were five beta patches in total, originally released
to a small group of testers. None worked perfectly, but they added a
lot of new features.
Beta 1 is available here http://zedo.hardwar.org.uk/patch.htm along
with links to information about the various new features. Others are
here http://solidox.cohosting.net/ . The password for all is included
in the download on the first link (I won't repeat it here).
Note that these patches are not official. Their authors have not given
permission for general release. The patches should not be regarded as
stable or bug free - they aren't. These patches variously include
fatal errors, and fundamental feature problems, like joysticks not
working or broken economy. Install them very much at your own risk,
for what they are, if you want to.
In my view, U2.04 remains a better overall patch, and is stable and
almost completely bug free. It is possible that someone will reverse
engineer one or more of the patches to create a stable patch that has
many of the new features. It is equally possible that the people
behind Software Refinery might manage to sneak something out, although
that is looking increasingly less likely.
For anyone new to Hardwar, a lite version can be found at the
Underdogs - http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=4234 along with
various useful links.
Although none of the links posted here can be regarded as strictly
legitimate, and I personally wouldn't have released them (and yes I
did have the choice), the disappearance of the developer and the
dis-interest of those currently thought to hold the publishing rights,
have tended to encourage material to drift onto the internet.
Shingen036
>Date: 3/6/03 7:00 PM Central Standard Time
>The U3 beta patches had been in
>development earlier in 2002, and after some debate, have started to
>leak out. There were five beta patches in total, originally released
>to a small group of testers. None worked perfectly, but they added a
>lot of new features.
so far the best patch seems to be beta4... beta3 has a screwy economy and beta5
won't let me use throttle control...
so far beta4 hasn't had any crashes and everything seems to work... ( though I
haven't set up any machinery yet which was a major cause of problems in the
beta1 patch)...
timski
:: Shingen036 wrote:
>so far the best patch seems to be beta4... beta3 has a screwy economy and beta5
>won't let me use throttle control...
Joystick throttles will probably work for any one person on beta 4 OR
5, depending on the stick, but not both. Personally my stick (USB
Sidewinder) works with 5, but not 4.
Beta 5 certainly has the most features, but unfortunately has a screwy
economy, as you say. Here is a small summary of changes:
- BETA 1: Added Terminal Interface (actived using "o") with commands
LOOK, L, CASH, GOODS, EXITS, X, OUT, BAYS, BOARD, BOARDPASS, LAUNCH,
TARGET, AUTOPILOT, HANGAR, RECRUIT, ORDER, EXEC, STAFF, BLAG, PLANS,
PERMISSIONS, HIDE, HELP; Added require passwords option; Added
restrict god hangar option; Added manufacturing.
- BETA 2: Bug fixes to stock and manufacturing interface; Boardpass
terminal command no longer works for a moth without a passenger seat;
DEPOSIT and WITHDRAW terminal commands added; CASH terminal command
now also shows cash held in your hangar; Bay numbers made consistent
between terminal and hangar bay browser; Radar now shows your staff in
Green; Fixed terminal crash when AUTOPILOT entered with no parameters;
Maximum fog distance increased for 3DFX, and 3DFX bug fixes; BLAG
command improved - can now blag moths; HUD now displays autopilot
status.
- BETA 3: Fixed AUTOPILOT command, Syntax of TARGET command changed,
for example to "target downtown moths"; Added THRUST, TELL, SAY, WHO;
Fixed bug which caused in-game terminal interface not to work on a
network version; Added Terminal Server; Added mini-MUD rooms and links
between buildings (limited network); Added ability to run command
scripts on startup.
- BETA 4: Notes missing. Around this time the "Admin" pilot was
modified, and the Downtown-Reservoir tunnel was opened.
- BETA 5: Fixed crashes with pilot related commands such as GREET and
WAVE; 'Debriefing Zone' restored; Added a 'create' command to create
buildings (limited use); Added subcommands for HANGAR - LOGO, TYPE and
SOFTWARE - for builders only; Fixed problems with missing linebreaks
in PLANS and ORDER REPORT commands; Added HANGAR STOCK; Improvements
to link connection (slow/fast) modes; Terminal server disabled when
joining as a network client; Added Fumbler, Disabler and Blaster
weapons; Complete reworking of the way the economy and traders work;
Fixed crashes due to movement in the terminal interface.
Some of these features are still being documented. I'll add details to
my FAQ ( http://www.capsu.org/hardwar/faq/ ) shortly.
jamotide
it sure sounds interesting. What version do you advise to play? Should
I completely ignore the beta3 patches and play 2.04, or should I wait
for better U3 patches? Are there any coming or are they under constant
development by fans?
Shingen036
>Date: 3/7/03 5:39 PM Central Standard Time
U3.00 beta4 seems to be extremely stable as is... I've played for about 3-4
hours on and off and no crashes or strange bugs or anything... but it depends
on if u are using a joystick and/or what kind it is... I think beta5 works with
USB sticks and beta4 works with game-port sticks...
if u are an elite/FE2/FFE fan, Im sure you'll like Hardwar... the graphics are
better then FFE ( direct3D), and the economy is now something u can interact
with (other then just trade and just making money)
once you get a factory up and going.... it's really fun watching all the AI
ships going in and out of your hangar.. the only problems seem to be that you
can't get any of them to SELL you anything, and you'll have to supply all your
raw materials yourself...
combat is similar to elite, but not FE2/FFE...as I don't think the flight model
is neutonian, but it's pretty good and easy to learn... ( and just as easy to
die really quick! )
i think u can get the game from underdogs, or there are several ISOs floating
around the net if you've got a fast connection and time to kill.. =P
timski
:: jamo...@yahoo.de (jamotide) wrote:
>I never played this game, but as an Elite/Frontier fan from the start
>it sure sounds interesting. What version do you advise to play? Should
>I completely ignore the beta3 patches and play 2.04, or should I wait
>for better U3 patches?
I suggest going with U2.04 to start with. Although you might find a U3
that works for you, you might equally hit a load of bugs and get
frustrated. U2.04 is stable, and if it is your first time around,
there is plenty there to keep you interested. Once you played a while,
then consider some of the U3 versions.
>Are there any coming or are they under constant
>development by fans?
It is possible that some of the later betas will end up being hacked
about a bit - there are a few fans more than capable of trying this,
so we'll see. Don't expect much more to happen immediately though.
FLY135
news:20030307190115...@mb-fe.aol.com...
> i think u can get the game from underdogs, or there are several ISOs
floating
> around the net if you've got a fast connection and time to kill.. =P
It's a shame that the full version can't be found. The music that came with
Hardwar was some of the best I've ever heard as a game soundtrack. The
recording quality was a bit poor, but not bad enough to ruin it. It fit the
game to a tee.
jamotide
myself. I played the beta5, but it crashed after a short time. So I
guess I take your advice and try it again with 2.04. I'm playing it
with an old Sidewinder gamepad. I also realised that I knew the game,
I must have played the demo when it came out. Quite a lot, so I knew
how to play it. I like it.
Memnoch
Some of the tracks are exactly the same as the ones on that old PS1 game,
Loaded. And Wipeout if memory serves.
Sol
"Memnoch" <mem...@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:1jkm6v0b3ucfmoilr...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 02:17:04 GMT, "FLY135" <FLY...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Some of the tracks are exactly the same as the ones on that old PS1 game,
> Loaded. And Wipeout if memory serves.
And theres a reason for that :)
The music was licensed from Warp Records and we had to pay them moeny based
on how much of the CD was made up of thir licensed tracks. So to bring the
cost down, the last ten tracks on each CD were made up of in house music we
did for Loaded.
That is of course except for the last track on disk two, which is myself,
and two other ex-gremlins singing along to the end credits. Depending on
which version you had, this was reversed on some versions (the European
Localised versions) and was also messed up slightly on some English versions
with the same sample being played twice.. Doh. Though to be fair we had
worked through 2 days to get the final English Master done...
Its nice to see the game is still about though. Did they fix the F10 bug in
any of the patches (in the released version, if you press F10 three times,
the game crashes, we never did find out why) and does holding shift (or
ctrl, slept since then) while the world is initialising still test your
patience?
Sol
Memnoch
>
>"Memnoch" <mem...@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>news:1jkm6v0b3ucfmoilr...@4ax.com...
>> On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 02:17:04 GMT, "FLY135" <FLY...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Some of the tracks are exactly the same as the ones on that old PS1 game,
>> Loaded. And Wipeout if memory serves.
>
>And theres a reason for that :)
>
>The music was licensed from Warp Records and we had to pay them moeny based
>on how much of the CD was made up of thir licensed tracks. So to bring the
>cost down, the last ten tracks on each CD were made up of in house music we
>did for Loaded.
Nice music by the way!
timski
:: "Sol" wrote:
>Did they fix the F10 bug in
I think so. F10 is also one of the debug target cycling keys (with
hardluck enabled + F12).
>does holding shift (or
>ctrl, slept since then) while the world is initialising still test your
>patience?
Yes, for left hand ctrl; except on test versions, where the feature is
reversed.