LGames / News: Recent posts

I've further improved the "casual level" check for Random20. [end]

Some minor changes: The Classic theme uses the proper warp icon geometry for full compatibility with retro themes. Instead of just a list index the theme name is saved in the config file to prevent unwanted switches on installing new themes. And the pseudo-set Random20 has been improved to discard "hard" levels (too many difficult bricks, too close to paddle, ...) to make it more casual and fun. [end]

I always forgot to include the figures file for game mode Figures. So with this port it's finally there and Figures can be played in Windows, too. [end]

Quite a major update. I've added the original LBreakout2 theme 'Classic' and a proper 4:3 layout for these retro themes. So the other LBreakout2 themes work properly now as they use this theme as fallback and not the standard HD theme. Except for the TrueType fonts. But these have the benefit that translations are displayed correctly, so I think that is fine. And it is really fun to walk down memory lane with these old retro themes I have to admit! It's been more than 25 years since the first release... Apart from that I've changed to a high resolution counter and a fixed frame delay which significantly improves the jittering. By which I mean it runs very smooth on 60 FPS now. I've also added a pseudo levelset RANDOM20 that randomly selects 20 levels from all sets to get some more variety. And last but not least I've added more fade effects. [end]

Just some minor eye candy added: Fade in/out effect when starting a new game and menu tooltips fade in. [end]

The last release was no good: I've disabled the custom cursor for now, since it broke stuff like the editor. Also a compile issue with newer C versions should be fixed now. [end]

I've added a menu option to disable/enable gamepad support and a custom cursor. Also levelsets Picky by Michael Uplawski and JustGoForIt were updated. [end]

I've added an auto flip option that turns over a card when the mouse pointer remains still on it. Yes, I'm this lazy. And it really is more relaxing, so ... [end]

I've added three different window modes: 66%, 50% and 25% of screen height to allow more choice with all the different resolutions and monitor sizes. The previous window mode was 66% and could be quite large on bigger 4k monitors. [end]

This is a major bugfix: The key handling problem I noticed in Windows 11 was also present in Linux, just less prominent. Basically, the system's key repeat came on top of the autoshift resulting in irregular shifts... also sometimes key input got delayed since a cycle only checked for one input instead of all independent ones which is fixed, too. So all in all: The key handling is much more responsive now. I still can't beat the regular algorithm, tho. So I fine grained the handicap setting to 10% steps. Other minor stuff: Changed autoshift settings are directly applied to a running game, the CPU player name reflects its settings and there is a custom cursor. [end]

Michael Uplawski submitted a new levelset for LBreakout called 'Picky'. Thanks! [end]

I've updated the windows ports of LBreakout (1.1.9) und LTris (2.0.1) but noticed that the key input in LTris is not responding properly: It goes crazy fast and ignores the settings... a gamepad works fine, though. I'll have to look into this because in Linux it works properly. [end]

Thanks to Atri, this release fixes a critical seg fault as well as some minor warnings/problems. Also, any frame rate changes in the menu are now properly applied without restarting the game (use F6 to show current frame rate). For sent garbage a special block is used, which makes it much easier to distinguish. And the score counts a little faster.

The repository on GitHub is now public: https://github.com/kulkanie/ltris2 (releases will continue to be on SF) [end]

As with LBreakout I decided to give LTris a new full HD view and here we go. The core game is exactly the same. However, it now requires SDL2. And I did simplify the menu a bit and removed some options which I considered obsolete or unnecessary (as in: nobody uses it) like preview on/off or human 3-player mode. If there are complaints I might consider re-introducing them. :) It should work on any resolution (pieces are 4k ready) and is tested to the best of my abilities but feel free to report any bugs or submit patches if something is wrong or missing. BTW the repository is currently private on GitHub, in case you're looking for it. But it will become public in the future. So enjoy the game! [end]

An update for the levelset JustGoForIt (new levels) was submitted by anonymous. Thanks! [end]

Just a very minor update that installs the icon according to specification (again). [end]

A game can now be restarted by pressing right mouse button and there is a button in the top left-hand corner of the window to access the menu, so it can be entirely controlled by mouse (shortcut keys still work, of course). [end]

Just a very minor update that fixes the icon location (again) and an issue with cross-compilation. [end]

I've fixed another bug in getting ball targets for reflection and implemented a new much more simplified clipping based algorithm for it which can be used by switching Settings -> Advanced -> BCC Type to Clipping. Also, levelsets created in Windows (and featuring return carriage symbols) are properly read now and the icon is installed to $datadir/icons directly which seems to be the right thing to do. [end]

A number if minor fixes and enhancements:

• Show stats for all players when game is finished and only quit if Escape, Space or Return is pressed (to prevent inadvertently skipping it).
• Properly level up and built figures in game mode Figures.
• Updated German translation.
• Updated icon location (to $datadir/icons as Ubuntu does not search sub directories, although the standard says it should...).
• Updated LTris appstream metadata (needed for Flathub packages, thanks to Matthias Mailänder). [end]

Some enhancements and bug fixes:

• Re-enabled debug info and potentially fixed some rare bug in ball target computation. Also, as a workaround, if the ball has an illegal target it returns to the paddle instead of getting lost.
• Fixed mini game Invaders: It unintentionally resembled Outbreak. Now, you need to survive each wave by clearing a certain number of invaders. The game ends when an Invader reaches the paddle.
• Levelsets generated in Windows and featuring the infamous return carriage \r can be read directly without conversion.
• gettext c-format issue fixed. (Thanks, Jorge!)
• New levelset 'JustGoForIt' by unknown. [end]

I significantly enhanced the CPU algorithm: It lasts a lot longer, will try to actively complete three or four lines if playing aggressive and uses hold for modern style. I'm not the worst player but I cannot beat it anymore on regular speed. But it's a lot of fun to play anyway! And of course, you can adjust it the other way around as well and slow it down (speed factor allows 75% or 50%) or increase its soft drop delay. [end]

This release fixes a bug in multiplayer where receiving and simultaneously clearing lines caused "bad empty lines". Also, another bug, that caused pieces at very high speed to tunnel through other pieces, has been fixed. And finally, an option has been added to adjust CPU speed for multiplayer which makes it quite more challenging and fun to play against the CPU. Of course, the algorithm itself could need some tweaking, but it's a start. [end]

This provides a number of minor fixes and enhancements: russian translation by Olesya, workaround for potential fullscreen flickering on game start by Alex, typo fixes by Jorge, thanks! Also, only p unpauses a game to allow switching windows and you can use 1920x1080 window mode on 1080p (window gets cut off a little, of course). [end]

Thanks to Jorge, there is now a Spanish translation and some typos were fixed. Also, I've added gettext support for confirmation keys, so it's no longer hardcoded to y for yes and n for no but can be localized in the respective po files. [end]