News

Rocks'n'Diamonds 4.4.2.0 released!

A new minor release version is available that contains quite a number of changes, new features and bug fixes.

Even though the list of changes seems long, there are no single major changes, and most people will probably not even notice any change at all. (And I really hope I haven’t added too many new bugs with this release.) But some of the changes are required for updates of level sets that are yet to come, including an update of the Emerald Mine Club collection, which contains a number of “Emerald Dash” level sets that are not fully supported with previous versions of the native Emerald Mine game engine.

Another change (not even listed here) is an update of all SDL libraries to the latest versions (but not to the new SDL 3 major version yet) for all platforms, so general graphics and sound support may have improved by this update. (For those who are interested, the source code now also contains the script to build and package the game for all platforms.)

For those interested in playing in team mode, both the game and the high score server now distinguish between single player and team mode scores, which was important as some very high scores could only be reached in team mode, and should therefore not be listed with lower scores that can be reached in single player mode.

  • additions to improve Boulder Dash support
    • fixed importing certain native BD levels – thanks to HerzAusGold!
    • fixed hatching delay when playing native old Krissz BD engine caves
  • additions to improve Emerald Mine support
    • added improved random number generator for native EM game engine
    • added raising previously missing scores for some EM engine game elements
    • added checkbox to use EM/DC style duration in “moves” instead of seconds
    • added pause element for EMC magic ball switch to improve switching
    • added support for native EM sounds when using native EM game engine
    • fixed amoeba growth speed for native EM game engine
    • fixed alien (robot) movement behavior for native EM game engine
    • fixed bug with dead, but growing amoeba for native EM game engine
  • additions to improve Emerald Dash support
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for magic walls
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for bugs and tanks
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for amoeba when growing
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for amoeba when changing
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for exploding bugs
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for magic walls
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for voodoo player
    • added support for Emerald Dash style behavior for player explosion
    • added level editor checkbox for Emerald Dash EM engine compatibility
  • additions to improve Diamond Caves support
    • changed growing EM/DC style amoeba for Diamond Caves style behavior
    • added newly grown EM/DC style amoeba killing player if on top of him
    • added checkbox to handle EM/DC style amoeba differently for DC levels
    • added support for decoding old DC level files
    • added support for old (packed) DC level files
    • added support for old (single) DC level files
    • added checkbox to use DC style behavior when digging traps and landmines
    • added support for reading certain non-standard DC level files
    • added checkbox to use classic BD/EM/DC style behavior for magic walls
    • added setting classic BD style behavior for magic walls in EM/DC levels
    • improved classic BD/EM/DC style behavior for magic walls
    • changed counting DC style shield time in “moves” instead of seconds
    • changed shield time from seconds to “moves” for old DC level files
    • added checkbox to use classic BD/DC style behavior for slipping down
    • added checkbox to keep content of DC style walls in enemy explosions
    • added checkbox to let player survive level timeout when using shield
    • added dropping EM/DC style dynamite using snap key
    • added checkbox to reset shield time instead of adding when collecting
    • added checkbox to flash the playfield when the exit is opening
  • additions to improve Supaplex support
    • fixed zigzag diagonal movement with gravity for SP game engine
  • other game engine changes
    • fixed old bug when two adjacent yamyams are exploding at the same time
    • fixed tape desync after quick save/load caused by intermediate key state
  • graphical changes and fixes
    • added improved player graphics – thanks to TheOnyxGuy!
    • added improved graphics for some BD elements – thanks to TheOnyxGuy!
    • fixed not displaying single-step mode after loading tape snapshot
    • fixed drawing player entering and/or leaving explosion
    • fixed drawing animation of explosion for player leaving explosion
    • fixed drawing explosion on field player is just leaving
    • fixed drawing field exploding one frame after player is entering
    • fixed potential drawing bug in level editor when using MM game engine
    • fixed bugs when centering the playfield when using the MM game engine
  • level and artwork customization changes
    • added level config option to use Emerald Dash engine for EM level sets
    • added sound config option to use native EM sound engine
    • added configurability of menu scrollbar and scrollbar button sizes
    • added configurability of menu scrollbar border size
    • added separate graphics config options for editor playfield scrollbars
    • added graphics config options for background graphics for scrollbars
    • added support for gadget on main screen to toggle team mode
    • added support for gadget on main screen to toggle sound set
    • added support for indicators for played and solved games to main menu
    • added support for key navigation with custom main menu positions
    • added graphics config options for shifted text and elements on gadgets
    • added level config option to always skip intro screens
    • added support for player graphics to be used when player uses shield
    • added support for twinkling animations for gem style game elements
    • added support for sound played one second before shield is deactivated
    • added support for custom window/viewport sizes for info/setup screens
  • other changes
    • added build script to create R’n’D packages for all platforms
    • added support for level intros (limited to R’n’D engine levels)
    • added support for level intro template “docs/intros/template.txt”
    • added support for level story template “docs/stories/template.txt”
    • added disabling team mode for levels containing only one player
    • added team mode flag for API action to get scores
    • added forcing program restart after each addition of new level sets
    • added hiding toolbox gadgets not usable with current level editor mode
    • fixed navigating to previous page on credits info screen
    • fixed bug when selecting and immediately un-selecting brush in editor
    • fixed bug with request door opening and closing without user input

The new version is available from the download page!

Rocks'n'Diamonds 4.4.1.3 released!

A new patch release is required to fix a terrible bug in the Windows version that prevents the program from saving important game data, which affects all new installations of the game on Windows.

The fixed package is available from the download page!

Sorry for the inconvenience caused by this bug!

Rocks'n'Diamonds 4.4.1.2 released!

This patch release fixes some more nasty bugs:

  • fixed snapping when using zigzag diagonal movement with BD game engine
  • added expanding tabs to spaces when drawing text buffers to the screen
  • added ignoring carriage return characters when pasting from clipboard
  • fixed configurable menu texts when using “override level graphics”

The new version is available from the download page!

I wish you all a happy new year! :-)

Emerald Mine Club level collection 3.2.0 released!

This update of the Emerald Mine Club level collection adds a totally new level set “Emerald Caves” that was newly created in 2023! In addition, it contains some fixes to improve graphics and sounds compatibility.

All changes in detail:

  • added a new level set “Emerald Caves” which was newly created in 2023
  • fixed graphics for gray door elements in level editor for all level sets
  • fixed (disabled) loop mode for sound definitions for some game elements

The update is available at the Levels & Artwork page!

Rocks'n'Diamonds 4.4.1.1 released!

This patch release fixes some nasty bugs in the last release:

  • fixed BDX game element file codes broken in version 4.4.1.0
  • fixed support for zigzag diagonal movement for BD game engine
  • fixed support for zigzag diagonal movement for SP game engine
  • fixed showing active brush after updating playfield in editor

The new version is available from the download page!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! :-)