NEWS
=====

AGRIP AudioQuake Copyright 2004-2007 Matthew Tylee Atkinson, Sabahattin
Gucukoglu.
Released under the GNU General Public License v2 (see ``COPYING'').

This file acts as a summary of the new features and other improvements
in the current release of AudioQuake.


AudioQuake 0.3.0 (unreleased)
==============================

This is the first release of AudioQuake; a game based on AccessibleQuake
that aims to take accessibility and community involvement to it's logical
extreme.  This release represents a move in game engine and many months
of hard work.  So much has changed that only a summary is given here.

* Move to the ZQuake QuakeWorld engine -- the first Open Source mainstream
accessible game engine (many thanks to Tonik and the other developers
for allowing our patches in).
* Port of the AccessibleQuake game code to ZQuake's QuakeC system (which
supports multiple online and offline gametypes).
* Internet Multiplayer support -- Yes; you can play Quake online a
variety of game modes!
* Internet Game Server -- Set up your own games with total control over
maps and game rules.
* Online statistics -- track your progress with respect to other
AudioQuake players.
* http://stats.agrip.org.uk/ is a portal for all online features of
the game.
* Manual re-written to take into account new features and be even more
helpful :-).
* Ease of setup increased due to more support programs being included and
the ability to install from a Registered Quake CD on Windows and Linux,
as well as being able to use the data from the downloadable version of
Quake for Windows.
* Many bug fixes and feature enhancements to both the engine and game
code in this move -- such as new footstep sounds (from Davy Loots) and
movement speed indication, ESR enhancements and general gameplay review.

Future releases in the 0.3.x series will be bug fixes and gameplay
optimisations (according to feedback).  We may also add new multiplayer
game types (such as Capture The Flag).  Major new features (such as
ImplicitAccessibility and LevML support) shall be added in future
release series.


AccessibleQuake 0.2.1 (29/07/2004)
===================================

Changed the name of this ``product'' to AccessibleQuake (from ``AGRIP'')
to differentiate it from the name of the organisation and of the other
project we now host (``AudioQuake'').

* Made the console editing messages (such as ``No character to
delete.'' high priority.

* Made the ESR prefer monsters on your own level above all overs.
Increased tolerance to make this more noticeable.

* Made ESR level determination Z tolerance configurable (it was a very
long time ago, as I remember).

* Major line editing improvements -- punctuation characters (such as
the bang, tick dot and dash) are now announced properly when typed
or reviewed.

* Added a key that repeats the last spoken message.

* Fixed bug in manual regarding not explaining running jumps.

* Continued making event messages that are the result of key-presses
high-priority.

* Made trigger areas in maps smaller.

* When bots are spawned, you'll be told if they're on your side or not.

* Footsteps won't happen whilst your in the middle of a jump any more :-).

* Fixed the problem of spawn points with weird angles messing up the
player's orientation on some maps (by forcing spawn points to N/S/E/W
angles).

* Open space detection works underwater.


AGRIP 0.2.0 (06/07/2004)
=========================

In development this was 0.1.1 but the decision to release as 0.2.0 was
made because there have been a number of big improvements.

* Put the startup text filter inside QF.  This will make the Windows
helper much easier to write as it no longer needs to be cross-platform.

* Made map information messages (such as ``You can jump in here...'' and
``You need the Gold key.'' get echoed to the console.

* The console now announces when it is entered and left.

* Started making some tutorial maps.

* Updated the manual in line with all of these improvements.  Also added
more notices about the benefits of using Braille displays and hardware
synthesisers.

* Created the Windows installer with the Inno Setup QuickStart Pack and
Visual Studio Installer 1.1 (used to create ``.msi''s out of the SAPI
5.1 redist' ``.msm''s).

* After too many problems -- the killer being that Windows just doesn't
do pipes -- we have fallen back to using Perl for the start-agrip /
TTS interface launcher.  This does have the advantage that we can do a
nice cross-platform front-end.

* Altered make-release.sh so that it makes separate ``nix'' and ``win32''
releases.  The win32 releases can then be copied to a suitable development
box where the Inno Setup script can be compiled to create executable
setup packages.

* Improved my QF patch code to go through Con_Printf (so that fflush()
is done implicitly).

* Removed a load of sounds from the QuakeC side so as to make way
for SAPI.

* Finally been able to add spoken health, armour and ammo indicators :-).

* Fixed a few little niggling ESR and D5k bugs.

* Corner detection works underwater.  Open space detection currently
doesn't because we don't have a suitable sound for it, but it would be
trivial to make it work when we do (COASD was always designed with this
in mind).

* Water support in footsteps code.

* Fixed some bugs that caused double sets of items to be activated when
respawning in a coop or teamplay game.  This also fixed the bug where
your devices would still be active after you are killed in the game.

* Added waypoint markers (very handy).

* Altered QF so that it doesn't print bangs onto the screen when
outputting a high priority message.  Added the beginnings of a priority
locking system.

* Added a number of sounds from Sebby (up, down, deny, marker).
Unfortunately we still have not been able to find any footstep sounds
after a great deal of searching.


AGRIP 0.1.0 (11/06/2004)
=========================

Whilst in development, this was 0.0.5, but was re-released as 0.1.0
(beta) due to the new sounds going in.

* Added the echoing of information needed to make the console accessible.
Sebby is writing a filter/SAM interface that will allow this information
to be piped to speech and Braille in Windows.

* Now using the latest QF config.cfg file format.  This has solved a
bug whereby some values got reset back to their Quake/QF defaults on the
second run of AGRIP.  This was causing problems because the accessible
set-up had been reverted to one that could confuse some AGRIP objects.

* Fixed a bug where the bots would render you SOLID_NOT on coming to
your aid (caused by me not escaping from the goal item grabbing routine
if the goal item is a player).

* Drastically improved the accuracy of up/down slope detection.

* Improved the Linux set-up script and manual in a number of ways
(age restriction info, how to set up the shareware episode as a
try-before-you-buy, updates to the Linux install process regarding the
QF patches).

* Sebby's sounds are now in!  These include ESR, D5k and toggle sounds.


AGRIP 0.0.4 (22/05/2004)
=========================

* Added jump detection -- you can press J for a description of ho you
will be able to make a jump.  If the hazard doesn't represent a jump,
or you can't make it, you'll hear the ``access denied'' sound.  If you
can make it with a running jump, you'll hear a shotgun-like sound.
If you need to do a running jump, you'll hear a big rocket type sound.

* Fixed a bug where raised flooring areas such as bridges are detected
as drops.

* Made it make oomph sounds when you continue to try to walk into walls.

* Re-wrote the function that normalises yaws and the compass to reflect
this.  Doing this has fixed a number of bugs with FOV detection.

* Fixed an ESR FOV bug (was a wider problem with using 360
degrees to represent North over 0 degrees (now used and much more
sensible/consistent).

* Made the ESR beep faster when in Hazard Mode to help with making jumps.
Practice on the jump near the first door in e1m1.  The jumps either
side of the bridge (just after the downward lift, after the first door)
are very hard.

* Added corner detection.  It detects corners that could lead to
corridors, alcoves, etc.  Turnings are detected in front of the player,
to their left and right.  When a turning is detected, you'll be alerted
by a sound right in front of you.  This sound is quickly followed by
the same tone played from the position of the corner.  That way you can
easily determine if the corner points left or right.  If both left and
right corners are detected, the announcement of them will be separated
by a small gap.

* Added open space detection.  Gives you a bit more of a feel for how
big the area around you actually is.  It will play a gentle wind sound
at various points in front of you if there are no walls/other obstacles
in that direction over the entire navigation detection range (set by
the user).

* Made debugging easier with a common function to highlight points on
the map.

* Added notions of ``sound entities'' to the code.

* Added bots!  These are computer simulations of human players and are
designed to fulfil the multiplayer purposes of the game.  They can play
with or against you in co-op and deathmatch modes!  We have made them
a bit more intelligent than your average bots by re-using some AGRIP
navigation code to tell them when it is safe to jump gaps for example.

* You can tell the bots to come to your aid with a toggle key.  They will
tell you when they are near you and will resume looking for things to
fight with automatically.

* The ESR can now find monsters, enemy players/bots and friendly
players/bots.  Sound sets for these three types of detected object will
be added soon.  Until then they share the same sound set (i.e. same
lower/same level/higher/beyond FOV sounds).  You can toggle detection
of each of the three on/off.

* Changed the default key setup so that it is much more logical.

* Included Sebby's on/off toggle sounds for various items.


AGRIP 0.0.3 (13/05/2004)
=========================

First release after 0.0.x has been extended.

* The ``wall_hit_warnings'' are now ``wall_touch_warnings''.  By default
they're off but if on, they keep the walls making sound if you're still
near them.

* Added a number of extra configuration options to help make the nav
system quieter and more customisable (toggles for all wall/wall-touch
sounds on/off and user-adjustable volume throttles for them).

* Made it so that all wall-hit warnings except the one in front are
played at half volume.

* Made autoexec.cfg much more helpful and easy to read.

* Drop/Ledge detection.  There are three types of drops: small (you can
jump over), big (you can't jump over) and huge (that will hurt you if
you fell down them and landed on the ground).  Drops are detected at
all sides or just in front (depending on how you set it up).  Press the
`d' key to get a description of what is in the pit in front of you
(if you are close enough to it).  You'll be told that it's either:
a drop onto the ground or into water, slime or lava.  If there is no
drop in front of you, or you're not close enough to the one in front
of you, you'll hear an ``access denied'' sound.  The defaults are `a'
toggles hazard warnings and `i' toggles left/right hazard warnings.
By default only hazards in front of the player are sounded out.

* The Detector 5000 now alters the volume of the items it has detected
according to how close the player is to them.

* An ``oomph'' sound is generated when you first hit a wall.  By default,
no sound is generated as you continue to stand next to a wall (but this
can be enabled in autoexec.cfg).

* Footsteps stop when you're stuck on something.  If you are scraping
along a (diagonal, most likely) wall, you'll hear the wall-scrape sound
(that was wall-hit.wav in previous releases).  You'll also hear footsteps
(as you _are_ moving) but they'll play at half the speed.

* The ESR can be toggled from its normal mode of operation (enemy
detection) to a new mode called ``hazard detection''.  This mode behaves
like the original one but instead of sounding out enemies it sounds out
ledges/drops in front of you.  You can use this feature to make sure
that you perform jumps and running jumps properly.  The ESR automatically
reverts back to normal operation on level change and when you pass over
the edge of the drop you're trying to jump over.

* The ESR and D5k make different sounds to indicate when an object is
outside of your ``field of view''.  You can set your FOV.  You can also
disable this sound so that no sound whatsoever is made when an object
is outside your FOV.


AGRIP 0.0.2 (15/04/2004)
=========================

Same as 0.0.1 but with the following fixes:

* README and INSTALL files updated and some minor bug fixes.

* Increased the range of the ESR to make it easier to work out where
enemies are.  More changes are coming in this department in 0.1.x to
make it as fair yet accessible as possible.  This particular change
reverts the ESR back to the way it's been for most of AGRIP's life.

* Made the wall-hit sound that is played if your back is touching a wall
half of the volume of the other wall-hit sounds (so you know that the
wall is behind, not in front, of you).


AGRIP 0.0.1 (14/04/2004)
=========================

The first alpha release.  This is also the first release to support
Windows.

* A special sound is made if the player is in contact with a wall.
We'll be improving this to better show if the player is stuck or scraping
against it in the future.

* The ``sounding'' of walls to the left and right of the player can
now be toggled on/off.  We're also making the wall sounding quieter
(i.e. fall off faster with distance from the wall).  They've started
to get quieter and will continue to do so for a while, until we think
we've got a good balance.

* Footsteps are included and can be toggled on/off (though we need decent
sounds for them at the moment).

* ``Accessible turning'' has been implemented in the QuakeForge engine.
I have made it so that pressing the arrow keys snaps the player a certain
number of degrees in the direction of the arrow key they pressed.
The number of degrees is configurable (as with most other things)
in autoexec.cfg.

* The documentation has been improved (we're now informing users about
things like autoexec.cfg) :-).

* A compass has been added and works quite well (a few minor tweaks are
on their way).


AGRIP 0.0.0 (14/03/2004)
=========================

Initial pre-alpha release.


== End of NEWS ==
