Episodes v.35

[InterAction_studios]

All 5 Episodes have been released on Steam, IA website, and Android not yet, but within the next few days.

The main change in this update is the introduction of multiplayer. Multiplayer makes use of Steam networking, so it is only available on Steam. You can even invite friends from within the game itself.

Note that multiplayer on the original games is separate from multiplayer on Episodes – to play together, ensure that both you and your friends are all running the same ‘flavour’.

There is also much improved support for Steam Remote Play Together – namely, you can now hot-plug controllers while you’re playing and the game will use them on the fly (this capability is required for Remote Play Together to function correctly). You no longer need the workaround of changing the game’s language after your friend connects (only holds for Episodes – you still need the workaround for the old non-episodic versions of the games).

Also, Steam achievements now work.

This update also incorporates a lot of back-ported features from Chicken Invaders Collection for XBOX.

You will lose:

• any mid-mission progress
• anything you’ve set in the Options menu

Changes in this update:

v.35.1 (v.25.1.6+)

• “More chickens” screen: CI1 is no longer shown as “coming soon” (@OrvilleTheOrca Bug)

• Keyboard/gamepad navigation: Mouse pointer is now forced to be visible when hovering over galaxy map planets/spacecraft and tutorial icon (bottom-right)

• Fixed pointer jumping to top-left when the game starts with a joystick connected (caused by improper zero-initialization of joystickState)

• os_mousePosition now starts at center of window (was previously at 0,0)

• Window size is now a multiple of 4 pixels when HQ2X mode is on (prevents font blurring)

• Cleaned up predicate which controls display of in-game pause menu.

• Translations: Changed “gamepad” to “controller”

• Translations: PROGAMERHINT and ANONYMIZEHINT: Detached “(requires logout/login”) into their own separate phrase (REQUIRESLOGOUTLOGIN and REQUIRESMISSIONRESTART)

• “Destruction meter” for 2nd player in double games now shows correctly on the right side of the screen (was previously the left side)

• “Play” screen: Moved “tutorial” button to bottom.

• Can now ‘detect’ Win11 as an operating system.

• Removed BASS_Update(100) (now relying on BASS’s thread to do updating). Should improve audio latency.

• Removed bTickWhilePaused

• UVE is no longer automatically raised to MODE_OK during start-up. It starts in MODE_FROZEN and raises to MODE_OK during the first frame.

• Charity no longer spawns for non-playing zombie players.

• Fixed some hero quips ignoring the “show hero quips” option.

• Added dedicated “Default” option for Starting Weapon unlockable

• Keyboard navigation now prioritizes horizontal movement (avoids cases where cursor jumps vertically when moving left/right)

• Moved CreateRenderTargetView() outside frame loop to device initialization time.

• Introduced bugs Cleaned up full screen handling (back-ported from DirectX 12).

• COPYRIGHTDATE and LEGALBLURB is now translatable (@Pinanas Idea)

• Fixed Hid graphical glitches and incomplete initialization when joining a paused multiplayer game.

• Added bUseWARPdevice (software rasterizer)

• “High-contrast text” now affects UI confirmations (green), disabled/warning (red), and help/tutorial (purple).

• Android: Uses Google Play Billing Library v9.1.0

• Android: Requires Android 6.0 (requirement stemming from Google Play Billing Library v.9)

• Improved contrast of purple help UI.

v.35.2

• Fixed unlockables all costing keys, (i.e., ignoring unlockables that are automatically given for free when game is purchased) (copy-paste error from Collection) (@Pinanas Bug)

v.35.3

• Increased multiplayer limit to 99 (@Pinanas Idea)

• Fixed friends-only multiplayer games not appearing in browser (@MafiaPlay2 @_apocalypse_queen Bug)

• Fixed invites not working correctly (@MafiaPlay2 @_apocalypse_queen Bug)

• Multiplayer callsigns are now set automatically from Steam persona name.

• Removed “V-sync” checkbox if bAllowFullScreen is false (@Lightception Bug)

v.35.4

• Joining multiplayer: Joystick controls now work correctly for leaving game (“Keep pressing to leave game”)

• Main menu keyboard navigation: “Play” button is now selected by default (was previously quit button)

• Steam achievements now work.

v.35.4.1 (Episode server only)

• Added support for test accounts.

[CatNap_Original]

Now that’s awesome
But what about CI Collection to Xbox
Does the playtest still on-line from CIU steam or off-line?

[motanu8008]

[Steam, macOS] Original CI5 servers hosted on a Mac are rejected by the Steam master server (“bad_version”), so Windows players can’t see them

For the past few months, when we host a multiplayer game in the original CI5 (not the Episode) on a Mac, Windows players on the same home network can’t see it in the game list. Other Macs can see it. When the Windows PC hosts, everyone can see it and join.

While a Mac was hosting, I queried Steam’s ISteamApps/GetServersAtAddress for our public IP and got:

"appid":353090, "gamedir":"CI5", "reject":"bad_version", "secure":true, "lan":false, "gameport":27016   (query port 27017)

So the Steam master server rejects the Mac-hosted server because of its version, and it never shows up in the Windows server list.

Setup

• Mac: exe.version.txt = 505ze, public branch, Steam build ID 25546468
• Windows 11: same build ID, public branch (no beta), launched with the original “Launch” option (not Episode 5)
• All machines on the same network, Steam friends, game set to “everyone”

It looks like the Mac executable reports an outdated version to the master server. Could you please update the Mac build, or the required/minimum version in Steamworks?

Thanks!

[InterAction_studios]

@motanu8008

Windows players on the same home network can’t see it in the game list

Ah, right. Back in April the Windows versions were updated in preparation for the Episode multiplayer, and a change was made to separate them into two groups: original games or Episodes (so that the multiplayer games didn’t get mixed up). I neglected to also update the Mac version.

I’ve uploaded a fix. Can you please get on the episode_beta branch (unnecessary, I’ve published it live now) and let me know if it works for you?

@motanu8008

I queried Steam’s ISteamApps/GetServersAtAddress for our public IP and got:

"appid":353090, "gamedir":"CI5", "reject":"bad_version", "secure":true, "lan":false, "gameport":27016   (query port 27017)

I am uncertain exactly where bad_version is coming from. Can you re-run this after you update and let me know if anything changes in the output? I’ve just checked and Windows<->Mac games now work, but it still says bad_version. I think it’s because the game is built using an old Steamworks SDK. It can safely be ignored.

[RainbowBoyVN]

wdym i playing on v15.1??

[CatNap_Original]

Try again or restart your device
Or try that reinstall CIep.5

[InterAction_studios]

@RainbowBoyVN

wdym i playing on v15.1??

Ugh, Steam messing up the depots again.

Fixed for CI5 (and I also see CI3 was broken as well), please try again.

[CatNap_Original]

When will be update for Android?
Version v.35

[MiraculousWitchBug]

He was said “Not yet”

Also Kai Smith asked the question, before

[Claudal]

Did CIep3 also receive an update? I downloaded it (I didn’t have it installed before) from Steam and it doesn’t have multiplayer mode (it shows version 22_1_0 in exe.version). CIep5, on the other hand, does have it.

[InterAction_studios]

@Claudal

Did CIep3 also receive an update

Uhh… I see now that the CI3 update has indeed not been published.

I tried to publish it again, please restart Steam and let me know if you receive it.

[InterAction_studios]

CI1 v.35 update has been published on Android.

Please install it and let me know if everything works as expected, so I can release CI2-CI5.

play.google.com

Chicken Invaders 1

Save Earth from an invasion of intergalactic chickens...

Free

[MiraculousWitchBug]

Great!

I will see

[MiraculousWitchBug]

Actually, when I turned on High-Contrast Text

Still on the white and same in CIU V160

[MiraculousWitchBug]

Wait, Spawn shield and corona look like a hardpoints

I haven’t seen that in episodes yet, before I didn’t test CI collection BETA

So yeah, everything works and weapon is now “Default”

[CatNap_Original]

Why there no Multiplayer mode?

[MiraculousWitchBug]

I told him about that

And IA says “No!”

Steam Episodes v.35 BETA

No. Multiplayer requires Steam networking. Not even IA builds will have it.

[PlasmaX]

some issues

options should be universal for every account/user that you have

(subjective) default sensitivity should be higher by 2 bars

i think ci1 is the only episode with high-contrast text being enabled by default, which is just inconsistent (it does look better by default so you decide)

new accounts aren’t saved when reinstalling the game, only your main account

consider checking my old suggestions in the collection topic

[InterAction_studios]

@PlasmaX

options should be universal for every account/user that you have

They are. Unless you mean the “New Mission” options, in which case no.

@PlasmaX

i think ci1 is the only episode with high-contrast text being enabled by default

High-contrast text is enabled by default on all smartphones.

@PlasmaX

new accounts aren’t saved when reinstalling the game, only your main account

If you reinstall the game, then all accounts are lost. The main account is recreated automatically, but it starts from zero.

[Claudal]

Now it is v35