It’s here! It’s finally here! (Evolution RTS now available on Desura)

The New, New Iammas

Ok, so some of you in the know are fully aware of how much pain and heartache has gone into getting Evo ready for Desura, not only on the logistics front, but also with the gameplay, features and etc…

I am immensely proud to say that Evolution RTS has finally reached the release point intended for Desura. In this release we have a ton of new stuff, but I’m not even going to spoil the surprise, save for one thing. Dynamic Cover System.

You’re prolly sitting there thinking, “ok, big deal…” well, it is a huge deal, and it has a massive effect on gameplay. I can count on 2 fingers the number of RTS games that have done cover systems well. I aimed for it from a different direction and it has succeeded so incredibly well that I can barely contain my excitement!

First of all, let me point out that Knorke did all the hard work, I only made a few edits to his code, and he should be immortalized for writing the cover gadget.

Here is how it works: If a feature on the map (say like a small tree or something) is 2×2 footprint or less, it gains non-blocking status and provides cover for units. Cover causes the unit to cloak (for free), and also causes the unit to gain stealth from radar, meaning that it is totally undetectable. That is until it fires. When units under cover fire, they will lose cloak (but not stealth). This means that you can use trees rock jumbles, etc to set up true ambushes for your opponents. I myself have been playing around with it for a few weeks (had some icky bugs  to squash) and I gotta say, it is fun as all hell.

So that was the big news about v1.5, but lets get back to the Desura release…
Some of you are well aware that you could get and play evo before desura came along. No doubt those of you that tried it probably gave up in frustration (and I don’t blame you… it never was meant for public consumption to be installed that way. Only for those dedicated enough to make it happen :-)). Well with Desura I am proud to announce a butter smooth installation. All you need to do is run the graphics settings program and register a nickname with the server, and you’re in!

Please remember that if you need help, just ask in the chat and someone will definitely help you. Make sure to mention that you installed the game via Desura (Evolution RTS is released on ubuntu launchpad for linux as well). My name on the lobby is a little hard to miss… I am [Evo]Forboding_Angel (real inconspicuous amirite?). Feel free to private message me if need be. I will try to help you out as much as possible. Please do not ask a question and log off a few minutes later. Sometimes your question isn’t immediately seen and so takes a little time to get a response.

And finally, a warning to ATI video card owners… Like Brink, Evolution RTS uses OpenGL. ATI drivers are awful, and unfortunately through no fault of our own, the end user suffers because of this company’s inability to produce decent driver support for OpenGL, so your mileage may vary, but if you ask in the lobby chat we will do our best to help you out. If you are an Nvidia owner, don’t worry, you will have no trouble.

Thanks everyone! Please be sure to comment here, on our forums, on the site ( http://www.evolutionrts.info ) and post any bugs on our bug tracker!

Giant thanks to the Desura guys for putting up with me, you guys pwn!