Bike or Die v1.4 is coming!

Levelpacks on card. Levelpack selector can be used to move levelpacks between internal memory and card. When installing manually, place them in /Palm/Programs/BikeOrDie/Levelpacks

Recordings on card. Just switch to "Card" in "Recording Options" and all your recordings will be moved to external memory freeing a lot of space in your device. (The full exaplanation of this feature and its benefits would not fit here, i will describe it later)

Bugs/Compatibility issues resolved:

No more annoying pause when dying (experienced on NVFS devices like Lifedrive, Tungsten 5, Treo 650)

Better power management (does not run on full power when not needed, eg. in pause, map)

Pause automatically when the device is turned off

135 comments on 7 pages: <<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >>>>

Update:
This new beta version fixes all reported bugs, except for the problem with moving recordings to the card (which can now be diagnosed better thanks to the improved error messages).
Download the new beta here: BikeOrDie-1.4beta2.zip

Additional improvements:

updraft looks better (or at least it does not look like rain anymore, the new look is sufficiently abstract to pass as a wind, magnet force, dragon breath, etc

)

ghost bike is visible on dark background

more specific error messsages when moving recordings to the card

new easter egg: "ighost"

thanks to all who tested "1.4 beta 1"!

The last(?) update:
BikeOrDie-1.4beta3.zip

This one fixes the "invalid filename" bug (which only affects Kristopher's devices

) and allows you to select your preferred updraft style (new, old, or both!)

Kristopher

Do you get the error message everytime, or just once? I think I got that message once before, but I'm not sure.

I got through to the end of the new pack and beat these, as well as a few in the first half:
#09 - 0:31:84
#10 - 0:24:62
#12 - 1:03:24
#14 - 0:57:16
#15 - 2:02:44

At first it did seem hard, but remember, you are used to being a pro, and now, noone is.

It does make a puzzle of the levels, and I like it.

I actually took an odd route for #15. I went down first and survived going up-the-draft. (That is new terminology

) Then I went to the top to finish.

About the speed on the Zodiac: I was able to beat new levels #14 and #15 while playing full screen on the Zodiac with 160kbps music. Of course that has a low framerate, but it was low before, and is still playable.

BTW, can anyone think of better graphics for the updraft? They are functional, but not realistic graphics.

Kristopher

I think it has to do with the levelpack data (not the levelpacks themselves), or the Bike or Die! data file. Is your play count still there?

You Qi

My time on Dome is 20,92.

mike flips

after resetting the palm the message didnt come back, my play count is still here, so nothing happened to the game at all...

you qi im up on u by almost 2 secs

answers:
1."recent games" would be easier for me than "earlier this week", so maybe i will do it that way

2. your recordings created with this version will remain valid for the hall of fame unless:

something is changed in the level design

something is changed in the new features. eg. the updraft force could vary depending on the angle of the bike. this could be very useful for experienced players.

3.grayscale ghost bike: i doubt we could gain any perceivable performance improvement here. but actually, turning the real bike into ghost is a cool idea for the new "easter egg"

4.mike bug: according to the reported line number, it happends when starting the replay (which could be the ghost replay that starts automatically). the whole recording procedure was changed in this version (because of NVFS), looks like the new code is not perfect yet...

5.other bugs: it also happens here, should be trivial to fix. (thanks for reporting!)

6.downloading other players' hall of fame recordings: yes, this would be very neat, but i haven't implemented this deliberately, because it could help someone producing fake recordings. well, maybe my worry is not justified... actually it could be safe when the downloadable recordings were completely incompatible with the submission system so maybe i will return to this idea later.

7.yes, the updraft does not look good

one of my friends said it should look like hot air (ie. random distortions), but this is also not good, because usually there is only sky behind the updraft and noone would notice the distortions, especially when moving fast

btw. this is how it will look in flash: TestUpdraftMovie.swf (maybe i should do something similar on palm?)

8.of course i have beaten all these levels

Kristopher

-> 3) Grayscale ghost bike

Okay, I wasn't sure if this would make the game faster. What slows the game down the most in grayscale mode? Is it the math?

-> 7) Yes, the updraft does not look good.

It looks good in the flash movie. It would be a cool effect if the clouds could move vertically, but it might look odd because there is a straight, sharp line seperating the still clouds from the moving ones. Maybe you could use completely different graphics for the updraft, like rain or something. Or maybe just use different colors for the clouds in the updraft.

I want to make new levels.

I could make one where the biker is about to run into a car, and then floats above it, or where there is a pool of anti-gravity water and the biker can't get to the bottom.

-> 8) Of course i have beaten all these levels.

Yes, it just seems hard to us since we aren't used to losing so much.

mike flips

1. I figured recent games would be really simple. That would be nice.

6. We dont really need other players' games although it would be fun, but if it would compromise the security of the games now, then for sure dont do it.

7. Is the different colour updrafts different forces of updraft? Also, it may not look like realistic updraft, but it is perfect for what it is meant to do, show that it is moving upwards, and when the bike is on it its still really easy to see... its not horrible, maybe if u made it so that the updraft doesnt display over the out of play areas and only displays within the boundaries.

8. Alll the levels are beatable, even if they are hard, i guess i just like going full speed and some of these levels require patience...

Ibanez

I've just managed to complete all the NewDeal levels so please don't change anything, I don't want to lose my times! But seriously, I don't think anything needs changing, the new features are great as is and the levels have a great mix of new features and skill requirements.

The updraft looks fine to me, maybe if they were little arrow heads it would be clearer - but it's pretty obvious once you enter it.

What's the eta on this going 'live'?

Ibanez

btw - I have 18.82 for Dome...
What do you have for Wet Stone?

Kristopher

14:74 for Wet Stone.

Cirenco

when doing turns followed in the air with the updraft an incredible effect is obtained, the 2 wheels are united and turn at a great speed

Ibanez

And I thought my 15.16 for WetStone was going to be good...

Kristopher

I played it several times because I think it is the easiest new level.

PMD

I like the updraft graphics and really like all the new features. I say keep them as is. Seems to me like a very polished Beta.

Looking forward to the new pack and will be interested to see how my times compare.

Kristopher

-> I say keep them as is.

The graphics could be changed later, of course.

-> How my times compare.

Many of the long time players can keep good times in the new levels because they mastered the physics long ago. But now that won't help them as much, and only the people who still play a lot will get good times.

mike flips

ya, when is it coming out?

mike flips

hey i just got the message again, this time, i just turned my palm on, and went into bike or die, and the first thing it said ws that same message. at the top it said "chunk overlocked"

Kristopher

I tried moving the 700 recordings from my Zire 72s to the card. (Wow, I probably have like ten times that many recordings on the Zodiac!) It copied 62 of them, then said there was an error. It wasn't a low battery issue or anything. Maybe it should try once more before reporting an error?

oops, i forgot to answer the level editor question: it is not yet released because it still crashes too much

of course i'm going to fix this eventually, but it will probably happen after the official v1.4 release.
btw. the new editor now includes the incredibly cool feature proposed here:

bike or design

the server update is almost ready, so it seems i will be able to add the new pack to the levelpack explorer even before v1.4 is ready. but i think i should not put it in the hall of fame until v1.4 is really good tested, otherwise some people couldn't play it.

updated schedule:

"New Deal" in the levelpack explorer (maybe today)

v1.4 beta 2 with trivial bugs fixed and improved error handling (this week).

official v1.4 and "New Deal" in the Hall of Fame (next week?)

by improved error handling i mean we will be able to see what exact error prevented kristopher from moving the recordings to the card

oh, and the funny thing posted by cirenco: the easiest way to see this effect is to play level 4 and keep pressing left (or right) while in weightless zone. after ~15 seconds you will turn into a black hole

You Qi

if you still keep on turning in the 'black hole' mode, eventually you will got ur normal bike back!