Bowling Evolution Forum

Bowling Evolution 1.05 alpha 1 is finally ready! You can download it from here.
(edit: 1.05a2 is also out, download it from here here )

Try it out! Any discussion about this version is welcome, we still have some time to make final changes before 1.05 will be out

Changes from 1.04:
1. Language support and translations for English and Finnish. It's easy to add your own translations, you can start by reading <Bowling_Evolution_install_dir>\languages\README.txt.
2. Player remembers starting positions from last frame
3. New oil pattern - cranker style is now possible
4. Adjusted pin physics (major changes)
5. Made ball-to-pin hit more explosive
6. The game now uses a new version of Irrlicht 3D-engine
7. The game now uses a new version of ODE physics engine
8. Bugfix: pin weight
9. Bugfix: pins are now set up in an equilateral triangle
10. .. some changes I forget to mention here ..

For 1.05, we'll still have to add:
1. Line markers
2. Fix a new shadow colour bug in view replays-section
3. Fix a small bug in the installer in language-selection screen

NOTE: You can't send results to online highscores with the alpha version.. but you can send us your translations!

It's Awsome !!!!!!!!! How do you throw a cranker? IMO it's now the most realistic bowling game ever !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still have that z-buffer fight problem. Do you know of any way to prevent it???

The ball now deflects a bit to much . Even a 16 lbs. is like this. Also, I noticed a dumb and stupid glitch in which a pin gets stuck on the wall of the pit.

Bug : In the challenge bowling mode if you click on save but then cancel i saves it anyway.

Tomi_Tukiainen wrote

2. Player remembers starting positions from last frame

That sometimes doesn't happen .

It's a bit too easy to pick up the extremely hard 8-10 split. I haven't gotten it yet but I did pick up a 2-7-8-10 split in which I used the 8 pin to hit the 10 pin at an almost perfectly horizontal angle. The pins slide a bit too much. Also, the pins aren't always very solid. Sometimes when I'm shooting at corner pins the ball wants to go through the pin. Are the pins really set up in an equilateral triangle? It doesn't seem like that to me. But like real bowling, from a distance it could look like an isosceles triangle.

I love the changes that have been made, especially the change in ball deflection. I've been bowling for ten years (and feel quite old writing that!) and the ball deflection feels much more realistic. Keep up the amazing work!

It sometimes takes too long for the game to say "Throw Completed" Can you fix this? Also, the you should be able to throw with more power in a future release. Pins should bounce off walls easier.

Problem : Pin sound effect comes in when the ball is very close to the pin.

More balls is a good idea. The balls should be able to hook more (no light balls that have a high hook potential plz!!!!!!!!!!!) Also, I sometimes do a spinner(use light ball, spin on the z-axis let ball deflect on purpose) release in the game but I haven't gotten a "good" strike so far. Spinner is possible with the 10lbs ball but it sometimes doesn't "spin"(not hook) too much. In real life if you do a spinner you can almost always make the ball fall in the gutter or anywhere near that. It's virtually impossible in the game. Also, sometimes I accidentally hook when I want to do a spinner.

The play was totally slow. I am using the same configuration of the last version.(1.04)

Thanks for the comments.

Here is a 1.05a2 release that tries to fix some of the problems you guys mentioned.

List of changes:
- z-buffer fight fixes. Mario, does this fix your z-buffer problem?
- Increased game speed a bit. Thanks Leonardo. We increased simulation timestep a bit which makes physics simulation more accurate, but it also made the game running slower.
- Minor bugfixes to the installer
- Fixed a bug from the challange bowling menu. Thanks Mario for reporting the bug.

Cool!!!! I'm installing the latest alpha version now. Just wish I had checked the forums sooner...Anyways, better late than never!

Wow... That is seriously all I can say. I just bowled my first two games, trying out the latest alpha and I seriously think my jaw must have fallen all the way into my lap! I love the new Top Hat oil pattern; this is probably the most common oil pattern that your local house lays down. I think this is probably the best oil pattern to have until you implement multiple lanes with different lane oil patterns (assuming you'll do that sometime ). I threw my fave 15 pounder and watched hook and hit with authority. The pins feel a lot less floaty and a lot more solid now which is awesome. They flew around better too! The increased deflection is probably the best thing about this new version. This makes it more difficult to pick up those sleepers.

My only quips about the alpha were the fact that I found the finger and thumb holes on the ball a little too small and I experience a wierd glitch where-after I threw the ball and it fell down in the pit-it re-appeared in the left gutter. These are farely minor and I even laughed when my ball magicly re-appeared, however you'll probably want to consider fixing that little glitch. All in all the physics feel a load more solid and I really think these improvements will make the game that much better.

PS: I actually left a ten pin on a halfway decent shot!!! How totally realistic!!!

As I was playing I did notice a few strange things. I'm not sure whether they are because of the game or my computer. With the regular settings everything in the game looked fine, however when I went into replay mode, the ball and pins were bathed in a strange bluish light. Also, when I switched to Open gl to see if this would remedy the problem my ball completely lost all texture and turned into a snowball. More than likely these issues are due to my graphics card and drivers and whatnot but I thought I would let you know. Any help would be appreciated!

I noticed no z-buffer problems but the game sometimes runs slow when the ball hits the pins . Please fix this.

Mario wrote

I noticed no z-buffer problems but the game sometimes runs slow when the ball hits the pins . Please fix this.

OOPS it could have been because I didn't close off all my windows.

I noticed that I can't forward roll as much .

Remember lane arrows in the final version.

Yeah, also if you are experiencing any sort of slowdown or lag it's because of your computer. It is logical that your computer would slow down when it hits the pins because there is a lot going on or happening at that moment on the screen. I was able to get as much forward roll as the previous ones... Although, I can't tell you whether or not the little bowling ball indicator on moved as much. The arrows are a must. It helps targeting a load.

Great job guys! This alpha version rocks so it's safe for me to say that 1.05 is going to rock.

Whoops! Didn't realise you guys were already aware of the shadow color bug in the replay mode.... Lol! Goes to show how carefully I read this stuff and how anxious I was to try the new alpha version...

I noticed a few glitches. The ball "magically" came back from the pit once . I also think you should be able to hook the ball even more and bowl a better cranker .
Glitches aside, the game is awesome .

I think you can bowl a good cranker; it all just depends on the lane conditions. As it is most crankers only get to play coast to coast if the lanes are drier (unless they have insane revs). I would consider the current pattern to be either medium or medium-heavy oil so when I throw it cranker style, it reacts farely realistically, in my opinion. However, it would be cool to be able to get an even crazier hook out the ball wouldn't it?

I noticed some flaws with the window mode. Also the pin action should be a bit more crazier with a cranker.
BTW Madcat, you spelled fairly wrong.

I noticed that if you throw the ball with some hook the ball might go in between the 1 and 4 pin. In real life, only a very sharp hook ball can do this.