This is the homepage of the game Orbituary. You can download the latest version for MacOS X (1.0) here.And for Windows (0.9 without sound) here.

Orbituary is now shareware, at a modest fee of $8. The game is playable without registration, but only the first two levels are available.

Version History

1.0

  • First non-beta version!
  • New graphics and animations.
  • Improved backgrounds.
  • Wall bug fixed.
  • Some game balance changes.
  • Several new powerups.
  • User-activatable powerups. AIs use powerups sensibly.
  • AI players perform better in CTF (they will try to return the flag).
  • Improved interface.
  • Several new maps
  • Full-screen mode.
  • New mode: Pinata.
  • Sound even in Windows version (still no text-to-speech)
  • Text-to-speech announcements replaced by mp3-based ones.

    0.9

  • More look&feel changes, including a new title screen.
  • Improved particle system.
  • Four new powerups using this system.
  • Improved AI, should perform well in Air Hockey and Tag modes.
  • MacOS X & Windows only (Windows still lacks sound).
  • Windows version no longer uses Cygwin.
  • If anyone wants me to post a Linux (x86) build I will.

    0.8

  • A few cosmetic changes:
    Can select a sprite instead of a sphere as your avatar.
    A new font.
    Changed background color.
  • Worms-style awards for at the end of each level.
  • MacOS X only (runs as 0.7 under MacOS 9). Windows version soon!

    0.7

  • Currently Mac-Only because I don't know how to do sound under windows or linux.
  • AI now performs acceptably in Tag and Air Hockey
  • Fixed a crash bug in MacOS 9 when starting a deathmatch game
  • Fixed scoring in team deathmatch games
  • Added sound and text-to-speech
  • Added various particle effects
  • Fixed bug where players get stuck together or stuck on a wall.
  • Added rudimentary level editor
  • Added built-in help function
  • Thanks to iDevGames (www.idevgames.com) sound libraries for the sounds used.

    0.6

  • Much-needed improved AI implemented. Should perform acceptably in all modes except Tag and Air Hockey.
  • Walls have been changed significantly. Now they are a line in any angle, with any level of elasticity.
  • Walls may also be pinball flippers, which are controlled by the player.
  • Added a new level: "Pinball Wizard"
  • Some other levels are changed by the new version of walls.
  • Changed the wall in "The Grinder" to a flipper.

    0.5L

  • This was the linux version of 0.5.

    0.5S

  • This was the solaris version of 0.5.

    0.5

  • This version is quite a big update. A MacOS 9/X version is available here. A Windows version is available here. Updates include:
  • Lots more powerups including "Growth Spurt", "Untouchable" and "Phase Out"
  • Two new game modes "Endurance Match" and "Tag". To access these, use the "Custom Game" button on the title screen and press up or down to select game mode.
  • A leader board to show who's winning.
  • An options screen where it is possible to configure all the powerups, set the overall powerup frequency, and the frequency of each powerup.
  • Names, colours and key controls can also be set from the options screen.
  • Settings from the options screen are saved in "prefs.def".
  • Fixed the glitch with getting trapped in bounce walls.
  • MacOS 9 and X versions in same application package (simply double click and correct one will be automatically selected). Users of MacOS 8 may need to open up the package manually and will find the required files in Contents:MacOSClassic:
  • Note: Settings in MacOS 9 version are seperate from settings in MacOS X version.
  • Speed control fixed (all platforms).
  • Linux x86 and Solaris x86 versions coming soon!
    Known bugs in 0.5:
  • The leader board sometime shows incorrect information.
  • Team Deathmatch doesn't always register when a team is dead.

    0.2W

  • I can't guaruntee that this will work without Cygwin installed, but here is a windows version of my game (for those who have been missing out). It is a larger download because of all the dlls I had to put with it. Download it here

    0.2

  • This is the update that puts the MacOS X version at the same level as the latest Linux version. Also adds saner default names for the players (named by color instead of the names of some of my friends).

    0.2L

  • This is another linux version (MacOS versions soon) with a few new features. These include a title screen (finally), a level selection screen, fixed map cycling and a new mode called "Air Hockey" (keyword for maps = hockey). Also there is a new map "The Grinder". Download it here.

    0.12C

  • This version is modified for MacOS 9. Only minor changes really, but still... You can download it here.

    L1

  • Basic linux port. Now available here. Not as pretty as the Mac version, and certain features don't work, but it is functional.

    0.12

  • Added support for moving blocks. They are in a new premade level "Appearances Decieve" and are available in user levels through the keywords linmove, sinmove, orbiter, linmovecp, sinmovecp, orbitercp.
    To use linmove or sinmove, enter:
    linmove x1 y1 x2 y2 initialpos period where -1 < initialpos < 1
    sinmove x1 y1 x2 y2 initialpos period where initialpos is any number
    The mover moves between (x1,y1) and (x2,y2).
    For an orbiter enter:
    orbiter xc yc xs ys initialpos period
    where (xc,yc) is the centre of the elipse and (xs,ys) are the semi-axes.
    To make a mover a checkpoint, use the form:
    linmovecp x1 y1 x2 y2 initialpos period cpID
    where cpID is the ID number of the checkpoint.

    0.11

  • Names of players and levels now definable in the map file.

    0.1: Initial release version

  • MacOS X Only
  • Reads external map file (GLGame.app/contents/resources/level.def)
  • Rudimentary bot support
  • Key configuration/player colors defined in map file (trying to do that to player names as well)
  • Five game modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Race, CTF
  • Basic framerate regulation

    How To Play
    The Basic Objective
    The basic objective of a player in Orbituary is to knock the other players off the screen while staying on the screen yourself. You control a coloured ball, which has the mysterious ability to attatch itself to a number of "blocks" which are floating in the arena. By attatching and detatching with the correct timing, you can manovre your way around the arena quickly and accurately.

    Controls
    The controls are quite simple as each player is assigned one key. From left to right, default keys are:

  • Player 1 (Red) is assigned 'z'. Default name is "Red".
  • Player 3 (Pink) is assigned 'b', name is "Pink"
  • Player 5 (Green) is assigned 'm', name is "Green"
  • Player 6 (Aqua) is assigned '/', name is "Aqua"
  • Player 4 (Yellow) is assigned '0', name is "Yellow"
  • Player 2 (Purple) is assigned '.', name is "Purple"
  • Note that numeric key pad versions of keys are the same as normal versions to orbituary. I recomend use of the numeric keypad for 0 and .
  • Up arrow and right arrow add one player to the game up to a maximum of six players.
  • Down arrow and left arrow remove one player from the game down to a minimum of two players.

    AI Players
    When a new player (including the initial 2) is added to a game, it defaults to being an AI player. The AI is quite offensive, sometimes suicidally so. It will explicitly try and attack players or achieve objectives, and will generally harass whoever has the most points.

    Title Screen Buttons

  • Arcade Mode
    Disables powerups and map cycling and starts a deathmatch game with no maximum score.
  • Custom Game
    Enters the level select screen from which all levels & game types are available, enables map cycling & powerups.
  • Quit
    Exits the game
  • Level Editor (0.7-0.9 only)
    Brings up the as-yet-unfinished level editor
  • Options
    Brings up the options screen
  • Help(0.7+ only)
    Brings up the online help.

    Game Modes

  • Deathmatch
    The 'normal' game type. Quite simply, this is a free-for-all in which the winner takes all. Try to knock the other players' balls off the screen. They will not come back until there is only one survivor, who will earn a point. This cycle continues until a person has achieved enough points to win.
    Note that the winning players will start to move faster as they get more points. This is both a handicap and a boon, as while they are more difficult to control, they are also more agile. Also, for every 5 points scored IN TOTAL, one of the blocks will dissapear, shrinking the arena.

  • Team Deathmatch
    Much the same as regular deathmatch, except that it is left vs right (in terms of default key assignment)

  • Domination
    This version of domination inherits much from the Unreal Tournament game mode with the same name. Basically the two teams (same teams as team deathmatch above) have to controll a number of control points scattered through the map. To take a control point, simply attatch to it. Note that control points are only ever red or purple. These are the colors of the team leaders, and you are working as a team (or should be).
    Also, if you die in domination, you respawn almost immediately.

  • Race
    In this mode, the players are competing to travel around a track as fast as possible. In order to progress, you have to touch the checkpoints in order several times.
    Respawining is the same as in domination, and bots are completely useless in race. There are no teams.

  • Capture The Flag
    The final game mode is very similar to the type of the same name commonly appearing in first person shooting games. Basically, each team has a flag, and you have to take the enemy's flag and return it to your flag. A flag will return to its owners base if: the carrier is involved in a collision with another player, the carrier falls off the map, or the carrier succeeds (in which case his team gets a point).
    Bots now make good CTF players, and play very offensively.

  • 0.5 or later ONLY: Endurance Match
    Basically your score continually increases. When you die, your score goes to 0. Be the first person to achieve the target score by staying alive the longest. Simple eh?

    0.5 or later ONLY: Tag
    One player is "it". If you collide with "it" or die, you become "it". Whenever you are "it", you continually get penalty points. The first person to get the target number of penalty points loses.

    0.6 or later ONLY: Air Hockey
    There is a white ball which starts in the centre of the map. Players must try and hit it into the enemy flag to score points.

    1.0 or later ONLY: Pinata
    Hit the puck as many times as you can to get points. This is a free-for all game type, there are no teams. Editing
    Feel free to make your own user maps. Although my map editor is pretty rudimentary (so far), it is fairly simple to make your own maps by directly editing level.def. To access level.def control-click (or right-click if you have a 2+ button mouse) on the application and pick "show package contents". Go into contents, then resources (MacOSClassic for OS9 Users), and there should be a file called level.def. Open this file with textedit, Project Builder or some other plain text editor (such as pico if you're a unix head). You will see that the levels are contained in a single plain text file, with comments denoted by lines starting with a # (as I copied a lot of the file input code from the GLUT example rollercoaster and it's rc.def).
    The level.def file is quite well commented (comments follow a #), so it should be no problem to follow them.
    If you make any funky levels then send them to me and I might put them in the main level.def if I agree with you about their funkiness.

    Planned features include

  • A better interface at startup
  • Better menu screens
  • A better graphical level editor
  • Anything you want that I think is good!

    Call for help
    Anyone who knows how to make windows simply and reliably do sound, I would greatly appreciate it if they could tell me. If there is some simple way to make windows do text-to-speech as well that would be even better, but unlikely.

    Screenshots
    New screenshots coming soon.