Thanks to votes from the community: BattleGrounds 2 1.2.1b is now in the Top 100 on ModDB.com! We are thankful for the votes as it helps boost our spirits as well as make others aware of BattleGrounds. We are still continuing to work towards and even better upcoming release. Featuring better 64 player support, a new class, new maps, new gameplay modes and flag tweaks. http://www.moddb.com/mods/battle-grounds-2

Also, in light of various reports that people's games occasionally crash to desktop on player menu selections, I am looking for a competant member of the community who would be willing to help me by running debug compiles and forwarding me the memory dumps generated from the crash. I'm generally looking for someone who actually has this problem. If you want to help, feel free to contact me through PM on the forums. "hairypotter"

-HairyPotter

Posted January 19, 2009

The game that started it all, and without which The Battle Grounds would not exist turned 10 yesterday.

Congratulations Valve, its been a long decade, your hard work and dedication to the modding community has allowed BG to grow to what it is today. Here's to another 10 years!

Posted November 20, 2008

Many; if not all of you know that BG2 1.2b was a pretty big flop. What we had tested to be stable ended up being a rather buggy release. As the coder behind the release of 1.2b, I apologize.

We have read, heard, and tried to address many of the problems of the game while trying to release a working patch ASAP.

We have pieced together an incremental patch to 1.2b that should address some of the concerns and remove a fair amount of bugs.

In this patch, we have: - Fixed Steam Friends showing the game as Source SDK Base, and with that, fixing all the steam friends "Join Game" functions and Steam server browser.
- Fixed spawn point code. Players will no longer be spawned in small batches at a time, which was causing glitches in LMS mode.
- Fixed the player list.
- Fixed dynamic crosshair texture.
- Bg_pillage tweaked and recompiled.
- Bg_pinebarrens tweaked and recompiled.
- Overall stability increase.
- Baseprop tweaks on several textures.

We have created an incremental patch to 1.2b as well as patched the full install and server zip.
The update is both client and server side, and both sides are strongly encouraged to patch the game wether or not you have had any major problems.

You can download the incremental patch to 1.2b (Not 1.1b) below:

Client Side: (13 MB)
Here

Server Side: (25 MB)
Here

-HairyPotter

Posted October 28, 2008

At long last we are ready to release the next version of BG2 after testing for problems and ironing out many of the larger bugs. Particularly in the Linux server.

Changelog:
Ported to Orangebox Engine.
BG2 now uses Source SDK Base rather than HL2MP.
Weapon accuracy decreased slightly when moving, increased slightly when standing still.
Effective range increased slightly for Pennsylvania and Jaeger rifes.
Sabre damages increased, only takes two hits to kill.
Ammunition tweaked. 12 shots for officers. 24 for Snipers. 36 for Infantry.
Removed some useless entries for the flag entity in the FGD.
Added a trigger for capturing flags as an alternative to the capture radius on the flag model.
Team damage total counters added above each team category.
Servers can enable/disable viewing all damages in scoreboard and enemy names under crosshair.
With the orangebox engine a chatbox has been added, in the chatbox are filters, two filters were added that can disable voicecomm texts and class change texts.
Flag capture sounds are now client side and can be disabled.
Voicecomm sounds are client side and can be disabled.
cl_hitverif has been tweaked. 0 turns it off entirely. 1 to display all hit verifications. 2 to display melee damages only. 3 to display firearm damages only.
Animated flag models.
Overall gun smoke amounts decreased significantly, removed cl_simple_smoke.
Increased maxplayers to 64.
Entry in the BG2 options menu can now be used to disable printing names under crosshair.
Removed all HL2 NPC's and Weapons.
Added logfile entries at the end of each map displaying American and British scores.
Added TwistedX2's new flag textures.
Added in Ztormi's bg_townguard.
Flags now use skins, not multiple models. 30 Skins to choose from.
Compatibility added for older maps.
Bg_mvalley redone and named bg_road.
New gun sounds.
Bg_harbourtown added.
Bg_maricopa tweaked slightly.

We recommend that you remove your old BG2 installation before installing 1.2b, we would also like to recommend that you make sure your video card drivers are up-to-date.

Windows Installer: (300 MB)
Mirror 1 (Europe)
Mirror 2 (USA)


Server Zip - Linux and Windows: (407 MB)
Mirror 1 (USA)
Mirror 2 (USA)

-HairyPotter

Posted October 24, 2008

More than 2 months after it was announced, and after several unfortunate delays, the big news post you were promised has finally arrived. As a result of this drawn-out process, it probably isn't going to be all new to some of you, but for most of you, it should be, and so here's the full story:

The comprehensive update you were promised initially was meant to deal with our plans for bg2 2.0b and the whole host of new features that is supposed to eventually introduce to bg2. However, we realized that no matter how keen we are on making 2.0b, it is still a very long way off, and that, with the Orange box SDK port begun by Hairy Potter, we had something much more tangible at hand.

In fact, the port was making such good progress, and combined with the new content that had become ready over the last few months, and the gameplay tweaks, bug fixes and code improvements and additions that were made in the progress of porting, we decided that this port, actually being more than a port, would warrant a release of its own.

That release will be The Battle Grounds 2 1.2b.

So, what will this new version of bg2 bring? One of the most obvious answers to that is that using the Orange Box SDK means bg2 1.2b now supports HDR. One of our main goals in making bg2 is to create an immersive game environment with a strong feeling of authenticity, and while ultimately mere „eye candy“, HDR helps a lot with that. It makes the open outdoor maps of bg2 look that much better, and makes them feel that much more real.

To showcase this, Sharpedge has put together a HDR trailer for bg2 1.2b, which you can view right here:

Or download a higher-quality version of it here We’ve embedded a low-quality version for the less patient, but we’d urge you to grab the HQ one, as that lets you appreciate the improvements much more easily.

Those who’ve watched the trailer will have noticed the new and updated maps in it, and this is another element of bg2 1.2b

In addition to changes and improvements of existing maps, such as bg_maricopa and bg_road (formerly bg_mvalley), bg2 1.2b will feature at least one completely new map.

This map, made by Grantelbart, is bg_harbourtown. As the name suggests, it is set in the harbour area of a town, and to those who played bg 1.1/1.2.1/1.0f, it’ll probably feel somewhat reminiscent of bg_newengland (not to be confused with the old bg2 map bg_new_england) and both incarnations of bg_shipload. Harbourtown is a unique map in its own right though, and its mix of open outdoor areas, and cramped indoor sections should make for interesting gameplay, with a good mix of tactical firefights and brutal melee. And the non-linear structure of the map and the many routes you can take to get to any one point on the map should keep you on your toes at all times, lest you fall victim to a surprise attack, or have a sneaky enemy capture flags you thought secure behind your back.

Enough words, here are some more screenshots, to give you a better look at the map.

We're also very happy to announce that bg2 1.2b will feature a quality map by a 3rd party mapper - bg_townguard by Ztormi. You may have played an early version of this in bg2 1.1b, and if you have, then you already know it's a great map, with a fairly simple layout that however produces very dynamic and interesting gameplay.

And in this new version that'll ship with bg2 1.2b, it looks better than ever - and to prove that, here are some screenshots.

In other mapping-related news, one of the above-mentioned code additions has resulted in a much more versatile flag system, giving mappers even greater freedom in designing the objectives for their map, including the possibility of capture/escort/retrieve objectives (or, to use a more common term, a wide variety of "capture the flag" style objectives).

To round off the mapping section of the news, here’s some more screenshots of some of the updated/reworked maps, namely bg_road (formerly bg_mvalley) and bg_maricopa:

One of the areas where a lot of progress has been made compared to bg2 1.1b, is that of sound, particularly weapon/combat sounds. PostalDude has really outdone himself with the current set of sounds used by bg2 1.2b, and while as a perfectionist, he probably still isn’t happy with them, they’re a huge improvement, feeling much more realistic and natural, and having just the right amount of randomization mixed in to not become stale or boring, even over prolonged periods of playing the game.

Another changed aspect of bg2 1.2b is the increased customizability. Bg2 1.2b will give you much more freedom in configuring how the game displays statistics and game status. Some of the changes in this area include more customizable hit notification messages, more options on the scoreboard, optional display of enemy player names when targetting them, the option to mute voice commands ( and the return of the „stopsound“ command. All gameplay-critical of these customization options can also be restricted serverside, to facilitate a level playing field for competitive play. League play should also profit from improved logging, making it much easier to obtain accurate info about team damages and scores. Similarly, we are attempting to change the way mp_timelimit works to something more useable for league play, but that is still work in progress at the moment, and whether it'll be successful is still uncertain.

So, by now the question that’ll be on the minds of most of you is probably „when will it be released“, and as usual, the answer to that is going to be a „when it’s done“. However, we’re confident to have bg2 1.2b ready for release soon, as a lot of work was done over the last two months, and thus we hope the waiting will be at an end soon.

One thing that'll definitely have to happen prior to the release of bg2 1.2b is thorough testing of it, to make sure there as few annoying bugs and glitches in it as possible. And this is where you, the community, can not only get a glimpse of bg2 1.2b before it is officially released, but can also contribute directly to ensure the best possible quality of the game.

Bg2 1.2b testing will take the shape of open beta tests, details for which will be announced on our forums, in this thread. To participate in those tests, you’ll need the latest version of bg2-svn, go here to find out how to get your hands on that. When getting it for the first time, it’ll be a fairly large download, so it’d be a good idea to grab it sooner than 5 minutes before testing starts.

That's it for today, hopefully, we've been able to give you a good idea of what the team has been up to lately, and we're looking forward to seeing you at the tests once they get underway.

Posted October 2, 2008

Dear bg community, dear visitors,

the entire bg2 team wishes you all a happy and joyous 4th of July.

As has become customary, we also have some news on the development of bg2 to go along with this.

Most importantly, you can look forward to a much more comprehensive news post in the near future, that will outline our plans for the next major bg2 release, currently titled bg2 2.0b, with which we hope to get a big step closer to our goal of recreating the small-scale skirmish warfare that made up much of the AWI, in a manner that combines historical accuracy, an immersive atmosphere, and competitive multiplayer gameplay; and that will show you some of the content already done, or currently in the works, for that release.

We have somewhat recently added a new member to our team - Dain, who will be helping us mostly with skins, and also with some animation work, and whom some of you might know from his modding work on mount and blade. Please give him a warm welcome, and you can expect us to showcase some of his work fairly soon.

Also, while not part of the offical bg2 development team effort, I'd also like to use this post to express our thanks and gratitude to HairyPotter, creator of bg2ALT (http://bg2alt.ath.cx/), who has recently come forward and offered to help us in porting bg2 over to the orange box SDK. This assistance, and his other contributions to bg2, including his popular bg2ALT modification, are greatly appreciated.

Finally, I'd like to make you all aware that BGL, the long-time league for bg1, has just started up again for bg2, with the American division scheduled to play their first matches this coming sunday, July 6th. A big thank you to Slash and the BGL crew for bringing the BGL back. Head over to their site (http://www.battlegroundsleague.com) or their forums (http://forums.bgmod.com/index.php?showforum=50) to find out more.

Posted July 4, 2008

The BG2 gaming community has recently come together to form a European league. The Royal Battlegrounds League will be playing their first season over 10 weeks beginning in mid January using version 1.1b. The map pool already looks good with Freeman’s Farm. This historically inspired map takes in part of the Saratoga Campaign where the fighting hung in the balance through farm buildings and the British redoubt. This map will be joined by Woodlands and Pine Barrens both fantastic skirmish scenarios.

Teams will consist of 5 players in a ‘capture the flag’ game. The league will be run and administered by experienced European players on the www cupwars.com site. This will allow individuals to comment on matches, upload media and follow results. Any additional teams wishing to sign up are still at liberty to do so via the site.


Original artical can be read here.

Posted January 4, 2008

Happy New Year to everyone! We here at the Battle Grounds are currently working on numerous things. As I type this, Gecko is updating the page, Postal Dude and Nathan Hale are working to make the gunfire sound more menacing, and countless people are working to get new screen shots of the game. Feel free to get your own and post them onto the forum.
Unfortunately, our modeler, Roska, broke his hand recently, and we wish him a speedy recovery.
As usual, we are looking for talented modelers, skinners, animators, and mappers, and we of course can always use people who are talented in any gaming related field. Be sure to send a message to myself (Forlorn Hope) if you are interested in helping out.
Here's for a productive 2008!

Posted January 2, 2008