Did you know? 10 facts and claims about STK

Did you know that

• STK is ranked as 219 in "Games" at SourceForge, and the amount of SourceForge downloads is 503 802?
• a search at Google for "supertuxkart" results in around 106 000 pages?
• the SuperTuxKart forum has in total 3644 messages inside 308 topics?
• this blog has over 2500 pageviews?
• version 0.6(.1a) is considered to be the first fun version of SuperTuxKart by its project leader?
• the developers wants to blur the "MarioKart" and "TuxKart" stamps, making STK a game more on its own?
• there's even a Facebook group named "SuperTuxKart Addicts"?
• SDL will be dropped for 0.7?
• the 0.7 version will feature at least one new track?
• YOU can make a difference either by contributing to STK, or by giving a donation?

[No Joking!] Work on the irrLicht port

I'll now post my long-awaited review of "STK irrLicht" progress, with a few screenshots.

First, let's take a look at the main menu screen.

What "works":
'Race', 'Options', 'Help' and 'Quit'.

Visually the green hover circle animation (yes, it's a small animation) is too glossy, and the STK developers would like some ideas/contribs on hover. Most of the icons will probably be replaced too, so contributions are highly welcome.

The 'Help' screen

What "works":
Everything, but some graphical change is still needed.
Notice the "Back to main menu" button - I think it got a neat look. :)

The track selection screen

What "works":
Almost nothing. Every track icon you click on leads to the same level. (Addition by Auria: the reason behind this lack of functionality is simply that at this time, we have only 2 tracks converted to the new format! watch the forums, once we believe the track setup is stable enough we might ask for help with converting all tracks and karts to the new format :) )

But as a show-off it's certainly interesting, as it shows how track selection might be in 0.7. Notice the small arrows which will later lead to more tracks, as well as the different tabs at the bottom. The kart selection screen also got tabs to deal with different kart groups.

Racing in revision 3386

What "works":
Driving around, items, nitro and playing with gamepad.

Not too much to see yet - I guess some of you may be disappointed by the looks, but remember changing from PLib to irrLicht isn't done in a day. The developers know how much is missing, and they are working at their own pace to make STK 0.7 better than - not worse than - SuperTuxKart 0.6.1a.
Small addition by Auria : Also, consider this is almost a total rewrite in the graphics area, therefore we are starting from nothing, so we first need to get to the plib level before going beyond ;)

Regarding the "burning trees", it's only a bug caused by trying to implement explosions - quite a rare sight! One of the funniest looking bugs at the moment.

And by the way; "works" means that it kind of works, though it's not in a finished state.

A few additions by Auria :)
* The font used in the menu is going to be replaced with a better one
* Icons are currently scaled down with very poor quality; irrLicht developers were informed of this limitation, and they promised it would improve in next version of irrLicht
* The current background image can't stay in for license reasons; we'll need to get someone to make another one. This might be a good thing anyway, because the current placeholder has dark and light areas, which makes it hard to find a font color readable everywhere
* Lots of work also happened in the input module; someone who'd never been able to play STK using his gamepad reported that all worked fine in the new branch. Also, input configurations will no longer be tied to a specific player, which means you can play sometimes with gamepad, sometimes with keyboard, and don't have to reconfigure everytime like in 0.6. Last but not all, 0.7 will be able to tell which gamepad model you're using, which means you can use a different configuration for different gamepad models.

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To sum up, there's still much work to do, and to all possible contributors - come on, join in, we need you! ;)
Note: As the irrLicht branch is still in a very unstable state, the general public is recommended to use the last stable version (0.6.1a) of SuperTuxKart.

New skin for the web site

Tom Jenkins from icecubewebdesign.co.uk has designed a new skin for the SuperTuxKart homepage. If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to give feedback; the website is still to evolve =)
The blog will also adapt the new design, hopefully soon.

The GUI for 0.7 might as well take inspiration from it, though this isn't decided yet.

Happy wiki surfing! ;)


EDIT: Blog style now updated accordingly :)

[April's Fools Joke] Work on the irrLicht port

For the first time, we are giving you screenshots of the current state of SuperTuxKart, as being ported to irrLicht! The game features real-time shadows and lighting, moving clouds and advanced particles effects. It also features soft body dynamics simulation for plants, and liquid physics for water. We are also integrating a hologram library, which will eventually allow SuperTuxKart to come out of your screen in real 3D.

It is also expected that next version will be able to run on Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, iPhone and Nintendo DS (and maybe iPods, not sure yet)

With no further ado, here is a screenshot :