Fixed the collision detection on the Wormhole sub-game and added a score screen to it.
Added some Option menus to allow you to redefine the keyboard and joystick controls.
Made a new background for the alpha centuri levels.
Added a bonus score for destroying the flying saucer mothership.
(the quicker you destroy it, the higher the bonus)
Added a delay to the shop menu so you shouldn't exit by accident.
When you loop the levels the enemies will now be only slightly faster, but their shields will increase.
Fixed the bonus scoring on the last rotten egg swoop level.
Updated the setup menu so really high refresh rates should not be selected by default.
Fixed a bug whre scoring too many bonuses would crash the game.

Animated enemy models! ... Flap-tastic!
(i'd been procrastinating over this forever, so it is great to have finally done it, well 90% at least)
Psycho Birdz hatch from inside Psycho Eggz!
On the rotten egg swoop level, the eggs are now 3d models which wiggle rather than crack.
Improved the bonus system so when you score a bonus, there is an audio clue and a speed blur effect.
I think it makes bonus kills a lot more satisfying, aswell as alerting the player they have done something special.
Made the alpha centuri wasp enemies burst out of a volcano at the start of the level.
Added some speech for when you collect a power-up. (can be turned off in options)
Aswell as improvements to the 'egg swoop' levels, it's the 'attack of the dronez' levels which have changed the most.
The enemies now fly into the level in a much more visually appealing and challenging fashion, and when they attack they have more than 1 set move.
Made a lightning/electricity effect, but for the moment it can only be seen if you get enough cash to buy an option.
(it's like a stretchy elastic band that connects between the options, which have also changed slightly)
Fixed a bug where sometimes the incorrect weapon would be displayed in the side status bars.
Fixed a very occasional crash bug i was experiencing on my system, which i think was something to do with my virus checker stopping my level data file being opened if i didn't specify shared access.

So what's so christmasy about this release? ... well if i was to be honest then ... absolutely nothing!
... but my New year's resolution is to finish Space Birdz in 2004! (*parp*)

Finally got around to adding some new weapons!!! unfortunately you will have to collect lots of money to get to see them!
"Plazma Bolts" and "Spinning Blades" - both of which can be purchased from the shop.
"Options" - umm, blobs that follow your ship and provide additional firepower.
"Homing Missiles" - Lock onto the nearest enemy.

Removed the silly flashing pipe things from the shop and added a bit of descriptive text for each item.
Made the enemy bullets flash in an attempt to make them more visible when the screen gets 'busy'.
Added some dodgey new tunes and some previous efforts you may have heard before. (I apologize, music is not my strong point.)

Added an external playlist feature so if anyone is kind enough to donate me some real music then they can test it out in the game first.
The game currently supports .xm and .mp3. Put your tunes inside the 'music' folder and edit playlist.txt

Psychedelic pattern generator added to front-end.
Bonus scores now explode into little dots.
Animated cuboid game over message.
Fireworks on name entry / hi-scores.
Added a screen outlining what will feature in the finished version of Space Birdz.
Fixed a bug that was causing a crash if you managed to get too many extra lives.
Added a VSYNC option, may make the game smoother when switched off. (off by default)

ALT-TAB is working!!! And what a pain in the bum it turned out to be at this late stage, i had to give 'the Dead Good Engine' a right going over!
but hopefully i managed to optimize a few bits and pieces and make it more portable just incase i ever do get around to doing a Linux port.
Fixed a perspective calculation that was causing bullets and power-ups to appear to the side or above the enemies that spawned them.
Changed the option menu so a game can be started by joystick, and added options to turn off the music and/or the animated backgrounds. (gives it a more retro look with just stars on a black background)
Finally got around to putting the wormhole sub-game in, it's just the basics so far, (there's not even any scoring), but i'll try make it more interesting for future versions. Meanwhile enjoy the more intense eye candy!

I forgot to enable the load screen in the last version, but i wasn't happy using ddraw and d3d in the same exe so i've re-done it all.
I decided i needed a better picture that would fit on a square texture, and combined that with the oldskool de-packing bars which on their own had caused alarm to un-suspecting n00bs.
(It's the same picture that i've put on the Main page.)
I took a look at implementing Alt-Tab, but it's an awkward change right now, hopefully for version .01a!

Website changes:
Updated the Screenshots which were ancient.
Learn't some PHP and added a Leech counter so i can see how many people are downloading my game.

Updated the particle system so particles can vary in size and change size over time ... slower but looks nicer :)
Created a new particle system that renders sparks.
Changed many of the effects to incorporate the new particle stuff, and used some nicer looking textures.
(the early enemies are supposed to scatter feathers, but they probably look more like autumn leaves) :\
Started to implement a new bonus system where the player is awarded points for destroying enemies in a special way or during a specific attack pattern. The bonus points appear temporarily on-screen, if you have collected a score multiplier (x2, x4) then you will recieve even greater bonus points.
(i think scoring will probably be a bit higher in future versions)
The enemies on certain levels increase in speed as their numbers become fewer.
Put a fix in to stop the egg swoop enemies going off the sides of screen so much.
Made the silly spinning space birdz logo change colour.

I re-wrote some of the enemy movement code as it had been bugging me for a long time and holding back progress. You should notice some subtle differences from previous versions, and a not so subtle difference if you reach the last few levels. ;-)
Created 2 new animated backdrops.
Added some code to let me re-cycle enemies in lots of different colours.
Fixed a crash bug that effected 2 player mode.
Fixed a debugger crash bug caused by not free-ing the music thread properly.
Added some music to the starwars scroller. (I made it if you hadn't guessed.)
Fixed the loading screen for 16/15bit and improved the fake copper effect.
Created additional levels to pad things out a bit.
If you wipe out the last level it doesn't just kill you anymore, but loops back to level 1 as it did in earlier versions.
(I know people liked this feature and it also gives them a chance to knock my name off the highscores) :-\
Shouted "SPACE BIRDZ" into my microphone, yes that really is me putting on a daft voice.
(the speech in the previous version was computer generated.)
Lots of much need fixes/additions to the space birdz editor.

Reduced the delay between losing a life and getting back into the action, (this has always been a complaint), + a quick temporary shield is activated as you re-appear.
Added gloss maps to the models. (for now you will need a gfx card that can handle more than 1 texture stage, but i'll be providing an alternative)
can someone let me know if a Voodoo 2 can handle this?
Added a new power-up called 'FIRE BOMB' (working title) that shoots a spread of nine deadly fire bolts when collected.
The mothership now flies into the level leaving a kewl particle trail.
I spent a bit of time out from spacebirdz making a font utility, which i then used to make a proportional font for the starwars scroller.
Made a few adjustments to the warp tunnel in preparation of a sub-game i've been planning for a long time.
Added a robot proprietor to the shop. (needs a lot of work!)
Added some colourful de-packing bars. (hopefully this will be appreciated by the ex-Amiga crowd)
Added a loading screen* (an original piece of artwork by the crummy artist Feeblez)
* may crash if not in 32bit colour! (uses DirectDraw then switches to D3D)
Tweaked a few sound effects.

Music maestro! hacked away at mini fmod till i got it working with direct sound.
(should fix problems anyone had with music in version .003)
Composed a retro acid track, it isn't very good, but has a kewl bit that sounds like Knight Rider in slow-mo. :-D
I've scrapped the power up 'stack', it was a nice idea but didn't really work in practice.
so i totally redesigned the HUD, and added a 'bullet meter' and E X T R A life bonus letters.
Enemies now have a shield strength, if your weapon isn't powerful enough to destroy them outright they will flash white.
Made each weapon look and sound unique and added a muzzle flash effect. (+more bullets for standard weapon.)
Made the Psycho Birdz wings 'grow back' after a short while.
Improved collision detection.
Slowed the rate that the power ups fall and tried to balance the randomness of them.
Composed a new story for the starwars scroller.
Fixed several bugs but there are still a lot to do with 2 player modes.

As promised:
two player mode is in, it took a lot longer than i thought it would, and still has a lot of issues to fix, but at least you can try it out.
the shop now works, but unfortunately the com link to the shop keeper is on the blink. ;)
the comets are looking better than ever. :)
levels 3, 4 and 7 (enemies that follow player) should now play the same at 50fps frames or 500fps!
This was causing problems for people that insisted on playing in crappy windowed mode.
scrapped the 'ray effect' that was used for the players shield. (and for the lame looking stars on the green background)
Implemented a much nicer one, and also tinkered with other effects like the mothership explosion.
modeled a new enemy type and created a brand new level! (level 8, try it out :)
taken the music out temporarily as i want to get it working with DirectSound not Windows Media.

changed the mod playback code to minifmod, and the music volume is much better now.
It also means i don't have to rely on a dll anymore. :)
minifmod uses windows multimedia waveout, so may have to change that. (let me know of any audio problems)
re-wrote the sound engine, which should, in future versions, give me better control over the sound effects,
and allow multiple channels for things like explosions. (should hopefully be faster too)
changed the music to yet another one of my ear bleeding creations, it's just temporary!
stomped the weird crash bug, seemed to be something to do with linking to the mod dll.
but since i've spotted a few other silly mistakes.
seperated the setup dialog from the main exe reducing it's size slightly. Settings are now saved!
made an Installer using the kewl Inno Setup 2. (beats the crap out of install shield and it's free!)
replaced the score powerups with credits than can be spent later on in the Star Shop.
please Note: the Star Shop is not functional yet.
totally re-did the warp sequence in full 3D! 8-)
remade the main font so it's a lot clearer, and jazzed it up with lots of bright colours.
added a couple of instruction screens to the front end.
wrote a plot for the game (subject to change) and coded a star wars scroller for the intro.
added a new weapon: 'Side Shot', and very useful it can be too.
added a 'Shield Charge' powerup, and extra life powerup that does nothing! >:)