WARNING: Do NOT open levels you care about in this version. You will no longer be able to open them in the latest stable version (because the save format has changed), and they may be corrupted due to this version being unstable. If you wish to open levels you've already made, you should back them up first. You can do this by opening up the game, going to the "My levels" or "Crusades" section, hitting the folder icon (a new button added in this pre-release), and making a copy of everything inside to somewhere safe. Hello everyone, A new beta version of Tanks is available for you all to test out! This has a lot of the features I've been working on over the last year or so - mainly an entirely reworked bullet and item system that is much more customizable than that from before. You will get a lot more options like knockback and stun duration on bullets now, and previous bullet types can now be combined (you can now have a single bullet that is homing, artillery, stunning, and exploding!). There are also a few new things like the block bullet which places a block. To play the beta, select the "Pre-release" beta from [Gear icon] -> Properties -> Betas. Please report any bugs you may find, either as comments here or in the Tanks Discord. Enjoy! What's new in Tanks v1.6.b:

• Added an enormous number of new bullet options
• Improved item editor
• Improved the tank editor for spawned and transformed tanks
• Level editor menu UI improvements
• Added beat blocks
• Made fireworks prettier and more performant
• Updated music
• Added third color for players
• Added block bullets
• Added beat arcade mode minigame
• Added new editor tools
• Added buttons to open file directories
• Bug fixes and other minor improvements

Hello everyone! I am in fact still alive and working on this game, and it's time for another update :). Sorry for the long wait times. The primary new feature in this update is the updated Tank AI. There are several new options related to dodging bullets and approaching the player on line of sight included, which the default tanks now use. There are also miscellaneous improvements to tank AI that hopefully results in fewer silly moments like tanks shooting bullets toward nowhere repeatedly. What's new in Tanks v1.5.2: - Improved and adjusted tank AI - Added new 'Bullet avoid type' to tank customization - Added 'Sidewind' and 'Backwind' sight behavior - Bug fixes and other minor improvements The new bullet avoidance types are the following: - Intersect - this is the old AI. The tank will move away from the intersection of a bullet's path with a box around the tank. It is used by more primitive tanks. This is less good than the others at keeping the tank alive and is thus used for the more primitive tanks. - Back off - the tank will move away from bullets, and may back into corners. This is used by black tanks. - Dodge - the tank will move away from bullets at an angle. This is more accurate, and used by dark green, light pink, mimic, purple, and white tanks. - Aggressive dodge - the tank will move toward incoming bullets at an angle. This is used by orange and angry light pink tanks. A new option to seek open spaces has also been added to tanks. This makes tanks try to navigate towards open spaces when threatened by a farther away bullet. Black, light pink (not angry), mimic, orange, purple, and white tanks use this. The new on-sight behaviors of tanks are as follows: - Sidewind - the tank will zig-zag in towards the player, used by angry light pink tanks - Backwind - the tank will zig-zag away from the player, used by salmon tanks This update also has some major behind the scenes improvements to rendering that I've been working on in the last year, which may improve performance in some levels. "Tanks" for sticking around and enjoying the game! The next big updates should bring more customization towards bullets, items, and the player tank. Enjoy!

Hello all, Unfortunately, we received a cease-and-desist notice from Garage Software, inc. for using sound assets from their 'Band' software without their permission. Thus, in this update, we have hastily replaced all the musical instruments in the game's soundtrack with versions that the developer and some of his friends hastily recorded at 4 am. We apologize for this sudden change, and will be working to further refine the music and sounds of Tanks in the coming weeks. For more information about this change, please check out our blog post here: https://tanks-thecrusades.com/tanks-sounds-updates Update: this was an April Fools joke, and the sounds are back to normal. But if you liked the sounds, you can still use them! Download the sound pack here and extract the contents to the ~/.tanks/resources folder, such that the "music" and "sound" folders are in there. If the resources folder doesn't exist, make it yourself!

It has come to my attention that a serious issue has been plaguing the Tanks community. The game Tanks: The Crusades has been deemed discriminatory against certain users with difficulties in perceiving color. After much careful consideration and deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that the use of color to distinguish between different types of tanks is unfair to such individuals who are unable to distinguish certain colors. As a result, in order to make the Tanks: The Crusades game and community a more inclusive, welcoming, and diverse one, and to level the playing field for everybody, we have removed color from Tanks: The Crusades. You can check out this updated, more inclusive and fairer version, right now! For more information, check out this link: https://tinyurl.com/inclusivetanks

You can now run Tanks on Linux natively. You may need to disable Steam Play to get it to work. Please let me know if you run into any trouble.

Today marks the 5th year anniversary from when I started working on this game! To celebrate, Tanks v1.5.0 has been released, for all of you to enjoy the brand new arcade mode! [previewyoutube=tLOrTXlNdmk;full][/previewyoutube] 'Tanks' for sticking for so long, it's been a fun journey developing this game. What's new in Tanks v1.5.0: New arcade mode minigame: - Point system based on tank kills - Continuously spawning enemy tank waves - Respawn if you die - Time limit of 2 minutes and 12 seconds - A rampage system for destroying tanks in a row - Tanks drop items that you can use to your advantage - Frenzy mode: destroy all you can when time runs out! - Point bonuses judging your performance at the end Crusades: - Font is now varied across statistics for readability - Added crusade descriptions for built-in crusades - Built-in crusades now track your best completion time, which you can see directly from the crusade screen - Completed crusade runs can be compared to your best run Options: - Reorganized options screens - Added new profile customization section to options - You can now use a custom tank color in singleplayer - Added option to show bullets under terrain - Added 30 FPS deterministic mode More: - Updated menu music - Added item switching indicator on tank - Updated tutorial to be more exciting - Removed laser from versus mode - Tanks will not explode on death if killed right after spawning - Changed fireworks appearance - Bug fixes and other minor improvements The game has come a long way from when it started as a small Java Swing game, growing to over 83,000 lines of code as of version v1.5. Last year for this occasion, I made a video covering the history of the game, which you can find here: [previewyoutube=cYvCY9R2iQQ;leftthumb][/previewyoutube] Since then, the game has gained a powerful tank editor in v1.4 along with the new arcade mode in v1.5. Here's to another few years of Tanks! (And don't worry, there are still more updates coming!).

Hey everyone, Like with the last announcement, I've pushed another beta build of Tanks v1.5 for all of you to test. This is very close to the final version, so if you want to see what 1.5 will be like, check it out! To check out the beta, go to the game page in the library tab, click the settings icon, go to betas, and select "pre-release." If you find any bugs or have feedback, leave it either as a reply to this post, or join the Tanks Discord! I'm sorry the update has been taking so long. It's been because I am unfortunately very busy with university classes this semester and have not had time to work on the game. Hopefully I'll be able to get it out in not too much time. Here's what's new from the previous version: - Updated tutorial to be more exciting - Added descriptions for minigames - You can now see your records directly from the crusade screen - Reorganized options screens - Added 30 FPS deterministic mode - Added short invulnerability on respawning in arcade mode - Removed laser from versus mode - Tanks will not explode on death if killed right after spawning - A secret easter egg is more interesting now... - A ton of bug fixes and other minor improvements Keep destroying those tanks!

Hey everyone, You can now try out everything I've been working on in the last few months, including the all new arcade mode! To check out the beta, go to the game page in the library tab, click the settings icon, go to betas, and select "pre-release." If you find any bugs or have feedback, leave it either as a reply to this post, or join the Tanks Discord! Here's what's new: - New arcade mode, with time limit, infinite lives, bonuses, and dropped items! - Improved statistics screen at the end of crusades for better readability. For built-in crusades, your best runs will be logged and you can your times compare against them via the star button in the "Battles" tab. - You can now change your player tank color in singleplayer - Added item indicator on your tank when switching items - Updated menu music - Bullets now display through terrain - A TON of other behind-the-scenes changes and bug fixes, especially regarding multiplayer and bandwidth usage. Since so much changed behind the scenes with this update, you will probably find bugs. Please report them - one of the purposes of this beta is to catch bugs before the full release! If all goes well, the full update should come out in about a week. Keep destroying those tanks!

Hey everyone! I'd like to announce that I've been working on a new gamemode for Tanks: The Crusades - Arcade Mode! In arcade mode, you have unlimited lives, and enemies drop from the sky in waves, but you have a time limit of 2 minutes. After the time runs out, frenzy mode begins - a bunch of tanks drop into the arena, and you fight to the end! Arcade mode has a new mechanic: the rampage. Destroying enemy tanks within 5 seconds of each other grants a kill chain, which, upon hitting a multiple of 3, gives a rampage. Rampages give points and speed EVERYTHING up - you will move and shoot faster, but so will your enemies. Things can get crazy really fast. You can check out the current state of Arcade Mode in this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-m1SqBVEI You can also beta-test it by running the jar you can download here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnwBrt306BrJgfZQT2PiqBrTebM8LQ?e=c0EFg5 If you want to give feedback or talk about arcade mode, feel free to comment below or join the Discord: https://discord.gg/aWPaJD3. Arcade Mode is still under development, and there is still more I want to add, such as power-ups and bonuses. Until next time!

Hey everyone! Several of you have reported issues with Tanks version 1.4 - namely the game freezing up when working with custom tanks, and the game desynchronizing when playing multiplayer with spawner tanks. I have released a minor update which fixes both of these bugs. I apologize for these bugs being out for so long, I've been quite busy lately with other things. But don't worry - there will be more updates for Tanks in the future! I have a bunch of things planned that I want to get out eventually.

It's been a long time since the last big update, but the time has finally come! Tanks v1.4 brings 2 new built-in tanks, and a brand new tank editor that lets you make your own tanks! [previewyoutube=mg0cCvThvb8;full][/previewyoutube] What's new in Tanks v1.4.0: New features: - Added tank editor and custom tanks - Added air bullet which pushes things - Added homing bullet which moves towards targets - Added light blue tank which uses air bullets - Added salmon tank which uses homing bullets - Added beginner crusade Tank behavior: - Tanks now try to avoid walls - Tanks now see through destructible blocks - Tanks now avoid explosive blocks Balancing: - Boss tank now only spawns 5 tank types - Cooldowns are now per item - Made random level teleporters rarer - Increased player tank acceleration - Nerfed castle crusade level 'Castle artillery' Graphics: - New tank textures and models - Updated crusade info and stats screen background - Updated item icons - Made UI icons more colorful - Updated 3D explosion particle effect - Added indicator when new shop items are available - Added bullet cooldown indicator to hotbar More: - New editor music - Shop is now available in versus mode - Increased some textbox character limits - IP address can now be hidden in parties - Bug fixes and other minor improvements Thank you for playing Tanks: The Crusades and for getting this game to 100,000 downloads! See you in the next one!

Hey everyone, It is my pleasure to announce that as of today, July 20, 2022, Tanks: The Crusades has reached 100,000 lifetime total units! I would like to thank all of you - everyone who has played this game - for bringing the game to where it is right now. Some stats: - Development on Tanks began on March 23, 2018 - Released to the public (on PC and mobile) first December 29, 2020 - Released on Steam June 24, 2021 - 75,600+ lines of Java, split over about 500 classes (but this number keeps going up!) - 416 Discord members (Join the Discord to chat with them!) - 1 developer (me!) and 10 contributors on GitHub - 191 daily active users (average for the last week) - 15 minutes median time played - 96 minutes average time played Thank you once again for playing Tanks! It's been incredibly fun developing this game and hearing your feedback. But before I go, I'd like to leave a bit of information about the next update, Tanks v1.4. Tanks v1.4 is scheduled to come out pretty soon, in the next few weeks. However, you can test out preview builds of 1.4 NOW! Check out the Tanks Archive to find preview builds, along with past versions of Tanks. You can run these builds with a Java JRE, or replace the Tanks.jar in the Steam local files with the respective JAR. Do note that preview versions are likely to contain bugs. If you need any help, you can join the Discord. Finally, since the last update about 1.4, I've been working on some redesigns for the tank models to help distinguish the different tank types better (instead of only relying on colors, which some people may have trouble distinguishing between):
You'll be able to mix and match these parts in your custom tanks to make more interesting designs. Also, if you prefer the flat, simpler look of the tanks, you'll be able to revert these changes with an option. See you soon!

Hey everyone! So it's been a while since the last update, and I didn't want to leave you all in the dark about the future of the game. I'm still alive and working on the game! The next update, Tanks v1.4, is coming soon, and will bring the highly anticipated ability to make custom tanks with an all-new tank editor. You'll be able to change over 50 options for each tank to create your own tanks, and use these tanks in your levels and crusades! I'm also adding some new other features, like the light blue tank which blows wind, and the salmon tank which launches homing bullets. If you want to see all of these in action and get more information, go check out the video below! [previewyoutube=xht-0XOhw7g;full][/previewyoutube] And version 1.4 is not where the fun ends. There are more planned features on the list for after 1.4, like first person view, Steam Workshop support, collaborative level editing, and better custom bullets. Until the next one, -aehmttw

Hey everyone, I have received reports over the last few weeks of Tanks performing rather poorly in multiplayer while over Steam peer-to-peer. Upon further investigation, I discovered a bug with the packet buffering which was causing packets to not be sent when they should have been sent, and instead waiting a bit longer. This bug was first introduced somewhere around v1.3.1, in an attempt to improve network performance. I've hopefully fixed the bug, and uploaded a new version of the game to Steam. If you still have issues with playing multiplayer, please let me know. I'm sorry it took so long to get this fix out, I have been quite busy lately. But my summer is coming soon, so I'll have more time to develop the game! Update 1.4 is in development right now, and I hope you will like the new editor features and tanks it will bring :)

Hey everyone! It's time for another minor Tanks update, mainly one that fixes bugs. What's new in Tanks v1.3.3: - Minor updates to shaders - Minor improvements to the renderer - Sound engine updated PS. One of the devs might have had a bit too much to drink last night. Hopefully it doesn't affect the game experience :)

Hey everyone! It's time for another minor Tanks update, mainly one that fixes bugs. What's new in Tanks v1.3.2: - Changed appearance of electric bullets - Arc bullets can now be set to bounce - Bug fixes and other minor improvements

This is it! 4 years of working on this game have passed as of today! One fateful Friday afternoon - March 23rd, 2018, exactly 4 years ago - I had an extra long lunch break and decided I had enough free time to get started on an idea I had been wanting to pursue for a long time: a remake of the Tanks mini-game from Wii Play! So I got to work. I didn't know how much was ahead of me - over the next few years this game pushed me to learn a lot of stuff. Along the way, I converted my game from Java Swing to LWJGL OpenGL - learning an entirely new graphics library, ported the game to mobile devices, brought the game to use 3d graphics, learned GLSL to write shaders, learned how to use Vertex Buffer Objects as opposed to immediate mode rendering, launched the game on Steam, and more! The little Java Swing game I started off with grew to over 70,000 lines of code over 4 years, and it's been a fun journey. I'd like to thank my code contributors, Discord members, and friends for helping! This wouldn't have gotten to where it is without their ideas and support. If you want, you can join in too - by checking out the Discord and GitHub! As a little bonus, I've put together this little video that shows exactly how far this game has come. Hope you enjoy it! [previewyoutube=cYvCY9R2iQQ;leftthumb][/previewyoutube] Here's to another few years of Tanks! (And don't worry, there are more updates coming).

It's time for a new update! This one focuses on improving the game camera. What's new in Tanks v1.3.1: - Added maximum framerate option - Scroll while holding the zoom key for manual zoom - Added keybinds to manually zoom in and out - Added automatic zoom mode with keybind - Improved keybindings screen - Bug fixes and other minor improvements Thank you for playing Tanks!

Hey everyone! Some people were reporting the game not launching on Mac OS after the last update, 1.3.0. I've pushed an update to the Mac build of the game so that the game will now run as expected. No other changes were made to the game itself. I'm sorry for any inconveniences this bug may have caused.

It's time for a big update! [previewyoutube=lv5fx6oGR1c;rightthumb][/previewyoutube] What's new in Tanks v1.3.0: New features: - Added all-new castle crusade - Added cut, copy, and paste to level editor - Added multishot and shot spread options to bullets - Added crusade option to disable respawning tanks Sounds and music: - Added individual battle music tracks for each tanks - New editor music which changes based on tanks present - New sounds for winning and losing battles User interfaces: - Improved lists with search, sort, and jump buttons - New window options menu for resolution and fullscreen - New option to warn before closing unsaved work - New option to prevent mouse leaving the window bounds Improvements: - Cyan tanks are now immune to freeze bullets and ice - Improved game title appearance - Huge rendering improvements - Added translation support - Holes are now bigger - More animations on the crusade stats screen - Added native support for ARM64 (M1) architecture on Mac - Bug fixes and other minor improvements Thank you for playing Tanks: The Crusades. If you'd like to share levels and crusades you've made, find party buddies, or just chat with other Tanks players, you can join the Tanks Discord!

Hey everyone! It's time for another quality of life update to Tanks! What's new in Tanks v1.2.2: New features: - Added crusade statistics screen - Added music for editor and dark levels - Added deterministic mode for speedrunners - Added built-in item templates - Added option to show level names in crusades - Added indicator for where arc bullets will land - Added mini tank to level editor Improvements: - Hovering over the item bar slots shows keybinds - Leaving and rejoining a party crusade before a new level is loaded recovers progress - Explosive blocks now award players coins for kills - Level timer now shows in editor after playing from 'My levels' - Reworked the 'Save this level' button - You can now save levels you play in parties - Bug fixes and other minor improvements Thank you for helping Tanks reach 67k sales! If you'd like to get more involved with the game, feel free to join the Tanks Discord!.

Hey everyone! I've been hearing reports from numerous Windows users that Tanks was not launching. I've pushed an update to the Windows version of the game that changes how the game is launched which should hopefully fix these issues. From a small number of reports, it seems this update has solved the issue with launching on Steam, but if you are still encountering problems (or if the game will no longer launch anymore for you), please let me know! An added bonus is that with this minor update, Tanks extensions (mods) will now load properly on the Steam version of the game (at least for Windows), no more need to manually launch the JAR! Other than that, there are no new features to the game itself. But be on the lookout for Update 1.2.2 which will be coming soon, bringing an all-new stats screen when you finish a crusade :) Thank you for playing Tanks!

A new update has been released for Tanks: The Crusades with some quality of life improvements! What's new in Tanks v1.2.1: - Added party host options menu - Added option to disable all friendly fire in parties - Added option to change the party countdown timer - Added auto ready multiplayer option - Added fullscreen button (in addition to the key) - Arc bullets now have colored shadows - Teleporter orbs are now the color of the teleporting tank - Player spawns are now more spread out in versus mode - Flash from bullets harmless to you (friendly fire off) is bigger - Bug fixes and other minor improvements Thank you for playing Tanks: The Crusades, and stay tuned for more updates in the future! If you have any ideas or requests for features or changes, feel free to join the Tanks Discord!