I managed to make a custom level. It's an exhibition level. Each round has ten of one type of enemy, eleven rounds total. It does not have any destroyers, though.

I learned the hard way what AppearanceTime does. It is when the wave starts in relation to when the mission began. A flagship can start earlier if there aren't any enemies on the level. (So don't start all of your flagships at 1.0, or you'll have a really tough time getting rid of them.)

Overwrite whichever level you want in the Missions folder and then launch that mission to play. Unfortunately, tabs don't seem to show up properly, so you might have to manually add them.
--

PlanetPos: -59.925775 -58.509412 -13.288361
Weapons: 7 3
Force: 1
Indicators: 1 1
CamLookAt: 59.925775 58.509412 13.288361
CityRadius: 50
BonusGlobalPossibility: 1.00
BonusCount: 10

Bonus: LifeUp 0.1
Bonus: Repair 0.1
Bonus: TimeDown 0.1
Bonus: Field1 0.1
Bonus: Field2 0.1
Bonus: Field3 0.1
Bonus: Rate 0.1
Bonus: ForceUp 0.1
Bonus: Targeting 0.1
Bonus: TimeUp 0.01

FlagshipCount: 11

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 33.104601 39.654507 0.047036
AppearanceTime: 1.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
Fighter: 0
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 24.297057 -45.411572 3.844416
AppearanceTime: 61.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
Fighter: 1
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 30.018881 -8.595127 14.942201
AppearanceTime: 121.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
Fighter: 2
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: -12.189142 -18.162216 12.448866
AppearanceTime: 181.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
Fighter: 3
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: -30.767393 -2.564645 -14.661735
AppearanceTime: 241.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
Fighter: 4
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 11.104601 13.654507 0.047036
AppearanceTime: 301.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
Fighter: 5
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: -8.329879 13.856375 -8.665277
AppearanceTime: 361.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
Fighter: 6
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 8.297057 -15.411572 1.844416
AppearanceTime: 421.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
Fighter: 7
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 33.104601 39.654507 0.047036
AppearanceTime: 481.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
Fighter: 8
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: -24.329879 36.856375 -24.665277
AppearanceTime: 541.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
Fighter: 9
DestroyerWaves: 0

FlagshipType: 3
FlagshipPos: 35.018881 -13.595127 19.942201
AppearanceTime: 601.0
FighterWaves: 1
FighterCount: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
Fighter: 10
DestroyerWaves: 0

----
Fact: This game was actually available for purchase. It was originally called Defender of the Galaxies, and was published by AdrenalGames.

Thanks GMMan. will try that when I have the time. :)

Just tried out the game today, and I would say that I'm quite pleased with the quality of the game. That said, it's possible to create (or at least modify) levels to extend the game. I haven't thoroughly gone through everything, but here's a basic outline of the level format.

The level data are stored in the Skybox and Missions folders. The Skybox folder defines the level map (the cubemap, planets, various objects, clouds, etc.). The Missions folder contain enemy sequence for each level. I haven't gone through the Skybox folder in any detail, so I won't be covering that yet. What I would cover is the Missions folder.

Inside the Missions folder, there are files following the naming convention of missionx.txt, where the first x is the level number. It is a basic text file defining the player and the enemies.

PlanetPos: where the planet is in the map. This is used for the AI for homing in its meteorites and other planet-attacking enemies.
Weapons: Player's weapons. The first number is the type of laser/plasma, and the second is rockets. A -1 means that the weapon is not enabled.
Force: Not sure yet
Indicators: haven't tested. They could correspond to the lasers and rockets, though
CamLookAt: Probably where the player is located
CityRadius: Range of the city, probably for meteorite AI
BonusGlobalPossibility: How often the player would be offered a powerup
BonusCount: Types of bonuses defined

Bonus: Defines a type of bonus and the probability of it appearing. There are many types of powerups. Look at mission40.txt for the various different ones.

FlagshipCount: Number of enemy waves

FlagshipType: Wave type. No idea what it's really supposed to do. Will test out later
FlagshipPos: Where the enemies enter from
AppearanceTime: probably how long it takes for all the enemies of the wave to appear, though it could also mean how long for each of the enemies to appear.
FighterWaves: How many subwaves of enemies there are
FighterCount: How many enemies in each subwave
Fighter: type of enemy (repeat line until there are the same numbers of Fighter lines as the number in FighterCount
DestroyerWaves: Same format as the set for FighterWaves, except these probably target the planet
...
Repeat this block the same number of times as FlagshipCount.

That's the basic structure of the level file. Try making a level on your own now. I'm not sure if it's possible to add any levels, but you can certainly overwrite one of the level slots. As soon as I figure out more of the format and the Skybox files, I'll post some custom levels here. Have fun.

I got stuck in the mission 4, where a secret agent with an assigned mission, suddenly gets cold feet and refuses to move. I have tried all sorts of thing. I have freed the town of all enemy soldiers and cops, still the agent has a curious reluctance to move or talk or hand over the explosives to other mobile persons. I came here looking for solutions.

Windows XP

Windows Vista or Windows XP?

I have the same problem. I completed mission 1 and I am half way through mission two when it crashes. I have rebooted the system and tried it again but it does the same thing, crashes.

I have the same problem with the 4th mission.
I think the campaign.dat or mission.dat files get corrupt.

You can't find support for this game anywhere.

Not sure this is the right place to post a problem. I made it through the first level of Operation Victory. The game crashes when trying to start level two. Any suggestions?

Hi Musika and Merril. Bonnie here. I'll try to tell you how I fixed my Nuclear Ball today. It'll take me a while to get this right, so bear with me.

1. Last night I downloaded and installed the fix from
http://www.ursegames.com/games/nuclear-ball/nuclear-ball-setup.exe
into a new folder and did not overwrite the existing file.
2. I have no idea why I did this.
3. It started on the famous Level 29 and after killing the dreaded floating box, I played it as a "trial version" for the entire 60 minutes at which point it became unplayable.
4 :(
5. This morning, after some experimentation, I uninstalled the trial version.
6. My original game installed May 22 works like a charm and does not say Trial Version.
7. I have no idea why this worked.

I hope you are able to fix yours, Musika. It's a great game isn't it? I went to level 46 this morning and look forward to all 100 levels. I think it was awsome of the company to issue a fix to us. I'm going to send them an email now to thank them.

Thanks for the original link to the fix, Merril.

hmmm....
After I installed the new version I found out some level files are different, namely 6,21,29,36 and an extra 101.
(this means they did fix the problem I mentioned in level 36...)

Unfortunately I don't know. The link definitely worked 5 days ago (I did install and check it). Perhaps it is a different version there now.

I TRIED TO DOWNLOAD THE LINK THAT SAID THIS HAD BEEN FIXED, BUT IT WAS JUST THE DEMO VERSION. CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE TO GET THE FREE FULL VERSION. I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE IT.

I just finished the game. I don't know about level 36, all I can say I finished all 100 levels, although it seems I am the only one in this forum who succeeded in getting the game going again. If you didn't overwrite the GAOTD-game with the demo version, my instructions should work. I know they did for me.

It is possible they have since disabled the GOTD provided key. Perhaps they need to do another special build to fix this level also.

It this is something that hasn't really been tested - perhaps the full version should include a game that is fully playable.

If it is provided with 50 levels and only levels 1-15 are playable - I think it is only fair that the remaining levels should be accessible - otherwise the game really isn't a "full version". It is just half a game that doesn't expire.

I just got back to trying to straighten this game out. I clicked on the link above (in the post by rolliopogo). What I ended up with is a 60 min Demo version which, when I entered my code from the first day, states that it is "not correct. Try again." I didn't uninstall the game or anything, because it didn't say to anywhere. Any thoughts on how to straighten this out? Should I uninstall this and download from their site?

I suggest send them another email - to ask for a fix.

support@ursegames.com

Hmmm...seems that the same problem comes again on level 36 :(
Two shoot balls go sweeped the whole floor in 5 mins without a sign that these huge 'floating' blocks want to get down...

I used the download link BEFORE jtpjc posted the information on how to do it without having the registration key lost so I now only have a demo version.

Moderator - please see if URSE Games will allow this game to be posted again for one 24 hour download time on Game Giveaway. I really would like to get that program running again.

If there is some other way that I can find the old registration key on my computer to use with my new download please let me know.

Thanks.

The above tips didn't work for me. However, I got the GAOTD-version working again and now I am at level 30. I am still registered and there is no time limit. This is how to do it:

Download the demo version, as mentioned above.
Install it into a different directory than the original one.
Go into the new directory and copy the file \Media\Level\Arcade\29.dat.
Paste this file into the directory of the same name of your GAOTD-game. Obviously, you should overwrite the existing one.

Since the demo version overwrites the original copy of the GAOTD Nuclear Ball icon on your desktop, you should change the link to the original location of the game. Otherwise you will start the time limited demo.

Hope this helps.

I went directly to the Urse games site and downloaded the demo. That works.

I hope GOTD offers the "fixed" version of this game in the near future.

@oddly- I got an IE error when I tried that link. Thanks anyway. *sighs*

I re-downloaded the game at the following link and installed it over my existing game directory and it is still the registered full version. It seems that the game picks the registration code and previous save info from the old directory. I didn't uninstall the first game though.

http://www.ursegames.com/games/nuclear-ball/nuclear-ball-setup.exe

I hope this helps.

I'm confused. Does the activation key from yesterday work for the fixed download or not? I hope so. If not, it's free, but unfair. If it does, can someone please post it? I can't find it in the program files. Who could have known the game was afflicted with a devastating bug?

It is possible that the uninstall only removed the files - but left the activation key on your PC - install the new version and check if it works.

If not, you are out of luck - as the key is only available during the 24 hour giveaway period.

Yes Bubby, in light of the overall problem experienced by most users concerning level 29, would you be so kind as to either

1: ReSend me the reactivation code as I have downloaded the replacement version of Nuclear Ball this morning. (I did not see this post and replacement version of Nuclear Ball with the "fix" to level 29.) I did not save or write down the reactivation code. OR

2. I still have the original version installed on my computer. Where can I specifically locate the activation code. In program files? If so, please point me to it.
You can send it to my email address. Many persons were frustrated yesterday and in light of this extenuating circumstance, It would be greatly appreciated so the game can be played without this problem. I look forward to your response-thanks so much.

Hi BuBBy or Anyone

Where can I get the Key for Nuclear Ball as I had uninstalled it due to problems with Level 29. Now I see that they have fixed it.

Thanks

Terry

I just installed their updated "fixed" version from

http://www.ursegames.com/games/nuclear-ball/nuclear-ball-setup.exe

The key from yesterday still works with this version.

(FYI - I never installed yesterdays version, so that is still an unknown).

Hello BuBBy ... Any chance "USRE" will alow a "fix" or repete of "Nuclear Ball" ? I Just saw the message of the fix above. Thanks !