Version 0.40 Released

Happy New Year!!

I had a sweet vacation! My brother-in-law visited, and I got some serious boardgaming off my chest. We played Runebound (two different campaigns), Arkham Horror, and Lord of the Rings. Oddly, we didn't play Magic Realm at all, but that's only because it is so danged easy to play online anymore, that it wasn't worth the trouble to set it up. That, and the fact we wanted to try out some new games. Very fun!!

Anyway, once he left, and some of the Christmas festivities had past, I found myself with some free time to work on RealmSpeak. Of note, there is now the ability to play with a player-generated board. It's got a few flaws (it restarts when you run out of places to play a tile), but for the most part, I think it works pretty well.

Also of note in this release, is that I've upgraded my ant build to use Java 1.5, instead of Java 1.4. You will see a warning when you start RealmSpeak if you are using an older version of Java, but otherwise will be able to continue. Please take the time to upgrade your Java installation, as it will make your RealmSpeak experience better (trust me!) If you want Java 1.5, follow this link:

   Java 5

and click the fourth "Download" button down on the page (JRE 5.0 Update 10). If you feel the need to be on the forefront of technology, there's the latest release Java 6:

   Java 6

Again, click on the fourth "Download" button down on the page (JRE 6), and you should be good to go. I haven't tried JRE 6 yet myself, so I can't vouch for its stability.

Okay, here's what's new in this release:

NEW FEATURES:

• This version of RealmSpeak is compiled under Java 1.5, and may encounter problems with Java 1.4. I recommend upgrading your Java installation to play it. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it was a necessary move.
  
• You can include Giants/Ogres/Goblins as hirelings in the combat builder now
  
• Fixed a performance bug in the board builder: boards are built nearly instantaneously now. This really helps in the case of double-boards.
  
• Players can build the board now!
  
  • New option in game setup window allows you to choose between auto-build, and player-build.
    
  • Host waits until ALL players have logged in, and then presses the "Build Map" button. Tiles are distributed, and players start placing tiles, starting with the player who has Borderland. (Borderland A in a double-board game)
    
  • When playing solitaire, this option provides single tiles that you can place one at a time, starting with Borderland.
    
  • When the very rare situation arises where a player can no longer place a tile, it should start the process over, though I've been having trouble with this part. I will clean this up at a later date.
  
  
• [389] - New feature on inventory, and unassigned denizen panels: clicking on a green eye icon allows you to view the other side of counters contained within.
  
• [506] - Natives with living horses have a horse icon on them now, so you can distinguish them from natives with dead horses during the luring step in combat.
  
• [654] - New house rule allows you to play where monster weapon hits (head/club) aren't sufficient to cause T Monsters to turn RED side up

BUGS/ISSUES:

• [650] - Fixed an error that happened during summoning on double boards.
  
• [646] - Native terms of hire are by days, not turns now (ie., when playing shortened weeks in seasons)
  
• [661] - HIRE phases when dealing with pacified monsters, will be hired as a "group", not individually
  
• [662] - Hired Ogres and Goblins that own their combat sheet can be flipped like hired natives now
  
• [658] - Cache no longer "hides" clearing-affecting treasures (ie., Flowers of Rest, Dragon Essence, etc)
  
• [651] - Demon wont jump on Pilgrim sheet when he has a hireling anymore.
  
• [664] - Fixed a double-board bug that caused the game to freeze when you ran away in a "B" tile.
  
• [665] - Fixed a problem where using the Timeless Jewel, and trying to move down an undiscovered path, caused the game to hang.
  
• Cleaned up a problem with the client/server code that could cause some rare data loss during transfers. This may have been the source of random hangs for some time, but I'm not sure. Time will tell!
  
• [687] - Fixed a typo in the length of T Dragon heads to 9 (not 8!)
  
• [663] - Ambush works with non-attack spells that target individuals now.
  
• [670],[673] - Non-characters are no longer considered for the Hall of Fame. Game date is included in the display.
  
• [678] - Spells are no longer "doubled" in the spell chooser when playing a double-board game
  
• [666] - Fixed the multiplying phantasms crash bug
  
• [653] - T chits created by Unleash Power spell will suffice for opening the Vault.
  
• [682] - Fixed a problem where Hired Leaders were not using their own horses to carry inventory.
  
• [677] - Dragonfang Necklace and other control spells are cancelled if hirelings are attacking the target.
  
• [525] - Fixed an issue that left luring hirelings unassigned if they lured a Giant or T Dragon, instead of moving to the new sheet.
  
• [674] - Transmorphed monsters in color magic will no longer crash the game when they are summoned back to the setup card
  
• [655] - Casters that are killed by non-simultaneous attacks, will have their attack spells cancelled.
  
• [535] - Mission chits are completed automatically when you enter the target dwelling now, instead of waiting until midnight.
  
• [487] - When you move by clicking on the map, you will get the "unassigned hirelings" warning now (if appropriate).