Version 1.0.9.0 Released

Update 12/26/2009: John S. Myth just provided me with a linux script for the GM tool. I just added it to the download, so if you already downloaded the release, and wanted the new script, just download it again. Thanks John!!

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Merry Christmas!! My kids are all off in their rooms playing with their new toys, so I found a few moments to myself to wrap up another release, just in time for ROUND TWO of the Magic Realm tournament. I'll be hosting one of three boards, so I thought I'd lessen the burden on myself by releasing a GM tool for editing and repairing save games.

For windows users, the new tool can be accessed by running the batch file:

gm.bat

For the rest of you guys running on non-windows systems, you'll have to create your own script. The only line you really need is:

javaw -mx384m -cp RealmSpeak.jar com.robin.magic_realm.RealmGm.RealmGmFrame

If javaw doesn't work, try it with java alone:

java -mx384m -cp RealmSpeak.jar com.robin.magic_realm.RealmGm.RealmGmFrame

The tool is relatively easy to use (for me), so hopefully you guys can figure it out. Simply open any rsgame file, and you'll see the characters, items and map appear. I think its pretty self-explanatory, but I expect there will be some confusing bits too. Please e-mail if you have any questions!!

I also made some tweaks to the expansion, based on a game I played with some friends. Mostly just toning down a couple of things that were just a little too hard, and fixing up some of the fame/notoriety/gold values of the new small treasures (had some complaints that these were too inconsistent with the original game). I also "lightened" the weight of many of the small treasures, for the same reason.

The rest of this release is a bunch of bug fixes that were prevalent in the first round of the tournament. I'm hoping with this done, the GMs will have an easier time of it!

Anyway, here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• RealmSpeak GM Tool
  
  • Edit ANY RealmSpeak save game
    
  • Change the location of any piece on or off the map
    
  • Change the states of character chits (fatigue,wound,color,alerted)
    
  • Add/Remove Curses
    
  • Change hidden/blocked status
    
  • Revive the dead, kill the living
    
  • Reset monsters on the setup card
    
  • Move treasures to any treasure location or dwelling
  
  
• [1592] - Hired Leaders and Controlled Monsters are included in HTML export, so you can see their inventory too.

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Changed how the "Charge Character" button works to reduce confusion. Now, you need only click it, and it will show you a list of characters you can charge.
  
• [1588] - Fixed a problem that was causing a charge chit to be counted twice for purposes of fatigue
  
• [1605] - Fixed 7th day magic for season ICE (BLACK now instead of WHITE)
  
• [1145] - Fixed a bug that would prevent you from using multiple extra moves from multiple items/horses when one item is incapacitated.
  
• [1600] - Fixed a bug that would cause characters to become unhidden when a follower traded with the leader during a turn (network play only)
  
• Saving the game in the middle of a player turn works correctly now.
  
• Adjustments to Expansion
  
  • Small/Large treasure prices and fame/notoriety to bring more in line with comparable Small/Large treasures from the original game
    
  • Adjusted the weights of some Small treasures to be more consistent
    
  • Tweaked the spider that protects the web a bit, so it isn't so insanely deadly! (way too hard)
    
  • Removed "Flutter X" from the H Harpies, so that you don't have to fight these AND Giant Bats at the same time in X tiles (a party killer for sure)
    
  • [1594] - Swapped "Elven Poetry" and "Incantations" names (they were backward)
  
  
• [1601] - Fixed a NPE in the connections viewer
  
• [1597] - You can play an artifact enchanted to color magic during combat now (enhanced magic rules)
  
• [1568],[1585] - Potions will only be added to notes now, and nothing you haven't seen already will be revealed.
  
• [1598] - When canceling a spell with Dissolve Spell or Remedy, you'll be able to tell the difference between multiple Transform or Absorb Essence spells.
  
• Fixed a problem with the "hire" symbol on hirelings for custom characters.
  
• [1607] - Fixed a bug that would allow you to buy an item with a fame price, and go into negative fame, when the "No Negative Points" house rule was in effect.
  
• [1557] - The familiar will correctly SPY on another character looting or using a secret/hidden path now.
  
• [1599] - Buying drinks will no longer exclude OR double the number of natives that are following other characters.
  
• [1606] - Fixed a bug in the combat summary display that incorrectly showed simultaneous hits that kill, as non-kills.
  
• [1567] - When Power of the Pit result Blight/Terror causes the last character chit to be wounded, the character will die now.
  
• [1596] - Fixed a problem with Enchanted Items (i.e., Flowers of Rest) not showing their color or function in native dwellings.
  
• [1581] - When a character is put to sleep, they can no longer be blocked, or block monsters.
  
• [1589] - Familiar no longer waits for blocking decisions (since it cannot be blocked)
  
• [1603] - Added to code to distinguish between missile weapons (bow/crossbow) and thrown weapons (Alchemists Mixture/Holy Grenade).
  
• [1545] - Fixed a problem that would sometimes make hirelings vanish when the character ran from the clearing.

Installing RealmSpeak

One of the most common issues I have come to my e-mail box, is regarding installation of RealmSpeak. The way it is now, you have to download the application (2MB), and if the images have changed, the resource pack (11MB). This keeps the amount you have to download to a minimum, though it can be a little tricky to install. You have to unzip the resource pack and the application into the same folder, and this has caused many installs to choke. Usually, people don't extract the entire zip file, and end up losing important files that prevent the game from launching.

I've thought about numerous other solutions. One solution involves using Java Web Start to install the app. The definite advantage here, is that it installs in a way I specify, and even downloads Java JREs if you are missing what you need. The problem with this approach, is it is difficult as heck for me to setup (a Java Web Start newbie), and requires some type of Jar file signing, that I don't completely understand. Oh, its worth mentioning that this is the approach the Titan for Java (Colossus) project chose, and its rather nice.

Another solution is to use an independent installer builder package, like wItem for Java. The advantage here is that you get all the features of an installer that you expect: it creates a shortcut in your Start menu, uninstallation, all file handling, creation of exe style launch scripts with an icon. Very cool, but this pretty much leaves my Mac/Linux/Sun users high and dry. Also, using this type of installer means the file is going to be 15 MB every time there is an update. With today's bandwidth sizes, I suppose that isn't a big deal, but I just don't know.

I'm going to post a poll on the sidebar shortly. If you have an opinion on the matter, please mark something on the poll, and/or make a comment on this post. I probably won't do anything major until the new year, but if I don't hear from you, I can't possibly know what you want to see! :-)