Version 1.0.11.0 Released

Note: This release is not recommended for existing games, so if you are GMing a tourney game right now, you might want to wait on upgrading, or download the new version in a different place. To be honest, it will probably work just fine, but I did change some of the "behind-the-scenes" behaviors, and that might make an existing game behave strangely.

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This new release comes pretty close to wrapping up the entire expansion. Most of the travelers are implemented, and all the guilds work. I did make some adjustments to the rules and setup, so don't expect this to be identical to the expansion description I released years ago. If you want the most up to date rules, RealmSpeak provides them in the View->Expansion Rules menu items.

In short, there are 25 travelers, from which 12 are selected to be on the board per game. The traveler is a new kind of chit:


Take a look at the Traveler rules to learn the different ways you can interact with these new pieces, and discover their advantages.

Also new in this release, is a set of fully functional guilds:


The guilds are where you can essentially earn unique services by being a member, gain various native relationships, and even earn a new character chit. Read the provided rules to learn more.

Oh, and for those of you that have been giving me grief about my random number generator (I use the default Java Random class), I'm providing a new option that allows you to choose from a couple of other generators, that may or may not be better than the system one. If you want to see where I came up with these, take a look at this Michael Brundage essay for more details.

Almost forgot: I had something new happen that's NEVER happened before, since the very first release of RealmSpeak. I had another Java developer decompile the code, implement a feature he requested, and send me the changes. This developer, Matt Gardner, asked to have a feature to allow starting a game with a character at a higher level than four, in the spirit of being able to "keep" character gains from from game to game. His implementation works wonderfully, so I'm including it in this release. Thanks Matt!!!

Here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• [1646] - New house rule to allow you to place either side of a visitor/mission chit, even if the other side has already been placed.
  
• New house rule to allow you to exclude the campaigns, using only visitors and missions.
  
• [1647] - Option pane allows you to manage your favorite option settings. When the setup window pops up, be sure to look at the new control at the top of the window.
  
• Replaced the "Event" chits with "Sound" chits (decided I didn't like the Event concept for the expansion)
  
• Travelers are working (see rules under Expansion Rules under the View tab)
  
  • Currently there are 26 travelers, only 12 of which (randomly chosen) are active per game.
    
  • Move around the map
    
  • Those with gold circle amounts can be hired (HIRE phase)
    
  • Those with black circle amounts must be captured (SEARCH phase)
    
  • Those with green boxes offer services for sale (TRADE phase)
  
  
• Guilds are working (see rules under Expansion Rules under the View tab)
  
  • Record TRADE phases to interact with a guild
    
  • Thieves Guild must be discovered before you can trade with it
    
  • New "Ring of the Hero" treasure can be used for one free advancement
  
  
• Removed all of the "Hamlet" chits (replaced with traveler or gold chits)
  
• Changed the Guild setup so they are more likely end up in Woods, Valley, and Swamp (it makes more sense this way)
  
• [1550] - GM Tool allows you to remove the CHEAT flag from a character
  
• [1173] - The reason you cannot buy drinks (if appropriate) is shown in the trade windows now, and is written to the log.
  
• [1654] - New feature, programming courtesy of Matt Gardner, to allow you to start a game at a level higher than 4. Thanks Matt!
  
• Option to choose one of two different random number generators besides the default system one. If you have another to suggest, just let me know.
  
  • R250/521 (an old generator that's pretty well favored, and pretty reliable)
    
  • Mersenne Twister (a newer generator that is supposed to be even better than the R250/521)

BUGS/ISSUES:

• [1649] - Fixed a bug that causes the game to crash some days after you kill a generated monster in the expansion game
  
• [1331] - On multiple board setups, spells will no longer be setup indiscriminately across boards. "A" spells will go to the "A" board, "B" spells to the "B" board, and so on.
  
• [1653] - Alerted MAGIC chits can be used for enchanting.
  
• [1651] - Native horse being killed by another native no longer causes the game to crash.
  
• [1624] - Permanent spells will energize BEFORE testing block status when moving through a clearing with a permanent source of color magic.
  
• [1156] - Absorb Essence on artifact will expire now, once the caster is dead.
  
• [1604] - Permanent spells will no longer de-energize between tiles if you are carrying the color source.
  
• [1622] - The treasure that you are bidding on will no longer be logged for everyone to see, until you successfully purchase it.
  
• [1566],[1590],[1615] - No longer have to fatigue chits due to weather when you are transmorphed, and then die.
  
• [1621] - Timeless Jewel moves interrupted by heavy inventory will no longer mess up where RealmSpeak thinks you really are.
  
• [1632] - Following hirelings help support active treasure weight when moving.
  
• [1631] - When a hireling becomes unhired, an inventory check is made right away to verify that you can still carry everything.
  
• [1528] - Exorcise spell will no longer cause natives to become watchful and attack.
  
• [1554] - Spells cast with magic chits altered by another spell (i.e., Witch's Brew) will expire when the altered chits return to normal.
  
• When you find the Rune, but cannot learn the spell, it tells you so now.
  
• Fixed a bug when looting a heavy item or color emitting object from from the minor treasure locations, it correctly flips the treasure so you can see it.
  
• Random character selection buttons on character chooser no longer opens a new window: it merely selects a character, and you can opt to choose another, or press the button again.