The Natives... are watchful?

I'm getting a lot of reports that the "Watchful Natives" option is breaking the combat interface. I've identified and fixed the bug that causes this, but I'm probably not going to do a patch release because there is a reasonable workaround: don't turn this option on.

If you are playing combat, and discover that the NEXT button doesn't advance, or something else seems to be unresponsive, you've likely encountered this bug.

Sorry about that folks!

Version 0.31 Released

Wow, it's been a long time since the last release. You might expect a big release for that length of time, but keep in mind I did take nearly a month off from coding. Still, looking at the feature list, it does seem to be a lot.

Before I get into the features, I would like to take a moment to thank all of you that have been posting bug reports, and helping me determine which need the most attention, and which are misunderstandings of the rules. Without you guys, I'm afraid the RealmSpeak project might have died many months ago. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Okay, onto the changes. Since you can simply read the features down below, I'm not going to reiterate them too completely here, but I do want to point one thing out in particular: the behavior of combat is changed slightly, and that may annoy some of you. Up until this release, there were some actions you could perform that would automatically press the next button for you, an advance to the next stage. Some examples: selecting a melee target, running away, alerting a weapon, etc. There were other actions which did NOT do this, and this makes for a confusing interface.

To absolve this issue, I decided to make ALL actions require pressing the NEXT button. Though this means you will have to press NEXT when you used to not, it also means that you have a few moments to change your mind, or fix a "mis-click" by pressing the RESET button. I've come to like the change, and I think you will too. If not, you have my e-mail!! :-)

Okay, here's what you can expect in this release:

NEW FEATURES:

• When trading with natives, you can now trade items as part of the cost
  
• 3rd-edition optional rules added:
  
  • Knight's Adjustment (ALLY becomes FRIENDLY)
    
  • Watchful Natives (mostly - natives assigned randomly to hirelings when character is hidden, for now)
  
  
• Couple of new features in the combat simulator:
  
  • You can adjust the HIDE status of hirelings separate from character
    
  • You can choose whether or not hireling horses are included

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Flowers of Rest owned by unhired native groups will cause people to sleep now (once they've been "seen")
  
• Resolved issues with Timeless Jewel: RealmSpeak would get confused about your location if you tried moving through an undiscovered path.
  
• Fixed a problem with placing a horse during combat on the non-galloping side (trotting)
  
• Fixed an issue with the way rest phases were being counted during daylight
  
• Unfixed/Refixed the problem with the REST dialog - Now you can press the Done button if you still have REST phases, but it warns you that this is the case. (otherwise, WITHER causes an unresolvable situation that causes the game to stop)
  
• Flying from combat will position you between two tiles - Flying MUST be your first action on the following day
  
• Activated horses and boots are properly handled when a new item is aquired that is too heavy for either to carry
  
• Artifacts and Books can now only be used once per evening
  
• Wish Strength can be used to open the VAULT
  
• Cloven Hoof in native inventory, having not been seen, no longer adds one to your die rolls
  
• Fixed an issue where hired leaders and controlled monsters couldn't open the VAULT, even though their strength was sufficient
  
• Fixed an inconsistency in the behavior of the buttons in the "Encounter" phase of combat. Now ALL encounter actions require pressing NEXT, which means you also have a chance to press reset if you make an error. This might take some getting used to...
  
• Dragonfang necklace works again
  
• Vial of Healing is implemented (I thought it was before, but I clearly never wrote code for it)
  
• Getting transported by the Toadstool Circle no longer includes your hirelings (they are left behind)
  
• Familiar, Phantasm, Hired Leaders, and Controlled Monsters no longer count towards the "Character Limit" you set at the beginning of the game.
  
• Combat simulator works for setting up natives against natives without a character
  
• Trading the Regent of Jewels in your first TRADE phase no longer causes you to lose the TRADE phase bonus that that treasure gives you'
  
• Calculation of clearing distance is correct for missions that have multiple possible paths to the same destination now
  
• END combat for multiple online players should work properly now
  
• WITHER Curse properly fatigues alerted and color chits, in addition to normal active chits

ps - no current plans for an online game, so I can't really say with confidence that the online portion of RealmSpeak is working again. If you decide to play an online game with a friend or two, I'd love to hear from you regarding how it goes! When I do get a chance to play online, you know I'll post it here!

Watchful Natives

I had a request to add some 3rd edition rules into the game, and I decided to get that together for the next release. The two you can expect to see are "Knight's Adjustment" and "Watchful Natives". Should make the Inn masacres less prevalent, and balance the game a bit.

I think I fixed the bug that killed my last online game, so I may have to schedule another one very soon. I probably wont do a release until right before that game (sometime in the next couple of weeks?)

Lots and lots of other things. As always, you can watch my progress at the bug tracker. Simply log in, and click the Change Log link at the top of the page to see what's been fixed in the newest version. If you don't already have an account there, feel free to get one: it's not required that you report issues to have a login, and I'll never use your e-mails for anything else (ie., I wont sell you off to any spammers!) Plus, if you ever do decide to chime in on a bug, you'll be set to go!

Goin' Solo

I'm back into the meat of coding for RealmSpeak, for those of you that haven't noticed the issues getting resolved over at the bug tracker. I made a decision to focus on the "solo" game for now, and get some things resolved that affect the solitaire player.

Honestly, I think the issues affecting the network play are fairly minor, but I'm still a bit frustrated about my last game to even explore what might have gone wrong. Except for that, version 0.30 is a pretty solid release (at least in my hands).

Lots of new stuff planned in v0.31. I've been attempting to tackle the oldest issues first, because some of you have been waiting for a long time for things. One in particular, is the ability to trade items along with gold to purchase things from natives. I finished the interface tonight, and am working on integrating it into the game. It looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself!

Well, I gotta go read stories to my kids before they go to bed, so I'll wrap this up for now. Look for a new release in a couple weeks!

Takin' a Short Break

After my last game of RealmSpeak flopping like it did, I decided to take a break from coding for a bit. I haven't touched the code in over a week, and probably wont for at least a week more. I've been trying to keep up with the bug tracker, but only to acknowledge new entries.

When I get rolling again, I'll let you all know!

Still No Dice

I just finished an hour's worth of trying to play RealmSpeak online with no luck. The interface froze up after one day, and we had to quit. Trying it again with an older version (0.28) it died after one day.

(sigh) I'm thinking its time to rethink how I'm doing the networking in RealmSpeak. The solo game is just fine (mostly), and it really only breaks down when you are playing online (recently). I really don't like the instability I'm seeing, so I gotta come up with a better solution.

Sorry guys!

Cheating in RealmSpeak

Cheating? You can cheat in RealmSpeak?

Well, yes you can. I created code long ago that allowed me to cause things to happen in the game, without having to wait for them to happen at random. I thought that there are enough of you now playtesting the game all the time, that it might be worth letting you know how to do this, so you can recreate situations at will.

With the release of version 0.30, you'll find a new batch file called: cheat.bat. Use this, instead of the run.bat you normally use, and you will run the game in "CHEAT" mode. To cheat in game, click on the character token in your character frame, and a nondescript dialog will appear. Type "help" in this dialog, and you will see all the good stuff you can do.

What about online games? Anyone using the CHEAT mode will gain the permanent title "Cheater!". I wouldn't recommend doing this if you want to play with the same people again! ;-)

One other note: the cheat mode was meant for me, and as such, is not exactly "user-friendly". To gain a particular item, you have to type it's name EXACTLY as it is printed on the card, and it IS case-sensitive. For example: to aquire the timeless jewel, you'd have to type:

Timeless Jewel

Any other way you type it, nothing will happen.

Okay, that's all I have to say about that. If you have questions, let me know!

Version 0.30 Released

Well, this should alleviate the issues of v0.29. If you want to wait a day or two, I'll let you know how tonight's game goes. I'm playing with 3 other players (I think), so if it works, I'll be happy! I'll post the experience here, either tomorrow or Sunday. If you want to give it a go yourself, it's only a 2 MB download!

Assuming all is well with v0.30, I think this will be a cool release. Combined with the features I attempted to add in v0.29, this will be the first release that permits battle "observation", which is a big plus. That means if you aren't involved directly in a combat, you can STILL watch the goings-on, something that wasn't possible in earlier releases. This also means you can have "game observers" that don't actually play a character (assuming people have an interest in that).

One neat new feature in v0.30, is the ability to click on clearings without the requirement of first pressing the MOVE button on the character frame. This will save a lot of back-and-forth motions with the mouse, especially when you are travelling a long ways across the map with a horse or pony! Make sure the top character frame is the one you want to move, and then simply click clearings to move. Of course, if you prefer to see your options, you can still press the MOVE button each time. That's up to you!

Oh, before I forget, I made a change to the time delay that's built into the client/server relationship. If you've ever played online, you've probably noticed a bit of a delay getting things to happen. Hopefully this works well: another reason to wait and see how tonight's game goes!

Okay, here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• You can rehire your hirelings now (extends their term of hire by 14 days)
  
• If you click on a clearing during the recording phase, RealmSpeak will now automatically record a MOVE action for the active character (no need to continuously hit the MOVE button)

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Reduced the delay in the server wait time per request. This should make the online game a bit more spunky. (Though I'm concerned it will have an adverse effect on slower computers... I'm sure you'll tell me if you have problems!)
  
• I think I fixed the recent combat frame problems for good. I did a bit more hard-core testing, including all of these situations:
  
  • Normal combat for a single local player
    
  • Normal combat for a single online player
    
  • Normal combat for two local characters
    
  • Normal combat for two different online combats
    
  • Running from combat without hirelings
    
  • Running from combat with hirelings
    
  • Running from combat with another online character staying behind
    
  • Ending combat while in a clearing with another character's hireling(s)
  
  
• Realm Log window now scrolls to the bottom by default
  
• Fixed a bug that caused Native HQ's horse to get put into the native's hold when becoming unhired
  
• RealmSpeak no longer tries to make the Witch's familiar place a visitor/mission chit
  
• Discovering the Flowers of Sleep now affects players that have already taken their turn too
  
• Losing your turn do to the Flowers of Sleep will no longer summon monsters (as per Richard Hamblen's Q&A on Nand's site)
  
• Moved the "Setup Card" button out of the character frame, and into the character list window (makes more sense there)
  
• The REST dialog no longer allows you to skip your rests by pressing the Done button.
  
• The detail button in the combat frame now opens the game log window (or moves it to the front) since it now has the same information anyway
  
• When you do an SP phase and get the options, its much clearer which buttons will affect the tile, and which will affect the chit (the tile icon is included on the button)
  
• Fixed a bug where clearing restrictions (ie., Mountain clearing) were being ignored for spells on artifacts and books

Not Quite Right

Well, there are still some issues with how I changed the behavior of the combat frame, and I think I'm going to stop with the "bugfix" releases for now. I need to give it some real testing, and that isn't likely to happen until the weekend (my weeknights have been insane recently!) If you want to play RealmSpeak, I recommend v0.28, as it is the last version before I changed the combat screens. I'll get the code tested, and do a real release in the next week or so. Thanks for being patient with me!

Version 0.29.2 Bugfix Release

Still some major things wrong with 0.29, so I'm doing another bugfix. Sorry about that!

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Fixed a problem with targeting monsters on another character's sheet while you have monsters on your own sheet (broke this back in version 0.24!)
  
• Fixed the run problem a different way (the way I fixed it in 0.29.1 didn't account for hirelings! oops...)
  
• Fixed the situation where one hidden character is being battled by natives, and another unhidden character is not, and you couldn't press the End button. (does that make any sense?) In any case, it's fixed.
  
• Fatigue/Wounds center on combat frame now, NOT game frame

Version 0.29.1 Bugfix Release

This always happens when I'm anxious to get new features out: I hurry through the testing stage, and miss something crucial. Since I never "ran away" in any of my tests, I completely missed the problem. The problem was minor but annoying enough to require a fix. I also found a problem with something I fixed in the pacify spells (Persuade, to be specific) that needed immediate attention. I apologize if you already downloaded 0.29, but you are really going to want this release where these problems are now fixed.

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention in my last release: v0.29 requires a new resource pack, so be sure to grab that before playing. If you don't, RealmSpeak will complain. :-)

Here's what's new here:

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Fixed a problem with the combat window not closing after a character runs
  
• Fixed another issue with the pacify spells

Run Away might be broken in v0.29

Not sure, but I had the combat window freak out on me while running away. May have to do a quick bug fix...

Version 0.29 Released

Not much to say, except here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• No longer need to "approve" trades between characters belonging to the same player
  
• Improvements to the combat interface:
  
  • Pressing END now polls by PLAYER, not by CHARACTER. This means that if you are playing a SOLO game, you need only press the END button one time per clearing. No more endless clicks on the stupid END button when playing multiple characters in a solo game!!
    
  • All players can observe all battles now (no more twiddling your thumbs wondering what is going on)
    
  • Combat Window stays "open" until combat has ended for all players (no more flashing window - there is still some blink in the interface itself though)
    
  • "End Simulation" button when playing a combat simulation so you can quit right away.
  
  
• RealmBattle allows you to choose awakened spells on books now too
  
• New Help menu item: Key to Remodeled Counters
  
• Playing the game with combat turned OFF now displays the words "COMBAT OFF" instead of the "Daily Combat" checkbox.

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Fixed a bug when absorbing one of Pruitt's monsters
  
• "Hide character chits" option includes phantasms and familiars now
  
• Using a color chit to transform during combat now immediately updates the frame image
  
• Pacification spells are properly cancelled now if hirelings are already assigned to attack the pacification target (3rd edition rule 8.4.2.h.1)
  
• Can only assign hirelings during Birdsong
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes hides the "Game Over" screen before you have a chance to look at it.
  
• Blocked characters can no longer trade

Version 0.28 Released

Hooray! This is a big release, in my opinion, because it is the first one since I added long duration spells to RealmSpeak that actually works as I meant it to. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the previous post below. For the rest of you, here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• RealmBattle (the battle simulator) now uses the chit style you have selected in RealmSpeak
  
• RealmBattle now supports making duplicates (if you so desire) of denizens for testing double-board battles. Simply make sure the "Make Duplicates" checkbox is checked before adding denizens or hirelings.
  
• RealmBattle now allows you to choose an awakened spell for an artifact (not books yet)

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Fixed a bug with phases gained from permanent spells
  
• Fixed a general bug in the action panel behavior when the Timeless Jewel is activated
  
• Fixed (at long last) the bug which caused duration spells to sometimes get stuck in one state or another
  
• Fixed a problem where characters are able to move Gloves cards from other characters
  
• When an invalid action is encountered during your turn, you must resolve the issue, or press Play Next to make it a BLANK phase.
  
• Multiple non-simultaneous hits on a mounted native will spill through to the rider, making it possible now to kill a mounted native in one round.
  
• If a character is not in the same clearing with his hirelings (they are following another character), the 1st hireling is highlighted on the character's turn in combat instead. (used to default to the first row which is confusing)
  
• Monsters under the influence of Melt-into-Mist no longer block character activities
  
• Misty monsters are ignored when determining whether the END button should be disabled or not (ie., you can end combat in a clearing that contains only a monster transformed into Mist)
  
• Another fix to Pruitt's monsters (sigh) to get them to return to the setup card properly
  
• Terror result in Power of the Pit, no longer kills L and M characters outright
  
• Power of the Pit no longer affects transformed character chits
  
• Transformed characters that are killed, will now properly untransform, and drop inventory in the clearing
  
• Witch's familiar no longer loses its turn when the Witch is following another character.
  
• Any character with ability to use one die with missile weapons (ie., Elf), no longer get an advantage with missile attacks (ie., Fiery Blast)

Big Bad Permanent Spell Bug Fixed!

As some of you may have encountered, there has been a problem with Permanent spells in RealmSpeak. On occasion (seemingly at random), a Permanent spell will get stuck in one state or another. The most common appearance of the bug, is the inability to energize an inert spell. Worse yet, is having a Permanent spell (ie., Transform) get stuck in the ON state!!

At long last, I found the source of the problem in the code. Want to see the bug? It's easy to reproduce in version 0.27 or earlier: play the Sorceror and choose these spells: Transform, Fiery Blast, and Phantasm. Make sure you have at least three purple color chits, and move yourself to a safe Valley clearing. Save the game, and then try one of the following scenarios:

Scenario 1:
Day 1 - Cast Transform on yourself.
Day 2 - Cast Phantasm
Day 3 - Do nothing (ie., waste the Phantasm)
Day 4 - Fatigue a color chit: no spells to energize!!

Scenario 2:
Day 1 - Cast Transform on yourself.
Day 2 - Cast Phantasm
Day 3 - Fatigue a color chit during the day: energize your transform spell
Day 4 - You are stuck in a transformed state!!

You see, in both scenarios, the Phantasm spell expires at the end of the 3rd day. When it expires, the permanent spell list is wiped out (this is the bug), and RealmSpeak "forgets" which permanent spells were alive. If you are transformed when this happens, you never come out of it, because RealmSpeak doesn't know to make it inert. If it was inert, RealmSpeak doesn't list it when you fatigue a color chit.

The bug was so glaring in the code, I'm surprised it took me this long to see it. Fixing it was trivial, and should permanently (pun intended) resolve the situation. This fix will be in version 0.28, coming soon.

Version 0.27 Released

Lots of bug fixes here, including some that have been on my TODO list for many months. Also, I fixed a prowling problem with Pruitt's monsters, so if you tried the expansion, and were confused about their behavior, it will work now.

Here's what's new:

NEW FEATURES:

• Right-clicking on map brings up a pop-up menu to allow you to specify which chits are shown, and which are not

BUGS/ISSUES:

• RandomAssignment phase doesn't cause luring to fail in proceeding rounds of combat
  
• Dwarf (without the house rule) no longer does sun actions
  
• Mists (Melt into Mist) can only Move, Hide, or Follow, as per the rules
  
• Pruitt's Monsters prowl correctly (I had forgotten to specify the correct prowling monster die for these new monsters!)
  
• Combat detail now correctly identifies when a horse is hit and/or killed
  
• Fixed a bug that caused strange behavior when getting opportunity or trouble rolls on the meeting tables
  
• Spells that don't target Character or Denizen, no longer cause the spellcaster to become unhidden (ie., REMEDY, DISSOLVE SPELL)
  
• Hired Native Leaders no longer meet the requirement for summoning a visitor chit
  
• Transformed characters use color images (when that option is active)
  
• Items in inventory stay activated/inactivated when transformed (though frozen and unavailable)
  
• You can FLY to the same tile now without getting the error "Target tile too far away."
  
• Fixed a problem that was causing a slowdown when a player is between clearings
  
• Fixed a problem when several characters are running from a clearing at once
  
• Multiple simultaneous attacks no longer pass through armor and horses
  
• Added some text to describe the damage or destruction of armor
  
• Fixed problem where Encounter Stage was getting skipped when dissolving an Absorb Essence spell
  
• Fixed issues surrounding Transmorphed characters and fatigued chits
  
  • Cannot rest chits while transformed
    
  • Are not affected by Flowers of Rest while transformed
  
  
• Activate Potions are no longer dropped when you are killed (they go to the specified visitor)
  
• Treasure cards (Bejeweled Dwarf Vest, Golden Crown, Golden Arm Band) will now properly increase a character's gold amount when destroyed during combat.
  
• PEACE result from WISH table no longer ends combat immediately: you get the normal two rounds of combat to do actions

Version 0.26 Released

This release is a bit heavy on features, and light on bug fixes. I apologize to those of you waiting for bug fixes, but I got a bit sidetracked in this release doing things that will add some new flavor to the game. First off, I've got a first run of the visitor/mission chits going. It's not fully tested, but it should work. Characters can place the chits in boxes on the setup card, and they appear as they should. You can pick them up, provided you pay the fee, and the rewards should work. That's the part I haven't fully tested, but it should work. :-)

A big new feature in this release is the new color chits. Yes, that means you have to download a new resource pack, but the advantage should be obvious. Look in the options pulldown menu to make changes to the chit style. You can change these "in-game" so feel free to play around with it. I actually prefer the appearance of the color chits over the remodeled ones, but will switch to the remodeled chits to get information. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this bit.

Another biggie in this release, is my first run of an in-game log. This log is broadcast live to all the players, so should alleviate some of the "disconnected" feeling when playing with people online. Its got a ways to go (you can't save this log, and it's lost between games) but its a start. Look for the new button on the window that lists all the characters: it's the button with the three blue dots. Click this button anytime, and the log frame will appear. This frame can be left open, or closed again. Since it is a real frame, it appears separately on the task bar (Windows users), so you can quickly switch between it and the game. If you don't like the way I've implemented it, I'm definitely open for suggestion!!

Oh, I almost forgot! This release ALSO has the new monsters that a Magic Realm fan (Glenn Pruitt) put together. When you start a new game, look at the "Game Version" option. You have the choice of "Original Game" and "Pruitt's Monsters". When you use Glenn's monsters, you also commit to a new treasure setup card layout, so forget all your old habits! Wolves may pounce on you in the woods, and Bats (oh no, not bats!) might swarm you when you least expect! Of course, you may encounter a flock of crows, or a grumpy old Behemoth. If you want to know more about these monsters before commiting to a game, take a look at the previous post in this blog for a link.

I should mention something else: Glenn offered a number of possibilities for dealing with the Treasure Locations. Rather than make ALL the possibilities available, I decided instead to pick one, and use it. The one I liked the best, was letting the location of the Treasure Site determine which of the two available T monsters will come out. For example, the Pool in the caves will summon the T Octopus, but the same Pool in the Mountains will lure a Swamp Haunt!

Here's the official "What's New":

NEW FEATURES:

• Visitor/Mission/Campaign chits
  
  • Placement by characters, or randomized
    
  • Proper Summoning/Prowling behavior
    
  • Visitors: trading (buying spells!) - no buying drinks
    
  • Mission chits: properly display destination and reward
    
  • Campaign chits: properly display partners/foes and who is left
  
  
• Support for color chits OR remodeled (Evans/Frenzel) style chits
  
• Option to use Glen Pruitt's alternate monsters
  
• Live game log - this should alleviate some of the disconnected feeling when playing an online game.

BUGS/ISSUES:

• Transforming a mounted native into a frog (or whatever) includes the horse.
  
• Garrison natives regenerate properly now
  
• Terror results on PoP table no longer kills Heavies (L and M only)
  
• Can no longer read runes off of the Flying Carpet and DragonFang Necklace

Remodeled Chits and New Monsters

A number of you have asked for an option in RealmSpeak to use the new remodeled counters that Dan Evans made available (from John Frenzel's original design). Currently, the chits are quite boring:



They work, and you can tell what they are, but they don't offer much else. I decided to get onto Dan Evans' website, and see what it would take to make the chits work better. Swiping the graphics directly from the files provided (Dan, I hope you are cool with that!), I first did a run keeping the chits the same, but with the colorings that Dan did:



These look pretty nice, and are a definite improvement over the ones I was using! I then wrote the code required to make the chits render all the same values, which is the real reason for attacking this task. The result is good:



RealmSpeak will now have an option in the options menu that will let you choose between Classic, Color, and Remodeled chits.

Another task I tackled this time, is working a monster expansion into the game. That's right, an expansion, and the first of its kind in RealmSpeak. This expansion is the Alternate Monster Set by Glenn Pruitt, originally available here. Glenn provides a bunch of new monsters, and a completely new monster setup arrangement! Take a peek at this snip from the monster setup card:



Haven't played with the new monsters in a real game yet, but everything else about them works: they summon, reset, and behave the way Glenn designed them. Thanks Glenn!

Probably wont be a release for another week or so. I really need to tackle some nasty bugs before putting it out. Until next time.

Visitor/Mission chits

I had someone e-mail me the other day, and ask when I was planning on getting the Visitor/Mission chits into RealmSpeak. I've long put it off, because it was going to take some effort to get implemented, and the chance of getting one of these is so darn small anyway.

Well, the question sparked an interest, and with the Treasure Setup card view in place, I thought I'd toy with getting this part working. The good news is, the chits were fairly easy to add to my components list, and get into the view. They can be placed by characters (or randomly, your choice), and they can be summoned to the board (and flip on a die roll of six on the 7th day) as they should.

I still need to give the chits their behavior (they are just decorative right now), and build a way for characters to pick these up. That shouldn't be too hard, but I'm not sure. At the very least, I'll finish the Visitors so we can at least trade with them.

Back on Track

My friends and I played another game last night using the latest version (v0.25.1), and things ran a LOT more smoothly. We actually didn't have any trouble with the game until one point where trying to do a trade between two characters was causing a freeze up on one of the players machines. I saved the game, so hopefully I'll be able to duplicate the problem on my own machine, and get an error log to see what is happening. I suspect it has something to do with two players pressing the trade button at the same time, but I'm not sure.

In any event, the game was great. Though we are still mid-game (we quit at midnight) a LOT has happened, and these three characters (Captain, White Knight, Wizard) have gotten quite powerful. All three have horses, the White Knight has the Sacred Grail, the Wizard has the Dragon Essence, and the Captain has the Deft Gloves (among other things). We've looted the Lair and the Cairns, and wiped out the Inn. We are currently sitting in a safe woods tile pondering whether to explore the Altar (in the caves!) or the Shrine. That's for another day!

The Treasure Setup card view is sweet. It's so cool to check the status of the monsters now and again, and feel comfortable that a particular monster or native group wont be back for awhile. Feels a lot more like the board game.

Anyway, I'm happy with that release, so if you've been waiting, I say check it out. Now back to the code... :-)