Choose Your Language

Thursday 22 May 2008

The Heart Of The Problem (ADV)

This evening went well again, even though I did encounter a handful of minor bugs. There was one that had been introduced with an earlier fix that was supposed to drop a hint to those who may have become locked behind the force-field with no way out. However, the code made the numbers appear on all bookcases and cabinets on other levels, which was not the desired effect. This, along with the following fixes have been addressed in patch v1.06, which has already been uploaded for other players of the module:
  1. Bless Water can now be cast on stacked water bottles without destroying them all.
  2. A water fountain will no longer run dry.
  3. A mushroom explosion has had its radius reduced.
  4. More code has been added to try to make a creatures target more random. (MP)
  5. Bookcase/cabinet numbers removed. (As detailed above.)
We managed to play a good two hours in this session and the game was otherwise quite stable throughout. We may have even played slightly longer than this, but once again, the in-built timer had about a 15 minute discrepancy. That said, I did pause the game occasionally and so that may have had an impact on the final count.
I did also notice one other minor issue regarding the backup deployment of "plot items". I had coded some fail safes into the module to ensure a player could not leave themselves in a position without vital plot items. However, in hindsight, some of the code checks only really work well for a single player game. It's not that the plot item is not checked in a multi-player, but more that the item may be given in error due to the check being made when not all players are in the game. Therefore, the code assumes the item is missing and recreates it accordingly. This has happened for one plot item I have witnessed already - and to be fair, the circumstances of this happening may not have always come about. If, however, I find this sort of thing too damaging for the multi-player game (due to giving even more plot items), then I will have to address the issue.
SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Fifth) REALM TIME: 15 Hours 15 Mins
"Beyond the illusory wall was a small alcove, which in turn had another illusory wall that hid the way to a long passageway filled with bunk-beds. After a few moments, the group realized where they were: They had found a secret way to the north wing."  Download the full synopsis here.

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