Journal Entry #5: Regeneration

[Ged]

Can't believe it's almost a month since the previous journal entry! And where are we:

The data storage has been upgraded to accommodate the way Vista likes it. Another beta version has been released - with mostly bug fixes but also featuring improvements (hopefully) to the character sheet database (boring, I know...), the new module export interface, and finally the local mode. Some of you might be glad to hear that a bug that prevented the proper implementation of exploding dice mechanics (with scripting) has been fixed. Overall, the bug list has now shrunk to mostly things that are of humble severity and whose fixing is fast - some more complex ones are, of course, still anticipated; they have never failed to come forth when least hoped for....

[Nokameeno]

Excellent news as always! Was begining to sweat when the new update did not come out as quickly as the previous ones...the wait was worth it thought hearing that the bug list has shrunk and that you are making adjustments for Vista users (poor souls) :)

[sunbeam60]

Lovely news. Sounds like we're getting closer and closer. Any day now ... been saying that for some time now :-)

[Wraith]

I've been sitting on the edge of my seat since the original announcement of the new upgrade. I have learned not to hold my breath waiting. I am glad to hear the latest news, but don't trust to hope it is forsaken in these lands. :D

[Dachannien]

Fantastic :)

I do have a question, though: what exactly do you mean by... "exploding dice mechanics"? :D

[joshuha]

Some systems when you roll say a 6 on a D6 or 10 on a D10 you can roll another dice. With scripting you can now have the program throw the dice onto the screen for you, its neat and saves time with large dice pools.

[Dachannien]

Ah, okay, like in Shadowrun, unless they changed it with the most recent edition. Hadn't heard it called that before.

[heruca]

Sometimes it's called "open-ended rolls". Exploding dice just sounds dangerous. :)

[Oberoten]

Sometimes it's called "open-ended rolls". Exploding dice just sounds dangerous. :)

Hmmm.... Sounds like PARANOIA. ... but then again THAT knowledge is clearance Yellow citizen. Please report for termination.

[Archmage]

Can't believe it's almost a month since the previous journal entry! And where are we:

The data storage has been upgraded to accommodate the way Vista likes it. Another beta version has been released - with mostly bug fixes but also featuring improvements (hopefully) to the character sheet database (boring, I know...), the new module export interface, and finally the local mode. Some of you might be glad to hear that a bug that prevented the proper implementation of exploding dice mechanics (with scripting) has been fixed. Overall, the bug list has now shrunk to mostly things that are of humble severity and whose fixing is fast - some more complex ones are, of course, still anticipated; they have never failed to come forth when least hoped for....
Well if that's the case, you should do a public beta :).

[Oberoten]

Do these humble problems include such a thing as open rolls for the GM?

This is at the moment the only major annoyance for me in 1.5f... I can live with the crashes and such. But the "all rolls are hidden, players only get to see the results" thing is not sitting too well with either me or my players.

[Jingo]

Yeah, you prob already know this but you can use the /die command in the Chat window to do visible dice rolls as a GM. That's how I do it. But a toggle to turn dice visible or invisible would be nice.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Well if that's the case, you should do a public beta :).
I agree, and if the "update downloader" that I have heard whisperings of is working, why not release a public beta and just release updates that get downlaoded slowly. Surely that would take some pressure off the developers to hurry up and finish FG2, instead of constantly tweeking new features - which from what I hear sounds like is happening. You can add features and tweek things till the cows come home, but what people want is FG2 now, not a year from now.

So I say release a beta, then let the update downloader do its job.

I'll get off my soap box now...

[joshuha]

I agree, and if the "update downloader" that I have heard whisperings of is working, why not release a public beta and just release updates that get downlaoded slowly. Surely that would take some pressure off the developers to hurry up and finish FG2, instead of constantly tweeking new features - which from what I hear sounds like is happening. You can add features and tweek things till the cows come home, but what people want is FG2 now, not a year from now.

So I say release a beta, then let the update downloader do its job.

I'll get off my soap box now...

The only problem is between beta updates for us the updater has been known to change how the base ruleset works. Depending on any custom rulesets you have done with FG 2.0 that might be a disaster if you had to majorly change or reformat a huge ruleset.

[Oberoten]

Yeah, you prob already know this but you can use the /die command in the Chat window to do visible dice rolls as a GM. That's how I do it. But a toggle to turn dice visible or invisible would be nice.

Nope. That is no longer a viable option... Doesn't work since the later updates.

[Stuart]

The only problem is between beta updates for us the updater has been known to change how the base ruleset works. Depending on any custom rulesets you have done with FG 2.0 that might be a disaster if you had to majorly change or reformat a huge ruleset.

This had been a major headache for me ... :( And I'm not talking about custom rulesets either ;)

[Griogre]

So I say release a beta, then let the update downloader do its job.

It is not that uncommon to push out a few betas a week, we use to push out a few a day sometimes. Which leads to the human side of "updating" I can almost garentee if there are updates and you are running a game someone won't have the latest update so you will waste time waiting for them to update. I would perfer to wait for a production release before I move my games over to it.

I can understand your desire if you are one of the ones who has major stabilty problems though.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

It just sounds to me that FG2 will just be delayed and delayed as "new feature" after new feature is tweeked or added.

I'm all for the new features and the tweeks, but I'd rather have FG2 and get the new features in future updates via the auto-downloader.

Otherwise we will never see FG2 as it will be stuck in an endless cycle of development - as thats how it seems now.

[richvalle]

I think (though not sure of course) that they stopped adding features a while ago and are working though bugs and testing.

rv

[joshuha]

Correct the last several updates are working through the bugs. Some bugs affected the base ruleset, some did not and some are to fix the scripting engine. Besides adding the local character sheet mode though (which isn't really a new feature but its a major change) the long cycles are NOT because of feature creep, its the bug fixes thanks to all the wonderful testers.

[Oberoten]

Wheren't these updates supposed to be weekly or bi-weekly? What is cooking in the citchen now Smiteworks?