Release Notes

0.2.31  -different damage splashes depending on damage / max health percentage
            -created "flames" battlefield effect
            -added battle field effects to specials
            -fixed experience gain through combat
            -added "sun shield" effect
            -fixed cp cost reduction for spells when PC makes more than one level at
              once
            -fixed memory leak of actor_init fist
            -fixed memory leak of triplicated items (should be douplicated) when
             cloning any actor
            -fixed memory leak of undeleted loot if PC does not get a chance to take it
            -fixed memory leak of leftover thoughts when an AI was deleted
            -fixed memory leak when the battlefield is closed while effects are still
              active
            -fixed memory leak in tooltip drawing routine
            -fixed massive memory leak in circle menu tooltip drawing function
            -fixed memory leak, converted font graphic was not freed if text went out
              of its bounding box
            -added support for effects of specials targeting the ground
            -added "fireball" effect
            -fixed removal of duration based specials
            -fixed special symbol path in save games
            -added save game support for battlefield effects
            -fixed memory leak in confirmation dialog
            -added message box class
            -message box if no save game is found
            -message box for uncaught exceptions
            -added message boxes for loading and saving the game
            -character view now displays experience value for next level
0.2.32  -added support for PNG graphics via lodepng library
            -added message box to character creation to give feedback for missing
              inputs
            -fixed a bug that made the scrolling textbox show less space to the printer
              than what was really available
            -added image class to deal with crappy png memory allocation
            -switched all graphics directly held by screens to the new image class
            -moved the time one AI move takes to the config file
            -added title screen
            -added save game menu on title screen
            -fixed crashing bug in circle menu tooltip drawing function
            -added options menu on title screen
            -added slider to options menu to set how long an AI turn takes
            -added credits on title screen
0.2.33  -save games remember what items were equipped by the player
            -added electricity effect
            -added burning weapon effect
            -added hot head effect
            -added fury effect
            -added blue flame effect
            -inflict specials on weapons with the "on attack" condition now cause
              battlefield effects
            -added sun sparkle effect
            -added moon bolt effect
            -added moon shield, poison weapon, slow, ice, cool head and poison cloud
              effects
0.2.34  -removed all battlefield effects for specials
            -added flexible class for battlefield effects for specials and effect factory
              to define effects outside the code
            -fixed transfer of _gained_at_level information when spell inflict specials
              are cloned
            -fixed cp cost reduction for spells as the player levels up
            -save games remember on what level spells were learned
            -weapon bonus damage specials can now cause battlefield effects
            -added scrolling controls to specials list on player character view
            -added support for battlefield effects on inflict specials caused by
              successful hits on attack specials
            -added encounter tile size and dungeon tile size to config class to elimitate
              some magic numbers in the code
            -added standard attack by simply left clicking an enemy
            -added background to dungeon map, changed map line to work with
              arbitrary background
            -added support for SDL clipping rectangles to transparent copy
            -fixed bug that battlefield effects could draw outside the battlefield view
0.2.35  -fixed a bug, that allowed linebreaks in character names
            -fixed the application and removal of base stats change direct effects on
              worn items
            -added distance/LoS check to standard attack with left click during
              encounters
            -fixed buffer format of scrolling textbox
            -fixed drawing of colored characters by the text printer
            -fixed a memory leak when loading from a screen other than the dungeon
              map
            -replaced fixed background for the dungeon map with algorithmic noise
            -fixed right limit for the enemy delay slider on the options screen
            -fixed a crashing bug, when the mousewheel was turned on the abilities
              section of the monsters character view screen
0.2.36  -added the ability to wear multiple rings at once
            -fixed right hand rectangle on both inventory screens
            -fixed that weapon bonus damage specials write their battlefield effects to
              the save file
            -made save games language independent
            -added access to inventory via encounter circle menu
            -added item examination from the merchant screen
            -added more keyboard shortcuts
            -monsters can no longer enter flee tiles
            -fixed AP and CP cost display for attack specials
            -added zombie ai
0.2.37  -fixed a bug in the monster factory, that prevented monsters that have no
              specials on level 1 but gain some on higher levels
            -fixed fleeing from combat while on a multi tile dungeon move
            -battlefield camera focuses on the PC on the start of its turn
            -added ai choice special
            -added ai dreamwriter
            -added on_reiceive_damage_melee special activation
            -added descriptions for all tier 1 and tier 2 skills
0.2.38  -equipped items are now highlighted on the merchant screen
            -removed shortcut for black text in the textprinter, black characters
              look much nicer now
            -added encumberance warnings to the loot and merchant screens
            -added weight display to dungeon inventory and combat inventory
            -fixed the copying of charges when cloning weapon skills
            -added version number to title screen
            -decreased probability of switching to the fist for ai stupid melee and
              strongly decreased that probability for ai ranged
            -save games now remember weapons in the off hand correctly
            -added ammo trail battle effect
0.2.39  -split button rectangles and button text rectangles for main menu, load
              menu and character creation
            -no longer displays a "gained at level" value on spells that do not belong
              to an actor
            -inventory background depends on class and gender now
            -fixed gender display on character view player 1024x768
            -turn number display at the start of each combat round
            -fixed limits to loot screen item tooltips

Screenshots

 Dungeon Map

 Character Creation

 Character View

 

 Death

 Inventory

 Monster View

 Merchant

 Loot

 Fight

Skillwheel

Release Notes

0.2.21  -added portrait selection to new character creation
            -added weapon skill special
            -added logic, so block bonus does only apply when the character is actually
              wearing a shield
            -added wrapper to SDL bmp loading to give meaningful error messages
            -specials on items obey the delete at combat end setting now
            -fixed charges check for weapon bonus damage specials
            -fixed cached values on game loading
            -added save game writing to weapon skill specials
            -moon physical skills for public alpha
0.2.22  -fixed off by one error when applying weapon bonus damage specials
            -specials on attack specials are now only inflicted when the attack does full
              or critical damage
            -added own weapon as target for inflict specials
            -switched to new map "public_alpha"
            -added dual wield support
            -fixed the bug that dual wield skill overwrote two hand weapon skill
            -sun physical skills for public alpha
0.2.23  -added final graphic code for combat inventory
            -fixed display of item symbols in encounter circle menus
            -fixed memory leak in character view
            -fixed memory leak in ammount selection
            -fixed memory leak in confirmation dialog
0.2.24  -added special examination screen
            -examination of attack specials
            -added symbols to encumberace effects
            -examination of base stats change specials
            -examination of damage resistance specials
            -examination of damage specials
            -examination of inflict specials
            -examination of stats change special
0.2.25  -examination of weapon bonus damage special
            -examination of spell inflict special
            -examination of weapon skill special
            -examination of sub specials within specials
            -temporary spells on the players fist now end correctly
            -fixed a bug that tried to delete an item symbol twice if a weapon, ranged
              weapon, ammo or stacking item was deleted
            -add item examination screen for items, ammo, weapons, ranged weapons
              and stacking items
            -fixed tooltip on circle menu when attacking with a ranged weapon
            -height of tooltips and circle menu tooltips adjusts automaticly
            -dynamic height for confirmation dialog
            -fixed missing hit table results, when ammo ran out during a multi hit
              attack special
0.2.26  -eliminated memcpy clutch when copying screen buffer to game window
            -added different resolutions to player portion of character view
            -now correctly displays weapon type in item examination
            -added different resolutions to monster portion of character view
            -linked item and special examination to monster character view
            -added different resolutions and screen buffer to death screen
            -fixed an error where duration specials were applied twice
            -added friend_weapon special target
            -added support for "on damage" inflict specials
            -linked special examination to skillwheel
            -added friend special target
            -fixed logic for base stats change direct values
            -added support for inflict specials on weapons
            -added area 3x3 special target
            -added all foes special target
            -moon magical skills for public alpha
0.2.27  -fixed screen buffer for character creation
            -changed skills background on skillwheel to black
            -fixed block value on base stats change get_modified_special
0.2.28  -fixed blank tiles in encounters
            -fixed background on character view screen
            -fixed memory leak on character view screen
            -added AP and CP cost to inflict special and spell inflict special
              descriptions
            -sun magical skills for public alpha
            -changed death message
            -fixed display of chosen skills on skillwheel
            -fixed crashing bug when examining base stats change specials in debug
              mode
            -added functionality for while_equipped_ticking special condition
0.2.29  -increased encounter tile size to 64x64 for all resolutions
            -fixed text box positions on higher resolution item examination screen
            -added treasure chest map event
            -final graphics code for loot screen
            -button graphic code for character creation
            -fixed the bug, that any keypress on the dungeon map moved you to the
              NE
            -fixed the bug, that stacking items with stack size 1 would not merge with
              existing items when transfered from the player to a merchant or loot pile
            -added money display to combat and dungeon inventory
            -fixed scroll buttons on merchant screen for all resolutions
            -added door graphics and save game support to remember open doors
            -added scrolling with mouse wheel or buttons to the loot screen
            -added controls to change the focus during encounters
0.2.30  -added simple line of sight for dungeon map for light radius > 1 and
              changed fixed light radius to 3
            -added keyboard controls for scrolling on encounter maps
            -added graphic code to character creation for pressed buttons

Release Notes

0.2.14  -ranged AI now deals gracefully with running out of ammo
            -AI knows how to run away now
            -you can no longer game the system by leaving and entering an encounter
             until you get the random encounter you want, as the dice are now rolled
             upon entering the haven instead of entering the encounter
            -fixed scrolling textbox copying old stuff when it runs out of space
            -started cheats menu
0.2.15  -can add items via cheats menu now
            -can add xp and gold via cheats menu now
            -added scrolling for cheat menu text box
            -special attacks can inflict specials now
0.2.16  -writes exploration map to savegame now
            -writes encounter status to savegame now
            -writes player stats to savegame now
            -savegame writing for attack special, base_stats_change, stats_change,
             damage resistance and damage special
            -savegame writing for inflict special, spell inflict special and weapon bonus
             damage
            -savegame writing for ammo, items, ranged weapons, stacking items
             and weapons
            -restricted saving to the dungeon
0.2.17  -can read specials from save games now
            -fixed a bug in the item factory where errors with stacking items were
             reported as ammo
            -can read items from save games now
            -can read player from save game now, some bugs remain
0.2.18  -fixed a bug where the path was added a second time to item symbols
            when they were loaded from a save game
            -added chosen skill vectors to player saving and loading
            -can read map state from save games now
            -fixed a bug where the savegame manager was not properly reset and
             the second saving would fail
            -can save merchant stock to save games now (includes all details and
            modifications)
            -fixed loading bug for stacking items with specials
            -fixed saving bug for ammo
            -fixed saving bug for items in the "head" slot
            -fixed bugs for all factories, collections would not be resized after
            unloading
            -can load merchant stock from save games now
0.2.19  -new character creation screen
            -can select class on character creation screen now
            -gender selection added to character creation screen
            -stats allocation added to character creation screen
            -name input added to character creation screen
            -fixed a bug, so the text printer no longer prints outside its box
            -added reroll for stats on character screen
            -completed new character creation for 1024x768 resolution except for
            portrait selection and optimization
0.2.20  -added resolution 1280x960 to new character creation screen
            -added resolution 800x600 to new character creation screen
            -deleted more commented out code
            -fixed a bug that prevented the player combat symbol from loading

Release Notes

0.2.11   -added confirmation dialog
            -implemented confirmation dialog for dropping items via circle menus in
             dungeon inventory
            -started ai framework
            -added some basic thinking about melee combat and running away to
             ai_stupid_melee
0.2.12   -added real pathfinding
            -made pathfinding respect other actors and objects
            -runtime optimization for pathfinding
            -started ranged ai
0.2.13   -further pathfinding optimization in preperation to using the same algorithm
             for multitile dungeon movement (test case in DEBUG mode on large battlefield
             44ms -> 32ms)
            -ranged ai
            -pathfinding for ranged combat
            -fixed bug in battlefield los check
            -fixed bug when wrong or no ammo is equipped for ranged combat
            -added multitile dungeon movement

Release Notes

0.2.10  -can equip and drop items via circle menu in the dungeon inventory, no
            support for stacking items yet
            -added correct text to dungeon inventory circle menus
            -added support for stacking items when dropping stuff via dungeon inventory
            circle menus
            -fixed circle menu when displaying long strings
            -fixed crashing bug when the mouse pointer was over the bouncy thing on
            start-up
            -extended dungeon inventory circle menus to equipped items

Release Notes

0.2.9    -fixed a bug that had the dungeon map screen do a complete redraw on every
            tick
            -added mouse control to ammount selection
            -changed placement of players and monsters on the battlefield; players are
            placed close to, monsters far away from the square the party entred from
            -incresed dungeon map area to the buttom of the screen, since the textbox
            that was planed there sees no use
            -added screen buffer to skillwheel
            -battlefield size now changes with resolution, fixed position code for mouse
            clicks and bf_effects

Release Notes

Huge infodump ahead ! In the future I'll post these as I make new versions.

0.0.5     added experience gain to encounter, exp worth to monsters and base exp value
             to .msr files.
0.0.6    -encounters now reset when player enters haven
            -sets cp and ap to max after fights now
            -prevents player from walking into the void
            -added neck, arms and feet body slots
            -encounter now checks the size of the room and makes the battlefield the
             appropriet size
0.0.7    -added merchants in .mrt files
            -made merchant stock persistant between visits
0.0.8    -monsters now drop loot
            -added support for non-rectagular battlefields
            -displays monster level when selecting single target now
0.0.9    -intelligence modifies the effectiveness of spells now
0.0.10  -added menu for inv, item use and char sheet while in dungeon
            -items in the shop cost money now
            -monsters drop a little money
0.0.11  -added item selling
            -checks line of sight for ranged abilities now
            -started ranged weapons, no damage calculation, ammo or ranged combat yet.
0.0.12  -implemented the rest of ranged weapons for PCs, no ranged for NPCs yet
            -player can drop items in dungeon now
0.0.13  -added weight and encumberance
            -eliminated duplicate logic in create_inflict_special and
             create_spell_inflict_special
0.0.14  -started special_attacks, apply functionality is missing for now
            -added weapon_bonus_damage special
            -finished special_attack_special
0.0.15  -added gender and character class for PCs
            -displays AP and CP cost for abilities and item specials during combat
            -added cheats for gold, experience and items
0.0.16  -unified multi-page support for dungeon menu
            -added multi-page support for and unified targeting during encounters
            -added multi-page support for special selection in encounters
0.0.17  -added skillwheels
            -added skills on level-up
0.0.18  -added flag for specials that should vanish at combat end
            -changed file names for content files, so they all have .txt file extention
            except .map and .eve
            -added configuration file for drop_rate, start_money and merchant_factor
            -added loot list
0.1.1    -started GUI, all features removed
            -created text_printer
            -added font: lucida sans 14pt
            -transfered string_factory
            -transfered special_factory and specials; all functionality that requires
            the actor class    is missing for all specials
            -transfered item_factory and items
            -transfered actor, player and skillwheel, reactivated specials functionality
            that requires the actor class
0.1.2    -added boxes to the GUI
            -added converter from SDL_keysyms to ASCII for german keyboard layout and
            upper ASCII values
            -added first version of graphical character generation
            -framerate cap 50FPS implemented
0.1.3    -transfered config and dungeon
0.1.4    -started graphical dungeon exploration, including revealing and screen
            switching to shops and fights
            -transfered merchant_factory
            -started graphical shopping, currently lacking feedback, prices and item
            descriptions
0.1.5    -transfered monster_factory, monster and AIs
            -transfered battlefield
            -transfered encounter_factory
            -started graphical encounters; player movement and AI acting without
            graphical feedback implemented
0.1.6    -combat and dungeon inventories, no gear switching in battle yet
            -added fixed character portrait for first PC
            -added colored text support to text_printer
0.1.7    -created scrolling textbox, no scrolling controls yet
            -added mouse moving and message box scrolling for encounters
            -started making circle menu
0.1.8    -added symbols to circle menus
            -can attack monsters via circle menus
            -simple splash effect on doing damage to monsters
0.1.9    -added item usage via circle menus during encounters
            -can use specials on monsters via circle menus
            -added feedback to monster attacks
            -added hp, cp and ap bars to encounter sidebar
            -put numbers on hp, cp and ap bars
            -names and symbols for circle menu options are now set by the encounter
            -added font: lucida sans 10pt
0.1.10  -implemented encounter ends
            -added death screen
            -added loot screen mock-up
            -player can lose and win fights now
            -monsters die
            -player can return to the dungeon after an encounter
0.1.11  -organized graphics in folders
            -added symbols for items
            -added symbols for specials
            -fixed attack special
            -added loot screen functionality
            -added character view mock-up during encounters via circle menu
0.1.12  -fleshed out character view for PCs
            -set string_factory for PC
            -new dungeon map test3
            -added scrolling to dungeon map
            -added scrolling to encounter battlefields
0.1.13  -fleshed out character view for monsters
            -fixed inflict special targeting
            -fixed item usage
            -made battlefield tiles 32px by 32px
            -added symbols for actors
            -fixed mouse movement during encounters
            -fixed mouse movement in dungeon
            -can switch from combat inventory to character screen now
            -added SDL_Surface copying with one color seen as transparent
            -added transparency to actors and damage effects during encounters
            -can control the character in encounters and the dungeon with numlock off or
            with the arrow keys; can end the round in encounters with either return
0.1.14  -finally fixed all the ranged targeting problems by fixing the
            check_line_of_sight function itself
            -added skillwheel screen, gets automaticly called after loot screen if PC
            makes a new level
            -skillwheel screen now draws skills, connections and symbols
            -can select and deselect skills on the wheel now, corresponding specials are
            given to the PC
            -skillwheel now shows a description of the skill on mouseover
            -added access to skillwheel and character screen outside combat
            -lists scroll now on merchant screen
0.1.15  -remaining skill points are now displayed on the skillwheel
            -added bitmap background to skillwheel
            -added simple bouncy thing
0.1.16  -improved interaction between mouse and bouncy thing
            -implemented scrolling for dungeon inventory
            -implemented scrolling for combat inventory
            -added tooltips for items while shopping at the merchant
            -added tooltips for items in dungeon inventory and combat inventory
            -added tooltips for items on loot screen
            -added reveal map event
0.1.17  -can equip and unequip items during combat now, AP cost depending on body
            slot
            -player can flee again through the tile he entered
            -implemented leveling strategies for monsters
            -deleted a ton of commented out code
0.1.18  -added rotation for bouncy thing and graphics loaded from file
            -encounters can randomly chose between different groups of monsters now
            -changed standard_encounters.txt file format
0.2.1    -all basic mechanics except multiple character parties and save games are
            in the game in some form, that makes this the first alpha
            -added resolutions 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x960 to config
            -started final graphics code for dungeon inventory (no functionality atm)
            -can equip items on dungeon inventory again
            -added tooltip for inventory items (not equipped) to dungeon inventory
0.2.2    -can unequip items in dungeon inventory again
            -added tooltip for equiped items in dungeon inventory
            -added screen buffer to dungeon inventory so the screen is only redrawn as
            needed
0.2.3    -bouncy thing caps time between ticks at 35ms
            -implemented all three resolutions for the dungeon inventory
            -added scrolling to dungeon inventory
            -moved bouncy thing to the middle of the screen width
            -added screen buffer to character view
            -added screen buffer to merchant
            -added screen buffer to encounter
            -can't hold a one hand weapon and a two hand weapon in your main hand at the
            same time any more
            -started final graphics code for merchant screen
            -functionality of merchant screen 1280x960 restored
0.2.4    -fixed memory leaks of graphics on dungeon inventory and merchant screens
            -fixed position changes for graphics as items are equiped/unequiped on the
            dungeon inventory
            -fixed missing screen refresh on using specials during a fight
            -added damage_special
0.2.5    -switched dungeon map to use lines instead of tiles for the graphics
            -added anti-aliasing for map_lines
            -merchant screen functionality for remaining resolutions restored
0.2.6    -skillwheel scales to different resolutions
            -dungeon map scales to different resolutions
            -character portraits are different size at different resolutions
            -started adding resolutions to encounters (maps and map scrolling missing)
0.2.7    -fixed mouse movement in dungeon
            -added stacking item class, ammo now derives from stacking item
            -stacking item usage via circle menu works now
            -corrected error message for unknown ammo_type when creating ammo in the item
            factory
0.2.8    -item symbols are now part of the item class, but can be unloaded
            -added ammount_selection class
            -can now select ammount when buying stacking items from a merchant
            -can now select ammount when selling stacking items to a merchant
            -shows AP and CP cost for attacks, items and specials again

Screenshots

I am slowly adding graphics to the game.
From most to least complete:

Inventory

 Merchant

 Battle

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Creation Myth

... as told by the moon herself to Erica the Mute.

"A long, long time ago, before there were elves and men, before there was even a sun or a moon, there lived a child out in the void. Of all living things it was the only one with a mind for building complex tools and a curiosity to try and understand, what makes the universe tick.

 But, being unique, the child was always lonely and so, one day, it wanted to create two companions, one of silver and one of gold. It readied it's tools and smelted the metals and formed them in the shape of woman and man as we know them till this day. For a moment the intricate shapes and the glint of the molten metal delighted it so, that it laughed and lost it's care.
The companions fell to the workroom floor and spilled out into the void a two spheres of liquid metal and thousands of thousands little droplets.
The ball of silver is me, the ball of gold is my brother, the sun, and one of the drops of silver ... is you.

The child, the sun and I spent a long time collecting lost drops, gathering them in a place called earth and teaching them curiosity. Until, many thousand years later, the child became tired and withdrew to its workshop for a nap. We have not seen it since then, but the gathering is still an important task for the sun and me; for when you look up at the night sky or into a new-born babys eyes you see, that our work is far from done.

But for many years now we have been idle in everything else, ignoring the pleas of our children; the sun bound by grief and I bound by the chains of promise. At last, that promise is fulfilled and I am free again.
So come, let's save the world."

What's a LoMaS and why should I care ?

LoMaS stands for "Land of Moon and Sun : the Great Sun Temple" and is a game I am currently writing. It plays like a mixture of the dungeon exploration of Mordor, the depths of Dejenol and the combat of the old "The Dark Eye" games (Blade_of_Destiny, Star_Trail and Shadows_over_Riva), in an original fantasy setting all about the moon and the sun.

Why you should care:

• Fight the evil monsters in tactical turn-based combat! Create a hero and forge a party of four into a unit, that can defeat the terror that lurks in the Great Sun Temple.
• Explore the world! Learn all about the world of LoMaS, where the Sun and the Moon are living gods, here on the blog and in the game.
• Create your own content! Most of the games content is defined in simple text files, creating the Sword of No Challenge that kills every enemy in one hit is about a minute of work. The game will also include any editors I used to create its contents.
• Create yout own game! The game, its source and all assets will be released under CC-BY license, so take anything you like and build on it.

This is the first life-sign LoMaS is sending out into the net, I hope you'll have as much fun with LoMaS and it's development as I do.