Developer's Log

[CraigStern]

It is now possible to turn on unit deployment at the very start of a single player campaign battle using the new <Deployment> condition. <Deployment> takes one parameter, true or false. If set to true, you'll have the opportunity to drag your characters around between possible spawn locations and swap them out with each other.

I'm about halfway through coding the deployment system itself: the game now shows you who is going to spawn where and lets you swap their positions around via drag-and-drop (see the screenshot below). Tomorrow I'll be coding the functionality that lets you drag unused characters from your roster onto the battlefield, giving you a choice of which characters you field in a given battle.

[CraigStern]

I've finished adding support for troop deployment! You can both swap characters around on the battlefield and swap in characters from your reserves (if you happen to have more characters than you have available spawning locations). I've recorded a short video showing troop deployment on the Ploutos Weapons Depot map.

[CraigStern]

When centering the game's camera on characters during dialog, it now offsets vertically by about 100 pixels to make sure the character remains visible above the game's dialog box.

[CraigStern]

I've officially made it so Falling element attacks with that cause Heavy all behave like Gravity Spike. (Which is to say, they will only damage characters that are currently flying.) The game's damage prediction routine has been updated to reflect the change.

I've fixed a bug that was causing the game to sometimes freeze when CPU-controlled characters used multiple inventory items in the same turn.

The game now has portraits for Cryokineticists, Mentalists and Psy Healers.

[CraigStern]

I've made some nice little improvements to the AI in Telepath Tactics:

- CPU-controlled characters no longer bum rush enemies against whom they have no damaging attacks (I'm looking at you, Psy Healers!)

- CPU-controlled characters now continue to take actions after grabbing item sacks and using items from their inventory (as opposed to just immediately ending their turn).

- The game now times the pop-up messages correctly when CPU-controlled characters use multiple inventory items at once.

- Characters are now somewhat more effective at prioritizing the order of their actions during their turn.

[CraigStern]

I've updated the online installers with the last three days' worth of improvements.

Early access backers: download and update at will! ;)

[CraigStern]

I've finally replaced that ugly beige placeholder background on the "So-and-so's Turn" splash.

[CraigStern]

The game now dynamically reads its version number out of the app data XML file and displays it on the title screen.

[CraigStern]

Telepath Tactics now has an end turn confirmation window which pops up when you press the End Turn button in the Actions menu. (This should help prevent folks from clicking it by accident and ending their turns when they're still moving their characters.)

[CraigStern]

When you click to leave the battlefield in loot grabbing mode, the game now prompts you with a confirmation window there as well.

I've fixed a bug in the enemy AI loop which was sometimes causing it to skip right to a second character before the first had finished its turn.

I've updated the installer online.

[CraigStern]

Telepath Tactics now supports terrain effects! You can dynamically modify any of the following based on what space a character is standing on: Strength, Psy Power, Psy Defense, Dodge, Accuracy, and any of the various resistances. (For the resistances, you can lay them each out individually--Pierce Res., Slash Res., Crush Res. Mental Res. etc.--or else affect them all at once just using the catch-all word Resistance.)

To set up a space to alter a character's stats while they stand on it, go into TileData and add a special attribute right after element for the tile you want to do this. For each stat to effect, use two values delimited by a comma: the stat name and the amount that gets added to the stat (this can be a negative value if you want it to be a penalty instead of a bonus). To affect multiple stats, delimit each with a forward slash. For example:

<Tile fileName="tile0001.png" passability="all" dmg="0" element="" special="Strength,-1/Dodge,10/Resistance,10"></Tile>

This will cause the space to give whatever character stands on it a 1 point Strength penalty, but +10 to Dodge and Resistance percentages across the board.

Also, unrelated: swimming characters now always have their Dodge reduced to 0 until they emerge onto land.

[CraigStern]

There is now a terrain effect for Perception as well (for maps with fog of war).

[CraigStern]

New condition, Space Bonus, lets you pick a particular space on the battlefield and give it bonuses and/or penalties without having to muck around in TileData.

There are at least 2 parameters: specifically, Y and X coordinates for the space involved. If you leave it at that, the game will simply erase any bonuses or penalties from that space. Every 2 parameters you add on after that will specify an additional bonus or penalty. The third / fifth / seventh etc. parameter will be the name of the stat, and the fourth / sixth / eighth etc. will be the amount of the bonus / penalty.

[CraigStern]

Stayed up late fixing bugs. Bugs fixed:

• game camera now centers on characters correctly in fullscreen mode
• stats no longer get screwed up in the battles after a character levels up and learns new attacks
• the game once again forgives attacks accidentally launched on spaces where there is no valid target

The installers have been updated online.

[CraigStern]

A couple of changes to exploration mode:

• attacking no longer grays out a character in exploration mode
• only non-damaging attacks now remain available to use in exploration mode (Shove, Pull, Levitate, etc.), mostly for the sake of puzzle-solving