Developer's Log

[CraigStern]

--added one final attribute to CharClasses.xml and ObjClasses.xml: charY. This one goes right after shadowY, and governs the vertical placement of the character/object sprite onscreen. I wanted to avoid adding any more attributes, but this one was necessary to deal with the wonky placement of fences relative to other destructible objects.

On the plus side, this means I've finally replaced the hacky method I was using to align everything before (hard-coding it all in ridiculous fashion), and can now adjust each individual graphic as needed. This should be especially useful for people modding in their own custom graphics.

[CraigStern]

--fixed a bug that was preventing pressure triggers from working properly
--new destructible object: well! (See below.)
--fixed the placement of fences and their shadows, especially vis-a-vis gates
--tweaked some destructible object stats (in particular, made treasure chests easier to destroy)
--made Sabrina Strider start off with slightly more Strength

[CraigStern]

--I've added graphical icon support to the game's pop-up info windows
--detailed character screen background cleaned up
--the detailed character screen now allows you to mouse over the character's attack buttons for detailed info on his or her attacks, just as if that character were selected (see below)

[CraigStern]

--fixed some bad placeholder values (the shadow for the vertical stone fence object, the values for the Thaw and Melt abilities, etc.)
--got some finalized UI graphics for character information into the game
--fixed some bad values for where to display UI icons under certain circumstances
--added new battlefield object to the game: caravan wagons! ;)

[CraigStern]

--added new shadow type for the caravan wagon
--fixed some more icon placement bugs
--fixed a bug that would cause the icons to pop in before the rest of the window had finished loading
--added a new cut scene to the game
--new Dialog Action: FlipPortrait. This currently has one parameter: the name of an existing portrait. The game flips the facing direction of the portrait. I'll probably add another parameter to it (X Offset), though, as the effect currently doesn't keep the portrait in the exact same place

[CraigStern]

I finally took a bunch of time to dig into the game's code and fix some rather nasty AI bugs that had been cropping up:

  --fixed a bug that was causing enemy turns to get out of sync, with character sometimes acting before the previous character had finished its turn

  --fixed a bug that was causing the game to sometimes select follow-up actions for the wrong character after a CPU-controlled character did something that destroyed another character or object on the battlefield (e.g. grabbing an item sack)

  --fixed a bug that was causing the game to sometimes select follow-up actions for the wrong character after a CPU-controlled character used items from its inventory

Also, just for fun, here's a screenshot of the newest in-game battle, in which you attempt to save some of the outnumbered guards in a bandit attack on a caravan. ;)
I've updated the game's installers online.

[CraigStern]

--fixed another issue with AI timing

--made it so the game displays a star next to the names of characters whose deaths will cause their army to lose the battle (see below)

[CraigStern]

--created a Gravity Spike sound effect

--created a video showing off Fire Gate: http://youtu.be/HS9qaOUt8PY

--spent some time working on a new trailer with up-to-date game footage

[CraigStern]

--The static "slide show" style narration box now has text that tells the user to click to advance to the next "slide" (you would be amazed how many people just sit there waiting for the text to change on its own without this notification there)

--Enemy AI tweak--the CPU now takes enemy counterattack potential into account when choosing potential targets outside of a character's immediate vicinity

--Recoded tags to support tags with variable parameters attached; existing tags in maps and such should not be affected

--New tag! TreatAsArmy   
   Use it on a battlefield object with an army number as a parameter. This will cause the AI interact with it as if it were a character of that army. For instance, to have the enemy armies treat a bush as if it were one of the player's characters, you'd do this:

     <Unit tag="Add,TreatAsArmy,0">0,99,Bush,17,19,None,None</Unit>

--New tag! TargetValue   
   Use it on a character or battlefield object with a Number as a parameter--whatever number you pick, the AI will use it as a multiplier when deciding its value as a target during the battle. For instance, if you wanted to increase the bush's value as a target to 250% of its normal value, you'd do this:

     <Unit tag="Add,TreatAsArmy,0/Add,TargetValue,2.5">0,99,Bush,17,19,None,None</Unit>

--used the above tags to effectively give the AI a secondary objective in one of the battles of hacking a shortcut through the underbrush if the player tries to hide a vulnerable character back there ;)

[CraigStern]

--reduced the AI target value bonus multiplier for generals from x3 to x2.2 to reduce the single-mindedness with which the AI was pursuing just the hero characters in combat

--updated the manual with documentation on tags, as well as documentation on assigning custom lighting directly within <Unit> in maps

[CraigStern]

--added a second parameter to the FlipPortrait action: xOffset. An integer value that tells the game how many pixels to move the portrait when flipping it. A negative value repositions it to the left; positive, to the right.

[CraigStern]

--updated manual with documentation for Fatigue; added documentation for FlipPortrait, AddTag, AddTagToArmy, RemoveTag, and RemoveTagFromArmy.

[CraigStern]

--updated manual with documentation for OnCenter and TowardCenter VFX spawn rules, as well as the optional front/back and right/left offset parameter

[CraigStern]

--added an optional second parameter to the Deployment condition that lets you specify a music track to play during deployment, separate from the main battle track. (The main battle track will start as soon as deployment is over.)

--updated the manual with this new Deployment parameter. ;)

[CraigStern]

--updated the tutorial's CharClasses.xml and ObjClasses.xml so characters have a charY attribute

--worked on the third and final part of the tutorial