This week has been a mess, so some things got done and others didn't. The truth is I felt pretty lousy several days this week, and was either in a lot of pain or having lost sleep from being in a lot of pain. So I'm hoping that will all improve, but one of the newer issues is likely to be with me awhile. I blame getting sick at the beginning of the year for all of this.

I started off strong, though, and managed to get in some important bug fixes for 514. I was considering getting a new maintenance release out, but midweek things took a turn and that's where it all got derailed. I think I might try to get in a few more fixes and aim for another release maybe Tuesday-ish.

For 515 I've been looking heavily into the prospect of map saving. However I've come to realize that the "just do it" approach is gonna suck, hard, and require a lot of bad compromises that would clutter the language and also compromise the whole point of doing it in the first place. I think this can be done in a streamlined, intelligent manner, but it also is gonna need some more underlying support for that to happen. Therefore it's clear to me that if I do anything with this in 515 at all it'll have to be about dealing with some of the support stuff. I think I was right the first time that this is just too much of a project for so late in the game, but if I make a step or two forward it's still a good thing.

I've also decided noise filters are just not gonna happen in 515; they're potentially really cool but also they're a bit too broad, not the kinds of little quick things that make sense to go after just before the beta, and the beta has waited long enough. Plus, there's an old feature request for being able to pin filters down better on the map instead of having them move with it, and that ties into the noise filter stuff too. I'd rather get that request settled first since it addresses issues people are already dealing with right now, so that's my next target.

Those of you who've contributed to BYOND through Membership or our other donation channels are all greatly appreciated. I'm hard at work, despite being under less than optimal conditions, pushing things forward for you.

The dreaded V-Day is near! Growing up it was a tradition to have a heart-shaped chocolate cake with pink buttercream frosting, and although I have no heart-shaped cake pans, after the mess this week has been that cake is sounding mighty good. Whatever you do to celebrate, or not, take good care of yourself—except for the eating healthy part.