Unknown Person's Developer Blog

This update contains some minor bug fixes that were caused from the 0.8.5 internal revamp. Not to worry, development is still continuing, albeit slowly, but hopefully this steady pace will get somewhere in the near future. :)

Version 0.8.6 - October 30th, 2009
- The Join Game interface would have issues when a host quits a game in the game lobby
- When the host logged out, players could not join or talk inside games
- New map: Icestorm (2 player fast moderate, snow terrain) - small moderate-paced map with mixed snow terrain surrounded by water

Known Issues (as of version 0.8.6)
- In certain situations that at this point haven't been able to be consistently reproduced, the recruit menu will not close. BYOND believes that the window doesn't exist, so it is safe to close the window by bringing focus to it and hitting ALT+F4
- In rare circumstances, units recruited may disappear and re-appear in other games
- In certain unknown circumstances, the game may lock out and not allow the current player to do anything except end his or her turn. Please report ASAP as this occurs during gameplay.

As usual, the Ultimatum server is up 24/7, and is located at byond://ultimatum.dynalias.com:6757 for everyone to enjoy.

The server has been updated to Ultimatum version 0.8.5, which serves as an intermediate version for upcoming exciting features. Although this is true, this update also brings a couple of bug fixes, graphical changes, and gameplay balances which should make some people happy.

A side-note, you must have BYOND 454 or later to be able to view the interface properly. Earlier version of BYOND won't be able to draw tile-background lables, so it will look a bit odd.

Version 0.8.5 - September 5th, 2009
- Many internal changes and overhauls to the client and game handling system in anticipation of new systems and features. New bugs may temporarily pop up in this intermediate version
- Changed the Dream Seeker window icon to the Ultimatum hub logo
- Minor power tweeks to the Elvish and Orcish faction (added new skills to the Enchantress, powered up Trolls and Occultists)
- Improved the interface panel graphics (made possible with the addition of tiled labels). You must upgrade BYOND to the version 454 and up.
- Minor graphical updates (recruit icon, unit rings, etc)
- Graphical fixes: Trenches were layering on top of castles, shroud wasn't always covering units (a layering issue)
- Client Preferences will now save properly (which broke in the previous version), savefiles now have hash validation
- Ultimatum now uses DMIFontsPlus (more of an internal change) with small text tweeks to the unit status box
- Bug fixes regarding the auto rejoin functionality have been resolved (game would produce a runtime error when players logged out before the game started)

So why the sudden burst of updates, you may ask? Well, in combination with all of the free time during the summer, I've regained some motivation to work on this old game (I believe the first Ultimatum public testing periods happened about three years old this month). However, I will be starting university in a couple days, so my free time will be drained out pretty quickly. But who knows, I'll still try to squeeze out updates.

In the meantime, you can join the dedicated server of Ultimatum at the same address as per usual:

byond://ultimatum.dnsalias.com:6757

Attentive players will notice the latest Ultimatum update includes a couple of key features that were recently implemented, such as the ability for players to quickly rejoin a game if they logged out (great for when you start to hear a thunderstorm outside). Here are the full details below.

Version 0.8.4 - August 24th, 2009
- Players are now able to log out of the game without immediatly forfeiting. Players must re-join the game within 3 minutes, and will automatically re-enter the game upon logging in.
- Removed the menu and status bar in the default interface to optimize screen area for smaller resolutions
- Decreased tick_lag to smooth out scrolling and movement
- Long-standing bug where units that leveled up at the beginning of a player's turn would not be able to move nor attack has been fixed
- While moving units, players can now automatically see the defense rating of terrain while dragging the mouse (previously players would have to hold shift)
- New map: Devastation (2 player moderate, mixed desert terrain) - moderate play map where two players fight between an oasis with mixed terrain

As a reminder, Ultimatum is now being hosted 24/7 on a dedicated SliceHost server, and everyone is welcome to join. It's located at the same URL mentioned last week.

byond://ultimatum.dynalias.com:6757

Also, for ACWraith:

Yes, a help file is coming. :)

From now on, Ultimatum will now be hosted on a dedicated SliceHost server for all to enjoy. You can use this link to join:

byond://ultimatum.dynalias.com:6757

Enjoy!

So after four months of not being hosted, I've decided to bring Ultimatum back up. Hopefully interest in the game will grow again, unlike the times right before I took down the server. Such celebration is justified by a tiny update (a new map). If you haven't played Ultimatum, or haven't for a while, then now is your chance to try it out. :)

You can join by visiting the hub page and clicking the Join link (since I do not have a static IP address anymore), or by joining through your pager.

I plan on keeping this server up for the rest of the summer. If there is enough interest by September, I'll consider getting a dedicated server.

http://www.byond.com/hub/UnknownPerson/Ultimatum