Re: Release plans

I was very interested to read this: 

>Another way-cool thing that I am hoping you will see in release 2.0 is
>something called DPeye.  I won't say much more than this about it for now,
>but the hope is that DPeye will greatly speed up the process of creating
>maps for use on the DPjudge.

There are a couple variants I've always wanted to play, but which do not have Manusized maps. I'll be interested to see if DPeye results in variants like African or Postmodern Europe being playable on the DPjudge. The other new features and variants Manus mentions also sound great, especially having press viewable on the Web interface.

Cheers,

Andy

 --- In [email protected], Manus Hand <manus@...> wrote:
>
> DPjudgesters --
> 
> The next release of the DPjudge, which is currently being tested (at
> http://www.floc.net/dpjudge/new) will be coming soon to a DPjudge near you
> (USDP and others, to be specific).  Exactly what "soon" means, I don't
> exactly know yet, but the feature-set for the upgrades is now
> nearly complete, and being tested.
> 
> This next release of the DPjudge will be called release 1.9.  I have decided
> that 2.0 will mark the point when I am happy with the (so-called) new
> (though it's six years old now) and (not really) improved Master's Webpage
> that has been a half-completed thing you GM's have lived with for a long
> time.  Personally, I must admit that I miss the days of the previous
> Master's Webpage, with the GM able to directly edit the game's status file.
> There is talk (inside my head) of at least bringing that capability back as
> an option that the GM can use.  The nice checkboxes for all the rules are
> cool (yes, I'm at least proud of those) in that they don't let a GM set up
> any combination of rules that is invalid, but as I say, the whole of the
> Master's Webpage got to only about 80% complete (as some of you knowl; for
> example, there's no easy way to do a couple of things in there, like
> changing the game's timing) by the time I began my sabbatical in 2002.
> Anyway, yeah, when I announce "release 2.0", that will mean it has a
> Master's Webpage that yours truly is once again happy with.
> 
> Another way-cool thing that I am hoping you will see in release 2.0 is
> something called DPeye.  I won't say much more than this about it for now,
> but the hope is that DPeye will greatly speed up the process of creating
> maps for use on the DPjudge.
> 
> The 2.0 release will also see some other changes to important stuff (some of
> which you might not even notice, like mail handling) -- especially the
> DPPD.  The DPPD, too, was something that got to where it got and then I
> walked away for my six-year recharge, leaving the plans for and the
> implementation of the DPPD remain only nascent.  In 2.0, the DPPD will come
> a good distance closer to being a separate entity from the DPjudges on the
> network it supports, and hopefully there will be more and cooler
> functionality in the DPPD, allowing you to better manage the games you play
> on the DPjudge network of judges, with searching for games of various types
> and other pie-in-the-sky ideas.  We shall see....
> 
> In the meantime, 1.9 has a whole lot of cool stuff coming too.  Here's a
> (partial?) list:
> 
>    - The ability to read and review (on the Web interface) all the press
>    messages you receive and send.
>    - The Ambition & Empire variant.
>    - The Sengoku variant.
>    - A whole gob of new rules, which initially were either inspired by or
>    necessary for the new variants coming in, but very useful for GM's who want
>    to introduce a little variety in their own games on any map.  Some examples
>    of these are VASSAL_STATES, DUMMY_FIRE, IMMOBILE_DUMMIES, and well, a whole
>    bunch more.
>    - Support for "leagues", which can be used to introduce restrictions to
>    things that a unit can do (with various degrees of restrictions
>    against acting against other units in your league, or other leagues).  This
>    could be used to set up situations in which groups of powers are naturally
>    more given to amity than enmity (or vice-versa), etc.
>    - The ability for powers to claim new home centers during the game (a
>    different way of doing so, at times decided by each individual player
>    eligible to do so -- thus, this is different from the already and
>    still-existing way of doing such a thing, which has all powers each
>    suddenly decide upon an entire new set of home centers at the end of
>    specific game-years).
>    - A way for omniscient observers to use the Web only (so they don't get
>    overwhelmed by getting all the press in email).
> 
> Sure, maybe only the first one of these items (and in rare cases, the last
> one) are of interest to those of you who only play the standard game -- the
> rest of the stuff is for the variant-lovers out there -- but even for the
> standard player, the new "press archive" stuff should (I hope) make the
> release something you'll want to look forward to.
> 
> Release 1.9 will see the removal of the current "groups" feature, which was
> meant to allow GM's to set up games that are open only to specific groups of
> players (kind of an alternative to the privacy-password way of handling such
> things).  This "groups" feature hasn't been used much, unfortunately, but we
> believe in it, and it will return in a future release.
> 
> Anyway, I felt like it was time to give an update on the happenings in the
> test judge.  Things seem to be getting hammered out and solid there, so
> since the day when 1.9 will be installed for everyone to use on USDP is
> coming closer by the minute, I figured I would give everyone here on the
> list a heads-up.
> 
> And I'm probably forgetting some other cool things in the release.  I've
> been busy.
> 
> Stab you soon,
> Manus
>




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