Sunday 19 June 2011

At what cost?

I have decided to take the plunge, and offer ADRIFT 5 for free.

There are several reasons for doing this. These include the release of Inform 7, which is easier to use than it's predecessor (although still not a patch on ADRIFT!) and makes it simpler for non-programmers to get started with. Also with Quest becoming free it increases the number of no-pay alternatives, making the decision of which system to use somewhat more difficult. In addition, a large proportion of the ADRIFT user-base are minors who do not have easy access to online payments.

I really think ADRIFT 5 has the potential to become a major player in the IF world - but only at the right price. It is by far the easiest system to use, and has been for some time. Now at least, that ease of use will be open to everyone.

The first free version will be 5.0.19. I don't anticipate this will be ready for release for a good few weeks yet however.

Monday 13 June 2011

Linux version now available

I've uploaded a Linux version of Runner to the ADRIFT website. This makes use of the Mono Framework.

The software is still pretty buggy, especially the Mono version which is not 100% compatible with Windows, but it should be possible to run games reasonably well.

I'm obviously new at creating Linux distributions, so if anyone has any suggestions of improvements, please let me know.

I also introduced a couple of major bugs in 5.0.18, so I have fixed these, and the versions on the website are now 5.0.18.2.

Saturday 11 June 2011

5.0.18 out now

I have just uploaded 5.0.18 to the ADRIFT website. Along with the usual load of bug fixes, there are some nice enhancements such as improved flexibility of specific task overrides and Undo. The full list is as follows:

Enhancements
Bug Fixes
  • Restore Error from Start Location (ID 5167)
  • Syntax Highlighting Minor Issue (ID 5403)
  • Runner not to close when quitting game (ID 5492)
  • Map Tools|Add Location ribbon button is non-functional (ID 5521)
  • Move Character To Parent Location (ID 5602)
  • Conversation not counting as task output (ID 2694)
  • Map - Deleting Links (ID 2664)
  • Developer memory leak (ID 5526)
  • Properties scrollbar (ID 5634)
  • Adding Properties (ID 3048)
  • Reordering Restrictions (ID 4569)
  • Command color in the transcript inconsistent? (ID 4437)
  • Starting Character On Objects - Runner Crash (ID 5454)
  • Alternate text tab re-ordering (ID 5510)
  • Alternate Descriptions in Properties. (ID 5449)
  • Alternate Descriptions in Text Properties (ID 5007)
  • Objects in worn or held containers considered worn or held (ID 4229)
  • Moving folders (ID 5381)
  • Unregistered version not saving modules of any size (ID 5380)
  • Object Recognition Using %Objects% (ID 5130)
  • Error when saving game (ID 5277)
  • Runner Crash - PC in Same Location as Any Object (ID 4736)
  • Character Sub Object Error (ID 4759)
  • Prevent Task From Being Inherited (ID 4656)
  • LongLocationDescription property isn’t working (ID 4565)
  • Unselecting Selection Only Properties in Actions (ID 4414)
  • Problem loading/saving files on different regional settings (ID 4346)