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Review of 2011

At the start of the year a progress log, with details of all open and completed quests, was added. It has a really nice look and the details are really helpful for players <todo add a stat for quest completion>. An achievement system was implemented, marking milestones which players reach while playing the game. It provided new goals for things to do and encouraged more varied gameplay. The response was really positive, <todo add a stat for use>.

A groups system was introduced, which facilitates small groups of players who embark on an adventure together. Features include shared access for looting corpses, chat channels, and a group GUI for management which also shows the health of group members. <todo add a stat for use>

Stendhal 0.93 features a new convenient behaviour for corpses with automatic raising of corpse windows and closure when empty.

Stendhal 0.93 is also is an Easter release, players can try to find easter Bunny and the eggs he drops, or visit Semos which is decorated.

2011-04-12 13:25:30 PDT by kymara

In June we migrated to a new host for our game and webserver. A lot of background preparation and the asynchronous database communication feature of our engine Marauroa meant that we completed this migration with very little game server downtime. <link to technical writeup>.

Stendhal 0.96 is released, with a focus on improving the experience for players new to the game. We have examined and tweaked quests for new players, now hinting in the Travel log when a quest is not recommended for that player level. A protective wall around the starting city, Semos, helps direct players to quests within the city - and looks good. <todo get stats on new player experience>

An interactive map using Google maps technology is accessible from within the client or http://stendhalgame.org/world/atlas.html?poi=npc, and the Beginners Guide http://stendhalgame.org/wiki/BeginnersGuide can now be launched from the help menu like the Manual and FAQ. Further client side improvements include better placement of tutorial messages, the option to hide heal and poison messages from the chat log.

To read about more of the changes, see screenshots and the full change log please see http://arianne.sourceforge.net/news/stendhal-0-96-welcoming-new-adventurers.html

2011-08-26 01:23:57 PDT by kymara

Stendhal 0.97 features a colour blender for outfit selection, meaning players can colour their clothes and hair to any hue they desire. It makes for some very pretty pictures, see http://arianne.sourceforge.net/news/stendhal-0-97-wear-a-rainbow.html

It is also the Hallowe'en release for the Semos Mine Town Revival Weeks, with some themed re-decoration of maps, games and parties.

For technical changes please see http://arianne.sourceforge.net/game/stendhal.html#changes

2011-10-12 13:22:07 PDT by kymara

Stendhal 0.98 has been released and includes a new interesting feature: day and night. There is even sunrise and sunset and without loss of performance.

Amongst other changes, danger levels are calculated for zones with a visual indicator on the client, and there are some new quests including a fun guess-the-number-of-kills game.

To read about more of the changes, see screenshots and the full change log please see http://arianne.sourceforge.net/news/stendhal-0-98-day-turns-into-night.html

2011-12-02 15:26:27 PST by kymara