Changed from order-of-precedence map tile drawing system to a more generic system. Instead of trying to figure out which tile should overlap another tile, based on a specific order of precedence, all tiles now overlap tiles of another type with a generic transition color. Instead of trying to figure out a neutral ground-like color, a gray was selected to give the map a pseudo-8-bit comic style.

Basic zone and faction data were added to the map table with the idea that the map will eventually be broken up into regions with factions controlling them. Quests in these regions may eventually give special faction-specific clout.

The item drop system is being revamped to utilize a generic loot object which will be applied to loot-bearing objects such as monsters, treasure chests, events (non-combat adventures), usable items, etc).

Server-side caching of map tile data should help speed up map display considerably.

Separated character data from account data to allow a single account to have multiple characters. This is the first major step toward a character class system. Since some future content will be class-specific, it makes sense to allow for accounts to have multiple characters of different classes rather than to require that players sign up for more than one account.

To clean up a little page clutter and scrolling, the main menu was changed to a navbar style, character info box icons were reduced from 30px to 16px, page width was fixed to a specific width, and skills/effects were removed from default view. They can be found in the player notes at the moment but they'll probably be moved to a secondary tab of the character info box in v0.10.3

The main (login) page was changed a bit to make it easier to create an account.

Changed map model from using a flat file for ground data, a single overlay for buildings, and a huge set of pre-compiled map images to a fully dynamic multi-layer model stored entirely in the database. The reason for this is because the flat files and overlays are simply too cumbersome to edit, requiring very long compile times for even the smallest changes. Using the DB to make the data more readily available was long overdue.

The downside is there is a lot more overhead in delivering the tiles to users. This is going to take some cache tweaking to fix.

I've been working on a complete revamp of the quest system. Quests will be a lot easier to design and create, and will offer a much wider variety of quest types (i.e., no longer limited to collect or kill quests).

Calendar periods are in the works, to be used primarily to automate the appearance and disappearance of holiday/event quests. Long overdue but very powerful. They can also be used to have quests appear at different times of the day. Neat stuff.

The design philosophy from this point on has switched from running the game almost entirely on the server-side to running as much of the game as possible from the client side, using only JavaScript (no Flash or Java). The reason for this is simply that it's much more responsive to do it this way.

Not sure when this update will happen, but I'm hoping it won't take too long.

Generia is dedicated to the memory of Jennifer "Dorotea" Rosenkrans.

If you'd like to help offset the cost of hosting, feel free to donate.

Please visit the Circus Tent in Generia City and lend a hand.

If you've recently signed up for Generia - please send an in-game message to "Kilii" to receive a welcome package.

We're glad to have you in our community!

~Staff~

If you haven't already {and it's been an option for a while} - click on Account to the left and change the dimensions of the map to fit your browser/monitor.

It's a nice feature, among plenty of others that have changed.

Brace yourselves, item values are going to go through a massive revamping. Just a heads up.

The calendar function {for inner mechanics} is finally ready to roll out - so you'll find that different days of the week, {nevermind different seasons, Holidays, etc} and even different times of day will make a difference in playing. Quests, Monsters, Item Usage, Equipment Usage, etc will all be tied into the calendar. For instance you might log in during "the witching hour" and find a quest asking you to kill witches, and find they're much more rampant. Or log in during "happy hour" and find that ale is suddenly a more likely drop. {I believe the calendar will be based on PST} These haven't been implemented yet, just another sneak peek at what's to come for you. :)

Generia's Birthday is coming up and hopefully we'll be ready with some new quests and features.

Have a great weekend.

Head to Generia City to begin the first of the Crinkle 2009 Quests.

From there you'll be sent on a whirlwind tour of all of our fair Generia this Crinkle season.

Keep collecting those new Crinkle items, you'll find you need them for future endeavours.

Don't worry, when your work is done in Generia City you'll know where to go next.

New quests will be added throughout the rest of December.

Merry Crinkle!