Build 1.0.6 has been released. Download from Google Code

Release Notes:

• Issue 3 - Detect magic cast when sharing treasure now works, therefore you can see the magic treasure
• Fixed the function that checks if any team member has a spell, to return the correct team member (and therefore not crash)
• Paladin’s can now cure other players from the ‘view player’ screen
• Issue 4 - combat screen background colour is now gray not black
• Fixed ‘Paul’s save game E’ play problem correctly
• Fixed combat targeting via the Aim sub-menu
• Fixed logic in the remove affect code, that meant they were not being removed
• Translated more assembly, and name/renamed functions and variables as their purpose became clear
• Fixed the clipping of the combat screen. Large monsters were over drawing the board, which is not redrawn
• Implemented video ram save/restore so the missile items draw correctly in combat
• Changed the DaxFileCache to copy data before returning. This slows the game down more, but stops merged pictures from being wrong on second viewings (camp fire in DEMO)

I have a fist full of issue reported by Paul in the 1.0.5 build yet to fix, of which the most annoying is using his Save Game F, the beholder combat does not start due to infinite looping while placing the combatants. This has been the driver for the large volume of function/variable check-ins I have been doing, while I try get my head around what is happening, and what should be happening.

I hope there is enough progress to improve the experience over 1.0.5, for those people giving it a try.

I was developing a Wireshark plug-in over the last week, and I wanted to document all the steps it took to get it really really working…

First off, I have to give a large credit to Ken Thompson’s CodeProject howto, this was a fantastic write-up, and is the basis of my notes.

The goals for my plug-in are:

• Dissect a private protocol used in our product. Aka the plug-in is intended for developer/support personnel only
• Must work against the current downloadable Wireshark build

My differences from Ken’s notes are:

1. You must use Visual Studio 6.0 if you want your plug-in to work with the official build

2. I found that Ken’s list of Cygwin requirements was not complete, and the
   nmake –f Makefile.nmake setup

   step was trying to download extra packages. To get out past the work firewall I had to add
   set HTTP_PROXY=server_name:port

to my Cygwin.bat

3. I also had some problems with non-existing group-policy paths in the PATH environment variable messing with setting up the VCVARS32.bat, so I added this line to reset the PATH
   set path=%SystemRoot%system32

in the Cygwin.bat before the VCVARS.bat line

4. I based my dissector on the agentx plug-in.
   pluginsagentx*

5. Borrowed how flags are done from the IP and UDP dissectors
   epandissectorspacket-ip.cepandissectorspacket-udp.c

6. Borrowed how to make the dissector match many UDP ports, based on how HTTP uses prefs_register_range_preference.
   epandissectorspacket-http.c

It’s been a fantastic learning experience, lots of banging my head against C code rules, but the output has been very useful.

For a last few weeks I have been subscribed to a RSS feed of updates to my Linkedin network, and I think it’s fantastic!

Each day I can see the movers and shakers expand their empires, and feel content that I don’t know those people so there is nothing required of me… it’s great.

Now I don’t need to go to the web site bi-weekly, and click on all my contacts to see what’s changed, I have it all brought to me.

Yeah Linkedin, now I just need to find a purpose for it, other than empire building…..

One of our regular management people (that comes over from the US) came into the office today, purposely not wearing black, and informed our team of this, that she was not going to be dragged down by us Death Eaters.

Hmmm, if that’s not a warning shot over the bow, I’m not sure what is. Quick team huddle later, we are now positive outwards, as we don’t want to be that team that always complains, and everything is always going wrong.

Not a very good label to be stuck with.

But never mind, everything’s still full-on chaos on the inside, what management does not like knowing will now stop hurting us…..

Once again I have been reminded to always validate all input. In our database, we store records generated from machines. We have a timeline that lets you view records and reports, that show time summaries.

This morning the testers found some reports which do not show some data that is shown in the timeline. The former data comes from an aggregate table build via table cursors, while the latter comes from the base tables.

Much hunting later, we found the “missing” datawas actually encapsulated in the time span of other data. This should never happen. So when the aggregate table is built (I expect only sometimes) the small event is over written by the larger. So when viewed in the zoomed in timeline you see the small event, but it is not in the report covering the same time.

If we had validation, one of the two entries would have not been loaded into the table, and we would have a error message in a log.

So as long as the logs are reviewed (they are reviewed aren’t they?) - the issue would have been found easier.

As to why we have overlapping data, that’s another mystery, but still I should have been checking the input….

Build 1.0.5 was put up on Goggle Code yesterday.

Changes were:

• Loading saved games with Druids / Ranger / Paladins / Magic-Users / Clerics was not translation complete, and would therefore crash
• Saving newly created characters incorrectly ask if you wanted to overwrite the file
• The display of a characters AC was +/- flipped
• The save game from the training menu did not work
• The item name list was missing a blank string, thus causes items part way through to display with a off by one name.
• Fixed the calculation of AC bonus from Dexterity
• Fixed how losing combat was treated, so you now don’t get shown the EXP rewarded screen
• Scrolling through the party list was broken
• Fixed small typo in the code-wheel (even though it turned off in the game)
• Fixed the display names on spells. There was many blank strings missing
• Fixed spell memorizing screen
• Fixed some menu that would not accept input like Exit
• Fixed the treasure found code to handle not being in combat (SSI bug)

Most of these changes were from Paul, or playing with his save game. I have started on some of the combat UI problems that have been bugging me.

So as always, posts your comment/issues here or on the GoogleCode site.

Well I have owned my v3 lama for a few weeks now, and I am loving it just as much as the day I got it. Still got the Airwolf tune playing in my head….

I am no longer hard landing it, or putting it into the walls, etc. but the crashes I have now are much harder… yet still the v3 lama lives.

Here is the state of the heli after the second time the aerial got sucked up into the blades

Some white electric tape, then super glue, and the tail is fixed.  After smashing the blades, I swapped to hardened blades. Here it is, waiting for the battery to charge before the next mission……

The day that 200 gram chip packets (crisps) are now 150 gram. They had a brief stint at 190 grams, but the possibility of even small bags filled mostly with air was too tempting for both Bluebird and ETA.

I find it so silly that packaged food is in ever small portions to keep things at “magic” price points.  Just inflate the god dam price.

Sorry, I have lots of things to rant about, but this is about the only one suitable for public airing….

I have just wasted the last 2.5 hours, trying to upgrade WordPress from 2.2.3 to 2.3.3

It went worse than my attempt to move to 2.3.2, as I lost my 2.2.3 database, so have spent the last 30 minutes rebuilding the whole thing.

Two lessons learnt:

1. Don’t try and upgrade while at work. Even though the Internet connection is fast, people like to interrupt you, and feel that they are the most important thing happening at that time.
2. Don’t try an over-the-top upgrade, make a second DB, and get it working before pulling down your normal site.

Sorry if anybody (other than me) noticed.

I have updated the installer on GoogleCode. Second time in the same month.

The major change is that you can now save your game!  This is quite exciting for me, as now the game is actually playable. The file formats are not changed from the original DOS version, so these files should be loadable from DOS, if that sort of thing is of interest.

The three other changes are:

• small pictures are now displayed correctly, in scripted sequences, like the DEMO.
• Fighter hit points are correctly managed in the modify player screen.
• I have mapped the [ and ] keys to the keypad home and end, so menu’s can be scrolled on my laptop as it has no keypad…

So quickly run and get Installer 1.0.4, and play, play, play!