OFFice/OFFbase 1.0.3 now available!

[+Lothar of the Hill People]

Hey folks! Quiet around here so maybe this'll give reason to get back up in the air. The latest version of OFFice incomparable campaign engine including the OFFbase role-playing simulation is now available at Combat Ace! Download the full package, or the smaller update if you have OFFice 1.0.2 installed.

 

Most noticeable improvements are the many more dynamic encounters for more unique and interesting ways to interact with and manipulate your squadmates and learn more about them, as well as more illustrative descriptions of characters to bring their unique personalities to life. Thanks to JamesL for major contributions on both these fronts.

 

Here's the full change-log:

• AI improvements, most noticeably to encounter selection; internal 'Initiative' Attribute helps determine which party chooses the encounter, and AI is more deliberate about picking an encounter to reach its goals. Simulating the squadron is a bit slower however.
  
• Character Illustration system by JamesL and Lothar dynamically describes higher-level aspects of personalities. Just as Attributes summarize individual combinations of traits, Illustrations summarize combinations of Attributes. The dynamically-generated descriptions really bring unique personalities to life so you can more easily remember them and manipulate them socially. Currently Illustrated are characters' motivations and use of language, with appearance and mannerisms under development. Descriptions of individual attribute levels have been also been added to the pool of observations available to describe characters in encounters.
  
• Lots of small bug fixes and some major internal refinements and restructuring. Some things like startup should be a tad faster. Overall OFFbase is a little more processor-intensive, but much less aggressive in writing to your hard drive. Squadron and pilot personality data now stored as compressed binaries with additional info to make squadron campaigns fully persistent. Now squadron campaigns can be continued with a new character even after the last player pilot has been deleted or transferred out, so a failed pilot never ends your ongoing campaign.
  
• Can create new pilots to join existing OFFbase campaigns from within OFFbase itself, removing need to launch OFF Manager to make replacement pilots. Includes random name generator as well. British, American, and French airmen generated by OFFbase will sometimes include a middle name (already built into German namelists). Supports characters with quotes in their name for nicknames.
  
• FA(A) Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) squadrons are no longer assigned Scramble missions. Exiting OFFbase stops any music from playing. OFFice user settings are now also available on the OFFice page in OFFramp. Refinements to Infirmary screen, including an estimated release time for each patient. The togglable encounter help info credits the author of the encounter.
  
• More revised and expanded encounters by JamesL and Lothar that yield unique insights into the characters of the parties involved, playing out differently each time. Even the venerable "A Salute" gets a small make-over. Added "Mixer" trait to complement the "Introvert" and "Husky" trait for those 'big-boned' airmen.
  
• Preloads Andy73's sounds for improved performance on low-spec machines.
  

The reason for some of the major under-the-hood restructuring will be clear soon, but new bugs may crop up so as always I appreciate reports of problems. Please copy&paste the text or take a screenshot of any errors in the 'REBOL 3 Alpha' console.

 

And have fun!

[+Lothar of the Hill People]

Version 1.0.4 is now available for download at Combat Ace. No new features, just some important bug fixes. Get the full version of OFFice here , or if have 1.0.2 or 1.0.3 installed already all you need is the smaller update.

[MudWasp48]

I think I'll install OFFice today. Best read up on the FAQ first.