Work on the Secret project stopped this week so I could run a play-test with some trusted users. It actually worked, which is a good thing, but my talented playtesters pointed out a couple nuances of project I had simple not taken into account. So its back into the workshop with it.

While Secret Project was getting tested I had the chance to continue work on bringing pilots into the Blue Max game script. It turns out that checking for the death of a pilot is not that hard. However the creation of a replacement pilot that gets quite convoluted. Still it feels good to be moving forward.

Something that has been missing from this version of Blue Max for far too long is the full range of special damage effects. Planes exploded, pilots died, and fires started – but rudders never jammed and fabric never tore. Well, no more. I have finally got around to implementing the various permanent and temporary effects that damage chits give out. The updated code went live Sunday night. If it misbehaves left me know.

I am also doing some general house cleaning around the site. Blue Max gets a lot of attention as the main draw of the site. But many of the other sections have been neglected. I have made some fixes to the chat code, so now it handles single quotes. As mentioned before the days on the forum are numbered. I’m interested to know what else you think will improve the site.

I am feeling a bit apologetic. Right now I am working on many fronts at the same time. Everything is advancing but nothing is getting finished. Every week I seem be saying “it’s coming, it’s coming”.