FIXED: DEAD STATIC monsters (fixed monsters that have been killed) removed from processing and placed in MODE_HOLD now remain removed when loaded from a savegame or scene file. Previously, DEAD STATIC monsters were reverting to MODE_DEATH when loaded, causing them to be actively processed again, including world physics and collision with invalid (floating point) position data. In dungeon scenes this could potentially result in a stack overflow condition during recursive collision processing.

Revised: Adding objects to game object list (OList) now checks if already inserted and performs removal prior to re-adding. An OList error now writes to log with object and caller id.

REVISED MULTIPLAYER:

REVISED: When minimizing the application window, the game now continues to process network messages and send/receive heartbeats. Previously, the game could disconnect players if they minimized the game window longer than 60 seconds, and network messages were not being handled.

REVISED: The game now compares release version for displaying listed games in the Steam Lobby, and excludes games from showing that are not the same version. Players are recommended to always update to the latest version of the game.

REVISED: Tweak to new interpolation methods for improved rotation and movement.



NEW: Added "LOADING" pop-up bar that appears when outdoors and the game pauses to load uncached world data and objects from disk.

FIXED: Added filtering on outdoor scene loading to remove any queued events crossing over into the Fargrove Sewers scene. Previously, if players clicked the sewer switch more than once when initially entering the Fargrove Sewers then these extra events were stored and could re-trigger Fargrove Sewers scene loading again when players tried to exit any Fargrove gates later in the game.

REVISED Multiplayer:

* FIXED: Invasive packet parsing in 3rd party NAT solver library was interpreting data in the game's DirectPlay messages as "internal" messaging intended for itself, corrupting network message exchanges between host and clients in multiplayer. The NAT library code was specifically targeting (but not limited to) messages containing terrain block loading information and player position data in savegames, resulting in abrupt game session terminations, disconnects, and erroneous data exchanges. This issue was identified as the source of multiplayer gameplay failures in the initial Steam release.

* FIXED: Emmindor now awards completion for delivering Galdryn's Horn to Talendor for characters in the party that did not previously receive the quest. Elderon now enables the tower lift and opens the doors for everyone after Galdryn's Horn has been delivered to Talendor. For "late arrival" characters that did not initially receive the quest from Emmindor to deliver Galdryn's Horn, it may be necessary to engage Elderon and Emmindor more than once for completion. Please read "IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT MULTIPLAYER GAMES" further below for more information.

* FIXED: Host now repeatedly checks for valid player connections during terrain segment loading. Previously, if a player was disconnected during a terrain loading lock the host could wait indefinitely (hang) for a response never forthcoming. Note that the game currently waits 60 seconds before disconnecting a player due to non-responsiveness, thus if a player does disconnect during scene transition or terrain loading, then host gameplay may be delayed this time before resuming action.

* Revised PCStream, MonsterStream, and PCAOP (PLAYER POSITION UPDATES) messages to reject older messages if a newer message has already been processed, and reject messages where scene (spoke number) does not match the currently loaded scene. Previously, an old/late upd message could potentially be processed with invalid position data for the currently loaded scene.

* Revised default UPDPC frequency to 62ms = 16 updates per second (previously 28 updates per second). This is to further reduce network traffic and match monster update frequency in potential support of possible future stream consolidation.

* PC stream data revised to include orientation of remote players when running oblique (side run).

* New interpolation methods were introduced to reduce visible position and rotation jitter for remote players. Position data for players is now more rigidly under control of host. Previously, the host was cheating positions reported by clients in attempt to reduce visible position jitter.

* Added supplemental logging for all multiplayer scene loading methods to faciliate tracking of connection problems during scene transitions and terrain block loading. Added system timestamps to game log and NatLib log messages.

* Added network message traffic monitor output to the log file. This is to facilitate diagnosis of any reported network issues, and may be removed in a future update.


*** IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT MULTIPLAYER GAMES ***

When resuming a multiplayer savegame, always select your hero character from the savegame roster displayed, and not with the "Load Character" button. The "Load Character" button is a feature to allow players to load a hero character for starting new multiplayer games, and to allow players to add an additional hero character to a savegame party being resumed. Loading a character using the "Load Character" button will destroy all quest information (except for personal class quests) and all npc encounter information as if these characters had never played the game. Game quest information and npc encounter information obtained by the other characters in the savegame roster will NOT be tranferred to these additional characters, and consequently, it is possible that some quests may not be recognized or awarded for these "late arrival" characters. Players are therefore cautioned to take heed: continuing gameplay from a savegame with only "late arrival" characters, without the original host hero character in the party, may encounter subsequent quest blocks preventing succesful conclusion of the game.

IMPORTANT: Prior to ending a multiplayer play session, the HOST player should always save the game before any players exit the game. This will preserve all information as exists in the game session for all players. If a player is disconnected, to resume gameplay the host should always load the last complete savegame including ALL characters in the party (even if some forward progress is lost) so that all information for all characters in the party is preserved in entirety.

AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING: SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN!

Dungeon Lords features fast savegame recording so that frequent saving is not disruptive to gameplay. However, to supplement the neglectful, the game always makes a full auto-save whenever performing scene transitions.

FINAL NOTE: When a non-host player character leaves a multiplayer party by quitting the game, all required quest items and all major quest status information of that character are automatically transferred to the host character, allowing the host to continue gameplay progress normally. Thus, as long as the host character is continued along an unbroken savegame chain, the party should always be able to progress through the game to reach its final conclusion.