Fixed some of the easier crashes pointed out on AnimeOTK. I failed to replicate the sporadic problem of stats going down instead of up when improving, and hitpoints randomly dropping down to zero when also improving. I did however find a few issues with stats that linger past combat, so hopefully fixing those problems also fixed the negative improvement bug.

The biggest problem right now (which I don’t believe I’ve fixed yet, though I have started poking at it) is that when you go back to the title screen, and then load a save game and/or start a new game, the game enters into inconsistent state (for example, the player might start at the end of the episode rather than the beginning). I think I know what the issue is, but restoring state is complicated, so I’m not sure if what I’ve done has successfully fixed that or not. So if you note any weirdness after returning to the title screen, a) let me know and b) quit and reload the game. That should reset the state, and allow you to play normally.

There are also some balancing issues with spells, and stat growths that I plan on addressing this weekend, when I have a day to sit down and just get in fights over and over and over again.

Fixed a few more crashes, and a few bugs pointed out by Uninventive over on AnimeOTK. Haven’t fixed the bug pointed by Skull612 yet about the city guard. That one requires looking at code I wrote months ago, and I don’t want to do that yet. Just don’t ever go back to the Edge of Avaricum, and you’ll be fine. At least until something else that I don’t know about happens.

Also, Python’s tendency to do minimal static checks is rather annoying. Many of the crashes I’ve been fixing are the types of things that most other languages would catch at compile time (meaning I wouldn’t even be able to create the executable until I fixed them). But since Python only does minimal checks until it attempts to actually execute the code, it’s very easy for blatantly incorrect code to slip through undetected. Such is the price Python pays for its wonderful flexibility. Such is the price of the language’s wonderful flexibility.

Finally, I’ve stopped posting torrents of the game. Nobody is using them anyway. I’ll start posting those again if/when the game gets big enough for direct mediafire downloads to no longer be practical (which probably won’t be for a few years).

Spankers and Spankees,

I’ve finally gotten my hands on some install discs for Windows 7, and I’ve managed to get Windows back onto my machine (much to my machine’s chagrin I’m sure). This means, that I can finally start creating and posting Windows executables again. See the Downloads page for the most up-to-date version. I also stumbled upon some crashes and bugs while I was playing it, and I’ve fixed those. Both the Ubuntu and Windows executables are the most up-to-date.

As a reminder, the process for notifying me of bugs has changed. See the “Reporting Bugs” tab above for details. You can also find a link there to the list of bugs that have not yet been fixed. It’s recommended that you look at that before downloading the game, so you know what not to do until I can fix it.

Also, SAVE OFTEN. With the quick save feature, all you have to do is hit “q.” I tested the episode as I wrote it, but sometimes I change things that have unexpected consequences, and something that was working when I wrote it is no longer working. I ran through a few paths with the most recent executables, but my exploration was by no means complete. There are almost certainly still options that crash the game. Keep your save up to date, and let me know whenever you encounter a problem.

Spankers and Spankees,

I’ve fixed (hopefully) all the crashes and bugs that Zekel, Skull612, and Uninventive have pointed out (especially Uninventive). Thank you so for your patience, and feedback!

That’s not all however. No, I’ve been very busy these past two days. Yes. Very busy.

First, I’ve removed the Windows executable. Sorry, but it’s pretty much unplayable right now, so there’s no point in having it up, until I can a Windows 7 machine again.

Second, I’ve uploaded the most up-to-date Ubuntu executable torrent and I’ve uploaded the Ubuntu executable directly to MediaFire for those of you who don’t like torrents. See the Downloads page.

Third, I’ve licensed the source code under the GNU GPL v3, and uploaded it to a github repository. You can pull the source code off of there if you’re interested. It has everything except for the music files, because I’m not allowed to send the music files in plaintext. Sorry.

As far as users like us are concerned, all the GNU GPL v3 really says is that you are free to take my code, modify it, add to it, and use it in your own programs. HOWEVER, if you choose to release a program that uses my code, you MUST also release the source code. Probably the easiest way to guarantee compliance is just to “fork” the repository. This will create a different, public repository for you that you can modify without affecting the version that I’m modifying, and I can modify the original version without affecting your version. Furthermore, because the fork will be public, your source code will be released for you.

For those of you using Windows or Mac, and who refuse to install Ubuntu, downloading and running the source code is the only way to currently play the most up to date version. For more details on how to get the source code running, see the README.txt file included in the repository.

I’ve added some error logging to the code (which I should have done from the beginning). Now, if the game crashes, the error will be written to a file called “errors.log” that will show up in the same directory as the game. If the game crashes, please do the following:

1. Send me the errors.log and your latest savefile before the crash (assuming you can save). Make sure to give your e-mail a meaningful name that isn’t too long, such as “Potion Wars Bug: Can’t fight the boss.” or something.

2. Go to the github repository. Along the righthand side you should see a small link called “Issues.” Click that link. Then, create a new issue, and give it the “bug” label (you should see a list of labels along the right of the textbox in which you can describe the issue). Give it the same title as the e-mail you sent me, and explain the bug in as much detail as possible. In particular, describe in as much detail as possible what you did that triggered the bug, and how to get there from the savefile you sent me. This is as much for other players’ benefit as it is mine: what you say will help them avoid the bug themselves until I can fix it.

Note that I have deleted the Bugs tab. I will NO LONGER be tracking bugs manually on a page of this blog. It is HIGHLY recommended that you go and look at the issues page before you download the game, so that you know what bugs there are to avoid.

Spankers and Spankees,

So as expected people were having issues downloading the torrents. That seems to have been fixed though. Mostly, I stink at choosing trackers.

Unfortunately, there was some confusion with the first scene. Basically, the trigger for the first event was poorly done (you’re not supposed to talk to the guard. You’re supposed to try to go Avaricum Square immediately. However, things get a little bit buggy if you try talking to the guard first). I’ve modified a few things to fix that bug. You can find the updated Ubuntu binaries under downloads.

Unfortunately, my Windows 7 OS decided that today was a good day to die, and I no longer have a Windows box, and I won’t have one until I can get my hands on some install disks (which may take a few days at best). As a result I will be unable to create new binaries for Windows 7 for the immediate future.

Finally, firefox has recently started complaining about dropbox.com/meta_dl (the subpage from which people can download other people’s files) being an attack page!. So, I’ve had to move the torrents to a mediafire link.

So very sorry about all the craziness. Please try to hang in there as I work out the kinks to this whole “sharing stuff with other people over the Internet” thing.

EDIT: Fixed a bug that causes the game to crash immediately if the player names their character anything but the default.

Spankers and Spankees,

Welcome to the spanking rpgs blog. My name (as far as you’re concerned) is Aka Russell, and this here is the first post on my brand new development blog of CRPGs with a strong old-school dungeon-crawling flare, a butt-ton of spankings, crude wire-frame graphics, and WAY too much text.

If you look above this here first post, you will see a bunch of tabs. “About” tells you a little bit about my game, “Download” tells you how to download my games (it is alas a bit more complicated than downloading from mediafire, because I don’t trust filehosting services like that). “Bugs” contains a list of known bugs and how likely it is that I’ll fix them. “Other Spanking Games” is where I keep a list and brief description of other games with a significant amount of spanking content that I’ve stumbled upon during my many hours on the web.

Currently, the first episode of Pandemonium Cycle: The Potion Wars (PCPW) is up for download. It is written in Pygame, is a text-based game with wire-frame graphics for the dungeons, and has music purchased from playonloop.com. The game itself will be broken up into episodes. Each episode consists of a beginning, in which the player can interact with various members of the supporting cast, a middle, in which the player explores a dungeon and explores the main plot of that episode, and an end, which is similar to the beginning except we tie up (or at least develop a bit more) various loose threads from the beginning and middle.

Included in the download is a README that contains the seed of a proper manual. I will be writing a proper manual at some point in the near future, hopefully this weekend, which I’ll post along with the game’s source code (horribly written though it may be).

If you have any comments or criticisms please either comment on this blog, or send me an e-mail at:

sprpgs+PWStory@gmail.com – for any comments or criticisms of the writing and story

sprpgs+PWGameplay@gmail.com – for any comments or criticisms of the gameplay

sprpgs+PWBugs@gmail.com – for any bug reports or crashes

sprpgs@gmail.com – for anything that doesn’t fall under one of the above categories.

Criticism is welcome, however if you insult me, your e-mail will go unread into the trash (you are however free to insult the game. Just not me.). Furthermore, I ask that you provide useful information. Saying “This game sucks” tells me nothing except you didn’t like it. Saying “The spell Spectral Breakage renders every other combat choice redundant” actually tells me what the problem is. Even better if you have possible solutions to any problems you see.

One last thing: The game starts with an opening crawl that will automatically scroll through. You can skip it with the Enter key if you like, but it does provide valuable background information.

I hope you guys enjoy your time here, and enjoy Pandemonium Cycle: The Potion Wars.