The Battle has just Began

I have just finished adding some new features to Modern Melee Combat, which I will post to the ultimate retro project repository as soon as I finish the title screen artwork. The animation subsystem has been overhauled, so the game can be played significantly faster as you no longer will have to wait until the monster animation is finished before making your next move. This was the biggest complaint I have received for both Melee Combat and for Dungeon Romp. There are now keyboard shortcuts for all of the commands in the game. Finally, the game will have a title screen. The other complaint I have got about Melee Combat was that it was too easy. This is more of a configuration file issue than a programming issue, but I plan on creating a second configuration file that would have a much more challenging set of arenas in it. This will probably be released on the 8th.

Dungeon Romp fans will also be treated to an overhauled version. Work on this will not be started until I have put at least 10 hours into Coffee Quest Revenge. Once I have a version with the faster gameplay implemented, it will replace the existing version on the site. A more difficult dungeon is planned, though that will not be released until there is a free week in my release schedule. Depending on how quickly CQR development is, this could be this month, but may not be until July.

The last couple of posts I talked about DRM free music through iTunes. With DRM free music now available, I immediately purchased a copy of Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness on May 30th. Last night (okay, technically early this morning before I went to bed) when I looked at the other Smashing Pumpkin titles available, I noticed that they were no longer available as iTunes Plus albums. This included the album that I purchased the other day. The copy I got was definitely DRM free 256 bit, which leads me to wonder what is going on? My fear is that some bands want to treat their paying customers like criminals. I wrote Apple to find out, but I doubt I will even get a reply from them. If I do find out that it was the band's choice to not allow DRM Free versions, I will simply have to quit supporting the band. In fact, I think from now on, the only bands that I will support are bands that have DRM Free music available.