More thoughts about the project

After reading your comments and working on SoundRTS today, here are some more thoughts (sometimes contradicting with the previous ones):

1. During the next two days, maybe one, I might be able to get some work done.
2. Releasing a new 1.1 alpha 7 would be quicker than creating a new stable version.
3. Even if the 1.1 alpha 7 is very wrong, there is always the possibility for the player to go back to 1.1 alpha 6 and ignore the "please update" message. The older versions are still there for download even if their links have disappeared.
4. There is no need to remove the recorded voices in 1.1 alpha 7.
5. Using SAPI by default (without having to press control + alt + F12 during a game) might be nice.
6. Using the screen reader might be even nicer. Unfortunately, using something else than SAPI or recorded text might require a change in the way messages are processed in SoundRTS because the screen readers don't tell if they are speaking or not. This causes problems to the current "message manager" of SoundRTS who is trying to make sure that every information is told sooner or later. Maybe this control is not really needed. I don't know.

[SoundRTS] project status

Here is a summary of the current plans for SoundRTS. Feel free to comment, especially about the viability of 1.1 alpha 6 as a stable version.

1. The next evolutions might be more chaotic, so I will probably rename the current latest 1.1 alpha 6 to stable 1.1.0, since it's probably being used as a stable version by many players anyway. The next alpha would be 1.2 alpha 0. This way you would have something to try soon without losing the not so bad current version, and new players wouldn't be misguided to download 1.0.1 anymore.
2. I might also add an archive folder to the website so the current stable 1.0.1 would still be easily available, even if not recommended anymore.
3. In 1.2 alpha, I will try to solve a fundamental problem of SoundRTS: the world map lacks continuity: squares and paths to connect them. If I am successful, there would be only one space, even if I will try to keep the ease of play that squares provide. It would be possible to block a bottleneck by placing footmen accurately, and placing archers behind them. Building walls would make sense. The simulation would be probably simplified. The problem is to adapt the AI and make sure that the game interface is not too complex.
4. In 1.2 alpha, I might completely remove recorded text and use SAPI to allow more efficient and flexible messages, but it might cause (at least temporarily) the loss of some platforms (Linux, Mac) and of the languages for which I don't have the text. I apologize in advance for the inconveniences but it is the price to pay in order to limit the ever growing complexity of the SoundRTS beast. The positional text will be lost in the process too (at least temporarily).
5. Allowing several races is a priority, because sooner or later they will have to be implemented, and before that happens, balancing the new units in one race would be a lost effort.
6. There might be confusion when two competing players control the same race, but even in this case it might be possible to make the units sound different depending on their "ally" status (using the "if_me" keyword in style.txt). But it might not be necessary.
7. At the moment, I have added 2 units: the priest and the necromancer, and I have planned to move some of the abilities of the mage to the priest, and I have made more changes in the existing units. This won't be good, but with 1.1 alpha 6 still available, it might be OK to play with the stats again.
8. I have updated the manual and added automatic generation of the description of the units, buildings and abilities from the rules.txt file. I will try to keep the manual updated.

[planning] future SoundRTS 1.0 beta 10a (unstable)

The main change of the beta 10a will be:
- improved population limit and faster multiplayer games; requires a big architecture change

The following changes, initially included in the beta 9i, will be in the beta 10a:
- now the player can invite the aggressive computer even if he has not completed the single player campaign
- map making: removed old single player example map
- map making: single player campaigns (victory unlocks the next chapter)
- map making: mission chapters (in a campaign)
- map making: custom sounds (in a campaign)
- map making: cut scene chapters (in a campaign)
- map making: introduction cut scene (in a mission) (for example: a briefing)
- map making: cut_scene (play a cut scene during a mission)
- added a "victory, do you want to continue?" menu and a "defeat, do you want to restart?" menu after a single player chapter of a campaign
- change: press F9 instead of F12 to check the objectives
- change: press F11 instead of F9 to check the players (in a multiplayer game)
- new: press control + tab to cycle through woods, gold mines and meadows
- map making: several objectives (in a mission); can be added during a mission
- map making: new trigger condition: has_entered (example: "has_entered b2" is true when the player enters b2)
- removed the "Ctrl + F6: wait for combat sounds" option
- fixed a bug where the player couldn't always build after a game is restored
- map making: new trigger action: add units in a square (for example: reinforcements)

The following changes will probably be in the beta 10b or later:
- easier way to start multiplayer games
- a new single player map illustrating the new map making features
- map making: custom units (for example: a hero unit, or special units)

The following changes are planned for after the beta 10:
- add lesson 1 of a very easy in-game tutorial (doing many things in the same square first)
- add scout towers, mutable to arrow-throwing towers or to cannon towers
- catapults can attack units in adjacent squares but only if the unit is seen, but cannot attack units in the same square
- add limited persistence of enemy units in fog of war
- add lessons for the tutorial
- the player can select allied computers or not
- the players can ally during a multiplayer game
- the player can choose between more than one race
- a player can replay and examine a recorded multiplayer game
- an observer can examine a multiplayer game being played
- difficulty levels?

[planning] Current plans

Plans may change but I intend to include this in the beta 9:
- add the first lessons of a very easy ingame tutorial (probably doing many things in the same square first), so beginners wouldn't need to read the manual anymore to start playing;
- extract the maps from the code and allow custom maps;
- boost the archers (I delayed this boost only because a competition was planned and I didn't want the game to be changed just before the competition; unfortunately, the multiplayer game is not optimized enough to allow the competition and the better way to solve the optimization problem will probably take a long time, maybe forever, so I want to add the most wanted features before wandering into the unknown for probably one month or two);
- fix the current metaserver so it will be less buggy and give more informations through a web page; in the future, when the multiplayer optimization is complete, if it succeeds, a better system for organizing games will be designed, I hope;
- add a savegame feature;
- add defensive buildings (a scout tower which can be mutated to an arrow-throwing tower or to a cannon tower).