Monday 11th August 2003

Time for a maintenance release ... XMaps 232 and XMaps Remote Control 016 are now available in the Downloads section.  There are no new features in these releases; they fix a couple of minor bugs and one significant problem.

In the XMaps HUD menu, the UT Rules options have been corrected for multiplayer Assault games.  In XMaps Remote Control, setting the frequency of game switching to 'every game' now works properly (doh).  Finally, Game Switching to and from Assault (when 'Don't interrupt Assault games' is on) has been fixed.  Many thanks to Martin Latsch for letting me know about the Assault game-switching problem.

Remember; if you use XMaps Remote Control, you'll need to update it to version 016 before you can run it against XMaps 232.

Sunday 8th June 2003

Well, this is a sad day indeed.  I've tried to put this off as long as possible, but this post is to let you all know that I'm having to pull away from project development outside of work.  Changes in my personal life mean that I simply don't get the time for UT and UT2003 development any more ... I've managed the occasional maintenance release of XMaps, but I haven't even been able to work on XMaps2K or start up the projects that other organisations have asked me to help with.  Sincere apologies go to those of you who I thought I would be able to help ... I'm sorry to have to let you down.

I'll still be responding to mail and helping out those of you that I can, but the development side is going to have to be put on hold for the foreseeable future.  Of course, I'll do my best to correct any problems you find with XMaps 231 and XMaps Remote Control, but there won't be any new features or extensions to XMaps or XMaps2K.

It's been a good three-and-a-half years for XMaps, and I know there are still people out there who simply wouldn't play UT without it ... I'd like to say a big thank-you to all of you who have encouraged and helped me over the years - without all of you, XMaps simply wouldn't have become what it is today.

So ... thank you! And the very best of luck for the future to you all,

TouchStone, June 2003.

Saturday 17th May 2003

As promised, XMaps 231 and XMaps Remote Control 015 are now available in the Downloads section.  There are no new features in this release; it simply fixes the Access Groups and automatic Admin problems discussed below.

Thursday 15th May 2003

A huge 'thank you' goes out to Marcy Fuller ... thanks to Marcy's feedback, not only has a bug in the new Access Groups code been found and corrected, but the annoying problem that so many of you have reported - Client Setup not performing automatic Admin login when it should - has also been found and corrected.  The Access Groups bug would have meant XMaps denying access to features that you should have access to, when using an Access Level that supports a Default Access Group (like 'Any Admin').

XMaps 231, which includes these corrections, is now built and in testing.  I should be able to release it this weekend (17th May).  Thanks again Marcy!

Saturday 12th April 2003

It's about time!  At long last, I've managed to finish the new Access Groups and Idle Monitor.  XMaps 230 and XMaps Remote Control 014 are now available in the Downloads section.

What's taken me so long is providing proper support for the new features - adding the new Access Groups into Remote Control has taken forever...  Anyway, it's all done now, so enjoy!  You can read all about the new features under the Server Options section of the on-line documentation.

There are also a couple of new HUD Menu options in XMaps 230 - check out the Release History in the on-line documentation for more info.

Saturday 1st March 2003

Finally got around to updating the To-do List with the plans for XMaps 230.

Saturday 22nd February 2003

It's been a while ... but here's a little news about XMaps.  Right now, I'm working on some extensions to XMaps that users have asked for (I'll be updating the To-do List soon with the details).  XMaps 230 should be available some time soon.

I've also come to a decision about XMaps/UT2003 - I won't be waiting for UWindows 2.0, as I've decided to implement XMaps for UT2003 in quite a different way to XMaps.  Instead of a single mutator that does everything, XMaps2K (as I'm calling it) will be a set of mutators, each performing a different task.  This way, I'll be able to release new features as new mutators, as and when I get the time to write them ;-).  Also, server admins will be able to enable or disable individual features simply by choosing which mutators to load.

XMaps2K Beta 4 is already out being tested, but only contains one mutator - XMaps Warp.  Warp allows you to load any map with any game type, and specify things like the number of players for the next game.  I've posted a copy for general consumption in the Beta Releases section of the Downloads page.  I've not put together a full installer yet, and the only documentation is a readme file, but if you want to give XMaps2K a try, let me know how you get on...

Tuesday 3rd December 2002

XMaps Remote Control 013 has been released; the only change is that it's compatible with XMaps 229.  If you use XMaps 229 with XMaps Remote Control, you'll need to use this version.  Thanks to L3nny for spotting this one.

Sunday 24th November 2002

Well, it looks like there may be good for XMaps/UT2003 ... Dr.SiN has announced in the Infogrames UT2003 forum that UWindows 2.0 is in development.  UWindows is the architecture that XMaps' UI is based on, so if UWindows 2.0 is implemented with a similar interface to the original UWindows, then XMaps for UT2003 becomes a distinct possibility.  So maybe I won't have to disappoint the users after all ;~)

It turns out that Epic are fans of XMaps too ... CliffyB has been in touch over the last couple of days, making it clear that they'd like to see XMaps return for UT2003.  Watch this space - when UWindows 2.0 shows up, I'll see just how much work there is to do, and I'll let you all know what my plans are.

Sunday 10th November 2002

XMaps 229 is done!  Grab a copy in your preferred format from the Downloads page.  XMaps 229 has one new feature, a Mutators option on the HUD Menu.  The Mutators option lets you add/remove individual Mutators to/from your Extended Map Lists and Game Types.  In all cases, the changes take effect the next time you load a map from the list, or start a game of the type changed.

Check out the HUD Menu section in the on-line documentation for more info ;-)

Friday 8th November 2002

Well, I've finally had time to examine the internal structure of UT2003, and for XMaps, it's not good news.  The user interface in UT2003 (which XMaps uses for the HUD Menu, client and configuration windows) has had a complete rewrite.  While the new interface looks quite a lot easier to manage, it means that the XMaps' user interface will also need a complete rewrite to use it.

XMaps for UT took about a year to get to it's current state, and in those days I had a lot more spare time ... to be blunt, I can't see myself getting the time to rewrite XMaps to support UT2003.  XMaps itself is still a work in progress - I'm working on a Mutators option for the HUD Menu right now - and I can't say for sure that I won't do some development for UT2003, but if I do, I doubt it will be on the scale of XMaps.

As always, thanks to the handful of you who mailed me to ask about XMaps for UT2003, and I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but life, as they say, moves on...  As much as I'd enjoy the challenge, I'm afraid it's just not going to be possible.

Monday 5th August 2002

Wow ... modsquad have given XMaps 228 another 10/10 in their review!

Saturday 15th June 2002

Just a small note about the XMaps mailing lists; several users' addresses have changed since being added to the lists, and I can't get through to them any more.  If you recognise your name here and want to get back on the list, drop me a line.

The address changes I haven't been able to sort out are for: Brad Ford, Darren Berkey, Edwin Irrizary, Frigidman, Gareee, Joseph Stanczak, Lycanthrope, Neko, Nivek, Noble Carter, Phillip Doede, Roger Schweingruber, Roland Epple and Tom Newman.

Sunday 9th June 2002

XMaps Remote Control 012 is here already, with two new features.  First, the xmaps options page now offers the option of using a fixed text size throughout the pages, which you can choose.  This should make sizing the web interface much easier.

Second - and this is a big one - I've added a map selector option to both the [Current Game] and [XMaps Setup] menus.  Using the map selector, you can load any map from your UT installation, any Extended Map List or set of Favourites.  Basically, you can load any map in any game type, so it provides the same level of flexibility as the Game Override and Maps Installed features of the XMaps HUD menu.

Tuesday 4th June 2002

I've added an item to the FAQ regarding the issues that newer versions of Linux can have trying to run the UT web server; these may affect your use of XMaps Remote Control if you run UT under Linux.  A big thanks to Anthony Woods for the info.

I've also started updating the To-do List with Remote Control issues.

Well, it's finally done.

Today is a big day for XMaps ... three months of hard work, but I think it's going to be worth it ... XMaps Remote Control and XMaps 228 are here!

XMaps 228 introduces one new feature ('Skip failed maps'), fixes 'Reload first map', and increases the number of maps per list from 150 to 250.  Also, the HUD Command timeout limit has been increased to 750 to cope with the extra data that the HUD Menu will need for these larger lists.  Changes have also been introduced to support XMaps Remote Control - you'll need to install XMaps 228 before you can run it.

XMaps Remote Control!  At long last, I've finished the remote web interface to XMaps - now you can set up and configure XMaps remotely, and along with the HUD Menu, you can control absolutely all XMaps features from a client machine.  Full installation instructions are included in the documentation that comes with XMaps Remote Control; you can view an online copy here if you just can't wait for the download ;-)

Obviously, this is the first release of the new interface - I'm keen to get your feedback, so please send any comments - good, bad or ugly ;-) - to the usual address.

Sunday 14th April 2002

I've updated the FAQ with some information on how to get Infiltration maps into UT and therefore XMaps.  The To-do List has also been updated with a description of the Reload First Map problem.

There's not much other news here at the moment; I'm spending all my XMaps time on the web admin code and HTML.  There's a huge amount of work to do to implement all of XMaps' features using an HTML interface, but it's getting there.  Working title: XMaps Remote Control...

Tuesday 5th March 2002

Kind of unusual, but here's a release of XMaps that didn't come out on a weekend! Thanks to the information provided by Anthony Woods, perhaps known to some of you as the XMaps-on-Linux guru, I've managed to crush the final problems with the Random Across Lists map selection mode introduced in XMaps 225.  So, XMaps 227 is here!  If you use the Random Across Lists mode, trust me, you'll want to update to 227 ;-)  FilePlanet and G-Web-mirrored downloads are available on the Downloads page, as usual.

It's been a bit of a rush - I wanted to get this version out before I go away on holiday in a couple of days - but I've also managed to include a new feature, Reload First Map.  At long last, XMaps can now reload the first map that UT plays if it's not part of your XMaps settings.  Check out the Setup Window documentation for more info (you can view an on-line copy here if you just can't wait for the download).

So ... I won't be able to reply to any mail for a few weeks, but I'll be thinking of you all while I'm basking in the sun on the beautiful Goan beaches ;-)

Wednesday 27th February 2002

Thanks to I_LoveToKill, I've tracked down the bug that could cause the wrong Extended List mutators to be loaded when using the 'Random Across Extended Map Lists' map selection mode that was introduced in XMaps 225.  The change is relatively trivial, so rather than do a complete re-release of XMaps, I've made a Beta version, XMaps 226, available.  This just includes the update, so you'll need a normal installation of XMaps 225 before adding the Beta.

You'll find the files (umod and non-umod) in the 'beta releases' section on the Downloads page.

And just in case you were wondering what I'm doing next ... well, while I'm sitting here off work sick with a mushed-up face, an all-new XMaps add-on is giving me something to think about.  The single most-requested XMaps feature is going to take quite some time to design and code, but XMaps web admin has emerged kicking and screaming in my browser ;-)

Saturday 16th February 2002

XMaps 225 is done!  Grab a copy in your preferred format from the Downloads page.  XMaps 225 has a few new features, including a new map selection mode ('Random across Extended Lists'), and Player, Named Bot and Translocator control via the HUD Menu.  Check out the HUD Menu section in the on-line documentation for more info ;-)

The FAQ has also been updated...

Saturday 26th January 2002

I've finally gotten around to updating the To-do List ... check it out to see the new features that I'm currently working on for the next version of XMaps.  The Documentation section of the list, and the 'Server Packages' entry in the FAQ, have also been updated thanks to information from the ever-helpful Tim Sackman.