The Gemstone of Balance and Other Stories (GGame Engine)

by Gary Arndt


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WARNING
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This is a patch, NOT the game install itself.

For those who may be unfamiliar with patches, a patch typically includes only a subset of files that are needed to run a program and is intended to be installed on top of an existing install.  A patch is not intended to be used by itself.

Trying to use the patch without the base game installed will not result in a valid install.  In other words, you must first have the game installed before you can install a patch.  If you already have the game installed, then you may install this patch (even if you have installed an older patch, although to be clear, having any older patches installed is NOT necessary since the new patch includes all of their content).


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What is this?
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This document explains the purpose of this patch (what it fixes and/or improves), when to install it, and how it should be installed.


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A note regarding version numbers
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Throughout this document there are references to dates that say things like "this version or newer" or "this version or older".  In order to clarify these statements, be aware the following convention is used for versions:

YYMMDD

For example:
(and just an example; this is NOT the version of this patch!)

221214

YY = 22 (2022)
MM = 12 (December)
DD = 14 (the 14th)

So 221214 = 2022, December, the 14th

(This particular order is used because it allows the proper sorting of filenames that use such vesion numbers by putting them in the proper alpha-numerical order)


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Patch notes
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This patch is intended for version 240720 (or the parallel 240715, which is a patched older version) or newer versions 241026, 241019, 241012, 241004, 240926, 240919, 240909, 240903, 240825, or 240817 (recent patches).  If you want to be sure which version you currently have installed, your current version can be found in the "version.txt" file in that install's root directory.

The changes are described in the main (new) readme in this patch (GGame2\README.txt), but briefly:

The following problems have been addressed:

- A few general minor bug fixes and other improvements have been made, for example fixing a problem with checking in some NPC conversations and other situations when a door has been unlocked after an item has been dropped
- A general bug was fixed that was accidentally introduced in version 241012 where the view no longer was set properly in dungeon rooms with certain special characteristics
- A variety of minor bug fixes and other improvements have been made to the party system, just a few of which include trade when split, fixing a problem after a pit trap with a party member still listed as delayed, and fixing a problem in the party stats command with the wrong sidebar data being listed afterwards
- Some related bugs when using a party have been fixed where the wrong party member was in some cases used for things such as the visual for a special power during an attack and the reduction of weight as food is used up (and a new bug fix menu option for recalculating inventory weight has been added)
- Various critical bugs when using a party for dungeon rooms and other parts of scenario 2 have been fixed (although more testing is needed in case there are more of these)
- A critical bug regarding using a party and potentially losing exit data in a very few locations
- A critical bug regarding using a party and potentially losing game flags has been fixed and a new bug fix menu option added for the sake of any games in progress
- It is no longer possible to cast spells such as Heal Other on a dead party member
- The saving of having used the disband option has been fixed
- The rainstorm in the village near the keep now does not happen with every load but rather just when entering


The following enhancements have been implemented:

- Area effect powers for creatures has now been implemented and a few creatures now use these instead of single-target powers
- Show Object State now includes a new "DISABLED" option that will show delay, sleep, etc.
- A new party option has been introduced that will skip view shifting to characters that are disabled by delay or sleep
- Control-M now supports allies that are not engaged in combat
- The party system is now essentially implemented and available for demo purposes in scenario 2 (however, be warned that more things still need to be tested with respect to the scenario 2 integration and any associated fixes made so this is currently for playing with the understanding that there's a chance disbanding the party may be needed to continue if you run into such a problem).  This newer patch includes significant additional progress on that implementation.  Most recent work, additional work that may still be needed, and additional testing that is needed is with regards to the integration with scenario 2.


Special note:

- The main new readme (GGame2\README.txt) now provides additional details regarding when an NPC that will join will accept or decline.  In particular, there is a minimum level requirement, the NPC will decline if it is the same class, and there are other NPC's that will join (meaning, any class can be used for your primary character and other NPC's will still be willing to join).


When this patch is applied to version 240720 (or 240715), or a previously patched version 241026, 241019, 241012, 241004, 240926, 240919, 240909, 240903, 240825, or 240817, it will apply the changes.  Note that this patch includes the content of the previous patches 241026, 241019, 241012, 241004, 240926, 240919, 240909, 240903, 240825, and 240817; it is NOT necessary to apply any of those earlier patches prior to applying this one (although having one already applied is fine).

WARNING: DO NOT apply this patch to any versions other than those mentioned above

A special clarification related to version 240715 (this is NOT an issue with version 240720 or newer, meaning this note can be ignored if you are not using version 240715 or older): Installing this patch over version 240715 is correct.  Version 240715 is itself a patch that can be applied to a number of older versions.  However, this patch does NOT include the changes included in 240715.  Therefore, do NOT install this patch directly over versions older than 240715; the older changes are assumed to have already been installed via patch 240715.  In any case, this will not NOT be a problem if you install this patch over only the specified versions (which includes 240715).  If you have an older version supported by patch 240715 (such as 240607, 240519, etc.) then you will have to install that patch first before installing this newer patch.

To install this patch, simply copy all files from the GGame2 directory of this zip file over the existing files in your install (make sure your copy process includes the subdirectory structure so the files all end up in the corresponding places).  That said, you may optionally want to consider first backing up or renaming the older versions of the files to be updated.  If you choose to leave the older versions of those files in place then be aware that the copy process will likely warn you that you are about to overwrite those files.  Doing so is correct; the new versions need to replace the old versions.

Note that this patch includes a new version.txt file; applying this patch updates your install to the new version specified in that file.

Further, the new GGame2\README.txt file (not to be confused with the file you are currently reading) contains more details about this new version and the related issues/changes.
