I’ve done some more work on user accounts, you can now create one with a standard user name and password combo.
Just hop on over to the Map Tile Generator and create an account once you are ready, to get access to all of the extra features, different tile styles, savable layouts and dungeon furniture.
As usual I would like to hear about your experiences, and will drop a few credits to anyone providing constructive feedback.
I’ve just added a new logo for the blog, hope everyone likes it.
It’s based on a CC licensed photo from Flickr user Ella’s Dad, Dice. I took the image, played with the Colour levels to make it more orange, and expanded it to be a bit wider.
After that is was just a case of adding a simple white to transparent gradient fill over the top, putting on the text and rounding off the top corners.
Another new feature for the DnD Map Tile Generator, I’ve added the ability to click and drag in items of furniture into the dungeon.
It’s really simple to use, create an account and log-in. Purchase access to the Dungeon Furniture Pack 1, and you’ll be able to see a scrolling list of the available items. Generate your board, then click on an item to add it to the tile. You should then be able to drag the items around on the tile, and place them where you want.
Printing needs to be done in landscape mode to make the items line up over the board correctly. Saving doesn’t currently include the additional items, I’ll work on this if people want it.
I’ll give some credits to anyone who wants to help test out this new feature. Drop me a line here or on e-mail and I’ll set you up with something, just let me know your account details.
I’ve just implement user accounts for my DnD Map Tile Generator. You can register for an account using your favourite OpenID provider.
At the moment you can use an account to buy credits that allow you to access new board styles. There’s only one style there to start us off, it’s very much a Beta test at the moment.
I’ll be adding more styles, and more features (special options, saving of favourite tiles and more). They’ll only be available if you have an account, so register and enjoy the benefits.
I’ll drop some free credits to the first few people to register, or to anyone who can report a bug to me, either in comments or directly via e-mail.
Two new games for you, quick and simple ones based on my one page of rules post the other week.
First off is Dice Wars, a game for two or more players. Starting with 5 dice each, you attack other players, if you beat their defensive rolls your dice are upgraded, or theirs are downgraded. The last player with dice remain wins.
Second is Save the King, a game for two players. Using a standard chess board and a couple of chess sets, one player surrounds the edge of the board with pawns, the other must save their King, moving him off the board before the pawns can capture him, using only a few extra pieces to aid against the onslaught of the pawn army.
I’ve just finished adding a new feature to my implementation of the Countdown numbers game. You can now invite other people to play, sharing your current game, so your friends can try out games that you are stuck on, or ones that you are particularly proud of beating.
I’m ready to announce the release to Alpha testing of Going down to the Farm, my new online game.
In this game you are managing a plot of land, clearing, ploughing, sowing and harvesting crops. It runs in near real time, meaning that you can watch your plot mature as time passes in the real world, letting everyone stuck in the urban jungle have a chance to grow something in this virtual world.
As it’s an alpha release, I’m expecting there may be issues, if you have any problems, then please e-mail james@toadflaxgames.co.uk to let me know what’s gone wrong. There are the basic features that you require to grow and harvest a crop, but I’m looking to add more in time, including weather, more tools and crops, and RSS feeds of your progress. If you have an idea for a feature you’d like to see, or a preference regarding what I should do next, then let me know.
Account management is all based on OpenID, so you’ll need an OpenID to participate, luckily these are quite easy to come by, you’ve probably already got one, check out the OpenID site to find a list of providers.
My skills as an artist are sadly lacking, so I’m also looking for help in creating the images that are used in the game, you’ll see what I’ve created thus far, but if you think you can do better, then let me know, as I’m really hoping to be able to partner with a talented creator to really up the visual impact of the game.
I’ve finished migrating to the new hosting, and have tested all the pages on the site. It all looks good to me. There were a few wobbles as I got used to some new ways of doing things, but they should all be over now.
If you tried to access the site yesterday evening or this morning, you may have seen some errors, but I think they are all corrected now. If you find any more, then please e-mail me to let me know, or leave a comment.
The company that provided the hosting for www.toadflaxgames.co.uk was bought by another hosting provider in the summer. As a result of this, the server that is hosting the toadflax games website will be changing soon.
I don’t envisage this causing any major downtime, but as I’ve never made a change like this before, I can’t be sure exactly what will happen. I’m working to make the changeover as smooth as possible, I think that the majority of the pages will be fine, and it will possibly be a little wobbly over things like recording games that you play on Countdown
I will keep everyone updated on any problems, but hopefully no-one will even notice the change, and it will be settled in early next week.
I’ve been running an Amazon Affiliate link on my main DnD page for a while now, and I’ve decided that it’s not really working. It doesn’t look very good, and it also distracts people from the DnD resources I’ve created and released, sending some of them off to Amazon rather than staying and looking at the available adventures or characters. I’ve decided to remove this link from the page, and to put some effort into other channels, that might prove more successful.
I’m now offering some content that is only available to people who have bought something from toadflax games. It isn’t anything earth-shattering, but I’m hoping it will be seen as a nice little extra, something that says thank-you to the person who has paid for one of my games. This extra content will only ever be made available to people who buy something, you won’t find it on my website.
This is another experiment in advertising toadflax games, and I will let you know if offering free content to purchasers producers a better return than the Amazon links. I’m hoping that word of mouth will work better than running direct adverts, both for me, and the people that visit the website.
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