http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/ News from Bootleggers, an online game of booze running during the prohibition. en-us Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:09:58 +1000 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:09:58 +1000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss walduck@carpe.com.au walduck@carpe.com.au http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#192246
Also as some long overdue clean up code has been added to delete system messages more than two days old.

More changes on their way.]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:09:58 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#192246 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#105141 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:52:56 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#105141 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#17266 Thu, 01 May 2008 11:18:06 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#17266 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#14323
Under the Markets tab the old screen describing the various markets is gone, now you are taken straight to the Black Market listing - one less click.

The effects of bonuses on the production of stills and the speed of trucks is now reflected in the operation details.

Finally a change that will effect game play in a small way. Up until now when a truck makes a delivery, if there has not been room in the store of the operation being delivered to, the excess booze has stayed in the truck and gone back and forth waiting for room. The effect of this has been in some cases trucks have been tied up with booze they cannot offload preventing them from getting out of a contract for extended periods of time.

The change will now have all operations recieving more booze than they can hold dumping the excess. Trucks will always deliver and get paid for all the booze they are carrying.

If there is too much booze at the operation being delivered to, the excess will be discarded with no compensation, starting with the lowest quality booze. Speakeasies will not discard crates of booze that patrons have started drinking.

What this means is that operations having booze delivered require both the cash to pay for the delivery and the room to accept it when it arrives.

Now this could be a reasonably big change, especially for some speakeasies with full stores and more booze on the way. So everyone has 24 hours from the posting of this message to get their operations in order. The change will come into effect after that time.]]> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:09:27 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#14323 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13794 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:11:25 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13794 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13357
These Edges will allow you to gain the same bonuses for an operation as a complete set of Fitouts. However, unlike Fitouts, these bonuses only last for 48 hours from the time you apply the Edge.

Through Fitouts and Edges an operation can be under the effect of more than one bonus at a time. Note however that having the same bonus more than once has no effect.

You can see all the bonuses on your operations by using the link under your user name at the top of the ledger.]]> Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:38:20 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13357 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13261 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:39:39 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#13261 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12891
First, if you can see anyway I can improve the game tell me. I am particularly interested in making the game more attractive to visitors to the site to entice them to sign up.

Second, take a moment to vote on some of the game listing sites Bootleggers is on. Some of these sites are listed in the help section, others appear in the ledger in various parts of the site. Clicking on a voting banner will open the voting site in a new window so it will not disrupt your game.

Finally if you know anyone who might like the game tell them about it. If you use your personalised link (found in the help section) you can even get some in-game cash for the referral. ]]> Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:09:24 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12891 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12624
There are all new Fitouts, new Edges and a whole new (and currently empty) city to explore. Old users have had their accounts reset so the playing field is level.

Now is a great time to join Bootleggers!

PS: Not all the graphics are complete in the new features. They are fully functional, just not as pretty as they can be. I will be working over the coming weeks to get them all done.]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:22:46 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12624 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12584
See you on the other side.]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:26:51 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#12584 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#11030
For those of you who have made a purchase of Blood Money through Paypal you will receive Blood Money after the reset. If the exchange rate for real-world to Blood Money changes with the reset, you will get Blood Money in-line with the new exchange rate.

After the reset you can spend the Blood Money to make purchases as you see fit - you can spend it on something completely different to what you got this time.]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:12:13 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#11030 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#10880
New Features
Fitouts and Bonuses – nine sets, three for each operation type
New Edges for Fitouts and Bonuses

Items being Removed
The Edges Improve Still Quality, Increase Truck Speed and Improve Speakeasy Quality will be removed. The meta-Edges featuring these will also be changed or be removed. Operation quality will now be handled by Fitouts.

Changes
Production rates, capacities and storage will be capped for all operations.
The Edges New Still, New Garage, New Speakeasy and New Business will become premium Edges.
The distribution of Edge rarity will change.
Blackmark penalties will kick in with fewer black marks.
New users will get two Edges on registering – Grow Grapevine and Get Fitout.

At the reset all current players will be reset as starting players. You will not get to keep any of your current Edges, cash or booze and will have to choose a starting operation on first logging in. As an incentive for logging in after the reset, all returning players will receive a cash bonus equal to their ranking score prior to the reset.

Moving forward I think that periodic resets will probably occur regularly – every three months to start with. I am thinking of them as seasons. The beginning of each season would provide a logical introduction point for major system changes like we are about to see. During the season the playing environment will be stable. At the end of the season the leader board will be preserved as a reminder of the player’s achievements.

So when is the reset going to happen? Well most of the coding is done. There is still a lot of artwork missing from the expansion but that can come online later. So the plan is to reset on the Monday of the Easter Weekend. That gives everyone one week to maximize their scores in the current season.]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:52:59 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#10880 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#9813
Fitouts are such things as speakeasy managers, truck drivers and still condenser coils. They can be added to operations to improve their quality. Each operation can take up to five Fitouts. The Fitouts come in sets, and the more of the same set fitted to the operation the higher the quality of the operation.

Additionally having a complete set of Fitouts fitted to an operation will earn you a bonus. This bonus might be to attract more high affluence customers to a speakeasy or a truck which produces crates of booze from its radiator still.

Fitouts can be added and removed from operations with an intuitive drag and drop interface. They can also be auctioned in the same way as Edges are currently.

Because Fitouts will dictate the quality of operations, the Edges that currently effect operation quality will be retired. They will be replaced with Edges that manipulate Fitouts.

The meaning of ‘quality’ will also change for Garages. Currently the quality of a garage is the truck’s carrying capacity, after the update it will be its speed.

All of these changes will necessitate a reset. There is no firm timeframe for the reset currently. It will be dictated by how quickly the development can be concluded. I am hoping to have it ready for the end of the month. I will give everyone ample warning.]]> Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:32:38 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#9813 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#8919 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:25:51 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#8919 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#8631 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:12:17 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#8631 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#6387
You can drag it around like the other dialogues. The best bit is you can see the map and use its functionality while viewing the available contracts, all without a page refresh.]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:18:14 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#6387 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#5799 Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:42:53 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#5799 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#4691
Meanwhile work has been done to improve the responsiveness of the interface. The map should not have to reload everytime a tab is clicked in the ledger.

While not new, rankings did not get a formal announcement earlier. You can find your ranking in the help section. Active players are given a score to rank them. The score is quite arbitary in the way it is calculated but basically scores represent the size and quality of the player's business empire.

For those of you with garages you will find selecting your garage will show you where your truck is on the map. Look for the flashing dot on an intersection.]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:26:44 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#4691 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#2051
There are new premium Edges for getting new operations without having to get a warehouse. The old Edges that required warehouses are no longer premium. Some of the other Edges have had their numbers tweaked as well.

You will also see in the Edge list that uncommon Edges are marked.

The number of Edges you get when you buy has changed as well. Now it is four Edges in a Brown Paper Bag and six in an Unmarked Briefcase. Of the six in a briefcase one will be a premium Edge and at least one of the others will be an uncommon Edge.

As ever feedback and suggestions are welcome in the forum.]]> Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:56:33 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#2051 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#1172
Every time you buy a batch of Edges the price will rise by $100 until you are paying the full price of $1000. It is a helping hand for you as a new player.

At the same time the price of Blood Money has been raised, but the minimum purchase is still less than the price of a cup of coffee. As always you can play without buying Blood Money. Bootleggers is free to join and play.]]> Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:39:49 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#1172 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#697
- The whole public side of the site has been renovated.
- The whole contract interface has been renovated.
- You can make contracts to move booze between your own operations.
- You can withdraw from any contract, though withdrawing from a contract with another player will earn you a black mark.
- Not having the cash at an operation to pay for a contract will also earn you a black mark.
- Having too many black marks will prevent you from using Edges or accepting contracts.
- You can zoom out on the map, especially good if you have a small resolution monitor.
- The map affluence overlay now shows the population of each block.
- A list of all the available Edges can be found in the Help section.
- You can start over - that is throw in your old operation and start a new one. Details in the Help section.
- You can refer friends for in-game cash.
- New users now have to verify their email address before they can choose a starting operation.

There is still more to be done and I will continue to roll out changes.

On another note I noticed when I was uploading the updates that the oldest bootleggers files are dated 30 January 2007. So bootleggers has been almost a year in development. ]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:12:20 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#697 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#302
Five new Edges have also just been added. They are what I am calling Meta-Edges - when they are applied you get a choice of three or four regular edges you can turn the meta-edge into.

To celebrate the new additions and the Season I am giving you all some of these new Edges. Enjoy.]]> Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:59:12 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#302 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#143 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:17:37 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#143 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#5 Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:00:37 +1000 http://bootleggers.carpe.com.au/index.php?tab=news#5