Patch 1.03 US file - Etherlords II

ETHERLORDS II. Update patch 1.03 for the English version of the game
====================================================================
December 2003

Etherlords II © 2003 Nival Interactive. All rights reserved. Etherlords is a
trademark of
Nival Interactive. Published in North America by Strategy First Inc.

1. INSTALLATION
===============
This is the third official update patch for the English version of the game
after its release.
It integrates all improvements and bug fixes done in patches 1.01 and 1.02. To
install the patch,
launch EL2_103ENG.exe file and follow on-screen instructions.

By default the patch is installed to C:\Program Files\Strategy First\Etherlords
II. After the
installation is complete, you can launch the game in the usual way - either
from your Windows
Start menu or by double-clicking on the file Etherlords2.exe in the game
directory.

2. PROBLEMS FIXED BY THE UPDATE
===============================
Update patch 1.03 fixes the following problems discovered after the release of
update patch
version 1.02:

Campaign mode
-------------
- in Adventure mode, pseudo-free camera ("camera on rubber band") is now
implemented;

Duel (Combat) mode
------------------

Fixes to combat mechanics:

- fixed the bug causing «Dissolution» spell not to "dissolute" enemy creatures
if the player had 0 ether,
despite the fact that this spell doesn't need ether to work;
- removing « Quick Fix » enchantment from a pale creature now kills it instead
of dissipating it
as before;
- «Hostile Ambience» spell used to affect creatures in Pale Aspect
incorrectly;
- fixed the bug causing «Pale Revival» spell cast on creature with
«Regeneration» ability moved to
Pale Aspect, not to kill the creature but summon another one from the
Graveyard;
- fixed the bug occasionally causing the following effect: if enemy creatures
affected by «Water Link»
enchantment were present on the battlefield and «Ravaging Hunger» spell was
cast, the creatures died,
then appeared with the player and then immediately died again, this time as the
player's creatures;
- fixed the bug with Walking Horror creature's attack. If attacking Walking
Horror killed a blocking
Walking Horror and then died, due to its «Trample» ability it incorrectly
inflicted damage to hero
after its death;
- fixed the bug causing Razor Man, Cutter Man and Sawer Man creatures to get
back to owner in
Summoning Sickness state when «Change of Command» enchantment has been removed,
though visually they
remained standing;
- fixed the bug occasionally causing creatures killed by «Water Link»
enchantment come back to the game
leaving their copies in the Graveyard;
- fixed the bug causing the following effect: If Grass Snake creature inflicted
damage to enemy hero,
«Blast» spell could only remove the enchantments cast after the attack; it was
impossible to remove
enchantments cast previously;

Changes to game balance:

- the player whose turn comes second, apart from additional spell now gets 1
extra ether for their
first turn;
- changed the working of «Rebirth» specialization: now it can work only once,
with average probability;
- Gibberling and Gibberling Instigator spells now cost 1 and 2 ether,
respectively;
- «Gift» spell now costs 2 ether;
- Pale Scourge creature's special ability no longer affects Walls;
- Damage caused by «Data Attraction» spell is reduced to 2; and no spells can
protect from suffering
this damage;
- «Ethereal Resonance» spell now causes double damage to enemy hero and costs 4
ether;
- «Volcano» spell now gives 3 ether channels and costs 5 ether;
- «Ether Vortex» spell is changed. New description: "Ether Vortex: At the
beginning of the next turn,
the hero gets 1 extra ether from each available ether channel";
- Kobold Guard and Orc Guard creatures now get «Disenchant» ability;
- Orc Shaman creature is changed. New description: "The owner gets 1 ether at
the beginning of turn.
Rest, sacrifice ether channel: destroy target enchantment";
- «Barbed Souls» spell now only affects the enchantment's owner's creatures;
- Bat creature gets new ability: "If the Bat dies, the enemy hero discards
spell";
- Giant Bat creature gets new ability: "Every time Giant Bat inflicts combat
damage to enemy hero,
the owner gets 1 spell";
- Gray Ogre spell gets new ability: "If this spell has been discarded by
opponent's hero, Gray Ogre is
summoned to the battlefield";
- Ogre King creature's parameters now change to 7/8. Ogre King spell gets new
ability: "If this spell
has been discarded by opponent's hero, Ogre King is summoned to the
battlefield";
- «Ether Breeze» spell is changed. New description: "Cast on creatures. The
enchantment's owner gets 3
ether at the beginning of turn";
- «Ether Storm» spell is changed. New description: "Cast on creatures. The
enchantment's owner obtains
1 ether link at the beginning of turn";
- «Weaken» and «Call Lightning» spells get new ability: "If this spell has been
discarded by opponent’s
hero, the opponent discards 3 spells";
- Damage inflicted by «Burning Graves» spell is now increased to 3 for each
creature in the Graveyard.
Now this spell removes all creatures from the Graveyard;

Miscellaneous fixes:

- fixed the bug which made it possible to press "Surrender" button during Duel
repeatedly;

- fixed the bug causing the clock to appear on the screen in single player's
unlimited time duel mode,
when it was activated after «Round Table» mode;

Multiplayer game
----------------

- necessary number of players in «Round Table» mode is reduced to 4;
- in «Blind» mode, players now have a choice among two game’s options – with
identical sets of spells
and with different ones;
- fixed the bug causing connection problems in «Round Table» mode when playing
behind Firewalls;
- fixed the bug causing the player's and opponent' names to be put in wrong
places when calling up
Save Combat screen in Multiplayer mode;
- fixed the bug causing the following effect: pressing key in TCP/IP
mode did not lead to
pressing Create Host and Join buttons (e.g. if the player only entered their
nickname in Enter Your Nick
field and then pressed , Create Host button should be activated);

3. Known technical issues
=========================

3.1 Background applications
---------------------------
We recommend against switching to other applications (by using Alt+Tab) while
the game is
running in windowed mode. In particular, using Alt+Tab in the Master server
mode may cause random
disconnection with the master server.

In addition, before launching the game, we recommend closing all other
applications (especially
Microsoft Outlook), to maximize system free resources.

The game doesn't support switching to other applications when running in
full-screen mode.

3.2 Known video cards issues
----------------------------
The game has problems with some accelerators based on ATI Radeon 9700 and
9700Pro chip sets from
certain manufacturers while working with some video drivers from ATI Catalyst
series.

It is definitely known that Sapphire Atlantis RADEON 9700PRO 128MB doesn't work
with Catalyst
video drivers higher than version 3.0. However, this video card set does work
with Catalyst 3.0.
Besides, most of videocards based on ATI Radeon 9700 and 9700Pro chip set do
work with Catalyst 3.7
and Catalyst 3.8 drivers.

Catalyst 3.0 drivers are supplied on the CD2 in the directory /Video
Drivers/ATI.

4. Developer feedback and support
==================================

Nival Interactive and Strategy First Inc. companies do not guarantee full
operability of this game on all hardware. However, experience has shown that

most computers which meet the minimum system requirements will be capable of
running the game. We greatly appreciate all notes and bug reports.

Strategy First Inc. offers technical support through the Etherlords web
site, E-mail, and via phone.

If you run have problems with the program, and the information in
the manual and Readme file are insufficient, consult the support
area on the Etherlords web site at Etherlords.com.
Our web site contains up-to-date information on the most common
difficulties with our products, and is kept current with the most
up-to-date information and patches.

If you are unable to find the information you need on our web site,
you can E-mail Strategy First Inc. at support@strategyfirst.com.
Please be sure to include the following information:

Title of Game
Operating System
Type of CPU, and speed in MHz
Amount of RAM
Sound card type
Video Card
CD-ROM
Mouse type and driver version (if available)

And a detailed description of the problem you are having.

If you need to speak with someone immediately you may contact the Strategy
First Inc.
Technical Support department at (514) 844-2433. Please have the above
information ready when
you call. This will help us answer your question in the shortest possible time.
Customer Service
at this number is available from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time. Note that no
hints or codes
are available from this line.

Our web sites
=============
Etherlords.com
Strategyfirst.com
Nival.com

ENJOY THE GAME!

5. VERSION HISTORY
==================

Problems discovered after the release of update patch version 1.01 and fixed by
the patch 1.02:
===============================================================================================

Campaign mode
-------------
- fixed the bug potentially leading to a security breach when playing on maps
created by
players using the Map Editor;

- in windowed mode, fixed switching to other tasks using Alt+Tab keys: the game
no longer freezes
and the user can switch back to the game without encountering any problems;

- fixed the bug occasionally leading to appearance of multiple artefact blanks
in the third
mission of the Synthet campaign;

- in Load Game screen, the last saved game is now selected automatically;

Duel (Combat) mode
------------------
- fixed the bug causing loss of recharged artefact energy between rounds;
- "Dissolution" spell now works with zero ether;
- the camera can now be rotated using the mouse;
- the time of displaying screen messages during duel has been doubled;
- in Current Preset screen, if no spells are selected the spell price is
displayed when the cursor
passes it over;
- in Replay dialog the last saved replay's name is now kept;
- when a new deck is being created, the initial deck in Current Preset screen
is now empty
(to make editing more convenient, primitives have been removed);
- when deck is being edited in Current Preset screen, it's no longer possible
to put more than
4 identical cards into the bag and the deck;

Multiplayer game
----------------
- fixed the bug causing unjustified appearance of "Cheating is detected"
message;
- in windowed mode, fixed switching to other tasks using Alt+Tab keys (before,
this action
disconnected the player);
- added information about the number of players present in each "room" on the
master server;
- when players log on to the master server, their login names are now saved
(the last login name
entered by the player);
- fixed the bug in Round Table mode which caused players to reassemble their
decks after each
round;
- fixed the bug in Round Table mode which set minimum and maximum time for
spell selection
incorrectly: 7 and 17 seconds respectively, instead of 1 and 20 seconds;
- fixed the bug which made impossible to release OK button in Blind and Round
Table modes;
- opponent's name is now displayed in Current Preset screen in Blind and Round
Table modes;
- in LOBBY interface of Duel, Blind and Round Table modes of the master server,
default sorting
of players is changed - now those players who're ready and waiting for
opponents to start combat
are displayed first in the list;
- different sets of spells are now generated for both players in Blind mode;
- both players now receive identical sets of skills in Blind mode; one of the
skills is always
"Resources" (level 1-3), and all skill slots are filled;
- it's now impossible for any three people to connect to host computer;
- fixed the bug causing de-synchronization in duels played via a LAN if spells
were cast quickly;

Statistics and ratings on the master server
-------------------------------------------
- players' places are now displayed in their rating;
- it's now possible to search for a specific player name in the list;

Additional improvements achieved by installing the patch
--------------------------------------------------------
- update patch 1.02 makes it possible to play "Single Mission" games on maps
created by players
using Map Editor (can be downloaded from Etherlords II web site).

Problems identified in the release version of the game and fixed by the patch
1.01:
===================================================================================

Single Player Campaign mode
---------------------------

- fixed the bug that randomly crashed the game to desktop after a battle;
- fixed the bug that prevented the camera from returning to “hero-centered”
position after
a script movie played;
- fixed a number of minor script bugs;
- fixed the bug that caused message console unpredictably appear over a
dialog;
- fixed a few misprints in campaign descriptions;

Additions:

- pressing PgUp/PgDn now allows for smooth camera zoom-in/zoom-out;

Multiplayer mode
----------------

- fixed the bug that caused multiple random disconnections with the master
server;
- fixed the bug that caused blinking of a message box “Waiting for Player ..”
in Hot-Seat mode;
- fixed the bug that caused displaying incorrect status of a player in the
waiting room in
Round Table mode;
- fixed a few minor interface bugs in setting connection dialogues;

Additions:

- a number of interface elements tool-tips were added;

Duel (Combat) mode
------------------
- Purify Station building's visual effect of inflicting damage changed from
"Exile" to
"Call Lightning";

The following bugs were fixed:

- adjusted functionality of some spells, specializations and special
abilities:

1) The working of "Reanimate" spell adjusted according to its description. Now
the spell
brings the last creature back to the player's hand from the graveyard (before,
the first
creature was returned from the graveyard);
2) Fixed the effect of "Gift" spell on creatures with Non-Summoning Sickness.
Now these
creatures are not affected by Summoning Sickness after the spell has been
cast.
3) Fixed the effect of "Discriminating Lighting" specialization. Now the cost
of enchantment
created by "Lighting Storm" spell when the specialization works, equals the
cost of the spell.
4) Removed negative enchantment visual effect when "Mark of Pale" spell is
cast.
5) Fixed the working of "Transfer Aspects" spell. Now it only works when both
creatures really
can change aspects.
6) Fixed the bug causing creatures to stay alive and keep on fighting after
HP-affecting
enchantments have been cast/removed during combat.
7) Fixed the bug which in certain situations led to incorrect calculation of
combat state when
a blocking creature with "Regeneration" ability was taking part in combat; for
example, this
could make blocking the opponent with such a creature impossible.
8) Fixed the bug causing the game to crush after "Physical Resonance" and
"Magical Resonance"
specialization have worked.
9) Fixed the bug causing the game to crush after the player clicked on the
following icon spells
in certain situations: "Stone Skin", "Energy Barrier", "Lifeguard".

- edited descriptions of a few spells:

1) "Flame Lick" spell: description changed to "Pay X ether: remove specified
enchantments
providing their casting cost equals X";
2) "Disintegrate" spell: description changed to: "Pay X ether: remove specified
creature costing
X ether from the game (the creature cannot use "Regeneration" ability to cancel
this effect)";
3) Special ability of Pteros and Reinforced Pteros creatures: description
changed to: "Rest,
pay X ether: remove enchantment with casting cost X";
4) "Second Birth" spell: description changed to: "Recycling. Pay X ether:
return specified
creature with casting cost X from your graveyard into play";
5) "Alpha Strike" spell: description changed to: "This spell can only be cast
on friendly
creatures. The enchanted creature becomes Trample and gets First Strike
ability. The strength of
the enchanted creature increases by X, where X is the creature's initial
strength. The enchanted
creature's Health resets to 1. At the end of the current turn (or if the
enchantments are removed)
the enchanted creature dies; it cannot use regeneration to prevent its death."

Balance change:

- Pale Knight creature is deprived of "LifeTap" ability;

Additions:

- a scrollbar is added to description window in the combat tutorial;