Some short news regarding the installation, and updated features.
I managed to recover the self-extracting feature of the Windows version, by changing from WinRAR to 7-Zip to create the file.
I've disabled access to the previously mentioned compressed file, and once again the available Windows download is an executable file, which should not be detected as dangerous.
As a reminder, ERA can be obtained from these links, depending on your server choice:
http://goo.gl/NTMqH9 [Windows]
http://goo.gl/cq3wSL [Mac]
http://goo.gl/K7sDN8 [Linux]
Now, about the new/improved features:
During initiative rolling you get to see the current/total characters declaring actions. Also, if the character is preparing a spell, you get to see a reminder with the number of preparation rounds.
When adding a character to the adventure, you get to choose between: 1) a file with an existing character, 2) a blank NPC, 3) copy an existing adventurer as an NPC.
The last one is the important improvement. If you create an NPC on the fly (using the blank NPC option), you can add all details and then "duplicate" it as many times as you want, with all skills, defenses, etc.
More features will be added to this section of ERA in future releases.
You can now develop spells using the individual spell acquisition (RMC Spell Law optional rule 2.2), or you can keep doing this like before and put ranks in the "Learn Portion" skill, then roll and adjust manually the ranks learned in the list. I believe it is easy enough, but let me know if this requires more explanation.
On leveling up, you have now the chance to roll for stat gains, using the official RMC rules.
Also during level up, you can configure the application to allow an extra Development Points for secondary skills. To configure it, find the file named "ERA-Settings.conf" and change the line that says AdditionalDevelopmentPointsForSecondarySkills = 0%
to whatever percentage you want.
In the current version you must always decide on a percentage, future releases might allow a fixed number of extra development points.
Also in the configuration file you will see a new line that says:
";PowerPointsFormula = RMCPowerPointsFormula | PowerPointsEqualToPowerPointDevelopment"
The ";" in the beginning means the line is not read by the server.
If you remove the ";" at the beginning you must specify your desired power points formula, so leave only one of RMCPowerPointsFormula or PowerPointsEqualToPowerPointDevelopment.
As you might guess, the first one will use the character's realm stat and level to determine power points, while the second will require the development of the specified skill as per the optional RMC rule.
You should leave it as you find it if the default of RMCPowerPointsFormula is fine for your group.
Expect more rules customization in future releases.
There are some additional minor improvements here and there, but I will leave you to discover them.
Please download, try this new version and leave your comments!