To Shanghai Dynasty users of the rec.games.mahjong newsgroup and America Online:
In July we will release a patch (version 1.2) for Shanghai Dynasty. This patch will
include the following updates:
1. fix some bugs which were found after release of versions 1.0 (the store version) and 1.1 (the OEM version) -- mostly (but not limited to) problems with scoring of A.I. hands in the Mah-Jongg game (modes in which payment is made to all players, not just to the winner);
2. add "in-game chat" to the online games -- now when playing against live players online, you can chat with one another during gameplay;
3. until now, I have been keeping a big secret
From you -- hopefully you will forgive me when you read this -- we have also added in
another Mah-Jongg game: Japanese Mah-Jongg! So now Shanghai Dynasty includes three ways to
play Mah-Jongg: Western ("vanilla" American, as opposed to NMJL), Chinese
(variant of Chinese Classical, as opposed to Hong Kong or Taiwanese), and Japanese (modern
"Riichi / Dora" style, as opposed to Japanese Classical).
I cannot announce a specific Date at this time, because we still have to program, test, and release the self-extracting installer for the patch (and the patch also updates our German- and Spanish-speaking users, so we have to translate the new Japanese game text). It should happen sometime in July. We have, though, done the programming and testing of the new features (our testers are now /hooked/ on Japanese Mah-Jongg). So, thanks for hanging in there with us -- the new and improved Shanghai Dynasty is coming /soon/!
Tom Sloper, Activision
Senior Producer, Shanghai
tsloper@activision.com
Actsearch@aol.com
Now available: SHANGHAI: DYNASTY -- check our website for a preview and free demo:
http://www4.activision.com/games/dynasty/
The patch is looking REAL good for July! We're down to 4 bugs; still testing the
installer.
Tom Sloper, Activision
Senior Producer, Shanghai
tsloper@activision.com
actsearch@aol.com
What's New in Shanghai Dynasty v1.2
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS
* Added Japanese Mah-Jongg. (^_^)
* Added ability to chat during online gameplay. (Woo-hoo!) * Added "Autopass"
feature. (Now you can speed up online play or take your time offline!)
* Added AOL support for online play.
* Fixed scoring problem in Western Mah-Jongg.
Shanghai tile-matching modes --
Mah-Jongg games --
Multi-player (online) modes (Windows 95 only) --
The Shanghai Dynasty v1.2 patch is available NOW at the Activision website! The Win95 patch is downloadable now -- the Mac patch must still be virus-checked (we had to order some software) and will be up as soon as possible.
What's New in Shanghai Dynasty v1.2 ("the patch") Please read -- important info at the bottom! August 6, 1998
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS
* Added Japanese Mah-Jongg. (^_^)
* Added ability to chat during online gameplay. (Woo-hoo!) * Added "Autopass"
feature. (Now you can speed up online play or take your time offline!)
* Added AOL support for online play.
* Fixed scoring problem in Western Mah-Jongg.
Shanghai tile-matching modes --
Mah-Jongg games --
Multi-player (online) modes (Windows 95 only) --
Sorry for the delay in releasing this patch. After fixing bugs and creating Japanese Mah-Jongg, much new text had to be localized into German and Spanish, and we had to create a self-extracting installer for the existing users. It was rigorously tested in Quality Assurance, and that process took longer than expected.
NOTE: All Mah-Jongg games saved on previous versions will NOT be useable once the 1.2 patch has been installed. Saved games on previous versions will work for the following game modes: Shanghai and Dynasty.
NOTE: The patch will not work by itself; the patch must be installed over your game which is already installed from the CD. For users of the store-bought CD, you must still have the CD in the drive whenever you play.
Please find the patch and download it from one of three places (NOTE: TODAY THE PATCH IS ONLY AT #2):
1- America Online\Activision\Software Libraries\Other Games 2- http://www.activision.com (click on Support, look for
the patch in the list there)*
3- Activision Customer Support BBS, (310) 255-2146
*or use this URL:
http://www.activision.com/support/show-patch.asp?patchID=97
WINDOWS 95/98 USERS:
Patch Name:
Shanghai Dynasty Windows Update version 1.2
Instructions:
Download the file "ShanghaiDynastyPatch.EXE"
Double-click the "ShanghaiDynastyPatch.EXE" icon. Click on Yes to start the install process. (NOTE: The Java(tm) Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.1.6 or higher is required to play the multi-player portion of Shanghai Dynasty 1.2. You may find this file on this web page or go to http://java.sun.com.) If you use Front Page, say "No" if the JRE installer offers to install Winsock2.
The file is named: ShanghaiDynastyPatch.EXE. The file size is 9.73MB.
Selecting of tile sets must be done when playing solo (the Tiles menu is inactive when playing online with others).
Important: After the patch is installed, when you go to play online (Win95 only) you will only "meet" other players who also have installed the patch (or who got the OEM version with a new computer or who purchased the 1.2 version in a store some months after the patch was released) -- if you play online with a friend, your friend will also need to install the patch (or have version 1.2), else you will not be able to play together.
MACINTOSH USERS:
Patch Name:
Shanghai Dynasty Macintosh Update version 1.2
Instructions:
Download the "Shanghai Dynasty Mac.HQX" file. If it is not automatically
converted from HQX format by your browser, then you can use Binhex 4.0 or any other
bin-to-hex utility (several are downloadable from various websites) to convert it from HQX
format into an application.
It will extract one file named "Shanghai Dynasty Patch.SEA. Double-click the "Shanghai Dynasty Patch.SEA" icon. Click "Continue" twice and then "Install".
From the main screen of the updater, please locate the Shanghai Dynasty folder on your hard drive. Once you have located your Shanghai Dynasty folder, please SINGLE-CLICK on it, so it will be highlighted. (NOTE: It is important that you do not "Open" this folder. If you are INSIDE this folder when you install the patch, you may get an Error when you attempt to play the game.) When this has been done, you should see "Install into Shanghai Dynasty" on the button at the bottom of the screen. Click on this button and the install process will start. Your application is now patched and should be ready to run. If you need to reinstall the game from the CD at some future point, remember to run the 1.2 updater again.
The file is named "Shanghai Dynasty Mac.HQX".
The file size is 7.1MB.
Tom Sloper, Activision
Senior Producer, Shanghai
tsloper@activision.com
Actsearch@aol.com
Now available: SHANGHAI: DYNASTY -- check our website for a preview and free demo:
http://www4.activision.com/games/dynasty/