• [Language] Updated translations : German, Greek.
• [Tileset] Added "Seasons", a Small Tileset with the new format (based on an idea by Marc Lesselberg). Also updated "Desert" to the new format.
• [Great] Finally added a new mini-game ! It's called Kumika, and it's another pretty addictive game ! I spent a lot of time on it, I hope you'll appreciate it ! Read the Rules help file for more information on the rules and various options.
• [Great] Added JPG support for Small Tileset files ! Also, the tileset size is now free, provided that tiles are always perfectly square. I recommend 64x64.
• [Great] If you have an old machine, you will love this : I finally adjusted all animations (if I forgot any, please tell me) so that they have the same speed on all configurations.
• [Cool] Added Save support to Kumika. I know it's not an addition since last time, but I just wanted to point this out...
• [Cool] The "High-resolution textures" option is now linked to the Small Tilesets as well, offering a resolution of 64x64 instead of 32x32 when the option is enabled.
• [Cool] Revamped the game selector. Just click on the "Selector" button to switch between a slightly modified old version of the selector and the new version.
• [Cool] Improved some animations (most notably the scores - I also use a much better and more readable font for them now)
• [Cool] Added an option in the View menu to simplify the menu. I would recommend to enable it if you're playing the game for the first time.
• [Cool] When saving a game, the game's name (Solitaire, Kumika, ...) is automatically added to the filename so you can retrieve it easily later.
• [Cool] Modified the menus so that the Small Tileset submenu opens on the left of the Tileset menu. I believe it's much less confusing this way.
• [Cool] The 2D mode will now use exclusively the "normal" background mode. It's prettier and more logical, and on older 3D cards I noticed it doubles performance
• [Fix] Fixed a problem that deformed Small Tilesets and Hashira columns when a Large Tileset with a different aspect ratio was selected.
• [Fix] Fixed two minor (but funny) problems that appeared when using the "Emphasize 3D" option.
• [Fix] Fixed a problem that caused scores over 100.000 points to reset when saving a Slider game. I can't believe some people have so much time to spend on Slider
• [Fix] Removed the "None" background option and "Animate board while building it" (the first was ugly and useless, the second was ugly, useless and buggy).
• [Fix] More minor fixes and additions.

Phew. The first beta of Kyodai 17.00 was released to beta-testers a few days ago and for now it's working very well. I fixed a couple of problems and the official version should be online around monday (August 20). So, you know where to come and when...

Ahh ! My head is going to explode. But at least, I've nearly finished the new version. I only need to implement the "no more moves" stuff in the new mini-game, and then the usual stuff (menu translations, help file updating, ...), and it's ready for release. Then I'll start beta-testing the new version. I hope you'll appreciate it because I've really spent a lot of time making sure it's a noticeable improvement over the current version. It looks new, it feels new... It really is new. For once, I can't wait to release it and hear what you have to say about it ! If you have version 16.42 installed and want to beta-test, feel free to send a request. I don't promise I'll answer, but in case I need more beta-testers you'll be on the list !

Shortest live poll ever :o)... The questions were too complex and the problem is MY fault, so I'm going to have to solve it the hard way (for me, not for you). What was the poll ? Err... Well, if you didn't see it, then you don't check my website every 20 minutes, so I won't tell you, na ;p)  Just kidding. It's not interesting anyway. So basically I'm just posting this news to say that once my current problem is solved, well, the new version will nearly be finished. Stay tuned :o)

Hello hello... Haven't done much on Kyodai these days... I've fixed a bug that happened when you save a Slider game with a score over 100.000 points. Well, that's 50 times my best score, hu... (Of course I've never hidden I've never been too much of a fan of this specific mini-game).  I'm also thinking of hiding or removing a few options from the menu. Not the important things, of course. It's just that this thing is filled with useless options like "Animate chain reactions". I think removing them will help new users browsing through the menus. Oh, really, that would be a good thing. Let me add this to the program now. (10 minutes later) Okay, that's it. (God I'm fast sometimes)  Okay, I see you're all looking strangely at me... You want to know more. I've been making you wait a long time for this new version. It's not yet ready. I'll have to stop adding things after a time, because otherwise you'd have to wait for a year to see it. I've definitely chosen the new minigame's name, so here it is.  Kumika.  Have fun trying to figure out what it is ... Okay, it's a game played with the Small Tilesets. It also forced me to modify the Small Tileset format to fit a new tile in it (a normal one, not a joker). I also added Jpeg compatibility to the format and freedom of size (the recommended size for a Small Tile now being 64x64). So now you can save in Jpeg and have fun with your graphics, instead of sticking to tiny 32x32 pictures. I'm still a bit concerned with a few problems in this new tile format, but I'll probably find a solution soon.

Phew. I'm exhausted from all this work... I haven't been working like that on Kyodai for a while... The new mini-game is more and more playable (and really cool), I'm also adding an alternative way to play Solitaire (just for fun), and trying to improve the animations in Hashira. Okay, I've really got to finish this new version as soon as possible. It never seems to end. Every time I add something, it adds ten more things to do. Argh.

Hello ! Thanks for participating in the Kyodai 2D vote. As for the 16.42 engine, I'll therefore keep things as they are for now (which is satisfying for me). I've replaced the poll with a new one, hopefully you'll help me sort out which kind of Game Selector you prefer. I'm currently working on a new type of Game Selector, based on the one that was included in the very first beta of Kyodai 11.00... Today, since there is a seventh game to add to the bunch, I'm forced to enlarge the previous Game Selector, and I don't like the idea. So, please go to the front page, have a look at the two screenshots and give me your opinion !

Hi ! My girlfriend (her again ) translated most of the website to French, so now the French part of the website is somehow up to date on the most important pages. It's a hard work so I'm not sure if we'll keep updating the French site side to side with the English one, but we'll give it a try.  Ah, you're all waiting for a news item about the new mini-game, eh ? Okay, the game is now playable ! I just need to implement the scoring system, the moves counter, the movement restriction stuff and the other boring stuff... Expect the new version to ship around late July or in August !

Okay, you may believe it or not... But I'm actually working on a new mini-game for Kyodai Mahjongg ! And it's not like I'm "thinking about it", it's implemented right now in my latest build. It's a game based on the Small Tilesets, and I'm keeping its rules secret for now. But I'm pretty sure you'll like it. I can't post a demo or anything because basically it still doesn't work, but it shows up on the screen, and as soon as I've finished implementing the game logic, I'll tell you more about it ! Stay tuned !

There's one boring thing I had to do everytime I wanted to update my website. Check the columns' height and adjust it to the new text. Really pretty boring stuff. I figured out it was probably one of the reasons why I stopped updating regularly my website, so I decided to just remove the plain old HTML columns, and put them into frames. This has 3 advantages : first of all, it's easier for me to update the pages. Secondly, the pages load a bit faster because there's no HTML code for the columns in the pages you load, and thirdly I've added a small java script that checks your resolution and removes the columns if you are in 640x480. If you don't like frames, you can click on the "No frames" link and bookmark the new page. Everybody happy ? If anyone finds a problem with one of my pages, feel free to e-mail me. Don't forget to tell me your browser version and the name of the page !  Small update : I've tested the website on Netscape 4.08 and 4.77, and it looks awful. Netscape 6.0 does a much better job, and I'd recommend all Netscape users to definitely upgrade to the latest version. Then again, Kyodai.com is developped for Internet Explorer 5.5, which gives the best results.