Now Available - Patch 1.32.4 for Bizarre Battles

Yay!  Get it here (24Mb compressed .rar file):
https://www.mediafire.com/file/jtylxnpzft8cn7v/Bizarre_Battles_v1.32.4.rar/file

Patch 1.32.4 consists of only updated .exe files, and requires the underlying Version 1.32 to work properly.  After decompressing, place the four .exe files in your main Bizarre Battles 1.32 folder.  You may then delete the four similarly-named older .exe files.  No other game files are affected and any existing data will remain as before.

As usual, this patch will remain exclusive to paying members for 30 days.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
This patch focuses on the much-requested and long-awaited "Tour Guide" or "Road Map" module.  Newer players should find the Tour Guide to be invaluable in helping to create satisfying battles and campaigns, and I think that even seasoned players will learn much that is new.  Also, I put lots of effort into explaining the Full Campaign, and I hope that many players are inspired to learn this game mode (which is the most fun by far, IMHO).

[A]  Tour Guide Toggle
The Tour Guide may be opened from anywhere in the non-battle portion of the game.  Every primary module (Intro, Battle Builder, Command & Control) except Team Builder has this identical "Road Map" icon.  Click to open or close the Tour Guide.  When open, it will look like this ["A" at Image.]

[B]  Module/Step Quick Links
The Tour Guide contains 26 steps, and dozens of sub-steps, each tied to a particular primary module.  Scroll over these quick-link boxes ["B" at Image] for a listing of the steps associated with that box, and click on the box to quickly take you to the relevant primary module and Tour Guide settings.

Note that the Team Builder module is not detailed as part of the Tour Guide, as it is assumed that the combatant organization and team building within that module has already been done.

[C]  Step Listing
Each quick-link box is tied to one or more steps ["C" at Image].  Scroll over each step box to see the narrative associated with that step (see F below). Click on the step box to freeze the associated narrative, allowing free mouse movement (the step box will display green when frozen).

Following these steps in sequence (as applicable to your situation) will ensure that each element of a satisfying battle or campaign is addressed in logical order.

[D]  Step Checklist
Optionally, you can mark which steps have been completed, by right-clicking on a button.  This will display a check mark, an example of which is shown to the left of Step 21B.

[E]  Step Legend
All of the Steps and sub-steps are color-coded according to their applicability.  The Legend ("E" at Image) shows the colors that matter to each situation.  Use of the Legend and these color codes can help you avoid wasting time on irrelevant matters.

The Legend can be closed with the 'close' button [E at top], and re-opened adjacent to the Road Map toggle [A].

[F]  Step Narrative
The Narratives are the most-important part of the Tour Guide, in that these descriptions contain many useful details for how game tasks are accomplished and why these tasks matter.  These narratives guide the player from the basics of starting a battle or campaign, all the way through managing an ongoing campaign.

Much thought has gone into these narratives, so if you really want to learn the nuances of the game, a thorough reading of these narratives is the closest you will get to having the game designer's brain in your hands.

Arrows further draw the player's attention to key screen elements that go along with the subject narrative.

ISSUES AND KNOWN BUGS
This patch was already running very late, and I wanted to get up as much as I could ahead of the long weekend, rather than disappoint all of you again.  As such, some aspects remain rough-around-the-edges.

The good news is that the Tour Guide module seems to be working very well.  Extensive testing shows all the various parts and links to work as intended, and to convey a great deal of useful information in as intuitive a manner as I could conceive.

The bad news is that testing of the Tour Guide module revealed a number of other bugs, and I simply have not had time to kill them all without risk of further delay.  My main focus in this respect was the Girlfriend module, which is mostly working as intended.  The main problem there, and it seems to be minor, is the Girlfriend History listing (an archive of the dead and discards).

I also want to add a few small things.  For example, I think it would be cool to have a new "combatant characteristics" page that lists all enemies killed by that combatant, and (if I am clever) even has a quick-link scroll-over to the enemies' death graphics.

Other small-but-annoying problems exist.  None of these are game breakers (so far as I know), but you may experience some small frustrations here and there.  I intend to complete work on these bugs (Patch 1.32.5!) before moving on in a serious way.  So if you have bugs that you'd like to report, or otherwise want to comment on this latest patch, your reports will be eagerly received.

I view all of this to be the last significant infrastructure work needed for a while, and I hope to turn my attention to stuff that is more fun and less demanding (maps, sounds, maybe some clothing, etc.)

Have fun and let me know what you think!