The Dink Network

drone1400 of the noble lineage of the drones of John has released Martridge version 0.9.0.0, the new de facto frontend, dmod browser, installer -- THING to use. A gargantuan update throbbing with new features fitting of the good version number, the DN itself seems to have shuddered with connectivity issues when drone uploaded it. I like to imagine it looked like a terminator appearing from the future... naked. But everything is fine again now, uh, probably.

Here are some of the updates in this version:

- big UI changes
- fixed major memory leak issue in DMOD Browser / Online DMOD Browser pages
- reworked the DMOD installer, nicer interface that shows if there are problems with the selected DMOD, lets you change the DMOD directory you want to install the DMOD in and prevents you from overriding existing DMOD files unless you explicitly tell it to
- reworked the DMOD packer, nicer interface, ignores certain files using a file called .dmodignore that works just like a .gitignore file
- reworked the whole Citrus theme by forking it and changing tons of things, so it should be nicer and easier to maintain for me going forward (check it out here: https://github.com/drone1400/Citrus.Avalonia )
- now supports custom themes
- application now remembers last used paths for installing/packing DMODs, also remembers last selected DMOD and window size/position between sessions
- drag and drop works once more (I forgot when I broke it...)
- should now detect even DMODs that are missing some expected files (like dink.ini, or hard.dat)
- installing a DMOD now automagically selects it after install is done

The source code is also available.

SlipDink has returned with his eigth eghth next D-Mod, Dink's First Adventure! This quest/epic-sized D-Mod delves into Dink's early life, taking place a bit before Before....

In this adventure, you'll experience two tales: one where Dink's dreams are filled with epic heroism, and another where his mundane chores spiral into unexpected chaos.

Crafted over several years, Dink's First Adventure is a testament to SlipDink's dedication, boasting over 333MB of new graphics, 66MB of new sounds, and 385 new scripts. That's a quite a bit of effort and code!

You can even expect new forms of magic, unique animations, and that unique narrative that intertwines the two adventures into one cohesive experience. Give it a try!

Simon Klaebe is back again, and this time with a demo for Necromancer!

It's real, it's very pretty, and in my first 5 minutes I accidentally bee-lined my way to my (deserved) death.

Simon says: "Charged by three witches to restore the balance and defeat Decretius once and for all, Dink must journey to strange lands, battle new monsters and save the world one last time. The demo is just the first land, other lands will be available in the full version."

Give it a whirl!

Seth has risen from the darklands and updated Dink Smallwood HD to version 2.08.

The web version has also been updated and Android version to come shortly.

See the comments or file page for the list of changes and bugfixes!

Ho ho ho! Merry WinDinkEdit Plus 2 Drone Edition V2.5.14.1mas from santadrone1400. This version adds a command to hide sprites in Tile and Hardtile modes, which should make editing tiles on screens with an already sizeable sprite population a nicer time. Source and an XP version are also available. What's an XP version, you ask? Have we gamified dmod development itself to the point using an editor gives you experience points? Well... no. It's actually a version that works on Windows XP, in case you're still making dmods on that. It's not a completely insane idea, as the older versions of Dinkedit and Dink (v1.08 and earlier) run better on Windows XP than newer operating systems.

We also seem to have neglected making a news post about the sizeable WinDinkEdit Plus 2 Drone Edition V2.5.14.0 update, which was uploaded on November 24 and did a whole bunch of things:

- fixed having accidentally broken screenshots in a recent version, oups!
- added sprite and tile hardness transparency options
- added toggle option to use 20px offset or not when showing X coordinate in status bar
- added help text for focus mode
- fixed issues with tile selection anchoring
- fixed some crashes
- some fixes to dink.ini parsing related issues
- some fixes to sprite properties gui
- other various minor fixes...
- most of the fixes / improvements in this update are thanks to Seseler from TDN, cheers!

This is to say if you haven't updated WDED for a while, it's been updated a bunch so maybe you should!

The incredible hole unmaker, Seseler, is at it again; this time with Minor Sprite Fixes, patching holes in multitudinous Original Dink sprites, as well as mending some unnatural goblin head growths, detached stone giant fingers and the like.

They are individually minor errors, but they stack up when there's a lot of them. I know I've been annoyed by those see-through pixels before. This seems like a no-brainer patch to apply to original Dink, and included are also comparison images so you can look at all the changes easily.

Mr. Seseler has updated Dink Smallwood Questlog Edition to version R5. This version fixes "holes" on about 350 sprites, which I'm assuming is either referring to transparency, or someone went on a shooting rampage between versions.

Mr. drone1400 has updated WinDinkEdit Plus 2 Drone Edition to V2.5.12.1. This version comes with several bug fixes to the previous version released in August, which introduced juicy updates like increasing the max frame limit in sequences to 99 (50 in older editors) and total sequence limit to 2000 (less than 1000 in older editors), and it's the 7th update to WDED this year already. Now Mr. drone1400 might look like just an innocent goblin on the Dink Network, but I have it on good authority his profile picture on the Dink Discord is that of a worker drone from Starcraft, and indeed it seems like he has been working diligently.

SimonK has released Ric's Windemere Graphics with .ini files, a demonstration dmod showcasing the many graphics that were created for the Windemere project, an ambitious and by now legal to drink fan project that was supposed to be a next generation Dink engine. Ric released the graphics in 2006, but the problem was they didn't play nice with the engines available at the time and never saw as much use in dmods as they perhaps would've deserved.

ENTER THIS FILE! Newer engines are nicer playmates and SimonK has created .ini files and sample enemy scripts for the graphics, meaning you can just nab everything with the time-honored copy paste method of making dmods. Simon says you should use YeOldeDink or Dink HD to run this, which means you have to do it or you lose the game.

After more than a half a decade break, Mr. Toof comes out with a new romp called Adventurer's Adventure. Here there lie adventurers, and adventures, and the two may even be related...

A good start to August, I'd say! Make more dmods! Play more dmods! Write more reviews! Frolic madly on the ground!

Three new files have been released on the mighty Dink Network. With each new release, the network's power level increases, until...

*AHEM*

Two of them are submissions to YeOldeToast's Development jam: Modify the main game!, which got a whopping 5 entries. <- make sure to check them out in the actual contest thread, because 3 of them still haven't been uploaded to the Dink Network proper. Entrants... feed us...

The first is Hack n' Slash by SimonK, which... which... replaces ducks?! Well, if you thought SimonK wasn't a dark magician before, this should pretty much clear that up. NOTE: This dmod should be played on DinkHD. The in-development YeOldeDink might also work, but FreeDink is blocked and BoomerDink just crashes.

The second is Dink Smallwood Questlog Edition by Seseler and Elpo, and it is in fact their first release. The primary function is adding a quest log, but it also includes bug fixes, some new dialogue, and who knows what else... you'll have to play it to find out! (Because I'm lazy and only took a cursory look to see it works. Bite me!)

The third and final uploaded file is NOT an entry to the contest, but a translation patch: Futrzak - Furball (spolszczenie) by Pradawny, a Polished version of Furball. To use, get your original Furball ready, then extract the contents of the translation patch into the same folder and overwrite everything. If you did it right, all the text will be changed to mostly consonants, and Dink's name will be changed to Dinka Smallwooda. I'm not even kidding. Honestly, Polish seems pretty cool!

Rabidwolf9 has emerged out of the shadows, bringing with him a nifty development file: Bow Plus.

Do you despise the workings of the original bow?
Do you find it annoying and a suffering of the soul to use?

This file improves that and gives you a running choice on how to use your bow.

Want to spam arrows? You can do that.
Want to use it like the regular old bow? Sure, it does that too.
Or time the shot to release on the correct frame when the spark is visible and do a powerful shot that pierces through enemies!

Although the changes made to the bow functionality are subtle, it already feels a lot more use-able in a Dmod, and the timing requirement for the power shot adds an actual degree of "skill" to the bow. Instead of it being random, you get rewarded for timing it correctly.

Comes with a small play-able Dmod to showcase it. Go check it out!

Some updated files have dropped this month, and I've been too busy beheading ducks to type up a news post.
Well here we go..

SimonK has updated Stone of Balance redux. This update includes a few tweaks/changes and also some bug fixes across multiple stories. See the file page for the full list of changes.

Drone1400 has updated Windinkedit Plus Drone edition fixing various bugs, and also Dink Blender Template which fixes the issue of shadows not rendering in blender 4.1.
Martridge Launcher was also updated to include the missing x64\7zip.dll file, which fixes issues on windows 11.

What are you waiting for, make sure to grab those updates if you haven't already!

Drone1400 has released another update for Windinkedit Plus 2 Drone Edition, with some very useful features including:

- 'Focus Mode', which shows only the current screen and all of it's sprites, even if they are out of bounds.

- Cycle to next/previous sprite while in focus mode, using F3 & Shift+F3.

- Added 'Sprite Report' in the tools menu, which generates a report containing information about out of bounds sprites and invalid seq/frame definitions.

- A bug fixed with MultiSprite mode which could previously lead to unwanted selections being performed.

Go check it out, these certainly are interesting features. Want to see how many sprites you accidentally teleported out of bounds because you changed the Y coordinate instead of depth que and wondered why your sprite vanished? .. Now you can.

New files, new files everywhere, I'm drowning in new files!

First up: Prilgrims Quest Redux
Simon Klaebe strikes again! This time releasing Pilgrims Quest Redux. This one also comes with a launch trailer to get you excited to dive right in. First the Stone of Balance Redux and now this? Let's hope this is a 3 course meal because my Necromancer taste bugs are tingling..

Simon has conveniently made a post right here with a nice summary of the various changes, ultimately encouraging my laziness of half-baked news posts.

Second: Martridge Launcher
Drone1400 also enters the arena with the Martridge Launcher. according to a reliable source this is a brand new super secret weapon that launches tiny wizards at people, sweet, sweet dangerous little Martridge projectiles that destroy all your previous Dink Smallwood/Dmod front ends and sprinkles convenience all over your PC, automagically installing various versions of the Dink Smallwood engine for you, allowing you to browse Dmods and download them directly, and many other cool things that will surely make your dinking life a whole lot easier.

Three new files have been released. Evolving Magic is Pupperoni's very first file, including the Evolving Fireball spell, which gets stronger as your magic stat increases, an acid rain spell that also seems to get stronger, and a Close Wounds spell. Oh, and a test dmod featuring giant ducks and easter eggs! Definitely worth a gander if you're looking to spruce up the magic in your dmod, or just for fun for the amusing demo.

The second file is the Dink Blender Template by drone1400, which generates Dink sprites with directions and checker grid shadows from a blender model. It all sounded like magic to me, so I just downloaded the file on a USB stick, inserted it into my blender, and at first I thought it didn't work... however, as the sun came up, my blender DID cast a shadow! Alternatively, full instructions are included.

The third file is Dink Smallwood Chinese Edition by xjnzhidao0, which seems to have been originally posted in 2018 on a Chinese forum. Thanks EMP for submitting this. The file was lying around for a while because we weren't sure what to do with it, but I reckon such a high quality file deserves to be on the Dink Network. It's not just a simple translation patch, it's the full suite. Included are Chinese translations of Original Dink and Mystery Island, with even the title screen buttons translated, the full CD version of the game, as well as a DOSbox emulation of Windows 95. For that authentic retro experience of playing Dink Smallwood on Windows 95, because Dink has been retro for a while now, and we're really all incredibly old.