Version 2.5.0 ORAS Release! (Windows Only at the moment)

This version's biggest change is probably the addition of the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Subgen! Whilst the games aren't out yet, we had enough information to do 95% of the new games. What little is left can be fixed at release.

All new Megas have been added with full stats/items/types/etc etc
New "sprites" from ORAS are now in use instead of the (imo ugly) ones from X/Y
Primal Reversion and the new weathers have been added. Note that these are not 100% tested and can change come actual ORAS release. We had to work with little data for these.

Non-ORAS things
More bugs fixed since last release
New features like the ability to export IVs in Teambuilder, see name changes in PMs, and toggle trainer info of other users
A few fixes to messages/descriptions and translations

Remember to report bugs in the bug forum and update before reporting!

A wild Update appeared!

Bugs Squashed

-Gen 6 mechanics were adjusted on many moves and ability. Well over 100 bugs met their end here.
-Gen 1 might be old, but Withoutatrace didn't forget it! A number of bugs that affected mechanics have been eradicated.
-Challenge Cup level balancing was adjusted to change between generations, instead of always assuming latest gen. This will affect Gen 1 the most as the formula was different in accounting for the Special Stat.
-Speaking of Challenge Cup, Arceus, Giratina, and Genesect will now properly display according to their items.

Clients Updated

-Gen 6 Sprites are now in use. They are simply a frame-grab from the animated model. As a result of the larger sprites, the (Old) Battle Window has been increased by 25%!
-Avatar selection has been made easier thanks to SongSing. A catalog will display on your screen to make finding that perfect match.
-Advanced Searching in the Teambuilder has been made more visible, and the Pokedex no longer gets covered with a black square!
-Descriptions all over the simulator have been refined and updated by Wriggle Nightbug to account for changes or missed information.
-Translations received updates, especially Chinese, thanks to turbedi and KalaShayminS.
-Tooltips on both the new and old battle window have been tweaked to fix some bugs. Most significant is entry hazards being listed correctly and completely.
-New Battle Window will now show exact time remaining when hovering over the timer.

Challengers Approach

-Diancie and Eternal Flower Floette have been released, along with their signature moves and all other signature or event moves, regardless of "release" status.
-Symbiosis has been coded to actually function, finishing off the last part of Gen 6 that wasn't functioning.
-Event moves have been added to many Pokemon.
-Vivillon patterns can now be used! All patterns can be used, including Pokeball and Fancy. (Note: Pokeball and Fancy Vivillon do not have their own back sprite so it will just show as a normal Vivillon for now)

Known Issues

-Some sprites have really awkward boxes, shifting the Pokemon too far in a direction from the center point.
-Substitute front is still rough around the edges.

Work on plugins, new moves, lots of bugs fixed

Plugins usage has been made easier (try the plugin manager, you'll see!)

Pokemon cries for gen 6 pokemon have been added!

SQL usage was reintroduced as a possiblity (and defaulted) since last release. If you go had 2.4.0 before, you may want to go in SQL config and select "Text/NoSql" as the engine.

Various battle bugs, move power (like fling/knock off) were fixed, and new moves were introduced.

Release for Servers

This new release is a major release for server owners. We had problems with crashes -- between other things --, and so we did an overhaul of the way things were done.

There are two major changes:

• The database system was completely changed. No more using SQL, instead text files in a folder named "serverdb".
• Battles are in a separate process, a "battle server". Essentially means no crashes and hot updates.

There also are smaller changes, which we will discuss later. For example a script function to calculate performance and help you make your scripts faster!

And steps taken to ensure better bug care for the future. Let's make stability a strong point of PO.

Database change

We're going back to what it was 3 years ago, using no SQL, just text files :)

This makes things go a ton faster. SQL is really not good for fast read / writes. Even though there was a system in place that made those read/writes asynchronous, it wouldn't work in all cases (e.g. scripts).

And now database is easily human readable/editable.

But there's a catch. Before updating the server, make sure to export your database in SQL Config. Then create a folder "serverdb" and move the exported files there.

Otherwise, you won't have your database transferred over!

Battle Server change

Battles are now in a separate process. This means anything makes the battle server crash, server stays up. Battles get tied, battle server gets restarted, and server carries on. A battleConnectionLost event is triggered.

You can also use this feature to update your battle server while the server is running. Though regular server owners probably won't see a benefit from it unless they're familiar with git and compilation, it means we can update the battle engine on the main server without restarting it.

To load/unload usage stats and battle logs plugin, you know have to use script functions, or edit the config_battleServer file yourself.

The scripts function are:

• sys.loadBattlePlugin(plugin path)
• sys.unloadBattlePlugin(plugin name)

Names for usage stats and battle logs are 'Usage Statistics' and 'Battle Logs'.

Battle Server is started automatically when one is not running already. (Aka no battle server on start up, or battle server crash).

For now they give PO a lot of stability and the ability for savvy people to update the battle engine with the server still running, but in the future on battle server may be used by servers connecting to it other machines, guaranteeing them to always have the most up-to-date battle engine. Who knows!

Small Changes

Some new scripting functions were added.

For example sys.profileDump() and sys.resetProfiling().

The first one shows the total time taken by script event (and file write/read functions) since the server started, as well as server uptime, while the second one resets those counters.

If you have a scripting mess on your hand, it can point you to where to look in order to reduce lag.

More, more stability

Automated builds were added. Automated tests were added.

Each time a change is made in the code of PO, those tests are run, with a big warning if they fail. I think you can thank shancat for that.

Those tests are quite complex. From testing basic things, to simulating a server connecting to the battle server or a client connecting to a server, sending data, and expecting results :)

From now on, when an issue is found or a bug solved, most of the time a test will be added to make sure that it will never happen without us knowing. It'll help make new releases bug free and avoid facing same problems as we did before. And it should warn us of any obvious bugs.

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That's it! Those server troubles have really bogged me down for two weeks, leading me to take drastic measures (and what's here is not all that changed!). But that paid off.

As I'm writing this, after releasing with those changes, server has been up for 1 day 2 hours, with no sign it's going down any time soon. I can rest in peace.

Gen 6 patches & new egg moves

After gen 6 was officially released, plenty of patches were needed and done!

Sprite & move updates are here too.

Server side, some important fixes:

• AntiDOS bans fixed
• DC+Tie glitch fixed
• An invisible bug that would make connecting to the server longer the longer it was online

Gen 6, release!

Gen 6 is officially released!

Some bug fixes since the beta, and you also have inverted battles!

Gen 6 Beta!

Beta version!

Lots more movesets for gen 6 pokes, and some new things server side.

Also added back credits screen, but in the menu.

Gen 6 - alpha improved

Soon beta

Sixth gen - alpha

It's time to start testing!

Latest update - 2.2.4c

Pre-gen 6 release - 3

This time, almost everything is done.

Time to work on movesets