Destiny Update Slated for 21st | 5.14.99 | Christopher Warden
Next week we will be making an update for Apprentice which will include bug fixes, database corrections, and Urza's Destiny. We also plan to have an update of the Apprentice Theme Editor around the same time.A lot of people have been wondering why an update for Urza's Destiny has not been forthwhith since the release of the spoilers. Previously our practice is to have an update available shortly after set spoilers hit the web. I apologize for the delay in putting up something about this, but hopefully this will help clarify things.
One of the details that was worked out with WotC during our negotiations of licensing and sponsorship of Apprentice was timing on the release of updates. What we came to agree on was 2 weeks after the official release date in stores for new expansion sets. While this may dissapoint or anger some, I feel this is a pretty fair solution. I do admit that personally I would like to have updates available on the same day as product hits the stores. This is something I will try and talk further with them about, because as we've seen by the number of hacks that are running around out there, it isn't very effective. (Which, btw, i highly reccomend you do NOT use, if for no other reason that it seems some malicious people have put viruses in some of these hacks, we have gotten emails from angry people with infected pcs, to which we kindly explain we have nothing to do with these unofficial updates.)
I also know that a lot of people seem to have reservations about our agreement with WotC and what exactly it entails. I've seen the polls on mtgnews.com , I've seen the commentaries in articles and musings on The Dojo and many other websites. I would like to take a quick moment to assure our users that we are not under control or owned by WotC or anything of that nature. They have been very fair with us, and in turn, I try hard to be fair with them. They sponsor and license our work, and in turn we abide by certain guidelines we have mutually agreed on. If you have questions you want to ask regarding Apprentice, WotC, and what exactly the whole deal is anyway, I will try and answer them. Feel free to direct them to me via email, it may take me a little while, but I eventually answer all my email. I hope this helps to re-assure the Magic community that we have their best interests at heart in all things. Thanks again to everyone for your support of us and our work.
Magic Suitcase Updates and Info | 5.14.99 | Christopher Warden
I thought I would take a long overdue moment to let you all know there have been a bunch of updates to Magic Suitcase. We have some great people heading up the development team for Magic Suitcase -- Autrijus Tang, and Michael Jennings. We currently have publicly available beta versions of Magic Suitcase 5.0 available for download. There is also a great discussion list we have setup which I reccomend you sign up for on the Magic Suitcase Webpage. We've also finally cleaned up the website some. My heartfelt thanks go out to Autrijus and Mike, they are doing a great job, and thanks go out as well to all the helpful people providing input and help with suitcase. As always, input and sugestions are welcome, if you have something you would like to see improved upon or added to Magic Suitcase, email us at suitcase@dragonstudios.com.
Theme Editor and Theme Page | 5.9.99 | Ryan Davis
Well those of you who have been begging me to make themes can begin and those who just want to enjoy them will soon have a good amount more to enjoy. The theme editor can be found on our download page and if you're looking for some themes they can be found on the theme page. A new user-made theme is there and I hope many more will follow!