Given that I have spent the last nine months working on the Skool Disassemblies and SkoolKit, you could be forgiven for thinking that I’d completely forgotten about Pyskool, or at the very least pushed it aside, never to work on it again. However, I’m pleased to announce that if you were thinking any of those things, then you would be utterly wrong.

On the downloads page today you will see that version 0.2 is now available, freshly packaged for your enjoyment. Version 0.2 marks the first release in what is sure to become known as the 0.2.x series of releases, which will focus on adding those game elements from Back to Skool which have so far eluded implementation.

Compared to its predecessor, Back to Skool is quite a complex piece of software, featuring: mice that can be caught and released (and which scare female characters); a frog that must be caught, placed in a cup, and dropped on a teacher’s head; a water pistol that can be used to fill cups with water or sherry, or make plants grow; plants that grow when sprinkled with water (but not sherry), and can be climbed upon to reach high places; doors that open and close; windows that open; stinkbombs that, when dropped, compel the headmaster to open a window (if one is nearby); desks that can be opened, and which may contain water pistols or stinkbombs; a bike that can be ridden by sitting or standing on the saddle; a caretaker who takes care of opening and closing the skool door and gate at the appropriate times; a conker than can be knocked out of a tree (by a catapult pellet fired through an open window) onto that same caretaker’s head, thus paralysing him temporarily; a girlfriend who will do some of ERIC’s lines when kissed, but will later turn to violence when she feels she’s being taken advantage of; a headmistress who guards her drinks cabinet like a lioness guarding a favourite cub, and chases ERIC out of the girls’ skool as soon as he sets foot inside. And more, no doubt.

Anyway, to get the ball rolling on these features, Pyskool 0.2 (codenamed “Plague”) adds the mice and the frog, and the ability to catch them. In fact, it adds several - some observers might say too many - mice and frogs, to demonstrate this new feature in style. Try catching them all (press ‘c’ to attempt a catch) before hitting the 10000 lines mark, perhaps, if you want to make a game out of this release. And if you find any bugs, don’t be shy about reporting them.

But not much to report, either, to be honest. Though version 0.1.1 has been released, and you can collect it from the usual place. It fixes a bug in 0.1 where Eric gets trapped in his seat if he’s knocked out of it by a catapult pellet and then tries to stand up. It will probably be the last release in the 0.1 series, unless somebody finds an absolutely catastrophic bug that eats their dog or sets their house on fire (or vice versa).

What about 0.2, and all the Back to Skool features that need to be implemented? Well, I haven’t forgotten about those. I still plan to do the implementing, but I expect progress to be slow, because my spare time is rather more limited now than it was during the period leading up to Pyskool 0.1. So Eric will be able to fire a waterpistol, and drop stinkbombs, and catch (and release) mice and frogs, and ride a bike - eventually.

Hang in there, and enjoy Pyskool 0.1.1 in Skool Daze mode in the meantime.

Pyskool 0.1 has been released. Head over to the downloads page to grab your copy.

So what’s new? And why the version number bump (from 0.0.4)? Well, to answer both those questions: Skool Daze mode is now essentially complete. (If anything is missing, it’s because I forgot about it, and you should report it as a bug!) In other (and more) words: Eric is expelled if he exceeds the lines limit; the Swot tells tales; Eric will be hunted down if he tries to skip class; the “special” playtimes (and the “stampeding boys” playtimes) have been implemented; and every skool rule is now encouraged and enforced by lines-giving.

Owing to constraints on my spare time as the year closes, this will be the last release of Pyskool in 2008; Pyskool 0.1.1 will not see the light of day until January 2009 at the earliest. Naturally, I’ll be concentrating on filling in the game elements for Back to Skool mode from now on, and perhaps adding things on the side (such as an in-game menu and a save-game feature). A technical reference for implementing your own SkoolScript - for want of a better name for Pyskool’s command language - commands is also on the cards.

Anyway, please try out Pyskool 0.1, and playtest the hell out of it. If you think you’ve found a bug, let me know, and give me lines for it. Pyskool development may be winding down for 2008, but my inbox is always open, and I’ll be back in force in the new year.