These are good ideas but the net result is not too different than what I'm already implementing as described above.  The difference is that having to get a petition signed before you can have a town means that there is more opportunity for adventure, etc. as you try to get all of the signatures that you need.  Besides, requiring a vote of confidence from the players is not a bad thing and if you instead travel the world enough to get enough NPC signatures well then I don't mind giving you a town of your own either.

Once you have a town you can place sites down for specific types of buildings and NPCs will come and build that or move into whatever you've already built.  But if you've built it or placed it in a bad site for it (like a dock in the middle of a field) then no NPC would ever want to go there.

Also, something to remember... in general the property system doesn't keep you from building anywhere you want.  It just grants you protection from others wrecking your stuff.  Assuming there isn't already some bit of property somewhere then you can build whatever you want... it's just that the next guy might come tear it down again.  The property system gives you some assurance that your carefully collected resources don't walk away.

The dream house: one room and a giant TV.

We'll see how it works out.  Maybe you will place the flags for the corners... though that does complicate things quite a bit. 

The single flag as center was so easy.   It may be what I implement first and we can see how rough it is in practice.  After all, if it's in the wrong place you can always pick it up and move it a little.

...though, in towns/cities, strange lot sizes may be more of a requirement.  I'll have to think about it some.  I'm already starting to have some ideas.

This is a good idea in general and was definitely on my list of things to do.

I've been dragging my feet a bit since I wanted to get to a point where I could tell everyone more about the direction I plan to take.  I mention some stuff in game while chatting but I've avoided putting too much in writing at this point until I can be more sure I can do it.

I don't like to make promises that I can't keep because then everyone just gets disappointed where they might have been perfectly happy otherwise.

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to provide a place for you all to share your ideas.  As long as you all understand that I may say something is "already on my list" and that it only means that I will really try to do it... but some things may still turn out to be impossible.  I'm trying to push the edge in some ways and it may push back.

I'll think on it for a little bit.

Color me embarrassed.

...and watch out for the bridge towers, please.

It will show up on the map... and when people cross into your area they will get a message most likely.  The map is the key indicator on where protected areas are.

It's hard to do differently because with towns and cities areas can nest.

Just in case anyone reached the forums and did not know about these other places, here are the other places Mythruna exists:

• The main site, of course: http://mythruna.com/
• A Facebook fan page: http://facebook.com/mythruna
• On twitter @MythrunaGame: http://twitter.com/MythrunaGame
• There is also a Mythruna-specific group on the jMonkeyEngine forums: http://jmonkeyengine.org/groups/mythruna/forum/

Twitter is updated from Facebook so you can follow one or the other or both as you like.  To either of those, I only post things related to development and not that I blew my nose or whatever.  I try to post everything to this forum of any significance but sometimes it's really easy to shoot off a quick status update on Facebook+Twitter.  It just feels more "real time" for stuff like that and it's 1000 times easier to pop-up a screen shot or two if I have something cool to show during development.

The JME forum is obviously more software development oriented and so subjects sometimes dive pretty technical.

Important announcements go everywhere, like: releases, warnings of bugs, upcoming events, etc.

Also, many of you already know this but it is possible to find my Mythruna-specific e-mail address on the wiki main page if there is some need to contact me directly.

Note: at least one attempted user has reported problems getting the confirmation e-mail.

If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail then send me a note by e-mail.  My e-mail address can be found on the main wiki page:
http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Registration is automatic now with maximum safeguards.  We'll see how it goes.

That statue is really cool!

There is a new version up as of this afternoon (and the other day too but let's go with the most recent).  While I don't expect it to fix your problems, the error log on crash includes a lot more juicy information now.

...so if you could please download the latest and try running it again?

http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Engine_Test_Build

As usual, download here:
http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Engine_Test_Build

Changelog here:
http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=20110716_Release_Notes

Highlights:
-Fixed an object lighting bug caused be some of the memory optimizations in the previous release.
-Tweaked the lighting and walk mesh of the new thatch blocks.
-Some new debug output.

Hehe... nice.

I think I just added "dinosaurs" to my creature to-do list.   Not high up, though.

As usual, download here:
http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Engine_Test_Build

Changelog here:
http://mythruna.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=20110714_Release_Notes

Highlights:
Improved memory use. Some networking communication performance enhancements.

Stored preferences… including the last screen resolution picked.

Updates to some of the textures and a new block type (thatch).

A handful of bug fixes.

Improved error logging on crash.