The current version of To Be King is v5.3 so, obviously, it's gone through several mutations up to this point. Here's a breakdown of the versions leading up to the current version showing the version # and approximate year.

Version 0.99 [2008]
As you can see here, the graphics were very rudimentary. I was just learning how to manipulate graphics and there's a lot of images I hadn't gathered together yet.

           
(from L to R: Ring of Spiritual Energy card, Fire Dragon card, Bridge Fire card, Equalizer spell, Halfling board token)

Here's some shots of the v0.99 game board in progress. You'll note all the various card decks, buttons, controls, etc. It was really a mess due to both the limitations of the Vassal engine at the time and in my understanding on how to use it properly. It's all a learning process. Click the pic for a full size version.

At this point, the only artwork I was using was royalty-free clip art and I fully planned on using original graphics. I actually did know some people interested in doing some art for it but it didn't take long to realize this was far too big an undertaking to expect original art to cover everything in the game. So, I decided to make the game private and use downloaded graphics.

Version 2 & 3 [2011 - 13]
In between actually creating a physical board game and making adjustments to the Vassal version, I tried my hand a making a card game version of the game. This migrated though versions 2 & 3 and I actually made a physical card that we played on a number of occasions. It was fun but rather clunky. The Vassal version I made also worked well for what it was but eventually, I abandoned the card game to re-concentrate on the board game. I may get back to the card game at some later date.

Here's a sample of the changes the Feline Familiar went through in the various versions of the card game.

        

Version 4 [2016]
Before returning back to the Vassal version of the game, I spent considerable time making a physical board game version with foam board and printed graphics, 100's of printed cards, 1000's of game pieces and its overall size was enormous. Although it certainly is impressive to look at, it only took a couple game sessions to realize that trying to play it without computer assistance was wholly impractical ...it had simply become far too complicated and sophisticated with far too many parts making it more work than play.

So, time to get back to the computer. In 2016, I retired from my 30 years at the post office. I could now devote all my energy towards making a fully functional version with the Vassal engine ...which I did. Completely overhauled the look of the cards and game components and streamlined the maps. Now that I've become pretty advanced with the Vassal engine, I could make some seriously effective changes in its operation, as well.

Here's some samples of the cards used in v4.

        

These cards all have downloaded artwork so they will all be replaced with A.I. artwork. Here's some samples of terrain tiles. There are separate map configurations for the game so players can essentially play with different terrain in every game. More details on that later.

        

The first 3 tiles use royalty-free clip art, as do most of the terrain tiles, so I won't have to replace the graphics on them. The last one, however, the Blacksmith, is an example of a merchant and I will have to replace art for merchants and other special areas.

Here's the streamlined map configuration used in V4. (click it to see an enlarged version). You'll note that all of the garbage that I had on the map in earlier versions has been removed and all those card decks, game pieces, etc., has been placed in a hidden window which players can't see. Buttons, right-click menus and other automatic functions will now be used to retrieve the necessary cards and pieces from this hidden window. All other controls have now been included in various menu bar options. As you can see, my understanding of the Vassal engine has greatly improved.

You'll note that most of the hexes are empty. A map configuration file is loaded into the base module implementing a unique terrain layout which will fill in all the hexes. Players will have the choice of just staying with whatever map configuration they choose or they can download a map file from a number of files that I will make available.

Version 5 [2019 to present]
Once I had a fully operational version, surprisingly with very few bugs, I kicked everything over to version 5 and continued to enhance and improve the game. The next article will talk about the current state of "To Be King" and begin the journal of what's taking place now it its development.