Ok, I finally compiled my list of changes for the revision doc. Here's what's happened with this beta (most of it):

Highlights:

Removed registration from TW 2002. Only TWGS need be registered now.

Change: Bigbang now supports 30K sectors.

Fixed mail system. Replaced single file system with multi-file "mailbox"
system for greater stability.

Moved several global settings into local config file so they can now be
changed per-game rather than server-wide.

TWGS: Can toggle Active/Inactive state for a game on the server. When
Inactive, players may not enter the game. Bigbang is available for Inactive
games even when the server is Online. Making a game Inactive while the
server is online will force any players in that game offline without
warning.

TWGS: Added ability to run Bigbang from remote admin connection. Can only
run on games that are set to INACTIVE or have not yet been banged.

TWGS: Reorganized remote admin connections with many added and improved
features.

Fixed bug where forcing a user offline causes time online to reset

Added editor setting for capture fail percent.

Added editor setting for when podless ships can be capture. Choices are
Always, Never, Unoccupied

TWGS: Moved game management from Configure to Command Center

TWGS: Added foundation for Jumpgate. TWGS now lists servers with
jumpgate.classictw.com.

Added new, faster and more robust memory manager with better diagnostics
tools for tracking memory corruption

Fix: TW internal clock can go out of synch with other running game sessions,
causing them to be unable to process messages between one another. The clock
now resynchs every minute to avoid loss of synchronization.

TWGS: Extern is now scheduled per-game rather than server-wide.

TWGS: Server now runs as a service on Windows 2003 Server, Vista, and newer
OSs.

Other changes:

Fixed Planetary Trade Agreement display truncating planet number > 999.

Fixed bug with fig decay lock causing player to drop to command menu from
planet menu when using planetary transwarp.

Added pacing to planet update, port update, and warp route scan functions

Added page break to
sector display
planet scanner display
corporate list
corporate ranks
corp assets list
deployed fighter scan
deployed mine scan

Added slight pause before and after extern to slow it down

Personal and Corp planet lists now sort on sector #, then planet #

Personal and Corp planet lists show planet # in name

New Alien Traders and Ferrengi will use exponential Corbomite spawn formula.

Gold aliens will now spend cash on Corbomite.

eProbe cost max is now 65K Cr.

Command Center game list shows registered slots for games, up to 25

Export supports mail files

Alien servers automatically reset whenever games with aliens are added
or removed, activated or deactivated, or aliens are activated while the
server is online.

Alien server will be closed if another server for the same alien attempts
to start.

Bug: Gold edited Merchant Cruiser can have a maximum fighter count that's
larger than the Initial Fighters field can handle. Fix: Limited the total
number of initial fighters to 65535, the maximum allowed for the field.

Added EIS news and announcement feed. Displays at TW2002 startup.

TWGS: Added Activation feature. Any installed server must be activated.
Activation passes a non-personal ID that's unique to the installation, allowing
me to track installations. Personal info is optional.

TWGS: Added order dialog for purchasing additional slots and nodes. TWGS
comes with 1 game slot and 1 player node for free. Additional slots are $3
and additional nodes are $2.

TWGS: Added test for latest TWGS version and prompt to download if a newer
one is found.

TWGS: Added links to various TW sites including museum, jumpgate, facebook,
twitter, etc.

TWGS: Added Command Center Jumpgate console

Fix: Gold aliens can deadlock when crossing paths. Now, only one alien can
complete such a move and the other will wait.

Fix: TW2002, TEDIT, etc, could close prior to sending all output. Applications
will not close until all output is sent.

Gold files (name files, rank files) are expected to be found in the game's
Gold directory rather than the main Gold directory. This will help to avoid
collisions when running multiple TWA mod files.

Games that lock up in a loop will break out of that loop and close gracefully,
helping to avoid data corruption.

Fix: Gold aliens could spawn in a fortified sector and, when failing to move,
be unable to retreat, forcing them into sector 0. Aliens are now not allowed
to spawn in a fortified sector.

Fix: Gold aliens could attack FedSafe players. Now Gold aliens have the same
rules for attacking FedSafe players as other players.

Fix: Gold aliens would never destroy defensive fighters. Aliens will now
destroy fighters and enter the sector.

Fix: Gold aliens will continually re-enter a sector they cannot enter, causing
a large volume of email spam. These aliens will now mark a sector as avoided
if they fail to enter, and only enter if they have enough fighters and shields
to have an impact on the sector's defenses.

Change: Aggressive aliens will favor moving into fortified sectors.

Change: Gold aliens now track kills and ports. When alien ships are captured,
these stats will effect the resale value on those ships.

Change: Hardware fields for Gold aliens are passed to a captured ship, allowing
players to recover these items.

Change: Aliens have a strength to value ratio that they will attempt to maintain
through buying and picking up fighters, buying shields, dropping and taking
credits from Citadel, etc.

Change: If an alien is unable to retreat to a safe sector, it will self-destruct.

Change: Many actions now have a small delay associated with them (subject to
delay fraction setting, including "no delay") including transport, planetary
transwarp, port and planet landing and taking off, etc.

Change: Added personal setting for sector autocompletion. Autocompletion
defaults to ON for compatibility with scripts and helpers, but can be turned
off if desired.

Fix: A bug in the input system can cause a number of strange behaviors,
including screens that are aborted, messages that won't display, and an
apparent hard lock. The input buffer peek routine no longer looks beyond
valid input, fixing this set of bugs.

TWGS: Various fixes related to heavy traffic. Server now handles fast
connects and drops, no longer has memory leaks associated with high loads, etc.

TWGS: No longer supports running under 8 bit video modes.

TWGS: Error log viewer is a thread so processing large log files will not
bog down the server connections.

TWGS: Import and export operations are segmented so processing large TWA files
will not bog down the server connections.

TWGS: Game, editor, alien server, etc, all display process ID to assist in
locating these processes in the Windows task list.

TWGS: Added help popup windows to assist new users.

TWGS: Initial installation will install "My Game" into Slot A. The game
is ready to play.

TWGS: Command Center shell can store a log file.

TWGS: Command Center shell can use a scrollback buffer.

Looks like a lot of work was done with some good changes and some not so good, but that will be from each player's viewpoint. No way to make everyone happy when change comes about. I like most of it except for the alien behavior changes. Doesn't matter though as I have been drifting away from TW anyway.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

Are you saying what I think you're saying? It's ready for wide release now?

(Holding my breath with anticipation!)

i'm impressed JP. nice work and the attention is welcome. thanks.

Thanks, Rev.

Sorry, Prom, but the aliens just haven't worked like they were originally designed. You may prefer the buggy behavior, but you're definitely in the minority there. There's still more to do, but this is a step in the right direction.

I have a question John. Since gold aliens can no longer spawn in a fortified sector does that mean that aliens can be completely stopped from spawning by fortifying every sector in alien space?

Change: If an alien is unable to retreat to a safe sector, it will self-destruct.

So does this mean you can't cap an alien ship?

It also sounds like the alien will self-destruct if you do a surround to cap and it does not have enough figs to take out the adjacent. You should also be able to "fortify" all alien sectors except one and then just sit in that sector and cap if that is the way thise works.




I may be in the minority, but I don't see very many of the people who regularly post play the unlim style cap alien game. Most of those that do play those games don't post here. I am not sure why you think I prefer "buggy behavior" since the behavior has persisted for 6 years that I've been playing this time. I would think that if it was a bug then it would have been addressed long before this.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

I'm not sure if you're understanding that that change is about. If an alien attempts to move from its current sector, it can normally return to that sector if unable to enter the target sector. If for some reason the sector the alien is leaving has been taken over so that the alien is not able to return to that sector, that alien would be stuck in limbo. A bug existed where that alien would end up in sector 0, not a good place to be. The reality is, if you can't enter any sector, the only option you have is self-destruct.

About whether or not aliens can spawn if all of their homespace is controlled, there are rules about where an alien can spawn. If a race maintains a homespace, then the first attempt is a sector within that space. If the race has no homespace, or no homespace sector is clear, the next attempt is FedSpace, unless the race is flagged to avoid FedSpace, in which case any random sector outside of FedSpace will do. So there should always be a place to spawn.

How many updates have there been for TW since 2004, Prom? There are a lot of bugs that have been bugs for years because I have been unable to work on the game. Should I apologize for now having and taking the time?

Actually that's not bad. If we set the avoid fedspace flag in the edit, then
grid out the game, we can prevent aliens from tearing thru our grid. W00t.

Sounds like if you surround an alien but leave the current sector open, it
will just retreat back to the same sector. That would make capping a lot
easier, no need for an IG.

laff, I won't get into a flame war because it isn't worth it, as in nothing to be gained. Your perception and mine is completely different in regard to certain "buggy" actions and I will leave it at that.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

Singularity, is that a change from past behavior? If you surrounded an alien and it attempted to flee and couldn't, wouldn't it return to its original sector? The only change here is what happens if you fig the sector under an alien so it has nowhere to return to, and the change is a fix that cleans up a bug but really doesn't change behavior, because whether the alien goes to sector 0 or is cleanly removed by normal destruction, it's still out of the game.

Prom, I completely agree.

Without an IG the alien would flee when surrounded and either take the adjacent fig out or just neatly sit beside it. Even with an IG there are times an alien is able to flee even though your are macro attacking.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

I've been playing a bit on HVS MBBS v2.03 (6) for old times sake, but also to get a feel for what the game was like in the mid 90's again. No gold aliens obviously, but the ferrengi do fight their way out of a sector if surrounded, and if the sector figs are within their means to kill.

What I'm referring to in these changes is standard alien move behavior, not fleeing behavior. I could look that over and consider changes if it needs work. Prom's description of fleeing sounds like it has issues.