I wrote a log converter that outputs a HTML fragment, complete with colors and blink text:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31906&start=110

I'm curious what converter you've been using. If it's one you wrote yourself, maybe we can compare notes.

Sure, but that would be a display for the TWGS console. I'm just talking about having some lines of text on the server connection telling people how many players were online yesterday, this week, so far today, etc. Just to give a better indication of activity.

Wow. Never expected this big a response.

Anyway, I was having a bad day the other day.

I went to TwarBase.com to start the removal process and I just couldn't do it. I like building communities and I really like how this one is shaping up. Since I am not big on starting a project and not finishing it, I have decided to complete TwarBase.com and bring it online for everyone's use.

Ultimately, I want the site to be the collect all for everything Twar starting from the oldest games I can still find and all their associated files to the new stuff including a section on hosting a TWGS server for the newbies that join the community and want to give it a try.

Anyone that wants free space to build their own community site and needs an internet face to do it will be able to build a fully functional group of their own right within the TwarBase network.

But enough for now. Don't want to let all the secrets out of the bag.

Gimme a couple weeks to polish things up a bit, then I'll let ya all in for a peek.

Master Out ...

This game is like being in Orbit.
You get closer, you get farther- but you can't quite get out completely.
I'm glad for all of you who are in my orbit, even though most of you don't get along.

One the greatest regrets that I have is that I did not patch things up with SG before he passed. We did not see eye to eye and so I left the game and the friends I had here. Life is too short to let things get in the way of the things you enjoy, and the companionship of those who share your journey.

Glad you chose to stick around MB.

MB, if you need to take a break, don't sweat it. Don't burn bridges, just step away. This game will be around when you decide to come back. And whenever anyone steps up and provides any amount of their time and effort, it adds to the community. Just take it a little at a time and I know you'll have great things to contribute. Just don't let it become a burden. It should be fun!

FYI, don't sweat the server situation. After you announced you were retiring, I sent word out to some others that I needed a home for the beta server. I just got a private Win 2003 server on a quad core with 4 gig ram on a T1 for as long as I want it, free of charge. So we're good. Beta server will be up again within the next couple of days.

That's great JP! I'm glad you got it resolved

Hey, it happens. Seems like you just had the blinders removed and got a glimpse of how some people play this game now. It can be a sort of culture shock after being away for a while.

Glad you're still here, I love the levity you bring to this forum!

What I'd really like to get my hands on is Timberwolf's old TWGS vs HVS comparison chart. He came back briefly, we played our first kill'em all game together, then he left again, before we could retreive that chart from one of his old machines, or maybe it's gone "poof" now.

And yeah, come and have fun, don't get burned out! Everything in moderation!

He sounds like me when I go into retirement for a day or two

Here is the chart, courtesy of Eleq's archives:
http://www.thestardock.com/?p=510

No applause please, just throw money : )

Wow... lots of little details I didn't know in that comparison. Thanks!

Excellent! You da Man!

Oh man, I just finished re-reading this. We need to put this up in the TW Museum along side Sing's instructions for new and returning players. Timberwolf did a great job, and interviewed a lot of players to come up with that chart.

Incorporate it into the wiki! For starters, that info would fill in a few omissions and errors in the alignment article: http://docs.classictw.com/index.php?title=Alignment

I haven't really looked at Cruncher's formula page yet. At a glance, it looks like more stuff that should be in the wiki somewhere.

I think Timberwolf had a later version which I havent found yet; I remember discussing some of whats below with him:

Command Buffer - HVS is not quite as described. If you move to a new sector in HVS, any commands that have to executed in the new sector, must be issued after the move, i.e. they need a waitfor "] (?=Help)? :" trigger before they are issued, or they are ignored. Severely limited macros. Other than that, no difference.

Self podding in HVS reduces exp by 1/10. In TWGS it is 1/3.

Planet podding a Trader in TWGS gives the player who ZDYs the planet 1/3 of the align of the Trader who gets podded, opposite sign (pod a 3000 Red, get 1000 blue points). I cant remember HVS but it wasnt 1/3. Either zero or 1/10. I think it was zero.

* key at the opening menu in HVS does not list settings.

The TWGS off figs do not behave exactly as described. I'll quote Traitor from his excellent source of information on all things Tradewars, tw-cabal.com:

"* NOTE: As of version .55, Offensive figs will calculate the number of figs required to destroy your ship (your max total shields and figs, not your current shields and figs as in previous versions) based on 1:1 odds, and then send 1.25 times that amount (or the remaining figs if it's less than that). If you are in a ship with 1:1.3 odds or better, your ship will survive the attack. Any figs that survive the attack or aren't used remain in the sector.."

EDIT:

It would be remiss not to point out a major difference between HVS and TWGS. HVS has limitations that TWGS does not, and many bugs, both of which JP has addressed.

If I had nothing but time on my hands, I could use this information to create a truly accurate MBBS mode for the game.

Of course, there was once a possibility I could get my hands on that code. I tried to buy it off of Jeff Moriarty, but in the end, I wasn't even able to get a copy of it for reference. That's unfortunate. If for no other reason, I would like to have the code for archival purposes. But it would also be nice to have for reference in trying to emulate it for the MBBS mode, and also for improving this version where that version is superior.

Please, trust us JP, TWGS is superior to HVS in many ways. We do have the settings to recreate the type of game we enjoyed with HVS minus the bugs. The only problem is, players are used to an "easier" game, but the "tools" are more difficult to learn.

Give us the HVS Scorpion, thats just about the only really cool thing missing from MBBS mode now.