CircleMUD Release History
-------------------------
This document is basically just a a compliation of all the README files
which accompanied each release of CircleMUD. At the end is the post
to rec.games.mud.diku which originally anounced CircleMUD as a publically
available MUD source code.
Version 2.20: November 17, 1993
Version 2.11: September 19, 1993
Version 2.10: September 1, 1993
Version 2.02: Early August
Version 2.01: July 20, 1993
Version 2.00: July 16, 1993
The latest version of Circle is 2.20, released on November 17, 1993.
Version 2.20 supercedes version 2.11, which was released on September 19, 1993.
Version 2.20 November 17, 1993
--------------------------------
New features:
o A completely new output buffering system which is far more network-efficient,
and somewhat more memory- and speed-efficient, than the original Diku system.
Definitely a major win for people with slow Net links. (Details available
by request, but this was discussed on rgmd recently.) Several other
functions (such as do_where() and do_who()) have been rewritten to take
advantage of the new system.
o Redesigned stat screens with better readability
o Command-line substitution via the "^" character (works identically to the
csh command)
o Code sent by Jeff Fink (thanks Jeff!): Help now handles ambiguous cases
correctly (i.e., "help color" will give you help for color and not
colorspray)
o vstat command to stat mobiles and object by virtual number
o updated documentation
And, bug fixes of varying degrees of severity:
o SunOS Bus errors on stealing
o +hit item bug
o Switched immort re-login bug
o Mob memory bug
o Poison/Stat bug (I think this one is native to Diku Gamma 0.0 -- the
function hit_gain was responsible for subtracting hits when a char is
poisoned, so you'd lose hits when someone statted you.)
o Stat room bug under Solaris and IRIX
o Ungroup bug
o "goto 3.guard" now works (takes you to the third guard instead of room 3)
o various other minor fixes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.11 September 19, 1993
----------------------------------
Changes in 2.11 (from 2.10):
Mostly bug fixes, including:
-- SET FILE bug
-- SIGBUS/unaligned data errors under SunOS and other OS's
-- Move limit modifier bug
-- wrist-wearing bug
-- Compilation problems with utility.c under some operating systems
The only notable change is that the hit_limit, move_limit, and mana_limit
functions have been removed (for many reasons). From the players' point of
view, this means that a character no longer gains movement points with age.
Hit, move, and mana gain speeds are still a function of age, however.
============================================================================
Version 2.10 was released on September 1, 1993.
Changes in 2.10 (from 2.01):
o Rewritten get/put/drop/junk/donate/give/wear/remove, so that "all" and
"all.x" work in a much wider variety of cases. Loosely based on code
sent in by Jeff Fink.
o "Track" function based on breadth-first search
o Configurable auto-save feature to automatically crash-save players
periodically
o More intense error-checking in object saving system to detect problems
with file permissions
o Many configuration options added to config.c
o Option to make death traps automatically have dump spec-proc assigned
o ASPELL and ACAST macros added to match the ACMD macros; spells1.c,
spells2.c, spell_parser.c, and magic.c changed to use the macros.
o SKILL macro split into GET_SKILL and SET_SKILL macros so that error
checking can be done
o Enhanced documentation -- a help entry now exists for every command
o Linux compatibility, and further steps to SVR4 compatibility which will
make it into Circle eventually. (Note: you must make a change in one
line of the Makefile for Linux compatibility.)
o All functions now prototyped before use
Jeremy Elson
August 31, 1993
=========================================================================
=========================================================================
Version 2.01 is basically the same as 2.00; most of the changes are for
making the MUD more portable, based on mail I've received after the
release of version 2.00.
-- Problems with OPEN_MAX and SEEK_x resolved
-- Some problems with the Makefile fixed
-- Compiles much more cleanly with the -Wall option
-- A couple of minor bugs fixed
-- A few small fixes to the documentation
July 20, 1993
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CircleMUD was developed and tested under Ultrix 4.0; your mileage may vary.
If I have time, I'll try and port it to other machines. If you port it and
want to share your work with others, feel free to drop me a line.
The CircleMUD 'press release' is included below, in case you haven't seen
it and want to.
Good Luck!
Jeremy Elson aka Rasmussen (Ras)
July 16, 1993
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wake the kids and find the dog, because it's the FTP release of
C I R C L E M U D 2 . 0
That's right -- CircleMUD 2.0 is done and is now available for anonymous FTP
at ftp.cs.jhu.edu!
CircleMUD is highly developed from the programming side, but highly UNdeveloped
on the game-playing side. So, if you're looking for a huge MUD with billions
of spells, skills, classes, races, and areas, Circle will probably disappoint
you severely. Circle still has only the 4 original Diku classes, the original
spells, the original skills, and about a dozen areas.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a highly stable, well-developed,
well-organized "blank slate" MUD on which you can put your OWN ideas for
spells, skills, classes, and areas, then Circle might be just what you're
looking for.
Just take a gander at some of Circle's nifty features:
-- In-memory mobile and object prototypes and string sharing for
decreased memory usage and blazingly fast zone resets
-- All large realloc()s have been removed and replaced by boot-time
record counting and a single malloc() for superior memory efficiency
-- Split world/obj/mob/zon/shp files for easy addition of areas; plus,
all the world files are still in the original Diku format for
compatibility with existing areas
-- Boot-time and run-time error checking of most data files with
diagnostic messages a lot more helpful than "segmentation fault"!
-- Player mail system and bank
-- Rewritten board system: boards are now stable, robust, more
intelligent, and easily expandable -- adding a new board is
as easy as adding another line to an array
-- ANSI color codes with a fully documented programmers' interface
-- On-line system logs
-- Optional automatically regenerating wizlist -- a final end
to new immortals constantly asking you when they'll be added
to the immlist!
-- "config.c" file allows you to change aspects of the game such
as playerkilling/playerthieving legality, max number of objects
rentable, and nameserver usage -- WITHOUT recompiling the
entire MUD!
-- All text (help, mortal/immort MOTDs, etc.) is rebootable at
run-time with the "reboot" command
-- All players are given a unique serial number -- no more messy,
time consuming str_cmp()s when you're trying to identify people!
-- Fully integrated and robust rent/crash system -- allows normal
renting, cryo-renting, crash protection, and forced rent
(at an increased price) after an hour of idling
-- All the standard wizard stuff you're used to: level-sensitive
invisibility, settable poofin/poofouts, wizline
-- Advanced 'set' command which allows you to set dozens of aspects
of players -- even if they aren't logged in! "Stat" also allows
you to stat people who aren't logged in!
-- Intelligent 'autorun' script handles different types of reboots,
organizing your system logs, and more!
-- Circle comes with more than a dozen utilities, all fully
documented, to make maintenance a snap!
-- And much, much more!
Unfortunately, the original Circle had more than its fair share of Bad People
when it was alive, but it DID lead to an impressive list of security and
"asshole control" features:
-- 3 types of sitebanning available: 'all' to refuse all connections,
'new' to refuse new players, or 'select' to refuse new players and
all registered players who don't have a SITEOK flag.
-- 'wizlock' allows you to close the game to all new players or all
players below a certain level.
-- Handy 'mute' command squelches a player off of all public
communication channels
-- Handy 'freeze' command freezes a player in his tracks: the MUD
totally ignores all commands from that player until he's thawed.
-- Even handier DELETE flag allows you to delete players on the fly.
-- 'set' command (mentioned above) allows you to freeze/unfreeze/
delete/siteok/un-siteok players -- even if they aren't logged in!
-- Bad password attempts are written to the system log and saved;
if someone tries to hack your account, you see "4 LOGIN FAILURES
SINCE LAST SUCCESSFUL LOGIN" next time you log on.
-- Passwords don't echo to the screen; allows 3 bad PW attempts
before disconnecting you.
-- Players aren't allowed to choose their character's name as their
password -- you'd be surprised how many do!
-- "xnames" text file specifies a list of invalid name substrings
to prevent creation of characters with overly profane names.
Listen to all the rave reviews of CircleMUD 2.0!
"How long ago was that deadline you set for yourself?" -- My Friend
"NO ONE should be denied the power of computation." -- My Professor
"Multi-user WHAT?" -- My Mom
Give it a try -- what do you have to lose other than your GPA/job, friends,
and life?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Circle's complete source code and areas are available now for anonymous FTP
at ftp.cs.jhu.edu (128.220.13.50) in the directory pub/CircleMUD.
I welcome comments and constructive criticism about CircleMUD and would be
happy to discuss any design decisions I've made, but I'm not particularly
receptive to lunatics frothing at the mouth and thus will probably ignore
you if you flame me.
Also, remember the odds here: one person (me) against 29,000 lines of
code (Circle), so there are bound to be some mistakes in there somewhere.
Good luck, and happy Mudding,
Jeremy Elson aka Ras