TWGS v2 Revision History

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Contents

TWGS v2.21, TW v3.35

Release pending

TWGS v2.21

Bugs

  • After selecting a different description file, TWGS must be restarted to use the new file. Fixed.


Changes

  • Clicking the ? on most screens will now bring up the online TWGS help site in a browser.
  • Added support for Flash clients connecting to TWGS.
  • Added support for a basic, minimal functionality http server in TWGS.


TW v3.35

Bugs

  • In some cases, the game's clock is used before it is initialized, causing the game to crash. Fixed.
  • Periodically, the game will hang on closing because the translation module failed to shutdown properly. Fixed.
  • After attacking a Gold alien, if a Fed is in the room, you'll be asked if you want to attack the Fed. Fixed.
  • Gold aliens can steal product to below the race's port depletion threshold. Fixed.
  • In non-full screen mode, TriCron can't show scores of 4 digits. Fixed.
  • In EDIT, the Port Report Delay option on the reports screen doesn't work. Fixed.
  • On the navpoint menu, you can only select nav points that were displayed. If you press SPACE to abort the display, you can't select the skipped nav points. Fixed.


Changes

  • Captain Wilson now moves in a pattern along the Major Space Lanes.
  • Gold aliens move at the defined ship speed.
  • When going for fighters, shields or holds, a gold alien will go to the nearest class 0 port, not a random class 0 port.
  • Gold aliens earn exp and aln from trading.

TWGS v2.20, TW v3.34

Released March 4, 2012

TWGS v2.20

Bugs

  • When playing a password-locked game, a player exiting the game and dropping to the start menu is asked to re-enter the password. Fixed.
  • When clicking the Admin password checkbox, the associated edit box remains disabled. Fixed.
  • The Command Center shell cannot be minimized. Fixed.

Changes

  • An admin login won't timeout due to inactivity.


TW v3.34

Bugs

  • When a planet moves with another online player riding it, the player's ship sector is not changed with the player and the planet. Fixed.
  • The pirate Blackbane is not yet active in the game, but appears in Density scans of sector 1. Fixed.
  • The radio channel can show up incorrectly on the Personal Settings menu. Fixed.
  • On leap day, the date will show as March 0 instead of Feb 29 in mail messages. Fixed.
  • & is an invalid character for xml output. It has been replaced with + in settings output.
  • $ XML output does not have an outer tag. I've added a <GameStats> tag.

Changes

  • Moved shared code into a DLL to decrease the size of executables.
  • Added TEDIT option to adjust the effect of port count and kill count on the resale value of captured alien ships.
  • Gold active alien editor will now update to show changes to the state of the alien.


TWGS v2.19, TW v3.33

Released February 20, 2012

TWGS v2.19

Bugs

  • When changing the intro menu setting between auto-generation and custom ANSI/Text file, the server must be restarted for the setting to take effect. Fixed.
  • The MyGame startup game is aged from the date it was originally created, about 160 days at this point. That age is now reset to 10 days on a first install.
  • TWGS often reports that the game must be run from an administration account, then exits, even if it is run from an administrator account. TWGS will now attempt to run even if the OS identifies the user account as non-admin, but will report an error and close if it attempts to do an action that is not supported by the user account. This allows TWGS to run from an administrator account even without setting "run as administrator".

Changes

  • Bigbang now supports migration of custom ANSI files when copying an existing game into a new slot for bang.
  • Optimized processing of game stats file for Command Center stats tab, eliminating a delay when stepping through the games list.
  • Intro ANSI and text files are now supported for the unregistered starter version.
  • The "activate game" dialog for resetting the game age will always reset to defaults to avoid accidentally resetting game age and start date for games that are deactivated, then reactivated.


TW v3.33

Bugs

  • Warp changes in TEDIT will not appear in a player's game until the player exits and restarts the game. Fixed.
  • The default password is not accepted for entering the Underground. Fixed.
  • The Corporation number is truncated on some displays, including the # "who's online" display. Fixed.
  • When multiple players are online and a game is using classic Alien Traders and Ferrengi, the game will crash when the second player attempts to interact with or view an Alien Trader or Ferrengi ship. Fixed.
  • The * settings output shows Maximum Times Blown Up as 1 when Tournament Mode is disabled. Fixed. It will now show N/A.
  • Running TW2002.EXE with a command line parameter to generate stats will crash and fail to generate the stats file.


Changes

  • Index files are now locked during processing to improve game stability.
  • When running TW2002.EXE with the command COMMAND=STATS, the game generates the states as both TWSTATS.LST (INI format) and TWSTATS.XML (XML format) in the OUTPUT directory.


TWGS v2.18, TW v3.32

Released January 31, 2012

TW v3.32

Bugs

  • When quitting the game and returning to the startup menu, any buffered input is lost. Fixed.
  • A player on Stardock can be booted to the sector. Fixed.
  • The line "TransWarp Power" of the <info> display is white on black. Fixed.


TW v3.32b

Bugs

  • Shutting down the game always drops to the TWGS menu instead of the TW startup menu. Fixed.


TWGS v2.17, TW v3.31

Released January 30, 2012

TWGS v2.17

Bugs

  • TWGSServ.exe attempts to modify missing file BLNKSERV.EXE. Fixed.

TW v3.31

Bugs

  • In some cases, the alignment award for a neglected port can be negative. Fixed.
  • Gold alien events occur too infrequently. This includes movement as well as reinforcing their homespace and homeworlds. Fixed.
  • Importing v3.09 data will crash the game. Fixed.
  • When moving a planet very quickly, especially when another player is on the planet, the state of the planet and players can go out of synch, causing the player to appear to be in the wrong sector, or to drop off of the planet, or a number of other side-effects. Fixed.
  • When in a Citadel on a planet that is moving, player will receive a "planet moved" message even though the player moved with the planet. Fixed.
  • When a player is moving very quickly from sector to sector, it is sometimes possible for the player's data records to get out of synch. Fixed.
  • When dropping from the game to the startup menu, some game state variables are not properly reset. When entering the game again from the startup menu, the state of the game can be invalid, creating unexpected conditions. Fixed. The state of the game is now guaranteed to be the same when dropping to the startup menu as it is when the game starts from the TWGS lobby.

Changes

  • Added support for Sector Domains. Sectors can now be flagged as controlled by various factions, including Players, Corporations, Feds, Pirates or Gold alien races. Although the game currently does nothing with these Sector Domains, they will be useful later when implementing special game modes and victory conditions for the game.
  • Only v3.09+ is now supported for data imports. To import older data, first install and import into TWv3.09, the final DOS door, then use that data to import into TWGS.
  • Added new Tournament mode for tracking player deaths. You can now set "Lockout Mode" as either "Pods and Deaths", "Deaths Only" or "None". If "Deaths Only", only player deaths are counted toward the tournament kill threshold. If "Pods and Deaths", then getting "podded" will also count toward the tournament kill threshold. "None" means that no kill limit is imposed.
  • A "port destroyed" message now appears whenever a port in your sector is destroyed.
  • <@> screen now identifies and shows modern operating systems (up to Windows 7 and Server 2008)
  • <@> screen now has a hidden line that includes the often-scripted keyword "hundredths" to make the current version more compatible with older scripts.


TWGS v2.16, TW v3.30

Released December 26, 2011

TW v3.30

Bugs

  • When running TW2002 to generate game stats files, the game will timeout and stats files are not generated. Fixed.

Changes

  • Fast moves are now allowed. However, setting move delay to < 250 ms will result in a warning that the game may become unstable, and a disclaimer that EIS will ignore bugs reported for games running < 250 ms moves.
  • High scores mode and startup log delay are no longer shown on the first page of the S screen. They are only shown in the Report Settings area.
  • In TEDIT, Sector editor, when choosing to edit the port, the port number will now default to the current port in the sector.


TWGS v2.15, TW v3.29

Released December 21, 2011

TWGS v2.15

Bugs

  • TWGS is unable to properly close a game before it completes its initialization, causing games to sometimes hang in memory. Fixed.

TW v3.29

Bugs

  • Bigbang hangs periodically on startup, especially with multiple CPUs. Fixed.
  • Exponential formula for Gold alien spawning functions causes divide-by-zero. Fixed.
  • In TEDIT, Bank Balance setting is too long when maximum balance is specified. The prompt is shorter now to make room for the maximum allowed number.
  • A DLL used by TWGS was using the wrong memory manager, causing a variety of issues, errors, etc. Fixed.


TWGS v2.14, TW v3.28

Released December 16, 2011

TWGS v2.14

Bugs

  • When closing TWGS and restarting, the admin password will revert to its previous value. Fixed.
  • When clicking "Shutdown server", but then aborting, TWGS will stop taking new connections. Fixed.

TW v3.28

Bugs

  • It is possible for a player to force another player out of the game. Fixed.
  • In an access-limited game, players can enter a game at midnight, regardless of access mode. Fixed.
  • On the computer <;> ship stats display, large costs are truncated, making the ship appear less expensive. The display now supports the full range of all values for ship stats.
  • Whenever a client disconnects from TWGS without properly closing the game, the game will remain in memory for 10 seconds before shutting down. The game now closes immediately and gracefully after a hard disconnect.
  • In rare cases (1 in 1000), a game would hang in memory after closing. This has been fixed, and tests show zero hung game sessions over hundreds of thousands of connections.
  • Sometimes, when closing TWGS, a Gold alien server will hang in memory. This will no longer happen.
  • Sometimes the port at StarDock will not have its full inventory at game start. The inventory will always be maxed out now.
  • In TEDIT, Ferrengi Editor, the Ferrengi location is that of the Alien Trader of the same ID. Fixed
  • When pressing ENTER at the Bigbang command prompt, the most recent command will repeat. Fixed.
  • The Inactivity Timeout is reported in minutes rather than seconds in the * settings dump. Fixed.
  • Bank Capacity is sometimes reported as 0 rather than the default 500,000 cr. Fixed.
  • In EDIT, moving a planet will only update the sector for the planet and not carry players on the planet to the new sector. Fixed.
  • Turn accumulation days is off by one on S screen. Fixed.
  • Gold alien PIGs are glitchy. Sometimes they will hold when they shouldn't, other times they won't when they should. Fixed.


Features

  • Added a new editor screen for report management. Reports are any screens showing game data. This includes the high scores list, daily logs, etc.
  • Added port report delay setting. Allows you to set the frequency of port report updates. For example, if set to 10 minutes, then scanning ports will only return new data every 10 minutes.
  • Added a delay setting for the CLV rankings screen. Works like the one for the high scores list.
  • Added a blackout period for the in-game daily log viewer. Works like the one for the startup log viewer.
  • Added a setting to determine which report to show for high scores list (titles or values).
  • Added setting to determine which report(s) to show for rankings screen (titles only or titles/values).
  • Added support for invincible special starports. Attacking an invincible StarDock or Class 0 Port will be like attacking a Fed. You can do it, but you will be destroyed immediately if you do.
  • Added new hidden command to start menu. $ will dump the same settings as *, but in xml format.

Changes

  • Starting with a new bang, the clock will jump forward by 16 years to a date when the days of the year will match today's date. Example, today is Friday, Nov 11, 2011, and in game it will be Friday, Nov 11, 2039.
  • Stardock can be assigned any port class for its port.
  • Lobby now tracks activity for the inactivity timeout.
  • Fighter surrender option is available now even if you have fighters remaining. You will be warned if you try to surrender before fighters are gone.
  • Citadel build days cannot be set above 1000.
  • Moved report management settings in the * dump to a section for reports
  • Moved report management settings to a special section on the S screen
  • In planet editor, after <A> to initialize a planet, pressing ENTER will create an empty record ready to be populated.
  • Added initialization option for Ferrengi editor


TWGS v2.13, TW v3.27

Released October 24, 2011

TWGS v2.13

No changes or bugs.

TW v3.27

Bugs

  • A fix from v3.26 exposed another bug in EXTERN. When cleaning old emails from a mail file with more than 1000 emails, EXTERN will crash. Fixed.
  • It is possible to choose a name that mimics existing names of less than 6 characters. For example, "JP" and "JP x" are both allowed, but they both appear as "JP " when using Comms. This is no longer allowed.


TWGS v2.12, TW v3.26

Released October 23, 2011

TWGS v2.12

Bugs

  • Whenever TWGS resets the scheduler (EXTERN scheduling plus other scheduled tasks), there is a small probability that the server will hang and must be shut down by the task manager. This can happen while working on games, setting EXTERN times, etc, but also at random when Windows sends a "time changed" event. Fixed!

TW v3.26

Bugs

  • A player at most prompts will drop to the main command prompt when another player moves into our out of the sector. This will also happen for players on a planet when the planet moves. Fixed.
  • Resetting a Gold alien race to default settings while the race is active can corrupt the alien records. This has been fixed by requiring that the game be offline before resetting, and also by removing any active aliens and starting the race over as if it was toggled to inactive and back to active.
  • Extern will sometimes corrupt a mail file when attempting to clear out old messages. Fixed.
  • Deleting a ship in TEDIT Ship Editor will leave the player record pointing to the inactive ship record. Fixed.

Changes

  • Alien ranks are now dynamically generated rather than stored in the alien data file.
  • When searching for a player by name, an exact match is sought first, and if not found, a substring search is done.
  • Port power no longer resets to 100% with each new bigbang.
  • Added additional limits on aliases in TW. Any leading or trailing non-alphanumeric characters are ignored in determining if a name is allowed. "John" and "-John-" would both be treated as "John". Also, the first 6 characters of every name must be unique in order to avoid confusion with the Comms message author, which only shows the first 6 characters of any player name.

Features

  • Added a new editor for Gold. Option 4 on the main TEDIT menu activates the Gold alien editor. You can select any race and any active alien of that race, then view and change its data.


TWGS v2.11, TW v3.25

Released October 3, 2011

TWGS v2.11

Bugs

  • When running as a service under Windows 7, any message displayed, for example an update notice, will crash the server because of a security violation. Any server messages posted while running as a service will now be saved and shown to the admin whenever he or she next connects to the server on the admin port.
  • When closing bigbang without completing the game reset, TWGS will continuously run TW2002, attempting to generate stats output. This can peg the CPU to 100%. Fixed.

TW v3.25

Bugs

  • It's possible to set the number of bubble sectors to less than the 100 sector minimum in Bigbang. Fixed.
  • It's possible to set the max bubble count less than the min bubble count in Bigbang. Fixed.
  • Pressing enter to display the entire log history at startup will not show the log. Fixed.
  • Setting Citadel interest rate to 0 results in a divide-by-zero bug. Fixed.
  • Moving a normal port in TEDIT will clear the nebula name. Fixed.

TWGS v2.10, TW v3.24

Released September 8, 2011

TWGS v2.10

  • No changes or bugs

TW v3.24

Bugs

  • When a planet is moved, any other player on that planet will drop to the sector command prompt. Fixed.


TWGS v2.09, TW v3.23

Released September 7, 2011

TWGS v2.09

Changes and additions

  • Added "run as service" menu item to main server menu. Will shut down TWGS, install it as a service and start it.
  • TWGSSERV.EXE can be run without parameters and will wait for commands. While in this state, it reports the current state of TWGS.EXE (installed, running, non installed).
  • TWGSSERV.EXE has new command called RESET. If TWGS is not functioning properly as a service, issuing the RESET command will restore it to its normal, non-service state.
  • TWGSSERV.EXE is installed with a shortcut. Clicking the shortcut will open a console with TWGSSERV in command mode. For Vista and Windows 7, set this shortcut to run as administrator to guarantee proper function.
  • CPU count option in Config has been changed to a checkbox "Limit TWGS processors". If TWGS detects 2 or fewer logical processors, this option is grayed out. If TWGS detects more than 2 logical processors, this option is available. Checking it will limit TWGS to no more than 2 logical processors. Use this option if TWGS is unstable.

TW v3.23

  • No changes or bugs


TWGS v2.08, TW v3.22

Released September 4, 2011

TWGS v2.08

Changes and additions

  • Added order option for a free 4 slot/4 node TWGS registration for owners of the TW 2002 door version.
  • Added auto-backup option when installing a new update. Will export all of your games to a backup directory.
  • Added ability to remote Bigbang with default or current settings, or copy settings from other game.
  • Added right-click context menu for Command Center game list window.
  • Selecting a game will automatically open the game settings configuration area on the right.
  • Moved admin password from offline settings screen to Command Center settings screen.
  • Added setting to specify now many CPUs to use.
  • If no description file is specified, TWGS will report "No description..."
  • Last EXTERN date is updated when a game is imported or reset.

Bugs

  • Bigbang schedule and other date-related functions fail when the date format is different from default for my locale. Fixed.
  • Some windows handles can change while the server is running, causing the game to become unresponsive to events or to be unable to start. Fixed.
  • User info fields may be locked when entering Configuration. Fixed.
  • The event ticker can overload and bog down the server when too many events are generated. Fixed.


TW v3.22

Changes and additions

  • Added ability to limit access to games. Access modes can be scheduled to change throughout the day. Access modes are single player, single Corp, multiplayer, or closed.
  • Added special edit screen for Planet Editor when Terra planet is selected. Duplicated Terra-related settings from other editors here for convenience.
  • Added an option to pay bounties on Gold aliens.
  • Added option to set the number of deaths to allow before being #SD# for the rest of the day. This is a sub-setting of the Death Delay option.
  • Added option to specify how many deaths to allow before starting assets fall to zero. The falloff is linear.
  • Added progressive delay for switching corp channel to limit subspace scanning
  • Added attack AI state so aliens can have a time-delayed attack. Delay is based on ship turns/warp regardless of whether or not the game is set to use move delays
  • Added global $ to show game access modes from inside the game.
  • Changed Terra colonist regeneration rate to a percentage of max colonist capacity. The colonist count can still be set in General Editor One, but the percentage can be set in the planet editor for Terra.
  • Moved inactive timeout from global settings file to local file so it can be set per-game.
  • Added version display to Bigbang and TEDIT.
  • Space Pirates identifier is now blue.
  • Added support for properly adding and removing planets and ports with editors.
  • Cleaned up Ferrengi and Alien Trader editors.
  • Cleaned up all editors in TEDIT.
  • Added Editor option to clean up Gold data corruption if detected.
  • Added a sync before every attack vs an online player or alien to guarantee that the player or alien is ready to process the event
  • Added setting to disable mature content like cursing or suggestive text (mostly in oath texts)
  • Reset minimum ship move/attack delay to 250 ms. 25 ms is simply too fast for the engine to cope with.
  • Changed the way messages are handled while input is available. In the past, messages would be ignored, causing some messages to be missed. Now messages are processed between commands during long command strings like macros.
  • Changed the way a long series of messages is handled. In the past, all messages were displayed before processing other events. Now only a small number of events will be processed in each pass, allowing the game to stay current with other events like data synchronization, etc.

Bugs

  • The Gold subdirectory is sometimes not created, causing Bigbang to fail. Fixed.
  • The temp mail files are stored in the game directory and sometimes abandoned. Fixed.
  • For some bigbang configurations using bubbles, the count of bubble and tunnel sectors can exceed the total number of sectors, causing a crash. Fixed.
  • Some configuration settings are not reset when running Bigbang with Default Settings". Fixed.
  • Terran colonist max capacity is capped to the capacity of Ore for the planet. The field is now properly capped to the Max Terra Colonists editor setting. Fixed.
  • Sometimes when a ship flees an attacker, the "last sector" is not updated. Fixed.
  • Sometimes when a ship flees an attacker, the prompt does not redraw to reflect the new sector. Fixed.
  • Gold alien settings are sometimes spawned too high when the age of the game is greater than the max age of the alien race. Fixed.
  • Planetary Interdictors effect on other alien races was undefined, sometimes triggering when it shouldn't, sometimes not when it should. Fixed.
  • Gold aliens ignore the planets of other Gold aliens. Fixed.
  • When fleeing an attack while at the "attack figs" menu, the menu remains in the new sector. Fixed.
  • In Bigbang, sectors could end up with an undefined nebula name in small games. Fixed.
  • When you flee an attacker, some of the messages related to the attack are not displayed. Fixed.
  • Sometimes an alien race's homespace will overwrite a FedSpace sector. Fixed.
  • Sometimes when being podded while moving in autopilot, the autopilet prompt remains when you reach the destination sector. Fixed.
  • When offered a price of 4 credits at a port, you cannot accept the offered price. Fixed.


TWGS v2.07, TW v3.21

Released July 17, 2011

TWGS v2.07

  • Bug: Scheduled events for Extern are discarded when entering Configuration area. Fixed.
  • Added ping time to main console grid display.
  • Added program ID (PID) to main console grid display.
  • Moved many server settings from offline Config area into Command Center.
  • Moved IP banning and connection management from offline Config area into Command Center.

TW v3.21

  • Bug: Cosmetic changes to * output crashing some scripts and helpers. Fixed.
  • Bug: Terra doesn't generate colonists for some Gold planet classes. Fixed.
  • Restructured TEDIT main menu to be more functional. Added "Maintenance" group.
  • Added "Repair Gold Data" option to TEDIT. If corrupt Gold data is detected on startup, an onscreen notification is shown.
  • Bug: Upgrading from v3.11.13+ results in corrupted data. Fixed.
  • Bug: Function to repair corrupt Gold data incorrectly identifies some valid Gold ship records as invalid, then deletes them. Fixed.
  • Added TEDIT setting to set the startup log view delay. Can use No Delay, One Minute, One Hour, or No Log.
  • Bug: Corp # shows as 0 for all users in TEDIT List Users command. Fixed.


TWGS v2.06, TW v3.20

Released July 8, 2011

TWGS v2.06

  • Bug: The final xml entry for the $ command is missing the final > character. Fixed.

TW v3.20

  • Bug: In some cases, IO latency will exceed both the Ping emulation setting and the player's actual ping time. This has resulted in sluggish performance for some players on certain systems. Fixed.
  • Added 2 second pause after server shutdown message is displayed.


TWGS v2.05, TW v3.19

Released July 6, 2011

TWGS v2.05

  • Cleaned up description menu support.
  • Added server setting to disable # player's online details. When disabled, # will report total players online without any info about what players are doing.
  • Added ability to send a shutdown message when shutting down from remote connection.
  • Added admin RCM feature to list out active threads and their CPU percentage.
  • Added TWGS $ command to display an XML data feed for all active games. Meant to be used by bots to gather info about games.
  • Added ability for TWGS to limit the number of processes it's waiting to open or to kill. If this number, currently 5, is exceeded, games are temporarily closed until the waiting processes finish opening or closing.
  • Added support for automatically disabling games. Games are disabled after 5 failed starts in a row.
  • TWGS now creates ANSI subdirectory for new game slots
  • Added new dialog for resetting a game on activation. If resetting game, op can specify what game age to start game with.
  • Tweaked output of $ data feed and added many new fields. All public data should now be included in this data.
  • Bug: The 25th game on the TWGS game slot list will disappear on closing and opening the server. Fixed.

TW v3.19

  • Added alien count, max and percent good to S and * screens
  • Bug: Gold aliens failed to attack FedSafe players even if outside of FedSpace. Fixed.
  • Added Local Game Time, Invincible Ferrengal and High Score Update Mode to * raw settings output
  • Added Local Game Time and High Score Update Mode to S screen
  • Game now tracks Game Start Day, which is not initialized until the game is first run by either a player, alien, or extern.
  • Removed references to unused LocalDisplay flag
  • Added many data fields to * output. All public data should now be included in this data.


TWGS v2.04, TW v3.18

Released June 26, 2011

TWGS v2.04

  • When placing an order from TWGS, order fails showing "Cannot complete order. Please try again later" message. Fixed.
  • When viewing a description file that is missing, TWGS drops the player's connection. Fixed.
  • TWGS icon no longer appears in the task tray for XP. Fixed.
  • Console window sometimes appears on the desktop when running a TW app (TW, TEDIT, Bigbang, Extern). Fixed.
  • Added support for game passwords at TWGS menu
  • When running TWGS as a service, all timers and scheduled events were failing. This caused extern to fail to run, among many other issues. Fixed.
  • When setting Extern time on a remote connection, multiple externs would trigger for a single game. Fixed.
  • Extern will now only be scheduled for active games.
  • Occasionally a player at the TWGS menu would appear to be in a random game, even games in empty slots. Fixed.
  • TWGS now homes cursor when clearing screen, forcing all clients to behave like standard DOS ANSI.SYS
  • Added cursor to TWCC Shell

TW v3.18

  • TW2002 now shows command line help when run from the command line
  • Added support for periodic high score list generation. Generates on demand, at extern, hourly or twice per day. Setting in TEDIT, Editor H.
  • MegaRob is now optional for MBBS Mode.
  • Daily log will now properly search on partial dates like 06/14, finding the first entry for month 6, day 14.
  • Date format variables are no longer subject to local system settings. These local settings could cause problems with how TW processes dates and times.
  • Some interactive prompts improperly handle event notifications, overwriting existing text. Fixed.
  • Gold editors not displaying properly in TWGS shell and remote connections. Fixed.
  • Test for invalid Gold records now expanded to include planets and aliens.
  • Clear screen in TW now includes a command to home the cursor.
  • Rob/steal text has an unnecessary cursor-down command, breaking scripts. Fixed.
  • SUCCESS! output for rob/steal cannot be aborted by abort key.


TWGS v2.03, TW v3.17

Released June 18, 2011

TWGS v2.03

  • Removed restriction on changing name in TWGS reg info
  • Can now reset game age on activation
  • Fixed "bring to front" when running TWGS while it's already running
  • Added support for maxing out nodes and slots without having to purchase each node and slot at the normal cost.
  • Fixed a bug that caused TWA import to sometimes hang
  • Fixed bell handling in Spy and Shell windows
  • Fixed button issue with TWA import/export. It was possible to start import before a file was decompressed, causing a failure.

TW v3.17

  • Removed obsolete ChangeGameTime option from TEDIT main menu
  • Fix bug that caused the game to lock up when starting a game without a TWGS username
  • Cleaned up TWGS op global message display (shutdown message)
  • Added startup function to clean up invalid Gold ship records when found


TWGS v2.02, TW v3.16

Released June 14, 2011

TWGS v2.02

  • TWCC log file viewer is now a separate process from TWGS. The burden of viewing large files in the same process where game connections are processed was too much and unnecessary. By isolating the log file viewer, I can avoid the complexity of processing the log files in a thread, and any errors in the log viewer will not disrupt the server itself.
  • General improvements to log file viewer, including persistent state. The log file viewer can be run on its own, or from within TWGS. When run externally, it will open to the last log file viewed. When opened from TWCC, it'll open to the selected game's error log.
  • Added TWCC warning when activating a game that is scheduled to open at a later time. The warning states that activating the game will open it immediately.
  • Fixed a bug that was causing TWGS and the TW executables to be flagged as tampered applications by virus software

TW v3.16

  • Fixed bug with rankings output directory. Displaying rankings with output to a ranking file would cause the game to exit.
  • Increased Corbomite max to 20K from 6K for Gold ships
  • Restored @ screen output to match pre-v2 format
  • Added time limit to S screen


TWGS v2.01, TW v3.15

Released June 10, 2011

TWGS v2.01

  • Registration name field cannot be changed once it is set.
  • Only an Internet-accessible IP address can be used for Jumpgate IP
  • Fixed a bug with RLogin connections
  • Changed the way TWGS determines if user has admin account privileges
  • Removed 32 bit color restriction on installation

TW v3.15

  • Fixed path bug. Paths longer than 80 characters were being truncated.


TWGS v2.00, TW v3.14

Released June 5, 2011

TWGS v2.00

Bugs

  • When a TW2002 game becomes locked in a closed loop, TWGS cannot end the game. The game must be closed from the task manager, which can cause a loss of data or data corruption. Fixed. Games that lock up in a loop will break out of that loop and close gracefully, helping to avoid data corruption.
  • A variety of load conditions can cause TWGS to leak memory and/or run at elevated CPU. Fixed. TWGS can now handle rapid connections with very little CPU load and no memory leaks.

Changes

  • Moved game management from offline Configure screen to Command Center, allowing online game management.
  • 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.
  • Import and export operations are segmented so processing large TWA files will not bog down the server connections and slow down players.
  • Extern is now scheduled per-game rather than server-wide.

Features

  • Can now 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.
  • Added the ability to run Bigbang from remote admin connection. Can only run on games that are set to INACTIVE or have not yet been banged.
  • Added foundation of Jumpgate game search site. TWGS now lists servers at jumpgate.classictw.com.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Added test for latest TWGS version and prompt to download if a newer one is found.
  • Added links to various TW sites including museum, jumpgate, facebook, twitter, etc.
  • Reorganized remote admin connections. Remote admin can now run Extern, along with TW, TEdit and Bigbang.
  • Game, editor, alien server, etc, all display process ID to assist in locating these processes in the Windows task list.
  • Added help popup windows to assist new users.
  • Initial installation will install "My Game" into Slot A. The game is ready to play with mostly stock settings.
  • Command Center shell can store a log file.
  • Command Center shell can use a scrollback buffer.
  • Server now runs as a service on Windows 2003 Server, Vista, and newer OSs.


TW v3.14

Bugs

  • The mail file system regularly grows to massive size and becomes corrupt, causing player's games to crash. Fixed.
  • The Planetary Trade Agreement display truncates the planet number for IDs > 9999. Fixed.
  • It is possible to force a player offline. This is a nuisance in most games, but for time limited games, it can have a major impact on the game's outcome. Fixed.
  • In some cases, a player who holds a fig lock at the Planetary Transwarp menu will spontaneously drop to the main command prompt. Fixed.
  • It is possible for Gold ships to start with more fighters than the initial fighters field can handle. Fixed.
  • The TW internal clock can go out of synch with other player sessions, causing them to stop processing event messages. Fixed.
  • Gold aliens can deadlock when crossing paths (Alien A moves to from Sector X to Sector Y while Alien B moves from Sector Y to Sector X). Fixed.
  • TW2002, TEDIT, etc, sometimes close prior to sending all output to the player. Fixed.
  • Some actions in the game, when done repeatedly, can push the CPU as high as 100%. Fixed. No single action can load more than 5% of CPU on the benchmark test machine.
  • Gold aliens could spawn in a fortified sector and, when failing to move, be unable to retreat, forcing them into sector 0. Fixed.
  • Gold aliens could attack FedSafe players. Fixed. Gold aliens now follow the same rules for attacking FedSafe players as players do.
  • Gold aliens never destroy defensive fighters. Fixed. Aliens will can now destroy fighters and enter the sector.
  • Gold aliens will continually re-enter a sector they cannot enter, causing a large volume of email spam. Fixed.
  • 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. Fixed.

Changes

  • Bigbang now supports 30K sectors.
  • Moved several global settings into local config file so they can now be changed per-game rather than server-wide.
  • Added optional page break to
    • sector display
    • planet scanner display
    • corporate list
    • corporate ranks
    • corp assets list
    • deployed fighter scan
    • deployed mine scan
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Aggressive aliens will favor moving into fortified sectors.
  • Gold aliens now track kills and ports. When alien ships are captured, these stats will effect the resale value on those ships.
  • Hardware fields for Gold aliens are passed to a captured ship, allowing players to recover these items.
  • Aliens have a strength-to-value ratio that they will attempt to maintain when buying and picking up fighters, buying shields, dropping and taking credits from Citadel, etc.
  • If an alien is unable to retreat to a safe sector, it will self-destruct.

Features

  • Added editor setting for capture fail percent.
  • Added editor setting for when podless ships can be capture. Choices are Always, Never, Unoccupied
  • Added EIS news and announcement feed. Displays at TW2002 startup.
  • Added personal setting for sector autocompletion. Autocompletion defaults to ON for compatibility with scripts and helpers, but can be turned off if desired.
Personal tools
current TWGS Activity
Servers: 159
Players:
this month: 393
this year: 994
last year: 4,007
since 2011: 59,453