Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/BBS_GAME/USURP005.ZIP/WHATS.NEW

Text File | 1994-03-20 | 15KB | 305 lines

-*- History of Usurper -*-

NOTE: Read carefully....New USURPER.CFG Edit Menu added to Editor.
      The USURPER.CFG file has been totally changed, so read all docs.

Version 0.05 : BETA-RELEASE (1994-03-20)
*Added A Monster Editor to the Main Editor.
*Sysops having problems with their Usurper configuration file can now
 create it from the Editor (by answering simple questions). A good
 choice also for recreating the cfg file for this version of Usurper,
 which includes quite a few new configuration possibilites.
 NOTE! In this version there are many new configuration possibilities,
       so I recommend that you use the editor configuration program to get
       it all right.
*Backstabbing in the dungeons now works.
*The Game can be configured to make all NPC:s available in the Dormitory,
 thus possible to challenge and defeat (switch in Usurper.cfg).
*Healing Center has been implemented.
*The armor basevalue can now be set freely ( 0-60 % ). A value of 10 means
 that all armors absorb 10% of their armorvalues as a base value. The higher
 you set this figure, the more effective the armors get  (default is 25%).
*Sysops can now decide how they want the Healing procedure to work
 in the dungeons : (what happens after a player quaffs healing potions)
  1 : Player quaffs potions and then autoattacks monster
  2 : Player quaffs potions, and then the monster gets a free attack round
  3 : Player quaffs potions and can then choose another option
*Starting money for new players can be changed in the Usurper.cfg file.
*Number of Teamfights a player can perform can now be changed in the
 Usurper.cfg file
*Names of shopkeepers and levelmasters can now be changed in the .CFG
*Removed the ugly bug where non-team players couldn't buy armors and
 weapons.
*Sysop can now decide how much Experience a player will loose when he dies
 in the dungeons. This can be set for different levels.
*The monsters in the dungeons now speak again (optional). Monster weapons
 are also displayed during battle (as in earlier versions).
*Monster weapons have been made more powerful (thus more attractive
 to swap)
*Local login now works as before, with /L as command-line switch.
*Usurper can now be run in a "soft" mode. SOFT mode replaces drugs,
 steroids, snuffing, whorehouse and gigolos with more decent social
 activities (like burgalry and such =). Change this option in
 Usurper.cfg. Running in Normal modes gives you these new options
 additionally (look at Dark Deeds Menu for example...)
*Beer stealing and kidnapping are new options in Dark Deeds menu.
*Every time maintenance is run a CHAMPION is selected by comparing
 every players statistics. Not only high level characters can
 win this title. The values are based on what level you are, so a
 low level character with extremely good base stats can take the title.
 (you can also see a top 50 list when pressing 'O' from main menu)
*Removed a bug which messed things up a bit when sending items to team-
 mates.

Version 0.04c : (1994-03-02)
*Game Settings can now be viewed by players from the Intro-menu.
*Sysops can now choose to skip the Intro-menu. (can be changed in
 the .CFG file)
*Removed the bugs which caused items to disappear/not be visible.
*Drug/steriods bug has been removed.
*Rings can now be purchased as before.
*Successful Thievery now gives the player money.
*Maintenance can now be forced by adding /M to the command line.
*Citycontrol bugs have been fixed.
*Players can now buy weapons/armors to their NPC teammembers.

Version 0.04 : (1994-02-17)
* Recompiled the game with a new doordriver ; JpDoor
* Minor modifications and bugfixes

Version 0.03 : (1994-02-02)
* International Character Set available. (Swedish letters, at last!)
* Added support for new dropfile ; CHAIN.TXT (for the WWIV BBS system)
* The Paladins soulstrike has been improved. Offline Paladins don't fight
  so stupid as before. They don't take so many risks with the soulstrike.
* Numbers of dungeonfights can now be changed in Usurper.cfg
* Days of inactivity before deletion can also be changed in Usurper.cfg
* Added support for nonstandard IRQ. This can be changed in Usurper.cfg
* Players can now encounter more than one monster at the same time in the
  dungeons. Difficulty level can be set in Usurper.cfg by the sysop.
* Removed bug which wouldn't give spellcasters new spells
* Name of town can be changed in Usurper.cfg
* NPC:s vicious tendencies can be configured in Usurper.cfg. This will
  control the way the NPC:s summon demons and cast disease spells against
  innocent and unknowing players.
* Assassins backstab-power reduced.
* Have tried to reduce the tedious man-to-man fights that could go on
  forever. (mainly by reducing armor effect and increasing attack effect)
* Added some info when fighting with teams and 'fast' option selected.
  (so users don't hang up just because they think the system has crashed)
* Removed the bug which kept spellcasters frozen after 1 casted spell.
* Found the nasty bug which swapped away players great weapon/armor
  for worthless ones.
* The Editor has been upgraded.
* Paladins and Assassins couldn't use their special attacks in some
  fights. This has been fixed.
* Removed bug where spellcasters would abort up a fight simply by aborting
  a spellsession.
* Removed a similar bug when aborting 'send items to player' option.
* Smoother display in Bar-Fights.
* 'Todays Truth' added. A little chatline, always displayed upon login.
* Female players can now enjoy physical satisfaction from Gigolos.
* Added some info to the status screen.
* Hp-regenerating objects now work in the dungeons.
* From this version and onwards, a 8086/88 version will always be shipped
  along with the standard Usurper archive.
* Recompiled Usurper with a new version of Tridoor.

Version 0.02 : (1994-01-10)
* (Sysops! Don't forget to follow instructions in README! file)
* The Paladin has become a Class instead of Race.
* The Hobbit replace the Paladin as race.
* Added 11 Classes that new players can choose between.
  (Old Usurper gamers are defaulted to the Warrior class)
  Classes are as follows:
  1. Alchemists   *Poison masters. Have their own shop!*
  2. Assassins    *Special attack : backstab. Hard to hit.*
  3. Barbarians   *Strongest*
  4. Bards        *Good overall capabilities*
  5. Clerics      *Weak in combat, but use spells*
  6. Jesters      *Extremely hard to hit due to their acrobatic skills*
  7. Magicians    *Offensive Spellcasters*
  8. Paladins     *Strong. Have a special attack : soulstrike*
  9. Rangers      *Strong and agile*
 10. Sages        *Mysterious spellcasters*
 11. Warriors     *Better defence against magic attacks than Barbarians*
  (Note that some Race/Class combinations are impossible. Ie Troll/Paladin)

* Spelltables for Clerics and Magicians (Sages have one too. But it is not
  shown here.)

-Clerics-
---------
Lvl 1 Cure Light
    5 Armor
   10 Baptize Monster
   15 Cure Critic
   20 Disease
   25 Holy Explosion
   30 Invisibility
   40 Angel
   50 Call Lightning
   60 Heal
   70 Divination
   80 Gods Finger

-Magicians-
-----------
Lvl 1 Magic Missile
    5 Shield
   10 Sleep
   15 Web
   20 Strength
   25 Fireball
   30 Fear
   40 Lightning Bolt
   50 Prismatic Cage
   60 Pillar of Fire
   70 Power Word KILL
   80 Summon Demon

* New abilities added : Stamina, Agility, Charisma, Dexterity, Wisdom and
  Mana.
* 14 different close-combat skills added.
* Increased abilities upon level raises now depends on which Class the player
  belong to.
* Some new offline behaviour can be configured.
* You can now write your personal description of your character.
  This will be shown every time another player look at you.
* Monster weapons can now be taken from successful battles.
* Added more dungeon events. Made them a bit more flexible than the old
  ones. As a result of this the dungeons have become more dangerous and
  challenging. You cannot go down and just expect to kill your daily number
  of monsters without getting into some serious trouble.
* Drug addiction and Mental Stability stabilizes when players perform
  a level raise.
* Drug addiction and Mental stability parameters affect battles more
  now. Lack of concentration and hallucinations are common problems.
  Worst case scenarios are players with VERY low mental stability.
  These nutcases can actually rise at midnight and do things they
  never would have done in a healthy mode. They can also experience
  hallucinations when they play.
* New ANSI intro screen. Thanks to Jerry Barham at Crimson Knight BBS.
* The configurable option where your character would buy healing
  potions after every successful battle now work as it should.
  When you log on, you will get a notice of each one of these
  auto-purchases.
* Attacking Akrappa, the levelmaster, is no longer possible.
* Added some new items that can be found. You might for example find
  Drug Darts. This can be thrown upon an enemy and cause his drug
  addiction to raise (Not a very nice thing to do!).
* New Shop added. The mad mage Groggo sell services to those who wish
  to get rid of an enemy, but don't dare/have the muscles to fight for
  themselves. Groggo can summon Demons against your foes, he can curse
  them and give them diseases. The prices are quite reasonable, but
  be careful! The old mage is very old, angry and vicious. He might do
  things to players just because he woke up in a worse mood than usual.
* As mentioned above, players are now affected by diseases. There are
  different types of diseases, with the Plague as the most horrible.
  Try to stay healthy! Diseases are not easily cured...
* New Pub added. Bobs Beer Hut is a shady place where you can go if you are
  looking for trouble. Brawls and thievery are common activities.
  (This is function is only available in Registered programs)
* The money receieved for City Control is now totally dependant upon
  the gangmembers abilities. That is : the higher level a player has,
  the more money for City Control. The money are summed up and thereafter
  equally divided among the teammembers. A level 2 character will therefore
  recieve the same amount as his teammate with a gamelevel of 50.
* There are now 10 Levelmasters (Akrappa included). Players choose a
  master to study for. They can change teacher whenever they want, but it
  will cost a pretty grim sum of money. Different masters are good at
  different things and will teach differently. It's a good idea to
  experiment. Some players prefer raw strength, and other need spellpower.
  It much depends on which class a player belong to.
* Loosing a fight, or just dying in general, reduces a players
  experience points by approximately 5%. This will only affect players
  online.
* Magical items, such as Rings, now works in Dungeons.
* Suicide option now works properly.
* Viped out a bunch of nasty bugs. Cleaned up the code a great deal.
  The size of Usurper.exe file has been reduced. However, the total size
  of Usurper continues to grow.
* The number of teamfights a player can perform have been reduced
  to three.
* Sysops can now edit/add/change the NPCs (requested by many).
* Many minor changes have slipped my mind (you will notice them
  sooner or later).

Version 0.01f : (1993-10-08)
(To all Sysops : follow the instructions in the 'README!' file!)
I recognized a couple of situations where the program
would bomb out. These have been corrected.
* All races can now REALLY resurrect teammates.
* NPC Wizards now cast spells in gang combat.
* 'Fight to death' option added.
* Magical items can be purchased, others can be found. Many of these can be
  very useful in battle, others are dangerous.
* Items can now be sent to NPC:s (useful to increase team strength).
* More computer characters have been added (big and tough guys).
* More detailed info on NPC:s.
* Gnoll poison effect is now stronger, depending on which level
  the Gnoll is on.
* New players can choose to be males/females. Gender support
  also added in text.
* Flee the dungeons now works properly.
* Beg for mercy in the dungeons now works.
* Players can configure some offline combat behaviour.
* Lockups due to repeated keypressing are now gone.
* Many small bugfixes and changes that i can't remember. And of course
  some cosmetic enhancements.

Version 0.01e : (1993-09-21)   *** FIRST PUBLIC RELEASE ***
All races can resurrect teammates. Players can quit in
'Begging mode'. This will place them on street disguised
as beggars. Money can be earned. But as beggars are unarmed
other players can easily have them murdered. However,
murdering beggars are not good for character and will not
yield much experience. 'The Castle' option has been replaced
with 'The marketplace', where various actions can be made.
Reworked the battle formulas in player-vs-player battles.
Troll players now have more problems when recruiting
good characters, as paladins and elves. Certain races
just can't stand each other...
Non-Player-Characters now form teams when they feel like
it. Players can have a maximum of 250 healing potions.
Rival gangmembers can now be bribed over to your team.
A way to avoid teammembers from being bribed is to send
them items/money making their loyalty increase.

Version 0.01d : (1993-09-10)
Computer controlled characters now uses Soulstrikes more
efficiently. The Paladin character has been made more
powerful. Send items to teammates now works. NPC:s increase
their abilities as their experience goes up.
A couple of more dungeon events added. Weapons and armors
can be taken from dead oppponents in player/team fights.
Add to that numerous of small changes and bugfixes.

Version 0.01c : (1993-09-01)
Added a Wishing Well in the dungeons. 'Good' characters
will recieve rewards from the King. Stay-Alive Bonus to
all characters who makes it through the day alive.
Made life a little bit easier and rewarding in the dungeons.
Added options to send items between teammates. Computer
players now a bit trickier to beat. Usurper now also includes
numerous of computer characters who can be sworn into your
team and do some of the fighting! And of course some bugfixes.

Version 0.01b : (1993-08-29)
Minor bugfixes. New options : Resurrection of teammates.
Teams can now also fight each other without city control
involved.

Version 0.01  : (1993-08-22)
First shaky release on my own BBS, Silent Service.
Some bugs noticed.

(The development of Usurper started a sunny spring morning
in April, 1993)

                 *************************************
                **** Best wishes to Sven and Muffi ****
                 *************************************