Cream of the Crop 11/Cream of the Crop 11-2.iso/bbs/twast23.zip/TWASSIST.HIS

Text File | 1995-12-02 | 21KB | 440 lines

                          Trade Wars 2002 Assistant
                              Revision History


    If you don't see your suggestion here don't despair.  They are on file
  and reviewed regularly.

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    TWASSIST version 2.30 was released on December 2, 1995.  It includes
  some minor bug fixes and several enhancements.  My thanks go to all the
  people who continue to send me suggestions even if those suggestions have
  not been implemented yet.

  *  Edited the v2.00 history to list Jim Bianchi as suggesting the use of
     the space bar for defaults.  Previously it said I forgot who suggested
     it.  I found my notes.

  *  Corrected the gramer of the message about the bust clearing cycle
     changing.  (Stephen Whitis)

  *  Changed the default for the path to the capture file.  Now it will
     remember the path to the last capture file that was read and use that
     as the default.

  *  Changed extract to recognize a 'T' or 'M' suffix on the quantity of
     fighters in a deployed fighter scan.  (Alex Otier, Uwe Mossner)

  *  Do not include avoided sectors in paired ports.  (David White)

  *  Prompt to delete the capture file after processing.  (William Burton)

     NOTE:  The capture file will not be deleted if in Automode.
            The batch/script running Automode should delete the
            file if needed.

  *  Improved the wording of the description for the database argument
     in the command line format part of the doc.  (Alex Otier)

  *  Corrected a bug in the universe mapper that was preventing one of
     the five algorithms from performing properly.  Added some zero turn
     analysis data to the database so it can be saved from one run to the
     next.  These two items result in a significant performance benefit
     with a slight increase in the number of warps found.

     NOTE:  To take advantage of the new data stored in the database the
            database will need to be saved AFTER the universe mapper is
            run.  Macro users should check the order of the automode
            commands in their script and move the SAVE_DB command to be
            after the RM, command.

  *  Significantly improved the performance of the Secluded Area Analysis.
     Tests show it is three to four times faster.

  *  The route algorithm in v2 of the game is a little different than the
     one used in v1.03(d).  The TWAssist route algorithm will now accurately
     plot routes for either version of the game.  It will use the Game
     Version number to determine which route to give.  Make sure the
     Database Summary reflects the proper game version.

  *  Major changes to the paired port routines to provide more programming
     flexibility.  The numbers of pairs found for each type of trading is
     no longer shown in the menu.

  *  Added Triple Trade paired ports.  (Keith Horsfield)

  *  Added Both buy Equipment paired ports.  (David White)

  *  The pair factor will now consider only the products that qualify for
     the type of pair under consideration.  If you select pairs trading
     Equipment with Organics possible trades of fuel ore will no longer be
     included in the factor.  (Raul G'acha)

  *  Added paired ports to automode:

          PP,1/2/3/T/E,sector,rpt_file,rm,

  *  Added a ship flag for transwarping to Federation space.  If the flag
     is set, Federation sectors as well as deployed fighters will be
     considered as candidates for transwarp locations.  (Stephen Whitis,
     Steve Bauer)

  *  Increased maximum value for specifying fighters and mines in custom
     reports to agree with the maximum TWAssist can read from the capture.

  *  Improved performance of some extract routines.  In particular, reading
     course plots.  This should provide an improvement in the zero turn
     mapping, especially on slower computers.  (Stephen Whitis)

  *  Fixed the problem where the busted routine was not finding the correct
     date that was 14 days earlier if the day of the month was 14.
     (Phil Crown)

  *  Fixed a bug in the custom reports where pairs with a very high factor
     (e.g. 55000) were getting sorted to the end rather than the beginning
     of the list.  (Uwe Mossner)

  *  Changed the Likely locations for major ports report.  It will use the
     game version to select between two methods of looking for likely
     locations.  (George Tracy)

  *  Revised the Qmodem script to save the database after running the
     Universe Mapper as noted above.  Also added some code to handle the
     occasional situation where the CIM command does not properly reach the
     game and it returns invalid interrogation mode messages.

  *  Francis Ng contributed an updated Telemate script for TW2002 v2.  Thank
     you.

  *  Some significant changes to the doc were made in the following areas:

     - In the support and distribution section I removed the information
       about the special message area.  When I changed BBS software I didn't
       setup the special area.

     - Revised the section on paired ports.

     - Changed the section on Ship Information flags.

     - Added a note about the game version in the Likely Major Port
       Locations and in the Route Reports.

     - Added note about saving information in the database for Map
       Universe Routes.

     - Added the paired port command to Automode.  Added note about doing a
       SAVE_DB for the RM Automode command.

     Minor changes were made to the doc in other areas.



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    First off I must apologize for not mentioning for version 2.10 the help
  Raymond Johnson and Alex Otier provided.  They provided beta testing and
  supplied me with many captures from Trade Wars 2002 on The Major BBS.  The
  information was very valuable.

    TWASSIST version 2.2 was released on September 18th, 1994.  It includes
  some minor bug fixes and enhancements.

  *  Increased maximum planets to 250.  That is the most I can go within
     existing data structures.  A higher limit will have to wait until
     I restructure the data.

  *  Added an avoids report to the Sector Reports menu.  Also available
     in Automode.  (Alex Otier)

  *  Added a configuration option to disable making of backup files for
     those systems that don't have much disk space (i.e. floppies).
     (Gary Ives)

  *  Fixed a bug in the extract reporting lost mines.  It wouldn't tell
     you what type of mines (Armid mines, deployed limpets) and the
     sector number reported was invalid.

  *  Fixed a bug where the custom reports file would get created
     incorrectly if the computer did not have expanded memory available
     for the overlays.  (Gary Ives, Larry Van Eenoo)

  *  Added "C0" to the flags for Class 0 ports.  (Alex Otier)

  *  Received updated macros for:

         Telix from Phil Crown
         ProComm Plus from Rick Cooney
         ProComm Plus/Windows from Neil Catone

     They didn't have to submit them so send them your thanks if you see
     them in an echo.

  *  Added a section in the doc for Automode Examples.  (Alex Otier)

  *  Updated the doc.  Besides the version info changes a section was added
     for the new Avoids item in the Sector Reports, the Sector Flags section
     was updated for the C0 flag, and the Automode Examples section was added.



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    TWASSIST version 2.1 was released on July 8th, 1994.  It includes some
  enhancements and changes to be compatible with the new versions of Trade
  Wars 2002.  The significant changes are:

  *  Made a number of changes to Extract to improve compatibility with the
     TW2002 v2 door betas and TW2002 v2 on the Major BBS.  The method of
     detecting the CIM prompt has been changed.  TWASSIST will now read the
     reports of both the door and Major BBS versions of the game.  Major BBS
     games will now be identified as registered.

  *  Some internal modules are now loaded as overlays to reduce the amount
     of conventional memory required.  If Expanded (EMS) memory is available
     it will be used for overlay storage.  Otherwise overlays will be loaded
     from disk as needed (refer to the compatibility section on the doc for
     a note about running from floppy).

  *  The amount of memory required for a 5000 sector universe was incorrectly
     given as 450k in the v2.0 doc.  It should have said 550k.  With the use
     of overlays this requirement has been reduced to 495k (plus notes).

  *  Added support for Limpet mines.  Extract will now read the deployed
     and active Limpet mine scans.  The Database Summary has been revised
     to show the Limpet numbers.  The sector flags have been revised.  Where
     'M' was for mines it is now 'MLA' for Armid Mines, Limpet Mines, and
     Active Limpets.

  *  Added an Assets Report menu.  Includes reports for Fighter deployments,
     Mine deployments, Limpet deployments, and Active Limpet locations.

  *  Increased limits for fighters and mines.  TWASSIST will now handle up
     to 65,000 fighters per sector and 250 mines per sector.  This is the
     most I can do within existing data structures.

  *  Automode will no longer convert commands to upper case.  Notes entered
     via automode were being converted.  (Dan Roseen)

  *  Added more reports to Automode.  Now available are Unknown sectors,
     Normal route, Transwarp route, and Space Lane routes.  The new Assets
     reports are also available through Automode.  (Fred Polli)

  *  Aborting transwarp calculations in the Paired Port routine will no
     longer abort the entire routine.  (Dan Roseen)

  *  Fixed a bug in the graphic displays where warps after a one way were
     not always shown.  This would occur if the only warp at a specific
     distance was a one way in.  (Dan Roseen)

  *  Changed method of reading capture file so it can get past embedded
     garbage End-Of-File characters.  (Scott Minto)

  *  Fixed a bug where the merge feature was reporting "No data to merge"
     when it shouldn't.  (Alain Bennett)

  *  When prompting for a sector number the location of the Stardock will
     be displayed for easy reference.  Also the sector number input will be
     remembered and used as a default for the next sector input.
     (Jim Bianchi)

  *  The graphic display was distinguishing between the types of Unexplored
     sectors.  However the symbol for Unexplored with partial warps (UP) was
     not shown on the symbols display.  It has been added.  (Jim Bianchi)

  *  Did some work on the universe mapper to improve performance in dense
     universes.  It works better but it is not as effective as before. :(

  *  I updated the Qmodem macro.  Phil Crown submitted an update to the
     mapper portion of the Telix macro.  Unfortunately my release schedule
     was not compatible with that of the script authors so no other updated
     macros are included.

  *  Neil Catone submitted a script for Procomm Plus for Windows.



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    Finally TWASSIST version 2.0 is out.  It is a major change from version
  1.10 and was released on December 13th, 1993.  I have been working on this
  version all year long.  I wanted to put so much into it but alas time and
  other commitments were not cooperating.  Finally though it is time to get it
  out so the users can take advantage of the new features while I work on the
  next version.  A lot is in this version and I am dedicating this release to
  Stephen Whitis.  He has been a big help.  You will notice many of the ideas
  came from him and I have many more of his on my list for future versions.
  Here are the significant changes in this version:

  *  Support for variable sized universes, up to 5000 sectors.  Made some
     changes to the use of memory to save over 60k for a 5000 sector universe.

  *  The extract routine will now read course plots and integrate that
     information into the database.  (Joan Mershon, Stephen Whitis)

  *  I took Joan's and Stephen's suggestion above and expanded on it to
     create a no-turn universe mapper.  Two items have been added to the
     route menu, (M)ap universe routes and (A)nalyze warps.  The later
     creates a file of commands to be sent to the game and the second provides
     information on how things are progressing.  A macro is the best way for
     sending the commands to the game.  A number of them have been updated.
     I strongly suggest reading the doc sections on these two new features
     before using the universe mapper.

  *  Most of the comm. program macros have been updated to add the universe
     mapper.  I updated the Qmodem script, Stephen Whitis updated the Telix
     script, and Mark Cothran created a new Commo macro.

  *  Although Stephen Whitis does not use Telemate he offered to write a
     Telemate script.  All of you Telemate users who have been asking for
     one should send him a thank you in the Fido Trade Wars echo.

  *  Added a feature to the ports menu for determining the likely locations
     of the major (class 0 and 9) ports.  Useful after using the universe
     mapper.

  *  Added automode.  Automode is a way of providing commands for TWASSIST
     on the command line or in a file.  Great for batch files and use in
     macros.  If you want to see it in action check out the universe mapper
     routines in the comm. program macros.  (Stephen Whitis)

  *  Added a new feature to the Sector Reports menu called Secluded area
     analysis.  It will look for other secluded areas not picked up
     by dead ends or dead end clusters.  It does take a while to run.

  *  Added a new item to the Sector Reports menu called DE distances to
     (M)ajor ports.  It gives a table of distances from the dead ends to
     the class 0 ports and Stardock.  (Robert Davis)

  *  Made a few minor changes in the Extract routine to be compatible with
     the TW2002 v2.0 beta.  Many limits have not been changed and full support
     for TW2002 v2.0 will not be done until after I have a registered released
     version of the game available for testing.

  *  Revised the prompting when modifying avoids.  A Y will always set the
     avoid and an N will always clear the avoid.

  *  Put in a check when clearing busted ports after loading the database
     to see if the game cycle has been messed up and the last clear date
     is in the future.  Also added a check for this when entering busted
     dates to prevent getting into a mode where no entry is valid.
     (Rob Jenkins)

  *  Added some new flags to the reports.  In the doc a separate section has
     been added for the report flags.

  *  Fixed bug where strange text was showing up on the config screen
     for an unknown/unsupported video card.  (Stephen Whitis)

  *  When extracting from a capture file ANSI sequences will be stripped and
     ignored.

  *  Fixed bug where the sort by method was not displayed for single
     port/sector custom reports.

  *  Fixed bug in the graphics sector routine where sectors after going
     backwards through a one way warp were not being shown.  (Owen Davies)

  *  Spent a lot of time reworking the transwarp routines.  The changes
     for the variable and larger universes slowed it down by a factor of
     3.  I have been able to cut that about in half.  Right now the
     transwarp routine runs at a speed about half way between what it
     did in v1.00 and v1.10.

  *  Added space bar for defaults.  Prompts looking for enter to continue
     will accept the space bar as noted in the revised message.  Prompts
     looking for single character selections with defaults (e.g. Y/n)
     while now also recognize the space bar for the default.  (Jim
     Bianchi)

  *  Restored default CAPTURE.TXT file for extract that was accidently
     disabled in v1.10.

  *  Clarified in the doc which text strings are required for TWASSIST to
     find the reports.  (Kirk Jameson)

  *  Changed the Canadian registration price to C$19.00.  The price in US$
     remains 15.00.  The exchange rate was taking too much of a cut.  Even
     with C$19.00 I will get less than US$15.00 but at least it is closer.



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    TWASSIST version 1.10 was released on February 6th, 1993.  It is a minor
  revision with bug fixes, a few enhancements, and lots of internal changes.
  The notable changes are:

  *  All known bugs fixed, including the very recently discovered one where
     the month of Feb in the View Game Status date was not recognized.  All
     bugs on the letter registered users received and a few others I
     discovered have been fixed.

  *  New macros for Procomm Plus, Qmodem, and Telix.  Jason Jiggins submitted
     a new macro for Procomm Plus.  Thank you Jason.  I liked some of his
     ideas and did a new Qmodem macro.  Then Dan Roseen got inspired and
     decided to revamp the Telix macro.  Thank you Dan.  Refer to the macro
     doc for information on the new macros.

  *  In the menu header changed "<Unregistered>" to "Free Version".  This
     better fits the policy of no trial period.  A few people were feeling
     guilty about not registering.  This should take care of that. :)

  *  Added a new feature to the Modify menu called "Strip database for (O)ther
     trader".  This allows you to create a special copy of the database that
     does not have all information (like fighters, mines,etc).  You can send
     this database to a partner not in your corporation without giving away
     all your personal information.

  *  An inspiration on a new algorithm to gather the dead end information was
     a smashing success.  It is MUCH faster than the old one.  Don't blink or
     you might miss it.

  *  Execution time of the transwarp calculations was also cut by reworking
     its routines.  Not as much of a change as the in the DE routine but still
     significant.  Tests show the new transwarp routine typically executes in
     45% less time than the old routine.

  *  In the Full Sector report the one way out warps are now identified.

  *  Reports output to a file now include the database name in the
     header.  (Jeff Schroth)

  *  Increased the maximum number of paired ports.  (Francis Ng)

  *  Messages displayed during an Extract or Merge are now saved in a log
     file.  This allows you to easily review the messages or get a hard copy.
     A configuration option was added to specify whether the first extract
     or merge of a session should append to the file or overwrite it.  Refer
     to the doc for details.  (Dan Roseen)

  *  As stated in the Fidonet national Trade Wars echo last October the Merge
     function in the Modify menu is no longer registered only.  This was done
     because it was fairly easy to do a merge using captures with the same
     results although it would not be very elegant.  It did not make sense to
     keep this feature registered only.

  *  The Extract routine will now recognize a colon by itself on a line as
     a CIM line.  This was to fix a problem with some comm programs and
     editors that strip trailing spaces.




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    Version 1.00 was the first general release of TWASSIST.  It was released
  on October 12th, 1992.