tbamud/doc/releases.txt

If you have any additions, corrections, ideas, or bug reports please stop by the
Builder Academy at telnet://tbamud.com:9091 or email rumble@tbamud.com -- Rumble

Circle and tbaMUD Release History 

Abstract 

This document lists the release history of CircleMUD and at the end is the post
to rec.games.mud.diku which originally anounced CircleMUD as a publically 
available MUD source code. 

tbaMUD Release history:
Version 3.65 release: January, 2015
Version 3.64 release: March, 2013
Version 3.63 release: April, 2012
Version 3.62 release: September, 2010
Version 3.61 release: January, 2010
Version 3.60 release: September, 2009
Version 3.59 release: April, 2009
Version 3.58 release: January, 2009
Version 3.57 release: August, 2008
Version 3.56 release: April, 2008
Version 3.55 release: January, 2008
Version 3.54 release: December, 2007
Version 3.53 release: July, 2007
Version 3.52 release: April, 2007
Version 3.51 release: February, 2007
Version 3.5 release: December, 2006

CircleMUD Release history:
Version 3.1  (yes, no beta pl): November 18, 2002
Version 3.00 beta pl22 release: October 4, 2002
Version 3.00 beta pl21 release: April 15, 2002
Version 3.00 beta pl20 release: January 15, 2002
Version 3.00 beta pl19 release: August 14, 2001
Version 3.00 beta pl18 release: March 18, 2001
Version 3.00 beta pl17 release: January 23, 2000
Version 3.00 beta pl16 release: August 30, 1999
Version 3.00 beta pl15 release: March 16, 1999
Version 3.00 beta pl14 release: July 3, 1998
Version 3.00 beta pl13a release: June 4, 1998
Version 3.00 beta pl13 release: June 1, 1998
Version 3.00 beta pl12 release: October 29, 1997
Version 3.00 beta pl11 release: April 14, 1996
Version 3.00 beta pl10 release: March 11, 1996
Version 3.00 beta pl9 release: February 6, 1996
Version 3.00 beta pl8 release: May 23, 1995
Version 3.00 beta pl7 release: March 9, 1995
Version 3.00 beta pl6 release: March 6, 1995
Version 3.00 beta pl5 release: February 23, 1995
Version 3.00 beta pl4 release: September 28, 1994
Version 3.00 beta pl1-3, internal releases for beta-testers.
Version 3.00 alpha: Ran on net for testing.  Code not released.
Version 2.20 release: November 17, 1993
Version 2.11 release: September 19, 1993
Version 2.10 release: September 1, 1993
Version 2.02 release: Late August 1993
Version 2.01 release: Early August 1993
Version 2.00 release: July 16, 1993 (Initial public release)

The CircleMUD <20>press release<73> is included below, in case you haven<65>t seen it 
and want to.

Wake the kids and find the dog, because it<69>s the FTP release of 

CIRCLEMUD 2.0 

That<EFBFBD>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<6F>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<6F>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<6F>re 
looking for. 

Just take a gander at some of Circle<6C>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<72> interface 
--On-line system logs 
--Optional automatically regenerating wizlist --a final end 
to new immortals constantly asking you when they<65>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<6F>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<6F>re used to: level-sensitive 
invisibility, settable poofin/poofouts, wizline 
--Advanced <20>set<65> command which allows you to set dozens of aspects 
of players --even if they aren<65>t logged in! "Stat" also allows 
you to stat people who aren<65>t logged in! 
--Intelligent <20>autorun<75> 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: <20>all<6C> to refuse all connections, 
<EFBFBD>new<EFBFBD> to refuse new players, or <20>select<63> to refuse new players and 
all registered players who don<6F>t have a SITEOK flag. 
--<2D>wizlock<63> allows you to close the game to all new players or all 
players below a certain level. 
--Handy <20>mute<74> command squelches a player off of all public 
communication channels 
--Handy <20>freeze<7A> command freezes a player in his tracks: the MUD 
totally ignores all commands from that player until he<68>s thawed. 
--Even handier DELETE flag allows you to delete players on the fly. 
--<2D>set<65> command (mentioned above) allows you to freeze/unfreeze/ 
delete/siteok/un-siteok players --even if they aren<65>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<6F>t echo to the screen; allows 3 bad PW attempts 
before disconnecting you. 
--Players aren<65>t allowed to choose their character<65>s name as their 
password --you<6F>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? 

Good luck, and happy Mudding, 

Jeremy Elson aka Ras 

Circle and tbaMUD<55>s complete source code and areas are available at
http://www.tbamud.com.