Empire Server Files

Release notes for Wolfpack Empire 4.3.23

This release fixes a number of minor bugs.  Player visible changes
include limiting nukes to strategic roles, revised cargo plane rules,
and changed launch command syntax for anti-sats.  Deity visible changes
include configurable sector maintenance cost.

Deities are urged to use this release for new games.  Upgrading
mid-game is not supported, and expected to result in total disaster.
Fine print: you should be able to upgrade from 4.3.16 or later with
the empdump utility, if you know what you're doing.

This release was made from the Git repository at

    http://git.pond.sub.org/?p=empserver;a=summary


Released files:

Source code
 * empire-4.3.23.tar.gz             Everything
 * empire-client-4.3.23.tar.gz      Just the client

Pre-formatted documentation
 * empire-info-text-4.3.23.tar.gz   Text
 * empire-info-html-4.3.23.tar.gz   HTML

Binaries
 * empire-client-4.3.23-*           Clients for various systems

User contributed files:
 * contrib/empire-server-4.3.23-i386-win32.zip
                                    Server binaries for Windows
				    (Ron Koenderink)


Change log:

 * Fix missile interception not to intercept tactical and marine
   missiles attacking missiles or satellites.  No such missiles exist
   in the stock game.  Interception of tactical ABMs could crash the
   server.  Broken in Empire 2.
 * Missiles missing their target do collateral damage again.  Was
   disabled because of bugs in 4.0.18 for manual launch and in 4.3.16
   for automatic launch.
 * News reported victim as actor for sub-launched anti-sat and ABM.
 * Defense value of missiles vs. ABMs and satellites vs. anti-sats
   failed to improve with tech.
 * Fix a bug that let missiles interdict ships outside their op area.
   This could happen when a group navigating together was partly
   inside the op area.
 * Only bomb strategic and launch at sector can use nukes.  Before,
   they could also be used by missions, bomb pinpoint, and launch at
   ships, but there were several bugs and inconsistencies, and the
   code was messy.  The arm command now rejects marine missiles in
   addition to satellites, ABMs and SAMs, and clears the mission.  The
   mission command now rejects planes armed with nukes.
 * Missiles exploding on launch pad no longer set off their nukes.
 * The launch command now more accurately reports why a missile can't
   be equipped.  It no longer draws supplies automatically.
 * Manually launched anti-sat now always kills when it hits, for
   consistency with automatically launched ones.
 * Don't permit nukes on satellites, ABMs and SAMs.  Nukes on
   satellites could be armed and disarmed even in orbit.  Nukes on
   ABMs and SAMs were lost without effect when their missile
   intercepted.  The stock game is not affected, because its
   satellites, ABMs and SAMs all have zero load.
 * Remove obsolete plane capabilities stealth and half-stealth.  Not
   used by the stock game.
 * Penalize fighter combat value for any load, not just bombs.  The
   stock game's fighters can't carry anything but bombs.
 * Make bomb work for non-tactical cargo bomber.  No such planes exist
   in the stock game.
 * Revised cargo plane rules: a cargo flight can be either an airlift
   or an airdrop now.  Airlifts carry more cargo than airdrops.  A
   cargo drop or paradrop with a non-VTOL plane is an airdrop.
   Anything else is an airlift.  This makes paradrop loads consistent
   with drop loads.  Paradrop with VTOL transports now carries twice
   the punch, and drop with non-VTOL transports hauls less than fly.
   In particular, the stock game's tr can't drop guns anymore.
 * Enforce plane selection rules more tightly:
   - bomb command can select only planes with capability bomber or
     tactical.  Before, other planes with non-zero load flew along,
     but their bombs were silently lost.
   - sweep command can select only planes with capability sweep.
     Before, other planes performed ordinary reconnaissance instead.
   - drop command can select only planes with capability cargo.
     Before, other planes flew along but dropped nothing.
 * Fix paradrop to fail without destroying the paratroopers when the
   player owns the target sector.
 * Launching an anti-sat now takes the target plane as argument.
   Before, it took a sector argument, and targeted the lowest-numbered
   satellite there.  Rather inconvenient when your own satellite masks
   one of the enemy's.
 * Remove option PINPOINTMISSILE.  Deities can customize the plane
   table to disable marine missiles.
 * Ridiculously impotent nukes could do unpredictable interdiction
   damage.  No such nukes exist in the stock game.
 * The production command could mispredict resource-depleting level
   production.  No such products exist in the stock game.  In fact,
   they'd be highly unusual.
 * The update could crash or corrupt the game when a (misconfigured)
   product depleted resource "none".
 * Revamp the Windows port based on ideas stolen from Gnulib.  Share
   the code between server and client.
 * Don't log out player when update aborts a command under Windows.
   Broken in 4.3.20, and not fully fixed in 4.3.21.
 * Fix accepting connections from hosts with "long" IPv6 address.  The
   internal buffer had insufficient space.
 * Delay shutdown up to 3s to let player output buffers drain.
 * Fix a race between main thread and player threads, which could
   theoretically make the server crash on start.
 * Clean up synchronization between commands, update and shutdown, and
   when player threads sleep on I/O.
 * Clean up the cruft that has accumulated in and behind the empio
   interface, and, to a lesser degree, the empthread interface.
 * Fix time difference underflows in pthread and Windows code.  They
   could potentially cause hangs, although none have been observed.
 * Make budget's "Sector building" line look better.
 * Make sector maintenance cost configurable.  New sect-chr selector
   maint.  Capitals now pay maintenance regardless of efficiency.
 * Overhaul show sect b.
 * Fix mine production resource limit for sector peffic != 100.  This
   affects mountains in the stock game, but only with an impractically
   large number of ETUs per update.
 * Code refactoring and cleanup.
 * Info file fixes and improvements.

Change log just for the client:

 * Revamp the Windows port based on ideas stolen from Gnulib.  Share
   the code between server and client.