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                     Written by 'Weird Al' Walker  (C)1997

            SUPPORT THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT!  REGISTER THIS SOFTWARE!
                         See GALACTIC.DOC for details...

                             Control the Galaxy!

                                Cosmic Risk!

                              Make new Enemies!

       Start out with one planet, and parlay it into a vast empire...

  Using only your wits (and a few thousand ships), you must seek out the weak
                         and conquer their planets.

V6.2    - Fixed that reports of attacks from CPU were from (noname)...
        - Doubled size of Display Sector
        - User can now select sector to list planets of, rather than having
                    to scroll through all of them...
        - Expanded types of fleets that can be listed (now Small fleets,
            To/From Sector as well as Large, Scouts, To/From Planets, Recalled)
        - Completely rewrote cash update routines to *work* this time
                (I thought it was too easily implemented... <g> )
        - Modified scout routines so planetary defenses *may* destroy them
                before they can make any report at all...
        - Door now reads CALLINFO.BBS, PCBOARD.SYS and DOOR.SYS as well as
                                  DORINFOn.DEF
        - /D{path_to_dropfile} now works... (sigh)
        - /N{nodenumber} now affects which DORINFOn.DEF is read...
        - /RA forces door to read DORINFO1.DEF, regardless of /N{nodenumber}
        - Changed HWBounty default to 5000, to make it worthwhile...


V6.1    - Fixed passing of TimeLeft in local mode (was 0, now is 60 min)
        - If player proposes alliance, if other player then starts it on
            his end, sends message "{player} accepts alliance proposal"
        - If player proposes alliance, then withdraws proposal, sends message
                     "{player} withdraws alliance proposal"
        - If player cancels alliance, both Allied bits are cleared and message
                     "{player} has cancelled your alliance!"
        - Created open standard for custom msgstack messages (the short, one
                line messages like Scout Reports etc) for GEMs...
        - Fixed phantom negative UPDATE.GE "lastupdate" variable...
        - Any user that doesn't play in 7 days has all planets given back
                                to the CPU...
        - Changed all <CR>s to <ENTER> for those who don't know what a
                          "Carriage Return" is...
        - "Angry" planets now flash rating if under 60 percent...
        - User can now re-read the "Fleet Messages" from Message Menu
                          (until next turn update)
        - Created GEM Installation Master, to simplify installing and removing
                          Galactic Empire Modules
        - Door now costs $15 US (outside Canada) or
                         $15 Canadian (for Canadian Residents)
        - Winner and Loser notified of capture of Homeworld
        - Initial Fleet Message read "instant" to avoid node collision
        - Range Calculator now shows allies/enemy/own planets
        - Created HWBOUNTY keyword in CFG file, gives user bonus cash for
                            taking user's homeworld...
        - User can now win planet without a fight, but only if Fleet doubles
                Planet ships, and if the planet is not a homeworld
        - Fixed GEM Drop File writer in G.EXE to write Mapname without ".GE"
        - Fixed LastUpdate variable when returning from GEMs
******  - Fixed screwup where CPU was charging Random(0..255) taxes on its
* -> *       planets, getting no cash, but SLAUGHTERING the happiness
******      levels...  Use FIXMORAL.EXE (once) to Fix your data files...
        - TimeOut now set to 2 minutes in GEM Menu, regardless of setting
        - Created GEMTPU.TPU, a Pascal 7.0 Unit for people wishing to create
                                GEM programs...
        - Changed Loan Tax rate to 2% from 5% (was growning too fast to ever
                catch, and the bank would start taking cash to pay it off!)
        - Changed default CashFactor to 100 from 10, to give people cash to
                actually GET the goodies I've programmed in!
        - New user now gets (5*Average Ships per Planet) + (Fleet Ships div 20)
                to start, to make it more fair in advanced game
        - Range Display now shows # of ships on own planets
******  - Changed call to GEMs; GALAC.BAT and LOCAL.BAT *MUST* now have a
* -> *          G {insert your params here} -RETURN after the CALL in
******                  the batch files... See docs for details...
        - Tactical Map now shows relative overlap of planet areas
        - 50/50 chance of attacking fleet revealing origin
        - More realistic number of ships taken out by combat (taking Attack
                   and Defense bonuses into account...)
        - If AdjTime in GALACTIC.CFG is changed, all users' "Last Played"
               turns are reset to avoid accidently deleting them for
                       not playing in a week...


V6.0    - Creation of GEMs: Galactic Empire Modules!  Add-on mini-doors that
                     allow anyone to create for the game!
                - Created Cantina: Online Bar, with Slots and Chatter
                - Created Lotto 6049: Buy a ticket, drawn each day

        - Flag/Banner editor, to more personalize your character...
        - Configurable "ToWin" number of planets in GALACTIC.CFG (100 default)
        - Configurable Loss of Homeworld consequences (anything from nothing
                to losing entire empire to CPU or Attacking player)
        - User can now send a scout from one planet to all (within range) in
                                   a sector
        - Massively "prettied up" the help menu, organizing commands in
                               logical groups...
        - Allies menu - Send ships to each other, view each other on tactical
                 map, and winning the game is a group affair...
        - Scouts now report true production, including Sector Bonus
        - If the door, on another node, is updating the game, other nodes wait
        - Increased size of Planet records and User records
        - Deleting user now deletes email and msgstack messages
        - Picking new planet for user now more random (not always A0 for 1st)
        - Created Taxes, which are TotalPlanetaryProduction * Taxrate (10%
                   is optimal) * CashFactor (see GALACTIC.CFG)
        - Users get 4% per round interest on un-used cash...
        - Created Planetary Moral, which is affected by Tax Rate...
                - If moral is low, planet may rebel and defect
        - Created Fleet Attack and Defense bonus, up to 25% bonus to attack
                  or defense, but you have to purchase it...
        - Created menu where you can spend money on Ships (1 DT each),
              Defense/Attack bonuses or Planetary Production increases...
        - Made "View Complete Map" available to non-registered users...
                    (Tactical is still Registered Only...)
        - Created new registration key routine. All registered users will get
                   new keys when I release this version...
        - Added -A{access_level} command line switch
        - Finding a new planet will now take planet with low moral...
        - Created "Galactic Bank of Twids" (don't ask) where users can borrow
                money (5% interest/round), or transfer funds to each other
        - Updated Planet list procedure to create tabled list
        - Standardized the User List command, now displays Ally, Score & Flag
        - Colorized the HINTS.GE file
        - Updated the INSTR.GE file
        - Allies now show up in Tactical and Display Sector maps


V5.1    - Fixed (again) the Error 002 when game is first installed
        - Again tried to track down phantom Com1 bug with OS/2... I give up.
        - Changed Tactical map from "rendered" to "scrolled", so people
                can scroll back in their terminal buffer instead of
                redrawing it...  Also allows non-ansi to view it...
        - Logging in locally as CPU now works, including sending mail
        - Fixed Email bug to user #1
        - User can't use the CPU's name, nor a mixed case of someone else


V5.0    - Fixed average # of ships bug for new players
        - New players get 5*Average_Ships_Per_Planet, when it was not divided
                by NumPlanets, new players were getting 500 (!) times average
                    number of ships per planet, slaughtering current players!
        - Configurable range of start production per planet
                        (STARTSHIPS in .CFG)
        - Configurable bonus ships per planet for sector ownership
                        (BONUSSHIPS in .CFG)
        - Configurable range factor for scouts
                (SCOUTRANGE in .CFG)(X*Max=ScoutRange)(2 default)
        - Now cannot scout your own planets
        - ... Plus *MANY* upgrades by Gerald Albion of THC ][ BBS...


    *                                                                    *
   **  Since there was such a large period of time between V2.X and the  **
  ***  current version, including work by Tommy of THC BBS to "Bring it  ***
   **  into the 90's", I have skipped Versions 3.X to 4.99...            **
    *                                                                    *


V2.51   - Fixed bug where first new user could assume the name of the CPU.


V2.50   - Removed Monthy Reset routine.  The game will ONLY reset if someone
                captures ALL the planets, or UPDATE.GE is deleted.


V2.41   - Fixed bug with battles involving over 32767 ships...


V2.40   - Expanded Fleet List command
        - Removed Game Status command
        - Created 'Privacy Mode', for users who don't like the Sysop
                reading over their shoulder....


V2.32   - Fixed bug with Error 002 when game first installed
        - Fixed bug with Messages from Fleets
        - Fixed Mono/Color awareness (I hope)


V2.10   - Planetary Systems now have names instead of just 'A-Z'.
        - Users can now 'Forward' extra ships automatically
        - FLEETS.GE and MSGSTACK.GE are now only as big as they
             need to be, and have no theoretical size limit
        - The Planet list now shows bonus production per planet,
           which is 10 ships per planet if you own entire sector
        - There are now 8 different StarMaps available, chosen randomly
                    at the beginning of the month.
        - The Distance Calculator shows all planets within Fleet Range
        - The List Fleets option allows parameters (command & in 'Recall')
                        (like From specific planet...)
        - Streamlined (!!!) the Update routine
        - New users are Guaranteed to start far from older users
        - Fixed bug where MAP-I.GE was picked as a map...
        - Made certain routines Monochrome/Color Monitor aware

   This version will probably be the last version for a while, barring any
        bugs that get found in the meantime.  I am starting work on
             other games, as this one has consumed enough of my
                            programming powers...

   If you find any bugs, or you have any new ideas, send email to me (Weird Al)
         on Tommy's Holiday Camp ][ BBS (604) 361-1464, or to Tommy.

