1 .TH Server "Chainsaw Changes"
2 .NA CHANGES.CHAINSAW "Changes from KSU Empire to Chainsaw code"
7 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 1.0
9 This file enumerates some of the more important changes between
10 BBN Empire 1.0 & BSD Empire 1.1.5, KSU, & MERC empire. BBN Empire 1.0
11 is a superset of the other versions, including all MERC code, which includes
12 all KSU code, which include the BSD 1.1.5 code.
14 .L "Bug-fixes & Changes"
16 Scrap and scuttle will now ask for confirmation before scrapping or scuttling
17 wing or fleets. The will also ask before scrapping or scuttling ALL planes or
18 ships (when a '*' is given as an argument)
20 Bomb has been changed to allow planes with the P_T (tactical bomber) flag to
21 bomb, even if they are also cargo planes. This fixes the problem with Zeppelins
22 not being allowed to bomb.
24 Power has been modified to not report on all deity countries (as opposed to just
27 The plane functions have been extensively modified to calculate and enforce
28 the ship plane-capacity limits. In previous versions, this was enforced only
29 in the load command, and incorrectly maintained. (In some situations, the #
30 could go negative, and wrap around to 255, causing much disbelief)
32 The telegram command was changed so that bulletins from a deity include the
33 name of the deity country that sent them. (Useful for multiple deity games)
35 The nation files are re-read for the report and country commands. Before,
36 the program would use the in-memory nation stuff, which meant that it was out
37 of date if it changed (i.e. people logging in/out after you would not be shown
38 as logged in in the country output, report would be out of date, esp in blitzes,
39 etc) With this option, the nation file is closed and re-opened, which updates
40 the in-memory stuff to be current. This is still not perfect, as when people
41 exit incorrectly, they are still shown as logged on, until they telnet and
42 kill the process, or the transaction manager is restarted.
44 Also, the init_nats function was changed. Previously, if a country did not
45 receive a BTU delta when logging in, its last login time was not set.
49 Many new options have been defined for BBN 1.0.
53 Choppers have a chance of evading interception. It isn't as good as
54 stealth, which is why it's listed as half-stealth. I'm not telling
55 the exact numbers... figure them out for yourself.
59 Credit for this idea goes to Tom Tedrick. Damage/effects are the same,
60 but blast effects are confined to the target hex. This also automatically turns
61 of MISSING MISSILES. Note that launch will still ask about air/ground burst.
65 Gold bars cannot be pin bombed, and are not hurt by firing. There are still
66 ways to kill them, but not by shelling or bombing.
70 A bridge can be built in any sector adjacent to one of yours, providing
71 that the target sector is adjacent to a non-sea, non-bridge sector. Since
72 bridgeheads are not required, you can't collapse bridges by killing the head.
73 (You can still kill them by taking the bridge below 20%) This also fixes a
74 problem with planes on bridges not dying when the bridge dies. (This was partly
75 fixed before, but the fix didn't work all the time)
77 Note that the sector building the bridge may be a bridge, providing the sector
78 that the bridge is being built in is adjacent to a non-sea, non-bridge sector.
79 For example, this is legal:
81 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
82 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
83 . - = . - . . => . - = = - . .
84 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
85 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
90 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
91 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
92 . - = . . - . => . - = = . - .
93 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
94 . . . . . . . => . . . . . . .
97 Also, the sector building the bridge must be at least 60% efficient.
101 Ship's armor factors now more greatly affect both shelling and bombing. BB's are
102 much harder to kill. Smaller ships are more fragile.
106 When this option is enabled, countries receive tech leakage from ALL tech
107 producers, not merely allies. Tech leakage is 33% by default. The leak is
108 calculated as 33% of the average tech made by all those making tech. For
109 example, if there are 10 players, making 3, 4, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1 tech,
110 the total tech made is 15 by 6 countries, for an average of 2.5 tech. All 10
111 countries would get .833 tech leak (33% of 2.5), for total tech production of:
112 3.833, 4.833, 0.833, 0.833, 3.833, 0.833, 2.833, 0.833, 2.833, 1.833
116 You need research to build nukes. (1/4 the tech value, so a tech 300 nuke
121 You cannot attack someone's land unless you are at war with them. (You can
122 still blow up their ships with fire, board, torp, etc) When you declare war on
123 someone, your relation goes to Mobilizing. You still can't attack them. After
124 the next update, your relation goes to Sitzkrieg, and you still can't attack
125 them. After the NEXT update, you're at war with them, and anything goes.
127 If someone is Mobilizing or in Sitzkrieg, or At War with you, and you
128 declare war against them, your relation is set to be the same as theirs, so
129 there is no way to gain any advantage through this stuff. It just means that
130 you can't sneak-attack people.
132 The restrictions do not apply if you are the old_owner of the sector. If you
133 are the old_owner, you may bomb/shell/attack at will.
135 Note that while ships are freely attackable, regardless of war status, even
136 if they are in a harbor of a nation you are not at war with.
138 The first person who declares war pays $1000. Return declarations are free.
142 Ships do not use mobility when firing. Torpedo mobility cost is reduced to be
143 equal to 1/2 the mobility the firing ship would use to move a sector.
147 This option encompasses several small changes in sub-warfare. A new flag, sub-t,
148 is added. Only ships with the sub-t flag are allowed to torpedo subs. Also,
149 ships with depth-charge capability can now use them to their full gun range.
150 Depth charges are more affected by sub armor value. Torpedo damage is increased.
154 Most of the ships have had their firing ranges bumped up significantly.
156 Thomas Ruschak, The_Scum
160 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.0
162 This file enumerates some of the more important changes between
163 the code used for BBNII (Chainsaw Empire 1.0) & Chainsaw 2.0.
167 You can no longer map by attempting to land planes on unknown sectors.
168 The replies have been standardized to give no information.
170 The radar command is fixed to eliminate 'ghost' images at high tech.
172 Planes can now land on carriers that happen to be in bridge sectors.
174 You can no longer find out if any enemy subs are under your bridges by
175 trying to load things on them.
177 You can no longer load things onto non-allied ships, even
178 if they are in a harbor you own.
180 \&'break' now breaks ALL sanctuaries you own, even if some are not adjacent
183 When specifying a flight path, the terminating 'h' is no longer counted as
184 a sector for purposes of range.
186 Qorder is now documented, and works as described in the document.
190 When scrapping or scuttling groups of ships/planes or wings of
191 ships/planes, you will be asked to confirm that you want to do it.
192 (Also when doing scrap * or scuttle *)
194 Ships that assault will always retain 1 food.
196 You may now specify a "number to build" parameter for build.
198 The deity can now make declaration on another country's behalf.
200 Minesweepers now take less damage from mines (1/2 the normal amount).
202 A plane unloaded in an ally's harbor now becomes his plane. A plane loaded
203 onto an ally's ship also becomes his plane.
205 Your planes may now land on an ally's sectors or ships. Once there, they become
208 Ships will fire back in defense of sectors being attacked,
209 assaulted, or shelled.
211 Your ships/sects will no longer shoot themselves in defense.
212 You can cheerfully blast your own ships/sects without fear of
213 retaliation from your own forces. You can also torp your own
214 ships, and they will resignedly watch as the torps slam into them.
216 Gun ranges are no longer truncated. Instead, there is a % chance equal to the
217 decimal portion of the range of gaining a hex. For example, with a range of
218 2.50, there is a 50% chance of being able to fire at range 3. With a range of
219 6.33, there is a 33% chance of being able to fire at range 7.
221 The power report has been changed to be more realistic. The relative worth
222 of most commodities has been changed, and a country's total is multiplied by
223 a tech factor to arrive at a final value.
225 There is no longer a minimum maintenance cost of $1/ETU for planes and ships.
226 The new minimum is $1.
228 The torpedo command is changed. Surface ships may now have the torpedo ability,
229 as well as subs. When surface ships torpedo, they are fired at by defending
230 ships BEFORE they fire their torpedos.
232 An "escort" flag was added for planes. Planes with the escort flag may escort
233 missions. (Formerly, only planes with the intercept flag could escort)
235 Fighter aircraft being used as tactical bombers are now at a greater penalty
236 in air-to-air combat.
238 Ships with no mobility may now be nav'd. This allows fishing boats and oil
239 derricks to check resource values without having mob. (Of course, you can't
240 move with no mob, and an attempt to do so kicks you out)
242 The load command will now allow you to load wings/groups of planes.
244 You may now give things to allied ships using the tend command. (You may not
245 take things from allied ships, only give) (If ALLYHARBOR is used)
247 You may now upgrade allied ships. (If ALLYHARBOR is used)
249 Your civs will work on allied ships in your harbors. (If ALLYHARBOR is used)
251 You may assault your own sectors. Mil assaulting are simply added to the
252 number in the sector.
254 You may now land planes on a carrier in an allied harbor. (If ALLYHARBOR is
257 Conventional non-tactical missiles will now be intercepted by ABM's.
263 Trade ships simulate internal or external trade. In the real world, you make
264 goods someplace where they're cheap, ship them somewhere they're expensive, and
265 sell them, making a profit.
267 For empire purposes, you make a trade ship, which uses many cm's, and costs
268 $2500. You then sail it somewhere and scuttle it. You get money back, more than
269 you put into building the ship. The return rate depends on several factors.
271 The primary factor is distance. The distance is calculated as straight-line
272 distance from the sector the ship is scuttled in to the sector in which it was
273 built. You have to sail it at least 8 sectors to get any profit at all. If you
274 sail it more than eight, the profit rises steadily.
276 dist < 14: +3.5% * dist
277 dist < 25: +5.5% * dist
278 otherwise: +7.5% * dist
281 Another factor is the sector in which you scuttle it. If you scuttle it in a
282 harbor you own, you get normal cash. If you scuttle it in the harbor of
283 an ally, you get a 20% bonus, AND your ally gets 10% of the cash you make as
284 a bonus (you still get the full amount)
286 For example, using the numbers from above, if you sailed 15 sectors, and
287 scuttled in an allied harbor, you'd get $4562 * 1.2 = $5.5K, and your ally
288 would get $4562/10 = $456.
290 The last factor is the efficiency of the trade ship. The cash return is
291 multiplied by the efficiency of the ship when it is scuttled.
293 Note that captured trade ships can be scuttled by pirates, who receive cash
294 as if it was their own.
298 Each ship has a fuel capacity, and a fuel usage rate. During an update, ships
299 use fuel at a rate of 10 mob for every <fuel-usage> units of fuel. Ships with
300 a fuel usage of 1 get 10 mob for every 1 fuel, ships with 2 fuel usage get 10
301 mob for 2 fuel, etc. Ships with no fuel do not get mobility. Ships with a fuel
302 usage of 0 do not need fuel. (Sailing ships & nuc ships/subs)
304 A new command, "fuel" is added. It allows fueling from a harbor sector, or a
305 ship or ships with the "oiler" flag. When fueling, petrol and/or oil in the
306 harbor or on the oiler is exchanged for fuel points, which are loaded on the
307 ship. Petrol is used first, if available, at a rate of 1 pet = 10 fuel. If
308 there is not enough petrol, oil is used, at a rate of 1 oil = 50 fuel.
310 Ships of allies can be fueled, if the ALLYHARBOR option is in use, either at a
311 harbor, or with an oiler.
315 This option adds a flag, "semi-lander", which allows the ship to use 25% of its
321 These two flags are similar. They establish new plane flags, "helo" (ship
322 helicopter), and "x-light" (extra light). Each ship is then rated on it's
323 ability to carry those types,
324 independently of it's ability to carry normal planes. This allows deities
325 to let non-carriers carry sams, for example, or to let ships carry anti-sub
326 helicopters or transport helos.
330 A new plane flag is added "asw". This allows planes with the flag to spot
331 subs on recon missions. (Detection chance is
332 (100-accuracy)-(4-sub visibility)*10)
333 Planes with this flag may be informed (depending on detection ability) when
334 pin-bombing a sea-sector of the presence of subs. They then have the option of
335 bombing the subs. Each plane on such a mission rolls separately to find the
336 subs, and can only bomb the ones it can find.
340 A "para" flag is added for planes. Only planes with the para flag can be used
345 This option adds a new statistic for planes, stealth percentage. Use of this
346 option effectively disables stealth planes and the CHOPPER_STEALTH option, as
347 the stealth and half-stealth flags are ignored.
349 With this option, each plane is rated as to its percentage chance to evade
350 ground-fire and interception. The stealth rating of a group of planes is equal
351 to the rating of the plane in the group with the lowest stealth rating.
355 When this option is used, both fire and torpedo accept multiple ships/sectors.
356 Each firing ship/sector may be used against a separate target, or all may fire
359 Return fire is distributed evenly over the firing ships/sectors, with each
360 defending ship/sector firing once. The spreading of damage also applies to
361 subs being depth-charged after torping, and for torpedo boats being fired at
366 Each ship/fleet may be given a retreat path, and retreat conditions. Conditions
367 are: retreat when damaged at all, retreat when torped, retreat when sonared,
368 retreat when fired upon from beyond max range, retreat if bombed, retreat if
371 Retreat conditions are assigned to ships, and may be assigned to entire fleets
372 at once. When a ship's retreat condition is satisfied, things happen.
374 If the ship's fleet has a retreat path, all ships in the fleet that are in the
375 affected sector attempt to retreat 2 sectors along the path, using mobility as
376 if they were navigating.
378 If the ship's fleet does not have a retreat path, then the ship checks to see
379 if it has it's own retreat path. If so, it retreats 2 sectors along it, as
382 Note that retreating ships can hit mines, and could be blocked by new bridges,
383 or by an ally changing to non-allied status (which would make them unable to
384 retreat into a harbor)
386 Retreat paths are wiped from a ship when the ship moves. Retreat paths are wiped
387 from fleets only at the player's request.
391 With this option, the board command is extended to allow boarding of enemy
392 ships in your harbors. The harbor sector must have mobility, but the command
393 does not use any mobility.
397 With this option, planes with the \*Qmine\*U ability are allowed to use
398 the drop command to drop shells as mines in sea sectors. (see info drop)
402 With this option, planes with the \*Qsweep\*U ability will automatically
403 attempt to sweep mines while on recon missions. See info recon for more
407 This option changes the update ordering a bit, and allows you to set
408 priorities for production, for those situations where money is tight.
409 A new command, \*Qbudget\*U, is added, that shows financial information,
410 and allows setting of priorities.
414 When this option is used, nukes striking wasteland or sanctuary sectors do
415 not detonate. Nukes striking water sectors affect only their impact sector.
418 Thanks go to all the people who've helped me with ideas and playtesting:
419 Jorge Diaz (Ansalon), Tom Tedrick (Afrika Korps), Keith Graham (DreamLands),
420 Dave Nye (Evil_Empire), Sasha Mikheev (Dolgopa), Baldric, Elsinore, Brett Reid
421 (Resvon), Kazzadur \eystein Tvedten (Flipper's evil twin), Tharkadia, Yikes, and
422 many more I'm forgetting. The good things are mostly ideas contributed by these
423 people. The bugs, I'm afraid, are my own.
426 Thomas Ruschak (The_Scum)
431 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.1
433 Chainsaw 2.1 has some minor differences from Chainsaw 2.0.
435 Now, when navigating, sonar or radar commands will
436 default to the current ship, or the first (lowest
437 numbered) ship in a group. You may override this by
438 specifying the desired ship on the command line.
439 (I.e. "r 12" or "radar 212", etc)
441 The chance of a plane aborting is changed to
442 (100-eff)%. This means that if a 100% plane
443 takes a hit for 30% damage, it has a 30% chance to abort.
444 If it then takes another hit for 20% more, a total of 50% damage,
445 it has a 50% chance to abort.
447 Also, when bombing ships, rolls are not made for
448 aborting until after all ships have fired, rather
449 than rolling every time the plane takes a flak
452 A new command has been added, the 'payoff' command.
453 It shows the value of trade ships if scuttled at
454 the current sect (check info payoff).
456 Constants have been added to control ship & plane
457 efficiency growth rate. It is now possible to allow
458 2xETUS growth in efficiency, 3x, etc.
460 Subs may no longer shell.. they may only torpedo.
462 A WIRE option has been added that activates the
463 \&'wire' command. The wire command reads only
464 announcements. The normal read command then
465 reads only telegrams & bulletins.
467 When assaulting, troops will always leave at least 1 food on the ship.
469 You may now build multiples of an item by adding a build count at the
470 end of your build command. (see info build)
472 You may now give comments in the hours file. Comment lines start with a
473 \&'#' character. (Players do not need to care about this.. it's for deities)
475 The report command has been changed to not include countries
476 that are not active. (i.e. visitor or in sanctuary)
478 The version command now show the ship/sector/plane mobility max/gain,
479 as well as the ship/plane growth constants.
483 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 2.2
485 Chainsaw 2.2 has some minor differences from Chainsaw 2.1.
487 A new option, SNEAK_ATTACK is included. It can only be used in
488 conjunction with SLOW_WAR. It allows you to attack a sector of
489 someone you're not at war with. Once attacked, the attacker
490 automatically declares war against the defender, and pays $5K.
491 At that point, the attacker has to go through the normal SLOW_WAR
492 procedure before attacking again. See info attack, info assault.
493 SNEAK_ATTACKs may not be done by parachute.
495 The 'list of commands' command now puts a 'c' in front of commands
496 that require you to have a capital to use, and a '$' in front of
497 commands that require you to be non-broke for use.
501 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 3.0
503 Chainsaw 3.0 has some major differences from Chainsaw 2.2.
505 Ships that don't carry enough crew lose effic when at sea. See
506 info build (the ship building section)
508 The BUDGET option has been removed. Budget is now standard.
509 The NEWSUBS option has been removed. NEWSUBS is now standard.
510 The MULTIFIRE option has been removed. MULTIFIRE is now standard.
512 I took out the 'too much traffic for workers' thing, because it was dumb.
514 Ships of tech 310 or better can detect mines with sonar.
516 Conventional missiles launched from subs are anonymous. The
517 victim is not notified of the launching country's identity,
518 and the news knows naught.
520 In order to export something from a sector, you must have
521 military control of the sector. In order to import something from a
522 distribution sector, you must have military control of the distribution
525 The chances to hit a mine are changed. See info mine and info lmine.
527 Two new deity commands have been added, 'disable' and 'enable',
528 which disable and enable updates. The 'update' command will mention
529 it if updates are disabled.
531 When you capture a sector, all distribution info is wiped (distribution
532 sector, thresholds). Sectors just taken over are stopped (see start and stop).
534 The criteria for sector ownership have been changed slightly. See
535 info sector-ownership for information.
537 Countries still in sanctuary can now get telegrams and announcements.
539 Fishing boats and oil derricks only work in open ocean sectors.
541 Civs & mil may be distributed. No sector will export its last civ.
543 A new command, bdesignate, has been added. It allows you to manually
546 When navigating a ship or marching a unit, you get a map of the sectors around
547 your ship or unit, without using BTU's.
549 When using map or bmap, giving the number of a ship you own instead
550 of an area will give you a map centered around that ship. For example,
554 will give you a map centered on ship 1. Lmap works similarly, except
555 you can get a map around a land unit, and pmap gives a map around a plane.
557 When loading/unloading, you can give a desired level as a negative number
558 instead of an amount to load/unload. For example:
562 will attempt to load or unload food as necessary to get ship 4 to 10 food.
563 (Similar to the syntax for enlist) See info load for details.
565 Land units have been added. There are many new commands for dealing with them.
566 Look at info Land-units for a general overview.
568 Sectors that don't have enough food at the update will now attempt to
569 draw food from supply sources. (see info supply for details on supply sources.
570 Conquered sectors will not draw food)
571 Other sectors/ships/units will now draw supplies (mostly shells) when they
574 You can now give destination sectors instead of paths for all movement
575 commands. For example,
577 .EX move c 0,0 10 5,-1
579 will move 10 civs from 0,0 to 5,-1 via the most efficient path, the
580 one that uses the least mobility.
582 Ships/planes/units now use lcms/hcms as they gain efficiency, rather than using
583 them all at once. See info build for more details.
585 Distribution has been changed. Each sector now has a distribution sector
586 rather than a distribution path (during the update, the least-cost path
587 is found and used) Also, importing & exporting via distribute now happen
588 in separate phases, rather than being mingled. See info distribute
589 and info update-sequence for a full description.
590 Read info distribute, or don't cry.
592 There is a document that details the update sequence. (info update-sequence)
594 Civs/mil/uw's are much harder to kill (how much harder is deity-settable)
595 with shelling or bombing or nuking.
597 Air to air combat is changed. Check info interception for an explanation
598 of the interception process and a description of air combat.
600 Fully efficient roads now have a small mob cost to move through.
602 Fort gun range is now (7*tech factor). Damage from fort shelling now
603 depends on the number of guns firing. Forts get a +1 range bonus if at
606 Sectors can cost money to designate, and may cost extra to build. They
607 may also take lcms or hcms to build. Show sector build will show this.
609 A new command, cede, allows you to give a sector or ship to a neighbor. See
610 info cede for more details.
612 There are several new information commands, such as neweff and
613 starvation. See the info pages for details.
615 Sectors are damaged by combat occurring in them. See info attack for details.
617 Missions may be given to ships/planes/units, allowing them to interdict
618 enemy movement, support friendly attacks & defense, and other things.
619 See info mission for details.
621 Forts automatically fire at enemy ships coming within range.
623 Mountains can be used (poorly) as capitals. See info capital.
627 RES_POP: when RES_POP is enabled, the maximum number of civilians, mil,
628 or uw's that can be in a sector is determined by research. See info
629 research for exact details.
631 NEW_STARVE: when NEW_STARVE is enabled, the starvation ordering is changed.
632 Instead of losing equal numbers of each type of population (uws, civs, mil),
633 you first lose uw's, then civs, then mil. As before, no more than 1/2 the total
634 population of a sector can starve in one update. Example: if you have 200 uw's,
635 100 mil, and 500 civilians, and no food, normally you'd have 100 uw's, 50 mil,
636 and 250 civs after the update. With NEW_STARVE in effect, you'd have 0 uw's,
637 300 civilians, and 100 mil.
639 NEW_WORK: When moving civs to or from a sector with low work, the new loyalty
640 and work percentage of the destination sector is computed proportionally.
641 For example, of you move 100 people from a 0% work sector to a 100% work
642 destination sector with 100 people in it, the destination sector will have 200
643 50% work people in it. If you then moved in 100 people with a 100% work
644 percentage, the sector would have 300 67% work people in it.
646 CARRIER_WORK: carriers will now work on damaged planes on board. It's not much,
649 STOP: there are now 2 new commands, stop & start. If you stop a sector, it
650 will not gain efficiency or produce for 1 update. Start counteracts stop.
651 Census is also changed to report the production status of a sector.
655 Changes to the Chainsaw code in version 3.3
657 Sectors taken over have the their production stopped.
658 This should prevent the "redesignate a dozen tech centers" update attack.
659 If STOP is not defined, the new sector designation is set to be the
660 same as the current sector designation.
663 The 'file' utility now creates an all-sea world instead of not creating a world.
projects / empserver / blob