+Changes to Empire 4.3.11 - Sat Dec 15 06:34:23 UTC 2007
+ * The client now copes with ids greater than 15. The Empire
+ protocol currently uses 14 ids.
+ * Rewrite the client's code to read server output during login. The
+ old code could write one byte beyond the end of the buffer
+ (theoretically a remote hole), got confused by long lines, and
+ lines that didn't arrive in one piece.
+ * Long country name, password or user name crashed the client.
+ * Fix xdump not to deny access to game state tables when maximum
+ minutes per day are exceeded.
+ * The server considers a country bankrupt when its treasury is
+ negative. Except when it doesn't. Fix that:
+ - report misreported countries with $0 as broke.
+ - If a command spent a few cents more than you had, commands requiring
+ money became unavailable even when rounding brought you back to
+ $0. But logging out and back in then bankrupted you.
+ - If your treasury rose to exactly $0, commands requiring money
+ remained unavailable.
+ - If you had $0, sectors didn't build and sectors and ships didn't
+ produce at the update.
+ * Fix a bug in trade that made your money evaporate when a trade fell
+ through because you couldn't fully pay. This bug was there since
+ the introduction of the market in 4.0.0. It got aggravated by the
+ removal of forced loans in 4.3.0.
+ * Fix printing of the new group in army, fleet and wing. Broken in
+ 4.3.5.
+ * Fix flash not to screw up the message when the first argument
+ contains white-space.
+ * Don't let planes intercept when they are stuck in foreign bases, on
+ inefficient ships or land units, or on land units loaded on ships
+ or land units.
+ * Fix a bug that made interception require petrol to be present even
+ for planes that don't use fuel (SAMs). Broken in 4.3.3. Air
+ defense missions weren't affected.
+ * fairland and setsector now limit fertility to 100 instead of 120,
+ like the other resources.
+ * Generalize the autonav hack for fishing boats so it covers oil
+ derricks as well.
+ * Fix bug in path command that made it swallow every other step.
+ Broken in 4.2.22.
+ * The execute command no longer supports redirections and execute in
+ batch files. Flaws in the Empire protocol make it next to
+ impossible for clients to implement that correctly. See
+ doc/clients-howto for an explanation.
+ * Rewrite much of the client's code for sending commands and
+ receiving server output:
+ - No longer blocks on sending commands. which could deadlock the
+ session.
+ - Fix race condition that could cause server output to be discarded
+ on EOF on standard input.
+ - Don't discard server output when reading standard input fails.
+ - Fix error handling for execute and other, more obscure cases.
+ - More rigorous error checking for redirections and execute.
+ Clearer error messages, too.
+ - Fix execute redirected to file or pipe. Believed to be broken in
+ 4.2.0.
+ - The client now creates files for redirections with the same
+ permissions whether the redirection is in a pipe or not. Before,
+ redirections without a pipe created files with no permissions for
+ group and others. This change may make your redirected output
+ visible to other users on your system. Use the usual controls,
+ like umask, to restrict permissions to your liking.
+ - Reject unexpected redirections (violating the protocol). Before,
+ they silently replaced the current one, and in the case of pipes
+ leaked file descriptors and memory.
+ - Redirections in batch files are not implemented. They didn't
+ quite work before, and could leak memory and file descriptors. A
+ flaw in the Empire protocol makes them next to impossible to
+ implement correctly.
+ - The execute command in batch files is not implemented. A flaw in
+ the Empire protocol makes this practically useless anyway.
+ - Old code leaked memory in various places.
+ - Unfortunate incompatibility with older servers: if you type the
+ EOF character (normally ^D) at an argument prompt, the session
+ hangs. Use the interrupt character (normally ^C) to get out.
+ * The client now supports options -h and -v.
+ * The client no longer zaps its command line in a lame attempt at
+ protecting users who foolishly specify passwords on the command
+ line. Zapping annoys system administrators and creates a false
+ sense of security.
+ * Journal entries are now flushed to disk right away when the server
+ is running in debug mode.
+ * Fix bugs in load that could make loading operations fail noisily
+ instead of silently on some systems.
+ * Server now reliably shuts down session when it receives an
+ end-of-file condition from the client. Before, it merely failed
+ the current command when it got it at an argument prompt.
+ * Fix bug in execute that could crash the server on some systems when
+ it prompts for the argument.
+ * Fix bug that let you check whether a non-allied carrier is
+ efficient enough for takeoff when one of your planes got stuck
+ there somehow.
+ * Fix bug that let you attempt to escort a one-way mission to a
+ carrier with non-light, non-interceptor escorts. Such planes don't
+ fit on carriers, and the command then failed with a bogus error
+ message. Before 4.2.17, the planes flew, and the escorts were
+ teleported home.
+ * Change the rules for fitting planes on ships slightly, so that the
+ order of loading no longer matters. Choppers and x-lights can now
+ use plane slots even when not light. X-light choppers, which don't
+ exist in the stock game, can no longer use x-light slots.
+ * The server now keeps its log file open, just like the journal.
+ * New server option -R to set the PRNG seed. This is for
+ reproducible tests. Change the Windows-only service uninstall
+ options from -r/-R to -u/-U.
+ * Supply a real PRNG for Windows instead of the leaky water-pistol
+ Windows provides.
+ * Threads sleeping until a specified time could return early under
+ Windows. This could cause missed updates. Broken in 4.3.10.
+ * Fix missing newline in show updates.
+ * Power report didn't factor tech into power correctly. Broken in
+ 4.3.3.
+ * Code refactoring and cleanup.
+ * Info file and documentation fixes and updates.
+
Changes to Empire 4.3.10 - Thu Sep 6 17:59:53 UTC 2007
* Bridge spans now cost $1000 instead of $2000, and bridge towers
$3000 instead of $7500.
will affect you, the player. These were coded as the Wolfpack project,
and bug-reports should be sent to <wolfpack@wolfpackempire.com>.
.NF
+Changes to Empire 4.3.11 - Sat Dec 15 06:34:23 UTC 2007
+ * The client now copes with ids greater than 15. The Empire
+ protocol currently uses 14 ids.
+ * Rewrite the client's code to read server output during login. The
+ old code could write one byte beyond the end of the buffer
+ (theoretically a remote hole), got confused by long lines, and
+ lines that didn't arrive in one piece.
+ * Long country name, password or user name crashed the client.
+ * Fix xdump not to deny access to game state tables when maximum
+ minutes per day are exceeded.
+ * The server considers a country bankrupt when its treasury is
+ negative. Except when it doesn't. Fix that:
+ - report misreported countries with $0 as broke.
+ - If a command spent a few cents more than you had, commands requiring
+ money became unavailable even when rounding brought you back to
+ $0. But logging out and back in then bankrupted you.
+ - If your treasury rose to exactly $0, commands requiring money
+ remained unavailable.
+ - If you had $0, sectors didn't build and sectors and ships didn't
+ produce at the update.
+ * Fix a bug in trade that made your money evaporate when a trade fell
+ through because you couldn't fully pay. This bug was there since
+ the introduction of the market in 4.0.0. It got aggravated by the
+ removal of forced loans in 4.3.0.
+ * Fix printing of the new group in army, fleet and wing. Broken in
+ 4.3.5.
+ * Fix flash not to screw up the message when the first argument
+ contains white-space.
+ * Don't let planes intercept when they are stuck in foreign bases, on
+ inefficient ships or land units, or on land units loaded on ships
+ or land units.
+ * Fix a bug that made interception require petrol to be present even
+ for planes that don't use fuel (SAMs). Broken in 4.3.3. Air
+ defense missions weren't affected.
+ * fairland and setsector now limit fertility to 100 instead of 120,
+ like the other resources.
+ * Generalize the autonav hack for fishing boats so it covers oil
+ derricks as well.
+ * Fix bug in path command that made it swallow every other step.
+ Broken in 4.2.22.
+ * The execute command no longer supports redirections and execute in
+ batch files. Flaws in the Empire protocol make it next to
+ impossible for clients to implement that correctly. See
+ doc/clients-howto for an explanation.
+ * Rewrite much of the client's code for sending commands and
+ receiving server output:
+ - No longer blocks on sending commands. which could deadlock the
+ session.
+ - Fix race condition that could cause server output to be discarded
+ on EOF on standard input.
+ - Don't discard server output when reading standard input fails.
+ - Fix error handling for execute and other, more obscure cases.
+ - More rigorous error checking for redirections and execute.
+ Clearer error messages, too.
+ - Fix execute redirected to file or pipe. Believed to be broken in
+ 4.2.0.
+ - The client now creates files for redirections with the same
+ permissions whether the redirection is in a pipe or not. Before,
+ redirections without a pipe created files with no permissions for
+ group and others. This change may make your redirected output
+ visible to other users on your system. Use the usual controls,
+ like umask, to restrict permissions to your liking.
+ - Reject unexpected redirections (violating the protocol). Before,
+ they silently replaced the current one, and in the case of pipes
+ leaked file descriptors and memory.
+ - Redirections in batch files are not implemented. They didn't
+ quite work before, and could leak memory and file descriptors. A
+ flaw in the Empire protocol makes them next to impossible to
+ implement correctly.
+ - The execute command in batch files is not implemented. A flaw in
+ the Empire protocol makes this practically useless anyway.
+ - Old code leaked memory in various places.
+ - Unfortunate incompatibility with older servers: if you type the
+ EOF character (normally ^D) at an argument prompt, the session
+ hangs. Use the interrupt character (normally ^C) to get out.
+ * The client now supports options -h and -v.
+ * The client no longer zaps its command line in a lame attempt at
+ protecting users who foolishly specify passwords on the command
+ line. Zapping annoys system administrators and creates a false
+ sense of security.
+ * Journal entries are now flushed to disk right away when the server
+ is running in debug mode.
+ * Fix bugs in load that could make loading operations fail noisily
+ instead of silently on some systems.
+ * Server now reliably shuts down session when it receives an
+ end-of-file condition from the client. Before, it merely failed
+ the current command when it got it at an argument prompt.
+ * Fix bug in execute that could crash the server on some systems when
+ it prompts for the argument.
+ * Fix bug that let you check whether a non-allied carrier is
+ efficient enough for takeoff when one of your planes got stuck
+ there somehow.
+ * Fix bug that let you attempt to escort a one-way mission to a
+ carrier with non-light, non-interceptor escorts. Such planes don't
+ fit on carriers, and the command then failed with a bogus error
+ message. Before 4.2.17, the planes flew, and the escorts were
+ teleported home.
+ * Change the rules for fitting planes on ships slightly, so that the
+ order of loading no longer matters. Choppers and x-lights can now
+ use plane slots even when not light. X-light choppers, which don't
+ exist in the stock game, can no longer use x-light slots.
+ * The server now keeps its log file open, just like the journal.
+ * New server option -R to set the PRNG seed. This is for
+ reproducible tests. Change the Windows-only service uninstall
+ options from -r/-R to -u/-U.
+ * Supply a real PRNG for Windows instead of the leaky water-pistol
+ Windows provides.
+ * Threads sleeping until a specified time could return early under
+ Windows. This could cause missed updates. Broken in 4.3.10.
+ * Fix missing newline in show updates.
+ * Power report didn't factor tech into power correctly. Broken in
+ 4.3.3.
+ * Code refactoring and cleanup.
+ * Info file and documentation fixes and updates.
+
Changes to Empire 4.3.10 - Thu Sep 6 17:59:53 UTC 2007
* Bridge spans now cost $1000 instead of $2000, and bridge towers
$3000 instead of $7500.