April 21, 1998

======================================================================
                        V2.6i UPGRADE INSTRUCTIONS
======================================================================

* Stars! 2.60i can read files created by any version from 2.60 to 2.70h.
* Version 2.60i is backwards compatible with:
	2.60f, 2.60g, 2.70f, 2.70g and 2.70h
* Players with 2.60i or 2.70i can play in games hosted with the above
        earlier versions.
* Players with earlier versions can not play in games hosted with
        2.60i or 2.70i unless they upgrade to the "i" release.

To upgrade to Stars! 2.60i from older versions:

Players should submit their turns with their current version. Then the
host should upgrade to 2.60i before generating the new year. Then the
players should upgrade to 2.60i or 2.70i before loading their new turns.

======================================================================
                               CHANGES 
======================================================================

Changes for Stars! 2.60i:

Universe definition (.def) files can now include AI players instead
   of just human players using the format "# n m" where n is the id
   number of the Ai and m is the skill level of the Ai.
   Races IDs: 0=Random, 1=Robotoids, 2=Turindrones, 3=Automitrons,
              4=Rototills, 5=Cybertrons, 6=Macinti
   Skill Levels: 0=Random, 1=Easy, 2=Standard, 3=Tough, 4=Expert
   # 1 4     <-- Expert Robotoid AI.
Universe definition files can now include a random seed to force the
   universe to be created exactly the same each time. Just add random
   seed value as a forth number on the same line as the universe size.
   Example:   1 2 1 13424531
Multi-year turn generation is now possible in solo games using F12
   for 10 years, <Ctrl>F12 for 100 years and <Shift>F12 for 1000
   years. Press and hold <Shift> or <Ctrl> to halt automatic turn
   generation early.
Added command line support for multi-year generation to the -g command
   line parameter. The new syntax is -g[n] where n is an optional
   number between 2 and 1000. Example: Stars! -g10 mygame.hst
Added multi-year turn generation support from the host dialog. Hold
   down the <Shift> key and press the Generate Now button to generate
   10 years. Hold down the <Ctrl> key for 100 years. Hold down both
   <Shift>+<Ctrl> to generate 1000 years. Press and hold <Shift> or
   <Ctrl> to halt automatic turn generation early.
Added option to include player number in the file name extension for
   planet and fleet dumps. To change from .PLA and .FLE to .Pnn and
   .Fnn, where nn is your player number, just add "NewReports=1" to
   the [Misc] section of your stars.ini.
Added additional planet dump columns if NewReports=1
   Gravity, Temperature, Radiation, Original Gravity, Original
   Temperature, Original Radiation, Value after Terraforming,
   % of Pop Capacity, Scanner Range, Penetrating Scanner Range,
   Mass Driver destination, Driver Warp speed, Routing destination,
   StarGate Range, StarGate Mass limit, Percent Damage
Added additional fleet dump columns if NewReports=1
   Owner, ETA, Warp speed, Mass, Cloak %, Scanner range,
   Penetrating Scanner range, Task, Remote Mining, Mine Sweeping,
   Mine Laying, Terraforming, Count of Unarmed ships, Count of Scouts,
   Count of Warships, Count of Utility ships, Count of Bombers.
Added a -d command line parameter for dumping PLA, FLE and MAP files.
   Stars! -dm mygame.m1    <-- Dump the universe definition and exit
   Stars! -df mygame.m1    <-- Dump player 1's fleets and exit
   Stars! -dp mygame.m1    <-- Dump player 1's planets and exit
   Stars! -dfmp mygame.m1  <-- Dump everything player 1 knows and exit
Changed default Chicken battle plan to have a primary target of Any
   for new games. This allows fleeing ships to fire back.
Added option to exclude the race name for custom races from the
   Advanced New Game Wizard and Host Mode. Add "NoHostNames=1" to 
   the [Misc] section of your stars.ini for this to take effect. This
   allows hosts to know who is playing each position but not the
   names of their races.
No longer show double splash screens when the load of a file from the
   command line fails.
It is now possible to open race files from the command line. This also
   means that it is possible to associate race files with the Stars!
   executable so that they can be opened by double-clicking on them in
   the Windows shell.
Closed illegal ship design loophole. Illegal components are now deleted.
Corrected Empire Interactive phone order number in About Box.
Increased size of the recent file list to 9.
Waypoints listbox now scrolls to show previous or next item when the
   top or bottom item is selected.
Starbases now obey the "Attack Who" field of your default battle plan.
Stars! remembers what message number you were on when continuing your
   most recent game.
Enemies are now prevented from giving you fleets.
Cross player fleet transfers (gifts) now always happen after movement.
Too many fleets in the same location can no longer prevent a battle
   from occurring.
Many additional PLA and FLE dump file columns now show actual or
   approximate values for other players' colonies and fleets when known.
Corrected the display of mine field decay rates. The displayed rate now
   matches the actual decay again.
Fixed problem where newly unoccupied planets would occasionally still
   display as having a starbase.
Fixed problems with WaitFor% and LoadUpto% transport tasks.
Improved integrity of racial point cost calculations.
Corrected ship repair speed problems.
Fixed obscure bug which sometimes caused battles to end too soon.
Fixed mineral transmutation bug when unloading for stargate jumps.

Changes for Stars! 2.60h:

Fixed stray pointer in Report initialization that caused listbox
   redraw problems on Windows 3.1 machines
Fixed problem with fleets sometimes inappropriately generating fuel
Ensured that "tool tips" are never partially off screen
Summary pane now shows field count for your own minefields
Fixed keyboard access to Done and Help buttons when VCR is finished
Replaced "Stream Error" alerts with something more intelligible
Changed name of victory condition from "Exceeds next nearest player's
   score by..." to "Exceeds second place score by..." The meaning
   of the condition has not changed
Host dialog now displays better messages when a .x file is unacceptable
Save and Submit now has Ctrl-A for a keyboard accelerator
Your fleets now pick new targets only if the composition of the
   target has changed AND the target is not owned by you
Fixed description of the War Monger trait in the Race Wizard
Tech Browser graph for Trans-Galactic Drive and Trans-Galactic Super
   Scoop now correctly displays a battle speed of 9
We now use multi-fleet bombing messages when more than one of your
   fleets are in orbit even if only one of them has bombers in it
Fixed display of planetary scanner range for planets without scanners
Fixed floating point error caused by having way too many colonists
   on a planet
Added popup tech browser page from minefield image in summary window
Prevent players from setting waypoints beyond edge of universe


Changes for Stars! 2.60g:

Fixed bombing bug which occurred sometimes when multiple players
   each have multiple fleets in orbit
Antimatter Generators work correctly again
Fixed race requirement description for Fielded Kelarium in the
   Tech Browser
Fixed bug which sometimes made copies of gift ship designs
   unbuildable
Fixed crash when using Prev/Next for Fleets with the Planets
   report open and vice versa


Changes for Stars! 2.60f:

Fixed bug where ships were not removed from production queues when
   the design was deleted if no ships of that design existed
All progress on other starbases in the production queue is undone when
   the current starbase goes away
Mineral packets flung by Packet Physics races are no longer reduced
   to 1/3 damage
Failed cargo transfers to other players no longer halt turn generation
Non-Alternate Reality remote miners no longer use the homeworld mineral
   concentration floor value
Remote mining is now limited to the equivalent of 4000 mines per fleet
Fixed problem where editing the Chicken battle plan created a
   duplicate plan and ate the Sniper plan
Can no longer give a player ships if they already have 512 fleets
Improved initial spacing of players for 3 way battles
Players can't steal from other players using remote miners any more
Enemies can no longer transfer cargo to your fleets
Other players' est. pop values are no longer divided by 100 in dump files
All fleets now include the owner's race name in dump files
Fleet location now listed by name if at a planet in dump files
Multiple fleets bombing one planet are now treated as one large fleet
Ships can no longer become 100% damaged without dying
Routed mining ships clump into usable sized fleets
Players can no longer create too many minefields or mineral packets
Sends player a message when minelaying fails due to too many fields
Host now does a better job of detecting corrupt log (.x) files
Inactive players no longer try colonizing with non-colonizer ships
Anti-Matter Generators now continue to work on ships given away
Warp gauge no longer shows danger color at warp 10 for warp 10 engines
Seriously over-cloaked ships no longer appear as if they were uncloaked
Minefield hit reports are less likely to display the wrong owner name
Cybertron AIs no longer accidentally give other players colonists
Now prevent colonists from being automatically dumped in deep space
Fleets that should have been dead and not written out are now ignored
Loading log files with mergers of missing fleets no longer crashes
Empty fleets are no longer saved under any circumstances

