*** NOTE: This file was the READ.ME for the last Beta Version.
          It might be of interest to you.


Hello!

Here's the current Beta for MechWar v1.2


Latest changes:
---------------

* 5. July 1995:
+First release of beta package.
+Life forms added to the map.
+Buildings work properly.
+Fire and Smoke spreads as it should.
+It's now possible to compile for 1024x768x2456 instead of 800x600x256,
 but the generated maps are still incompatible.
+The fortresses are now fully integrated: amour ablation, critical hits,
 special happenings (like fuel tanks exploding), ammo explosions, etc.
 They just can't shoot yet.
+Volcanos can now erupt and spit out streams of lava.
+The option file has grown to huge proportions.
+Cratering works.

* 7. July 1995:
+Option file grew lots - check it out, you'll need to set your graphics data.
+Lava flow from volcano eruptions more complex and realistic.
+Repair crews from fortresses now work.
+GUI added (whew - lots of work!).
+Sprite engine tuned - should be much faster now.
+During the program, you can press '?' for system info and 'I' to get info
 on any hex.
+You can now redirect the text output during startup: try running
 MWLOG.BAT - it will create the file MW.LOG, showing you all the text which
 so quickly scrolls by at the beginning.
+The map is now read directly from the map file, so you don't have to export
 it anymore.
+Same goes for the life forms.
+The first bit of the GUI is being used. Fortesses now actually activate
 and can select which weapons to fire at what. The selection process even
 filters which weapons can reach the target.

* 8. July 1995:
+Fortesses can now fire under user control. For test purposes, fortress
 number one (the one furthest to the left and up) is considered to be under
 user control (even if it says 'Owner: CPU').
 Fire doesn't use LOS, Firing Arc or ToHit yet - if it's in range, you always
 inflict maximum damage.
+The map graphics have been revamped! Now the ground height is shown as
 a shade of green, with everything else (woods, etc) being overlayed on
 top of it.
+Fortresses can now also shoot automatically. For debugging purposes,
 they will currently only target other fortresses, although they are of
 course able to target (in this order): life forms, forts and buildings.

* 9. July 1995:
+You can now stop the program at the beginning of each turn. I apologize
 to all of you whose fort was destroyed and thus couldn't quit anymore :)
+LOS walks along the right path already and the thus fortresses shoot
 straight. Now I'll just have to implement LOS itself :)
+FortressDesign updated to handle new weapon info (and can read
 the info again without crashing with a Turbo Access Error)
+The forts are now activated in random order and will target life forms
 and buildings as well. During testing, forts will prefere to shoot at
 life forms (which are harmless except to other life forms and infantry).
+Graphics resolution has improved! You can now choose whether you want
 to use 1024x768, 800x600 or 640x480 (map sizes change accordingly).
 I hope we'll have less graphics problems that way.
+To edit ANY sprite (.SPR) file, copy it to X.SPR (which can be edited
 via SD). Just press 'X' to select the .SPR file to work with. Don't
 forget to copy it back afterwards. This way you can edit any of the
 .SPR files in MechWar.
+Firing Arcs are implemented.

* 13. July 1995:
+This will be the last full Beta Package - all other from now on are
 only updates to this one, so don't delete it!
+Artillery damage implemented.
+PCXSG.EXE added, allowing .PCX import into SD.
+More weapon effects added: selfdestruction, malfunctions, and so on.
+Minefields added. You can now place a 10pt minefield in MAPD, and
 weapons can lay down normal minefields as well (no pressure mines etc.
 so far).
+InfantryDesigner done. No docs yet, so have a look at the example
 infantry types I entered.
+The program now reads all necessary data like map name, etc. from a
 battle file (see MW.BAT for example). This file will later automatically
 be generated by the ScenarioDesigner and will also give coordinates for
 all life forms, infantry, and so on.
+Infantry added! So far they're still aimlessly wandering around under
 computer control, being attacked by fortresses only. Note that forts
 won't shoot at infantry controlled by player 0 (the CPU).
+Animation delays can now be set in the options file.
+Those of you with slow PCs can now set the computer to tell you what
 he's doing. It'll slow you down even more, though.

* 20. July 1995:
+The file MECHWAR.OPT was renamed MACHWAR.CFG
+Graphics methods were revamped: MapDesign uses a different method of
 accessing graphics than MechWar. I would much prefere to use MAPDs method
 as it is easier (but slower). Please let me know if one of the two doesn't
 work (I revamped MechWars method a bit, too) and if MAPDs is too slow
 on your system.
+Refresh function added to main menu - now you can cause a map redraw in
 case something messed up.
+Owned colors have been introduced to Infantry and Fortress Sprites. The
 color number 121 is now drawn as Red (Player 0), Blue (Player 1) or
 Green (Player 2). This makes it easy to distinguish what belongs to whom.
 Please keep this color in mind when designing Mech sprites.
+Infantry can now be attacked by life forms, although they have to be rather
 aggressive to do so.
+Forts are now more discerning when firing at life forms and can optionally
 be forbidden to waste ammo on them at all.
+Infernos work.
+Rolling for initiative now works properly.
+You can now have the system show you the beginning of each turn.
+Infantry is now under players control, although movement costs due to
 terrain height changes are not calculated yet and it can't fire any
 weapons so far.
+Up to three players are now possible; player 0 is always the computer.

* 28. July 1995:
+Infantry is armed, and computer-controlled infantry will shoot at you.
 Note that still no LOS and ToHit is implemented yet.
+VehicleDesign added - have a look at VD.EXE and VD.DOC. No Vehicles in
 the game yet, though.
+Forts should think quite a bit quicker now.
+Final (hopefully) fixes to the GUIs to find out which one is best. Note
 that MAPD requires a VESA driver, while MECHWAR looks at the MECHWAR.CFG
 file instead. If it doesn't work, try autodetect with a VESA driver.
+Mines now work much better, only becoming visible after someone stepped
 on them >:)
+Lots of bugs stomped!

* 4. August 1995:
+AI Control Grid incorporated. Using ConflictDesign (still a very preliminary
 version), you can set a control grid and select which infantry and life
 forms should follow this grid (available commands: keep walking in (one
 of six) direction, stop moving until enemy contacted).
 This way you can set up guards for sensitive installations.
 Note that I haven't included ConflictDesign yet - it's too rudimentary.
+Some improvements in the Infantry code.
+Cratering now works properly: as soon as a hex receives enough damage
 during the turn, it'll crater.
+Vehicles supported! While they can't walk backwards or sideslip yet,
 the rest works ok.

*8. August
+DPMI swap file automatically created if you have too little RAM.
 I don't know how much RAM is needed for MechWar, so currently 8MB
 are reserved and - if necessary - taken from the hard disk in a
 file called SWAP.$$$
 This file is deleted on shutdown - so if you find it in the MechWar
 directory, feel free to delete it.
+SoundBlaster support! Currently it still plays a bit strangely (too fast?)
 and I don't know if your card is supported. If you have trouble:
 a) Let me know and b) Turn the sound off in MECHWAR.CFG
 Currently sound only plays in foreground, so there's a bit of a delay.
 Note that you can define your own sounds in MECHWAR.CFG in VOC format
 (anybody feel like doing some samples for me?).
+EquipmentEditor: You can set the sound number to be played if this
 equipment is activated (is ignored for ammo, though).
+Message logfile added. Please keep this option on during testing - it
 will create a file called MECHWAR.MSG, containing all messages shown to
 you during play (except menus). If you crash or have a similar problem,
 you can mail it to me (preferably together with the MW.LOG created by
 MWLOG.BAT).
+Undo function in Vehicle movement. During movement, press [BackSpace] to
 undo your last move. As soon as you get damaged, the undo gets disabled :)
 As soon as that function is working well, I'm putting it into the infantry
 as well.
+Better search engine in the designers. You can now just enter a part of
 the name (for example, enter 'VTOL' in VehicleDesigner to get a list of
 all VTOLs). In EquipmentDesign, you can even search for the abbreviation.
+SpriteDesign now also uses SVGA256.BGI - thus only one BGI driver is
 needed.
+Lots more bugs stomped - thanks for all the feedback!

Known Bugs:
-----------
+LOS is still not perfect. Sometimes the bullets jink where they
 shouldn't, and they work badly when fired diagonally...
+No LOS or ToHit modifiers yet

Please keep a few things in mind:
---------------------------------

* Don't expect documentation to be up to date (I'm _busy_ :)

* Check through MECHWAR.CFG every time - it keeps growing...

* While it shouldn't happen, the program might well crash at any point.

* If it does die, please send me as much info about it as possible. Can you
  reproduce the bug? How?

* My sprite graphics suck - how about creating some nice ones using SD?
  For that matter, I can use any kind of graphics and .VOC files you
  push my way :)

* [F1] will should you help on most programs.

* If you're having trouble with the graphics, try loading a VESA driver
  (like UNIVESA) and selecting video type 17 in MECHWAR.CFG. This applies
  even if your video card has built-in VESA support.

* Please send me feedback - lots of it! I don't care how weird the ideas
  are, I'm interested in them all.


These files are included:
-------------------------

Life Designer
LD.EXE          Designs life forms. Export them for use with MechWar
LD.DOC          Documentation to LD
LIFE.[DAT|NDX]  Datafiles for LD

Sprite Designer
SD.EXE          Edits the .SPR files. You might need to copy an .SPR to
                X.SPR, edit that and copy it back afterwards.
SD.DOC          Documentation file for SD
PCXSG.EXE       .PCX image grabber. Try running it without parameters.

Map Designer
MAPD.EXE        Creates maps.
MAPS.DAT        The map datafile for MAPD

Fortress Designer
FD.EXE          Creates fortresses. Note that you don't need to export them
FD.DOC          Documentation file for FD
FORTRESS.*      Data files for FD

Equipment Designer
ED.EXE          Creates equipment (weapons and ammo)
ED.DOC          Documentation to ED.EXE
ED.LST          Complete list of equipment
EQUIP.[DAT|NDX] Datafiles for ED

Infantry Designer
ID.EXE          Creates Infantry
INFANTRY.*      Datafiles for ID
ID.LST          Sample infantry list

Vehicle Designer
VD.EXE          Create Vehicles
VD.DOC          Documentation to VD.EXE
VEHICLE.*       Datafiles for VD

MechWar
MECHWAR.EXE     The main program, called via MW.BAT
MECHWAR.CFG     Configuration file. Always growing - look through it!
MECHWAR.MSG     Contains all messages from the last session
MW.LOG          Created by MWLOG.BAT - contains all the init text at startup

Sprite Files:
BANG.SPR        Explosion Animations as well as bullets
CURSOR.SPR      Cursor sprite
EQUIP.SPR       Equipment sprites, not sure if I'll need these
FEATURES.SPR    Fire, Smoke, Swamp, etc
GROUND.SPR      Hex types (Rough, Ice, etc)
HEIGHT.SPR      Height colors for the hexes
LIFE.SPR        Life forms
RIVER.SPR       River sprites, get overlayed
ROAD.SPR        Road sprites, work just like the rivers
MINES.SPR       Minefield graphics
INFANTRY.SPR    Infantry graphics

Battle files
BATTLE.001      Single battle number 1

Sound files
*.VOC           Sound samples for different effects

Miscellaneous
SVGA256.BGI     256-color driver for MapDesign
MW.BAT          Batch file to try out MechWar
MWLOG.BAT       Same as MW.BAT, but creates MW.LOG as well
DESCRIPT.ION    Description file for 4DOS (get it! use it!)

This file list might well be incomplete - I'm always adding new things.
