Updates in 2005

1.1.5 (Dec 23, 2005)

deep water
all mobs now have unique tiles (a few mobs got deleted, eg gnomes, hillgiant)
replaced some old tiles and added some new ones - thanks to those who contributed
inventory weight shown when buying/selling/transferring
shift+~ shortcut for use bandage in direction
shift+enter shortcut for /g (ie global chat)
bugs fixed

1.1.4 (Dec 9, 2005)

improved method for equipping identical shortswords and rings
BR/copper rarity tweaks
studded AC nerfed, boiled nerfed a little
spell tomes are now spread across the continent among merchants, with some found as quests and drops
named items are now purple in the list
new quest goal type 'slaughter' : ie kill X of monster type Y
much improved method for transferring files ingame (may even fix the missing bank inventory due to it being massive)
fixed bugs

1.1.3 (Nov 29, 2005)

reduced xp for lowbies partying with highbies (within limits)
recalculated item level requirements
mimic-containers may be added to clanhalls by the clan leader for use by clan members
disease no longer affects encumberance
talking to NPC's must be activated with t-dir (pets unchanged)
magic using mobs 50% less likely to cast when disarmed
mostly bugs fixed otherwise

Nov 13 2005

changed some merchants in montor and shoreline to armourers
monsters won't walk on chests
green pot only poisons for 30 sec now, rather than indefinitely
doors are for sale in Ikea

1.1.2 (Sept 28, 2005)

1.1.1 (Sept 12, 2005)

mostly bug fixes and anti-cheese remedies
re-enabled polypiling after changing the pricing formula

1.1 (Sept 2, 2005)

canned mage staff wear and magic damage reduction due to staff wear
blue potion recipe is flask+moss+ginseng
monsters a lot less likely to cast WQ
spell cast times with staff down very slightly
artifacts 10x rarer
price of tomes a lot cheaper
missing when adjacent to target when using ranged weapon down to 20%

Alpha 034 (Aug 31)

new shortswords special move 'slice and dice' (nothing fancy, just 3 hits)
new ranged special move 'point blank headshot' - 2x dmg, induces wounding, must be adjactent and use it like a melee wep
tailoring expansion: see Tailoring
renamed the non ratskull rat to giant rat
diamond mage staff increases INT for the domination test only (ie doesn't affect damage)
lightning now lights up the darkness
effects visibility tweaks (you should see lighting bolts from offscreen attackers now)
QP 3 crits max
disenchanting tweaks as requested
some slight network improvs
fixed monsters healing too quickly after losing a target
improved pots are heavier
lots of bugs fixed + other stuff forgotten

Alpha 033 (Aug 28)

yellow pot rewrite, see forums
bandages (only healing) rewrite - see forums
bandages can now cure wounded status
major enchanting recipe rewrite (new enchants require special gems from old items): see Enchanting and Polypiling
oilskin back to being padded --;
player merchants: will auto delete after 4 weeks if not maintained - see Player Merchants
player merchants: setting price to -1 will mark an item as 'trade only' and can't be sold for gp
AXC rewrite
many bugs fixed (see http://bugs.swut.net)

Alpha 032 (Aug 22)

changed 'nearly got it' formulas for item id and cartog.
removed int requirement for reading spell scrolls for casting (they still req mana)
itemlore and enchanting now have an int-req in order to train
trade chat channnel - use /t or start a sentence with WTB or FS
trainers have the type of training in their name (floating above their heads)
cursed stat items negative effects + other cursed tweaks
ranged mobs should stop retreating after around 3 steps

Special moves revision

Flurry: hits down from 5 to (3 to 5) (4 avg), reduced (on average) damage per successive hit (NERFED)
Bloodbolt: max bounces 3, down from 5. Works on full mag res mobs. (NERFED with bonus)
Disarm: pvp: target is not allowed to re-equip for 5 seconds. PvM: monster has Attack Strength halved for 5 sec
Cleave: still gives cleaved status (reduced as/ac) for 7 sec. Cleaved no longer stacks on mobs. Cleaved also halves MR. Cleave-axe move also induces a new status 'Wounded' whereby the target bleeds 5% of health for 5 seconds (25% total) and during this time cannot heal. Bleeding/wounding will not kill mobs.
Quiv Palm: rewritten completely. Target goes into 'complete shock' for 3 seconds, during this time, every hit landed on him will have a 50% chance of being a critical. This goes for all attackers. This might need nerfing.
Maces new move "Thunderclap" with spiffy sfx: target and the surrounding 8 squares all suffer a shockwave. 50% chance of being stunned (held for mobs and sleep for players) and 25% chance of confusion (4 seconds for player and indefinite for mobs)

Stave's revision

oak staff : + 10% to magic damage
silverleaf : +50% to magic damage vs undead
ebony : +25% to magic damage
venomous: 10% chance of poisoning target when casting
vamp : heals caster 5% of magic damage inflicted
Staves of slaying have the + added on to the damage
Leeching: changed from 50% of melee damage dealt restored to mana to 1.5-2.5% of your max mana restored per melee hit. Leechings weps get intrinsic +3 slaying bonus.
Staff wear: damage is scaled down in proportion to the wear % of your staff.

Alpha 031 (Aug 19)

mostly bug fixes and tweaks

old style stat display (with + and -) but keeping colours
player joining/leaving message is in grey
now using allegro 4.2beta4

Hopefully with the new allegro version, there won't be problems with attacking and windows 98. Hopefully this new version will also fix a myriad of bugs, namely

alt tab probs
caps probs
midi probs
keyboard probs

Alpha 030 (Aug 8)

about 30 bugs fixed and things tweaked, most I won't mention since you probably won't even notice that they've gone or changed

server side per character item and spell binds
scrolls you learn to cast are now called 'tomes'
inscription rewrite: only a handful of scrolls to cast are inscribable, 6 new scrolls: id all, uncurse all, protection, repair item, scroll of health (4 variants), scroll of truesight - see InscriptionSkill
monster casting range down to 4 yards
stat damage bonus formula re-written (so that weapon matters more)
new tile for rondel
studs recipe for tinkers, studded leather for tailors (to make studded leather items from)
pets get 10x xp on the PD server
correct damage ranges displayed for weapons when readying/viewing
ok to hide near pets
mage staves wear from casting (tho the wear doesn't affect further spellcasting, yet)
chat doesn't stop meditation
low fishing skill no longer gives good maps: high fishing skill gives both good and bad maps
shrines on PD should work for id'ing curses
added River's End to PD
can't dodge with shield equipped

Alpha 029 (July 31)

Party

awesome party list under stats display
offscreen party members indicated on the edge of screen with icons

Items

loot ownership: the killer of a mob gets exclusive rights to the loot dropped - ie, only they may pick it up. May need tweaking in a party situation but we'll see how it goes this week
ID changes: separate identification process for item stats and curses. All loot now (again) un-id'd. ID scrolls only reveal stats, not curses. ID skill in addition to revealing stats (unchanged), may reveal curse. Drop an item near a shrine to see if it is cursed! Equipping a cursed item will reveal the curse also. I don't plan on changing this again ...
looking at a pile of items will tell you everything that is in the pile
new items: spiked collar, falchion (longsword), shillelagh (staff), crook (staff), leather tunic (light armour)
renamed padded->oilskin (eg padded leggins are now oilskin pants)
in addition to new tiles for all the above, I made a new tile for the scimitar
reviewed all weapons, made sure dmg/sec is current, and prices relevant
bandages weigh less than cloth, drag scales less than hide
food weighs less, especially fish, all 0.05 stones now (so poor weak mages can carry more and not starve)
require a coloured tool to repair coloured items
material type 'studded' for leather items (eg studded leather armour): 1.5x defense, craftable with studded sewing kit made by tinker

Pets

pets can now walk on sanc squares
abandoned pets no longer go red and disappear after 10 sec
pets walking speed when following should roughly be same as owners (so they keep up) - may need tweaking

Mobs

adjusted mob treasure
new mob skeleton archer, new tile for skeleton warrior (thx Dolus!)
vampires summon bats

Combat

dodging: high dex gives a chance to dodge an attack. Dex no longer contributes to defense (ac)!
fast weapon switching: bind a weapon to a number then press that number to eq that weapon anytime
ranged: 4 square range now, down from 5
ranged: when targeting an adjacent mob, you have a large chance of missing
ranged: 2 ammo types, arrows and bullets

Misc

added Dolus's player avatars
intelligible werewolf party chat (so partying with wolves is ok)
in random caves unearthed by digging, the mobs spawned are now proportional (in strength) to the quality of the buried treasure. Eg a lvl 15 map will spawn dragons
LOTS of network optimisations - expect problems :/
shrines are now non-pvp
added 'too difficult' message when you have no hope of unlocking/probing a chest

Fixed lots of bugs, noteworthy:

enchant weps no longer get Int bonus like spells do! consider this a mager nerf for mages
in PvP, autotargeting spells should no longer miss (die dexxers)
bloodbolt damage doubled
magic fx and other things are now in b/w when dead
can only dip in fountains on pvp maps (ie not in town)
fixed serious bug with magic merchant where you could sell artifacts for 1gp and buy them back for 0gp. Also magic merchant gets locked when used, similar to how player merchants are. Items sold to magic merchant are destroyed

Alpha 028 (July 25)

AI fleeing / retreat improvements
when a monster flees, it's last enemy will get a message saying that it's running
fixed weapon requirements
spell list in stats display sorted by school, then circle
lycan: you stay as a wolf even when you die/res, until the sun rises
lycan: if you log in after midnite you will still poly into a wolf
lycan: you get xp for kills
lycan: faster movement
lycan: dmg up, defense and attack strength scaled to player level
lycan: instant criminal status, but goes away when sun rises
completing a quest now tells you how much xp you got
gold a little rarer
adjusted material drop rates (eg vamp rarer, BR less rare)
party disband message
red death message for dying party members only
new character names are checked against old ones case-insensitively
fixed a problem with environment sounds
fixed: correct message when connecting to shutting down server
now have 0% chance of hiding when wearing heavy boots, pants or armour
can now craft/repair the new weapons added in 027
polymorph (VYR) improvements
when login, you are always made visible
IZH PvM only
fixed treasure spawns in forest
fixed OG not going through sanct and other map features (still blocked by locks)
when selling, you get a message telling you how much gold you earned
PD server: added a desert & swapped locations of one of the shrines and the magic merchant
PD server: added Netherterra

Alpha 027 (July 18)

Improved character creation skill selection
new weapons: 2 new axes (tomahawk & labrys), 1 new foil (epee), 1 new dagger (rondel)
cleaver is now an axe (5 axes total now)
new tiles for claymore, club, flail, morn star, kryss
new merch type armourer
pets won't walk on cursed items
bandaging: 5 sec cool off, 3x skill gain rate
xp formula rewrite (will apply to reg soon)
3 new polypile recipes (see EnchantingAndPolypiling)
PVP min lvl 10 (up from 5) (doesn't apply to alpha server)
for sellable items, only enchanted items are now sellable, and, they are only valued as much as their non-enchanted counterparts (doesn't apply to alpha server)
try dipping a weapon on a fountain (shift-u)

Alpha 026 (July 15)

Fixed bugs with 025
Minor network optimisations
Improvements to volume control (eg it controls music vol too)
Pet kills give gold to party (rather than leaving it on the ground)
Hopefully fixed 'old pet names' bug
clan invitation slash command changes
enable player remort with /command (won't work on alpha tho since there are no levels)
dynamic map unloading: server unloads maps it's not using to conserve memory

Alpha 025 (July 11)

sitting in seats
reflection of self in mirror
mirage in desert
rising and sinking town portals
environment sounds

Alpha 024 (July 4)

Potion cool off 7 sec, up from 5
Bandages have a cooloff of 7 sec as well now
Shield/block minor rewrite
[Party invitation changes|AlphaControls]
Lots of changes to make alpha backward compatible with regular player files in preparation for 1.009

Alpha 023 (June 27)

fixed bugs
spell enchanted weapons now only found on high end mobs
regular weapon drops are back in - but quality is on avg a lot lower than player enchated
enchanting recipe changes
added spell weapon enchant recipes
spell weapon enchants can now wear out
removed 'bling' from dug up treasure chests, rarer in regular chests
increased golems attack strength considerably
all mobs sight dropped to a max of 6 (was 7)
item ID changes

Alpha 022 (June 23)

visible merchant names
new merchant type bowyer
chgs to peering
spell-enchant weapons now show spell in item list rather than a *
unlikely to get blocked & reset logging in
KOP changes: unlikely to get blocked
clan chat with /c
/wc to see online clan members
minor FOV optimisations
walking on swamp only has 33% chance to poison (per step)
zorns can travel across mountains (but can't see across mountains)

Alpha 021 (June 15)

experimental change to combat: damage reduction/absorbtion based on defense-AS; [see forums|http://forums.swut.net/viewtopic.php?t=2085]
press ` (tilde key next to 1) to use bandage on self
brown pot speedy time up to 30 sec, from 20
slight change to client stats display
added some new artifacts (look out for the Boots of Blinding Speed!)
other bits and pieces

Alpha 020 (June 6)

diagonal movement for laptop: use NW=[[ NE=] SW=; SE='
eating nerf: if vomit, can't eat again till hungry
slaying weapons are now known as simply + : eg, axe slaying + 3 -> axe +3; similarly for armour
reading scrolls nerf: minimum int required, proportional to scroll lvl but reduced if you have skill in that scroll's school
bash rewrite: easier to bash (min 100 str aprox), however sometimes breaks chests contents
Ex Por no longer works on chests
all weapons are wearing out now. Use pocketknife (shift-u) on wooden weapons to repair them, sewing kit on sling.
shift space buys/sells/xfers 10x the usual amount (ie 1000 ammo, 10000 gold, 10 for everything else)
can now put worthless (ie invaluable) items, ammo & gold in containers
logging rewrite: similar mechanism to mining, see WoodCrafting
for wood items, gold->ash, silver->silverleaf, copper->oak, blackrock->ebony. New names, same effects
for fish, copper->rare, silver->prize, gold->wonderous. New names only
new skills page format: if you dont like it, put old_style_skills=1 in client.cfg
crafting: min skill reqd now shown when selecting items to make
slings/guns require ammo; slings now 1 handed but slower
if not pvp-enabled, can't target other players
monsters can see players through forests
item list enhancements
lots of little changes as usual & bugs fixed

Alpha 019 (June 2)

XC back in, but no longer kills. A bit harsher than VF. Still nasty.
Brass golems nerfed; require 100 skill to make; powergems now boss drops only; all powergems in game removed
client tidy up; can quit to title screen
when banking/using container or pmerch; press 'a' to transfer all of an item
silver armour reflects 100% damage to undead but only if the body position you were hit has silver armour on it
age (in mins) on client screen; time on screen if pocket watch in inventory
when repeat use/make with shift f9/f11, can use esc to cancel it
when a target you cast at resists, it no longer says 'missed', it now says 'no effect'
springing a map-trap will display a txt message if one is defined
when /trimskill etc, 'UA-combat' renamed to 'unarmed'

Alpha 018 (May 28)

[copper weapons and armour|WeaponAndArmourMaterials]
player & npc avatars stop animating when paralised
new player sleeping tile
ghosts of PD'd players no longer have the inventory (alpha needs the item loss)
scrolls to create mimic containers are for sale for 5000gp
try shift-F9 and shift F11 instead of holding the key down with bluetak
repairing magical weaponry now has a weaponsmith-skill requirement (same formula used for ID)
mining bumps STR
recipes for [Tinkering] new tools have changed
new GM tinker recipe Brass Golem - see [Tinkering] page
when crafting, skill won't bump if you're well over the min-required skill for item you are making

Bugs Fixed

fixed magrocks f11 bug (moving resets your last_recipe to zero)
fixed kybas bandaging-res bug
taming a boss will now give message 'no chance' rather than 'you can't tame that'
fountain waterdemons are no longer bosses so should be tamable
rework of armourmaking-skill such that it can be trained from scratch
fixed poisonous creature immunity; golems are now also poison immune
fixed view spells page in client - formatting was broken

Alpha 017 (May 21)

EnchantingAndPolypiling
weapon degradation
pet xfers require an expensive pet transfer deed
gold items being worn work as a permanent light source (ie they glow)
full item wipe (including res stones and quest tokens! sorry!)

Alpha 016 (May 16)

Artifact weapons/armour/etc

Artifacts are just rare magic items with multi enchants. Eg a LS+6 str+20 etc. They also happen to have fancy names. This has been half finished for a while now but I polished off today to make room for enchanting (skill), which is comign soon hopefully.

Alpha 015 (May 13)

Taming And Pets
runic font for certain signs and magic
waterfall cursor
AXE no longer creates followers, just temporary allies
stat items values scaled correctly
can use some potions in a direction with shift-u (only yellow, blue and red atm)
upgraded to the allegro 4.2 beta library

1.008e - 6 May

a lot of recent changes on alpha absorbed, + alpha fishing (minus treasure maps) and alpha eating (minus actual huger)

alpha style fishing+eating (no maps or hunger tho)
can only catch fish on the continent map
clear-pot/fountain/halluciation minor rewrite
res-sickness: 5 min delay before stats actually start decreasing
cursed staff will make you fumble spells
glowing lava
parties see their own stealthed/invis members
stocks (like jail)
new food items carrot & boiled egg
added crocodile and rabbit mobs + 2 croc spawners on the cont near kingswood

Alpha 014 (May 1, 2005)

can only catch fish on the continent map
clear-pot/fountain/halluciation minor rewrite (see below)
res-sickness: 5 min delay before stats actually start decreasing
cursed staff will make you fumble spells
glowing lava
parties see their own stealthed/invis members
stocks (like jail)
new food items carrot & boiled egg. Figure out yrself what they do (I still love nethack)
added crocodile and rabbit mobs + 2 croc spawners on the cont near kingswood
+ bugs fixed as noted in the bugs thread

Clear pots have been nerfed a bit. They no longer restore full health: infact the healing effect is now just like a yellow pot. There is no mana restoration.

Clear pots can only be made in pvp maps (ie dungeons, ie where there is risk of summoning snakes & water demons). Looking at (using) fountains directly however will give you a full hp/mp heal.

Finally, hallucinations has been made less severe. Altho the base Halluc time is up to 20 sec, you are no longer confused & the screen is not upside down - so it is possible to actually keep fighting.

The motivation for these changes was the dual (and contrary belief) that clears were both too dangerous but too good. They're still a double edged sword, but have just had their edges dulled a little.

Alpha 013 (19 Apr)

all bugfixes and changes absorbed from 1.008d

1.008d - 16 Apr

An actual exe update wasn't really required, but I completed the ability to display runic messages - hence the ext changed. All I need is to convert a suitable ruinic font to euo/allegro format. There was a lot of graphic updates however, and some bugs fixed.

Server side, many many changes, mostly quest related, in order to get the lycan cure quest working as smooth as interestingly as possible.

Alpha 012 (11 Apr 2005)

all bugfixes and changes absorbed from 1.008b and 1.008c

1.008c - 5 April

disabled portal hopping
client side bug fixes

1.008b - late March

accounts based
mostly bug fixes
disabled disarm dropping the weapon on ground

29 Jan

guard changes:

anyone can now attack a guard (that's not a quest NPC) but will get flagged as crim and will get attacked
guards will summon other guards to help fight

mob changes:

mobs will slowly heal over time
mobs are 50% faster moving and a little faster to attack

guards (but not quest guards) will attack crims
AI tweaks so mages will stop bitching already and other fixes
mobs will no longer attack quest npc's
can't eat/drink while choking
can't read while blind
can drop on raft (but not into the water)
can't talk (t-dir) while hidden
no PVP warning message when attacking party members

18 Jan

GMs can remove and rename player merchants
cyan pot no longer works in jail + other jail tweaks
fixed emote max distance
mega pots give reinforced empty flasks
ingame inventory sync instead of forced relog if inventory problems
coloured tools back at the secret merchant
few other treats