v1.0-alpha-011424

Small Bug Fix Release! Happy New Year!

What's Changed

• Apply Default Keys on -DBRESET by @enusbaum in #615
• Add Error Handling on -DBREBUILD by @enusbaum in #616
• Add Python script to create users by @paladine in #617
• Sign-Up Gender Lower-Case Fix by @enusbaum in #619
• Correct the name of the mbbsemu.db file; add message at the end reminding the user to recreate the BBSUSR database. by @fletcherm in #620

Full Changelog: v1.0-alpha-123023...v1.0-alpha-011424

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-123023

Last Release of Release of 2023!

This is a small bugfix build containing some fixes for MajorMUD as well as QOL enhancements!

What's Changed

• Add "Save As" dialogue for appsettings.json in Setup Wizard by @enusbaum in #606
• Add Microsoft Logger Support by @enusbaum in #610
• Add -V CLI argument for Version Output by @enusbaum in #612
• Debug & Crash Report Fixes by @enusbaum in #609
• Add -DBREBUILD Command by @enusbaum in #611
• Fix for SKPWRD by @enusbaum in #614

Full Changelog: v1.0-alpha-112423...v1.0-alpha-123023

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-112423

4th Anniversary Release

We cannot believe it has been FOUR YEARS since the first lines of code for MBBSEmu were pushed to this GitHub Repository. It has been a wild four years of playing old games we love, finding lost gems, and friends rediscovering their love for their favorite Major BBS/Worldgroup games!

As MBBSEmu heads into it's 4th year of development, we wanted to focus on quality of life enhancements while also working on enhancing compatibility with more modules. To give more clarity to which modules work with MBBSEmu, we created a Module Compatibility Guide which is available on our Wiki.

New Console GUI

A major enhancement with this release is starting the implementation of the Terminal.GUI Library which enables cross-platform GUI interfaces via Command Line Terminals. We understand GUI's aren't for everyone, so if you're one of those folks who prefer console applications you can continue to operate MBBSEmu in console mode using the -CLI flag.

In the coming months we'll be adding new features and functionality to the MBBSEmu GUI including Module Configuration Management, CPU Debugging, Memory Inspection, and more!

New Setup GUI

Starting with this release, if you run mbbsemu with no command line options, you're prompted with the option to run the Initial Setup Wizard which walks you through all the configuration values that are in appsettings.json, helping our novice users through the process of getting things setup versus having to manually modify the JSON file.

Detailed Change Log

Performance Enhancements

• Updated dotnet version from 7 -> 8 which gives a 15-20% performance boost depending on your platform by @enusbaum in #602

QOL Enhancements

• Add Key Pause before Exit by @enusbaum in #572
• Print warning messages before cleanup runs. by @fletcherm in #585
• New Setup UI by @enusbaum in #586
• New Console GUI and Logger Implementation by @enusbaum in #588
• Module Crash Isolation by @enusbaum in #590
• Use log level configuration by @enusbaum in #592
• Modules Config "BasePath" by @enusbaum in #597
• Add -PWRESET command line argument to reset the Sysop password by @enusbaum in #603

Bug Fixes

• New Ordinals by @enusbaum in #573
• sscanf enhancements by @paladine in #576
• Handle %x with sscanf by @paladine in #577
• CPU Fixes (RCR Opcode) by @enusbaum in #578
• Update RNG to use Borland C++ RNG Routine by @enusbaum in #579
• FISTP Fixes + CPU Exception Handling by @enusbaum in #575
• Lords of Cyberspace (MUICYBER) Input Fix by @enusbaum in #595
• Fix RCL Opcode Implementation by @enusbaum in #596
• stpans Implementation by @enusbaum in #594

Additional Unit Tests

• Unit Tests for CPU NEG Opcode by @enusbaum in #580

Full Change Log: v1.0-alpha-020823...v1.0-alpha-112423

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-111223

4th Anniversary Pre-Release

As MBBSEmu heads into it's 4th year of development, we wanted to focus on quality of life enhancements while also working on enhancing compatibility with more modules.

New Console GUI

A major enhancement with this release is starting the implementation of the Terminal.GUI Library wihch enables cross-platform GUI interfaces via Terminal. We understand GUI's aren't for everyone, so if you're one of those folks who prefer console applications you can continue to operate MBBSEmu in console mode using the -cli flag.

New Setup GUI

Starting with this release, if you run mbbsemu with no command line options, you're prompted with the option to run the Initial Setup Wizard which walks you through all the configuration values that are in appsettings.json, helping our novice users through the process of getting things setup versus having to manually modify the JSON file.

Detailed Changelog

QOL Enhancements

• Add Key Pause before Exit by @enusbaum in #572
• Print warning messages before cleanup runs. by @fletcherm in #585
• New Setup UI by @enusbaum in #586
• New Console GUI and Logger Implementation by @enusbaum in #588
• Module Crash Isolation by @enusbaum in #590
• Use log level configuration by @enusbaum in #592
• Modules Config "BasePath" by @enusbaum in #597

Bug Fixes

• New Ordinals by @enusbaum in #573
• sscanf enhancements by @paladine in #576
• Handle %x with sscanf by @paladine in #577
• CPU Fixes (RCR Opcode) by @enusbaum in #578
• Update RNG to use Borland C++ RNG Routine by @enusbaum in #579
• FISTP Fixes + CPU Exception Handling by @enusbaum in #575
• Lords of Cyberspace (MUICYBER) Input Fix by @enusbaum in #595
• Fix RCL Opcode Implementation by @enusbaum in #596
• stpans Implementation by @enusbaum in #594

Additional Unit Tests

• Unit Tests for CPU NEG Opcode by @enusbaum in #580

Full Changelog: v1.0-alpha-020823...v1.0-alpha-111123

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-020823

Bug Fix release, but fixes issues with many modules!

• #571 : Fix MajorMUD Character Training
  • Fixes incorrect incrementing of substt after leading Full-Screen Display
  • Training Character Stats in MajorMUD should now properly return control back to the module
• dotnet7 Upgrade
  • MBBSEmu Upgraded to building with dotnet7
  • Fixes errors caused by new, aggressive trimming introduced in dotnet6 (results in larger executables)
  • Results in ~12-15% performance increase in emulated CPU core depending on platform
• macOS ARM Builds
  • Added an ARM OSX build in addition to x86-64 to support new M1 and M2 based Apple platforms

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-042822

Bug Fix release, but fixes issues with many modules!

• #557: Refactored MSG Parser
  • Completely rewritten MSG file parser with Unit Tests!
  • Should resolve weird MSG related issues in Tele-Arena, The Forbidden Lands Part 3: The Islands of Dawn, and many other modules
• #559: Additional Logging on Socket Exceptions
  • We've received reports of weird disconnects/socket errors when several users are connected to MBBSEmu (10+)
  • The socket logging didn't reveal anything, so we added additional logging which should help isolate the issue if it persists

v1.0-alpha-031521

4 PR's are included in this Release.

Highlights Include:

• #537: SoftPatch Enhancements 🏴‍☠️
  SoftPatch in MBBSEmu allows you to apply patches to Module DLL's without having to actually Hex Edit the DLL itself. This allows for
  specific patches to be easily enabled/disabled, and for more rapid testing!

  • Add FarPtr Custom Converter for JSON File Parsing
  • Add Addresses to specify SEG:OFF for patch locations
  • Added constructor to FarPtr that takes SEG:OFF string
  • Added CRC32 Validation and Display Module CRC32 at Startup
  • Added Enabled as an option on Patches so they can be easily enabled/disabled without having to delete them from the file

We've written an example SoftPatch which enables "God Mode" (no damage) in Tele-Arena on our forum.

• #551, #549, #539: QOL/Bug Fixes
  • Fixed Line Breaking when transmitting a large buffer (help file content)
  • Fixed rare issue where a connection was dropped while the main event loop was running could result in a crash
  • Removed Cursor Movement from Int10h which cleans up MajorMUD Startup while the utility EXE is running

Additionally, work is being done to write a custom wbtrv32.dll Btrieve Driver which integrates with the MBBSEmu SQLite database files. This would allow existing 3rd Party tools (Nightmare, etc.) to be able to edit MajorMUD instances hosted on MBBSEmu with no other required code changes. Still a work in progress, but exciting!

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-010622

6 PR's are included in this Release.

Highlights Include:

• #529, #530, #532: Enhanced MajorMUD Support
  • Additional Word Wrapping support through BTUSW addresses issues with MegaMUD
  • Python Script included to modify player XP of a MajorMUD Character loaded in MBBSEmu SQLite Database
  • Fixed Store Item Name Truncation
• Enhancements & Upgrades
  • #531, #536: Upgrade SQLite NuGet to 6.0.1
  • #535: Additional Unit Tests for sprintf

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-010222

Happy New Year!

This is the 2-Year Anniversary Build of MBBSEmu, as it was exactly two years ago on 1/2/2020 when the first Public Alpha was released to the public.

24 PR's are included in this Release with a focus on improving support for MajorMUD and the MegaMUD client within MBBSEmu.

Highlights Include:

• #525, #521, #519, #517, #496: Enhanced MajorMUD Support
  • MegaMUD support added by properly implementing Line Break support so text properly wraps depending on the terminal window
  • Input Issues where \r commands were ignored have been addressed
  • When running the MajorMUD Utility EXE, force the Terminal to VT100 mode so INT 10h calls render ANSI to move the cursor properly
  • Enhancements to FSD Emulation for character creation
  • Pair this build with mbbsemu-docker and you can run your own MajorMUD instance in a Docker container!
• #478, #479, #481: SoftPatch Support
  • SoftPatch allows you to apply hex/text patches to modules without having to edit the underlying file
  • SoftPatch is the first phase of a longer term Modification System being built into MBBSEmu allowing for Mods to be coded for existing Modules.
• #430, #453: Full-Screen Editor
  • Initial Support for emulating the MajorBBS/Worldgroup Full Screen Editor
• Enhancements & Upgrades
  • #514: MBBSEmu updated to .NET 6
  • #495: STATUS refactored to be a FIFO Queue
  • #493: Gender Support, allowing people to specify Genders supported by MajorBBS/Worldgroup (M/F) at signup

All this in addition to a new x86 Opcodes, APIs, and Unit Tests!

Stable Alpha - v1.0-alpha-050321

61 (!!) PR's included in this Release.

Highlights Include:

• #431, #435, #436, #437, #438, #440, #442, #444, #448, #463, #464, #467, #468, #471, #473, #476, #478 : DOS MZ EXE Support
  • This is a HUGE update to support DOS MZ EXE's to be executed within MBBSEmu, allowing offline utilities to be executed within the context of MBBSEmu without the need for external applications or third party emulators
  • Includes full Interrupt 0x7Bh support for Emulated Btrieve Driver support by DOS EXE files
  • Memory Subsystem refactor to support both Real-Mode and Protected-Mode Memory
  • Relocation Patching for MZ EXE Files
  • Basic INT 21h (DOS API) and INT 10h (BIOS Video API) implementations
  • Manually run MZ EXE files using the -exe flag
  • Add-On Utilities Defined in Module MDF Files will now execute during Cleanup
  • Shoutout to @paladine for doing the heavy lifting!
• #478, #479, #481: MajorMUD 1.11p Support
  • MajorMUD 1.11p will now initialize and run within MBBSEmu!
  • DOS MZ EXE Supports the running of WCCMMUTL.EXE during cleanup so it can perform its Btrieve operations
  • Please test and report any issues!
• #430, #453: Hot Enable/Disable Module Support
  • MBBSEmu now supports enabling/disabling modules while the system is running (without restarting)
  • These commands have been added to /SYS commands
  • Modules need to be enumerated in the modules.json config file to be a target for Hot Enable/Disable support
• #425: Worldgroup 3 NT Rlogin Fixes
  • Enabling WG3NT compatibilty mode for Rlogin will prevent "extra characters" from showing up when performing an Rlogin from WG3NT to MBBSEmu

All this in addition to a ton of new x86 Opcodes, APIs, and Unit Tests! One of the largest MBBSEmu releases to date!