 
Thud, by Anthony Parker & the Thud Team

You can access this file at any time by choosing "View Release Notes..." from the File menu.

For basic help on how to use Thud, please visit the web site at: http://bt-thud.sourceforge.net

Version History:

1.5 (not yet released)
  New Features:
   * Scripting engine support added. See a development team member for details at this point.
   * Thud can now run its subwindows as dialogs instead of frames, meaning that they won't take up a taskbar entry. This is configurable in Preferences -> Window -> Independent Child Windows.
   * Thud now handles command history like most modern clients, allowing you to move forward and backward through command history using Ctrl-N and Ctrl-P. The shortcut for 'Update Tactical Map Now' has been changed to Ctrl-Shift-N.

  Bug Fixes:
   * ANSI emulation has been improved.
   * Some bugs in command history handling have been fixed.
   * Tab handling has been fixed.

1.4 February 20, 2007

  New Features:
   * MUX-format map files can now be loaded via File -> Load Map.
   * Weather information is retrieved and displayed on the bottom of the tactical window.
   * A LOS overlay has been added. Under 'Map', select 'Show LOS Info' and hexes not in your current LOS will have a cyan/blue overlay added to them.
   * Preferences data has been moved to the Java Preferences API, meaning that thudprefs.prf is ancient history and that preferences will no longer get clobbered between versions now.
   * Thud now has an icon!
   * Keybindings have been implemented, mirroring XpertMUD's keys for users' convenience. The number pad is bound to headings, F1-F3 fires tics, shift-F1-F3 lists tics, ctrl-number keys sights weapons, alt-number keys fires weapons, ctrl-numpad targets body parts, alt-numpad-7/8/9 rotates torso.
   * Connection shortcuts (formerly ctrl-#) have been moved to ctrl-shift-# to allow keybindings to function. They no longer work while you're already connected somewhere else. The 'Update' menu has been removed, with 'Update Tactical Map Now' moved to the HUD menu.
   * When connected to a MUX, its address is displayed in the Thud title bar.

  Bug Fixes:
   * Cliff detection now functions properly between water and land hexes.
   * Fixed a minor issue with the heat scale for turreted units.

1.3.1 January 22, 2007
  New Features:
   * Heat scale added to the Status window with output identical to MUX-side 'status h'.

  Bug Fixes:
   * Battlesuits/infantry show up as a little icon of four bipeds, instead of just using the normal biped icon.
   * Naval units show up using ground vehicle icons (rectangle).
   * Landed dropships now change the hexes they're on to '='.
   * Armor diagram coloring should now match MUX status & other command coloring.
   * Page up/down, home, and end keys now function when focus is in input field.
   * Clicking in the text window or on the tactical map returns the key focus to the input field. 
   * Clicking in the text window or on the tactical map returns the key focus to the input field.

1.3.0 March 8, 2006

  New Features:
   * A new status report window. Displays hex, heading, speed, heat, status (destroyed/fallen/etc) and weapon/ammo information 
   * Armor/internal diagrams can be superimposed on tactical map. Must be activated under Map menu [based on patch by Peitao Ting]
   * Support for loading/saving maps. From the File menu, if you select Load Map, Thud will attempt to load terrain information from that file. Thud will also automatically update that file every 5 minutes with new map information. If your unit changes maps, that is detected and auto-saving is stopped (so as not to overwrite good (RS) map information with bad (hangar) map information).
   * Thud now automatically detects when you enter/exit mechs and suspends/resumes operation accordingly. The Start/Stop HUD button (Ctrl-G) still works  Thud will not automatically activate if the HUD has been stopped by a user (or not started yet)
   * Cliff detection is now done per-vehicle type  if youre in a vehicle, the cliff lines will change (automatically) to show on 2 z difference instead of 3.
   * All windows can be made always on top via preferences
   * The font size of the status bar at the bottom of the tactical window can now be configured via preferences.
   * The amount of time old contacts should be kept around can now be configured via preferences.
   * A new Window menu that can be used to restore accidentally-closed windows.
   
  Bug Fixes:
   * The tactical display will reload quicker when you first start the HUD or when you change units.
   * Enemy contacts no longer in LOS now change color properly.
   * Disconnections are now handled much more gracefully (CPU no longer spikes, cant send commands)
   * Closing the main window of Thud now gracefully exits the whole program
   * Disconnecting from a MUX closes all windows except the main one
   * Airborne/quad unit arcs are now displayed correctly.
   * Changing the contacts window font size no longer changes the main window font size

  Misc:
   * For Thud developers: The repository has been converted from CVS to Subversion.
  
1.2.1 May 31, 2003
 
 New Features:
   * The tactical display now has an indicator which tells you what hex you are in

 Bug Fixes:
   * Ice now shows the depth of the water beneath it, and also correctly displays cliffs 
   * Thud will now send much smaller tactical updates when the player is a MechWarrior (Infantry type)
   * The Mute menu shortcut has been changed to 'Command/Control - Shift - ; ' so as not to interfere with the arc range shortcut
   * The default text size has been changed to 12 points.
   
1.2 January 4, 2003

 New Features:
 
  * Added compatibility with the new version of hudinfo (0.7) while retaining backward compatibility with original hudinfo (0.6).
  * Contact lists are now sorted
  * Buildings now appear on the contacts list and on the tactical map
  * Added ability to 'mute' the main window text. Note: This is not saved across sessions, because you need the main window to login to the MUX each time. Use the 'Mute Main Window Text' item in the Edit menu.
  * Added some framework for future expansion.

1.1.1 October 19, 2002

 Fixed a bug which caused strange menu behavior and inability to connect on certain platforms.
 
1.1 October 18, 2002 
 
 This version introduces the ability to connect to any MUX, among many other things (see below). 
 
 Players: If Thud appears to 'lag' your connection and commands you put in are not sent to the game after a short period of time, the cause is the administrators not increasing the command_quota_increment. Talk to them, it's not my fault. =) 
 
 BTech MUX Admins: In order for Thud to work on your site, you need to satisfy 2 requirements:
   1. The HUDINFO protocol must be implemented
   2. The command_quota_increment must be increased. Use: @admin command_quota_increment=4

 Due to changes in the preferences file format, your preferences will be reset on starting this version. Sorry. Again.  

 New Features / Other Changes:
 
  * Thud can now display this list of changes in a dialog box. It's in the File menu.
  * A preference to adjust the length of heading/speed indicator lines on contacts on the map. The lower the number, the longer the line.
  * A preference to limit the amount of lines in the scrollback. Keeping this number lower reduces memory usage and speeds up Thud.
  * A new menu with 3 menu items to control the speed of updates that Thud sends. Keep it on Slow to reduce bandwidth usage, crank it to Fast when bad guys show up.
  * Thud now has an option to keep 'old' data instead of overwriting it with 'unknown.' If it 'Erase Unknown Terrain' is set, Thud will overwrite any old terrain and turn it to a black hex if it gets a '?' for it now. This mostly happens underground. If you want to keep a 'backlog' of terrain underground, uncheck this option.
  * Thud keeps 'expired' contacts around 3 times longer now. 
  * Thud no longer colors destroyed contacts grey, leaving that color soley for expired contacts. In addition, enemy destroyed contacts will not be displayed in bold any longer. Destroyed contacts are still styled strike-through however.
  
 Bug fixes:
 
  * Finally found and fixed the 'straight lines aren't straight' bug. Hexes are properly shaped now.
  * Reduced memory usage of map data
  * Increased efficiency of parsing data from the MUX
  * Thud won't keep sending commands if it's lagged... it'll hold up until it gets some data again before resuming spamming you
  * Tabs are closer to the right size in the main window
  
1.0 September 16, 2002

 The focus of the final 1.0 release has been enhancements in speed and bug fixes. There are also a few minor new features.
 All users are encouraged to use this new release and upgrade from any older version.
 Note: Due to changes in the preferences file format, your preferences will be reset on starting this version. Sorry.
 
 New Features:
 
  * Better ANSI support: background colors and underline mode now supported
  * If you are in a tank, it will show a red line indicating turret facing
  * Other jumping mechs show a green line indicating jump heading
  * Hex numbers along side and top now have a black bar behind them to make them much easier to read
  * Hex numbers display at any zoom level - they skip numbers at far out zoom to make them readable
  * New option to display your heat level in the tactical display underneath your unit
  
 Bug Fixes:
 
  * Much much quicker connect-to-MUX time
  * Much quicker text handling
  * More efficient and usable map scrolling
  * Contact window listing is quicker and flickers less
  * Elevation numbers now show when 'Darken Elevations' is turned off
  * If the connection is dropped for some reason, Thud should now behave better. Choose your connection from the menu to reconnect
  * Menu items properly disabled/enabled depending on connection status
  * Choosing a new connection while still connected should disconnect properly first, then reconnect
  * No more duplicate contacts on unknowns (seismic or BAP contacts)
  * More misc. bug fixes than you can shake a stick at

1.0b5

 I've decided to move to a more traditional version numbering system as we approach a final 1.0 release. :)
 
 New Features:

  * There is now a preferences window which allows for changing of colors on the map display, font sizes, and more.
  * Your own unit is now drawn in a bold line on the tactical map to help differentiate it in large battles.
  * You can now show cliffs, which will highlight edges in red which will cause a fall or halt.
  * Changes to internal way that maps are stored.
  * Thud will now exit when the main window is closed.
  
 Bug Fixes:
  
  * Thud now handles underground maps properly (unknown hexes show up black on the tactical display).
  * Some work on map correctness done, but there's still more to do.
  * A lot of small bug fixes
  
-0.6b April 7, 2002

 New Features:

  * The map can now be scrolled around the main unit. The commands are in the 'Map' menu, and are most effective when using the keyboard shortcuts.
  * Weapons arcs can now reflect the range of your weapons in that particular arc or 1 hex (whichever is longer). For example, if your unit has one LRM-5 on your Right Arm and 1 Medium Laser (rear facing) in your Center Torso, then the right yellow arc will be 21 hexes long, the blue front arc will be 21 hexes long (RA weapons can fire in the front arc), the yellow left arc will be 1 hex long, and the rear red arc will be 9 hexes long. 
  * Weapons arcs can be switched between an arbitrary user-settable range (as used in previous versions) or the weapons range as described above. They can also be turned off completely.
  * Menus reorganized a bit make them easier to navigate. Also, items in the 'HUD' menu have a keyboard shortcut. 3030MUX is Control-1 by default.
  * Thud now prints its version number to the main window upon startup.

 Bug Fixes:

  * Menu shortcuts should now change the modifier they use based on the platform that Thud is being run on. This means 'Meta' (Command) on the Macintosh, and 'Control' on everything else.
  * Zooming out to height zero should no longer be possible.
  * A few internal changes that should speed up Thud were made.
  * The .jar file that Thud is shipped in now has a proper manifest file. This means Thud can be started from the command line simply using: java -jar Thud.jar

 Future Plans:

  * A dialog to input user/password for connecting when a MUX is chosen from the 'HUD' menu.
  * A method to add and remove MUXes from the 'HUD' menu.
  * Moving some of the currently available preferences to a Preferences dialog box, plus adding some of the advanced ones.
  * More intuitive controls for scrolling the map are needed.
  * A better armor display of some kind, instead of just an overall percentage.
  
-1.0d November 16, 2001

 * First version.

< Many versions in here I did not bother to keep track of >
