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diff --git a/lib/mods/theme/help/version.txt b/lib/mods/theme/help/version.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..501be7f6 --- /dev/null +++ b/lib/mods/theme/help/version.txt @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@ +|||||oy +~~~~~01|Development history +*****version.txt*01[The origins of ToME] +*****version.txt*02[Zangband History and Information] +*****version.txt*03[Brief Version History (of standard Angband)] +*****version.txt*04[A Posting from the Original Author (of Moria)] +*****version.txt*05[Previous Versions (outdated)] + + +#####R====== ToME Brief History ======= + +When Zangband came to its 2.2.0 version I (DarkGod) was an Angband winner and +I had been a C programmer for a long time, so I decided to take the sources +and to try to code my own variant. At this time I was reading the Pern +novels from Anne McCaffrey and I found them *VERY* good, so I decided to +include some elements of them into my variant from which it takes the name, +PernAngband. + +One hard thing to decide was on which Angband to base it. Although I didn't +like Zangband because of the Zelazny universe, which I found to be not very +Tolkienish, I chose it because of all the good things it had (especially +the race powers that I wasn't able to code at the time). So I removed +much of the Zelazny stuff and replaced it with Tolkien and Pernish stuff. +And so the history of PernAngband began with the version 2.9.9a. + +Now, in PernAngband 5.x.x, PernAngband is a thriving Angband variant +with plenty of unique features. + +Then came some legal problems with Anne McCaffrey estate and ubisoft and +I had to remove the Pern stuff, so the game got renamed to ToME, +the Troubles of Middle Earth. +~~~~~02 +#####R=== Zangband History and Information === + +The seeds of Zangband lie in an obsolete and long ago vanished PC variant +(somewhat misleadingly) dubbed Angband--. The variant was written by a +hopeless Angband addict (previously Moria veteran and winner) who got +bored with the standard monsters and wanted to introduce some new +monsters. Angband-- was based on the PC Angband 1.31 sources, and +it was set in Roger Zelazny's 'Amber' universe. + +Later this individual got a better computer and learned to code, and +produced the PC Zangband, and most Angband-- monsters survived into +PC Zangband 1.0. PC Zangband 1.0 was the first PC Angband to introduce +(simple, font-based) graphics, which were also used in the graphical +PC Angband 1.40. + +Yet this individual was still not cured of his addiction... his almost +as strong addiction to the Civilization style fantasy strategy game +'Master of Magic' inspired him to write a new magic system. The current +version of Zangband (2.*) incorporates this magic system, as well as +the best features from Angband-- and PC Zangband 1.0. It is based on +the Angband 2.8.1 sources (by Ben Harrison), and is therefore portable +to other systems (unlike the earlier versions which were for DOS-PC's +only). + +Incidentally, this person (me, Topi Ylinen) also thought that the +standard Angband monsters were too easy, which led him to introduce +such monsters as Death swords, Cyberdemons and Great Wyrms of Power... + +Special thanks -- The current version of Zangband might not have come into +existence without the significant help from these excellent Angband +programmers: + + Ben Harrison, for obvious reasons. + + Greg Wooledge, who pointed out a bug in the dos compiler, + which was preventing my progress with the first 2.* version + of Zangband and for various patches. + + Julian Lighton, who must have sent me more ideas, patches, and + bug reports than all the others together. + + Robert Ruehlmann, whose nice new main-dos.c enables SVGA + graphics and even windows in MS-DOS. + + Paul Sexton, who is responsible for about 50% of the new code + in 2.1.0. + + Heino Vander Sanden, who created the quest-code and + Dean Anderson, whose patch showed me the quickest way to + implement the quests. + + Adam Bolt, who created the new ZAngband tiles. + + Scott Bigham, for the S-Lang patch. + + Jeff Duprey for the new mutations. + + Leigh Silas Hanrihan for the new items. + + Benny S. Hofmann, Aram Harrow, Greg Harvey, Keldon Jones, + Graham Murray, Remco Gerlich, Tim Baker and many others + for bugreports, patches, bugfixes, and ideas. + + +ZAngband 2.1.0c was Topi's last version, he has got a job and +doesn't have enough time anymore to continue work on ZAngband. +He asked for a new maintainer and I was the one to take over the task. +May I introduce myself, my name is Robert Ruehlmann, I'm the creator +of the graphical Angband versions for DOS and webmaster of +"Thangorodrim - The Angband Page" ("http://www.thangorodrim.net"). +~~~~~03 +#####R=== Brief Version History (of standard Angband) === + +First came "VMS Moria", by Robert Alan Koeneke (1985). + +Then came "Umoria" (Unix Moria), by James E. Wilson (1989). + +In 1990, Alex Cutler and Andy Astrand, with the help of other students +at the University of Warwick, created Angband 1.0, based on the existing +code for Umoria 5.2.1. They wanted to expand the game, keeping or even +strengthening the grounding in Tolkien lore, while adding more monsters +and items, including unique monsters and artifact items, plus activation, +pseudo-sensing, level feelings, and special dungeon rooms. + +Over time, Sean Marsh, Geoff Hill, Charles Teague, and others, worked on +the source, releasing a copy known as "Angband 2.4.frog_knows" at some +point, which ran only on Unix systems, but which was ported by various +people to various other systems. + +Then Charles Swiger (cs4w+@andrew.cmu.edu) attempted to clean up the mess, +resulting in several versions, starting sometime around November, 1993, with +Angband 2.5.1 (more or less) and leading up to Angband 2.6.2 in late 1994. +Several people ported (the primarily Unix/NeXT centered) Angband 2.6.1 to +other platforms, including Keith Randall, who made a Macintosh port that +added support for color usage. Some of the changes during this period were +based on suggestions from the "net", PC Angband 1.40, UMoria 5.5, and some +of the Angband "variations", such as FAngband. + +Finally, I (Ben Harrison) took over in late 1994 when Charles Swiger left. +Initially my intention was simply to clean up what had become, after ten +years, a rather unholy mess, but the deeper I delved into the code, the +more it became apparent that drastic changes were needed, so, starting +with MacAngband 2.6.1, I began a more or less total rewrite, resulting, +eventually, in Angband 2.7.0, released around January first, 1995. + +Angband 2.7.0 was a very clean (but very buggy) rewrite that, among other +things, allowed extremely simple porting to multiple platforms, starting +with Unix and Macintosh, and by the time most of the bugs were cleaned up, +in Angband 2.7.2, including X11, and various IBM machines. Angband 2.7.4 +was released to the "ftp.cis.ksu.edu" site, and quickly gained acceptance, +perhaps helped by the OS2 and Windows and Amiga and Linux ports. Angband +2.7.5 and 2.7.6 added important capabilities such as macros and user pref +files, and continued to clean up the source. Angband 2.7.8 was designed +to supply another "stable" version that we can all give to our friends, +with new "help files" and "spoiler files" for the "online help", plus a +variety of minor tweaks and some new features. Angband 2.7.9 optimized +a few things, and tweaked a few other things, and cleaned up a few other +things, and introduced a few minor semantic changes. + +It is very hard to pin down, along the way from 2.6.2 to 2.7.0, and thence +to 2.7.8, exactly what was added exactly when. Most of these steps involved +so many changes as to make "diff files" not very useful, since often the diff +files were as long as the code itself. Most of the changes, with the notable +exception of the creation of the new "main-xxx.c" files for the various new +platforms, and a few other exceptions generally noted in the source, were +written by myself, either spontaneously, or, more commonly, as the result of +a suggestion or comment by an Angband player. So if you have any problems +with anything that you do not recognize from older versions, you can blame +them on me. And if you like the new features and such, you can send me a +brief little "thank you" email (to benh@phial.com) or something... + +The Official Angband Home Page ("http://www.phial.com/") +was created along with Angband 2.7.9 to serve as an up to date description +of any bugs found in various versions, and to list all of the people whose +email addresses I kept having to look up. + +~~~~~04 +#####R=== A Posting from the Original Author === + +From: koeneke@ionet.net (Robert Alan Koeneke) +Newsgroups: rec.games.roguelike.angband,rec.games.roguelike.moria +Subject: Early history of Moria +Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 04:20:51 GMT + +I had some email show up asking about the origin of Moria, and its +relation to Rogue. So I thought I would just post some text on the +early days of Moria. + +First of all, yes, I really am the Robert Koeneke who wrote the first +Moria. I had a lot of mail accussing me of pulling their leg and +such. I just recently connected to Internet (yes, I work for a +company in the dark ages where Internet is concerned) and +was real surprised to find Moria in the news groups... Angband was an +even bigger surprise, since I have never seen it. I probably spoke to +its originator though... I have given permission to lots of people +through the years to enhance, modify, or whatever as long as they +freely distributed the results. I have always been a proponent of +sharing games, not selling them. + +Anyway... + +Around 1980 or 81 I was enrolled in engineering courses at the +University of Oklahoma. The engineering lab ran on a PDP 1170 under +an early version of UNIX. I was always good at computers, so it was +natural for me to get to know the system administrators. They invited +me one night to stay and play some games, an early startrek game, The +Colossal Cave Adventure (later just 'Adventure'), and late one night, +a new dungeon game called 'Rogue'. + +So yes, I was exposed to Rogue before Moria was even a gleam in my +eye. In fact, Rogue was directly responsible for millions of hours of +play time wasted on Moria and its descendents... + +Soon after playing Rogue (and man, was I HOOKED), I got a job in a +different department as a student assistant in computers. I worked on +one of the early VAX 11/780's running VMS, and no games were available +for it at that time. The engineering lab got a real geek of an +administrator who thought the only purpose of a computer was WORK! +Imagine... Soooo, no more games, and no more rogue! + +This was intolerable! So I decided to write my own rogue game, Moria +Beta 1.0. I had three languages available on my VMS system. Fortran +IV, PASCAL V1.?, and BASIC. Since most of the game was string +manipulation, I wrote the first attempt at Moria in VMS BASIC, and it +looked a LOT like Rogue, at least what I could remember of it. Then I +began getting ideas of how to improve it, how it should work +differently, and I pretty much didn't touch it for about a year. + +Around 1983, two things happened that caused Moria to be born in its +recognizable form. I was engaged to be married, and the only cure for +THAT is to work so hard you can't think about it; and I was enrolled +for fall to take an operating systems class in PASCAL. + +So, I investigated the new version of VMS PASCAL and found out it had +a new feature. Variable length strings! Wow... + +That summer I finished Moria 1.0 in VMS PASCAL. I learned more about +data structures, optimization, and just plain programming that summer +then in all of my years in school. I soon drew a crowd of devoted +Moria players... All at OU. + +I asked Jimmey Todd, a good friend of mine, to write a better +character generator for the game, and so the skills and history were +born. Jimmey helped out on many of the functions in the game as well. +This would have been about Moria 2.0 + +In the following two years, I listened a lot to my players and kept +making enhancements to the game to fix problems, to challenge them, +and to keep them going. If anyone managed to win, I immediately found +out how, and 'enhanced' the game to make it harder. I once vowed it +was 'unbeatable', and a week later a friend of mine beat it! His +character, 'Iggy', was placed into the game as 'The Evil Iggy', and +immortalized... And of course, I went in and plugged up the trick he +used to win... + +Around 1985 I started sending out source to other universities. Just +before a OU / Texas football clash, I was asked to send a copy to the +Univeristy of Texas... I couldn't resist... I modified it so that +the begger on the town level was 'An OU football fan' and they moved +at maximum rate. They also multiplied at maximum rate... So the +first step you took and woke one up, it crossed the floor increasing +to hundreds of them and pounded you into oblivion... I soon received +a call and provided instructions on how to 'de-enhance' the game! + +Around 1986 - 87 I released Moria 4.7, my last official release. I +was working on a Moria 5.0 when I left OU to go to work for American +Airlines (and yes, I still work there). Moria 5.0 was a complete +rewrite, and contained many neat enhancements, features, you name it. +It had water, streams, lakes, pools, with water monsters. It had +'mysterious orbs' which could be carried like torches for light but +also gave off magical aura's (like protection from fire, or aggrivate +monster...). It had new weapons and treasures... I left it with the +student assistants at OU to be finished, but I guess it soon died on +the vine. As far as I know, that source was lost... + +I gave permission to anyone who asked to work on the game. Several +people asked if they could convert it to 'C', and I said fine as long +as a complete credit history was maintained, and that it could NEVER +be sold, only given. So I guess one or more of them succeeded in +their efforts to rewrite it in 'C'. + +I have since received thousands of letters from all over the world +from players telling about their exploits, and from administrators +cursing the day I was born... I received mail from behind the iron +curtain (while it was still standing) talking about the game on VAX's +(which supposedly couldn't be there due to export laws). I used to +have a map with pins for every letter I received, but I gave up on +that! + +I am very happy to learn my creation keeps on going... I plan to +download it and Angband and play them... Maybe something has been +added that will surprise me! That would be nice... I never got to +play Moria and be surprised... + +Robert Alan Koeneke +koeneke@ionet.net + +~~~~~05 +#####R=== Previous Versions (outdated) === + + + VMS Moria Version 4.8 +Version 0.1 : 03/25/83 +Version 1.0 : 05/01/84 +Version 2.0 : 07/10/84 +Version 3.0 : 11/20/84 +Version 4.0 : 01/20/85 + +Modules : + V1.0 Dungeon Generator - RAK + Character Generator - RAK & JWT + Moria Module - RAK + Miscellaneous - RAK & JWT + V2.0 Town Level & Misc - RAK + V3.0 Internal Help & Misc - RAK + V4.0 Source Release Version - RAK + +Robert Alan Koeneke Jimmey Wayne Todd Jr. +Student/University of Oklahoma Student/University of Oklahoma + + + Umoria Version 5.2 (formerly UNIX Moria) +Version 4.83 : 5/14/87 +Version 4.85 : 10/26/87 +Version 4.87 : 5/27/88 +Version 5.0 : 11/2/89 +Version 5.2 : 5/9/90 + +James E. Wilson, U.C. Berkeley + wilson@ernie.Berkeley.EDU + ...!ucbvax!ucbernie!wilson + +Other contributors: +D. G. Kneller - MS-DOS Moria port +Christopher J. Stuart - recall, options, inventory, and running code +Curtis McCauley - Macintosh Moria port +Stephen A. Jacobs - Atari ST Moria port +William Setzer - object naming code +David J. Grabiner - numerous bug reports, and consistency checking +Dan Bernstein - UNIX hangup signal fix, many bug fixes +and many others... + + + + +Copyright (c) 1989 James E. Wilson, Robert A. Keoneke + This software may be copied and distributed for educational, research, and + not for profit purposes provided that this copyright and statement are + included in all such copies. + +Umoria Version 5.2, patch level 1 + +Angband Version 2.0 Alex Cutler, Andy Astrand, Sean Marsh, Geoff Hill, + Charles Teague. + +Angband Version 2.4 : 5/09/93 + +Angband Version 2.5 : 12/05/93 Charles Swiger. + +Angband Version 2.6 : 9/04/94 + +Angband Version 2.7 : 1/1/95 Ben Harrison |