WHAT IS NEW?                                                   

October 05 2003 [paternoster]

  * NPCs can now be activated across the edges of a wraparound
    map

  * Fixed caterpillar hero walkabout graphics to be correctly
    displayed over the edges of a wraparound map.

  * Improved the F12 BMP-format screenshot feature to take
    screen shots virtually anywhere in GAME.EXE rather than
    just on the map or in battle. Now you can take screen
    shots of menus, title screen, whatever. (no such capability
    in CUSTOM.EXE, sorry)

  * Fixed the "put hero" plotscripting command so it now works
    for all heroes instead of just the leader

  * Made the "Found a (item)" and "Found (number) (items)"
    victory captions customizable.

  * Fixed a bug that caused the PAUSE key to be disabled in
    battle if Debugging keys were disabled

  * Fixed a bug that could cause recently drawn graphics to be
    lost under certain conditions when pressing CTRL+BACKSPACE
    to delete picture sets in the sprite editor

  * Now if a hero has zero maximum HP it will not die. This
    prevents the game from ending after you exit the menu
    on games where the heros have not been given any stats
    (for example, games that do not use battles)

August 04 2003 [wolfwood]

  * Fixed the bug that premitted you to cast MP-based spells
    in battle even when you did not have enough MP

  * Fixed the bug that resets the hero's picture and palette to
    zero if the hero is renamed when added to the party

  * It is no longer possible to get invalid item 255 (item 254
    is the last item)

  * Added plotscripting commands: set victory music, get death
    script, set load script, get load script, set battle wait
    mode, set caterpillar mode, set no HP level up restore, set
    no MP level up restore, set inn no revive mode, set full
    hero swap mode, hide battle ready meter, hide battle health
    meter, set debug keys disable

July 31 2003 [espereble]

  * The Focus stat (MP-cost-reduction stat) now works

  * Fixed the bug that caused enemies that die from poison to
    vanish instantly rather than fading

  * Fixed the bug that caused the battle to end after killing any
    enemy with the boss bitset, even if other bosses or non-die-
    without-boss enemies were still alive. Also fixed the bug
    that caused die-without-boss enemies to double-die when the
    boss died if you had already killed them previously

  * Added the (optional) ability to allow players to rename heros!
    You can enable this feature for specific heros in the hero
    editor under "Bitsets". Heros can be renamed when the are
    added to the party or on the status screen.

  * Added plotscripting commands "rename hero" and "rename hero by
    slot"

  * Added the ability to embed hero names in text boxes by typeing
    special codes that will be replaced with the names.
    ${C#} is replaced by the name of the hero at position # in the
          caterpillar party. So if you want the leader's name,
          write ${C0}
    ${P#} is replaced by the name of the hero at position # in the
          party
    ${H#} is replaced by the name of the first copy of hero ID#

  * Added the ability to embed global variables in text boxes by
    typing the special code ${V#} where # is the global variable's
    ID number

  * Added plotscripting command "pick hero" that pops up a hero
    picker like the one you see when you go into the Equip menu
    or the Status menu. The return-value of this command is the
    hero that you picked (their position in the party)

  * The correct "Equip Who?" caption is now used when the Equip
    menu is opened from inside a shop

  * Added the ability to copy maps in the map editor. Now when you
    pick "Add new map" you get a choice between "New Blank Map" or
    "Copy of Map N"

  * Changed the way temporary files are cleaned up to work around
    the "...The operating system is denying access to the files in
    playing.tmp" error that occurs sometimes for some people.

  * Added "If this problem persists, manually delete playing.tmp"
    to the "...The operating system is denying access to the files in
    playing.tmp" error message (just in case the other fix doesn't
    solve all cases)

  * Fixed an off-by-one bug in the "change NPC ID" plotscripting
    command. If you were already using this command in your scripts,
    you may need to change them (it is no longer neccisary to add 1
    to the ID number, and it is no longer impossible to change the ID
    to 35)

  * Fixed the bug which caused enemies to die if cured over 32767 HP.
    I believe there are still other math-overflow errors in battle
    which could cause crashes or incorrect behavior for extremely
    strong attacks or enemies and heros with extremely high stats.
    If anybody finds such a bug, please send me a testcase.

  * I have been misspelling the word "enemies" for years. If anybody
    catches me saying "enemys" please yell at me.

  * When you switch to a different map with the same music, or enter
    a battle with different music, the song does not restart from the
    beginning, it continues playing without interruption. You can
    force a song to restart with plotscripting by doing a "stop song"
    followed by a "play song"

  * Switched back to the old version of MIDI2BAM. The new one in the
    handshake update caused more problems than it fixed.

  * Fixed a bug that occured in games that have caterpillar party
    disabled. Walking over harm tiles would damage the empty spaces
    behind the leader where other heros would have been if caterpillar
    was on.

  * Fixed a bug that caused items marked as "cannot be sold/dropped"
    to be consumed if you learn a spell from them

  * Fixed the bug that prevented the attack with ID 0 from working in
    spell lists

  * Fixed two bugs with the text-char-picker. One, that it would 
    insert an extra space along with every char, and second that it
    would ignore the text-length limit

Nov 29 2002 [handshake]

  * I decree that henceforth all updates will have silly codenames.
    This update shall be known as "handshake" in thanks to everybody
    who helped me solve the NT/2000/XP bug.

  * Fixed The crash on exit in GAME.EXE under Windows NT/2000/XP
    If you still have an old locked playing.tmp file left over from
    the previous version, you may need to manually delete it once
    first before the new version will run.

  * Fixed the bug that prevented consumable items that teach spells
    from being consumed

  * Added plotscripting command "load tileset" to dynamicly change
    the tileset of the currently loaded map.

  * Fixed a crash when viewing the status screen for certain heros
    in some games (Powerstick Man, for example)

  * I neglected to mention in the last update that I added an option
    for "Base DEF stat" in the attack editor.

  * Also, In the last update I mistakenly said the text-char picker
    thingy was bought up by pressing ALT+SPACE. This was not true, it
    was actually SHIFT+SPACE, but in this update I have changed it to
    CTRL+SPACE, because SHIFT+SPACE was so easy to accadentally trigger
    when TYPING A LINE IN ALL CAPS (is everyone sufficiently confused
    now?)

Nov 23 2002

  * Made the text "(hero) has no spells" customizable. Are there any
    more text strings that I missed?

  * Fixed the mini-map when shown from a shop so it works like the
    mini-map from the menu or F1

  * Added an attack target type that can only target dead heros.

  * Added pixel-perfect positioning plotscripting commands; put hero,
    put npc, put camera, hero pixel x, hero pixel y, NPC pixel x, NPC
    pixel y, camera x, camera y

  * Fixed a bug that caused the hero to become misaligned with the
    maptiles if you tried to mount a vehicle that was already moving

  * Added "Save and continue editing" to the "Exit" menu.

  * GAME.EXE and CUSTOM.EXE can now both detect when you attempt to
    run a second instance of the program without first closing the
    first. 

  * Added plotscripting commands "hero by slot" and "hero by rank"
    which are the opposites of "find hero" and "rank in caterpillar"

  * Added plotscripting commands "teach spell", "forget spell",
    "read spell", "write spell", "knows spell", and "can learn spell"

  * Added a caption when you teach a hero a spell from an item

  * Updated HSPEAK.EXE to tolerate the corrupted line-endings
    sometimes inserted into scripts under Windows XP

  * Due to popular demand, set-to-percentage type attacks now display
    the difference between the old and new value of the target stat
    (use the "do not display damage" bitset if you want the old
    behavior)

  * Added an attack bitset for damage that is calculated and displayed
    but not actually inflicted. Good for "scan" type spells

  * Elemental bitsets on equipment now works

  * Added Elemental Strength/Weakness display to the Status screen in
    GAME.EXE. Press the "Use" key to toggle it on and off. Press the
    "Cancel" key to exit status.

  * Added Poison, Regen, and Stun afflictions in battle. To use them,
    create attacks that target the new "Affliction Register" target
    stats. For example, damage done to the Poison Register will be
    repeated as poison damage. Damage done to the Stun Register will
    become the number of seconds that the target is stunned. There is
    currently no visual indicator of afflictions! That will be added
    later.

  * Greatly improved the font editor. You can now edit 224 text 
    characters, copy and paste, and import/export font files. Added
    three importable sample fonts in the IMPORT directory, ASCII,
    Japanese, and Cyrillic.

  * Added a character-picker accessable from any text-entry
    field by pressing ALT+SPACE [Edit: CTRL+SPACE]

  * Added "Import New Master Palette" feature to "General Game Data"
    menu. Now you can directly import new palettes created with Neo's
    PalEdit and 2MAS utilites (note that importing a new palette screws
    up all your existing graphics, so this is only really useful for
    new RPG files)

  * Various memory optimizations, in an attempt to further
    reduce the "Not Enough Conventional DOS Memory" threshhold.

  * Fixed the "set default weapon" plotscripting command

  * Fixed the broken "Require Tag" feature in shops

  * Fixed the crash that could occur after reloading the 
    default passability of a large map.

  * Fixed bugs involving showing the tileset in GAME.EXE. If you spot
    any more situations where a tileset displays, a backdrop fails to
    display, or a map fails to reappear after a backdrop, please let
    me know

  * Fixed the bug that made it impossible for a script containing a
    "wait for key" command to terminate when run on a map with an
    on-keypress script active .

  * Fixed the on-keypress script handler so you can hold down a key
    without suspending all your other scripts. I am pretty sure that
    this will not break anybody's existing on-keypress scripts, but
    do let me know if you have any problems.

  * Fixed a bug where if you were holding down a key and then tapped
    a second key without releasing the first key, the on-keypress
    script handler would not be triggered even though the first key
    was still down

  * Fixed an obscure plotscripting error that could cause strange
    behavior after running a _very_ big script.

  * Various trivial bugfixes

Feb 27 2002

  * The last sound fix solved the problem for some people, but not
    everyone. Hopefully this willget sound back the way it was in
    June 11 2002

Feb 25 2002

  * Scrounged around to free up a K or two of memory to lower the
    "Not Enough Conventional DOS Memory" threshhold, which has been
    slowly creeping upwards as I add features

  * Fixed a bug that cause the map tileset to be displayed if you brought
    up the menu while a "show backdrop" plotscripting command was active

  * Fixed the bug that prevented NPCs from being drawn over the edges
    of wraparound maps

  * Scrapped the changes to the music-setup that did card autodetection
    and INI reading altogether. They broke music for many people, and I
    did not get one single report of them fixing music for anybody.
    The soundcard is now blindly detected exactly as it was back in the
    June 11 2001 version

Feb 19 2002

  * A change in the soundcard code that will hopefully fix the new 
    sound problems introduced in the last update. (if it doesnt, I
    will regress to the June 11 2001 sound code.)

  * Yet-another-fix for the "Dont restore HP/MP at levelup" feature,
    which has probably been the most buggy feature in the history of
    the whole program. I am fairly confident I got it right this time :)

Feb 14 2002

  * Fixed a bug that caused wait commands under certain circumstances
    to wait one game cycle longer than they needed to. This should
    make some complex plotscripts run a little smoother

  * Fixed a bug that prevented you from getting items from battle if you
    impatiently held down the button to skip the victory messages

  * Joystick calibration info is now saved and restored to the file
    JOYSET.INI so you do not have to re-calibrate each time you play.
    Note that the joystick will still not be activated unless you use
    a joystick button to advance the title-screen of a game

  * Added a menu option in the map editor to re-load the default
    passability for the entire map

  * Saved games now correctly save and restore the positions of all four
    heros, rather than just the leader.

  * Fixed a bug introduced in the June 8 2001 version that caused
    plotscripts to lock up if you attempted to use a "wait for NPC"
    command on an NPC who didnt actually exist on the map.

  * Implemented stealing. To try it out, make an attack with the
    "Steal item" bitset turned on, and make sure to give your enemys
    some stealable items in the enemy editor.

  * Changed the F6 debug key. Now instead of uselessly panning the camera
    to the center of the map, holding the F6 keys allows you to pan the
    camera freely with the arrow keys (F5 to return to the hero)

  * Added error checking for accessing out-of-range global script
    variables (variables with ID numbers higher than 1024)

  * Brian fixed the ASM code for importing BMP files so imported sprites
    no longer lose their rightmost row of pixels. Yay!

  * Re-wrote the Attack Menu and the Enemy Menu to save memory and make
    future alterations easyer. Any small differences you see in these menus
    are a result of the rewrite

  * Re-enabled copy and paste while editing graphics with CTRL+C and
    CTRL+V. Moved palette copying and pasting back to ALT+C and ALT+V

  * Added Attack Captions that can display at the bottom of the screen
    when you use an attack

  * Re-fixed the "Do not Restore HP on Levelup" bug that had
    resurfaced AGAIN. Added lots of comments to the code to prevent me
    from messing it up again :)

  * Added the ability to unequip one item at a time

  * Fixed the bug that prevented the default weapon for being equiped when
    you unequip a weapon with a plotscript

  * Greatly improved crash trapping. If GAME.EXE or CUSTOM.EXE crash
    they will now display useful error messages and terminate cleanly,
    rather than the old behavior of garbling the screen and locking up :)

  * Fixed a crasher in the item menu in GAME.EXE when you moved the cursor
    to the right from the very bottom of the menu

  * GAME.EXE can now read an alternate address to search for a soundcard.
    To try this out, download http://HamsterRepublic.com/dl/bam_port.zip
    and read the included .TXT file. (I expect that this will only
    help a very small subset of troubled BAM users)

  * Fixed the bug that prevented heros fourth spell list from working
    if it was set to type: Random

  * Almost every single menu in CUSTOM now supports PGUP PGDN HOME END and
    wraparound (the only noticeable exception is the stat menu in the
    hero editor)

  * Password entry is now starred-out to protect from spys who peek over
    your shoulder

  * Expanded the "Edit Global Text Strings" menu to allow you to change
    every bit of text in your game. Let me know if I missed anything.
    (and I probably did miss a few things)

  * Fixed bug that caused the game to appear to lock up if you pressed the
    menu key right when you walked through a door (the menu was appearing
    and blocking the fade-in)

June 11 2001

  * Repaired the glaring bug in the last version that caused corruption
    in the graphics editor when the UNDO buffer overflowed (and in the
    process, found a way to make the UNDO buffer 5 times bigger :)

  * Expanded the "Edit Stat Names" menu to become the "Edit Global Strings"
    menu that gives you the ability to change many other fixed-text strings
    in GAME.EXE. Eventually all strings should be customizable, but this
    will be a gradual process over the next few updates

June 8 2001

  * Cleaned up the hero spell list editor into a two-column menu where
    you can actually type in all the values

  * You can now type in the enemy number in the formation editor

  * Improved map-picking menu to show long map names and support
    PGUP and PGDN

  * Fixed bug that prevented music from playing when you quit and reload
    a saved game on a map with the same music

  * Fixed battle lockup when "pause on battle menus" is enabled and a
    hero dies when a menu is up.

  * Added a vehicle bitset to disable the shadow when you are flying

  * Updated the plotscript compiler to support := as an alternate to
    "set variable" (If for some strange reason you are still using the
    old HSPEAK version 1, this might cause some compatability problems.
    If you are using the old HSPEAK let me know, and I will help)

  * fixed a crasher caused by passing an out-of-range NPC ID to certain
    plotscripting commands

  * fixed a bug that prevented tag-dependant NPCs from immediately 
    appearing after their tag changed

  * fixed a bug that could cause NPCs to get stuck mid-movement when you
    bring up the menu or a text-box

  * Added two plotscripting commands for getting NPC references which you
    can store in variables for later use with most other NPC-related
    commands. Manipulating NPCs by reference is faster than manipulating
    them by ID, and references allow you to manipulate any copy of an NPC
    not just the first one on the map. The new commands are "NPC reference"
    and "NPC at spot"

  * Updated the following plotscripting commands to accept NPC references
    in addition to NPC ID numbers: waitfornpc,setNPCframe,camerafollowsNPC,
    NPCx,NPCy,walkNPC,setNPCdirection,setNPCposition,NPCdirection,
    NPCiswalking,walkNPCtoX, and walkNPCtoY. AlterNPC and setNPCspeed do
    _not_ support NPC references because they both change data that is the
    same for every copy of the same NPC on the map

  * Added new plotscripting commands getNPCid,NPCcopycount,changeNPCID,
    createNPC, destroyNPC, useNPC, and getherolevel. See the plotscripting
    dictionary for more info.

  * Added an UNDO feature to the Maptile editor and the Sprite editor
    (keyboard shortcut CTRL+Z for both)

  * Fixed several plotscipting commands that accept values returned
    by "find hero". When "find hero" cannot find a particular hero
    it returns -1. several commands were treating the -1 like a 0,
    and therefore affecting the leader when the should have been
    doing nothing at all. If you have a script that used to work fine
    but stops working right in this version, check that you are
    correctly using the "find hero" command

  * PAUSE key no longer behaves like the USE key

  * Fixed a crasher in the Equip menu in games that have no items.

  * Fixed broken "suspendoverlay" and "resumeoverlay" plotscripting
    commands

  * An assortment of other minor fixes

May 22 2001

  * Added scancode.hsi plotscript include file that contains friendly
    names for the scancodes for use with "key is pressed"

  * Fixed a bug that allowed you to start a new game without triggering
    the new-game script if the first save slot was empty but another save
    slot had been used

  * You can now import entire tilesets from 24-bit BMP files just like
    you import backdrops

  * Under Windows 9X/ME/NT/2K (and also OpenDOS and _maybe_ OS/2),
    CUSTOM.EXE can now read filenames longer than 8 letters when
    browsing BAM and BMP and HS files to import. Long filenames for
    RPG files are still  _not_ supported.

  * Added new debugging key F10 that shows plotscript interpreter
    status. 

  * Added plotscripting commands "hero is walking", "NPC is walking"

  * Fixed spelling of "suspend caterpillar" and "resume caterpillar"
    plotscripting commands. the old misspelled versions still work for
    backwards compatability

  * Added load-game plotscript trigger so you can choose a plotscript
    that will automatically be run every time you load a saved game

  * Added three map-specific plotscript triggers, instead-of-battle,
    each-step, and on-keypress.

  * Added a chapter on different ways to trigger a plotscript to
    plotscripttutor.html

  * Fixed the hero-is-leader tag

  * Fixed an error that caused "script # became stateless" (and other
    errors) when scripts where double-activated

  * Fixed a bug in the "set hero picture" command that bounded the max
    walkabout picture you could set your hero to by the max number of
    hero battle pictures

  * Misc small bugfixes

April 5 2001

  * Added a nice 16-color-palette-browser that you can use top pick
    your palette. In the sprite editor it is accessed by clicking on the
    palette number or pressing P. You can also use it in the hero, enemy
    attack, item and NPC editors by pressing ENTER on the palette number

  * Fixed a bug-that-made-me-feel-very-stupid that was causing the
    hero picture/palette setting commands crash

  * Fixed palette-preview bugs in the NPC editor and the Attack editor

  * Fixed the "dont hide hero" vehicle bitset

  * Fixed a bug when using the CAPSLOCK key to choose a tile in maptile
    mode when the tile you where picking was animating

  * CUSTOM.EXE will now correctly load and use an altered master palette
    if your RPG file contains one (there is currently no built-in support
    for changing the master palette, but there are third-party utils that
    can change it)

  * Added a nag-screen to CUSTOM to remind people to make backup copies
    of their work, in the hopes that future data-lost tragedies might
    be averted :(

March 31 2001

  * Added plotscripting commands: set hero picture, get hero picture
    set hero palette, get hero palette, read global, write global

  * Maximum 16-color palettes is now 32767 instead of 99. (and they
    take less memory than before too!) This change required a total
    rewrite of the palette handling system, so be on the lookout for
    palette related bugs and report anything you find.

  * Fixed scrolling/clipping problems in the map editor after
    resizing or deleting a map

  * GAME.EXE no longer crashes trying to open a read-only RPG file
    (this means it should now be possible to play RPG files off a
    CD-ROM)

  * Fixed the bug that prevented files from showing up when their
    "Archive" bit was turned off

  * Fixed a bug in HSPEAK.EXE that caused it to compile to the wrong
    output file when you tried to compile a script file with no filename
    extension

  * If GAME.EXE fails to find OHRRPGCE.FNT then it loads the system
    8x8 ROM font instead

  * GAME.EXE shows its version number on the file-select screen

  * really fixed the "dont restore HP/MP on levelup" bitsets. Honest!
    I tested it! both on and off! It really finally works the way it is
    supposed to! ... I hope :)

Feb 27 2001

  * After battle, gold and experience only display if you actually earn
    more than zero

  * Added a battle formation preview in the formation set editor

  * Typing in a number in the formation set editor is no longer
    off by 1

  * Ally-including-dead target type now works outside of battle

  * If two heros use the same item at the same time in battle, only
    the first one will succeed and the item count will not go negative

  * Fixed a menu bug in the shop editor when a shop contains both
    items and heros

  * double-triggering a script that is already currently running now
    silently fails without displaying an error message or interrupting
    the running script

  * Added a general preference bitset to permit double-triggering
    of a script that is already currently running (a good way to make
    your game crash if you dont know what you are doing :)

  * PageUP and PageDOWN work on the item editing menu in CUSTOM

  * Larger animation buffer in battle to avoid lockups like the one
    in ORIGIN

  * Fixed reversed "Horizontal" and "Vertical" NPC pushability types

  * No longer able to name non-existant tags over 999

  * Fixed a longstanding bug that caused scripts to crash if you tried
    to return() a value

  * fixed hero's fourth spell menu

  * correctly handle case-insenstive name conflicts in exported HSI files

  * Fixed equipwhere plotscripting command

  * Heros are now correctly Y-sorted

  * NPCs with zero speed do not get stuck when forced to move

  * You can now set default pasability data in the maptile editor that
    will automatically be applied to tiles as you place them on the map.
    Regular wallmapping-mode in the map editor is still available unchanged
    for making exceptions and fine tuning your pasability.

  * A new, much faster, better optimizing, version of the HSPEAK.EXE
    plotscript compiler (HssED has also been updated)

  * Added 13 more classical songs to the free BAM collection,
    thanks to JD Shear

  * Fixed RPGFIX.EXE to run in true DOS

  * a few misc trivial fixes that nobody will notice

December 9 2000

  * Enlarged the collection of free BAM music, with many thanks to
    Shael Riley

  * Added Text-search in the Text Box editor

  * Strengthened error-checking for corrupted data

  * Fixed a lockup bug in the hero appearance menu

  * Fixed bug that prevented the "dont restore HP on levelup" and
    "Dont restore MP on levelup" bitsets from working properly

  * Announces when you learn a new spell from a levelup

  * You can get multiple levelups after one battle if you earn enough
    experience 

  * Added new damage base-stats "previous attack", "Last damage to
    attacker" and "Last damage to target"

  * Added new target classes "Revenge (last hit)", "Revenge (Whole Battle)",
    "Previous Target" and "Stored Target"  

  * Added attack bitset "Store Target" that memorizes the target for use
    with later "Stored Target" class attacks.

  * Added attack bitset "Autotarget" that picks a target automatically
    when used by a hero

  * Percentage damage now displays the amount it changed the target stat
    (unless the "Do Not Show Damage" bitset is turned on)

  * Cancelling a BMP import import in the sprite editor no longer
    asks the palette question

  * Fixed missing spread-ally-not-self and spread-ally-including-dead
    enemy attack settings

  * Fixed a bug that could occasionally cause attacks targeting heros to
    fail randomly under certain circumstances

  * Fixed a bug that prevented Rare Items from showing up after battle

  * In CUSTOM.EXE you can now browse your Tag names by typing in their
    number instead of scrolling through them all. (People with tag names
    in existing games will need to scroll through them once before it will
    work)

  * When GAME.EXE is run, it checks its own filename. If it has been
    renamed to anything other than GAME.EXE then it will automatically try
    to load an RPG file of the same name from the same directory. This
    means if your game's name is QUEST.RPG then you can distribute a copy
    of GAME.EXE renamed to QUEST.EXE together with it and make it nice and
    easy for users to run your game    

  * GAME.EXE no longer requires OHRRPGCE.MAS (but CUSTOM.EXE still needs it)

  * Supressed the warning if OHRRPGCE.FNT is missing when you start a
    specific RPG file from the command-line or from a renamed GAME.EXE
    (although without OHRRPGCE.FNT, the "Loading..." wont appear)

  * Fixed a bug in the "check tag" plotscripting command so that it returns
    1 when the tag is true instead of -1

  * Fixed a bug in damage calculation that caused defence to used
    incorrectly in "Sharp", "Blunt", and "Pure" attacks

  * Added a bitset to simulate the old Level-up bug found in very old
    versions of GAME.EXE and a debugging key (F7) to turn it off and on.
    This helps for playing old obsolete games like FUABMX that depended on
    the bug for proper difficulty... or you can also enable it if you
    happen to be making a game that would benefit from heros equipment
    bonuses getting merged into their stats whenever you get a levelup.
    Are you happy, Rya? :)

  * Added new debugging keys F8 and F9 to raw-edit the gen() and gmap()
    data. This isnt likely to mean anything to anybody but me, but it can
    be fun to mess with it and try to crash your game :)

Sept 15 2000

  * Added plotscripting commands unequip,forceequip,equipwhere,
    checkequipment,getdefaultweapon, setdefaultweapon, and rankincaterpillar

  * Fixed an embarassingly stupid error in the "NPC direction" command

  * Joystick buttons now behave more like keyboard keys.

  * Tag-debug mode now lets you turn tags OFF with CTRL- and ON with CTRL+

  * Changing maps while a background is displaying no longer displays the
    tileset

  * Riding a vehicle that has door use disabled does not disable the
    "use door" plotscripting command, or doors that are forced by
    text boxes

  * Debugging keys can be disabled by a bitset in the General game Data
    menu.

  * Added two debugging keys to battle mode CTRL+F4 instantly runs from any
    battle, and CTRL+F5 gives you a million experience points

  * Fixed a longstanding bug that affected both the usedoor and the
    teleporttomap plotscripting commands, that caused "noop" errors in
    certain circumstances-- Woo! I have been hunting for that one for
    SOOOO long! It feels great to fix it! ... Hope I didnt create any
    new bugs in the process :)

  * the teleporttomap plotscripting command takes its coordinates
    in maptiles now, not pixels (adjust your scripts accordingly, sorry
    for the inconvenience)

  * GAME.EXE no longer leaves behind STACK.TMP in your TEMP directory

  * If you try to import a .HS file that is not really a compiled
    plotscript, CUSTOM.EXE now displays a helpful and slightly sarcastic
    error message instead of crashing

  * Added a pretty ready-meter and a health-meter to battle mode

  * Names and menus dissapear after you win a battle, while it shows
    you your winnings and levelups

  * Displays the correct name for "MP" on the spell select screen

  * Enemy's "harmed by cure" bitset no longer applies to absorbing
    elemental damage

  * Fixed lockup when trying to trigger a random battle from a completely
    empty formation set

  * Attacks can now have any stat as a "Base Stat" or "Target Stat"
    The "Damage MP" bitset is now obsolete, but still works for backwards
    compatability

  * New Attack Bitsets; "Absorb Damage", "Do not Randomize"
    "Damage can be Zero", "Reset target stat to max before hit",
    "Allow cure to exceed maximum", "Do not display damage",
    "Show attack name", "Fail vs Elemental Resistance", and
    "Fail vs Enemy Type"

  * New attack types that set the target stat to a percentage (intended for
    near-kill spells, cure-all spells, spells that modify stats, etc.)

  * Fixed a bug that could cause file bloat when pressing PGUP and PGDN
    under certain curcumstances in the sprite editor

  * Correctly checks for OHRRPGCE.MAS and OHRRPGCE.FNT and exits gracefully
    if they are missing

May 28 2000

  * Added "After battle" plotscript, which can take a single argument
    which is true if you won and false if you ran from the battle

  * Screen shots taken with F12 are now stored in the same directory
    as the RPG file

  * Added a progress meter for loading especially large directories

  * Now correctly cleans up temporary files when you quit a game and load
    another

  * Fixed a bug that sometimes caused scripts to interfere with each other
    (the intro in Wandering Hamster works again)

  * Fixed the bug that caused vehicles of speed 10 to freeze 

  * When activating an NPC that changes tags, the tag changes no longer
    take effect instantly, they wait for the text box.

  * Added plotscripting functions herodirection and NPCdirection

May 8 2000

  * Vehicle support! Mark your map with A and B tiles in wallmapping mode,
    then set any NPC to one of the predefined vehicle types, or create
    your own vehicle types.

  * Converted HOWTO from text to html (with pictures!). There is still
    a text version, based on the html version

  * Added plotscript commands; dismountvehicle,iskeypressed,readmapblock
    readpassblock,writemapblock,writepassblock

  * waitforkeypress(anykey) plotscripting command now returns the value
    of the pressed key

  * Added an "After-Battle" plotscript in the "general map data" menu
    that automatically sends true/false for its first argument based
    on if you ran from battle. Also made the fightformation plotscripting
    command return true if you ran from battle, false if you won

  * Fixed a bug that caused the game timer stop if you where playing
    at midnight.

  * Maximum tag number is now 999 instead of 500

  * Fixed a bug that prevented one-time usable NPCs from dissapearing
    if they did not trigger a text box

  * Added an "EXIT" button to the "Load Game" screen in GAME.EXE for the
    benefit of people who dont instinctively know to press ESC to get out
    of DOS games

  * Screen-shots taken by GAME.EXE with F12 are now patched for
    MS-paint compatability (grumble)

  * Sprite editor now lets you go up to 99 palettes instead of 90

  * Adjusted levelup calculation, and fixed starting-experience bug
    for heros added at levels higher than 1

  * Fixed a bug in the "resume hero walls" plotscripting command

  * Fixed a big bug in the "while" looping command for plotscripting
    now it is possible to use a while loop that iterates more than once
    without crashing and burning :)

  * You can give your game a long title and "about" information that will
    be displayed instead of the filename when browsing for RPG files

January 31 2000

  * GAME.EXE now keeps track of how long you have played a game.
    This is displayed on the save/load screens instead of HP

  * Days, hours, and minutes of gameplay are available to plotscripts
    via the plotscripting functions: days of play, hours of play,
    minutes of play

  * Heros and NPCs are no longer drawn 5 pixels up from the maptiles.
    You can now set a custom "Foot Offset" for each map

  * File browser now alphabetizes file listings
    (only by the first letter, for speed)

  * BMP files of the wrong size and bit depth now show up greyed-out
    in the import browser

  * The PlotScript interpreter is now more resistant to being crashed
    by bad scripts

  * Fixed cursor glytch while picking tiles in tilemap mode

  * Fixed the swapped menu items in the graphics menu

January 25 2000

  * Reorganised the main menu, and put al graphics-related stuff in an
    "Edit Graphics" submenu

  * You can now make tiles on a map damage your hero when you step on them.
    Press H in wallmap mode to place Harm-Tiles. (default damage is zero)

  * The If-tag-set-tag conditional for text boxes can now set two tags
    instead of just one. In making this change, I removed the
    "If tag then stop" conditional, as it was pretty much completely
    useless, and as far as I know nobody ever used it. If anyone out
    there did actually use it, I appologise for the inconvenience.

  * The airbrush tool in the MapTile editor can no longer wrap over the
    edge of the screen and mess up other tiles.

  * Yay! The mapeditor in wallmapping mode no longer flickers in a
    seisure-inducing way. Yay!

  * Eliminated OHRRPGCE.ALL and OHRRPGCE.PAL. These files are no longer
    needed to run custom.exe.

  * Fixed the bug that resulted in corrupt map data after deleting a map,
    and repaired Map 0 in the default new-game. 

  * Fixed a bug that would cause CUSTOM.EXE to lock while exporting an HSI
    file if you gave something a name that ended with a very long number.

  * Fixed some crashes in the Shop Stuff editor

December 21 1999

  * Re-fixed the running-scripts-from-text-boxes bug.
    Deja-vu! I couldve sworn I fixed that already :P

December 19 1999

  * The HamsterSpeak syntax for math and comparison has changed.
    If you have a script that uses the old style of commands
    it will not compile correctly. See hamsterspeak.html and
    plotdictionary.html for details

  * Added the following plotscripting commands:
    getherostat, setherostat, setNPCspeed, suspendboxadvance,
    resumeboxadvance, advancebox, setheroframe, setNPCframe

  * Fixed bugs in the following plotscripting commands:
    addhero, swapouthero, swapinhero, lockhero, unlockhero

  * Global script variables are now stored in savegames

  * Autodetection and repair of corrupted maps

  * When you create a new text box, it takes its default appearance
    from text box 0

  * You can now set a hero's default level to "Party Average"

  * TAB characters are now allowed in plotscripts

  * HSPEAK.EXE now runs in DOS (for real this time :)

November 17 1999

  * Fixed the bug that stripped scripts from the text boxes that where
    supposed to trigger them

  * Fixed the bug in the "wait for hero" plotscripting command

  * I had to restore from a backup copy of my code, and a few commands
    present in the buggy November 12 update have not been reimplemented,
    namely, findhero, swapspecifichero, setherostat, and getherostat

November 11 1999

  * Reduced the conventional memory requirements of GAME.EXE and CUSTOM.EXE
    Im not happy about the way I had to do this, but too many people where
    getting DOS memory errors.

November 10 1999

  * Fixed the bug in CUSTOM.EXE that sometimes caused animating maptiles to
    crash the program

  * Fixed the bug that prevented one-time-usable NPCs from disappearing
    after you use them

November 9 1999

  * Plotscripting!
    For more information, view plotscripttutor.html, plotdictionary.html
    and hamsterspeak.html. I have also included the source for the
    plotscripts in Wandering Hamster so you can look at them for examples

  * fixed the nasty, but simple bug that used to cause GAME.EXE to crash
    on maps numbered above 39

  * CUSTOM.EXE now runs some checks on an RPG file before it will save it
    to help prevent corruption

  * Joystick support that actually works! Press J to calibrate at any time.

  * You can now link together Text boxes without going into the conditionals
    screen

  * The conditionals screen for text boxes is now much easyer to look at.
    Disabled conditions are greyed out
    "Always" conditionals appear in blue
    normal conditionals appear in brown

  * Quiting, or dying in battle now takes you back to the title screen,
    not all the way to the game select screen.

  * You can make your map display a default tile beyond its borders
    instead of usinging the camera to crop the edges. This way you can have
    a map where your hero is always in the center of the screen, no matter
    how close you come to the edges.

  * You can make your map wrap at the edges, so if you walk off one side,
    you automatically go to the other side. Great for overworld maps!
    (NPCs no not wrap)

  * GAME.EXE now prints an error message instead of locking if it cant find
    OHRRPGCE.MAS or OHRRPGCE.FNT

  * Consumable items that trigger text boxes are actually consumed now

  * You can give names to your Maps.
    these names can optionally be displayed when you enter a map,
    and the name of the map that you saved on will be displayed
    on the save/load screens
    (your existing maps may start with gibberish names that you will
     have to replace. this does not affect new maps)

  * If you use hero swapping to remove all of the living heros from a
    party, leaving an active party of all-dead heros, one of them will
    automatically pop back to life with 1 HP

  * When CUSTOM.EXE finds and attempts to recover unlumped data, it will
    save it with a .BAK extention instead of overwriting the existing
    .RPG file

  * assorted minor/frivolous/gratuitous bugfixes that you wont notice

Aug 26 1999

  * Repaired a bug in RPG file unlumping

  * Eliminated the delay after text boxes (actually just vastly reduced it)

  * Improved built-in Sprite editor and built-in Maptile editor.
    Added circle tool and airbrush. thanks to IronHoof for both

  * Assorted Small bugfixes

July 8 1999

  * Fixes the bug in the July 5 version that causes GAME.EXE to crash when
    you try to save. I cant believe I let that one slip past me! Argh!

  * Fixes a problem some people had with the "Do I have this item?" tags

  * A new feature has been added to several parts of CUSTOM.EXE that lets
    you delete all records after the current record. For example, RPG files
    created with older versions of custom.exe have 999 text boxes, even if
    you have not put any text in any of them. By erasing extra data you can
    fix the problem that some people experience with undefined heros, enemies
    or items getting filled with copies of the last hero/enemy/item you made.
    It can also slightly reduce the size of your RPG file.
    To use this feature, find the last record (last hero, last text box,
    last whatever) and press CTRL+BACKSPACE. this feature works for:
     -text boxes
     -hero data
     -item data
     -enemy data
     -attack data
     -enemy formations
     -map tile sets
     -imported backgrounds
     -all sprite graphics
     -shops

  * Maximum enemy definitions increased from 500 to 32767
    Maximum attack definitions increased from 200 to 32767
    Maximum enemy formations increased from 1000 to 32767
    Maximum map tile sets increased from 15 to 32767
    Maximum shops sets increased from 255 to 32767
    Maximum of all types of sprites increased to 32767
    (note that making 32767 hero sprites would be silly, because the limit
     for heros is still 40, and will remain 40 in the forseeable future)
    
July 5 1999

  * If you buy/hire everything in a shop and there is nothing left,
    you get knocked out of the shop (instead of giving you an unlimited
    free supply of the first item)

  * You can make a item call a text box when used. A positive "when used
    outside of battle" is still an attack, but a negative value now
    represents a text box.

  * Browsing for files in CUSTOM.EXE no longer crashes under real DOS

  * GAME.EXE does not keep all of its .SAV files in its own directory
    anymore. .SAV file now belong in the same directory as the .RPG files
    that they go with

  * Snapshot (F12) works again

June 21 1999

  * Fixed the bug that deleted the mouse cursor for some people.
    people who already have this problem in their RPG files need
    to go into the font editor and press CTRL+ALT+F to reload the
    default font

June 18 1999

  * Fixed the _other_ bug in levelup calculation.
    You will now have the correct stats at level 99

  * Tag Naming-- You can give descriptions to your tags to help you
    remember what each tag means

  * Second "Check" and Second "Set" tags in the item data now apply to
    selling items instead of buying items

  * Save Changes/Discard Changes choice has been replaced with
    Continue Editing/Save Changes/Discard Changes for the benefit of
    people who get trigger-happy with the ESC key.

  * GAME.EXE no longer crashes if you highlight "CANCEL" while picking
    a spell to cast and press left or right 

  * The map editor no longer crashes when placing doors on a map numbered
    20 or higher

  * New animating maptiles! The last two tile in a set do NOT automatically
    animate. Instead, you need to create animation-patterns. See HOWTO.TXT
    for details

  * GAME.EXE can now browse for RPG files in any directory
    (browsing other drives is not yet supported)

  * Windows users can now associate .RPG files with GAME.EXE and run any
    game just by double clicking it

  * CUSTOM.EXE can browse for BAM files and BMP files from any directory.
    You no longer have to keep it all in the IMPORT subdirectory
    (browsing other drives is not yet supported)

  * The lockup bug in the shop editor has been fixed

  * You can give descriptive names to BAM files after you import them

  * A built-in font editor!

  * NPCs set to "Chase" or "Avoid" no longer flicker

  * Passwords are stored in a more secure way

  * You can now add up to 32767 text boxes instead of just 999

  * The dialogue editor allows you to jump to any text box by typing its
    number

  * Tag-debug mode in GAME.EXE. Press F4 to enable it, and + and -
    to scroll through the tags

  * You can assign tags to be automatically set when a hero is in your
    party, is the leader, is alive, or is in your currently active
    party

  * You can assign tags to be automatically set when you own at least one
    of a particular item, have that item in your inventory, have that
    item equiped, or have that item equiped on a hero you are currently
    using
