****** 01/07/99 @ 06:00pm *****
Removed some of the diagnostics that were no longer required. Also, it looks like the circuit from Netcom is still having intermittant problems but seems to have improved significantly. Try to be patient, thanx!
****** 01/07/99 @ 04:45pm *****
A Netcom backbone (circuit) problem has impacted our connections to the game server. Hopefully by the time you read this, that problem will be resolved. Also, I have added some trace code to the server to identify exactly the areas undergoing attack by hacking. The hacking attempts sometimes do contribute to lag, in particular, spikes. I'll be refining the system to handle those attempts more gracefully.
****** 01/06/99 @ 04:15pm *****
A new dungeon added. The Snake Pit. If you remember where Zaks was you'll find it easily. It's located along the edge of the desert. Also added a surprise for those who attempt to hack your biographies. Have fun.
****** 01/04/99 @ 02:50pm *****
Snake modifications. Added some size and color variations to the snake based creatures. This should make it a little easier to tell some of them apart. New Berals (Berals South) added to the game. Refined some of the teleporting spells so they should not be able to be misdirected.
****** 01/01/99 @ 00:01pm *****
New Year implemented, though not by me :) Have a very Happy One! - Conan
Coming up next, you'll notice changes in the appearance of some of the snake like creatures. Also, a new Berals is being added. This update is ready to go in, but will wait until Monday to ensure a good test.
****** 12/30/98 @ 04:08pm *****
Several bug fixes. Gather the Fellowship will not allow gathers to overcrowded rooms. Teleports should not attempt to preempt one already in progress. Logins no longer allow use of / characters (which would cause a player's characters to be lost). Streamlined some NPC code which allows them to run about 50 percent faster (you probably won't notice). The mystery block in Wen has been removed. Fixed a bug that was introduced that didn't allow gold to be taken out of a backpack.****** 12/29/98 @ 06:01pm *****
Decided the new update to bypass the port check could go in now since it was ready. To bypass, add the line: noPortCheck=99999 to your resource.win file. Do this ONLY if you are ironclad certain of your computer's security.****** 12/29/98 @ 05:34pm *****
Added new art for lake areas. Next change to go in will be a port check bypass feature for those running through proxy servers and the like. Probably tomorrow.
****** 12/21/98 @ 01:43pm *****
Streamlined some dungeon entrance code. Enhanced logic of Guardian NPC's so they do not get stuck in a combat teleport loop. Fixed a bug in See Invisible spell when characters were using Improved Invisibility. A trojan checking function was added to the game client. This will point out and advise on any unknown services that you may be connected to. This was implemented due to the high number of account thefts by evil pirating slime. Advanced users can add the line: noPortCheck=n,n... to the resource.win file which will disable port checking on n port (where n is the number of the port to disregard. This is for people running services on those ports which are trusted. Some additional validation for resource cheking and character creation validation is now in place.
****** 12/09/98 @ 04:49pm *****
A quick fix for people trying to crash the server with invalid characters. Since there was already a provision for graceful shutdown in that event, there was no object duplication possible, just the annoyance of the reset.
****** 12/07/98 @ 02:27pm *****
Fixes. Water elementals should now look like water elementals again. Also, gold or Mana bags can no longer be engraved to display phoney values.
****** 12/04/98 @ 11:45am *****
New spell, Greater Identify. Will show various special properties of an object it is cast on, if any. The spell will identify whether the property is permed or enchanted. This is the completion of yesterday's update which had some display problems.
****** 12/03/98 @ 04:21pm *****
Backed out the changes as it was not readily apparent how the spell addition was affecting the character display. Change will go in once that problem is solved.
Added a new spell.. actually, made one that didn't do anything do something anyhow. The new spell is Greater Identify. It allows the caster to identify various properties of an object beyond which Indentify can. Please note, at this time the spell doesn't know the difference between a perm or enchant so if you see only enchantment specified or have more than one of the same, it just means that you probably have an item with both an enchant and a perm. Also, a bug fix for shops that could cause a problem while selling an item.
****** 12/01/98 @ 10:50am *****
Fixes. Refinement to the dungeon spawning method for optimization. Update to the credit dialog display for the elemental artwork. Fixed the client crash bug with the treasure dialog when exiting combat. Removed some of the old old messages from this text list.
****** 11/24/98 @ 12:40pm *****
Fixes, mostly security measures. Added checks for selling items. Added checks on characters stats so someone other than the character owner does not receive them and use a packet snooping tool to look at them. Also, corrects a bug in Trial account time calculations.
****** 11/19/98 @ 09:42pm *****
Corrected a bug that I introduced in some statistic monitoring that was not multi-thread safe. In other words, it would crash when more than one player would access that section at the same exact same time. Sorry about that. Next time, I'll try to do better. - the late night programming Conan.
****** 11/19/98 @ 04:32pm *****
A couple important fixes. Elemental jumping logic has been removed. They should not jump no matter what level you or they are. A fix for the Bounty bug that would not clear a character's bounty even after they had been vanquished in battle. Also, a fix for the multi-perm/enchant bug that allowed cumulative affects. Our provider Exodus says they should have the line quality issue straightened out some time next week. I sure hope so.
****** 11/18/98 @ 05:05pm *****
Fix for a crash bug that occurred when items were Enchanted and Permmed, which should have been invalid, but are not. That will be corrected in a future update.
****** 11/18/98 @ 03:05pm *****
Fix for a serious crash bug when handling containers with 0 bulk capacity. Also, some streamlining of the dungeon entrance code to permit faster entry and hopefully stop some of the character auto-movements that sometimes occur. Spells of duration now have a random chance of failure when applied repeatedly. This should prevent the continuous beserks, stuns, and so on while in combat.
****** 11/17/98 @ 10:48am *****
Water Elementals introduced. The logic for Earth Elementals is now improved, they will not attempt spells that will fail at long distances. There is an added bulk adjustment for characters, bags and backpacks. The bug with putting backpacks and bags in chests should be fixed.
****** 11/12/98 @ 11:45am *****
An optimization for trial account logins. Most won't notice a difference loggin in. Also, a fix for those in combat clouds holding up a dungeon queue.
****** 11/11/98 @ 11:45am *****
Earth Elementals introduced. You will note the size of the client patch was substantial. This is due to the art for both the Earth Elementals and Water Elementals being included. The Earth Elemental is the only one to appear in the game at this time. Also, a revision that allows a maximum of 72 objects to be dropped in a house room at a time. This was put in place to prevent some people from unwittingly breaking their houses by having too many objects in them. Current items in a house are not affected. In addition, an attempt at fixing the Motion 0 errors. Hopefully, this will either correct them, or at least help pinpoint the cause. A couple cleanup fixes that make the combat messages look a bit better.
****** 11/05/98 @ 12:55pm *****
A fix for a bug in the server which would cause a loop if a broken house was loaded.
****** 10/28/98 @ 11:01am *****
Snakes Alive! Yes, finally, the Cobra class of monsters have made it into the game. All snakes are located in the desert at this time. The snakes available include: Cobras, King Cobras, Hell Snakes and Lava Serpents. Warning, these are midrange to high level creatures and can be dangerous. Some preliminary code for Earth Elementals is now in place. A bug in the Look At command that would cause your game to hang up in the event you could not complete the command was repaired.
****** 10/21/98 @ 01:36pm *****
Yet more object checking added to avoid hacked substitutions. Added a new channel moderated by The Realm in the chat system for buying, selling, and trading items specifically.
****** 10/14/98 @ 02:46pm *****
Dungeon switches will now deactivate as well. Spell dialogs will now return to last category selected (as before), only they will default to the first available selection when you login with a different character. Some internal server fixes to check object types.
****** 10/13/98 @ 01:18pm *****
Fixed a couple bugs introduced in the update. The dungeon switches and equipping should work ok now.
****** 10/13/98 @ 12:17pm *****
Code cleanup, mostly to validate ownership of objects so they cannot be manipulated by others. A small (but important) client patch for a spell system bug when changing between characters.
****** 10/09/98 @ 02:37pm *****
Yet more security features for the creepin hackers. Level Baldrics now level sensitive. Also, as many of you are already aware, the Daemon based monsters (Daemon, Kilrog etc.) have become more potent. This was to answer many requests to give added challenge to higher level characters. Be forewarned, they are dangerous :)
****** 10/05/98 @ 03:22pm *****
Fixes for multi-entry in dungeons, queue lockups. Also, anti-hack mechanism for misdirected verb usage.
****** 10/02/98 @ 03:50pm *****
Note: The testing was unsuccessful, so the following changes were reverted:
Ok, trying out a new system for clearing entries to dungeon particularly in regards to them getting hung up while a player in queue is also in combat. This should produce better results.. at least my testing indicated so. Your mileage may vary.
****** 09/30/98 @ 01:05pm *****
Some fixes for the dungeons. Reverts most changes to them that were causing some trouble. Also, violet, purple and white baldrics added to the shops. Yes, really :)
****** 09/29/98 @ 01:40pm *****
Elphame's Scales crippled. They are now just a mundane item. A timing bug was found in the dungeon entrance system and removed. Characters that are lagged will be returned to the surface if the copy of the dungeon they entered has gone away by the time they reach it. Hopefully, this will eliminate multiple entries. To see your place in line, use the Look at function.
****** 09/28/98 @ 01:00pm *****
Fix for Trial account logins. Should correct any login problems for those account types. Also, correction for dungeon queue placement in line message when you try to enter the queue multiple times.
****** 09/26/98 @ 04:20pm *****
A problem was noted with the login that mislinked some accounts. This has been corrected. Also, if you are missing either your house or characters.. you may have had multiple sets of Elphames Scales. Those characters and houses are being removed from play.
****** 09/25/98 @ 04:40pm *****
Fix for the son of Fix II. Return to the Fix of the queue. This should stop the multi-entry glitch, and hopefully retain the fixes for the lockups. Dragons not added to dungeons. Enjoy the game this weekend.
****** 09/25/98 @ 03:09pm *****
Minor fixes for the queue system. Changing rooms or combat should no longer hang up the queue. Players in any of these 'limbo' states are deleted from the queue automatically. Also, if you know anyone who had problems with the patch due to yesterday's telco line problems and they can't seem to get the game to run, they must reinstall the game. An incomplete patch will corrupt the client software.
****** 09/24/98 @ 12:44pm *****
Fix for the bug introduced yesterday which would run the system out of resources. This should stop the system shutdowns from occurring.
****** 09/23/98 @ 04:04pm *****
Improvements to the dungeon queuing system. A fix for the teleport script bug that occurred in some instances. Also changed the text telling you your place in line to a less intrusive 'Info' message.
****** 09/23/98 @ 11:32am *****
New dungeon queuing system installed. Please note, this is the first pass for a nearly complete re-engineering, though I have taken every reasonable precaution, there may be initial unforseen problems, so your patience is appreciated. Also corrected is the case of incorrect or no sound in dungeons. There are some minor changes to the mail/listing dialogs and the 32-bit sound code library is updated.
****** 09/14/98 @ 12:05pm *****
A couple new anti-hack mechanisms added. No, I am not saying what :) Dungeon queueing system was necessarily delayed due to security issues, but will begin development again.
****** 08/27/98 @ 11:55am *****
The Cave entrance should now function as a normal doorway (no more waiting). Also added code to "save" characters after they receive quest rewards, so those items are not lost due to misfortune. Currently in development are a dungeon queuing system and quest fills for unarmed combat, lockpick and pickpocket. The "old" quests should now function appropriately as well (Wen, Enid, Forgotten Dungeon, Crow)
****** 08/26/98 @ 1:46pm *****
A password change bug was fixed. Also, the doorway to the Monmouth potion shop has been repaired. Sorry for the downtime. Have fun with the game!
****** 08/25/98 @ 1:00pm *****
The quests have been repaired and are now available. Since the objective of the quests were to obtain skill books, if you already have completed those skills you will not see them. Not all skills require quests. All magic systems do. Most weapon systems require them for Levels 4 and 5. Skill books not available in quests are still available in Academy shops. All Skill books obtainable through quests are no longer available in shops. Also included in this update are fixes for negative ep in combat (artificial level bug), as well as a couple new (small) areas for exploration, additional talk tree data, and minor cosmetic changes.
****** 08/23/98 @ 7:00am *****
Due to technical difficulties which resulted in yet another power loss at our server during our planned equipment move, we've been forced to revert all player data back to 3:00am on 08/21/98. This problem was a direct result of mishandling of our server equipment by our ISP (Exodus) and is being dealt with. Due to the critical type of hardware failure that this caused, we were down for more than 30 hours trying to repair the damage. All should be running normally again. Sorry for the problems.
****** 08/20/98 @ 7:18pm *****
Please be aware that we are not responsible or liable for any damage you may do to your computer or software or Realm account if you use a 3rd party program in conjunction with The Realm. Do not ask the GM's for information regarding such
add-ons. We don't use them and suggest you do not either. If you do, it is entirely at your OWN risk.
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