ProfitPress Mega CDROM2 …eeware (MSDOS)(1992)(Eng)/ProfitPress-MegaCDROM2.B6I/BBS/DOORS/MCRACE20.ZIP/MCRACE.NEW

Text File | 1991-11-07 | 7.9 KB | 171 lines

What's new in McRace 2.0:

        A lot has been added to this release.  I would like to thank all the
beta testers for their help in testing this software.  The beta test lasted
a little longer than I had hoped it would, but only because the testers were
so thorough.  Thanks Beta Bashers!


 - *** FREE REGISTRATION!! ***

   Recently, Motor City Software has discovered that a hacked version of
   The Motor City Dragstrip is being circulated.  This is a hacked version
   of 1.2 and has been labeled 1.2c.  One of the archive names of this
   hacked version is MCRAC12C.ZIP.

   I will personally provide a free registration key to anyone who can put
   me in touch with someone who is responsible for hacking this software.

   In the past I have heard lots of "reasons" why someone would want to
   crack someone else's software.  And the issue of copy protection was
   almost always a paramount reason.  But, when someone sticks it to the
   Shareware authors, that's a low blow to the entire Shareware community.
   Motor City Dragstrip is not crippled in any way, shape, or form.  It merely
   displays a message stating that the program is unregistered.  And, it will
   run like that forever, if not registered.

   So please, help fight Shareware piracy.  If you see the archive
   MCRAC12C.ZIP floating around, inform the Sysop that it is illegal software
   and that it should be removed.

   Thank you!

 - COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED.  Motor City Dragstrip no
   longer accepts command line parameters (with one exception; see
   MCRACE.DOC).  Instead, a setup utility has been included.  Be sure to run
   RACEFIG.EXE to customize your dragstrip.

 - Major modifications have been done to the display output.  One rather
   large inconvenience of the game was that the dragstrip had to be
   redrawn with every race.  Not any more!  Now the Motor City Dragstrip
   is based on a full screen constant layout.  But, in order to retain
   ASCII compatibility code size has also grown.

 - Recompiled with JPDoor 3.0x SE for cleaner communications.

 - The G>amble feature has been changed to W>ager.  The change here is
   that players no longer just gamble their money, they actually bet on
   their races!  Pay-off is at 2 to 1 odds.

 - Added new timing routines.  Since there are more and more 386 33mhz and
   486 machines out there, timing routines will now rely on the DOS clock.

 - Removed JPTerm routines.  When JPTerm is fully developed, it will be
   reconsidered for this program.

 - Full Record Locking has been implemented. McRace will now run on more
   than one node at a time.

 - McRace now recognizes when DesqView is loaded and utilizes the DesqView
   video buffer address.

 - The Dragstrip now creates an ASCII text top fifteen scorefile that can
   be displayed by your BBS.   This file is called MCRACE.SCR.

 - Program now maintains a player activity log.  Intended for your viewing
   pleasure is MCRACE.LOG.

 - Adjusted buffers for better performance.  Remote users can now type
   ahead of the program.

 - Red light: Changed the light tree so that the "red light" is the very
   bottom light (as they are on the real light trees at dragstrips).
   The green light is not only green but also displays the word GO.  Should
   eliminate any possible confusion when a player is using ANSI on a
   monochrome display.

 - Some folks like to hit the Q>uit option accidently from the main menu
   once in a while.  To avoid the confusion between the pit row menu and
   the main menu, the Q>uit command has been changed to the eX>it command
   on the main menu.

 - Added fan comments.

 - The Pit Master maintenance utility has been added.  This is a standalone
   maintenance utility intended for use during BBS system maintenance
   routines which rejuvenates player dragsters that have no tires or fuel
   remaining.  This keeps player-vs-player action going even when some
   players don't keep thier dragsters in racing condition.  See MCRACE.DOC
   for full details.  This program should not be run while Motor City
   Dragstrip is in use.

 - The local status bar can now be toggled using the F1 thru F3 keys.  The
   different status bars display different information about the user.

 - Sysops may now define a maximum wager amount of up to 1,000,000.

 - Strings containing dollar figures are now comma-formatted.

 - The program will look for one command line parameter and that is the path
   to DORINFO1.DEF.  If this parameter is not specified, the current directory
   will be used.  All other command line parameters have been eliminated.  See
   MCRACE.DOC for full details.



What's new in McRace 1.20:

 - Added a command line parameter for those systems running with locked
   fossils.  Because of buffering, 1200/2400 players would blow their
   engines at the start, never being able to start the race because the
   local end had already displayed the green light.

   For these systems, the /P parameter may be used on the command line
   in addition to the other normal parameters.  What this does is pauses
   the game while the screen draws, prompting the user to press any key
   to begin the light tree.

 - McRace no longers requires the presence of EXITINFO.BBS.  McRace now
   just looks for DORINFO1.DEF.  Therefore, the blowup window at program
   startup has also been eliminated (and the /W parameter along with it).

 - McRace now recognizes CTS flow control on high speed modems.

What's new in McRace 1.10c

 - Added a new twist to the game that's been requested several times.
   Players must now press a key to start the race once the light turns
   green.  If a player presses a key before the light turns green, the
   player red-lights.   Once the light turns green the player has 2.8
   seconds to press a key to start.  If the player fails to press a key
   during this time, the player's engine will blow due to over-revving.
   If the user starts the race within .9 seconds of the green light, a
   slight advantage will be given to the user throughout the race for
   having the jump off the line.

 - Changed the format of the high score file (MCRACE.HSC).  At the end
   of the month, McRace used to store the high scorer's information.  Now,
   the top three drivers will be stored and displayed during the following
   month.

 - Fixed a bug which caused a SHARE violation.  Turns out I was leaving
   a file open after I was done with it.  This may also be the bug that
   corrupted a few data files.

 - Added external support file MCRACE.DRV.  This is an ASCII text file
   which contains a list of opponent driver names.  Now you can edit the
   list of names to your liking.  The limitations of this list are: there
   must be no blank lines within the file, a maximum number of 100 lines
   are supported, and each opponent driver name must not be longer than
   18 characters.  Upper or lower case is supported as McRace will convert
   to upper case when reading the file.

 - Added support for the JPTerm remote user program.  JPTerm is in alpha
   test at the time of this release.

 - Wrote the JPTerm remote user program.  JPTerm lets users playing from
   remote take advantage of fast graphics and sound capabilities.  JPTerm
   can be started from DOS prior to connecting with a BBS or it can be
   started while already connected with a BBS by exiting the communications
   program in use (carrier must not be dropped) and then executing JPTerm.
   JPTerm will be available from a Motor City Software system when all the
   bugs are worked out.

 - Added another digit to the scores column in the ViewScores routine.  It
   looks like some gambling type folks could get a score greater than
   9,999,999.  This will now allow a max score of 99,999,999.

 - Restricted gambling to a maximum of a 6-figure number.  This means that
   if you have more than a million points you can still only gamble up to
   $999,999 per shot.