Due to requests for an updated EXTERN replacement for the Tradewars
2.06/7/8 game, an improved version has been released.  This current
version works with all versions, 2.03 to 2.08.

Here is a summary of program activities:

1.  Delete inactive players, ships and corporations. Completely
    clears the record rather than only removing the Active flag.
    This eliminates the "Heir to the Throne" bug.

2.  Make unowned fighters, mines and planets turn rogue.  Rogue 
    Limpets have no real use, so they are removed. Does not
    clear attached unowned Limpets from a Ship.

3.  Clear NavHaz by configuration-set percentage. Sets limit of 100%
    NavHaz in a sector.

4.  Clear busts and destroyed ports every 14 days.  Posts additional
    info to Daily Journal only if Stardock is displayed on "V" screen.

5.  Clear Ferrengi grudges against deleted players and corps. Also,
    there is a 3% chance of active player or corp grudges being cleared.
    Even the Ferrengi forgive and forget. (rarely...)

6.  Remove heavily-armed (>100 fighters) players from FedSpace,
    and excessive players from FedSpace. They're evicted to
    some random sector clear of any fighters, mines, planets or
    NavHaz. No guarantee that the sector has a clear warp path
    out to anywhere else, however.  In practice, it should not
    be a problem.

7.  Add regenerated Ferrengi fighters if their sector isn't blocked.
    A limit of 250,000 fighters is set. Also adds mines, one for
    every 10% of Ferrengi regeneration percentage.

8.  Appoint new Corporation CEO if the old one is deleted.
    A random somebody is better than no one at all...

9.  Subtract 5% experience for opposite-aligned Corp members.

10. Port construction. Needed product must already be on a planet 
    in that sector. Clears blown-up ports to make room for new ones.
    Corrects all Ports to proper Class for what they buy/sell. This
    adjusts the phantom Class 0 Ports.  Makes sure Port has a name.
    Improved from last version.

11. Cloaking failure using configuration chance percentage. First 24
    hours guaranteed, after that the Cloak Fail percentage determines
    if it fails. 

12. Overloaded sectors.  Collides the *least valuable* planets first 
    if Photon Missiles are enabled. Otherwise, collisions are totally
    random. Also adds 10% NavHaz per destroyed planet. 

13. Patrol the Major Space Lanes.  Removes fighters/mines/NavHaz.
    If it finds a Level 3 or higher planet, it drops it to Level 2
    and evicts it to another sector. If a planet is Level 2 or less,
    it is not changed.  The MSLs are stored in a small .TXT file.
    That way they do not have to be generated each time, and they
    can't change mysteriously. I've seen a couple of posts on that.
    Many thanks to Albin Gersich for the .EXE to create the MSL.TXT
    file. EXTERN will detect if the file is present and correct for
    the game and run TW_MSL.EXE if not. (Must be in the game dir.)

14. A check was put in to allow EXTERN to only run once a day.

15. Code added to find and correct if two Players are in the same 
    ship number. "Two Players, One Ship" problem. (Ship Records Bug)
    Nowhere near a complete fix, but it helps a lot.

16. Unmanned ships are evicted from FedSpace.  It'll give a player
    (and anyone else!) a chance to reclaim it. It seems more fair
    than Martech's repossession method.

17. Puts text messages in the appropriate files for EXTERN actions.
    Uses correct format for 2.05 and down games, and 2.06 and up.

18. Restocks ports until full (at 20 days since last use).

19. If player turns are less than 0, or greater than the turns/day, then
    sets the player turns to 0. Minimizes 32,000 turn bug.

20. Clear/organize TWSMF.DAT (message) file. Delete unneeded messages.

21. Make sure #Ship Destroyed# Player is at Sector 0, and in Ship #0.
    Otherwise Phantom Ships are displayed. All the #Ship Destroyed#
    Players are in Ship number 0.  If you are #Ship Destroyed#, you
    have no Ship!  The game correctly gives you one upon re-entry to
    the game. Clears destroyed ships.

22. Limits daily Port production to 3250.  Also makes a minimum daily
    production rate of 75. This prevents "rollover" of a port.

23. Planet #1 (Terra) is ignored by all routines. There is no reason to
    even look at Terra in EXTERN. 

24. Added routine to prune the TWOPENG.DAT file to the Log Limit
    specified in the configuration. Correct format for game type used.

25. Made sure that if a Player is in a ship, that it's active and owned
    by them or their Corp. (#Ship Destroyed# players in Ship 0 excluded)
 
26. Clears "Black Holes" which are sectors with no warps out.  Adds a
    random warp out. Quite rare, but it has happened in a 2.05 game.

27. Makes sure a Port isn't assigned to two (or more) sectors.

28. All Players and Ships must have a name.  No "blanks" allowed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bugs fixed (9A):
1. When a Port finishes construction, many times the TWOPENG.DAT and
   TWGAME.LOG files have many extra lines added. Fixed pointer.

2. Some boards apparently did not get all the files. There should be:
   EXTERN.SCH  EXTERN.TXT  EXTDOC.TXT  TW_MSL.EXE  EXTINSTL.BAT

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bugs fixed (10): 
1. Occasionally wiped clear ports in FedSpace.

2. Busts at the Stardock now clear correctly.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bugs fixed (11 and up):
 -none-  Just some improvements.


Please let me know of any problems/weirdness encountered. Also, user
comments on what could be changed to improve the game are welcome.
craig.healy@chowda.com

