PROJECTS ... list of things to do or fix.

#	$Id: PROJECTS,v 1.27 1999/02/11 00:37:35 cameron Exp $	

Small things

	- switching into or out of no-geno timer hours on continuum resets quit
	  timeout, perhaps due to repeat of RSA verification.

	- jammed slots on other teams?  Can they be ejected?

	- practice robots drop shields as soon as you die, thus taking torps
	  in flight on hull.

	- revisit syntax of .metaservers file to aid understanding,

	- change metaserver solicitation to process multiple IP addresses from
	  each DNS host name given, just like new COW metaserver code.
	  [coding in progress by cameron@stl.dec.com]
	  
Bigger things

	- proposed client metaserver window solicitation UDP protocol.
	
	- get INL robot working to satisfaction of INL Council.

	- slots that timeout during login or outfit (resurrect) should be moved
	  back onto the wait queue (at end or start?) and their slot given to
	  the current head of queue player.  May require client changes.

	- observers do not see tractors and pressors ... fault of protocol,
	  according to Trent Piepho (xyzzy@u.washington.edu)

Notes during INL robot tests with Tom Holub

- port 2592 "sorry you can't play now" message needs to be friendlier [low]
- port 2592 disabled after inl robot enters, tell 'em why! [low]
- need .sysdef option to disable voting in of inl/hockey etc. [low] {done}
- make message two lines, "has requested gametime", if team name too long [low]
- needed to fix .sysdef for eventlog, sbrank, [medium] {done}
- sturgeon upgrades [joking]
- "Not an INL command.<NL> Send yourself 'help' for help. [low] {done}
- increase observer ports [low]
- big death, F2 has captain rights to ROM team ;-( [high]
- either captain should be able to free non-live slots [high]
- F2 has died and been overthrown as captain [low]
- did not reset kills at game start? [medium] {done}
- time command doesn't give seconds [low]
- time command is slow [high] {done}
- obliteration of base was counted as a death rather than oblit, [high] {done}
- entered overtime and could not refit to base [high] {done}
- automatic generation of stats at game end [medium] {done}
- if register was used, mail to statboys [medium] {tom to handle}
- statboys@csua.berkeley.edu [medium] {tom to handle}
- future: revamp stats DB to hold stats instead of post-processing [low]
- lots of stat columns were empty {tom to handle}
- winsmack fix, change to "plasma" instead of "zapped plasma" {done}

Second game notes

- keeping rank on file from last game, they should clear [medium]
- rank not increasing at 5x [low] {done}
- no way to tell difference between busted and (simply walking off)
  (ghostbust should clear slot after no pings for certain minutes)
- stats not cleared at end of game [medium] {done}
- no iggy/terminator in pre-game [low]

Captaincy testing notes

- observer can become captain
- observer can change teams

Darn things

- get Dave Ahn write access to CVS

Monday (US) Test Game

- still can't free busted slot on other team
- need generic shared memory dump tool to assist diagnosis
- post game inl core dump, had to restart from .sysdef
- #undef ONCHECK by default, don't need that feature {done}
- disable HOME and AWAY for this release {done}
- or disable HOME and AWAY if any team has a captain
- should not be allowed to join as guest {done}
- default team names, Home and Away
- force known team name for REGISTER
- need RESTART command {done}
- server side fix to WINSMACK, {done} .sysdef workaround {not done}

- add RCD parsing to INL_log output as per watchmes {done}
- INL robot entry, do not do odds/evens swapping, keep old teams if possible


- update t-mode messages, they are outdated
- see what host name of client of players on queue
- refit to sb docking permissions bug
should default to on rather than off
- starbase etemp bug, engine cooling rate reduced
warp 2 gives stable etemp under those conditions
it should drop slowly at warp 2
- always allow messaging while dead, pause problems {done}
- time to show n minutes n seconds

- do we even NEED the WRN messages any more?

Prioritisation Mail from Tom


Message-Id: <19990204210412.A7633@shell3.ba.best.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 21:04:12 -0800
From: Tom Holub <doosh@best.com>
To: vanilla-l@us.netrek.org
Subject: [VANILLA-L:1340] Notes on INL Robot

I'm going to categorize things 4 ways here:

Holding Me Up On Stats (must be done by Monday)
Must Be Done By Monday
Would Be Nice This Season 
Long Term 


1) Holding Me Up On Stats

I put this at the top just because I am not sure when I'll have time to
work on the log parser, so the sooner they get done, the sooner I'll be
able to finish that.

* Log kill messages must include ship type.  Log beam-up messages should
include ship type.  {both done}


2) Must Be Done By Monday, If It's Not Already

* HOME/AWAY should be disabled for now {done}
* REGISTER command should work.  I'll make it easy for you, just have REGISTER
run PWstats.pl at game end and I'll have PWstats do the mailing. {done}
* Base poof at OT start should not count as death {done}
* Reset all player stats at game start {done}
* Game-specific files should be moved to <filename>.<pid> after the game.
This include .players, .global, and INL_log {done}
* Human-readable message log (watchmes | grep -v WRN) needs to be generated.
{review need for WRN messages following ARMYTRACK addition}
* Cannot join as guest {done}
* Default team names, or force people to choose team name before START {done}
* Always allow messaging while dead {done}


3) Would Be Nice This Season

* Increase observer ports
* Rank increases at 5x, or some other method, possibly a sliding scale
where something like 20 DI gets you Admiral. {done}
* Fix "gametime" message to be 2 lines if names are too long
* No iggy in pre-game
* Show time as minutes/seconds
* Message on port 2592 is friendlier
* .sysdef ability to disable INL/HOCKEY/TRIPLE voting {done by removing EXIT}

4) Long Term

* Have server save and generate statistics on its own
* RESTART command from both captains ends game, resets galaxy. {done}
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More thoughts during tests

- selecting new team at game start should not need two clicks {done}

Post test Friday 5th February

- base's armies at start of overtime should go to home planet
- we don't need 0-7 pre-allocation of slots to teams
- lost T-Mode, set TOURN to 1 in INL robot mode,
  (robot code claims to force it, but apparently doesn't)
  {done, changed sysdefaults.c to set tournplayers to one}
- overtime was set to 30, but started with "45 minutes left"

