August 16, 1997

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                        V2.7f UPGRADE INSTRUCTIONS
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* Stars! 2.7f can read files created by any version from 2.60 to 2.7f.
* Version 2.7f is 100% play compatible with version 2.6f. Neither is
  play compatible with any previous version.
* Prior versions will not be able to read files created by the "f" 
  release.

To upgrade to Stars! 2.7f from older versions:

In a multi-player game the players should submit their turns
with their current version and then the host should upgrade to 2.7f
before generating the new year then the players should upgrade to 2.7f
or 2.6f before loading their new turns.

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                               V2.7f CHANGES 
======================================================================

Special thanks to Christian Eustermann for providing translation
assistance for the German version of Stars! 2.7f.

=============================
Changes for Stars! 2.7f:

We now free up the WAV device between battles
Fixed bug where ships were not removed from production queues when
   the design was deleted if no ships of that design existed
All progress on other starbases in the production queue is undone when
   the current starbase goes away
Mineral packets flung by Packet Physics races are no longer reduced
   to 1/3 damage
Failed cargo transfers to other players no longer halt turn generation
Non-Alternate Reality remote miners no longer use the homeworld mineral
   concentration floor value
Remote mining is now limited to the equivalent of 4000 mines per fleet
Fixed problem where editing the Chicken battle plan created a
   duplicate plan and ate the Sniper plan
Can no longer give a player ships if they already have 512 fleets
Improved initial spacing of players for 3-way battles
Players can't steal from other players using remote miners any more
Enemies can no longer transfer cargo to your fleets
Other players' est. pop values are no longer divided by 100 in dump 
    files
All fleets now include the owner's race name in dump files
Fleet location now listed by name if at a planet in dump files
Multiple fleets bombing one planet are now treated as one large fleet
Ships can no longer become 100% damaged without dying
Routed mining ships clump into usable sized fleets
Players can no longer create too many minefields or mineral packets
Sends player a message when minelaying fails due to too many fields
Host now does a better job of detecting corrupt log (.x) files
Inactive players no longer try colonizing with non-colonizer ships
Anti-Matter Generators now continue to work on ships given away
Warp gauge no longer shows danger color at warp 10 for warp 10 engines
Seriously over-cloaked ships no longer appear as if they were uncloaked
Minefield hit reports are less likely to display the wrong owner name
Cybertron AIs no longer accidentally give other players colonists
Now prevent colonists from being automatically dumped in deep space
Fleets that should have been dead and not written out are now ignored
Loading log files with mergers of missing fleets no longer crashes
Empty fleets are no longer saved under any circumstances

================================
Changes from 2.7b to 2.7c:
Really fixed crash when viewing battles in old game files and the 
tutorial.

================================
Changes from 2.7a to 2.7b:
Fixed crash when viewing battles in old game files and the tutorial.
Fixed bug which allowed hosts to see the entire universe.

================================
Changes from 2.7 to 2.7a:

Added a Most Recently Used File list.
Fleets intercepting other fleets which split up now pick new targets.
Detonating mine fields are shown in purple.
Added a [Fonts] section to Stars.ini so that players can override the
   default names of the standard fonts. This is important for 
   non-English versions of Windows. This fixes the frequently reported
   overlapping race names in the Score dialog bug. If this section or
   any specific font does not appear in the ini file we'll use the 
   default names.

[Fonts]
Arial=Arial
ArialBold=Arial Bold
ArialItalic=Arial Italic
ArialBoldItalic=Arial Bold Italic

Newly started mine fields may be swept the first year they are laid if
   the sweeping vessel is in the field.
Fixed bug when using Claim Adjuster Change of Hearts to remote 
   terraform other player's planets.  The terraforming limits are now
   the extent of the ship's owner, not the planet's owner.
Ships given to other players will not create a new hull design if an
   identical design already exists.
Claim adjusters now properly show terraforming abilities for friends.
Ships are kept from leaving the universe.
Fixed bug with huge mineral packets that could magically produce 
   colonists upon impact.
Scrapping your own ships at your own starbases can now give you tech 
   if you received the ship from another player with higher tech.
Scrapped fleets now can give a tech level based upon the tech level of
   the hull scrapped in addition to the parts on the ship.
Space Demolition mine layers will automatically lay mines as they 
   travel, if their next waypoint task is to lay mines.
Fixed resource production bug on negative worlds with huge populations.
Fixed a bug which caused ships with distant waypoints to hit minefields
   they weren't in.
Fixed a bug where SD players would have a detonate checkbox when a ship
   waypoint was selected.
Fixed message inadvertently saying fleet destroyed in your detonating
   minefield was yours when it wasn't.
Fixed problem with Slow Tech combined with Generalized Research.
Improved growth curve smoothness.
Fixed bug where exceeding stargate limits could create empty fleets.
Attacks that damage more than 127 tokens no longer crash.
Unloading cargo in deep space doesn't give bogus messages any more.
Fleets merging with mine layers or remote miners don't get a free year
   of work.
You can now learn tech by invading other player's planets.
Accelerated BBS Play now better reflects true growth rates.
