[PENNMUSH-ANNOUNCE] 1.7.7-patch28

[Javelin]

The PennMUSH development team announces the release of 1.7.7-patch28

You can retrieve this patch, or a complete tarball of this version
of PennMUSH, from the PennMUSH download site http://ftp.pennmush.org/Source

Please read the instructions at the top of the patch file if using
a patch. Sometimes they differ slightly. Changes in this patch
are listed below.

Enjoy!

  Javelin, for the penndevs

--------------------------------------------------------------------


Major changes:
  * You can add customized configuration parameters to set in mush.cnf
    by adding a couple of new lines into the local_configs() function
    in local.c. (YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR local.c FROM local.dst IN THIS
    PATCHLEVEL). Patch by grapenut at M*U*S*H.
  * Object ids: An object id is the string "#dbref:ctime"
    where #dbref is the object's dbref and ctime is its creation time
    in integer format. The %: substitution returns this
    id for the enactor, and the objid() function returns it for an
    arbitrary object. Object ids can be used in place of softcode that 
    stores dbrefs to insure that a recycled dbref isn't used in place
    of the intended one. The matcher code will also match objects by
    id any time it's matching by dbref.
  * @command/add and @command/del. You can add a custom command
    (which will have the same precedence as a standard server command),
    and then @hook it to softcode, effectively promoting the precedence
    of softcoded globals, and letting them take advantage of some
    command parser settings. Patch by Walker at M*U*S*H.
Functions:
  * tr() accepts ranges of characters like a-z instead of having to
    give each one. [SW]
  * escape() also escapes parens and commas now. Suggested by Philip Mak. [SW]
  * time() can now take a time offset or object argument (in the latter
    case, time offset is read from object's TZ attribute). Patch by
    Walker at M*U*S*H.
  * vcross() performs cross products of vectors. [SW]
  * merge() can now take a list of characters. [SW]
Minor changes:
  * You can @set multiple flags at once by giving them as a list.
    Suggested by Walker at M*U*S*H and others.
  * Channel names are recognized when surround by <>'s, too. [SW]
  * 'move' is now a command_alias for 'goto' (in alias.cnf), and not
    a separate command.
  * PAGE_LOCK`{,O,A}FAILURE attributes now activated when a page/pemit fails
    due to the victim's @lock/page. Suggested by Sholevi at M*U*S*H.
  * Tweaked game message for failing to provide correct password to
    @password. Suggested by Philip Mak.
  * New command 'warn_on_missing' (defaults to disabled), aliased to the
    '[' character. If enabled, players who attempt to write commands
    starting with functions will get errors. Suggested by [SW] and
    Cheetah at M*U*S*H.
  * Renaming something triggers its ONAME and ANAME attributes, if present.
    The old name is passed as %0; the new as %1. Suggested by Philip Mak.
  * Owner information on ex/br is reported using the usual object_header()
    so dbref and flags appear. Suggested by Eratl at M*U*S*H.
  * Flags that are F_DARK or F_MDARK no longer appear on @flag/list
    by non-admin. Suggested by Philip Mak.
  * Warn players who set themselves SHARED with a weak zone lock.
    Suggested by Philip Mak. [SW]
  * @halt can now take "here". Suggested by Thor at bDv.
  * When parsing eqsplit commands, don't evaluate the left side
    of the equal sign if the command was run with ].
Fixes:
  * Fixes to robustify file reading on Windows systems.
  * The 'nofixed' command restriction works as expected now (previously,
    you had to use 'nofix').
  * Exit movements are now translated into explicit GOTO commands,
    so @hooks and restrictions on GOTO are now applied. Patch by
    Walker at M*U*S*H.
  * The AE/ae accent characters can now be produced (accent(a,e)).
    Patch by Luke at M*U*S*H.
  * @hook/ignore would double-evaluate arguments. Reported by 
    Ambrosia at M*U*S*H. [SW]
  * Mingw error in src/Makefile.SH fixed. Report by Thor at bDv. [SW]
  * Help fixes by Cerekk at bDv, Mike Griffiths, Steve Varley, Thor at bDv, [SW],
    Dahan, Jason Stover, and Kyieren at M*U*S*H.
  * cmdlocal.dst now includes flags.h. By Dahan.
  * Win32 portability fixes by Dahan, Nathan Baum, [EEH].
  * utils/mkcmds.sh is now smarter about choosing temp filenames, so
    parallel make should work. Fixed by Cheetah at M*U*S*H.
  * The Zone: data in examine could be wrong.