The Gem Trader v2.00+ LORD IGM
Development History, Upcoming Updates Info
===========================================

November 22, 2002. Finished conversion process from LADY Script
    language code into PASCAL code.  First compilation achieved
    on November 23.  First in-LORD testing done on Nov. 26, 2002.

December 14, 2002. Added View Stats screen to IGM exit process.

December 26, 2002. Switched from Turbo Pascal v7.00 to Borland
    Pascal v7.00, then to BP v7.01.

December 27, 2002. All basic features of IGM worked with two+
    LORD characters.

January 23, 2003.  Created the GemTrade.Txt documentation file,
    using my friend Chris MacPherson's Pawn Shop IGM's docs file
    for inspiration.
    -- Limited IGM to allow only up to eight purchases per visit.

January 24, 2003.  Added the system time/date to View Stats screen.

February 03, 2003.  Made sure IGM does not cause or allow negative
    stats.  And that it does not allow Max Hitpoints, etc, to exceed
    the official upper limit of 32,000 points during potions trades.

January-March 2003.  IGM has been in BBS testing by friends and
    currently works without any reported problems.

March 11, 2003.  Prepared IGM docs for official release, after beta
    testers look over things and critique them for me.

March 13:  Changed per-purchase potions trading limit to 2,500.

March 17:  Released v2.00 officially today.
======================================================================

v2.01 - v2.10 History Notes:
============================
2.01:  --  03/19/03: Fixed error in Opening Screen where Version
           Date was truncated.  Field length was set too low.
       --  IGM no longer grants visitor with 0-2 Gems a free Max
           Hitpoint.  Instead they get a regular Hitpoint.
       --  Tweaked Opening Screen and Special Deals menu screen.

       --  03/25: Moved Update Plans material to GT_Plans.txt file.
2.02:  --  Added binary database code to IGM.  When players use the
           IGM, the amount of potions they purchase are tracked between
           visits.  A report on all IGM usage is displayed to everyone
           as they exit the IGM.
       --  Added GEMTRADE CONFIG support.  Two new entries added to the
           IGM's configuration file Gemtrade.dat:  IGM Directory Path
           and Max Visits per day.  Valid range is 1-8.
       --  03/27: Finished testing database file-related code.
       --  Stats Screen: Dropped listing Games Won. Moved Children
           info to left column of screen line #11, and added IGM
           Uses Today info to the right column.

       --  03/28: Initiated recording in database amount of Gems traded
           in, and amounts received in Max Hitpoints, Strength,
           Defense, and Charm Points.
       --  03/29: Added Visits counter entry to Potions Traders
           Listing.
       --  04/26: Fixed problem with # of times players could enter
           and actually use IGM.  With setting of 4 visits/day, IGM
           was blocking entry into IGM on the fourth visit.
       --  Added file locking/unlocking to IGM's access of LORD's
           data files: player.dat, lognow.txt, and mail*.dat files.

2.08   --  Stats_Summary, shown between purchases, no longer lists
           the Gold in Hand, Gold in Bank info.  In it, and in the
           primary Stats screen, revised how Armour Number and
           Weapon Number info is displayed.  Fixed alignment errors
           with the colon in right column entries.
       --  05/05: Limited Elixirs potions purchases using IGM to
           6,400 potions per day.
       --  Deactivated debug log code statements.  Users who still
           have an gemdebug.txt file can delete it.
       --  Sysop is now able to configure the Daily Potions purchase
           limit value, using GEMTRADE CONFIG command.  Valid range
           for the limit is 1 to 8000.
       --  Testing of the potions limit code completed 05/05/03.
       --  Potions Traders Listing screens will now only be seen
           by the installer end-user/sysop, based upon comparison
           of current player's real name with Sysop Name value in
           IGM configuration file.

2.09   --  Sysop Name comparison idea wouldn't work properly.
           Changed to Sysop_LordName VAR comparison to LORD's
           Names field.  Requirement: Sysop must have a LORD character
           name in order to be able to monitor IGM usage by viewing
           the Potion Traders Listing when they access the IGM in LORD.

v2.10  --  Officially released on May 09, 2003.
=======================================================================

v2.11  --  May 14: * Option for Sysop/end-user only.  Will not be
           visible to the normal BBS LORD player using the IGM.

           A) From DOS Prompt, type GEMTRADE REPORT

           It will scan your LORD game's Gemdrink.dat file for the
           day's Gem Trader IGM usage, and write a text log file
           of its contents.  Then you can read the file with a
           text file viewer, such as WordPad.

           B) For sysop user, at conclusion of your usage of the
           IGM, the IGM will automatically update the text log file.
           This should make it easier for you to check up on how
           many people are using the IGM, and help you decide on
           appropriate limits to use with it.

           The disk file is automatically rewritten on top of the
           previous file when the IGM runs the exit process.  If you
           want to keep an older day's copy, you'll have to rename
           the file, perhaps via a DOS command in your maint.bat file.

v2.12  -- * First stage coding and testing. Child Adoption.
           Cost is 40 Gems per Child. No one is allowed to adopt if
           they have over 800 Kids already.  Event is fully tested
           under LORD v4.07 beta, and partly tested under LORD v3.55.

v2.13 --  * Second stage Adoption work.  Testing further limits on
            how many Kids per day player is allowed to get from IGM.
            05/15. No timetable for next work period.

v2.14 --  * Second stage Adoption feature coding/testing.  IGM now limits
          players to 5 adoptions per day.  Stats screens revised to
          include info on Adoptions, Children, details on Horse. Text
          file and screen listing of potions traders info now includes
          adoption counter data.  v2.15 - sent to Beta testers for testing.
          May 27th, 2003.

v2.15 --  * Worked on limiting per-day adoptions to 8 children per player.
          Adoption is only allowed to proceed if player is below 801 Kids.
          IOW, if you have more than 801 kids, you may NOT adopt kids in
          this IGM.

v2.16 --  * gemtrade.dat update, Line 8 is now Kids/Day adoption limit.
          Default value is 5.  Max value is 10. Minimum value is 1.
          Use GEMTRADE CONFIG and update your IGM's configuration file.

v2.19 -- Adoption limit.  IGM allows adoption until player reaches 8,000
         kids.  Max Purchases/Visit.  IGM is sometimes unstable when
         more than 6 purchases, including Fairy, are made during a visit.
         Have reduced Max_Purchases to 6 as result, and IGM seems to be
         stable currently, as of 10/17/03.  IGM has some additional,
         temporary debug statements in use.

         Tradelst.txt file, and on-screen Potions Info Report both now
         list info on Fairy Trades and Horse Trades made each day.

v2.20 -- Officially released on Nov. 10, 2003.
=========================================================================


    ** All info past this point was added on 07-03-2006: **

10/02/2004: Added un-install code for writing IGM Removal notice
            in lognow.txt file.

10/23/2004: Edited Alord.pas library code unit used by IGM to
            fix problem where IGMs including Gem Trader v2.20
            were not reporting the Node Number in use on the
            Status Bar, and in other places, correctly.

12/22/2004: Edited IGM code to cover situations where Gems stat
            exceeded 32,000, Gold stats exceeded Two Billion.
            Fixed glitch in IGM code that was showing invalid
            BBS Time Left value on the status bar.

12/23/2004: Added code to allow Local Mode users to be inactive
            for 15 minutes before IGM times out and returns the
            player to LORD.

            Worked on IGM Install/Un-install code routines.

12/24/2004: Fixed glitch where IGM's GEMTRADE REPORT did RTE 002
            if gemdrink.dat file was not in current directory.

            Added IGM code to display Usage Report on-screen
            when user ran GEMTRADE REPORT command.

01/29/2005: Added new code to automatically repair negative
            and over-range LORD stats at igm entry/igm exit.

02/03/2005: Added page numbers in IGM's on-screen usage reports.
            Fixed igm so that Usage Reports are shown to all
            users, instead of just the Sysop User.

            Added code in IGM's install routine to ask user
            if they want version number info included on the
            IGM Name data line in 3rdparty.dat file.

==============================================================
03/23/2005: Reopened IGM for new development cycle.  v2.21 Beta
            Began customization of IGM data screens to look
            good in Windows XP, which does not show more than
            65 characters per line in windowed DOS screens.

            Fixed igm to exit when user pressed Q for Quit.

April 2005: Fixed glitch where IGM Read_Config process reset the
            Kids/Day Limit value if it was over 10, so it only
            does reset if value exceeds 200.  Also fixed glitch
            where Kids/Day Limit sometimes had negative value.

May 2005:   Fixed Horse Sale to grant some free Charm points
            when player pays extra gems.  Charm gain is limited
            to 15 points maximum, per horse sale.

            Changed IGM to allow multiple adoptions.

            Added second IGM Usage Report.
            Fixed Fairy Sale to grant free Charm points for
            Extra gems payment. Added Whiskey Gift, which
            grants some free Hit-points for the extra gems.

            Added Adoptions News notice to LORD's lognow.txt file.
            It now reports # of kids adopted by player.

June 2005:   Fixed glitch where IGM updated Horse Counter twice
            when player bought a horse.

            Limited IGM to only allow player to pay 100 gems
            maximum when buying a Fairy.

July 2005:  Version 2.30 Beta.  Changed IGM to support players
            adopting up to 250 Kids per trade.  Rewrote IGM's
            Stats screen to include Adoptions Trades data.

            Fixed glitch that caused IGM's GEMTRADE REPORT
            command to crash when it tried to display second
            screen of data, where 5+ player records were in use.

            Added View Stats option in Special Deals menu.

            Rewrote IGM to use brand new Player Database record
            structure.  Added variables to cover Forest Fights,
            HorseShoe Set sales, Saddle sales.

            Created IGM's Player Database Editor, JACKEDIT.EXE,
            based on Kiteria's LORD Bank utility KLBEDIT.EXE.

            Changed IGM to allow up to 10 Visits per day.

            Fixed IGM to update its player database record info
            whenever incoming player's LORD character name has
            changed since their last visit earlier that day.

            Changed IGM to allow up to 8,000 adoptions per day.
            Changed IGM to allow 500 adoptions per gems trade.

            Revised Player Database record structure to fix
            glitch where Gems Traded variable went negative
            when it went past 32,767. Value is now LongInt type.

07/18/05: Re-organized layout of IGM's Player Database file.  Added
          four new variables -- Forest, HorseShoes, Saddles, and
          Kids_Ban -- for use in tracking purchase of Forest Fights
          potions by trading gems for HorseShoes or Saddles, and
          tracking Adoptions Access eligibility each day.

          Started work on JACKEDIT.EXE player database editor
          utility. Users of July 18 beta will need to delete
          pre-existing GEMDRINK.DAT file before using the IGM.

          JACKEDIT.EXE is usable as of 07-19-2005.

August 2005: Changed IGM to use JACK-USE.TXT file name for the
            Usage Reports disk file.  Implemented new IGM code
            for sale of HorseShoe Sets and Saddles.

            Fixed IGM to handle situations where the player's
            LORD player Number changes between visits in same day.

            In real world LORD games, that usually can only happen
            if the LORD game is reset during the day, which
            deletes all player records. Which the sysop/end user
            then recreates, but sometimes the player characters
            are recreated in a different order, which results
            in their having different LORD player numbers.

            Added code where Samantha sometimes shows up and
            she will grant ONE Skill Use Point to the player,
            for whichever Skill Class they are studying.

            Fixed problem where IGM was crashing due to stack
            overflow problems.

            Revised Player Database record structure, adding
            a SkillUses variable.

            Created third IGM Usage Report which covers Saddles,
            HorseShoes, Forest Fights and Skill Use Points.

            Changed IGM to limit Adoptions/Day to 5,000.
            Changed Kids/Purchase limit to 750.

08/19/05: Added SkillUses variable to player database structure.

          Usage of GEMTRADE v2.38+ and JACKEDIT v0.875+ betas are now
          required due to incorporation of the new database variable.

October 2005: Changed IGM to only show IGM Notices screen
            when user chooses to see them from Main Menu or
            Special Deals Menu.

            Added code to reset LORD On_Now value to TRUE
            when player enters IGM because LORD v4.07 (while
            in beta development) started turning it off when
            players entered IGMs.  This had a serious effect
            on my Pawn Shop IGMs and others that needed the
            On_Now stat to reflect whether a player was in an
            IGM or in LORD correctly.  When LORD v4.07 was
            released, the On_Now stat situation was unchanged.
            So this is a permanent addition to all of my igms.

November 2005: Fixed glitch where IGM did not report correct
            marital status when player was married to Violet
            or Seth Able.  Problem was that IGM was looking
            for marbard.dat/marrage.dat files in the IGM
            directory, instead of in the LORD directory.

December 2005: Changed IGM to allow up to 9,000 adoptions a day.
            Fixed glitch that sent players out of igm if they
            pressed a key that was not a valid Menu Code choice.

January 2006: Changed IGM to use new configuration file structure
            and added GEMTRADE CONVERT command for old users of
            IGM to use to convert to the current IGM version.

            IGM uses GEMTRADE.CFG as its config file. 01/20/06.

            IGM now allows up to 4,000 potions per gems trade.

            Jan. 20, 2006: IGM allows up to 16,000 Elixir potions
            to be acquired through Gems Trades.  Potions obtained
            through other events in IGM still apply towards the
            Potions per Day Limit.

01/20/06: Two important changes are now fully implemented:

          1) This IGM now uses GEMTRADE.CFG as its igm config file.

          To change your GEMTRADE.DAT into GEMTRADE.CFG. run the
          utility program JACKCONV.EXE and follow its on-screen
          instructions.

          ================================================================
          ** NOTE: Usage of the GEMTRADE CONVERT command is permanently
          discontinued, as of Aug. 29th, 2006.  Everyone who ALREADY has
          been using this IGM's betas since January 2006 does NOT need
          to use JACKCONV.EXE again.

          IT is ONLY for use IF you are STILL using GEMTRADE.DAT. **

          ** WARNING!!!: Do NOT use the Gemtrade.exe program *IF* for ANY
          reason you STILL have not changed over to GEMTRADE.CFG usage. **
          =================================================================

          2) Valentine's Day 2006 Presents.  All users of the IGM may now
          set the IGM to allow up to 16,000 Potions Trades per Day, instead
          of the old limit of 8,000.  You also can now trade for up to
          4,000 potions per gems trade, as of Jan. 31, 2006.

          To implement the change, run GEMTRADE CONFIG and choose a
          new value for the Daily Potions Trades Limit.

          Usage of JACKEDIT.EXE is NOT affected by the config file changes.
====================================================================

February 2006: Samantha grants TWO Skill use Points in her event.

            Fixed IGM so user can view IGM Limits screen from
            the Main Menu. Added menu option for user to manually
            run the Negative/over-range stats repairs processes
            from Main Menu.

            Officially released JACKEDIT v1.00 utility. 02/26/06.

April 2006: IGM now dis-allows Potions Gems trade if the player
            requests a LORD stat (Max HitPoints, Strength, Defense
            or Charm) which they already have 32,000+ points of.

May 2006:   Reduced Kids per Purchase limit to 750.

June 2006:  Fixed GEMTRADE CONVERT process so all of its on-screen
            data lines fit on one screen.

            Changed IGM to allow up to 7,500 Adoptions per day.

July 13, 2006: * Complete rewrite of IGM's INSTALL/UNINSTALL code.

Nov. 17, 2006: * Changed IGM to allow up to 780 Kids per Purchase.

Nov. 30, 2006: * Dropped all limits on Fairy/Horse Trades.

Dec. 05, 2006: * Limited Saddles and HorseShoe Set purchases to
                 25 per day using internal IGM Constants.

Dec. 28, 2006: * Changed IGM to allow up to 16,000 Adoptions per day.

Dec. 30, 2006: * Distribution date for The Gem Trader v2.50 IGM files.

      Officially released JACKEDIT v1.10 Utility on 12/28/2006.
      Officially released JACKCONV v1.00 Utility on 12/28/2006.
      Officially released The Gem Trader v2.50 IGM on 12/28/2006.
==============================================================


History notes for version 2.60 Development:
-------------------------------------------
Apr. 08, 2007: Rewrote the IGM's Install/Remove library unit
               so it works better and more efficiently.

Oct. 11: Added code to IGM for usage of JACKBACK.DAT player
         database backup file.  Used to recreate the JACKPLAY.DAT
         database file during IGM usage in LORD where the IGM
         can't find JACKPLAY.DAT.  * Discontinued usage by IGM
         of the old GEMDRINK.DAT player database file.

Nov. 20: Whenever GEMTRADE.EXE v2.50 was used without parameters
         it simply froze up.  The only solution was to forcibly
         close the DOS window in use.  This would not likely
         affect any BBS's usage of the IGM unless someone with
         access to the BBS system used the IGM in this manner.

         ## This problem is eliminated as of Nov. 20th, 2007. ##
         --------------------------------------------------------

         * Recompiled GEMTRADE.EXE, as v2.51 Beta.  IGM put
           back into official development, along with JACKEDIT.

         * Implemented usage of JACKPLAY.DAT and JACKBACK.DAT data
           files in the IGM.  Changed JACKEDIT.EXE so that it
           only works with Gem Trader v2.51+ betas (or v2.60).

         * Usage of GEMDRINK.DAT is no longer done by this IGM.

         * No other significant changes are planned for this
           IGM during this short-term development phase.

Dec. 06: * Added Fast Exit to LORD option to Main Menu and to
           the Special Deals Menu.

Dec. 15: * Changed IGM to allow up to 20,000 Potions Trades
           per day, instead of the old limit of 16,000.

Dec. 19: * Distribution date for The Gem Trader v2.60 IGM files.

      Officially released JACKEDIT v1.20 Utility on 12/19/2007.
      Officially released The Gem Trader v2.60 IGM on 12/19/2007.
==============================================================

Copyright (C) 2002-2007 Donald Tidmore.

Edited GEMTHIST.TXT on December 19, 2007 at 04:27 pm.

