Special Upgrade Instructions

The upgrade from version 6.0 to 7.0 has some special steps due to the major changes involving FS3 and a few other systems.

  • You must already have v6.0 or higher.
  • Make a backup! I’ve tested the installers thoroughly but you never know.
  • Open the release ZIP file. You’ll see two sets of folders: one for a fresh install, and one for upgrades.
  • Go through every module in the order listed by their file numbers. If you already have that module installed, install the patch file from the Upgrades folder. If it’s a new system that you want, use the Fresh Install installer. If you don’t want it, obviously skip it :)
  • Install the 7.0 upgrade specials.dec file that is listed as the final module. This will perform some conversions automatically (as described below) and create an object with some special commands to let you do the rest.

Ages

In previous versions, character age was stored relative to the RL date. So if your game was set in 1848 and your character was 20 years old, your birthdate attribute would say 1991 (20 years before 2011). This was goofy.

Beginning in v7.0, ages are stored relative to IC time. So your 20-year-old will have a birthdate of 1828, as you would probably expect.

The age() function now expects for the birthdate attribute to be in an IC time format like Jan 01, 2145.

If your IC time is the same as OOC time but with different years, you can run the +ageupgrade command (on the special 7.0 upgrade object) to automatically convert everyone’s ages. Otherwise you’ll probably have to do some custom coding for age() and setting age in chargen.

Age Limits

Previously the chargen age limits were fixed. Now they are configurable. The default will be a minimum age of 11 and maximum of 75, though you can customize those as you like.

IC Time Function

Previously the IC Time Function was part of the global functions module. Now it has been moved to the IC Time Module. Your old ictime function will be moved to an attribute named OLD_ICTIME on the global functions object as part of the upgrade. You can use that when configuring the new IC Time module. If you’re not using the new module, you can simply move the old ictime function to a new object and leave it as-is.

FS3 Combat

Any weapons that used the “Defensive” weapon type (like ECM jammers) should be renamed to “Suppressive” instead.

The “range” weapon stat used to mean max effective range, but now it means the weapon’s “short” range. You may want to adjust your range stats accordingly.

The ability to use for initiative is now configurable. It defaults to Reactive, but you can change that if you desire.

Firearms weapons had been using a ‘5’ as their defense skill, but that should be lowered to a ‘3’ with the new dice mechanic to avoid tons of misses.

FS3 Skills

Ability Ratings

Two major changes to the FS3 system were: Attributes are now rated from 1-4 instead of 1-12, and languages don’t have ratings. To convert all your old characters over to the new system, simply execute the +langupgrade and +attrupgrade commands (on the special 7.0 upgrade object). Note that this conversion “rounds up” people who were on the cusp of the next attribute rating bracket.

  • Ratings 1-2 will become 1
  • Ratings 3-5 will become 2
  • Ratings 6-8 will become 3
  • Ratings 9-12 will become 4

After running these commands, their old stats will be in old_attributes and old_langskills. Also, refund_attributes and refund_langskills will give you an idea how many points they “lost” due to the conversion. You could consider refunding part or all of these in the form of bonus skill points or XP.

Chargen Points

Because there are fewer things to spend points on, you should reduce your chargen point allotment accordingly. The exact numbers will vary based on your skill configuration, but for reference: the “out-of-the-box” FS3 config was reduced from 80 points to 60, and this was vetted against existing characters on three separate games.

Attribute Names

After much feedback, I concluded that the attribute names in FS3 were confusing. People didn’t understand where “Academic” left off and actual academic skills took over. So I have changed the default attributes in the “out-of-the-box” FS3 configuration to: Mind, Body, Personality, Reaction.

You don’t have to do this. In fact, if you have an existing game you’re probably better off NOT doing it because players will nitpick how their points ended up. But if you choose to switch over to the new names, the conversion should be Mind=Average of Academic+Creativity+Technical, Personality=Social,Reaction=Reactive,Body=Athletic. Use the +renameattrs command (on the special 7.0 upgrade object) to do this.

Compatability

Tested On: PennMUSH 1.8.4 p 3

Changelog

Big Changes

FS3 Documentation

Because of the major FS3 changes (described below) I had to change the documentation. Since it was hard to manage two versions on the wiki, I’ve instead created PDF files for the rulebooks. FS3.1 is the old version (V6.0 and earlier), FS3.2 is the new version (V7.0).

Starter DB

I now provide a “starter” database and configuration files to let you get a new game up and running even faster than before.

FS3 Skills

FS3 skill rolls now use a brand new dice mechanic, similar to New WoD and Shadowrun. Rolls are attribute+skill using d8’s, counting successes. Modifiers give more/fewer dice to roll.

Attributes are now rated from 1-4 to fit better with the new dice mechanic.

Action and Background skill ratings have different names to hopefully avoid confusion: Novice / Proficient / Veteran / Master

Language skills no longer have ratings. This is intended to simplify chargen, and de-emphasize languages. Being multi-lingual was crazy expensive under the old system.

FS3 Combat

Damage modifiers for small wounds (light/moderate) are much much less. You will never be KO’d by a single light or moderate wound.

Removed the ‘fit for duty’ and similar status displays. They never really fit the wound modifiers in the way I intended them to, and made even less sense after tweaking the wound modifiers this time around.

+treat no longer exists. You cannot use first aid outside of combat. It was causing too much confusion with people using the wrong command.

Staff Jobs

You can now customize which fields show up on your jobs list.

Various job commands now have aliases for those who may be used to other systems. (Suggested by Caggles@Pioneer)

  • +jobs/claim
  • +jobs/mine
  • Multiple syntaxes for +jobs/create

IC Time

New module for tracking IC time. Supports flexible IC/OOC time ratios. This replaces the old ictime() function from the Global Functions system.

Little Changes

Global Functions

  • Removed ictime(). You should either move your ictime() function to your own object or use the new IC Time module.
  • parse_pose() now uses for emits rather than . to avoid people making …Ooops! +ooc mistakes.

Install Manager

  • Now supports the @hook module.
  • Fixed a bug with uninstalling old help files.

Autospacer

Uses the new @hook manager.

Globals

  • +time moved to IC Time system
  • Idle timer now only runs once an hour and only boots people who have been idle for 6 hours or more.

+cookies

  • Luck is now its own module, separate from cookies. It’s bundled as part of the FS3 system, but you can still install it separately if you want to use luck without FS3.

FS3

  • Since language skills don’t have ratings, the chargen ability room commands are greatly simplified.
  • Removed +roll/casual because it was confusing and useless.
  • Age/birthdate functions moved to IC Time system.
  • Setting your age in chargen now works as you’d expect, and the min/max ages are configurable.
  • Range is simplified; you now just specify short, medium or long rather than a distance.
  • KO rolls are now an ability roll not a flat percentage
  • Hero factor has been removed; it never really worked as intended
  • Chance of crew being hit on low-severity vehicle wounds is lessened.
  • Luck modifiers were too high. Now they mirror what’s described in +luck
  • Defensive weapons are now called Suppressive weapons.
  • The pose hook is now installed automatically.
  • The ability used for initiative rolls is now configurable.