Merc Release 2.1
Sunday 01 August 1993

Furey	mec@shell.portal.com
Hatchet	hatchet@uclink.berkeley.edu
Kahn	michael@uclink.berkeley.edu



=== Blue Sky

It's blue sky time!  These are features we'd like to have in Merc.  We haven't
designed them, haven't coded them, haven't scheduled them.  They won't be in
Merc 2.0 and may never be in Merc.

If you code any of these features please send us a copy.



=== Symbolic Names in Numeric Fields.

We'd like 'fread_number' to understand words such as AFF_SANCTUARY and
translate them into the appropriate numbers.



=== New Comm Drivers

Right now comm.c understands only Berkeley Unix networking.  We'd like comm
drivers for the following operating systems:

	System V Unix
	VMS
	OS/2   (single user)
	FOSSIL (for dialup Merc on bbs's)



=== Randomization on Area Loading

We'd like to see items loaded with random spells, placed on random mobs, so
that players have to explore more instead of just having a '#blue' macro that
goes to the queen spider and kills her for a blue potion.



=== Mobs Using Magical Items

'Watch, out Jim!  That orc has a wand of fireballs!'

'The queen spider quaffs the blue potion.'
'The queen spider looks healthier.'



=== An Arena

A room flag where players can attack players without getting a killer flag, can
cast offensive spells at players, and death carries no xp or eq loss.  Wanna
try out a beholder without getting killed?  Just pay enough money and you can
have one loaded in the arena!



=== Area Logging

So you can tell if everyone's going to the same area over and over and make the
area harder.



=== Merc-to-Merc Portals

The save files are Ascii -- just shoot it over a server-to-server connection.



=== Protection Against Multi-Playing

RFC 1413 is a good protocol but no one implements it.  :(



=== Built-in Client

We'd like to incorporate EVERYTHING in Tintin 3 into the server (except for
multiple sessions -- but even multiple sessions would be good for the MS-DOS
single-player version).  People use clients anyways.  Why not make it easy on
them, and give everyone the same advantage.



=== 'Retire' Command

For those 36th level players who keep hanging around!
