BATTLEZONE 1.5.2 BUILD NOTES

Version 1.5.2.22
Released 2014-07-21

This build fixes a major multiplayer bug introduced in the previous build.  It also cleans up a lot of long-standing issues with the game's front end (shell), adds optional text colorization to the multiplayer lobby, pre-game, and net escape screens.  Finally, it adds a few new Lua script utility functions.

What's New

Multiplayer

* Fixed player teams reverting to AI control when a player left
	- Bug introduced in revision 1759

* TargetCam shows unit first-person view only when mutually allied

Scripting

* Save/Load handles nested tables
	- This previously crashed the game (!)

* Save/Load prints contents to the console window
	- Format is mostly compatible with Lua
	- Useful for diagnosing script save problems

* New ScriptUtils functions
	- GetWeaponClass: returns the ODF name of the weapon in a given slot
	- GetNation: returns the single-character nation code
	- StartSoundEffect: play an arbitrary sound effect
	- StopSoundEffect: stop an arbitrary sound effect
	
General

* Updated LZO compression library to version 2.08 [Dx]

Shell

* Eliminated flickering/flashing in the shell
	- Multiplayer pre-game lobby benefits the most

* Cleaned up multiplayer shell layout
	- Adjusted rooms, players, and games list box sizes
	- Right-justify numeric values (ping, loss, players, maximum)

* Lobby, pre-game, and net escape screens support chat text colors
	- Feature disabled by default
	- Enable with /colors or /colors on
	- Disable with /nocolors or /colors off
	- List color values with /color
	- Get color value with /color <name>
	- Set color value with /color <name> <r> <g> <b>
	- Save color values to shell.ini with /color save
	- Load color values from shell.ini with /color load
	- There's no engineering like overengineering!

* Remember settings between game sessions
	- System messages on/off
	- Message times on/off
	- Message colors on/off
	- Stored in shell.ini

* Custom cursors are back!
	- Uses the proper mechanism for it instead of setting system cursors
	
Gameplay

* Fixed Tug deploy animation [Dx]
	- Don't wait for the animation to finish before loading the cargo
	
Modding

* Mission Version checks custom mission assets listed in a .dep file
	- Asset filenames separated by commas, spaces, tabs, and/or newlines
	- Same general format as check.odf

Stability	

* Fixed satellite view crashing when the user entity went away
	- This could happen even if the view had never been opened

Debugging/Logging

* Console window prints warnings in yellow
	- Indicates something unusual but generally safe
	- Repairing geometry normals
	- Missing chunk or ordnance geometry (GEO)
	- Missing files in general (also logged to symlog.txt)

* Console window prints errors in red
	- Indicates something that will cause problems
	- Missing class ODF or class ODF with unknown classLabel
	- Missing game object model (VDF/SDF)
	- Geometry missing texture

Sound

* Fixed looping sounds getting incorrectly discarded if too far away
	- Distance check was being done before the looping flag was set
