
        **** The Exodus Project ****
        *    Ultima III Upgrade    *
        *                          *
        *        Release 3.2       *
        ****************************


Project Status:

    12-19-2016 - Release 3.2:

        This release adds perhaps the most common request I've received
        over the years: improved PC-speaker sound effects.  More
        specifically, the sound effects are now timed and should sound
        mostly consistent with the original intent.

        Ultima 3's sound effects where designed to sound great on a
        4.77 MHz 8086, but do not scale well as CPU speed increases.
        This is because the game code directly manipulates the PC
        speaker without being hooked to any kind of timer.  Thus, as the
        CPU frequency (or VM speed) increases, the faster the PC speaker
        oscillates which makes the sound not only shorter but also
        higher pitched.

        In this latest patch, if the SFXTIMED driver is configured, the 
        sound effects will now be paced against a timer interrupt.  It's
        recommended that you run DOSBOX at around 3000 cycles (or 9000 if
        using CGA Composite mode) to get a good playable experience.

        Some Additional Technical Notes:

        Note that DOSBOX needs to be above at least 1000 cycles for the timer to
        operate properly otherwise the timer interrupt will begin thrashing.
        This is because the interrupt routine will execute too slowly and
        never return before the next interrupt is fired, thus freezing
        the game.

    07-23-2014 - Release 3.1:

        This release adds a few gameplay fixes to the game and
        addresses a few issues/concerns folks had with version 3.0.

        - A set of gameplay fixes that can be enabled/disabled in the
          configuration program.  The fixes must be toggled as a group;
          they cannot be toggled individually.  If enabled, they will
          do the following:
          - Double the overworld monster generation rate.  Perhaps one
            of the largest complaints of this port of U3 is the low
            monster generation rate and, by extension, the ship
            generation rate.
          - Increase the dungeon monster generation rate.  Rate increase
            varies by level such that it is double the original on the
            first level, but only 25% more on the bottom level.  Note
            that the effective rate increases with each dungeon level.
            This results in more lucrative dungeon runs, but also
            potentially more dangerous.
          - Halve the food consumption rate.  Food is supposed to be
            taxing on a party, but weighs too heavily against poorer
            parties.
        - A streamlined installation procedure.  This package ships with
          default configuration for the most common or recommended
          settings.  You are of course free to customize it as needed,
          but it's no longer required.
        - Windows-native (32-bit) and Linux-native (i686 ELF) versions
          of the U3RESET, U3CFG, and BINPAT tools.  Windows versions
          end in "w" and Linux versions end in "l".  This should make it
          simpler to run these programs without having to boot into
          Dosbox and manually run them.  Sorry MacOS users - I'd love to
          have OSX native versions as well, but I don't have a great
          cross-compile solution to build Mac binaries from Windows.
        - The DOS 16-bit version of U3RESET was missing from the v3.0
          package.  It's included again now.
        - A bugfix where a resurrection would cause the game to crash.
        - A minor VGA graphics update to the dragon animation on startup.

    01-13-2011 - Release 3.0:

        After many years, the 3.0 release is finally available.
        The major feature of this release is its support for 256-
        color VGA graphics.

        It's worthwhile to note that the video and music code was
        entirely re-written and extracted into external drivers.
        This makes it easier for me to maintain, but also enabled
        the ability to "switch" between video modes with a config
        program by merely swapping drivers.

        In addition to the headline VGA graphics, users have the
        option of playing in EGA and CGA modes if they so choose.
        Furthermore, for "classic mode" enthusiasts, there is now
        a CGA Composite driver which simulates the blending of
        CGA colors on composite monitors.  This is actually how
        U3 on the IBM PC was intended to be played!  More info
        at https://sourceforge.net/p/ultima-exodus/wiki/CGA%20Composite/

        Besides the graphics drivers, a number of other things
        have been updated/added:

        - You can replace those 0-7 moon phase numbers with actual
          moon phase icons.  Make sure "moon phases" is set as
          "enabled" in the config.
        - The EXE programs included with the upgrade (U3CFG.EXE
          and U3RESET.EXE) have been recompiled to work properly
          under 16-bit DOS without a DPMI interface (e.g. DOS4GW).
        - A bug was fixed that would give inaccurate Marks/Cards
          information in Ztats.
        - The frame limiter was rewritten using the PIT (Programmable
          Interrupt Timer) as opposed to date milisecond comparisons.
          Some of the timings have been adjusted.
        - The Exodus Project is now open source!  Find us on
          SourceForge at the following URL:
          https://sourceforge.net/projects/ultima-exodus/

        Lastly, I no longer include the modified binaries in the
        release packages.  I found that as I modified more and
        more of the files in the Ultima games I was coming
        awefully close to including the entire game in the zip
        file.  Now, the release packages include a patch file that
        contains only the differences.  You'll need to use the
        binpat program to patch your executable and data files.
        There's more on this in the install instructions.

    Please see below for an abbreviated project history or visit the
    project website (http://exodus.voyd.net/) for the complete status
    history.  I also post relevant information on project updates to
    the rec.games.computer.ultima.series and .dragons newsgroups.


Known Issues:

    None at this time.


Abbreviated History:

    01-08-2002 - 2.5
        - Fixed bug with Sosaria map getting reset when entering
          or leaving Ambrosia.

    08-31-2001 - 2.4
        - Fixed bug that would save your game when your party dies
          with AutoSave disabled.
        - U3RESET program added.  Disperse your party before use.

    04-06-2001 - 2.3
        - No longer opens all files in r/w mode.  It now chooses
          either the read or write modes depending on the use of
          the data.
         - Updating some timing on intro

    01-01-2001 - 2.2
        - Fixed major AutoSave bug where Sosaria map was not
          getting cached and reloaded when you entered/exited a
          town.
        - Created U3CFG.EXE to configure game options.
        - Created launcher program ULTIMA3.COM which passes
          parameters to midpak, bypassing a bug in the Win2K
          command-line.  Reads game options from U3.CFG.
        - Added int 66 wrapper to ULTIMA3.COM so NT/2K does not
          crash if MIDI is disabled.
        - Game can no longer be launched from U3EGA.COM.
        - Improved memory handling.
        - Play "Alive" during endgame sequence.
        - Upgraded file I/O (removed DOS 1.0 FCB's)

    11-27-2000 - 2.1
        - Created u3autosv.exe AutoSave patch
        - Edited MIDI music to loop properly
        - Fixed bug w/ AutoSave when entering or leaving Ambrosia

    11-19-2000 - 2.0
        - Added MIDI music via Midpak driver
        - Disabled AutoSave (temporarily)
        - Added special keystrokes to combat
        - Removed erroneous cursor from endgame sequence
        - Added mane to horse tile

    09-10-2000 - 1.0
        - Frame limiter support added improved overall
        - Added frame limiter to peer gems, intro animations,
          and demonstration screen.
        - Added special keystrokes ALT-X/R/M
        - Finished coloring all tiles
        - Colored intro dragon animation
        - Slowed down sound in dragon breath so it is audible

    08-29-2000 - 0.5 beta
        - Colored peer-gems in overworld
        - Transformed slow-down mechanism into a full-fleged
          frame limiter.

    08-25-2000 - 0.4 alpha
        - Dungeons work, now in color
        - Peer gems work (although the colors are strange)
        - Colored more tiles

    08-22-2000 - 0.3 alpha
        - Updated slow-down mechanism to yield to keyboard input
        - Colored more tiles
        - Screen blinks on area-affect spells
        - Party member box blinks on hit or poison
        - Number above party member box is highlighted when it
          is his/her turn in combat.
    
    08-15-2000 - 0.2 alpha
        - Game now plays in all normal tile-based views.
        - Dungeons and gems do not yet work.
        - Added preliminary internal slow-down mechanism

    08-13-2000 - 0.1 alpha
        - First alpha release
        - Added preliminary coloring to convert tiles to EGA
        - Can only watch intro, watch demo, navigate main menu,
          and set up a party.
        - The game itself does not play.

    07-30-2000 - Project Begins
