1.7e2 release

[Tim R. <Tim@Rikers.org>]

1.7e2 has been out for a while now. source/debian/win32/rpm/irix are all
available. RPMs for i386/ppc/src. debian has
alpha/arm/i386/m68k/mips/powerpc/sparc/ia64. Please upgrade if you are
running older code (ie: 1.7d or 1.7fx releases). We have a few more
developers on the project handling ports. I just got the Irix release
built by Marcus Herbert today! Welcome to the team!

There has been some conversation about the "X" release that Grapes of
Wrath put out. The server running on cell.unm.edu:5155 admined by
m0nkey_b0y is running this release (last I checked). "X" has some new
features but is still configured to interplay with existing
clients/servers. This causes some rather bizarre behavior from time to
time that could be viewed as cheating. I do not believe this is the
intention of those making the changes, and we are discussing ways to
reduce that possibility. I'm glad to see the work they are doing on the
game!

Please do report to me any suspected cheating attempts. I am working on
a Nick authentication system to assist in monitoring this. No idea as to
when it will be ready for prime time though.

Anyone interested in adding banning capability to the server code, feel
free to give me a holler.

For those of you considering releasing modified versions of the code,
here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. BZFlag is released under the GNU General Public License. This means
(among other things) that anyone that receives a game binary MUST be
able to get the source code to that binary simply by requesting it. For
release versions the source is available from the main web site. For
modified binaries anyone else releases simply as them for the source and
they MUST deliver it. This can be full source or in the form of patches
against a known release. Inform me immediately of any violation to this
license. Thanx.

2. I would prefer that versions that add features that could be used as
cheats, if used against existing versions, be built in such a way as to
not be interoperable with those existing versions.

3. I would prefer that modified releases identify themselves as such as
Franks fx releases did. We will be adding more info to the
identification string to track OS information etc. soon.

4. It's just a game! Have fun with whatever you want to do with it, but
try not to spoil other peoples fun while you're at it. ;-)

Note: I'm still looking for Mac developers to update the Mac release. I
have a working 1.7d version for the Mac but it has not been packaged for
release. Hardware donations are always accepted. ;-)
-- 
Tim Riker - http://rikers.org/ - short SIGs! <g>
All I need to know I could have learned in Kindergarten
... if I'd just been paying attention.