ANetBBS Changelog
Versions are internal build numbers. Public releases are tagged
separately. Current release: v1.0b2.33 (July 2026). Full release: August 1 2026.
v1.0a2.198 — QWK diagnostics: REP saved to /tmp, body hex dump (June 2026)
Temporary diagnostics to pinpoint outbound QWK failures:
save REP to /tmp/anetbbs_last.rep; log first 64 bytes of body hex. Removed in v1.0a2.200.
v1.0a2.196–197 — QWK outbound: uppercase MSG filename, conf_num, space padding (June 2026)
- Inner ZIP entry renamed
VERT.MSG(uppercase) — Synchronet'sun_rep.cppfilters on
SAFEST_FILENAME_CHARS; lowercase extension caused silent extraction failure. - Body block padding changed from null bytes to spaces (0x20) per QWK spec.
- Conference number extraction handles both plain numeric tags and legacy
QWK_Nprefix.
v1.0a2.189–195 — QWK outbound investigation series (June 2026)
Iterative fixes tracing why outbound messages weren't appearing on Dove-Net:
REP packet structure, FTP upload auth, conference mapping, area-tag normalisation,
hub_id vs packet_id distinction in filenames. See v1.0a2.186–188 for earlier steps.
v1.0a2.188 — QWK network form: hub_id field added; upload URL uses hub_id (June 2026)
Hub System ID field was missing from the network config form — the
qwk_hub_id field existed in the form class and was stored in the database,
but was never rendered in network_form.html. Sysops had no way to set it,
so it was always blank. The QWK client fell back to packet_id for all
filename generation, which produced correct filenames only if the sysop
happened to put the hub's ID in the packet ID field.
Added the Hub System ID field to the form alongside explanatory text
clarifying the two-ID model:
- Hub System ID (VERT) — used in ALL filenames: VERT.qwk download,
VERT.rep upload, VERT.MSG inside the zip. The hub's un_rep looks for
{hub_sys_id}.MSG; if wrong the entire REP is silently rejected.
- Packet ID (ANETBBS) — your node's registered ID. Used for FTP login
identity and auto-generated @MSGID: values. Does not appear in filenames.
Also exposed the download URL and upload URL override fields in the form
(both were hidden — also never rendered in the template).
Default upload URL changed from ftp://dove.synchro.net/{packet}.rep to
ftp://dove.synchro.net/{hub_id}.rep — the outer REP file should be named
with the hub's ID (same convention as the download), not the node's ID. The
node is identified by the FTP login credentials, not the filename.
After deploying: go to /admin/echomail → DOVE-Net → set:
- QWK Hub System ID = VERT
- QWK Packet ID = your registered node ID (e.g. ANETBBS)
v1.0a2.187 — QWK area tags: plain numeric format per Dove-Net docs (June 2026)
QWK conference areas are now tagged with the plain conference number (e.g.
2010) instead of the QWK_2010 prefix that ANetBBS was incorrectly
prepending. The QWK spec and Dove-Net documentation identify conferences by
number only; the prefix was an internal ANetBBS convention that wasn't needed.
Auto-migration: on first inbound message for each conference, the importer
now detects any existing QWK_N area and renames it to the plain numeric tag
automatically — no manual database edits required.
Outbound conf_num extraction now handles both plain numeric tags (2010)
and legacy QWK_N tags (QWK_2010) so existing installations keep working
until migration completes.
Quick-add (/admin/echomail → QWK network → quick-add) also migrates old
QWK_N entries to plain numeric tags when encountered.
Admin form hint updated to clarify: FTN areas use FIDO_GENERAL-style
tags; QWK areas use the plain conference number.
v1.0a2.186 — QWK outbound: inner MSG filename and header conf_num fix (June 2026)
Two critical bugs found by researching Synchronet's un_rep.cpp source:
Inner MSG file named with node ID instead of hub ID — Synchronet's REP
processor (un_rep.cpp) extracts the REP zip and looks for
{hub.sys_id}.msg (e.g. DOVE.MSG for Dove-Net). Our code was writing
{packet_id}.MSG (e.g. ANET.MSG — the node's ID). The hub printed "MSG file
not received" and silently rejected the entire REP packet. No FTP error is
raised; messages were marked "sent" in ANetBBS but never processed by the hub.
Fixed: _build_rep_packet() now takes a hub_id parameter and names the inner
file {hub_id}.MSG. Sysops must set the QWK Hub System ID field in the
network config (e.g. DOVE for Dove-Net, VERT for vert.synchro.net).
Bytes 1–7 in QWK header contained message sequence number, not conference
— Synchronet routes REP messages using atol((char*)block+1) on bytes 1–7.
In REP mode the spec requires this field to hold the conference number. Our
code stored the sequential packet index (1, 2, 3 …), so all outbound messages
were silently routed to conference 1 (or whatever atol("1") landed on)
regardless of the actual target conference. Fixed: bytes 1–7 now contain
conf_num, consistent with how pack_rep.cpp handles REP-mode packets.
v1.0a2.185 — QWK outbound fixes: FTP path, MSGID, conf_num logging (June 2026)
Three bugs fixed in the QWK outbound (REP packet) pipeline, diagnosed from
alpha-tester report of replies not propagating on Dove-Net:
FTP STOR path leading slash — _ftp_upload() was sending STOR /ANET.rep
(absolute path) instead of STOR ANET.rep (relative to FTP home dir). The
download path already stripped the leading slash with lstrip('/'); upload now
does the same. On Synchronet's QNET-FTP server, the absolute path deposited the
REP into the wrong directory and the hub's processor never picked it up — no FTP
error, but the messages were silently lost. Also added passive-mode and login
logging to make future FTP issues easier to diagnose.
MSGID injection — outbound messages composed on the BBS had no @MSGID:
kludge line in their body. Synchronet deduplicates by MSGID; messages without
one may be mishandled on some hub configurations. _build_rep_packet() now
prepends @MSGID: <packet_id>_<hash> <timestamp> to any outbound body that
doesn't already carry one. The ID is derived from the message's DB id, subject,
and from-name so re-polls don't create duplicate IDs.
conf_num=0 warning — if a QWK area's tag is not in the required QWK_<N>
format (e.g. sysop renamed QWK_6 → DOVE-HLP), the poller was silently
setting conference number to 0, causing replies to land in personal mail instead
of the echomail feed on the hub. Both the poller and _build_rep_packet() now
emit WARNING log lines when conf_num=0 is used for a non-private message, so
the sysop can see and fix the area tag.
v1.0a2.180–184 — ANetCRAFT Enhanced: spawn, sky, NPCs, compass (June 2026)
Deterministic spawn grid — replaced the 50-attempt random search (which
could exhaust all attempts for unlucky seeds) with a 3-pass deterministic grid
scan over the full 400×400 world. Pass 0 prefers PLAINS/DESERT/MOUNTAINS with
no ocean or forest within 16 blocks; pass 1 relaxes the neighbour check; pass 2
accepts any non-ocean open column. Each pass uses a seed-offset grid so the
result is deterministic but varies per world. Labeled break spawnSearch
terminates all three loops as soon as a valid spot is found.
groundY() skips LOG blocks — the new groundY() method skips LEAVES,
CACTUS, and LOG when searching from the top of the chunk downward, so spawn
lands on actual terrain (grass/sand/snow) rather than a tree trunk or canopy.
Spawn also checks that the two blocks above groundY() are non-solid before
accepting the position, preventing spawning inside a trunk.
Sun disc, moon disc, 1200-star field — actual Three.js mesh objects orbit
the scene. The sun (warm cream CircleGeometry, radius 7) and moon (cool blue,
radius 4) face the camera via .lookAt() and track the day/night angle. 1,200
star Points are distributed on the upper hemisphere at radius 180; they fade
out when dayTime > 15%. Sun and moon hide below the horizon automatically.
NPC legs and name tags — NPCs now have two leg segments. A SpriteMap
canvas badge with the NPC's name floats 2.3 units above the root, always
facing the camera.
Compass HUD — always-visible top-right overlay: cardinal direction (N/NE/E
…), current biome name, and day percentage.
Terrain — mountains use n² noise distribution for mostly gentle foothills
with occasional sharp peaks (max height ~96). Plains are very flat (SEA+1 to
SEA+5).
v1.0a2.179 — ANetCRAFT Enhanced night fix; sysop file manager (June 2026)
ANetCRAFT Enhanced — night startup fix — the game was starting in
pitch-black darkness because dayTime was initialised to 0.25, which maps
exactly to cos(π/2) = 0 (midnight). Changed to 0 (high noon). Night sky
colour raised from near-black (8,8,25) to dark-blue (15,20,55) and minimum
ambient light raised from 0.08 to 0.18 so blocks remain visible at night.
Sysop file management — new page at /file-areas/<id>/manage (admin-only).
Lists every file in an area with: inline description editor (click pencil →
textarea → Save), per-file delete with confirmation dialog, and a direct
sysop upload form (bypasses moderation queue). Each area row in
/admin/file-areas now has a Manage Files button linking to this page.
v1.0a2.177–178 — ANetCRAFT Enhanced (June 2026)
Full 3D WebGL voxel game built into the ANetBBS game centre. Powered by
Three.js r128. Features: procedurally generated world with six biomes (Ocean,
Tundra, Desert, Mountains, Forest, Plains); WASD + mouse-look movement with
AABB collision; day/night cycle (10-min day); 20 block types with a 256×256
texture atlas; DDA raycast block targeting; NPC system (Villager, Sheep,
Zombie, Trader) with wander AI and E-key dialog; F3 debug overlay; Q to quit.
v1.0a2.174 — ANetCRAFT: hunger, swords, crafting table (June 2026)
Hunger system — an orange hunger bar sits next to the health bar. Hunger drains 1 point every ~32 seconds in survival mode. When hunger hits 0, health slowly drains (but not below 1 HP). Press E to eat the held food item. Meat (dropped by cows, +6 hunger) and Apples (15% chance from breaking leaves, +3 hunger) are the current food sources.
Swords — four tiers: Wood (+3 dmg), Stone (+5), Iron (+7), Diamond (+11), stacked on top of the base 4-HP hit. All swords craft at a Crafting Table.
Crafting Table requirement — tools and swords require a placed Crafting Table (block ID 17) within reach. Basic recipes (planks, sticks, torches, the crafting table itself) still work anywhere. The crafting menu now shows [bench] next to recipes that need one, and grays them out if no bench is nearby.
Creative mode — hunger bar hidden; eating disabled; inventory now includes all swords and food items.
v1.0a2.173 — ANetCRAFT: multiplayer (June 2026)
ANetCRAFT multiplayer mode. Select M from the lobby to join the shared server world. All players share one map; the first player to join becomes the host and runs mob AI. Other players are visible as colored avatars. Press T to open the chat prompt and send a message — the last chat line is displayed above the hotbar for 60 seconds. Per-user MP inventory saves separately from single-player saves. The world auto-saves when the last player leaves or every ~1 min while the host is online.
v1.0a2.172 — ANetCRAFT: mobs + fixes (June 2026)
ANetCRAFT now has living mobs. Cows spawn on the surface and drop Meat when killed. Zombies and Skeletons emerge at night and attack in survival mode. Creepers stalk you and explode when they get close, destroying nearby blocks. Point the mining cursor (arrow keys) at a mob and press F to attack it. Creepers flash yellow when their fuse is lit. Day/night cycle slowed to half speed; inventory overlay no longer flickers. Periodic auto-save added (every ~1 min of play).
v1.0a2.171 — ANetCRAFT: lobby + game modes (June 2026)
ANetCRAFT now has a pre-game lobby with Survival and Creative mode selection. Each user's map is saved per-account and can be loaded or replaced with a fresh world from the lobby. Creative mode gives all blocks, instant mining, no item consumption, and free flight with W/S.
v1.0a2.167–170 — ANetCRAFT game (June 2026)
Added ANetCRAFT — a Minecraft-inspired 2D survival game built into ANetBBS. Playable via SSH, telnet, and the web game terminal.