Patch notes
FutureMUD Engine 2.9.0
Gives builders safer bulk rename tools, adds reusable NPC skill packages, and makes ranged, artillery and explosive combat more dependable and expressive.
ยท engine · release · builders · combat · npcs
Upgrade note: Apply the normal database upgrades before starting Engine 2.9.0. This release adds persistent NPC Skill Packages and ranged-weapon firing-position data. If you use the supplied catalogue, update to Database Seeder 3.3.0 at the same time.
Safer Content Renames
Routine builder clean-up no longer has to be a careful sequence of one-at-a-time edits. The shared rename workflow can now prepare a complete rename plan, verify every target name and collision in its proper scope, and make the change only when the whole plan is safe. That includes chains and swaps, so a partially applied rename cannot leave a family of builder content in an awkward in-between state.
The established renameunique behaviour remains available for the distinct unique-name workflow. The new protection applies across the standard editable-item surfaces, including the builder paths that need the same validation when names are changed manually.
NPC Skill Packages
NPC skills can now be authored as reusable packages rather than rebuilt independently for every template. Builders can create named profiles, apply them to simple and variable NPC templates, establish race defaults, and use the new FutureProg support where automation is useful. Packages support weighted and skew-aware skill distributions, which makes it practical to express an NPC population with a credible range of competence instead of a row of identical stat blocks.
A More Reliable Ranged Fight
The ranged-combat pass brings aiming, cover, stamina, firing posture and weapon handling into closer agreement from the first shot through the final effect. Ranged weapon types can now declare a minimum firing position, helping builders prevent a weapon from being used in a posture that does not make sense for it.
Firearms, artillery, projectile impacts, explosives and physical traps have also received a broad reliability and balance pass. The result is a more dependable set of outcomes across primitive and modern ranged weapons, breech-loading guns and explosive hazards, with troublesome loading, detonation, cover and chained-effect edge cases addressed along the way.
Use /downloads for release archives and checksums, /getting-started for installation requirements, and /docs/commands for the published Engine reference.