235 Release Notes

Fixed: Empty map tiles weren't always being saved to the .dmp file. (Gabriel, Spuzzum & others)
Fixed: Paths set through Dream Maker's instance editor weren't being properly saved. (Spuzzum)
Fixed: Long path names were wreaking havoc on Dream Maker's file manager. (Deadron)
Fixed: New files in Dream Maker have their initial directory set to that of the current file. (Deadron)
Fixed: New files in Dream Maker are included by default.
Fixed: (maybe) Sounds from one world were being played in another when the player moved between them. (Zilal)
Fixed: The list prompt now pops up with keyboard focus in the selection box, so you can use the arrow keys to select an option. (Zilal)
Fixed: The stat panels were improperly displaying long lines of text. It's still not perfect, but it's getting better. (Zilal .. from a long time ago)
Fixed: Movies were only animating in the south direction. (Zilal, Nash)
Fixed: Expansion lists in your prompting dialogues should no longer be alphabetized. (Deadron, Zilal)
Fixed: The mob variables key and sight were not saving correctly in the default save procs because initial() was returning the current rather than initial value.
Fixed: Safe mode was mistakingly disallowing creation of new files.
Icons in stat panels now update every tick. (Spuzzum)
Turf objects may now be directly written to a savefile. When reloaded, they are created at the same coordinates. That is different from other objects which are created at the null location and repositioned (if desired) later. That is because turfs are immovable.
A savefile buffer is automatically opened upon entering a data directory and closed upon exiting that directory. Now it also automatically closes and reopens when switching from writing to reading or reading to writing (effectively moving back to the beginning of the buffer, which can also be done by setting eof=0). This prevents the confusing situation in which you write something and then try to read it later and get null because you never changed directories in between.
Added default behavior to the object Read()/Write() procs. All variables that are not marked tmp, global, or const (ie those for which issaved() is true) and which are not equal to their initial value will be written to a data directory with the same name as the variable.
Savefiles now automatically attempt to avoid duplicate objects or, even worse, recursive references which could cause an infinite loop. For example, suppose players have both an inventory list (mob.contents) and an equipment list (mob.equipment) and the items in the equipment are also in the inventory (ie it is a list of items being carried that are also in use). A bonehead save routine would simply write each value in each list, generating two copies of equipped objects in the savefile. When reading these back in, two different objects would be created, rather than two references to the same object.
Now, however, the savefile enters deduplication mode when writing an object (like say the player) to the file. Multiple references will automatically be detected and handled internally. You just have to make sure you read things back in the same order you wrote them for this to work correctly.
Also note that duplicates between two independent savefile operations will not be detected. For example, if you write player A and then later write player B, any references from the two players to the same object will not be detected. The two savefile entries are completely independent. (So you don't have to worry about the order you read them or the possibility of mangling one when you delete the other.)
However, suppose a player has two objects in hand when being saved. Even though the two objects are written in separate statements, these both take place inside the ongoing savefile operation that is writing the player. That means references to the same thing inside object 1 and object 2 _will_ be detected.
Added var/list/overlays and var/list/underlays vars to all object types. These are lists of icons or object types that are drawn on top of or underneath an object's main icon. This is more efficient than trying to use image() for the same purpose. Overlay icons use the icon_state of the host object unless they define one of their own (which is only possible for object types). Unlike images, they also appear in the same plane as the host object. Example: Note that you should not try to access the individual overlay items directly because the values you add are stored in a special way internally. Just use Cut(), Copy(), Add(), Remove(), +=, -=, and = to modify the list.
The dmp format now supports multiple turfs. All but the top-most turf (along with any icons) get converted into turf underlays.
DM Script now requires aliases to be prefixed by "alias/". Just like in DM, you can put several definitions under the same alias node by indenting them or using {}. I have updated the default irc.dms and telnet.dms scripts with this new syntax.
An alias consisting of a single statement (ie return) can now be packed onto a single line, just like a DM proc:
Added macro definitions to the .dms file. The syntax is the same as for aliases, except you put them under "macro/".
Added client.macro_mode. Setting this to 1 causes keys to be interpreted as macros by default rather than as command text.
The reference has been updated.