Maximus BBS

Documentation for Maximus BBS — Next Generation

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Legacy Migration

Migrating from legacy Maximus 3.0 to Maximus NG

If you’re running a classic Maximus 3.0 board — with .ctl configuration files, .mad language files, and the SILT/MAID compile pipeline — welcome to Maximus NG. Your existing configuration isn’t lost; it just needs to be converted to TOML, which is the only format Maximus NG reads.

The good news: the conversion tools are built into maxcfg, the process is mostly automated, and your original files are never modified. You run the converter, review the output, and you’re on TOML from that point forward.

What Changed

Maximus NG replaces the two legacy compile toolchains with direct TOML loading:

Legacy Pipeline What It Did Replaced By
SILT Compiled .ctl text files → binary .prm / .dat Direct TOML loading at runtime
MAID Compiled .mad language source → binary .ltf / .lth Direct TOML loading at runtime

Both SILT and MAID are retired. There is no compile step for configuration or language files — you edit TOML directly and the BBS loads it at startup.

The conversion tools are built into maxcfg. You run them once to migrate your files, then work in TOML from that point forward.

Two Conversion Paths

Migration involves two independent operations. You can do one or both depending on what you have.

1. Configuration: CTL → TOML

Your .ctl files (system settings, areas, menus, access levels, protocols, colours, etc.) are converted to a set of TOML files in config/.

bin/maxcfg --export-nextgen /path/to/max.ctl

This is a one-way export — CTL in, TOML out. Your original files are not modified.

→ CTL to TOML — full walkthrough of what gets converted, what to review, and edge cases.

2. Language: MAD → TOML

Your .mad language files (all the BBS prompts, messages, status strings) are converted to a single english.toml that you can edit with any text editor.

bin/maxcfg --convert-lang /path/to/english.mad \
           --lang-out-dir config/lang

The converter handles AVATAR-to-MCI color translation, #include/#define resolution, and printf-to-positional parameter mapping automatically.

→ Convert Legacy MAD — full walkthrough including custom language files and the conversion pipeline.

Delta Overlays

Every Maximus NG release ships a delta_english.toml that layers improvements onto your converted language file — parameter metadata for editor help, lightbar prompt overrides, and optionally the NG semantic theme colors.

The delta system has two tiers so you can pick up new metadata without losing your color customizations.

→ Delta Overlays — how the tier system works, merge vs. replace, and upgrade workflows.

Fresh Installs

If you don’t have legacy files to migrate, none of this applies. The shipped TOML configuration and english.toml language file are ready to use out of the box. See Building Maximus for build and install instructions.

Command Reference

All conversion operations use maxcfg on the command line. For the full flag reference — export options, delta modes, output directories — see maxcfg CLI.

See Also