Updates & Changelog

Recent changes and version history

This page tracks what’s changed in Maximus NG — both the high-level “what’s different from legacy 3.0” summary and the detailed per-release changelog.

What’s Different from Legacy Maximus 3.0

If you’re coming from an older Maximus 3.0 installation, here’s the short version of what changed.

Configuration System

Legacy (pre-2025):

Configuration stored in .ctl text files
Compiled to binary .prm and .dat files via silt utility
Required recompilation after every config change

Modern (2025+):

Configuration stored in TOML files under config/
No compilation step required
Direct runtime parsing of TOML
Legacy .ctl files can be converted via maxcfg –export-nextgen

Removed Components

SILT — Configuration compiler (replaced by TOML runtime parsing)
SM — OS/2 session manager (obsolete)
PRM files — Binary compiled config format (replaced by TOML)

What Still Works

All BBS functionality (telnet, local console)
MEX scripting language (now with JSON and socket intrinsics)
MECCA display file compiler
FidoNet message processing (Squish)
File transfers
Multi-node operation via MAXTEL

Summary of Changes (Jan 30 - Apr 4, 2026)

A lot has happened since the 4.0 baseline landed. This whole stretch is still the 4.0 release train, just spread across multiple feature passes.

The entire source tree got reorganized. Code now lives in a clean src/ hierarchy, runtime assets in resources/, and all the DOS/OS2-era cruft that nobody’s touched in 20 years is gone. The build system was updated to match and this is the foundation everything else builds on.

Maximus now speaks TOML for everything. The old binary language files (.mad/.ltf/.lth) are retired. All 1,334 display strings live in english.toml, editable with any text editor. There’s a full converter for migrating legacy language packs, a delta overlay system for theme colors, and positional parameters (|!1 through |!F) replace the old printf-style %s/%d codes. MEX scripts can query language strings at runtime via new lang_get() intrinsics.

Lightbar everything. Menus got a proper lightbar renderer. A classic single-column, positioned multi-column, and a new ui_select_prompt for inline selections. On top of that, the traditional canned menu system now supports bounded rendering: you define a rectangle in your menu config and Maximus lays out options inside it with configurable justification and spacing. File and message areas got their own dedicated lightbar mode with division drill-in, hierarchy navigation, configurable highlight styles, and optional custom screen support.

MaxCFG keeps getting better. The config editor gained a full language string browser/editor with TOML write-back, a shared MCI preview interpreter for live-previewing display strings, and menu editing improvements for the new lightbar and bounded layout features.

New UI primitives — and they’re all scriptable. The lightbar list engine (ui_lightbar_list_run) is a generic paged list with full keyboard nav. Input fields (ui_edit_field) got centralized key decoding, forward-delete, format masks, and start-mode control. There’s a new struct-based form runner with 2D spatial navigation across fields and required-field validation. Every one of these primitives is fully exposed to MEX.

MCI display codes expanded. New terminal control codes, semantic theme color stubs (the lowercase pipe namespace — |tx, |pr, |hi, etc.), deferred parameter expansion (|#N) with format-op support, and rendering/attribute fixes across the board.

Runtime foundations for 4.0. SQLite-backed user database, TOML-first configuration via libmaxcfg, and Door32 support with automatic dropfile generation. MAXTEL gained headless/daemon modes and interactive sysop features.

Hardened input flows. Remote login now enforces attempt limits on name, city, alias, and password entry. Legacy DOS dropfile generators removed in favor of native C dropfile support.

Sat Apr 4 2026 — MaximusNG 4.0 [release prep]

Deployment cleanup, Door32 follow-through, and MEX/UI runtime staging

Removed redundant maxtel_install calls from wrapper scripts because make install already deploys MAXTEL.
Build cleanup now removes staged libs, root-level launcher/log leftovers, and generated .bbs cruft from build/.
Install/release docs now include the MaxTel manuals, MaxCFG CLI docs, NG config docs, squish.doc, and max_mast.txt.
Door32 now preserves its live session descriptor across exec chains, and the dropfile writes a numeric ANSI capability flag.
Staged 4.0 content now includes updated games menu text, MaxNG welcome assets, and Smuggler runtime data.

Fri Feb 21 2026 — MaximusNG 4.0 [development]

Part of the MaximusNG 4.0 release train

Deferred MCI Params, Input Hardening, MEC Path Cleanup

New: Deferred Parameter Expansion (|#N)

New |#N MCI codes for deferred parameter expansion during MciExpand
Format ops ($L, $R, $T, $C) now apply to resolved |#N values
|!N (early, via LangVsprintf) and |#N (deferred, via MciExpand) can be mixed in a single LangPrintf call

Improved: Who-Is-On Display

WFC/idle nodes shown with dim formatting via new hu_is_on_4 lang string
Active user and chat-available counts tracked and displayed
hu_is_on_3 uses deferred |#N for padded username and node number

Improved: Input Hardening

Name, city, alias, and password entry loops enforce a 3-attempt limit for remote callers
Excess attempts trigger disconnect with log entry and too_many_attempts lang string

Changed: Version Screen

Stripped all DOS/OS2 hardware detection code
Clean MaximusNG about screen with MCI-formatted output

Fixed: MEC Display File Paths

All legacy Misc\ backslash paths updated to display/screens/
Hlp\mb_help updated to display/help/mb_help
[mex]m/oneliner updated to [mex]scripts/oneliner

Removed: Deprecated MEC Dropfile Generators

Removed wwiv.mec, callinfo.mec, doorsys.mec, dorinfo.mec, outside.mec
All superseded by native C dropfile support in dropfile.c

Improved: Lightbar Area Selection

ListFileAreas/ListMsgAreas return value now distinguishes selection vs. back-out

Docs & Scripts

New lightbar areas configuration guide
Updated MCI codes and display codes documentation
New propagate_lang.sh script for lang file sync across config trees

Tue Feb 18 2026 — MaximusNG 4.0 [development]

Part of the MaximusNG 4.0 release train

File-Area Lightbar, MaxCFG Hardening, Install Tree Cleanup

New: File-Area Lightbar Selection (Phase 1)

Full interactive lightbar mode for file-area listing and selection
Division drill-in, area selection, and hierarchy navigation
Configurable highlight modes: row, full, name via lightbar_what
Per-slot color overrides: lightbar_fore, lightbar_back
Optional custom_screen display file
Header/footer rendering at anchor locations

Improved: Lightbar Primitive

ui_lb_draw_list_row() helper for artifact-free redraws
Key passthrough mechanism for caller-handled printable keys
selected_index_ptr for external observation of current selection

MaxCFG Hardening

Menu parse/edit improvements, footer_file field support
Language conversion and TOML export fidelity improvements

Install Tree + Asset Cleanup

Removed stale assets and obsolete scripts
Updated logo, menu configs, display_files.toml
Synced english.toml and delta_english.toml across config trees

Tue Feb 18 2026 (evening) — Message-Area Lightbar (Phase 2)

New: Message-Area Lightbar Selection (Phase 2)

Full interactive lightbar mode for message areas, mirroring Phase 1
Division drill-in, hierarchy navigation, tag state support
ListMsgAreas() returns int with selected_out

Fixed: Lightbar Rendering

Footer and help text no longer overwritten by lightbar redraws
Cursor parks below list region on area selection
Added missing %b breadcrumb handler

Improved: Config and Defaults

msg_footer set to match file_footer format
reduce_area lowered from 8 to 5 for both area types
Config synced across build, resources, and install tree

Sun Feb 16 2026 — TOML Language Delta Architecture + MCI/Theme Polish

New: Delta Overlay Architecture

delta_english.toml with tiered application:
- Tier 1 (@merge): params metadata — always applied
- Tier 2 ([maximusng-*]): semantic theme color replacements — stock only
lang_apply_delta() with LangDeltaMode enum
CLI flags: --apply-delta, --delta, --full/--merge-only/--ng-only

New: |!N Positional Parameter Standardization

All 139 typed suffixes stripped from english.toml — bare |!N only
All callers converted to pass pre-formatted strings

Improved: MCI/Display

New terminal control codes: |CL, |BS, |CR, |CD, |SA, |RA, |SS, |RS, |LC, |LF, |&&
Semantic theme color stubs (lowercase pipe namespace)
Improved control-code handling and preview behavior in maxcfg

Thu Feb 13 2026 — TOML Language System — Full Migration

New: TOML Language System

Complete migration from legacy .mad/.ltf/.lth binary pipeline to human-editable TOML
maxlang_* API in libmaxcfg for runtime language access
english.toml: 1334 strings, 154 RIP alternates, 437 parameterized strings
english.h compatibility shim mapping ~1300 legacy #define macros

New: lang_convert.c (MaxCFG)

Full .mad → TOML converter with MAID preprocessing
AVATAR → MCI color/cursor conversion
Delta overlay support
CLI: --convert-lang, --convert-lang-all

New: LangPrintf / LangSprintf

|!N positional parameter expansion in MciExpand()
31+ Printf → LangPrintf and ~37 sprintf → LangSprintf migrations

New: Lightbar Prompt Support

Lightbar path in GetListAnswer for graphical terminals
Rich bracket format and compact single-char format parsing

New: Shared MCI Preview Interpreter

mci_preview.c/h: full MCI expansion into virtual screen buffers
Generic MciVScreen abstraction used by language editor and menu preview

New: MaxCFG Language Editor

String browser with per-column coloring
String editor with TOML write-back

New: MEX Language Intrinsics

lang_get(), lang_get_rip(), lang_register(), lang_unregister(), lang_load_extension()
Full TOML language access from MEX scripts

Sat Feb 8 2026 — Bounded Canned Menus + Lightbar Layout Controls

ShowMenuCannedBounded() driven by [custom_menu] bounds
Positions options inside a configured rectangle

New: Layout Controls ([custom_menu])

option_spacing and option_justify (left/center/right)
boundary_justify, boundary_layout (grid, tight, spread)
title_location and prompt_location for bounded menus

Fri Feb 7 2026 — MaxUI Field/Input + Forms + Lightbar Menus

New: Lightbar Menus

Classic lightbar menus with full keyboard navigation
Positioned/multi-column lightbar layouts
ui_select_prompt for inline lightbar selection prompts

New: MaxUI Form Runner

Struct-based form system with spatial (2D) navigation
Required-field validation

Improved: Field Editing + Key Handling

Centralized UI key decoding
Forward-delete support in ui_edit_field

Thu Jan 30 2026 — MaximusNG 4.0 [baseline]

4.0 Baseline: Source Reorganization + Runtime Foundations

Source Tree Reorganization (Phase 3)

Code moved into structured src/ hierarchy
Runtime content moved into resources/
Build/install/release scripts updated for new layout

New: Runtime Foundations

SQLite user database — libmaxdb + UserFile* shim
TOML-first runtime config — libmaxcfg + ngcfg_get_* accessors
Door support — automatic dropfile generation + Door32_Run plumbing

Improved: MAXTEL

Headless (-H) and daemon (-D) modes confirmed
Interactive sysop features: snoop overlay, chat break-in
Shell/config workflow (C key to launch maxcfg and return)

Sat Nov 30 2025 — MAXTEL + Linux Support Release

New: Linux x86_64 Support

Full Linux build support alongside macOS (arm64/x86_64)
GCC compatibility fixes for stricter type checking
Tested on Debian/Ubuntu x86_64

New: MAXTEL Telnet Supervisor

Multi-node telnet supervisor with real-time ncurses UI
Manages 1-32 simultaneous BBS nodes
Responsive layouts: Compact (80x25), Medium (100x30), Full (132x60+)
Headless mode (-H) and daemon mode (-D)

Thu Nov 27 2025 — Modern macOS/Darwin Revival Release

Major Changes

Full macOS (Darwin) support for arm64 and x86_64 architectures
MEX VM fixed for 64-bit systems (struct alignment, pointer handling)
Removed vestigial anti-tampering checks
Added MAX_INSTALL_PATH environment variable for portable installs
Cross-architecture build support (arm64/x86_64 on Apple Silicon)
Release packaging scripts

Historical Releases

Wed Jun 11 2003 — Maximus/UNIX 3.03b [pre-release]

Big-endian platform support improvements (Sparc)
Configure script and Makefile overhaul
FreeBSD support (Andrew Clarke patches)
Keyboard/video driver responsiveness fixes

Fri Jun 6 2003 — Maximus/UNIX 3.03b [pre-release]

7-bit NVT (telnet) capability with multi-user support
FreeBSD & Linux build fixes (Andrew Clarke, Bo Simonsen)
Squish bases now binary-compatible with other software
Nagle algorithm support in COMMAPI
Solaris 8/SPARC build support

Sat May 24 2003 — Maximus/UNIX 3.03a

Initial Public Release. Bumped version number to 3.03 to avoid confusion.

Tue May 13 2003 — Maximus/UNIX 3.02

Initial Release. Released so Tony Summerfelt can play with Squish.