v0.41.3 - Love Street Overhaul & New Template System

Complete overhaul of the Love Street location. Replaces three underused features with engaging, love-themed gameplay that gives players reasons to visit daily. Users can now set their own 'theme' by visiting the ~ preference menu off main street...classic Usurper theme created by taking ANSI codes directly from old PASCAL source code....as well as other 'retro' themes.

New Features

Mingle [M] (replaces "Meet NPCs")

A romance-focused NPC interaction system. Shows NPCs currently at Love Street, padded with compatible NPCs from other locations (up to 8 total) so the list is never empty. Each NPC displays their level, race, class, relationship tag ([Spouse], [Lover], [Friend], [Stranger]), and a personality hint based on their top trait.

Selecting an NPC opens a sub-menu:

• [F] Flirt — CHA-based success check using personality receptiveness. Success grants +2 relationship steps (+4 with Allure potion). Failure produces an awkward moment. Once per NPC per visit.
• [C] Compliment — Always succeeds, +1 relationship step. Race and class-specific flavor text.
• [B] Buy a Drink (50g) — +2 relationship steps and reveals one personality trait (romanticism, commitment, or sensuality level). Revealed traits persist for the session.
• [D] Ask on a Date — Redirects to the existing date system.
• [T] Talk — Falls back to the standard dialogue system.

Gossip Corner [V] — Complete Overhaul

Now uses real NPC relationship data from the world simulation instead of showing only the player's own romances.

• [1] Who's Together (100g) — Lists all NPC-NPC marriages and player marriages from the marriage registry.
• [2] Juicy Scandals (200g) — Shows active affairs with suspicion level hints ("Word is X has been seen with Y behind Z's back!").
• [3] Who's Available (100g) — Lists single NPCs compatible with the player's orientation. Shows personality hints and current relationship level.
• [4] Investigate Someone (300g) — Pick an NPC from a numbered list to learn their orientation, romanticism, commitment style, sensuality, relationship preference, current status, their opinion of you, and a compatibility assessment.

Love Potions [L] (replaces "Romance Stats")

A witch's potion shop offering temporary romance buffs. All effects are session-scoped (no save data changes).

• [1] Philter of Charm (500g) — +3 CHA bonus to all Love Street flirt and date checks for this visit.
• [2] Elixir of Allure (2,000g) — Next flirt auto-succeeds with +4 relationship steps instead of +2. Single use.
• [3] Draught of Forgetting (3,000g) — Immediately reduces all partner jealousy by 30 points. Permanent effect.
• [4] Passion Potion (5,000g) — Next date guarantees an intimacy invitation regardless of relationship level. Single use.
• [5] My Romance Stats — The old Romance Stats screen (spouses, lovers, FWB, exes, encounters) is preserved here as a sub-option.

Active potion effects are shown as indicators on the Love Street display.

Gift Shop [G] — Improvements

• Numbered NPC list — No more typing names. NPCs you know are listed with numbers, relationship tags, and sorted by closeness.
• 3 new luxury gift tiers — Enchanted Locket (25,000g, +25 relationship), Moonstone Tiara (50,000g, +30 relationship), Star of Eternity (100,000g, +40 relationship).
• Reaction preview — Before confirming a purchase, see how the NPC would react based on attraction and relationship level ("They would love this!", "They'd appreciate it", "They might not accept...").

Player Color Themes

Players can now choose from 5 color themes via the Preferences menu (/prefs or [4] from Preferences). Themes remap all game colors before output, affecting every screen in the game.

• Default — Bright, modern colors (current look)
• Classic Dark — Muted colors inspired by the original 1993 Usurper. Bright colors become normal equivalents for a darker, retro BBS feel.
• Amber Retro — Monochrome amber CRT phosphor look. Everything rendered in shades of yellow/brown.
• Green Phosphor — Monochrome green CRT phosphor look. Everything rendered in shades of green.
• High Contrast — Maximum brightness for readability. All colors pushed to their brightest variants.

Theme selection persists across sessions and works in all modes (local, BBS door, online, MUD).

New Title Screen

New Title Screen. If you're an ANSI artist and want to make one for me, I will gladly requsition your talents!!!

SysOp Default Color Theme

SysOps can now set a default color theme for their BBS via the SysOp Console ([T] Color Theme). New characters automatically start with the SysOp's chosen theme. Players can still change their own theme in preferences. Setting persists in sysop_config.json.

BBS Idle Timeout & Session Time Limit

BBS callers who are idle for too long are now automatically saved and disconnected. Also enforces the session time limit from the BBS drop file (DOOR32.SYS / DOOR.SYS TimeLeftMinutes).

• Default timeout: 15 minutes of inactivity
• Warning: Players see a warning 1 minute before being disconnected
• Auto-save: Game is saved before disconnecting so no progress is lost
• Session time limit: If the BBS drop file specifies a time limit, it is now enforced. Players are auto-saved and disconnected when their session time expires.
• SysOp configurable: Idle timeout can be set from 1-60 minutes via:
  • --idle-timeout <minutes> command-line flag
  • [I] Idle Timeout option in the SysOp Console (persisted to sysop_config.json)
• Applies to both BBS door mode and --online mode
• MUD server mode is unaffected (has its own 15-minute watchdog)

Improvements

Gold Tracking

Added RecordGoldSpent() calls to all Love Street gold-spending paths that were previously untracked: courtesans, gigolos, dates, gifts, potions, gossip payments, and drinks.

NPC Location Mapping

Added explicit GameLocation.LoveCorner => "Love Street" mapping in GetNPCLocationString() instead of relying on the default fallback.

Files Changed