Pent wrote
List of work to be done before release (to be edited as per the discussion; initially it will be quite small):
//Work to be completed for release of IVAN 0.51
* Fix any known major bugs (we'll create a separate thread for bug reports, and decide which to include).
* Finish work on Boots of Kicking.
* Playtesting for any glaring errors
With one of the original devs, "the Council" back at 2010 compiled a list of what 0.51 should include:
No new dungeon
BUGFIX: the shop door creation bug and dissolving body parts (TTY only?)
BUGFIX: Mustard gas hostility bug
Insect clouds
Fire
Mood system
Having the bones ghosts look like the original characters
I'll have to dig around for the mood system graphics, I'm afraid they might have been lost during the re-install a few months ago. Think of Wolfenstein 3D to get a picture of what it was supposed to be like.
I believe it was something the original devs were planning, and it had some effect on what the player could and could not do and how well he did it. It was supposed to be an extension for the panicked status. For example, a panicked player character can't attack directly. A near panicked PC would have a reduced attack ability (maybe -25% modifier to hit?). A player that has gone berzerk can't run away from opponents, or something like that.
Pent wrote
*Do we have permission to release work as an official continuation of IVAN development, or do we have to release what is essentially a "fanon" variant?
Permissions aside, have you thought of why would you want to keep this a continuation of the original development line? With a break this long I think it might be better if we labeled this as the official "fanon" variant that is directly descendant of the discontinued official line of development, supported by the original devs to boot. If this version is the official version for this community, I would say it's as good as being the official version since the original devs have dropped the project.
I mean, we are about the only people who care...
This way you can give credit to those who paved the way, and yet call it something that is originally yours. And it would still be the official version.