Under certain circumstances the server was issuing incorrect responses to a system.group command containing multiple groups in the content portion of the message. The server was responding with multiple messages addressed to the last group queried, instead of one message for each group specified. This bug was introduced in 1.2.1 and is now addressed.

Ability to automatically load default movies and associated server side script classes when the server starts, with the addition of the StartupMovies directive in the Nebulae.cfg file.

Login queue thread priority enhanced

Using system.server.restart no longer causes a high cpu usage in Java 1.4.1 VMs.

Thread leak introduced in 1.2 is addressed.

Dropped messages count in the log file is now reset between state reports.

Login queue is now isolated for additional protection to server objects from a DOS attack.

Dispatcher queue is now configurable and runs on a separate thread with maximum priority.

New configuration options: MaxLoginMsgQueue and MaxDispatcherMsgQueue added to Nebulae.cfg

Internal rewrite: Portions of Nebulae message handling and internal structures were rewritten to take advantage of enhancements in the Java 2 platform, including better support for concurrency access to shared objects. The external ServerSideScript interfaces were not affected, and all content developed for Nebulae 1.1 is still supported, including database files.

New requirement: Java 2 (JDK 1.2 or later )

HSQL engine is now completely embedded

New feature: Default class at ScriptMap.cfg

User configurable message queues for user, group and database messages (see Nebulae.cfg)

Server log now with additional state reports, including in and out traffic (measured in bytes) and the total number of messages received, dispatched and discarded at an user-configurable interval.

Uses Java 2 Concurrently package from oswego.edu (Doug Lea) for increased reliability and enhanced performance under heavy utilization scenarios.

Fixed fatal error messages with tables containing more than 64 fields. Fixed getField() result when using JOIN and fields with no types defined.

Arca Database Xtra is a database solution specifically engineered for Director developers. It is fast and powerful, yet very simple to learn. Arca accepts standard SQL queries to insert, update and retrieve data directly to your project.

Improved performance on MacOS9. Correction to address an issue that could lead to sprites not playing in MacOS9 when multiple commands are passed in the same handler (pause, seek, play). Fixed bug with Paused At Start not working when a sprite was starting at the very first frame of the score in Director. Fix for member(x).register() function not working correctly at runtime when using #new to create Mpeg Advance Xtra sprites dynamically (WIN). Xtra no longer traps key events. This makes it possible to use global keydown handlers without having to pass the event from a behavior attached to the Xtra sprite (USER REQUEST).

Changes to improve playback of scaled video in some Windows configurations, by allowing the system to prefer YUV overlay surfaces in DTS playback. Previous versions used a setting that causes some video drivers to bypass hardware-acceleration when playing in DTS mode. Now it is possible to add and remove cuepoints while a sprite is playing (USER REQUEST).

Changes to support non-standard MPEG1 files on OSX. Fixed problem when setting the movierate in a "on beginsprite" handler (WIN/MAC). The sprite.rect property now returns the correct value when it is updated via Lingo (WIN/MAC). Removes white flash on OSX when the movie window is refreshed before the MPEG movie is loaded. White flash will still occur on MacOS Classic when using the toolbar in DTS mode. Certified to operate with QT 6.1 on MacOSX.

Updated registration code to allow multiple users on OSX and WindowsXP to read the same registration file, created in Director's home directory during authoring. No changes to movie playback or authoring code.

Mpeg Advance Xtra is the successor to DirectMediaXtra and MpegXtra. It combines the best features of our previous MPEG playback Xtras into a cross-platform solution, while adding a number of new features and full compatibility with Director 8.5, Director MX, Windows XP, MacOSX and Classic. Owners of DirectMediaXtra and MpegXtra can upgrade to Mpeg Advance Xtra at a greatly reduced price.