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RE: When? - 3/1/2012 8:10:41 PM   
bfontes


Posts: 9
Joined: 8/2/2004
From: Cranston, RI
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12G on the hard drive holy crap!

(in reply to Jeff Gilbert)
Post #: 2641
RE: When? - 3/1/2012 8:14:18 PM   
micheljq


Posts: 791
Joined: 3/31/2008
From: Quebec
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quote:

ORIGINAL: bfontes

12G on the hard drive holy crap!


This is quite standard for the PC games of today. Everquest II takes 15Gig, Empire : Total War = 15Gig, Napoleon : Total War = 25Gig.

_____________________________

Michel Desjardins,
"Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
"History is a set of lies agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte after the battle of Waterloo, june 18th, 1815

(in reply to bfontes)
Post #: 2642
RE: When? - 3/1/2012 8:52:38 PM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: bfontes

12G on the hard drive holy crap!

4 GB minimum, 12 GB recommended for disk space.

The training videos are over 1 GB.

The executable is (only) 28 MB but with the data files, there is 1+ GB in the current beta test download (not counting the training videos).

Each saved game is between 5 to 7 MB and if you turn on auto-save, which happens after each phase of the game, you'll have about 70 auto-saved games for a scenario. There are 11 scenarios (if you play them all) so it adds up real fast.

I don't pay much attention to my saved games 'inventory', but I get a lot of them from the beta testers as well as the ones I create on my own. I am sure I have close to 1000 by now.

I could add compression to the saved games, and I might still do that before release. If I do, the size drops down to under 1 MB per saved game.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to bfontes)
Post #: 2643
RE: When? - 3/2/2012 6:53:52 AM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline
March 1, 2012 Status Report for Matrix Games’ MWIF Forum

Accomplishments of February 2012

Project Management
I monitored all the threads in the MWIF World in Flames forum daily.

My health shouldn’t be an issue in the near future. All the various specialists that have scanned and probed my inner being and sampled my precious bodily fluids over the past two months have grown bored with me as a patient. I’ll revisit them all in 6 months.

Hardware and Software
I am still unsuccessful in using the Indy10 library to send HTTP requests that include cookies. Early in February I gave this a small part of my attention but then bypassed the problem to work on more important things. I’ll take another look at it this coming week.

The open items for Theme Engine remain unchanged: (1) scroll bars for the detailed map, and (2) its inability to display detailed listings of file directories (i.e., the dates and stuff when opening or saving a file).

Beta Testing
I released versions 9.04.00 (14 fixes), 9.04.01 (7 fixes), 9.04.02 (3 fixes), and 9.04.03 (4 fixes) to the beta testers in February. There wasn’t very much new for them because I was getting NetPlay to work. The last 2 of these versions had some NetPlay functionality for them to test. There’s more on NetPlay below.

Jimm has begun going through all the naval movement rules, testing them line by line, phrase by phrase. This is similar to what Rob W. did for the air missions. Basically, they go through Rules As Coded sections and run tests to see if the code performs in accordance with the rules.

Saved Games
Nothing new. I need to write some new code for restoring internet games. Mercifully the existing routines for saving games do not need to be changed. The trick to restoring them is to make sure both players are logged in to the NetPlay forum and using the same saved game: saved at precisely the same point in the sequence of play.

Map, Units, and Scenarios
Nothing new.

Optional Rules
Nothing new.

Rules Precision
Nothing new.

Player Interface
I am still tweaking the Private NetPlay Forum. That form is used to find opponents for NetPlay (i.e., playing over the internet) and start/restart internet games. This morning I added more checks for the registration data fields. Previously the error messages about invalid data had been vague to the point of being opaque.

Internet - NetPlay
I spent virtually the entire month working on NetPlay. After getting it to work the first time, it failed as soon as I made a minor change. Another week of work by me and it returned from the dead and breathed a few more breaths. Then it fell into a coma for a few days. To say the code was fragile is like saying a snowball has a long life expectancy in Hades. I finally figured out how to get the various client and server routines to work with the timer routines and the other code that keeps track of what has been sent and received over the internet and processed. Synchronization of ADG’s WW II simulation on multiple computers is a non-trivial exercise.

But after all that, it was a real rush to place a unit on the map on one computer and see the unit moved to the same location on the other computer. How fast does it work? Well, even sending the data over the world wide web results in the second computer updating its map faster than I can turn my head to look at the second computer’s monitor three feet to my right. When I send a batch of moves (e.g., restoring saved setup locations for several dozen naval units), it is just as fast. As far as humans are concerned, it is instantaneous. This is the advantage of a using a TCP/IP connection (continuously connected) instead of an HTTP connection (where the connection is reestablished for each transmission).

I’m working my way through the sequence of play fixing bugs related exclusively to NetPlay. For instance, I had to relocate the random selection of units from the French force pool for transfer to the Vichy French force pool for scenarios that start with Vichy already in existence. After my changes all the setup stuff that requires generating random numbers is separate from the work that can be done on both computers independently.

Let me explain that a little better. The person who starts a NetPlay game sends 85 GRLs (Game Record Logs) over to the second player’s computer. Those list all the optional rules, the scenario, the player names, and who is playing which side. Then both computers execute the next 8200 GRLs independently. This is equivalent to what over the board players do when they sort all the counters and place them in different pools (or cups). Once both computers are ready, the player who sets up units first sees a setup tray loaded with the units to be set up. The other player’s screen shows an empty map. As the first player transfers units from the setup tray to the map, both screens show the units being placed on the map. For me, who has written 10,000+ lines of code to make this happen, it is a miracle, or possibly just plain old fashion black magic.

There is some good news for you, dear reader. But it is bad news for me, the poor programmer. Matrix/Slitherine has decided to host all the NetPlay games on a dedicated server. What that means is that no one is going to have to deal with ports, firewalls, and all the other security/protection features that computers have these days. Instead, you simply log into the dedicated server, which validates your copy of the program, and then you’ll be able to play a game over the internet with a worthy opponent. The reason this design avoids security hassles is that you will being logging into the server and ‘requesting’ data. The same is true for your opponent. There won’t be any need for you to permit another computer to ‘call’ your computer and go through all the security related to starting a “conversation with a stranger”.

For me, this means that a lot of the work I spent weeks on over the past two months was unnecessary. Indeed, I now need to spend time writing code to support the new design. This is a classic aggravation for programmers: specifications changing after code has been written and debugged. It’s right up there with dysfunctional software tools and non-existent documentation for making programmers froth at the mouth. Down the road life will be easier for everyone, including me, since players won’t be asking about how to configure their routers and sate the demands of their security software.

PBEM
Nothing new.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nothing new.

Rules as Coded (RAC) & Player’s Manual
John (the person assigned by Matrix to be the editor for World in Flames) has completed editing RAC. I reviewed his edits and, aside from adding an index, RAC is ready to go to Marc (the layout guy - who places the graphics within the document and hand tailors each page). Once Marc is done his task, it goes to the printer.

I am going to have to substantially revise my draft of section 6.3.3 in the Players Manual, which describes setting up a NetPlay game (see the section on NetPlay above). However, I was able to finish up a few other odds and ends for the Players Manual. Right now the only area other than 6.3.3 that needs work is gathering examples of different screen layouts: placing the map and other forms in different screen locations depending on the number and size of the monitors a player has available. I would like to have a half dozen screen layouts so players can have one available that is sort of close to their own configuration.

Matrix is negotiating with several printers on printing RAC and the Players Manual. Because the size of these documents is larger than for other games, getting a good deal on the price of printing them is important.

Tutorials, Training Videos, and Context Sensitive Help
Context sensitive help is now done except for a half dozen entries for the NetPlay forms. There are ~350 entries completed which cover all phases/subphases in the sequence of play and all the forms. As reported last month, the Picture and Text Tutorials are done.

Rob W. has acceded to my request (it was more like me begging) that he make a first pass on the text for the interactive tutorials. There’s a bunch to do, but none of it requires programming. Being able to immediately see your work on the screen is another bonus; instant feedback is always nice.

The Training Videos (8 out of 11 completed) cover the same material as the tutorials. The difference between the two is active versus passive. The players can watch the Training Videos listening to the narrator comment on what he is doing. Alternatively, the interactive tutorials let a player control the mouse and keyboard, fiddling around with other stuff if he wants to. He won’t get as much commentary - which may be good, may be bad.

The match up between the Interactive Tutorials and the later Training Video chapters is:

11 Introduction to Interactive Tutorials (Training Video 6 part I)
This tutorial focuses on the Main form, the drop down menus, and the various buttons and panels that are tightly packed into the Main form, which is ubiquitously present during game play.

12 Screen Layouts and Map Views (Training Video 6 part II)
MWIF introduces two innovative game features: screen layouts and map views. Screen layouts enable you to control the visibility and positioning of dozens of forms. More importantly, it lets you design layouts where multiple detailed maps are visible simultaneously. Map views provide a dynamic means of jumping from one battlefield to another effortlessly.

13 Setting Up Units (Training Video 7 part II)
Setting up units only happens at the start of a scenario, although the setup tray is also used at other times. For example, it appears when bringing in reinforcements, placing reserve units on the map, and setting up the units of attacked minor countries.

14 Land Unit Movement and Combat (Training Video 9)
Land movement itself is pretty easy in MWIF, so the first part of this tutorial explains the Unit menu, Flyouts, overruns, and status indicators. The second part of this tutorial takes you from declaring attacks, through adding in artillery and air support, and ultimately to resolving individual combats. Invasions and paradrops are also covered in this tutorial.

15 Naval Unit Movement (Training Video 10)
Naval movement in MWIF is somewhat complicated. To start with, designating groups of naval units that are to move, and determining how far they can move, is quite different from land movement. Additionally, enemy naval units already at sea can intercept your naval moves. Lastly, picking up land and air units with naval transports is done during the naval movement phase.

16 Naval Combat (Training Video 11)
MWIF has three types of naval combat: air-to-sea, surface, and submarine. This tutorial takes you through all three types, including the assignment of losses, damage, and aborts.

17 Air Unit Movement (Training Video 8 part I)
Air movement is easy and this tutorial lets you conduct 3 types: strategic bombing, carpet bombing, and ground strikes. For the first two of these air mission phases, a strategic bombing attack is subjected to anti-aircraft fire, while the carpet bombing attacks go in unmolested.

18 Air-to-air Combat (Training Video 8 part II)
Air-to-air combat in MWIF has it own set of sub-subphases, and each combat can have multiple rounds. This tutorial lets you go through several air-to-air combats and experience a variety of outcomes.

19 Production (Training Video 12 part I)
Production in MWIF is done in two separate phases: Production Planning and Production. This tutorial lets you examine the details of both planning for production and actually building units.

20 Politics (Training Video 12 part II)
The last interactive tutorial covers the Declaration of War phase, which has many subphases, most of which deal with changing international relationships between major powers and minor countries.


Historical Video, Music, and Sound Effects
Nothing new last month, but I’m going to see if I can implement all of these in the first 10 days of March.

Marketing
Nothing new.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to Shannon V. OKeets)
Post #: 2644
RE: When? - 3/5/2012 3:13:00 AM   
bo

 

Posts: 4176
Joined: 5/1/2009
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Thank you for your report Steve.

Bo

(in reply to bfontes)
Post #: 2645
RE: When? - 3/6/2012 3:19:06 AM   
toki01

 

Posts: 3
Joined: 2/19/2012
Status: offline
G'day all,

Great to see the new update. From the 'non core' activity, im guessing that release is creeping closer and closer. YEAH!

I did however note the four saddest words of all. Again.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nothing new.

'Sighs', and walks quietly away.....



Isto pensitaris Centuur?
Of course not... we're all illiterate down here anyways.

(in reply to bo)
Post #: 2646
RE: When? - 3/7/2012 3:09:05 AM   
Ubercat

 

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/19/2007
From: Near Allentown, PA
Status: offline
At least there should be plenty of players available for MP, release day AI or no. I plan to charge into MP, ASAP, when this is released, and my WIF experience is limited to a few solo games in the very early 90's!

_____________________________

"I’m not convinced that faith can move mountains, but I’ve seen what it can do to skyscrapers." -William H. Gascoyne

(in reply to toki01)
Post #: 2647
RE: When? - 3/7/2012 2:46:06 PM   
micheljq


Posts: 791
Joined: 3/31/2008
From: Quebec
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

At least there should be plenty of players available for MP, release day AI or no. I plan to charge into MP, ASAP, when this is released, and my WIF experience is limited to a few solo games in the very early 90's!


I will play MWiF by PBeM and netplay but I prefer PBeM. I did it with Vassal, but wait for MWiF as it will simplify a lot of things. MWiF will interpret the rules for the players and check our moves, no more illegal moves by mistake, like forgetting that in a combined action, land moves are limited, etc.

As for AI, I do not care that much. Playing a PC game against an AI is always boring. No matter how good the AI is, it always becomes predictable and easy to beat after a few games.


< Message edited by micheljq -- 3/7/2012 2:52:14 PM >


_____________________________

Michel Desjardins,
"Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
"History is a set of lies agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte after the battle of Waterloo, june 18th, 1815

(in reply to Ubercat)
Post #: 2648
RE: When? - 3/15/2012 3:38:49 PM   
Edfactor


Posts: 106
Joined: 6/13/2008
From: Dallas
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
My health shouldn’t be an issue in the near future. All the various specialists that have scanned and probed my inner being and sampled my precious bodily fluids over the past two months have grown bored with me as a patient. I’ll revisit them all in 6 months.


Just keep your purity if essence, and i'm sure your precious bodily fluids will be fine.

(in reply to Shannon V. OKeets)
Post #: 2649
RE: When? - 4/2/2012 5:49:55 PM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline
April 1, 2012 Status Report for Matrix Games’ MWIF Forum

Accomplishments of March 2012

Project Management
I monitored all the threads in the MWIF World in Flames forum daily.

Hardware and Software
Matrix solved my difficulty with HTTP requests that included cookies. The problem was that the expiration date on the cookie indicated it was no longer valid, so the Indy10 software package did not use it. Once the Matrix programmers changed the cookie’s expiration date so it was valid, all was well. I am now able to access the NetPlay server’s Seeking Opponents database. The Matrix programmers also finished their changes to the NetPlay server so players no longer need to work with IP addresses, port numbers, and security issues to play the game over the internet. There is more on that topic below under NetPlay.

The open items for Theme Engine remain unchanged: (1) scroll bars for the detailed map, and (2) its inability to display detailed listings of file directories (i.e., the dates and stuff when opening or saving a file).

Beta Testing
I released versions 9.05.00 (4 fixes), 9.05.01 (29 fixes), 9.05.02 (31 fixes), 9.05.03 (2 fixes), 9.05.04 (27 fixes), 9.05.05 (15 fixes), 9.05.06 (15 fixes) , and 9.05.07 (7 fixes) to the beta testers in March. This is about my normal number of new versions (8) and fixes (128). While I was waiting for Matrix to make the necessary NetPlay changes (completed late in the month) I bore down on the bug list.

My first batch of fixes were for air mission bugs. Rob had detailed a lot of those and I was able to fix most of them; there are still 13 to do. Then I cleaned up all the setup, Declaration of War, and reorganization bugs. The last large batch I fixed were for naval movement and naval combat; I now have the naval bugs down to 7. The other large list of bugs to fix is in Production Planning. I keep trying to clean up other issues so I can focus exclusively on that phase of the game, but distractions abound.

Some of the new beta testers are getting involved. Peter v. in particular has been working closely with Rob W. on the interactive tutorials. That’s discussed more below.

Saved Games
Nothing new. I need to write a bit of new code for restoring internet games.

Map, Units, and Scenarios
Changed the Zuider Zee to IJsselmeer in the map data so the correct name appears on the map.

Optional Rules
Nothing new.

Rules Precision
Nothing new.

Player Interface
I automated the creation of default screen layouts for new players. In a nutshell, the program checks out what monitors you have on your system and makes an intelligent guess at the best size and location of important forms. This way the program appears tailored for your system. At the end of this report is an excerpt from the Players Manual that describes that automation in more detail.

Internet - NetPlay
I spent the last third of the month mostly working on NetPlay. I had to trash the code I had just gotten to work for exchanging data directly between two players’ computers. The new design is cleaner and easier to support but it was painful to remove code that functioned correctly.

The new design avoids the security hassles with one computer permitting another computer to ‘call’ and initiate a “conversation with a stranger”. Instead of having to deal with ports, firewalls, and other security/protection features, a player simply logs into the Matrix server dedicated to World in Flames to play a game over the internet with a worthy opponent.

The past couple of days I have been working with the JSON data structure, which is what the Matrix server uses for posts. I’m close to getting that to work. Behind the scenes, the JSON database stores the NetPlay “seeking opponent posts” by players. You will be able to post a request and reply to other players requests. Ideally this will let players find opponents for NetPlay games easily.

I still need to write new code to have the players’ computers send/receive messages and game data when playing over the internet. Once I get the Seeking Opponent and Messaging systems working I can take the final screenshots and finish the last few paragraphs of the Players Manual. Then I’ll be reduced to just tearing my hair out whenever I see a typo in the Players Manual.

PBEM
Nothing new.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nothing new.

Player’s Manual
Late in March John sent me his final edited version of the Players Manual. It was 523 pages without figures. Of course the number of pages depends on the page size, margins, font size, and line spacing. For instance, my version came in at 350 pages and that was with all the figures included. As of today, I have proofread 404 of John’s 523 pages and I should finish the rest in a few days. The figures are also almost ready for Marc (who will merge the text and figures). My last count was 271 figures for the Players Manual of which 265 are ready for Marc, with 3 screenshots to be retaken and 3 new screenshots needed for NetPlay.

After Matrix’s discussions with the printers it looks like the Players Manual and Rules as Coded will be separate volumes. There had been some consideration of making them a single volume containing two ‘Parts’.

Tutorials, Training Videos, and Context Sensitive Help
I corrected the graphics used in the 10th picture and text tutorial (sequence of play) so they use underlined text instead of colors. This had been a problem for some beta testers with difficulty distinguishing colors.

My wife updated the Content Sensitive Help messages for the revised Screen Layouts section and a few other sections that I updated while proofreading the Players Manual. Only the NetPlay message will need further revision - once I finish coding NetPlay.

Rob W. Has completed 8 of the 10 Interactive Tutorials, with Peter v. beta testing them heavily and finding a bunch of improvements for Rob to make. He and Rob are working out the details. I am trying not to get involved since I’ve got so much else to do. Hopefully with the new beta testers also putting those tutorials through their paces, the group will be able to buff and polish them without me doing very much.

One of the changes Rob and Peter decided on was to change the order of the tutorials so the sequence is air, land, and naval. Because naval units are the most difficult units to move and engage in combat, we’ve put it last - after the player has had a chance to build up his familiarity with unit movement and combat in general.

Because the beta testers were complaining that they didn’t understand what they were suppose to do with the interactive tutorials, I’ve created a title page for each. It gives a short overview of the tutorial and itemizes what you will have learned once you complete it. To address the problem of how to execute the tutorial, the title page contains some standard paragraphs at the bottom that explain the instruction form, which the player uses when going through the tutorial. If you want to see what the title pages look like, last week I posted the first 7 (#11 through #17) in the thread MWIF Game Interface Design. Rob just sent me #18, so I’ll do a title page for that tomorrow.

At this point I think the interactive tutorials will be a popular way for players to learn the player interface and other important game elements (e.g., setting up units, moving units, engaging in combat, and production).

Historical Video, Music, and Sound Effects
Nothing new. I am still trying to find a week of time to embed all of these into the sequence of play.

Marketing
Nothing new.



Excerpts from Players Manual section 8.6 Screen Layouts

Form Dimensions and Locations
Many forms have fixed dimensions and locations, though they can all be rolled-up by clicking on the small icon in the upper left corner of the form. That reduces the form to a thin horizontal bar (i.e., just the top of the form). You can restore the full form by clicking on that icon a second time.

The more important forms can be resized to meet your personal taste: detailed maps, the global map, the setup tray, the screen layouts list, map view lists, selectable units, naval review details, etcetera. Each screen layout stores the location (and usually the size) of the following forms:
1. Main form
2. Screen layout list
3. Map views list (a separate entry with size, location, and content is made for each major power)
4. Detailed maps (a separate entry with size, location, and display controls is made for each detailed map on the screen).
5. Global map
6. Sequence of Play (only the location is stored since the size is dynamic)
7. Setup tray (this can be expanded horizontally to see more units).
8. Units in hex (this can be expanded horizontally to see more units).
9. Selectable units (this can be expanded vertically to see more units).
10. Naval review details (this can be expanded vertically to see more units).
11. Naval review summary (a separate entry with size, location, and content is made for each major power)
12. [Task force details. Not used.]
13. [Task force summary. Not used.]
14. Land combat resolution
15. Dice
16. Chat
17. Interactive Tutorials

New Game.SLY
One of the most important things to know when starting a new game is that for each scenario there is a screen layout with the name “New Game.SLY”. These are the 11 SLY files that the program uses to start new games. The “New Game.SLY” files are slightly different for the 11 scenarios, since the number of major powers and the frontlines change from scenario to scenario. So, if you start a new game for the Barbarossa scenario, then MWIF uses the “New Game.SLY” file in the Barbarossa directory to determine the location and dimensions for all the forms listed immediately above.
.
.
.
If MWiF cannot find New Game.SLY, it automatically creates a New Game.SLY for the scenario. The newly created screen layout takes into consideration how many monitors are on the system and the size of the monitors. Based on that data, the program defines positions and sizes for all the forms listed above. It also defines a set of map views for each major power for each scenario, and stores that information within the new screen layout file.
.
.
.
After you acquire some familiarity with game play, it behooves you to spend some time modifying (i.e., Redefining) the “New Game.SLY” file to suit your own preferences.
.
.
.
Minimal Screen Size (1024 by 768)
Figure 8.6.C shows the default screen layout for the minimal configuration. It positions the Main form at the top left of the screen and the Detailed Map below it. To the right of the Main form, at the top of the screen, are the screen layouts list and the map views lists.

When other forms appear, they overlay the detailed map, and possibly even the main form - if they use the full 1024 by 768 footprint. The first few forms you see when you start a new game (lend lease and scrap units) and all the forms used during combat require this maximum footprint. In contrast, the setup tray has been made as small as possible and is positioned at the bottom of the screen, to maximize the amount of viewable area on the detailed map. So too the Main form, Screen Layouts list, and Map Views list have been scrunched down to as small a foot print as possible.
.
.
.
There are numerous helpful forms that you might want to examine during game play. The Global Map, Sequence of Play, Units in Hex, and Selectable Units forms are just some examples. With the minimum monitor size you will probably just toggle these on and off using the short cut keys defined for them. Or you could “roll them up” using the small up-arrow triangle icon in the upper left of every form.
.
.
.
Other Single Monitors
If you have more than the minimum width available, MWiF repositions several forms when it creates a new New Game.SLY. Figure 8.6.E shows the layout for a monitor that is 1280 by 1024. It has the Main form positioned somewhat to the right, leaving room for the Selectable Units form to appear between it and the left edge of the screen (i.e., in the upper left corner). The detailed map is extended to use almost the full width of the monitor, leaving room for the Global Map to peek through on the far right. Notice that the screen layouts list and map views lists are no longer cropped vertically as they are for a minimally sized monitor.

With very large monitors, the Global Map is placed at the top, making the entire width of the form available for the detailed map. Figure 8.6.E is an example of the default screen layout for a monitor that is 1920 by 1080.
.
.
.
Dual Monitor Systems
Dual monitors provide more real estate for the MWIF forms and therefore more flexibility in screen layouts. The automatic creation of the New Game.SLY file only considers the situation where there are two monitors. If you have more than two, then the two leftmost monitors are used. You can create your own New Game.SLY file for three or more monitors by starting with the one automatically created for two monitors.
.
.
.
The left monitor is devoted to the detailed map, with the setup tray placed at the bottom, when in use. The Selectable Units for appears on the left side of the left monitor when that form is active (as shown). The default position for the Units in Hex form is in the upper right corner of the detailed map (not shown).

The right monitor holds principally: the Main form, Global Map, Screen Layouts list, Map Views list, Sequence of Play, Naval Review Details, Naval Review Summary, and all other forms that appear during game play. The basic concept here is that your main detailed map is never obscured by large forms, and is omnipresent. The exceptions are the Setup Tray, Selectable Units, and Units in Hex forms; the reason they overlie the detailed map is so the “mouse distance” from a unit in those forms to a location on the detailed map is minimal. For example, moving the mouse back and forth from the setup tray to the detailed map can be tedious if the two are far apart and you have 50+ units to set up.

Of course, you can design the layout however you like, and there are going to be numerous variations given the variety of monitor combinations possible. Indeed, the entire purpose behind the screen layouts feature is to enable you to tailor MWiF to accommodate your particular hardware configuration and personal preferences.





_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to Edfactor)
Post #: 2650
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 9:51:20 AM   
yvesp


Posts: 2083
Joined: 9/12/2008
Status: offline
So...

Nothing official, but the AI is clearly out. Two months with: "nothing new" ? whereas at least before there was still some background noise ?

Not only is the AI out, but there is not even any official information about this.
This gives me bad feelings. Is it going to be planned for a later release/DLC ? Or is it completely abandonned ?

Too bad.
Now wondering whether I'll buy the game just to show support, or if I'll pass my turn.
Why buy a game that I know I won't play ????

Yves

(in reply to Edfactor)
Post #: 2651
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 10:11:39 AM   
Roolender

 

Posts: 6
Joined: 5/8/2009
From: Norway
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: yvesp

So...

Nothing official, but the AI is clearly out. Two months with: "nothing new" ? whereas at least before there was still some background noise ?

Not only is the AI out, but there is not even any official information about this.
This gives me bad feelings. Is it going to be planned for a later release/DLC ? Or is it completely abandonned ?

Too bad.
Now wondering whether I'll buy the game just to show support, or if I'll pass my turn.
Why buy a game that I know I won't play ????

Yves


I support the publishing of this game without AI 100%. Or else we may have to wait many years for a release.
More people who buy this first version without AI, greater chance there are for a later upgraded version with AI.

Looking forward to play this game after 15 years of absence!



(in reply to yvesp)
Post #: 2652
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 2:33:37 PM   
Edfactor


Posts: 106
Joined: 6/13/2008
From: Dallas
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: yvesp

So...

Nothing official, but the AI is clearly out. Two months with: "nothing new" ? whereas at least before there was still some background noise ?

Not only is the AI out, but there is not even any official information about this.
This gives me bad feelings. Is it going to be planned for a later release/DLC ? Or is it completely abandonned ?

Too bad.
Now wondering whether I'll buy the game just to show support, or if I'll pass my turn.
Why buy a game that I know I won't play ????

Yves


I understand how you feel. But then I really don't believe the AI will be very good anyway, so I'm starting to warm to the idea of just getting the game in my hands.

(in reply to yvesp)
Post #: 2653
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 7:43:54 PM   
pescada

 

Posts: 5
Joined: 4/3/2012
Status: offline
Hi all, has already 43 years old and playing in the board version when I was 19 years, long bone that do not play a game and has been a great surprise encontar this forum.
I am Spanish and not English so I use the google translator, but I seem to understand what are you saying that you can play not only???
I'll have to find people online to play a game or the game I can enjoy myself molded into my schedule without having to rely on other people?????
Greetings to everyone

(in reply to Edfactor)
Post #: 2654
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 8:08:37 PM   
Joseignacio


Posts: 2449
Joined: 5/8/2009
From: Madrid, Spain
Status: offline
Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.


(in reply to pescada)
Post #: 2655
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 9:05:32 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.


Warspite1

Que?

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Joseignacio)
Post #: 2656
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 9:05:34 PM   
michaelbaldur


Posts: 4774
Joined: 4/6/2007
From: denmark
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.




this is a English forum. so please only post in English

_____________________________

the wif rulebook is my bible

I work hard, not smart.

beta tester and Mwif expert

if you have questions or issues with the game, just contact me on Michaelbaldur1@gmail.com

(in reply to Joseignacio)
Post #: 2657
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 9:08:11 PM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.



This would be better sent as a PM.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to Joseignacio)
Post #: 2658
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 9:08:19 PM   
micheljq


Posts: 791
Joined: 3/31/2008
From: Quebec
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.




Google traduction gives :

Hello, you caught. Perhaps Google Translator is not as good as you think.

The game will play by mail and I think the internet with another (others?) Player / s. For now it seems that in this first version no AI, but the idea is that there where feasible.

English is spoken here, but if you send me a PM I'll put you up to date.


_____________________________

Michel Desjardins,
"Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
"History is a set of lies agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte after the battle of Waterloo, june 18th, 1815

(in reply to Joseignacio)
Post #: 2659
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 10:36:15 PM   
parusski


Posts: 4804
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: Jackson Tn
Status: offline
Official release date announced:

December 24, 2033

_____________________________

"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."- W.T. Sherman

(in reply to pescada)
Post #: 2660
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 11:30:44 PM   
Joseignacio


Posts: 2449
Joined: 5/8/2009
From: Madrid, Spain
Status: offline
I was just telling him that this is a forum in English, that his google translation was not very good, some details about the game he was asking for, and the suggestion that I could tell more by PM.

I thought I could spare translating all the stuff to English because you'd guess that... You know me for several years now.

< Message edited by Joseignacio -- 4/4/2012 8:02:54 AM >

(in reply to parusski)
Post #: 2661
RE: When? - 4/3/2012 11:36:41 PM   
Joseignacio


Posts: 2449
Joined: 5/8/2009
From: Madrid, Spain
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur


quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.




this is a English forum. so please only post in English


Take a lime tea to prevent these irkings, it will help your hemorroids as well.


< Message edited by Joseignacio -- 4/3/2012 11:37:01 PM >

(in reply to michaelbaldur)
Post #: 2662
RE: When? - 4/4/2012 6:04:43 AM   
pescada

 

Posts: 5
Joined: 4/3/2012
Status: offline
Sorry to exist in the world but there are also people who can not speak English, not everyone is perfect, in fact if I knew English, do you think would use the google translator.
Regards and remember that the WIF is translated into many languages ​​including Spanish and unfortunately I have not found any on this forum Spanish version pc game

(in reply to michaelbaldur)
Post #: 2663
RE: When? - 4/5/2012 6:08:16 PM   
WIF_Killzone

 

Posts: 277
Joined: 4/30/2009
Status: offline
Exciting progress is being made, given Steve's average bug fixes per month (128) I wonder how many remain outstanding. I seem to remeber a table of this in one of his ealier posts. Would be nice to see an updated table.


(in reply to pescada)
Post #: 2664
RE: When? - 4/5/2012 7:45:19 PM   
yvesp


Posts: 2083
Joined: 9/12/2008
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: WIF_Killzone
Exciting progress is being made, given Steve's average bug fixes per month (128) I wonder how many remain outstanding. I seem to remeber a table of this in one of his ealier posts. Would be nice to see an updated table.


Well, such a table presents little interest ; it is only valid during a short time span.
As bugs are crushed, new ones appear as the product both evolves and crushing old bugs makes it possible to explore parts of the code that were previously unreachable, or reachable under bad conditions.

If you've read correctly, there were not that many outstanding bugs. But Steve would usually crush 120 in a month, whereas testers would report 90 new bugs. Some of these new bugs duplicate referenced bugs, or bugs already crushed in the current version (Steve's one, the most advanced). Nonetheless, all of these have to be scanned in detail to determine their status, which takes a lot of time and bookeeping.

So what's really interesting is not the amount of bugs, but the curve showing how the work progresses. This can give an estimate of the time where few enough bugs remain to release the program. Actually, not even this is interesting ; what's really interesting is the number of serious bugs, those of the kind which ruin the game ; such as a bug that prevents you to reload a saved game, or that makes the game crash randomly. The bugs pertaining to obscure rules interpretation are unlikely to mess with your pleasure with the game.

And don't believe the program will come out with zero bugs : this is utterly impossible. Given Steve's devotion to the game, it will come out with few bugs, of the kind you're unlikely to meet even if you play twenty times. This is exceedingly better than the games one usually buys.

Yves

(in reply to WIF_Killzone)
Post #: 2665
RE: When? - 4/5/2012 7:54:04 PM   
Extraneous

 

Posts: 1810
Joined: 6/14/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

quote:

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur


quote:

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

Hola, pescada. Quizás Google Translator no es tan bueno como crees.

El juego permitirá jugar por correo y creo que por internet con otro (¿otros?) jugador/es. Por ahora parece ser que en esta primera version no habrá IA, pero la idea es que la haya cuando sea factible.

Aqui se habla inglés, pero si quieres enviarme un PM yo te pongo al dia.




this is a English forum. so please only post in English


Take a lime tea to prevent these irkings, it will help your hemorroids as well.



Spanish and Portuguese speaking visitors to the forums could always PM you (Joseignacio) for clarifications if the Google translator isn't clear.

PS: Lime tea is great and I don't have hemorroids.

< Message edited by Extraneous -- 4/5/2012 7:56:08 PM >


_____________________________

University of Science Music and Culture (USMC) class of 71 and 72 ~ Extraneous (AKA Mziln)

(in reply to Joseignacio)
Post #: 2666
RE: When? - 4/5/2012 9:48:06 PM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: yvesp


quote:

ORIGINAL: WIF_Killzone
Exciting progress is being made, given Steve's average bug fixes per month (128) I wonder how many remain outstanding. I seem to remeber a table of this in one of his ealier posts. Would be nice to see an updated table.


Well, such a table presents little interest ; it is only valid during a short time span.
As bugs are crushed, new ones appear as the product both evolves and crushing old bugs makes it possible to explore parts of the code that were previously unreachable, or reachable under bad conditions.

If you've read correctly, there were not that many outstanding bugs. But Steve would usually crush 120 in a month, whereas testers would report 90 new bugs. Some of these new bugs duplicate referenced bugs, or bugs already crushed in the current version (Steve's one, the most advanced). Nonetheless, all of these have to be scanned in detail to determine their status, which takes a lot of time and bookeeping.

So what's really interesting is not the amount of bugs, but the curve showing how the work progresses. This can give an estimate of the time where few enough bugs remain to release the program. Actually, not even this is interesting ; what's really interesting is the number of serious bugs, those of the kind which ruin the game ; such as a bug that prevents you to reload a saved game, or that makes the game crash randomly. The bugs pertaining to obscure rules interpretation are unlikely to mess with your pleasure with the game.

And don't believe the program will come out with zero bugs : this is utterly impossible. Given Steve's devotion to the game, it will come out with few bugs, of the kind you're unlikely to meet even if you play twenty times. This is exceedingly better than the games one usually buys.

Yves

A very good assessment - I'm impressed. That's me banging out the bugs.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to yvesp)
Post #: 2667
RE: When? - 4/6/2012 9:41:54 AM   
yvesp


Posts: 2083
Joined: 9/12/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
A very good assessment - I'm impressed. That's me banging out the bugs.


Well, that was not too difficult given that my job is quite similar to yours!
Main difference is that I'm beeing paid every month, whereas I guess you're more or less waiting for the release of the game. My place is certainly more confortable than yours on that side. However, you likely have a freedom that I don't enjoy.

If I had free time, I would even have volunteered to help you, but hey, I've little time of my own (about 3h commuting every day), and I'm not much into delphi (used it once though, 10 or 15 years ago or so) ; I'm more on the java/scala J2EE development side. That's not exactly game building!

Yves


< Message edited by yvesp -- 4/6/2012 9:49:39 AM >

(in reply to Shannon V. OKeets)
Post #: 2668
RE: When? - 4/6/2012 12:59:45 PM   
Joseignacio


Posts: 2449
Joined: 5/8/2009
From: Madrid, Spain
Status: offline
Extraneous, the anwer was to a post of Michelbaldur, although implying all the previous posters somehow, but the message about the lime tea was intended for MB, since this high levels of sensibility often are due to physical pungent maladies.

(in reply to Extraneous)
Post #: 2669
RE: When? - 4/6/2012 5:30:19 PM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: yvesp

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
A very good assessment - I'm impressed. That's me banging out the bugs.


Well, that was not too difficult given that my job is quite similar to yours!
Main difference is that I'm beeing paid every month, whereas I guess you're more or less waiting for the release of the game. My place is certainly more confortable than yours on that side. However, you likely have a freedom that I don't enjoy.

If I had free time, I would even have volunteered to help you, but hey, I've little time of my own (about 3h commuting every day), and I'm not much into delphi (used it once though, 10 or 15 years ago or so) ; I'm more on the java/scala J2EE development side. That's not exactly game building!

Yves


My commute is measured in seconds, less than 10. During dinner my wife and I watch (from the 19th floor) the traffic back up on H1 for miles - sometimes in both directions.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to yvesp)
Post #: 2670
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