fcharton
Posts: 1112
Joined: 10/4/2010
From: France
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quote:
ORIGINAL: US87891
There were four new fields added to the device data file to support the DP as AA guns and AA as Nav guns system. There was a new field added to the class file data file to support the sub diving depth system. All these worked perfectly. Think of an accordion. 
Hello Matt,
Thanks a lot, it makes perfect sense. This means additional features from the UI, which have an impact on player orders, but not on turn resolutions, could be included in the game file, without needing to change the engine.
For instance, a "staff meeting" system like the one discussed above, that limits the frequency at which certain orders can be given, would be a UI-only feature. It has no bearing on turn resolution and the engine. Yet, this information can be added into the game file, and the new system would not necessitate additional files.
This also adresses a question Bullwinkle raised earlier in this thread. So far, Matrix seems to have allowed utilities to read the game file (under a suitable NDA, think tracker), but writing it, as in changing orders, tweaking industry, creating and disbanding task forces, was considered sensitive, if not off-limit.
Now, such a limitation could be handled by making all orders given through the UI additional fields in the game file. To explain, once you open your turn, the UI would read the game data, and allow you to modify orders, but the modified turn would written separately. At the end of the turn, just before resoltion, the game engine could commit those modifications, ie write them over the original orders. If those fields mirror the original, this would be very easy to do. The only down side would be larger game files.
This could have several merits :
1- it would make the UI-AI rewrite possible under an NDA close to that of Tracker, without knowledge of how to write the game file, or need to have access to the AE source code.
2- it would eliminate the "Allied hindsight feature", where the player that goes second may see in the game file the effect of orders by the player that goes first
3- in fact, it could even allow for simultaneous play by both players : at the end of the replay, the turn is saved, and both players can use it in "their UI", adding their new orders. Once both are done, the Japanese player would send his turn to the allied, who would "close the turn", and send it back to the Japanese for the replay.
4- pushing the reasoning a little further, this could allow for teams to play simultaneously, the general idea being that all the players in the team can edit the turn, and the UI reconciles all of those into one final file, using some precedence rule when orders conflict. This would also handle refereed games,
I am not saying this is how things should be done, but I believe it works are a proof of concept that you can redo AI and UI under a "read only" NDA, à la Tracker, while keeping the engine and turn management system unchanged, therefore allowing for independent evolution of the engine.
Francois
< Message edited by fcharton -- 8/8/2012 11:45:51 PM >
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RE: WITP2 Ruminations (Was "OT:WitE Forum") - 
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