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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Empires in Arms the Napoleonic Wars of 1805 - 1815 >> Quick Update

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Quick Update - 4/26/2017 5:36:19 PM

pzgndr

Posts: 3170
Joined: 3/18/2004
From: Maryland
Status: offline

With the v1.21.04 official update finally out, I'm hoping that some of the grognards who lost interest in the game years ago may yet return to play again and help contribute to continued development.

Over the past several weeks since wrapping up this version and sending it off to the Matrix production team, I have been migrating the source code from the legacy CodeGear C++Builder2007 compiler to the latest Embarcadero C++Builder10 compiler. The newer compiler supports Unicode and adheres to the C++11 standard, so this required a lot of work to convert AnsiString references to UnicodeString, revise syntax, etc. I won't bother with details, but suffice to say that I have been struggling with this new challenge and having to learn a lot along the way.

What I can report is that I did manage to get the code to compile and I have worked through a few run-time errors to get the main screen up and the game files read in. So the good news is that I'm on the right path and beginning to understand how to handle the syntax for filenames and game messages and such. The bad news is that, although I think I know what I'm doing now, the road ahead is quite long considering how many times filenames and game messages and such are used. I need to start the long process of searching and manually converting many lines of code. And of course verifying things work.

What I cannot report is how long this will take. Maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months. I don't know. But I'm optimistic that I can get through this and get v1.21.04 running again as a new 1.22.00 version. I think this will be well worth the effort in the long run, being able to run the game in Win10 without having to run a legacy pre-Vista compiled code in WinXP compatibility. And then I can proceed with code development again with more bug fixes, improvements and enhancements. Whenever I get to that point and can declare success on the migration effort, I will post another State of the Game announcement.

In the meantime, please try out the latest official update and see what you think. Enjoy!

_____________________________

Bill
Empires in Arms Development Team

Post #: 1

RE: Quick Update - 4/26/2017 5:48:49 PM

Kai

Posts: 150
Joined: 12/12/2005
Status: offline

Thanks!

Appreciate all the work.

(in reply to pzgndr)

Post #: 2

RE: Quick Update - 5/2/2017 10:31:26 AM

DCWhitworth

Posts: 676
Joined: 12/15/2007
From: Norwich, England
Status: offline

I second that thanks !

I think I fall into the old Grignard category having been tempted back.

I think the work you are currently doing is crucial to progress however painful it may be. It's seemed to me as an outsider that the game code has needed 'sanitising' for some time and that without this moving it forwards would always be a frustrating experience. You're building solid foundations to move us onwards.

_____________________________

Regards
David

(in reply to Kai)

Post #: 3

RE: Quick Update - 5/6/2017 7:05:56 PM

jtcourtne

Posts: 19
Joined: 6/3/2002
From: Calgary, Alberta
Status: offline

I concur. I will continue to follow and support the progress of this game. I purchased this about 8 years ago and appreciate the renewed efforts.

(in reply to DCWhitworth)

Post #: 4

RE: Quick Update - 5/24/2017 5:20:52 AM

claymore58