Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

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Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:00:14 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

As the 1.3 patch is approaching, it's time for me to get back into WitP. Here's the start of a unfinished README for a small program I wrote for WitP. It's mainly for my own use, but if there's interest I could finish the README and make it available for download. It's been quite a few weeks since I last worked on it, so it may take a few days to get it ready and available.

===================================================================================

This utility was written to provide various information that I found useful while playing Matrix/2by3's War in the Pacific (WitP). The basic functionality provided is as follows:

Option for automatic saving and compilation of sig intel, operations and combat reports for game turns
Option for automatic archiving of game saves
Display of the sig intel data on a game map
Display of operations report data on a game map
Basic information for all bases in the selected scenario
Display of aircraft range radii for any aircraft at any base
Calculation of inter-port distances (both direct and minimum distance by sea)
Estimated time required for task forces to travel between two ports, and ETA for a user-defined departure date
Output of basic base, ship unit, land unit, and aircraft unit data contained in the scenario database files
Option to save data for multiple games in progress as the data for each game in the user save slots (3 to 200) is handled separately

Curent restrictions/limitations
The game requires Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1.
As there's currently no way to access the game saves, and hence determine the current game status, all the information provided (apart from the intel/ops reports) is based on the starting situation of the scenario.
The display of information on the game map uses a separate game map, and, like the main game map, may take a few seconds to load initially. I have found the performance to be acceptable after the initial map loading on a PII 450MHz system with 256MB RAM.
The inter-port distances do not take into account the current air balance, and so may be shorter than the routes selected by the game.
Only one game can be saved per game save slot (3 to 200).
The program is based on a game which corresponds to one of the WitP user game save slots from 3 to 200. It is NOT able to determine which game is currently active in WitP, and you must set this correctly BEFORE you click on the end turn button.

Introduction.
-------------
The WITP Utility/File Manager has four main functions: 1) automatic archiving of game save files and/or intel/operations/combat reports, 2) visual display of intel/operations reports and other data useful in gameplay, 3) scenario base information, including interbase distances and estimated travel time and ETA for task forces, and, 4) export of scenario database files as CSV files.
The program is based on a "game" which corresponds to one of the WitP game save slots from 3 to 200. The "game" contains information on the scenario number, game save slot, opponent, player side, and current game date. The user can store a "game" for each WitP save slot, so the program cam handle multiple games. The user starts the program BEFORE WitP, selects the current game and sets the save options, then plays WitP as normal. The various reports and displays can be viewed at any time on the Report form.

===================================================================================

_____________________________

Bodhi

Post #: 1

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:07:59 AM

fbastos

Posts: 827
Joined: 8/7/2004
Status: offline

Yes! Yes! Yes!

F.

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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:30:15 AM

medicff

Posts: 710
Joined: 9/11/2004
From: WPB, Florida
Status: offline

Sounds very useful. Would be great! TIA.

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 3

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:32:46 AM

Belphegor

Posts: 2209
Joined: 5/10/2004
Status: offline

I'd like to see what it can do...

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Post #: 4

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:34:10 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

Sorry about the quality but here's a screen of the main form (so you know it's not vapourware)

Attachment (1)

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Bodhi

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Post #: 5

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:38:58 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

And a screen of the report form - the bases info tab, with an aircraft range indicated for the selected base. Note you can click on any base in the list and jump to that base, or manually input a hex X and Y at the top and jump to that hex.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Bodhi -- 10/21/2004 10:44:24 AM >

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Bodhi

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Post #: 6

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:43:08 AM

Belphegor

Posts: 2209
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I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.

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Post #: 7

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:43:51 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

Finally a screen of the naval movement tab where you can get the distance between ports and the time and ETA for tasks forces - a couple of user editable TF speeds are available. Not that I have no access to the current game state, so can't factor in avoidance of enemy bases, so the distances/times are simply the shortest betweens the ports - TFs in the game may take a little longer if they use a different route.

Sorry don't have any combined intel/ops data on this computer so I can't post screens of that part. Will do when I get home if anyone's interested.

Attachment (1)

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Bodhi

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Post #: 8

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:48:43 AM

Raverdave

Posts: 6520
Joined: 2/8/2002
From: Melb. Australia
Status: offline

I really like # 3 ! ! ! !

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Post #: 9

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:50:32 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Belphegor

I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.

Well, I've mainly developed and tested it on a PII 450 with 256MB RAM with Win2K, so it will run on that. The loading of the report form with the map can take a while, but then again so can WitP.

I did sometimes get low memory messages, but it (and WitP) continued to run without problem. Don't have XP to hand to test, but I guess you would be better with 512MB or more RAM. Once the map is loaded the performance seems acceptable (to me at least).

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 10

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 4:59:11 AM

GBirkn

Posts: 249
Joined: 5/6/2004
From: the briny deep
Status: offline

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!

_____________________________

"War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say let's give them all they want." -- Gen. W. T. Sherman

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Post #: 11

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:18:06 AM

Belphegor

Posts: 2209
Joined: 5/10/2004
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bodhi

quote:

ORIGINAL: Belphegor

I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.

Well, I've mainly developed and tested it on a PII 450 with 256MB RAM with Win2K, so it will run on that. The loading of the report form with the map can take a while, but then again so can WitP. I did sometimes get low memory messages, but it (and WitP) continued to run without problem. Don't have XP to hand to test, but I guess you would be better with 512MB or more RAM. Once the map is loaded the performance seems acceptable (to me at least).

Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant how much info that I have been craving that it will deliver. By the looks so far, quite a lot!

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 12

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:23:46 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: GBirkn

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!

No reason to stop tinkering.

I'd started this before the WITP monitor and the database dump utility were announced. Didn't bother me as the main aim at that stage was the graphical output of the intel/ops reports. If you continue to tinker I'm sure you'll come up with something useful that my small utility doesn't cover.

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 13

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:36:56 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Belphegor
Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant how much info that I have been craving that it will deliver. By the looks so far, quite a lot!

Wasn't too sure if that was what you meant of not. Given a choice of two I went for the wrong one.

I must admit there's a whole host of information I'd like, and have some ideas of how to display, but it relies on being able to access the current game state. As the game save files are reportedly encrypted, there's no way to access this. The only data I have access to are the database scenario files (where the base info comes from), and the text intel/ops/combat reports output each turn.

To be honest I think during the next patch (or after) 2by3/Matrix should give some serious consideration to making the game state data available via unecrypted save files. Ideally the game saves should be unencrypted for non-PBEM games, with an option to dump the data for a player/side from a PBEM game on supplying the appropriate password. With this data available, I'm sure many others (and me) could make a number of utilities for presentation of game data. IMHO the programmers time would be better spent doing this than adding a whle range of filters to the existing presentation of data in the game, as there'll always be someone's request not covered. I hope this utility gives a glimpse of what may be possible if we had access to the game state via the save files.

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 14

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:39:36 AM

GBirkn

Posts: 249
Joined: 5/6/2004
From: the briny deep
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bodhi

quote:

ORIGINAL: GBirkn

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!

No reason to stop tinkering. I'd started this before the WITP monitor and the database dump utility were announced. Didn't bother me as the main aim at that stage was the graphical output of the intel/ops reports. If you continue to tinker I'm sure you'll come up with something useful that my small utility doesn't cover.

Oh, I'll keep at it when time permits, but unfortunately I'm a bit short on time right now. I did manage to get the icons to display on the map in the right locations (even if I haven't bothered to read in the whole file yet); now I need to give some thought to converting mouse locations to hex coordinates. (Now if only we could get at the game state data!

)

Edit: pic's too big, let me try a smaller one.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by GBirkn -- 10/20/2004 10:45:16 PM >

_____________________________

"War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say let's give them all they want." -- Gen. W. T. Sherman

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 15

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:46:05 AM

GBirkn

Posts: 249
Joined: 5/6/2004
From: the briny deep
Status: offline

This is a bit more like it:

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

"War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say let's give them all they want." -- Gen. W. T. Sherman

(in reply to GBirkn)

Post #: 16

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 5:56:04 AM

TommyG

Posts: 273
Joined: 9/25/2004
From: Irvine Ca
Status: offline

Great. will you come over to my house and teach me how to use it?

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 17

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 6:45:23 AM

Ron Saueracker

Posts: 12121
Joined: 1/28/2002
From: Ottawa, Canada OR Zakynthos Island, Greece
Status: offline

Interesting. I really like the point to point duration utility.

_____________________________

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Post #: 18

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 7:20:20 AM

eMonticello

Posts: 525
Joined: 3/15/2002
Status: offline

Bodhi,

What software did you use to develop your tool? I believe you have a winner. I especially like the intel information displayed with the map and the point-to-point calculations between ports ... something which is currently too cumbersome to deal with manually.

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Post #: 19

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 9:44:26 AM

Jorm

Posts: 545
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Melbourne
Status: offline

yep sure am

where can i get a copy ????
will it work with tankeraces expected MOD ?

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 20

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 9:50:53 AM

ZOOMIE1980

Posts: 1284
Joined: 4/9/2004
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bodhi

As the 1.3 patch is approaching, it's time for me to get back into WitP. Here's the start of a unfinished README for a small program I wrote for WitP. It's mainly for my own use, but if there's interest I could finish the README and make it available for download. It's been quite a few weeks since I last worked on it, so it may take a few days to get it ready and available.

===================================================================================

This utility was written to provide various information that I found useful while playing Matrix/2by3's War in the Pacific (WitP). The basic functionality provided is as follows:

Option for automatic saving and compilation of sig intel, operations and combat reports for game turns

Option for automatic archiving of game saves

Display of the sig intel data on a game map

Display of operations report data on a game map

Basic information for all bases in the selected scenario

Display of aircraft range radii for any aircraft at any base

Calculation of inter-port distances (both direct and minimum distance by sea)

Estimated time required for task forces to travel between two ports, and ETA for a user-defined departure date

Output of basic base, ship unit, land unit, and aircraft unit data contained in the scenario database files

Option to save data for multiple games in progress as the data for each game in the user save slots (3 to 200) is handled separately

Curent restrictions/limitations
The game requires Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1.
As there's currently no way to access the game saves, and hence determine the current game status, all the information provided (apart from the intel/ops reports) is based on the starting situation of the scenario.
The display of information on the game map uses a separate game map, and, like the main game map, may take a few seconds to load initially. I have found the performance to be acceptable after the initial map loading on a PII 450MHz system with 256MB RAM.
The inter-port distances do not take into account the current air balance, and so may be shorter than the routes selected by the game.
Only one game can be saved per game save slot (3 to 200).
The program is based on a game which corresponds to one of the WitP user game save slots from 3 to 200. It is NOT able to determine which game is currently active in WitP, and you must set this correctly BEFORE you click on the end turn button.

Introduction.
-------------
The WITP Utility/File Manager has four main functions: 1) automatic archiving of game save files and/or intel/operations/combat reports, 2) visual display of intel/operations reports and other data useful in gameplay, 3) scenario base information, including interbase distances and estimated travel time and ETA for task forces, and, 4) export of scenario database files as CSV files.
The program is based on a "game" which corresponds to one of the WitP game save slots from 3 to 200. The "game" contains information on the scenario number, game save slot, opponent, player side, and current game date. The user can store a "game" for each WitP save slot, so the program cam handle multiple games. The user starts the program BEFORE WitP, selects the current game and sets the save options, then plays WitP as normal. The various reports and displays can be viewed at any time on the Report form.

===================================================================================

Wouldn't it be cool if all this stuff was in a relational database that you could connect to via and ODBC connection and just edit directly via MS Acces????

(in reply to Bodhi)

Post #: 21

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 10:22:37 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: eMonticello

Bodhi,

What software did you use to develop your tool? I believe you have a winner.

VB.NET, hence the need for the Microsoft NET Framework.

quote:

I especially like the intel information displayed with the map and the point-to-point calculations between ports ... something which is currently too cumbersome to deal with manually.

Yep, display of the intel/ops data on the map and interbase distances (by sea, not air) were both things I wanted from the start: I can't handle hex XX,YY references too well or be bothered to count sea hexes bewteen ports.

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 22

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 10:24:31 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: TommyG

Great. will you come over to my house and teach me how to use it?

Depends on where you live.

Failing that, I'll complete the README with some basic instructions. There's not really that much to the program, so if anythings not covered there you can always ask in this forum.

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 23

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 10:29:24 AM

Bodhi

Posts: 1267
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Japan
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jorm
where can i get a copy ????

I'll post a URL once I finish it off.

quote:

will it work with tankeraces expected MOD ?

It should work with any MOD/scenario. It reads the data from the scenario files, after checking if you have any add-on scenarios.

_____________________________

Bodhi

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Post #: 24

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 10:34:57 AM

Tomo

Posts: 66
Joined: 4/10/2004
From: JAPAN
Status: offline

Kon nichi wa Bodhi san

Nihongo ban mo zehi!!

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Post #: 25

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 1:11:58 PM

steveh11Matrix

Posts: 944
Joined: 7/30/2004
Status: offline

Ooh, I'm interested - one thing that I really would have liked in the game is a TF ETA calculator. Seems strange that it's not available in-game, really, but this little utility would make up for it rather nicely! I'd be interested just for that.

Steve.

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Post #: 26

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 2:02:26 PM

Mr.Frag

Posts: 13410
Joined: 12/18/2002
From: Purgatory
Status: offline

One more nice thing to add is a load calculator.

NIce to be able to quickly key in whats in a unit and having it come back with exactly how much space you need in the various ships.

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Post #: 27

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 2:34:59 PM

scout1

Posts: 2899
Joined: 8/24/2004
From: South Bend, In
Status: offline

quote:

The game requires Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1

What is Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 ? Since I have to ask this, I probably don't have it ?
Where can I get it ?

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Post #: 28

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 2:55:11 PM

RalfBHV

Posts: 118
Joined: 7/23/2002
From: Bremerhaven/Germany
Status: offline

quote:

What is Microsoft.NET Framework 1.1 ? Since I have to ask this, I probably don't have it ?
Where can I get it ?

From Microsoft updates.

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Post #: 29

RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager? - 10/21/2004 3:10:48 PM

steveh11Matrix

Posts: 944
Joined: 7/30/2004
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr.Frag

One more nice thing to add is a load calculator.

NIce to be able to quickly key in whats in a unit and having it come back with exactly how much space you need in the various ships.

Concur.

Steve.

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