RE: TOAW XML Editor (Full Version)

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76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 4:08:21 PM)

As Don says, I've been working in C#. I have no idea how to work with compiled files and expect that it is above my pay grade to figure it out. But we can create new scenarios by taking .sal files, changing the extension to .sce, opening them in TOAW, and then exporting them as .gam files. Whew!

As Don says, technically this creates a new scenario, and I need to do lots of testing to see what is and is not carried over from the old scenario. Currently I envision automatically deleting all of the events which have already occurred, renumbering the turn numbers for upcoming events and reinforcements, etc.

I think I've mentioned that the whole reason I've been working on this is to be able to use TOAW as an operational layer to generate tactical games (in other games), which would require editing the TOAW every time there is a tactical battle to reflect its result. One immediate problem is that editing saved game .gam files does not allow you to save within a turn, so you'll only be able to insert battle results at the end of a turn...but not the end of the world.

If there is some way to edit .sal files directly I'd be very interested in finding out how!



cathar1244 -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 4:37:26 PM)

quote:

As Don says, I've been working in C#. I have no idea how to work with compiled files and expect that it is above my pay grade to figure it out. But we can create new scenarios by taking .sal files, changing the extension to .sce, opening them in TOAW, and then exporting them as .gam files. Whew!


I'm amazed that even works. [:)]

Cheers



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 6:40:18 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cathar1244
I'm amazed that even works. [:)]

The problem is that it doesn't work very well...but I hope to be able to fix that. Fixing events properly could get rather tricky however...



larryfulkerson -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 8:11:31 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 76mm
As Don says, I've been working in C#. I have no idea how to work with compiled files and expect that it is above my pay grade to figure it out. But we can create new scenarios by taking .sal files, changing the extension to .sce, opening them in TOAW, and then exporting them as .gam files. Whew!

You're a genius. That seems to be the easiest way to do it so far. Kudos.
quote:

ORIGINAL: 76mm
As Don says, technically this creates a new scenario, and I need to do lots of testing to see what is and is not carried over from the old scenario. Currently I envision automatically deleting all of the events which have already occurred, renumbering the turn numbers for upcoming events and reinforcements, etc.

I think I've mentioned that the whole reason I've been working on this is to be able to use TOAW as an operational layer to generate tactical games (in other games), which would require editing the TOAW every time there is a tactical battle to reflect its result. One immediate problem is that editing saved game .gam files does not allow you to save within a turn, so you'll only be able to insert battle results at the end of a turn...but not the end of the world.

If there is some way to edit .sal files directly I'd be very interested in finding out how!

I'll see if I can dig up a free debugger from github or somewhere and I'll take a look at the raw *.sal file to see what I can find out.

Meanwhile I seem to not know how to use the "Equipment viewer" button. I get an empty screen every time. Got any hints for me?



larryfulkerson -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 8:19:26 PM)

What does a deployment of "disbanded" mean in terms of the game engine placing or not placing the unit on the map when the scenario loads?
[image]local://upfiles/16287/C48AA89CD43C48B88230BA3E6A68F028.jpg[/image]



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 8:52:35 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
Meanwhile I seem to not know how to use the "Equipment viewer" button. I get an empty screen every time. Got any hints for me?

Oops, that wasn't supposed to be there in that version...it won't work until the next version--so ignore it for now. Basically it is the same equipment viewer as is available as a separate download now.

quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
What does a deployment of "disbanded" mean in terms of the game engine placing or not placing the unit on the map when the scenario loads?

hmm, never seen that before. Is the unit indicated as Disbanded in the TOAW Editor as well? If so then it is a problem with the scenario. Otherwise, I might have gotten the "deployment codes" wrong, so that instead of saying Disbanded it should say something else. Which scenario is it?



larryfulkerson -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 8:57:56 PM)

I did as you suggested: change the *.sal file to an *.sce file, load it in the TOAW IV scenario editor and write it out as a *.gam file. Use that for input in the TOAW XML program. It's a file from an ongoing game ( approx T3 ) so it's entirely possible that that unit is actually disbanded in the game now. I'll read it ( the edited *.gam file ) back into the TOAW IV editor to see what the game engine says about that particular unit, if anything.



larryfulkerson -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/13/2020 9:17:05 PM)

The TOAW IV scenario editor labels it as "eliminated" in the formation editor.



dth -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/17/2020 1:25:42 PM)

76mm, Great Job on this and the Equipment Viewer!

I'm playing around with map editing right now and converting JTS ACW maps over to TOAW. It's working but a bit tricky. :)

Thanks for all your work and motivation in these projects!!!

BRD!



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/17/2020 1:40:55 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: dth
I'm playing around with map editing right now and converting JTS ACW maps over to TOAW. It's working but a bit tricky. :)

Thanks, I'm glad someone finds it useful.

I wanted to mention that while I have an "Edit Map" option on the menu I posted a few days ago, it will not be a full-on map editor--I have no idea how to render the map graphically... Instead, it will allow limited map editing operations, such as adding airfields, ports, etc. maybe bridges, etc. The main point is to allow for the addition of such facilities during the course of longer "strategic" scenarios which would involve editing saved game files.



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 3:48:54 PM)

Moving right along...here is what I have for editing saved games so far. I've always wanted a way to assign/calculate Resource Points that can then be used for various purposes in a TOAW game. Here is what I have so far. Calculation of Resource Points:



[image]local://upfiles/11887/45A4F111F1334DF8910EF728F9CEAAA2.jpg[/image]



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 3:53:17 PM)

So what can you do with Resource Points? Not sure yet, here are some "Strategic Options" I'm considering...plus obvious things like adding new units, replacements, etc. Not sure yet how many of these features will be feasible, but so far, so good.

[image]local://upfiles/11887/0F735AB8FFB8403F811E4A2579C3F374.jpg[/image]



Zovs -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 5:12:40 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: 76mm

Moving right along...here is what I have for editing saved games so far. I've always wanted a way to assign/calculate Resource Points that can then be used for various purposes in a TOAW game. Here is what I have so far. Calculation of Resource Points:



[image]local://upfiles/11887/45A4F111F1334DF8910EF728F9CEAAA2.jpg[/image]


Tom,

A suggestion on the use of names. Can you change it so that its more in line with TOAW?

Instead of City, Town, Village, use: Urban and Dense Urban.

Not sure what the concept of village is.



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 5:48:08 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Zovs
A suggestion on the use of names. Can you change it so that its more in line with TOAW?

Maybe, but the main reason I changed the names is because I don't like how TOAW calls them! At many of the scales currently included in the game, at least to me, it is jarring to call a small, single-hex settlement "urban".

This will all be explained in tooltips, but it is pretty simple: "Village" = "urban", "Town" = "urban" which fills in the entire hex, and "City" = "dense urban".

I can see if I can make the labels editable, though, I haven't tried that yet.



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 8:17:40 PM)

Well looky here: I was able to figure out how to make them customizable. Actually pretty helpful, if for not other reason, so that players can see what the bitmaps are, rather than just the bitmap names.


[image]local://upfiles/11887/353EFB3C664646768ABAB01DE63F0552.jpg[/image]



Zovs -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 10:52:36 PM)

Tom,

That is great!

When will your next version be available?



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/19/2020 11:29:06 PM)

It will be a while. Lots of issues to resolve, especially how to deal with events. Complicated stuff..



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/20/2020 7:25:27 PM)

OK, here is what I have so far for events. The issue with events is that when you are editing a saved game, it would be nice to eliminate those events which have already occurred, and adjust the remaining events to take into account the revised turn number, etc. I plan some kind of automated system to do this, but at the end of the day players will need to confirm which events need to be eliminated/revised. I haven't quite figured out the automation part yet, but once I have, the system will check all of the events to be eliminated, allow players to make any necessary changes, and then eliminate them and renumber turns for remaining events. So this screen is intended to provide enough info for players to determine what the event is about, etc.

One of the major advantages of being able to edit saved game files is that players won't have to create monster 500 turn scenarios with 2,000 events...instead such a "game" could be broken down into five successive 100 turn scenarios with only 400 events each (or ten 50 turn scenarios with 200, etc.)--simplifying event creation and allowing much more flexibility in general.

Anyhoo, comments welcome.


[image]local://upfiles/11887/0DCDDFE8EABE4E108CED1908EB72DDD9.jpg[/image]



Zovs -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/21/2020 1:16:14 AM)

Tom,

Is this all part of the TOAW XML Editor? I recall their being a equipment editor as well.

Also, is this up in your GitHub page?

Brain freeze.



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/21/2020 2:01:58 AM)

This will be part of the TOAWxml "package" with several distinct parts--the TOAWxml editor (the original program), the Equipment Viewer (which allows basic editing), this Save Game Editor, and a few more parts that I haven't started working on yet that will link TOAW scenarios to a tactical layer. All the parts will be launched from the menu I posted several posts up.

While these will all be part of the same "package", I haven't quite figured out yet how much they'll be integrated. For instance, right now you've got to "convert" a save gave in the Save Game Editor and then do any further editing (adding new units, events, etc.) in the basic TOAWxml editor, but this will probably change as I go along, so that you can do things like add new units, etc. in the Saved Game Editor. But integrating them might be complicated, and the interface might become horrendously complex... But we'll see.

This is certainly on github, but I'm not sure if I have open-sourced it yet; I have several projects on github and don't remember if this is in one of those or in a different one... When you start this one, you should see the launch menu rather than the standard TOAWxml editor, so if that is what you're seeing your project doesn't include this. If you're interested I can make sure that this one open source if it is not already, although it might take me a couple/several days to get around to it, because I find github kinda confusing.



76mm -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/22/2020 3:26:02 PM)

So far this is going pretty well; load in a log file, and the program will automatically figure out which events have already been activated (well, at least most of them). Then it checks those events and colors them red...after player review (just to make sure that some should not be checked or unchecked), I'll have the program create a new set of events, without the ones that have already been activated, and adjusting the turns for the others.

This is working well with my test scenario, but if someone wants to help by providing another save game file and log file, it would be very helpful for testing! There are so many variations of events it is difficult for me to test all the combinations myself.

[image]local://upfiles/11887/DC3981E75E28426DBA345517109A4E2B.jpg[/image]



Zovs -> RE: TOAW XML Editor (12/22/2020 3:31:50 PM)

Tom,

I'll be emailing you soon.



rhinobones -> Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 5:42:23 PM)

76mm

The names for Icon Types correspond to designated positions on the Icon Unit Matrix. Sometimes when an Icon graphic is changed the name no longer describes the intended unit type. Is your XML File Editor able to access/change the text or is there another application needed?

The attached screen shot shows the in-game OOB text field I would like to access.

Regards, RhinoBones


[image]local://upfiles/5722/3C575A6DC96F4587983AE8E80B3FB22A.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 7:07:54 PM)

Sorry my friend. That one is over my head. I have no idea how to fix that problem. I'm not sure there is a way to do that. But there does need to be.



76mm -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 8:30:26 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones
The names for Icon Types correspond to designated positions on the Icon Unit Matrix. Sometimes when an Icon graphic is changed the name no longer describes the intended unit type. Is your XML File Editor able to access/change the text or is there another application needed?

I'm afraid that I don't really understand what you're trying to do...my understanding is that changing the icon graphic does nothing...except change the icon graphic. It won't change the unit capabilities/attributes or how it is labelled. You can set the unit icons in my editor with this drop down menu:



[image]local://upfiles/11887/C686881EE78B4680A0B6F7EDD080E016.jpg[/image]



76mm -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 8:31:24 PM)

So here are the choices you have--AFAIK basically all them that are in the game:


[image]local://upfiles/11887/2B0C8A1D33FE4BB1AA840E0014B7F5D9.jpg[/image]



76mm -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 8:33:36 PM)

But everything in my editor is tied to codes in the exported XML--ie, an infantry unit might have a code of "5"--in which case any icon which takes its place would have the same code and so would be treated the same by the game. Does this answer your question?



Zovs -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/12/2021 11:25:34 PM)

RinoBones, you have to change those vale’s in the games xml file. AWK so can’t get the specific file you need to edit. Will do tomorrow.



rhinobones -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/13/2021 2:53:09 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: 76mm

But everything in my editor is tied to codes in the exported XML--ie, an infantry unit might have a code of "5"--in which case any icon which takes its place would have the same code and so would be treated the same by the game. Does this answer your question?


Appreciate the reply but I was probably not very clear in explaining what I was trying to do. However, think I found the source of the OOB Unit Type names in the EnglishGameText.xml. I’ve made some changes to the file and matched the new text to the revised icon graphic.

The problem now is that I can’t get TOAW to display the new unit types in the in-game OOB screen. If you or anyone else can help I would be appreciative.

Regards

PS - Zovs, thanks for the reply. I’ve placed the modified EnglishGameText.xml in both the Graphics Override folder and in the TOAW main folder (replacing the stock EnglishGameText.xml). No luck with either placement, the game engine keeps on reverting to the original EnglishGameText.xml text. I’m at a loss figuring out how to get the game engine to read the modified file. Help!!


[image]local://upfiles/5722/4280EC0295154F6A94898FE590479F1C.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: Icon Type Text File (1/13/2021 2:58:25 AM)

Have you tried to replace the original one with your modified one? Rename your original so you won't lose it, shut off TOAW, replace the .TXT file, and restart TOAW.



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