S cubed = Stridor's Super Script
This incorporates Quick Start, an Autosave file manager, and an (outlook) email manager.
Simply unzip to the Kharkov main game directory (nominally C:\matrix games\Panzer Command Kharkov\)
Now this requires outlook. I have tested it on outlook 2007 (which is what I have) but it should work fine on outlook 2003. Outlook 2000 I don't know about. Please get back to me on that one.
This was an incredibly tricky piece of code to write, so I fully expect that there will be many bugs and race conditions, etc that need to be hammered out before it can be considered a stable piece of software. I am releasing it here so hopefully I will get some feedback from you guys.
How it works:
edit the pbem.xml file which is included in the zip. This you can best do in notepad.
Code: Select all
<aliases
you="youremail@yourdomain.com"
profile="outlook"
fred="fredflinstone@bedrock.com"
barney="barneyrubble@bedrock.com"
/>
Info:
you = your email address, you must include this
profile = your outlook profile. This will be "outlook" by default for most users. Advanced users may be using a different named profile. You enter that here.
the remainder of the tags are email aliases which you give a short nick for. These are your email buddies. You can have as many as you like. Please don't touch the first line <aliases or the last /> otherwise it won't work
Ok double click on the PCK icon and it will take you to the game via quick start. It will also auto manage your autosave files to give you a autosave file history.
Follow the rules for making and playing email games in the manual. When you come to create a new email game, use the nick you editted in the pbem.xml
Example:
New game name: barney (this will set up a link to you and barneyrubble@bedrock.com)
Then just play as you normally would. Every 2 minutes the game checks for incoming PCK PBEM files and moves them to the appropriate directory so all you need to do is just check in with the multiplayer menu now and again to see if a new turn from your enemy as arrived or not. If you have set outlook to play a sound for incoming email then you will get an audible reminder as well. Continue playing as normal and pbem files will be sent and received for you, all from the comfort of the game. In fact this system works as a sort of TCP/IP game system if your opponent is online at the same time you are [;)]
I am also thinking of working on a hotseat version and hopefully will be able to support other email clients in the future (but don't hold your breath on that [8D])
Enjoy
S.
