When?

World in Flames is the computer version of Australian Design Group classic board game. World In Flames is a highly detailed game covering the both Europe and Pacific Theaters of Operations during World War II. If you want grand strategy this game is for you.

Moderator: Shannon V. OKeets

User avatar
Zenra
Posts: 180
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2002 7:02 pm
Location: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Zenra »

Steve explained the situation and circumstances very well, but I am compelled to qualify my role here.

I’ve been writing software since it was done with punch cards and paper tape and have been involved with hundreds of projects large and small. MWIF is as complex a project as I’ve seen, and Steve has not only written a ton of code but also managed the project, designed all the data structures, forms, logic and interfaces, drafted and/or edited piles of documentation, planned and executed testing, and along the way kept not just the beta testers but the community here very well informed regarding the status of the project.

While my ego causes me to hesitate to use the word insignificant, whatever bit I can do to help complete MWIF surely pales in comparison to the monumental and thoroughly competent job Steve will have accomplished. Indeed, even in its present form MWIF is a magnificent accomplishment. No, it is not done, but it is clear the project has reached a point where in my experience things really get fun – the point where you can truly see the end.
Mitchell
CrusssDaddy
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2004 6:05 am

RE: When?

Post by CrusssDaddy »

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur

ORIGINAL: CrusssDaddy

Let's cut the crap. It's time to be done with amateur hour, and with a company that could care less if WiF is ever played on computer. CWiF (let's not prolong the joke that is 'MWiF') is being held hostage by Matrix. Not sure what type of deal ADG got snookered into, but if there is any means of reverting the computer rights, they need to be turned around and shopped to companies actually interested in completing and releasing the game.

Seven years, folks. Shannon you tried, but this task is plainly beyond the abilities of yourself and a cast of volunteers - whether that's due to a lack of support or talent doesn't matter. At least moving on will save you the indignity of cutting-and-pasting more New Year's Resolutions to be broken. Time to set fanboy-ery aside and put away the silly [&o] smileys. After seven years, the current product is functionally indistinguishable from the old beta I play every week - limited scenarios and no AI. That's all that really matters. Graphics are sweetened, there're historical descriptions, and some bugs removed? BIG F'IN DEAL.

At some point, results have to trump effort. After seven years with Matrix, CWiF still hasn't reached that point, and so it's time to admit the failure of the current model and look elsewhere. That's not going to happen if every too-little effort is celebrated, every noble failure is backslapped and 'atta-boyed, and every New Year is celebrated with the same tired thank yous and prayers for progress. I've written this post to encourage Matrix and Shannon to step away honorably. I'll email ADG with the same thoughts and an exhortation to find a company worthy of the CWiF brand. Not sure what I else I can do. I hope others will join me in taking off their rose-colored glasses and embarking on a course of action that might result in the CWiF product we deserve.

1/7/2010
clearly you don´t know anything.[:-]

i´m one of the testers. and the game is almost finished.

I hate people that take about something they don´t know anything about. [:@] [:@]
1/9/2011
I think there are a 90% chance of a 2011 release ..

there are still alot of unanswered questions and thing that can go wrong.

I´m a very active beta tester and have been for 3 years.
I´m spending 20-30 hours a week on the game. and I promise you. it is looking really good.

What have we here? A wildly optimistic and completely drawn-from-thin-air release date prediction from michaelbaldur can only mean it's January... Happy New Year!
CrusssDaddy
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2004 6:05 am

RE: When?

Post by CrusssDaddy »

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur


yes there are bugs. but the game is playable. we just need to fix the last bugs.

I will buy you a version of the game. if the game is not released in 2010.



On the positive side of things, when the game comes out in 2019 my copy is already paid for!
User avatar
michaelbaldur
Posts: 4800
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:28 pm
Location: denmark

RE: When?

Post by michaelbaldur »

ORIGINAL: CrusssDaddy
ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur

ORIGINAL: CrusssDaddy

Let's cut the crap. It's time to be done with amateur hour, and with a company that could care less if WiF is ever played on computer. CWiF (let's not prolong the joke that is 'MWiF') is being held hostage by Matrix. Not sure what type of deal ADG got snookered into, but if there is any means of reverting the computer rights, they need to be turned around and shopped to companies actually interested in completing and releasing the game.

Seven years, folks. Shannon you tried, but this task is plainly beyond the abilities of yourself and a cast of volunteers - whether that's due to a lack of support or talent doesn't matter. At least moving on will save you the indignity of cutting-and-pasting more New Year's Resolutions to be broken. Time to set fanboy-ery aside and put away the silly [&o] smileys. After seven years, the current product is functionally indistinguishable from the old beta I play every week - limited scenarios and no AI. That's all that really matters. Graphics are sweetened, there're historical descriptions, and some bugs removed? BIG F'IN DEAL.

At some point, results have to trump effort. After seven years with Matrix, CWiF still hasn't reached that point, and so it's time to admit the failure of the current model and look elsewhere. That's not going to happen if every too-little effort is celebrated, every noble failure is backslapped and 'atta-boyed, and every New Year is celebrated with the same tired thank yous and prayers for progress. I've written this post to encourage Matrix and Shannon to step away honorably. I'll email ADG with the same thoughts and an exhortation to find a company worthy of the CWiF brand. Not sure what I else I can do. I hope others will join me in taking off their rose-colored glasses and embarking on a course of action that might result in the CWiF product we deserve.

1/7/2010
clearly you don´t know anything.[:-]

i´m one of the testers. and the game is almost finished.

I hate people that take about something they don´t know anything about. [:@] [:@]
1/9/2011
I think there are a 90% chance of a 2011 release ..

there are still alot of unanswered questions and thing that can go wrong.

I´m a very active beta tester and have been for 3 years.
I´m spending 20-30 hours a week on the game. and I promise you. it is looking really good.

What have we here? A wildly optimistic and completely drawn-from-thin-air release date prediction from michaelbaldur can only mean it's January... Happy New Year!

yes I am optimistic. but that is simply because I have seen the game ...
the wif rulebook is my bible

I work hard, not smart.

beta tester and Mwif expert

if you have questions or issues with the game, just contact me on Michaelbaldur1@gmail.com
User avatar
helmseye
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:29 am

RE: When?

Post by helmseye »

hi all,

as World in flames Gold edition is coming out this year with a significant re-vamp of the rules can I ask if this will impact computer wif?
"Victory needs no explanation, defeat allows none"
User avatar
warspite1
Posts: 41896
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:06 pm
Location: England

RE: When?

Post by warspite1 »

ORIGINAL: helmseye

hi all,

as World in flames Gold edition is coming out this year with a significant re-vamp of the rules can I ask if this will impact computer wif?
Warspite1

Helmseye, where did you hear this? I could not see anything on the ADG website about a "Gold Edition". Any more info would be appreciated.
Now Maitland, now's your time!

Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
User avatar
helmseye
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:29 am

RE: When?

Post by helmseye »

it is in development, and incorporates all of the addidtions since final addition like factories in flames and cruisers etc
there has been so much additional work on WIF in the last 5 years it makes sense to make some of the optional rules people always play anyway as part of the basic game
there is a forum of some kind where all the new games have been devloped such as WIF Blitz and factories in flames

"Victory needs no explanation, defeat allows none"
User avatar
composer99
Posts: 2931
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:00 am
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by composer99 »

There may be more on the subject on the wifdiscussion Yahoo! group.

I'm on that list, though I rarely pay attention to it.
~ Composer99
Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22135
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: helmseye

hi all,

as World in flames Gold edition is coming out this year with a significant re-vamp of the rules can I ask if this will impact computer wif?
I know little if anything about a 'gold' edition. I have heard about a Rules as Written 8 (RAW8) in development. From that I have taken one section of rules that plugs a hole in RAW 2004 on which MWIF is based. I am extremely adverse to rules changes at this point. I only made this change because some code had to be written to deal with the uncoded circumstance and I decided I might as well go with what RAW8 contained for that situation.

The missing contingency had to do with what happens to minor countries that France controls when Vichy is declared. Here is the text from RAW8 (still in development) that is part of the MWIF Vichy formation code:
===
Each hex France controls in a territory or home country controlled by another major power or minor country reverts to the control of:
(a) the major power occupying the hex (if any); or if none
(b) that other major power or minor country.

All Axis controlled hexes in Vichy controlled minor countries and territories immediately revert (see 13.7.5) to Vichy French control. Axis controlled hexes in Free French controlled minor countries and territories remain under Axis control.

All Allied controlled hexes in Free French controlled minor countries and territories immediately revert to Free French control. All Allied controlled hexes in Vichy French controlled minor countries and territories may now be immediately reverted to Vichy control. Vichy France is hostile to all Allied major powers that do not immediately revert all such hexes to Vichy control.

Finally all Vichy controlled minor countries France has gained controlled of since the start of the game immediately become controlled by an Axis major power nominated by the major power that installed Vichy France. The minor country is conquered if it aligned to France and aligned if it was conquered by France. If more than one minor country is available to be allocated they may be allocated to different major powers.

Example: Heinz declares war on the Netherlands in May/Jun 1940. The Allies align the Netherlands to France. By the end of the turn the Netherlands is incompletely conquered. Pierre nominates the Netherlands East Indies as the new home country of the Netherlands. During the same turn France declares war on, and completely conquers, Greece.

In Jul/Aug 1940 German troops occupy Paris and Heinz installs Vichy France. All French BBs and CVs are in Metropolitan French ports. Pierre rolls for each administrative group on the Free French Chart.

The Netherlands is rolled for on the “All other minors** & territories” row (as the original home country capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, is located on the West European map). Pierre rolls an 8, just not enough to sway the Netherlands to join the Free French.

As the Netherlands was aligned to France after the start of the game then after all rolls on the Free French Chart Heinz gives the (what would otherwise be Vichy) Netherlands (including the Netherlands East Indies) to Japan as a conquered minor country.

Greece is affected by the same roll as the Netherlands and Heinz allocates Greece to Germany as an aligned minor country
.

===
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
Skanvak
Posts: 572
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:57 pm

RE: When?

Post by Skanvak »

I understand Steve point. But eventually the rules will have to be updated to last version. The real debate is not now, but more before or after the release. I guess second option will be popular.

Best regards

Skanvak
Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22135
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: Skanvak

I understand Steve point. But eventually the rules will have to be updated to last version. The real debate is not now, but more before or after the release. I guess second option will be popular.
The WIF rules are always changing. That's been true for 25 years now. Since software is fixed, it can only be accurate for the rules at a single point in time.
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
User avatar
micheljq
Posts: 791
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: Quebec
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by micheljq »

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Skanvak

I understand Steve point. But eventually the rules will have to be updated to last version. The real debate is not now, but more before or after the release. I guess second option will be popular.
The WIF rules are always changing. That's been true for 25 years now. Since software is fixed, it can only be accurate for the rules at a single point in time.

My personal opinion is that MWiF should not be changed because of a gold edition or RAW 8.0 release. If the dev begins to make changes in the rules or options at the present point of development, that could be messy I guess, and it could make the release of MWiF comes even later on.

Changes because of new editions of WiF like gold or RAW8.0, if it ever comes out, could be added in MWiF2.
Michel Desjardins,
"Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
"History is a set of lies agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte after the battle of Waterloo, june 18th, 1815
User avatar
BallyJ
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun May 25, 2008 1:04 pm

RE: When?

Post by BallyJ »

The plan to release WIF Gold??
Is a warning that there is a real danger of MWIF will be out of date before it is releases.
It has been so long in developement that the game and computer operating systems are moving on.
I think there is a real danger that MWIF may be old before it is born.
I do not have a simple solulion but it is a real worry to me.
I just hope that it can be finished ASAP.
regards John
Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22135
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: BallyJ

The plan to release WIF Gold??
Is a warning that there is a real danger of MWIF will be out of date before it is releases.
It has been so long in developement that the game and computer operating systems are moving on.
I think there is a real danger that MWIF may be old before it is born.
I do not have a simple solulion but it is a real worry to me.
I just hope that it can be finished ASAP.
regards John
The current MWIF version is running under Win XP, Vista, and Win 7 without problems, if that helps reduce your worry level.
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
bwheatley
Posts: 3654
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:08 pm
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by bwheatley »

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: BallyJ

The plan to release WIF Gold??
Is a warning that there is a real danger of MWIF will be out of date before it is releases.
It has been so long in developement that the game and computer operating systems are moving on.
I think there is a real danger that MWIF may be old before it is born.
I do not have a simple solulion but it is a real worry to me.
I just hope that it can be finished ASAP.
regards John
The current MWIF version is running under Win XP, Vista, and Win 7 without problems, if that helps reduce your worry level.

Is there a way i can pre-pay for the game? I'd gladly help support the development of an awesome game.
-Alpha Tester Carrier Force
-Beta Tester ATG
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's WAW mod
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's GPW mod
-Beta Tester WITE
-Alpha Tester WITW
-Alpha Tester WITE2
-Alpha Tester Wif
-Beta Tester Command
Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22135
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

ORIGINAL: bwheatley

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: BallyJ

The plan to release WIF Gold??
Is a warning that there is a real danger of MWIF will be out of date before it is releases.
It has been so long in developement that the game and computer operating systems are moving on.
I think there is a real danger that MWIF may be old before it is born.
I do not have a simple solulion but it is a real worry to me.
I just hope that it can be finished ASAP.
regards John
The current MWIF version is running under Win XP, Vista, and Win 7 without problems, if that helps reduce your worry level.

Is there a way i can pre-pay for the game? I'd gladly help support the development of an awesome game.
Thank you for your enthusiasm.[:)]

Matrix Games does not accept orders in advance of a game's release. It adds work to the accounting side of things and can cause customer satisfaction troubles. They prefer the simpler: "customer buys a product - Matrix Games sends the product" system. Much cleaner all around. Apparently cash flow is not a problem for them.[;)]
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
bwheatley
Posts: 3654
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:08 pm
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by bwheatley »

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
ORIGINAL: bwheatley

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets



The current MWIF version is running under Win XP, Vista, and Win 7 without problems, if that helps reduce your worry level.

Is there a way i can pre-pay for the game? I'd gladly help support the development of an awesome game.
Thank you for your enthusiasm.[:)]

Matrix Games does not accept orders in advance of a game's release. It adds work to the accounting side of things and can cause customer satisfaction troubles. They prefer the simpler: "customer buys a product - Matrix Games sends the product" system. Much cleaner all around. Apparently cash flow is not a problem for them.[;)]


ya i know i have just been itching to play this game for years now so i got a little impatient hehe. thank you.
-Alpha Tester Carrier Force
-Beta Tester ATG
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's WAW mod
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's GPW mod
-Beta Tester WITE
-Alpha Tester WITW
-Alpha Tester WITE2
-Alpha Tester Wif
-Beta Tester Command
User avatar
paulderynck
Posts: 8356
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Canada

RE: When?

Post by paulderynck »

ORIGINAL: micheljq
ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Skanvak

I understand Steve point. But eventually the rules will have to be updated to last version. The real debate is not now, but more before or after the release. I guess second option will be popular.
The WIF rules are always changing. That's been true for 25 years now. Since software is fixed, it can only be accurate for the rules at a single point in time.

My personal opinion is that MWiF should not be changed because of a gold edition or RAW 8.0 release. If the dev begins to make changes in the rules or options at the present point of development, that could be messy I guess, and it could make the release of MWiF comes even later on.

Changes because of new editions of WiF like gold or RAW8.0, if it ever comes out, could be added in MWiF2.
I agree. RAW 3 was a great game. RAW 5 was a great game and so is RAW 7. Each iteration of WiF I've played has been a good game and so will MWiF. As was done once already the only time RAW 8 needs to be considered is if it may solve a problem in the game development that is yet to be programmed (due to remaining work on optional rules or perhaps a beta version bug fix).

Besides, we are not expecting MWiF to be a 100% reproduction of WiF anyway, considering it is full scale world-wide and this will have an effect on how the war in Asia plays.

Additions of rule changes from RAW 8, 9 or 10 etc. would be something to consider after MWiF version 1 is published, but may never become a reality and I don't think this will (or should) have any effect on how well MWiF does.
Paul
User avatar
warspite1
Posts: 41896
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:06 pm
Location: England

RE: When?

Post by warspite1 »

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

ORIGINAL: micheljq
ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets



The WIF rules are always changing. That's been true for 25 years now. Since software is fixed, it can only be accurate for the rules at a single point in time.

My personal opinion is that MWiF should not be changed because of a gold edition or RAW 8.0 release. If the dev begins to make changes in the rules or options at the present point of development, that could be messy I guess, and it could make the release of MWiF comes even later on.

Changes because of new editions of WiF like gold or RAW8.0, if it ever comes out, could be added in MWiF2.
I agree. RAW 3 was a great game. RAW 5 was a great game and so is RAW 7. Each
iteration of WiF I've played has been a good game and so will MWiF. As was done once already the only time RAW 8 needs to be considered is if it may solve a problem in the game development that is yet to be programmed (due to remaining work on optional rules or perhaps a beta version bug fix).

Besides, we are not expecting MWiF to be a 100% reproduction of WiF anyway,
considering it is full scale world-wide and this will have an effect on how the war in Asia plays.

Additions of rule changes from RAW 8, 9 or 10 etc. would be something to consider
after MWiF version 1 is published, but may never become a reality and I don't think this will (or should) have any effect on how well MWiF does.
Warspite1

+1 - no effect at all.
Now Maitland, now's your time!

Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22135
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 11:51 pm
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Contact:

RE: When?

Post by Shannon V. OKeets »

February 1, 2011 Status Report for Matrix Games’ MWIF Forum


Accomplishments of January 2011


Project Management
I monitored all the threads in the MWIF World in Flames forum daily.

There are 125 bugs remaining for basic solitaire play.

Rolf and Matt have joined the programming team and are getting up to speed on how the game plays. Rolf will be working with Mitchell on Pascal code for NetPlay and the AIO. Matt will be working with Peter on AI Opponent scripts, which are written in LAIO. You’ll find more information on these under NetPlay and AIO below.

From Mitchell:
As I continue to learn my way around the MWIF code base Steve has asked that I first focus on three areas: (1) tracking down and fixing the cause of the delays occurring when changing Major Powers, (2) get NetPlay working to support multi-player beta testing of MWIF, (3) collaborate with Rolf to finish the AIO parser.

My availability in January was negatively impacted by a two week business trip abroad, leaving me precious little time to sink my teeth into the items Steve has me looking at. However, I did manage to make some progress in each these three areas
[see the “From Mitchell” paragraphs below]. I look forward to a much freer schedule throughout February and a corresponding increase in my productivity with respect to MWIF.

Hardware and Software
From Mitchell:
Note that Theme Engine is a third-party component library use in MWIF to manage the color schemes and other screen elements associated with each major power.

The delay experienced when switching major power appears related to the mechanism used by the Theme Engine library to communicate the potential need for individual screen elements to repaint themselves. Theme Engine employs a Windows message broadcast model that is apparently less specific that it could be, which causes hundreds or even thousands of Windows elements to be unnecessarily queried and processed with each change of theme. For example, it examines all components in all applications that are running (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet). Fixing this will require us to subclass and tailor Theme Engine to better suit the needs of MWIF, which should not be a problem, but first we have to determine exactly where to make the needed changes. Even without the shortcomings of the Delphi debugger, issues like this are difficult to trace. Essentially, one needs to step through the executing code line by line as each Windows element is processed, which is a tedious and time consuming process. We are working through it, though, and gradually bracketing the list of components that actually need to respond to the Theme Engine broadcasts so the others can be skipped.


Beta Testing
I released versions 7.01.02 (16 fixes), 7.01.03 (14 fixes), 7.01.04 (11 fixes), 7.01.05 (3 fixes), 7.01.06 (12 fixes), 7.01.07 (27 fixes), 7.02.00 (20 fixes), 7.02.01 (17 fixes), 7.02.02 ( 23 fixes), and 7.02.03 (25 fixes), to the beta testers last month. This totals 10 new versions and 168 fixes, which is 40% above average for fixes. I changed the numbering to 7.02.00 because the patch count reached 7 for 7.01. The next version will be 7.03.00 so there will be a full new version to accompany a complete source code upload for Rolf.

Fatal errors still occur and some remain inexplicable, although I solve some of them every month. Most of the bug reports are related to recent changes. There are so many interconnections in the WIF rules and corresponding MWIF code that try as I might it is difficult to anticipate all the repercussions of even small changes.

One thorny area has been naval air combat. That is the nexus of numerous rules: DOW surprise, spending search rolls surprise points, air-to-air combat, multiple rounds of air-to-air combat, antiaircraft fire, aborting air units from air-to-air combat and antiaircraft fire, naval combat results, multiple naval combat rounds, aborting naval units from naval combat, and interception of naval units aborting from naval combat. Throw in land based air units and carrier air units which can either be printed or temporary carrier air units representing each carrier, and you have a lot of detailed steps. For instance, if a printed carrier air unit is destroyed, then it just goes into the force pool. But if a temporary carrier air unit is destroyed, then its parent carrier becomes damaged. All carrier air units also need to be assigned roles as either fighters or bombers for each round of naval combat, although their roles do not change within an air-to-air combat.

I’m working my way through that code but it is difficult enough just to set up the saved games needed to test everything. Nonetheless, I have reduced the number of bugs for Naval Movement and Naval Combat from 59 (28 + 31) as of December to 21 (6 + 15) as of today.

Saved Games
Saving and restoring games is stable.

Map and Units
Rob continues to send me updates of the naval unit writeups.

Scenarios and Optional Rules
I fixed a few bugs related to setting up partisan units behind enemy lines after all the major powers have been set up. This was a tricky subphase of the Setup phase. It needs to perform a preparatory check to see if there is enough room for the units to be placed on the map. If the occupying major power positions his units well, he can sometimes cover all possible placement locations with enemy zones of control. That results in no partisan units being capable of setting up.

MWIF Game Engine and CWIF Conversion
Solved all outstanding bugs related to land combat. I still need to add an additional subphase at the end of the processing sequence for disorganizing units. Presently that is done when combat results are applied. It should occur following the Advance After Combat subphase. I also corrected most of the bugs related to land movement. What remains to be done for that phase pertains to imposing restrictions on undoing moves that affect supply status so players can not ‘cheat’.

I killed off the bugs related to creating Vichy France. As part of that I created a small new form so the Vichy France controller can allocate countries that were aligned or conquered by France to Axis major powers. There are still some small changes that I need to make based on my better understanding of those rules. But the main task of getting the creation of Vichy France to flow from start to finish is done. I must of run the opening segments over a hundred times this month. As I did that I found many small improvements to make to their efficiency and clarity. As a simple example, when a unit has to be moved to the nearest hex, the program now identifies exactly which hex is nearest. There might be several, but providing the first one enables the player to get the general idea of where to look for others. I thought about providing the full list but decided the pain of coding that wasn’t worth the gain.

As part of my quest to fix all problems with Vichy France I rechecked the code for making Vichy hostile and collapsing Vichy. There was a least 1 serious problem regarding the latter.

Here is the new sub-subphase sequence of play for determining country and hex control at the start of the Vichy creation:
• Dice are rolled for all the Vichy Groups and each is assigned to either Free or Vichy France.
• Each country France has conquered is aligned to an Axis major power (if the die rolls indicate that it belongs to the Axis).
• Each country France has aligned since the start of the war is conquered by an Axis major power (if the die rolls say so).
• After all the new alignments and conquests have occurred, units are rebased - if any need to be. These are handled as ‘overrun' digressions.

I rewrote most of the code related to transported units. I was having a devil of a time trying to debug that. In fact I still have one item left to correct during the Return to Base phases. The new data structure enables me to find and fix bugs in a fraction of the time it use to require.

I replaced a CWIF component for grids (TSimpleGrid) with one from the JEDI library (TJvStringGrid). The former was generating program crashes when the mouse wheel was touched while the grid was displayed. There were nine uses of TSimpleGrid and it took me almost a full day to make the substitutions. Visually there is no apparent difference. But TJvStringGrid does not crash the program, so the time and effort were worthwhile. I have now standardized on the use of TJvStringGrid throughout MWIF; it appears in 85 places.

Player Interface
Modified the OverStacked form and reset where in the code the checks for overstacking occur. I need to add one more check at the end of the land movement phase for overstacked air units that have been deserted by an HQ or engineer that had previously provided a stacking bonus.

Imposed a restriction on moving land units so you are no longer able to partially move a unit, move a second unit, and then go back and continue moving the first unit. Doing this would violate the WIF rules. However, you are permitted to continue moving a stack of units that performed an overrun if you do so immediately after any overrun air and/or naval units have finished rebasing.

Corrected a few small error in the Selectable Units form (e.g., the Help button didn’t work). Almost all the forms are the way I want them. Exceptions are the PBEM and NetPlay forms which either need to be created or undergo heavy use to identify any rough edges.

Internet - NetPlay
After Mitchell transfers the code from the stand alone test program for NetPlay into the main MWIF program, he’ll be working on testing it there. To help out, Rolf has joined us and together they need to convert the Windows messaging system that CWIF used to Game Record Logs. I have done about 2/3rds of that work already and there are slightly less than 100 GRLs to implement. I’m not sure how fast that work will go but it could take as little as a month or as much as 2 months to put in the basics. Then the real work begins with having multiple players on different computers test playing a game over the internet.

From Mitchell:
I am building a class wrapper around suitable Indy components to facilitate integration of NetPlay into MWIF. The idea is to encapsulate the TCP and PBEM functions needed to support multi-player testing, exposing methods that make it simple for the main MWIF code to pass the Game Record Log structures it is already programmed to build. I am nearly finished with a new version of the NetPlayComTest utility designed to test the new NetPlay class. I had hoped to get this out to the beta testers before my trip but I simply ran out of time. I now plan to finish it this week.


PBEM
Once Mitchell gets the NetPlay communications working, he’ll do the same for the PBEM communications. This should be a lot easier than the NetPlay code, partially because Mitchell has previously created PBEM applications (although not for games).

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Peter is anxious to write more scripts and test the ones he has already completed. The latter are for setting up minor country units when they enter the war. I think he has a script for each minor country at this point. There are a lot of small decisions in WIF and I’ve set up the AIO decision making so each one is a separate decision point. The task is to work out the process for how the AIO should make each decision and then write it up as a LAIO (Language for an AI Opponent) script.

Matt should be a great help on this. I find that everyone contributes new insights into what needs to be done for the AIO and how to accomplish it.

From Mitchell:
I studied the AIO language and a few of the scripts. Finishing the LAIO parser should not be too difficult but I have yet to coordinate with Rolf to get started - will do so next.


Player’s Manual
I updated the Players Manual with a few small changes. However, I have several other additions and edits to make that I am delaying until the bugs in the sequence of play code are ironed out.

Tutorials, Training Videos, and Context Sensitive Help
Made some changes to the context sensitive help messages based on feedback from the beta testers.

Historical Video, Music, and Sound Effects
Nothing new.

Marketing
Paul is the administrator for the fan site. He has offered to set up Rolf and Matt with access so they can review and comment on it.

Communications
Nothing new.
Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.
Post Reply

Return to “World in Flames”