Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 15450
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: online
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May 1, 2013 Status Report for Matrix Games’ MWIF Forum
Accomplishments of April 2013
Hardware and Software
The open items for Theme Engine remain unchanged: minimizing the game generates a Mad Except error, and so does trying to display detailed listings of file directories (i.e., the dates and stuff) when opening or saving a file. If push comes to shove, I can always substitute in standard Windows code for opening and saving files; that would be uglier, but at least it wouldn’t crash.
Beta Testing
In April I released 3 new versions to the beta testers: 10.03.00 (12 fixes), 10.03.01 (8 fixes), and 10.03.03 (8 fixes). The last of those was on April 14th. I have 20 fixes done for version 10.03.04, which is waiting for me to finish supply. Both the number of new versions and fixes (48) are dramatically below my averages. What can I say, debugging supply takes a lot of my time and effort.
We have a half dozen new beta testers arriving and they are reporting bugs that no one else had encountered (different computer system configurations).
Below is the summary of my Master Task List (MTL) as of May 1st. My task list count is 84, up from 70 at the start of the month. The NetPlay list is volatile , since as I fix NetPlay bugs the beta testers reach additional sections of the code to test. I am still more concerned about NetPlay than the other bugs. The latter jumped up to 72 (from last month’s count of 54), but that is because I have not been fixing them as they are reported. I adamantly refused to look up from my work on supply, so they have accumulated; most of them are minor. Typically, I fix minor bugs when they are reported (which only takes 5 or so minutes for each), hence they never even make it to my task list.
NetPlay [12] 1589, {1594, 1859}, 1785, 1826, 1827, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921
Sequence of Play [54]
Supply [3]: 191, 1070, 1036
Setup Phases [3]: 1900, 1906, 1908
Reinforcements [1]: 1917
DOW [1]: 1909
Air Missions [3]: 1611, 1890, 1891
Naval Movement [2]: 1813, 1816
Naval Combat [11]: {874, 1531}, 1566, 1599, 1701, 1724, 1815, 1847, 1868, 1869, 1872, 1899
Land Combat Declaration [2]: 1892, 1897
Land Combat Resolution [2]: 1873, 1918
Emergency HQ Supply [1]: 1910
Reorganization [3]: 1855, 1856, 1896
US Entry [1]: 1898
Production Planning [12]: 1107, {847, 961, 1347}, 326, 1644, 1671, 1825, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1871, 1893, 1895
Search Seizure [1]: 409
Reform Units [1]: 1851
Vichy [4]: 1803, 1811, 1903, 1904
Liberation [2]: 891, 1919
Final Reorganization [1]: 1733
Non-sequence of Play [18]
Detailed Map [5]: 1188, 142, 769,140, 1501
Player Interface [3]: 1901, 1920, 1922
Screen Layouts [2]: 1894, 1902
Game Save/Restore [6]: 695, 517, 110, 118, 1778, 1907
Theme Engine [2]: {1050, 568}, {1513, 1467, 966, 1455, 1573, 1655}
Saved Games
Done, except for 6 bugs.
Map, Units, and Scenarios
I am still getting unit writeups from Warspite and Adam Scott (who sent me writeups on a dozen land units last month).
Optional Rules
Nothing new.
Game Engine
The last half of the month I spent on restructuring the data for supply so I could write the code for recalculating supply. Earlier in the month I ironed out the last of the bugs in calculating supply from scratch. There were several weird little instances in the dozen games I have been using for testing the supply code. I’m pretty confident that I now have all the fundamentals working correctly. But I need the recalculations to execute almost instantaneously - for example, whenever a player moves a land unit. To make that happen I changed the data storage for supply paths from dynamic (i.e., ever increasing in number) to static (i.e., a predefined number that never increases). For each secondary supply source there are now 26 possible supply paths. These modifications reduced the number of likely supply paths from over 150,000 to under 13,000. 90% of the latter will never be used, but there is a place in memory to store all that may be needed.
The sad part of this tale is that by making changes to the primitive elements of the supply code I introduced dozens of new bugs. Hence the two weeks I spent debugging it. On the plus side, my understanding of the supply rules and the supply code is pretty awesome at this point - I’m sure that will fade rapidly.
What I am working on today (besides this report) is determining exactly where in the sequence of play supply should be recalculated. I do not want to do it unless it is necessary, since it can take several seconds under some circumstances (e.g., if the weather change worldwide). At the end of this report is my current list of when supply should be recalculated. You’ll notice that I differentiate between overland and overseas supply routes. Sometimes the former need to be redone, sometimes the latter, and sometimes both.
Player Interface
This is done except for 8 bugs related to maintaining the Detailed Map in pristine condition and some new ones found by the new beta testers (who have different computer configurations).
Internet - NetPlay
The first part of the month I spent on NetPlay, getting the bug count for that mode of play down to 5. Of course then Rob was able to test more phases of the game, thereby driving the count back up. At least those were newly discovered bugs. Some of my changes for NetPlay did cause bugs to appear in Head-to-head play during setup. I haven’t looked into those yet.
PBEM
Nothing new.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nothing new.
Player’s Manual and Rules as Coded (RAC)
Getting the final edits done and sending these two documents off to Final Layout has been dragging on for various reasons.
Tutorials and Training Videos
The Tutorials are done.
The training videos remain roughly 2/3rds done. I need to re-record the 6th and create the last three: 10th, 11th, and 12th. The 6th (main form and drop down menus) needs redoing because I have seriously modified some forms since I recorded that video in December of 2009. The last 3 training videos are for naval movement, naval combat, and production/politics (e.g., declarations of war, neutrality pacts, and aligning minors).
Historical Video, Music, and Sound Effects
I have all the files I need as WAV files. What’s needed is for me to insert calls into the sequence of play to activate these 3 glitz elements. I really wanted to get to inserting the sound effects last month, but was unable to find the time - same story as last month.
Web Site
Nothing new.
Marketing
Nothing new.
Below is my current analysis of where in the sequence of play supply should be recalculated. Each variable is a flag (True/False) that is set to True under the listed circumstances and then tested when the Supply Recalculation routine executes. If it is False, sections of the recalculations can be skipped - since nothing has changed since the last time those calculations were executed.
// SupplyExecutedOnce:
Set to True when supply is calculated from scratch (occurs just once).
// SupplyUpToDate:
Set to True when SupplyOnLandChanged, SupplyAtSeaChanged, or SupplyAtWarChanged is True.
Weather - if the weather changes in any weather zone.
// SupplyUpdateForUnit:
Set to True when an individual unit needs its supply updated (e.g., after it has moved).
// SupplyUpdateForStack:
Set to True when a stack needs its supply updated (e.g., after a naval stack returns to port).
// SupplyOnLandChanged:
Set to True when hex control or ZOCs into enemy hexes change.
Setup at start of game - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to placement hex may change.
Setup aligned minor - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to placement hex may change.
Setup of reserves - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to placement hex may change.
Reinforcements - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to placement hex may change.
Naval movement - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to hex in which a land unit loads/unloads may change.
Carpet bombing - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to target hex may change.
Air transport - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to hex in which a land unit loads/unloads may change.
Unload land unit - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to arrival hex may change.
Invasion - control of landing hex may change.
Paradrop - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to departure hex and/or control of landing hex may change.
Notional - prior to include the notional decision to compute odds ratio.
Land movement - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to starting and/or stopping hex and control of hexes in path may change.
Land combat - ZOCs into hex of destroyed unit and hexes adjacent thereto may change.
Retreat - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to starting and/or stopping hex may change.
Advance after combat - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to starting and/or stopping hex and control of hexes in path may change.
Air rebase - supply of the air unit in the arrival hex undetermined.
Partisans - control of arrival hex may change.
Return to base - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to arrival hex may change; supply of the units in the arrival hex undetermined.
Breakdown - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to unit's hex may change.
Reform - ZOCs into hexes adjacent to unit's hex may change.
// SupplyAtSeaChanged:
Set to True when a major power's ability to use a sea area changes.
Setup at start of game - control of sea area in which a unit is placed may change.
Naval movement - control of sea area in which a unit arrives/departs may change.
Naval combat - control of a sea area in which a unit departs may change.
Return to base - control of a sea area in which a unit departs may change.
// SupplyAtWarChanged:
Set to True when control of large blocks of territory change.
Declaration of war.
Claim of minor country territory.
Alignment of a minor country.
US Entry - control of a minor country territory may change.
Ukraine.
Conquest.
Mutual peace.
Surrender.
Liberation.
Declaration of Vichy France.
Collapse of Vichy France.
_____________________________
Steve
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Printable Version
RE: Proper Place? - 
We all took an oath in 2006 that we would not shave until Steve finished this game, does Rip Van Winkle ring a bell. 
Probably have your check already made out to Matrix 
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