A new way to change things inside a game (automatically and blind)

[el cid again]

There is an "alpha" for the second generation RHS switcher - it is not yet in Beta form - but it is promising


It looks at a save game file (automatically) and generates a new one - modified as instructed.

This is initially so we can make changes based on date. And mainly so we can change the pwhex values.
But it can change ANYTHING - theoretically.

Right now - in RHS - you can get new RR on a certain date - by installing a new pwhex file. But with this,
each RR will upgrade - hex by hex - automatically - on the right date.

Right now - there is no weather. This means that ice will form or melt - or trails will disappeaqr in the monsoon -
on the right date - automatically.

Right now - in RHS Level 7 - you can "damage" the Panama Canal or the Honshu-Kyushu rail tunnel - by changing
pwhex files. But potentially we can look at damage in a hex (defined location only) and decide if that changes
the infractructure communcations code - or if is fixed? Automatically. So bombs may take out RR lines, bridges,
or and repair bring them back.

Other things are possible if this works. And this is needed for AE - where we can not change entire pwhex files - but
must modify the copy in the save game file.

This program means players no longer have to think about 'is port damage at Panama City at a level that changes the
pwhex file?" It means there is no security issue - players do not see what the program does - just get a revised save
game file out if they put one in.

[m10bob]

Boy this might open a plethora of possibilities.
Would a player possibly get a message that such and such bridge has been washed/bombed out, or would the LCU just start suffering extra movement points to cross the terrain?
If it can happen on a turn by turn frequency, I can see the hurricanes affecting certain areas of the map, to include adding wear and fatigue on ships,(possibly based on the size of the ship if the "wear/damage" were to affect a percentage of the whole??)

[el cid again]

At the moment, I assume the players would only "see" a change in communications code if the "R" key is pressed - and there is this
place a RR is now a trail. Or they might look at a hex statistics and notice it has 95% damaged airfields (or ports) - which I assume
is what we will use to decide when infrastructure is "broken." [In the present manual system, damage of "over 90%" kills the RR and also
the Panama canal - and it stays down until the damage is "less than 10%" - so there is a time to repair more than a day or so.] We also
are thinking about map coding to show a road that may upgrade to a rail line (etc).

We have not thought about storms - but it would be tricky to relate a storm to a ship. We would have to go to a TF - then look at each and every ship to see if it was in that TF - a very complex process - since ships have no "location" as such - except when in port - where I assume they are "safe" from the storm. But this is the place to post ideas - and the time - while the code is being written and modified.

[m10bob]

Storms and ships....Well, if I understand this right, ships currently are assessed wear while at sea..What if there were a way to increase that wear going thru particular zones(weather)?
Just "thinking out loud"..

[el cid again]

There is a way - but it takes processing time and database space. We might want to modify the save game turn -
or perhaps safer build a parallel supplimental one. Put the ship database in it (that is, for ships in a scenario - skip
records not in the scenario). Put the date field beside the name. Each day, check the date field - and if the ship is
not yet in the scenario, move to the next record. Put a TF record beside the date record. Each day, for each ship
already in play, see if it has a TF defined. If it does, put the current TF location in the next field.

IF there is a TF location for a ship already in play, compare this to a list of storm locations. IF there is a match,
use a die roll to determine if the SYS damage increases by one. There is a small chance of floation damage, which
if it occurs also increases the sys damage level - by some value 1-10.

This is beyond present planning - but it is a theoretical option.

If we do that, we can then rate carriers for deck park size air groups. If a ship is in a storm hex, and if the number of planes on board
is greater than xy - say 80 per cent - all planes above that number are swept over the side - probably fighters. This will allow players to
"overstack" their carriers - but make them avoid storms like the plague - like real carrier commanders do. Or not - if they do not overstack -
conferring a possible advantage of a different sort.

[m10bob]

If somebody ever makes a patch which would allow an engineer unit to trash a place, destroy a bridge, runways, etc, that would be a major improvement tactically and logistically.

[el cid again]

At present our thinking is that damage to ports and airfields is the index of damage to infrastructure. We also might look
at damage to facilities (which engineers do cause if there is a ground defense) - thinkgs like industry or resources.

But theoreticzlly we can give players a chance to give orders for such a thing - and indeed the next version of our program will
entirely be for players to tell it what to do - instead of automatic.