Another Wish List

[larrywrose]

Here are a few things I would like to see added to the game someday, sorry if I am repeating anything but I haven't seen one of these for awhile.

1. On the Castle counters for garrison factors, a number on the castle to display the number of garrison factors so you don't have to click on it.
2. The ability to mouse hover over your own corps/stack in a territory and get a total of Infantry, Cavalry, Guard, Militia, Artillary ect.
3. A Battle log kept so you can scroll through the battles and see exactlywhat happened, using the battle screen, not the game log.
4. A check box option to make all battles public.
5. Highlight territories that have battles in them, even if you are not involved.
6. When IP play is added, the ability to adjust the graphics and minimize the game so you can leave it up in the background.
7. The ability of the engine to open and zip up files automatically.
8. The engine to automate the task of sending out backup files. (As Game host for 2 games I seem to do this way too much [:)] )
9. The ability to do economic and diplomacy turns simultaneously.
10. In the game log add the Money and Manpower Total collected each economic phase by each country.
11. In the game log announce the start of each phase, using a different color/text/ or even Bold would also be a nice touch.
12. Modify the battle screens, both Naval and Land, to show the date, location and game name.
13. A marker on a Depot to signify if it is part of a valid supply or reinforcement chain? Sometimes a supply chain is cut, it would be nice if the supply markers showed say red or green as the background where the depot number is displayed. Also I think everyone should see this info, not just the owner.
14. On the Surrender conditions page, have the actual number of ships listed in each fleet. This is public knowledge afterall.
Added one more to the list.

15. On the Battle Screen, after chits are chosen, have the projected Tables in light grey for the future rounds.

Thanks again for the hard work. While at times I do find the games "bugs" frustrating, it is not a problem enough to keep me from hosting 2 games. I have delayed the start of a 3rd game however until 1.06 comes out of beta. I have faith that the game will continue to improve and I will continue to play it for years to come.

Larry W. Rose

[Dancing Bear]

Hi Larry
this is a good list, to which I could add a few things (the poor Marshall will never be finished). I especially like 3, 4, 5 and 9, but which do you want done first?

[Marshall Ellis]

I like this list as well! Larrywrose!
Some of these look pretty easy to implement!
Appreciate the help!

[Jimmer]

#6 is a big one for me, and does not require IP to do it (although, IP play would demand it, if not require it).
 
Changing the program to run in windowed mode (even if only with one resolution) is a big one for me. Add scroll bars to solve the scrolling problem of windowed apps.

[Marshall Ellis]

Jimmer:

what about just switching out of the ap then allowing IP messages to bring the engine back into Focus?

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

Jimmer:

what about just switching out of the ap then allowing IP messages to bring the engine back into Focus?

The game re-writes your in-use video settings, so the screen is at 1024x768 when you task-switch, even for non-game items. It's really ugly on a 1920x1200 screen. Try it on a monitor running some other resolution and see what I mean.

No, this problem is only soluble as a windowing upgrade to the game. It doesn't have to do more resolutions, at least not at first. But, it has to be a true window.

[Marshall Ellis]

I think I got you. Non exclusive in the DirtectX but a window so as to maintain the apsect ratio?

[NeverMan]

ORIGINAL: larrywrose

Here are a few things I would like to see added to the game someday, sorry if I am repeating anything but I haven't seen one of these for awhile.

1. On the Castle counters for garrison factors, a number on the castle to display the number of garrison factors so you don't have to click on it.
2. The ability to mouse hover over your own corps/stack in a territory and get a total of Infantry, Cavalry, Guard, Militia, Artillary ect.
3. A Battle log kept so you can scroll through the battles and see exactlywhat happened, using the battle screen, not the game log.
4. A check box option to make all battles public.
5. Highlight territories that have battles in them, even if you are not involved.
6. When IP play is added, the ability to adjust the graphics and minimize the game so you can leave it up in the background.
7. The ability of the engine to open and zip up files automatically.
8. The engine to automate the task of sending out backup files. (As Game host for 2 games I seem to do this way too much [:)] )
9. The ability to do economic and diplomacy turns simultaneously.

Thanks again for the hard work. While at times I do find the games "bugs" frustrating, it is not a problem enough to keep me from hosting 2 games. I have delayed the start of a 3rd game however until 1.06 comes out of beta. I have faith that the game will continue to improve and I will continue to play it for years to come.

Larry W. Rose

Sadly, most of this has already been mentioned but has yet to be added, I hope maybe that it will be. I also agree that I think #6 would be helpful now, particularly if someone ever gets around to implementing Jimmer's "alarm" program.

Again, I would like to add that it would be nice if you would only need 1 file when it was your turn. Most of the files that get transferred end up getting zipped anyways so file size isn't really an issue.

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

I think I got you. Non exclusive in the DirtectX but a window so as to maintain the apsect ratio?

Correct.

The problem to remember, though, is that Windowed mode does not have a way to scroll by simply putting the mouse cursor close to the edge. So, you would have to add scroll bars to the window.

For the first pass, keep it at 1024x768. Once it is windowed, though, it will become far easier to redo the resolution list. But, don't try to do both at once. Changing to windowed mode is non-trivial, and that's a serious understatement (as I suspect you already realized, or you would already have coded it).

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: NeverMan
Again, I would like to add that it would be nice if you would only need 1 file when it was your turn. Most of the files that get transferred end up getting zipped anyways so file size isn't really an issue.

This is an intriguing idea. However, I suspect it would be very hard to code, as the very heart of the game is tied to the current "one file per phase" model. But, if that could be overcome, ...

On the other hand, remember security, too. The only logical alternative to "one file per player-phase" (neglecting skips) would be something akin to "one file per phase, cumulative to the last time I moved". Unfortunately, this would make it be a different file for each player, thus negating the reason in the first place.

BUT, it could be possible to have a cumulative file "back to the start of this phase", rather than "back to MY last turn". So, you would still have separate PBM files from your position to the end of the phase, but then only one file from the beginning of your next phase/turn through to your position in the order.

I suspect this is still hard to do, BUT, if it were kept in mind while the other "skipping stuff" is implemented, it might be possible. Furthermore, if my idea about a "macro" or "INI file" model were implemented, this would become trivial (simply lump the files all into one file, and then the game would pick the pieces out of it that that player needed).

[NeverMan]

Jimmer,

Actually, I would think it would be very easy to do.

A new file creation system is not really needed, just a way to read the current data off of one file and putting it into one file. For example, just taking the files and putting the data, in the same order, into one file and reading the data in order. No constructs need to change at all, so I don't see this being difficult.

The only disad is the file size getting bigger. This is Marshall/Matrix's objection to this idea. I think it's valid for them to think this way because they are "out of the loop", at least in the sense that the game is not played via PBEM the way it was intended (aka the way they designed it).

If the game was played the way they intended then I can see the file size being a major problem/obstacle; however, most everyone on the forum that plays PBEM uses some 3rd party file management site anyways and almost everyone on the forum who plays PBEM games zips the files (making the file size not really an issue, even for old school dial uppers).

From talking to Marshall and reading his posts I don't think they intended for players to have to use a 3rd party file management site... however, players quickly (and smartly) realized that it was actually better and easier to do this then the original intention.

[Marshall Ellis]

You are correct that I never designed with the 3rd party file management in mind! BUT surely I can take advantage of it somehow...???...

[NeverMan]

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

You are correct that I never designed with the 3rd party file management in mind! BUT surely I can take advantage of it somehow...???...

Yes, like changing it so that only 1 file is needed and maybe allowing for auto-zipping when the .pbm file is created!!??

Here's a good question, would it be easier to use some 3rd party tool to zip or would you be open to some file compression code or do you just want to leave it alone?

[Marshall Ellis]

Dunno? I need to investigate a little deeper to see what works best. I want something that would be more standard as opposed to me compressing.

[NeverMan]

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

Dunno? I need to investigate a little deeper to see what works best. I want something that would be more standard as opposed to me compressing.

.zip file format is pretty standard and there are a ton of free use code samples already on the internet, all you have to do is grab one.

[Marshall Ellis]

I'll have to check them out...

[larrywrose]

I ran a Play by Email baseball league from 2000 to about 2004 and one of the options in the game was to set up a secure ftp site. The game manager/host designated an ftp site, set up a password and all files were set to this location automatically. This was very helpful with 28 players. Perhaps instead of your 1 file per turn if they could copy the ability for the game to go to a designated site and drop off and read files? If somehting like that should happen however I would also suggest a file name chage to the Game Name, Year, Month and finally country. This way the files will all sort automatically by Year Month in any game and will make it a lot easier to delete the older files.

It might be possilbe to even designate Yahoo Groups or Google Groups as the automatic site.

Larry W. Rose

[Trax]

I would like some method to display which corps are in a city and which corps are besieging. It could be similar to the small red boxes on naval counters. A white center would be for the corps in the city a black center for the besiegers.

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: NeverMan

Jimmer,

Actually, I would think it would be very easy to do.

A new file creation system is not really needed, just a way to read the current data off of one file and putting it into one file. For example, just taking the files and putting the data, in the same order, into one file and reading the data in order. No constructs need to change at all, so I don't see this being difficult.

The only disad is the file size getting bigger. This is Marshall/Matrix's objection to this idea. I think it's valid for them to think this way because they are "out of the loop", at least in the sense that the game is not played via PBEM the way it was intended (aka the way they designed it).
...

Good points. This might work.

So, each file would be an amalgamation of the previous player's file and the current player's moves.

Now, this brings up the question: Where does it stop? At what point does the file "reset"? "Never" is not an acceptable answer, for obvious reasons. "Going back to current player's previous turn" doesn't work either, as it changes the contents for the next player (who may have gone BEFORE the current player in the last phase).

But, "go back to the beginning of this phase" might work.

However, I doubt that the changes are as easy as you seem to think. Modifying a database with multiple inputs is a very complicated set of tasks. Unless the database were designed with that model in mind, it may not even be possible, let alone easy.

[Jimmer]

ORIGINAL: Marshall Ellis

Dunno? I need to investigate a little deeper to see what works best. I want something that would be more standard as opposed to me compressing.

You would want to purchase a third-party zip program and tailor it for the game.

Unfortunately, this adds a significant cost to the game, and cannot be backstitched into the current game unless either the players or Matrix are willing to swallow the licensing costs.

I suspect it would actually be cheaper to buy a server and hang it on the Internet to store game files, and then have the server itself do the zipping, but only as files age. This would probably cost about $3-4K, plus maintenance costs. I'm not sure that's worth it, but it would probably be cheaper than 1000 Winzip licenses (assuming there are 1000 customers).