Air combat in SPWAW.

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 3:34 am

King , I will surely download that demo...I had a demo somewhere I played some time ago....it was really cool..I never believed air combat could be approximated so fine...since that day I realized that SPWAW was missing two parallel worlds..AERO-NAVAL as I said before...
The screenshot you brought are VERY VERY close to SPWAW concept!...and they seem to overcome all that problems discussed before...
Next to Interceptors I think there is a lot that can be done within CL..and I also agree with Charles_22.. more info diplayed about the current unit..although I suggest a window that can be closed if the player do not want to sacrifice a part of the main map view for details..

Anyway I will organize my ideas into one sheet and I will forward it to the CL (or SPWAW ) NEW FEATURE section...
I believe that good ideas will get credits the more that is possible according to their design guidelines..so make your voice loud friends !
Since CL is still under working..we do not have to miss it !

..King ..don't forget the naval screenshots !

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 4:34 pm

ruxius: I think you misunderstood what I was saying. That screen shot is an entire screen, but when you want to compare one unit to another, that screen splits so you can compare stats of ANY two units, even on the same side. Picture it as the unit display (the spacebar) or the encyclopedia in SPWAW. In SPWAW you can only display one unit at a time.

The issue of where I was talking about pictures taking up stat space, was based on the idea that CL would stick with the SPWAW idea of having solid pictures in which part of the text didn't overlap it, therefore if they stuck to not having text and picture intermingled, I was saying that I'd rather suffer for the lack of picture as opposed to the lack of stats. When stats overlap picture, that problem doesn't exist. With as much stats as could be shown between two SPWAW units on the same screen, it might become necessary for stats to overlap pictures.

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 7:59 pm

ruxius: I think you misunderstood what I was saying.

Of course I did !
I must confess I am still confused about your
issue..but that's my fault as I can't speak English so deeply...your text is very articulated for my understanding..I am very sorry..

That screen shot is an entire screen, but when you want to compare one unit to another, that screen splits so you can compare stats of ANY two units, even on the same side. Picture it as the unit display (the spacebar) or the encyclopedia in SPWAW. In SPWAW you can only display one unit at a time.

[/b]
Currently I believe here you mean you are looking for an Encyclopedia able to show the pictures and the stats of two objects comparing each other in the same splitted screen..right ? (I am sure I am at the opposite...)(take patience with me Charles!)

When stats overlap picture, that problem doesn't exist. With as much stats as could be shown between two SPWAW units on the same screen, it might become necessary for stats to overlap pictures.

Here you say the concept..but do you refer to something that could happen with CL ?..less pictures or less text on picture ? ..and you don't like this.. ?
As for me I think that the screenshot you mentioned before is the key ...do you mean you wish to have a unit's status screen mixing pictures and stats like the one in the link ?
PLease help me to understand..
Sincerely Ruxius

heintz28 · Post by **heintz28** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 9:19 pm

I love airwar games. Ive played both Airforce Dauntless and Fighting Wings series board games.
Good Games but not recommended for more than about 8 aircraft at a time.

I've played both Auchtung Spitfire! and OverTheReich computer versions.. they are good,
but left me wanting more. (more planes, more options...)

Sounds like from posts above other people would like a Air combat game similar to SPW@W but with Aircraft. Naval and Ground attack options

Many Aircraft types and dates 1935-1949 or something.
Does matrix have anything on the Horizion?

King__Thunder · Post by **King__Thunder** » Fri Oct 19, 2001 10:07 pm

I have lookd after the Carriers at War but have only found this site with information.
http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/html/reviews/caw.htm
It`s no so mutch.

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 12:32 am

Currently I believe here you mean you are looking for an Encyclopedia able to show the pictures and the stats of two objects comparing each other in the same splitted screen..right ?

Yes.

As for me I think that the screenshot you mentioned before is the key ...do you mean you wish to have a unit's status screen mixing pictures and stats like the one in the link ?

Yes. It may not be absolutely necessary, but if it were not necessary I suppose I would prefer the text separated from the picture.

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 1:20 am

Oh well happy to understand you !
I agree to both ideas !
But as regards your issues I think we all should be trained to provide that info to Matrix..
as you know there are a lot of pictures in the Encyclopedia to be shown and a lot of text to be written..we can ask to Matrix if they give us the opportunity to help them in such a work so that it wouldn't be so heavy for them...

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 11:44 pm

ruxius: I'm not a trained programmer, not do I have the inclination or time, they can weigh the merit of the idea on itself alone, but it would make a better encyclopedia nonetheless.

King__Thunder · Post by **King__Thunder** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 9:06 am

ruxius I and my frend Steel could try to check the encyclopedia, we are not programers but we have the passion. <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 12:40 pm

<img src="smile.gif" border="0">
no , not any programming at this level..
first MAtrix should approve this idea..then volunteers are needed to make easy this task to the Matrix programmers...that is providing all the pictures for all the units..and putting the correct text upon them...that will maybe require
a lot of time..but I think you should manage the whole thing in this therms..
You do this work using something like PaintshopPro
Arrange some good pictures of the equipment..(better a digitalized one ???) (plan widely about this..)(attention to file sizes !) study characteristics of that unit according to SPWAW standards and report the info onto the picture..save it into a file and go forth with the next one..

When you will do a certain number of them call the MAtrix and tell her : dear M we have prepared these files to enhance the ENCYCLOPEDIA section..do you like it ? do you think you can include such a work in your next release of SPWAW or Combat leader ? if their answer is affermative..well YOU CONTRIBUTED to the project..maybe your names will be reported into the end titles..IF NOT (and consider that this may also be possible..)
well I think nothing is totally missed...then you have to contact some fellows like Ectizen or
Chlanda himself ..and offer to them your work to be included in some program to be run into the SPWAW context like PBEM MANAGER or else...
At the worse YOU have your own personal Encyclo
AND I AM SURE if you ask to the forum A LOT OF PEOPLE will ask you to send it to them so that you will need to post it into a SPWAW's affiliate site..
RIGHT ? let's go !

The concept is that MAtrix is doing a lot of work and only what is strictly necessary to a business management policy may be looked at ( I guess) ..to make your idea win you should provide the initial effort..

Good Luck !

As regards Air combat it's clear it's something which will not interface itself to the game like your library can do--it deals strongly and directly with SPWAW source code ( interaction with core units..ecc.ecc.) ..that way I can only make suggestions in a form that I presume are easy to be implemented..
My target here is only to awake inside the people a kind of interest ..I want to open minds about what can still be done to make this game better than any other..acting where I found its major lacks ..say I am looking to make SPWAW a good competitor with other better known (but not better as quality SURELY !) wargames with high prices..
BYE

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 8:52 pm

ruxius: While getting different sized pictures "might" be desirable to do split screens, there's already a wealth of pictures and stats out there, why not use those? Though I'm not entertaining the idea of using this split screen in SPWAW, just think of the unit display in SPWAW for a moment. If you split that screen to allow the display of two units, even without the slightest modification to that data, it would be possible to achieve the split, but someone would have to know how to put scroll bars for each split, and though you couldn't see everything at once, you could at least compare one tank's same stats to another with ease. Needless to say that's a very crude example. One doesn't need new pictures to achieve this, unless you want to copy OTR's split to the last decimal. There are good and poor screen splits I would assume, but my contention is that CL would be better for having one, for the worst you get if it works in a very poor manner (thereby making you not use it), is one unit per screen which is where SPWAW is at the moment.

In mainframe computing we have a split screen and it saves you worlds of effort. We know OTR's database has done it, why not CL? Perhaps it's something that would be best delayed, but it may be something real simple to do too, I just don't know.

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Tue Oct 23, 2001 2:56 am

Originally posted by Charles_22:
ruxius: While getting different sized pictures "might" be desirable to do split screens, there's already a wealth of pictures and stats out there, why not use those?

Right ..I mean that pictures should be caught by the net...what has to be done manually is to introduce datas on it...

If you split that screen to allow the display of two units,it would be possible to achieve the split, but someone would have to know how to put scroll bars for each split, and though you couldn't see everything at once, you could at least compare one tank's same stats to another with ease.

[/b]
Right ! I would like this idea to be implemented..
Since we are not able to produce something concrete (some programs or database )by ourself we only have to rely on Matrix decision about this...
That means we may also never have nothing at all..
It seems like air combat or enhanced encyclopedia should be sponsorized in some way...any idea ?

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Tue Oct 23, 2001 4:38 pm

Of course another wholly different approach would be for some 'windows' to pop up which could display any amount of units you wanted for comparison, with the ability to size the data as you want. I would think that would take more effort to program than taking the SPWAW's old screen and splitting them alongside installing a scroll bar, but then I'm not a programmer either.

ruxius · Post by **ruxius** » Wed Oct 24, 2001 1:57 am

I must confess that I was thinking mostly at this kind of approach..because it let us free to
implement by ourself the first step ..
I wrote to you before.. about this approach...the point is : we can ask ...and then we can hope they will take this idea in account...
I suggested some time ago a very few suggestions about some buttons which could have provided much better support to a cooperative campaign mode for two players..
since this could be very simple to be implemented
still we have zero support to a cooperative approach for battles
my ideas were very SPWAW compatible..but I couldn't expect there at MAtrix e'body is working
to apply my ideas...MEGACD with human player is still a miracle that has been listened to...

Thus we can ask..they gave us such a faculty..
next to this I am suggesting..what can we do practically to help that idea to grow up ?

I repeat then what we can do..we have some good programmers like Chlanda or Ectizen..they have a web site where you can contact them...
offer to them your work..and your idea..
(and maybe several ready files with jpg and text written above..)
if they agree and write a SPWAW-support program
that realizes that feature you would bet you will
see it included into the next release....

Actually my time is very poor..but I would surely do things this way when I will have time to do it !