Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Gary Grigsby's strategic level wargame covering the entire War in the Pacific from 1941 to 1945 or beyond.

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Bodhi
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Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

As the 1.3 patch is approaching, it's time for me to get back into WitP. Here's the start of a unfinished README for a small program I wrote for WitP. It's mainly for my own use, but if there's interest I could finish the README and make it available for download. It's been quite a few weeks since I last worked on it, so it may take a few days to get it ready and available.

===================================================================================

This utility was written to provide various information that I found useful while playing Matrix/2by3's War in the Pacific (WitP). The basic functionality provided is as follows:
  • Option for automatic saving and compilation of sig intel, operations and combat reports for game turns
  • Option for automatic archiving of game saves
  • Display of the sig intel data on a game map
  • Display of operations report data on a game map
  • Basic information for all bases in the selected scenario
  • Display of aircraft range radii for any aircraft at any base
  • Calculation of inter-port distances (both direct and minimum distance by sea)
  • Estimated time required for task forces to travel between two ports, and ETA for a user-defined departure date
  • Output of basic base, ship unit, land unit, and aircraft unit data contained in the scenario database files
  • Option to save data for multiple games in progress as the data for each game in the user save slots (3 to 200) is handled separately


Curent restrictions/limitations
The game requires Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1.
As there's currently no way to access the game saves, and hence determine the current game status, all the information provided (apart from the intel/ops reports) is based on the starting situation of the scenario.
The display of information on the game map uses a separate game map, and, like the main game map, may take a few seconds to load initially. I have found the performance to be acceptable after the initial map loading on a PII 450MHz system with 256MB RAM.
The inter-port distances do not take into account the current air balance, and so may be shorter than the routes selected by the game.
Only one game can be saved per game save slot (3 to 200).
The program is based on a game which corresponds to one of the WitP user game save slots from 3 to 200. It is NOT able to determine which game is currently active in WitP, and you must set this correctly BEFORE you click on the end turn button.

Introduction.
-------------
The WITP Utility/File Manager has four main functions: 1) automatic archiving of game save files and/or intel/operations/combat reports, 2) visual display of intel/operations reports and other data useful in gameplay, 3) scenario base information, including interbase distances and estimated travel time and ETA for task forces, and, 4) export of scenario database files as CSV files.
The program is based on a "game" which corresponds to one of the WitP game save slots from 3 to 200. The "game" contains information on the scenario number, game save slot, opponent, player side, and current game date. The user can store a "game" for each WitP save slot, so the program cam handle multiple games. The user starts the program BEFORE WitP, selects the current game and sets the save options, then plays WitP as normal. The various reports and displays can be viewed at any time on the Report form.

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Bodhi
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fbastos
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by fbastos »

Yes! Yes! Yes!

F.

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medicff
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by medicff »

Sounds very useful. Would be great! TIA.
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Belphegor
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Belphegor »

I'd like to see what it can do...
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

Sorry about the quality but here's a screen of the main form (so you know it's not vapourware)[;)].

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Bodhi
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

And a screen of the report form - the bases info tab, with an aircraft range indicated for the selected base. Note you can click on any base in the list and jump to that base, or manually input a hex X and Y at the top and jump to that hex.

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Bodhi
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Belphegor
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Belphegor »

I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

Finally a screen of the naval movement tab where you can get the distance between ports and the time and ETA for tasks forces - a couple of user editable TF speeds are available. Not that I have no access to the current game state, so can't factor in avoidance of enemy bases, so the distances/times are simply the shortest betweens the ports - TFs in the game may take a little longer if they use a different route.

Sorry don't have any combined intel/ops data on this computer so I can't post screens of that part. Will do when I get home if anyone's interested.

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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Raverdave »

I really like # 3 ! ! ! !
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

ORIGINAL: Belphegor

I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.

Well, I've mainly developed and tested it on a PII 450 with 256MB RAM with Win2K, so it will run on that. The loading of the report form with the map can take a while, but then again so can WitP. [;)] I did sometimes get low memory messages, but it (and WitP) continued to run without problem. Don't have XP to hand to test, but I guess you would be better with 512MB or more RAM. Once the map is loaded the performance seems acceptable (to me at least).[:D]
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GBirkn
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by GBirkn »

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!
"War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say let's give them all they want." -- Gen. W. T. Sherman
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Belphegor
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Belphegor »

ORIGINAL: Bodhi
ORIGINAL: Belphegor

I like this. Quite interested in seeing how it performs.

Well, I've mainly developed and tested it on a PII 450 with 256MB RAM with Win2K, so it will run on that. The loading of the report form with the map can take a while, but then again so can WitP. [;)] I did sometimes get low memory messages, but it (and WitP) continued to run without problem. Don't have XP to hand to test, but I guess you would be better with 512MB or more RAM. Once the map is loaded the performance seems acceptable (to me at least).[:D]

Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant how much info that I have been craving that it will deliver. By the looks so far, quite a lot!
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

ORIGINAL: GBirkn

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!

No reason to stop tinkering. [;)] I'd started this before the WITP monitor and the database dump utility were announced. Didn't bother me as the main aim at that stage was the graphical output of the intel/ops reports. If you continue to tinker I'm sure you'll come up with something useful that my small utility doesn't cover.
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Bodhi
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Bodhi »

ORIGINAL: Belphegor
Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. I meant how much info that I have been craving that it will deliver. By the looks so far, quite a lot!

Wasn't too sure if that was what you meant of not. Given a choice of two I went for the wrong one. [8|]

I must admit there's a whole host of information I'd like, and have some ideas of how to display, but it relies on being able to access the current game state. As the game save files are reportedly encrypted, there's no way to access this. The only data I have access to are the database scenario files (where the base info comes from), and the text intel/ops/combat reports output each turn.

To be honest I think during the next patch (or after) 2by3/Matrix should give some serious consideration to making the game state data available via unecrypted save files. Ideally the game saves should be unencrypted for non-PBEM games, with an option to dump the data for a player/side from a PBEM game on supplying the appropriate password. With this data available, I'm sure many others (and me) could make a number of utilities for presentation of game data. IMHO the programmers time would be better spent doing this than adding a whle range of filters to the existing presentation of data in the game, as there'll always be someone's request not covered. I hope this utility gives a glimpse of what may be possible if we had access to the game state via the save files.
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GBirkn
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by GBirkn »

ORIGINAL: Bodhi
ORIGINAL: GBirkn

Looks great, Bodhi. I've been tinkering with something similar, but you're far ahead of me. Congratulations!

No reason to stop tinkering. [;)] I'd started this before the WITP monitor and the database dump utility were announced. Didn't bother me as the main aim at that stage was the graphical output of the intel/ops reports. If you continue to tinker I'm sure you'll come up with something useful that my small utility doesn't cover.
Oh, I'll keep at it when time permits, but unfortunately I'm a bit short on time right now. I did manage to get the icons to display on the map in the right locations (even if I haven't bothered to read in the whole file yet); now I need to give some thought to converting mouse locations to hex coordinates. (Now if only we could get at the game state data! [8D] )

Edit: pic's too big, let me try a smaller one.
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GBirkn
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by GBirkn »

This is a bit more like it:

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TommyG
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by TommyG »

Great. will you come over to my house and teach me how to use it?
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Ron Saueracker
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Ron Saueracker »

Interesting. I really like the point to point duration utility.
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by eMonticello »

Bodhi,

What software did you use to develop your tool? I believe you have a winner. I especially like the intel information displayed with the map and the point-to-point calculations between ports ... something which is currently too cumbersome to deal with manually.

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Jorm
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RE: Any interest in this WitP Utility/File Manager?

Post by Jorm »

yep sure am

where can i get a copy ????
will it work with tankeraces expected MOD ?
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