Matrix Games Forums

nemo69 wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 12:39 pm Bob,
Will it be possible for non-members of the development team to take part in the Beta test?
Best,
Marc

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:36 pm

nemo69 wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 12:39 pm Bob,
Will it be possible for non-members of the development team to take part in the Beta test?
Best,

Of course. That's the whole point of a Beta Test.

rhinobones wrote: Thu May 01, 2025 10:52 pm Good to hear that the wheels of progress are still on the track, but . . .

I’m still concerned that you are not providing a list of functions which need to be verified. As is you’ll have no guarantee that features you find critical have been thoroughly investigated. After years in development, I would think you would want to maximize the beta test response; making a check list should be a snap for the one person who is intimate with the revisions/upgrades.

Maybe something as simple as an editing of the overview posted on December 1, 2024 would suffice.

Curtis Lemay wrote: Thu May 01, 2025 9:45 pm First, I want to point out that today is the sixth anniversary of the start of coding on the Hierarchy Module. Unfortunately, we are still not quite done - still one very tough bug to go.

However, I have made big progress on it. The bug screwed up the movment paths for units in formations with non-infinite command radii. I've fixed that today.

However, now that the paths are good, I can finally try moving units, and, guess what! Moving the units is broken. But I'm sure it's the same issue I found with the paths and I'm close to fixing it. (Hopefully that will be the end of it).

Curtis Lemay wrote: Tue Apr 15, 2025 4:22 pm Here are the remaining Hierarchy Module bugs:

1. Movement path bug for units in formations that have finite command range.
2. Each time invoking the Commander Inventory Dialog erases one On-Map Panel.
3. Clicking on a subordinate formation that has no on-map units causes CTD.
4. Flag unit total elimination doesn’t cause commander casualty in some cases.
5. Manpower Estimate bug for side 2.
6. Spare Commander picture should be invoked if there is no picture for a commander’s name. (Necessary for spawned commanders).

Once these are fixed (first two are non-trivial), I may start the Beta Test.

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2024 12:27 pm 1. One feature remains to be finished. This was the Commander Vacancy Fill procedure. It is now finished.
2. Scenarios need to be modified/designed to incorporate the new features for testing and publication. Seven scenarios now so modified: Shiloh 1862; Kaiserschlacht 1918; CFNA 1940-43; Soviet Union 1941; Germany 1945; Okinawa 1945; Leipzig 1813.
3. Those scenarios need to be play-tested to ferret out any remaining bugs with the new features. There are already 15 bugs that have been identified and fixed in the new features.
4. There is a significant suite of legacy bugs that need to be fixed.
5. Language files need to be updated with the text of the new features. There were seven in TOAW-III:
_____a. English
_____b. Chinese
_____c. French
_____d. Spanish - finished by Josant.
_____e. German – not yet in TOAW-IV
_____f. Italian – not yet in TOAW-IV
_____g. Polish – not yet in TOAW-IV
_____h. Note to volunteers: Digital Translators make it unnecessary to speak the language to translate.
6. Documentation for the new features needs to be crafted.
7. Scenario Designers will be canvased for any new scenarios to add.
8. Matrix needs to make the installation build for the update.
9. That build needs to be tested.

My estimate/hope now is that the release could come in 2025.

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 9:40 pm I actually despaired of fixing that last bug, it was so difficult. To see how deep it was nested, the attached spreadsheet shows the path, using the de-bugger, to get to the bust:

Each step required stepping into a function to get to the ultimate problem. The spreadsheet shows that it was nested 11 steps deep! This could never be found without the de-bugger. Plus it took forever to find where to start from.

(Note: when it gets to "getBestPath", it uses courier movement for that path - screwing up the path in this case. Fixed that (for this specific call) and the problem was solved. )

What a relief! I must have spent a month on this one bug.

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 8:50 pm I will now get to work on the Beta Test stuff. That means getting the files all together, creating documentation, and checking with Erik. Soon.

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 9:17 pm

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 8:50 pm I will now get to work on the Beta Test stuff. That means getting the files all together, creating documentation, and checking with Erik. Soon.

I have the installation zip ready. It's 157MB, so we will need a public FTP site.

joey wrote: Mon May 05, 2025 5:59 pm

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 9:17 pm

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 8:50 pm I will now get to work on the Beta Test stuff. That means getting the files all together, creating documentation, and checking with Erik. Soon.

I have the installation zip ready. It's 157MB, so we will need a public FTP site.

When you get the FTP site, will you be posting is here or in the above 'topics' section?

Curtis Lemay wrote: Mon May 05, 2025 6:06 pm

joey wrote: Mon May 05, 2025 5:59 pm

Curtis Lemay wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 9:17 pm

I have the installation zip ready. It's 157MB, so we will need a public FTP site.

When you get the FTP site, will you be posting is here or in the above 'topics' section?

I don't have any site yet, so no way to know for sure. But I expect there will be instuctions on this forum on how to access it.