ORIGINAL: pzgndr
Could we get some update on how the parser for LAIO (Language for an Artificial Intelligence Opponent) scripts is coming along, whether scripts are being developed yet, and how any of that is going? It appears that the TO, AO, LR, and SAG values are in place and ready to go. It's understandable that NetPlay features need to be worked out but odd that there hasn't been much parallel activity with the AI development for the past several months. Anything? Thanks!
The monthly status reports section on the AIO is accurate.
I have been finding that any slight deviation from my standards in processing the sequence of play and determining "who needs to decide" causes problems. In solitaire mode, small quirks aren't a concern, since one player is playing both sides and all the major powers. In addition, everything is stored on one computer, so the variables are all up-to-date and accurate.
But for NetPlay all those assumptions go out the window. Absolute precision is required for advancing through all 152 phases/subphases/sub-subphases/digressions. Even the tiniest of errors causes the program to halt, while one computer waits for the other (which never responds).
Fixing this stuff takes time because I need to run two computers at once. Even with my wife sitting at the second computer, there are times when I need to switch seats (e.g., when setting up the Germans).
All of the newly imposed rigor is necessary for PBEM and AIO. The latter is somewhat more forgiving since all the variables are on one computer. But making sure the human/AIO is the decider is crucial. For instance, the human is going to want to see what the computer decides for initiative rolls and going first, rather than just simply being informed that the AIO has rerolled, won the initiative, is going first, has made the weather roll, decided on all actions for its major powers and wants to know if the human is going to fly CAP for port attacks.
An orderly progression through the sequence of play keeping everyone informed is important (in my opinion).
As for the script parser, I have set that aside - in general it is best if I only focus on two things at once. This month I am dividing my time between fixing sequence of play bugs and NetPlay bugs.