March 1, 2013 Status Report for Matrix Games’ MWIF Forum
Accomplishments of February 2013
Project Management
We are presently looking for a few more beta testers, primarily to give NetPlay a thorough workout. If you are interested and have the time for testing, please post a reply in the forum thread requesting new beta testers.
I was able to make a couple of weekly chorus sessions this past month and substituted as a bass for a half day in one quartet delivering singing valentines. Our first valentine was to a 2 year old girl who was wearing a brand new white dress covered in little hearts - very cute.
Hardware and Software
The open items for Theme Engine remain unchanged: (1) minimizing the game generates a Mad Except error, and (2) so does trying to display detailed listings of file directories (i.e., the dates and stuff) when opening or saving a file.
Beta Testing
In February I released 6 new versions to the beta testers: 10.01.01 (12 fixes), 10.01.02 (22 fixes), 10.01.03 (16 fixes), 10.01.04 (23 fixes), 10.01.05 (24 fixes) and 10.02.00 (11 fixes). My change in numbering to 10.02.00 was to mark the start of the new month and provide a full new version for the new beta testers. That’s 6 new versions and 108 fixes, which, after taking into consideration that February was a short month, is my average (116 fixes/month).
Below is the summary of my Master Task List (MTL) as of March 1st. My task list count is 78, down from 92 at the start of the month. The NetPlay count is still jumping around, since as I fix NetPlay bugs the beta testers reach additional sections of the code to test. Presently I am slightly more concerned about NetPlay than the other bugs, which are at a new low of 62. Any bugs numbered higher than 1760 were reported in February. The bugs with 3 digits are from a time long, long ago.
NetPlay [16] 1510, 1589, 1594, 1616, 1617, 1619, 1620, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1831, 1832, 1833
Sequence of Play [50]
Supply [7]: 191, 192, 1070, 1073, 1036, 1081, 1707
Air Missions [3]: 1611, 1732, 1738
Naval Movement [2]: 1813, 1816
Naval Combat [7]: {874, 1531}, 1566, 1599, 1701, 1724, 1815, 1823
Production Planning [26]: 1341, 832, 556, 612, 1107, 569, {847, 871, 961, 1347}, 326, {1744, 1645, 781}, 1400, {1413, 905}, 1572, 1582, 1598, 1614, 1615, 1641, 1644, 1671, 1679, 1703, 1710, 1825, 1786, 1787, 1788
Search Seizure [1]: 409
Vichy [2]: 1803, 1811
Liberation [1]: 891
Final Reorganization [1]: 1733
Non-sequence of Play [12]
Detailed Map [5]: 1188, 142, 769,140, 1501
Game Save/Restore [5]: 695, 517, 110, 118, 1778
Theme Engine [2]: {1050, 568}, {1513, 1467, 966, 1455, 1573, 1655}
Saved Games
Done, except for 5 bugs.
Map, Units, and Scenarios
This just needs the final naval unit writeups from Warspite.
Optional Rules
I modified the Breakdown and Reform forms and the processing associated with them. This was to support two versions of each depending on whether the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown is On or Off. See the text and screenshots at the end of this report for what the modified entries in the Players Manual looks like for these forms. Unlimited Breakdown was the last of the optional rules I consider crucial for the initial release. Mainly that was because the CWIF code merged that new optional rule with the standard rules for breaking down and reforming corps/army units into divisions. What I had to do was separate the code into two sections, so it supports both the standard rules and the Unlimited Breakdown rules.
Game Engine
The big problem area is Production Planning, for which I only fixed a couple of items last month. The beta testers keep adding bugs to that area, but I suspect many of them have the same root cause (oh - that was a pun). Once I bear down on that phase I should be able to clean it up in a week or so.
I haven’t finished with supply yet. Still left to do are:
1. write a routine to determine if a supply path, that was previously valid, is still valid; this will drastically reduce the time required to recalculate supply,
2. check and evaluate when supply is calculated/recalculated during game play (the beta testers have reported instances when it hasn’t been recalculated when it should have),
3. reduce the time required to calculate supply the first time (i.e., from scratch) to something acceptable.
Player Interface
This is done except for 5 bugs related to maintaining the Detailed Map display in pristine condition.
Internet - NetPlay
I spent a lot of time on NetPlay this past month and expect to continue to devote at least half my time to it in the future. Right now there are 16 bugs on my task list concerning NetPlay, some of which are preventing the beta testers from doing additional testing.
What I now have working are four air missions (strategic bombing, carpet bombing, ground strikes, and ground support), with the other four (port attacks, air transport, paradrop, and air reorganization) needing the loving attention of the beta testers. Today I’m working on fatal bugs in Antiaircraft Combat and Air-to-air Combat. Setup and most of the phases that start a new turn and impulse appear to function correctly, although I do have one bug for when both sides have to set up reserve units.
The technical aspects of playing over the internet seem solid; I haven’t experienced any glitches. One of the beta testers reported that the program generated a Mad Except error (i.e., crashed) when both players left the game unattended for 10+ minutes. I’ll have to look into that.
PBEM
Nothing new.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Nothing new.
Player’s Manual and Rules as Coded (RAC)
I sent a half dozen changes for RAC and the Player’s Manual to Matrix Games. These were about the new forms for the Breakdown and Reform phases and text for Reconquest and Reversion. There were two conflicting rules from ADG on the criteria for reconquest: (1) same as conquest, and (2) capturing the country’s capital. MWIF uses the latter.
Reversion applies to when a country is liberated. This is a decision the liberating major power must make about returning hexes to the liberated country. RAW states that reversion can be done on a hex by hex basis, which historically is how the politicians negotiate this stuff - sitting around a table with a map and arguing over where the new boundary lines between countries are going to be. In game terms, that would be a nightmare to code, so I drastically simplified the reversion rule to: (1) either all or none of the hexes in a liberated country are returned to their original owner, and (2) the decision is made once and forever immediately after the country is liberated.
Tutorials and Training Videos
The Tutorials are done.
The training videos are roughly 2/3rds done. I need to re-record the 6th and create the last three: 10th, 11th, and 12th. The 6th (main form and drop down menus) needs redoing because I have seriously modified some forms since I recorded that video in December of 2009. The last 3 training videos are for naval movement, naval combat, and production/politics (e.g., declarations of war, neutrality pacts, and aligning minors).
Historical Video, Music, and Sound Effects
I now have all the files I need as WAV files. What’s needed is for me to insert calls into the sequence of play to activate these 3 glitz elements.
Web Site
Nothing new.
Marketing
Nothing new.
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Breakdown Corps/Army
Form Layout
As shown in figure 8.7.2.8.A, the original corps/army unit is displayed at the top, with its accompanying unit data panel. Available divisions of the same type are displayed in the box under First Division Choice, and all available INF and MOT divisions that could be used to break down the corps/army are shown in the box under Second Division Choice.
When using the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown (see section 9.3.8), the divisions are created by the program. That is, the divisions in the force pool are never used. There is only one first division, whose factors depend on the unit type, combat factors, and movement points of the corps/army. In most cases, two divisions are shown as possible second division choices: an infantry and a motorized. The sole exception is for German SS unit, as shown in figure 8.7.2.8.B. When breaking down a German SS corps/army, there are 4 choices for the second division, depending on whether you want the division to be German SS or not.
Using the Form
Select one division from each division list and then click on OK to break down the corps/army. If you change your mind, you can click on Cancel to avoid breaking down the unit. This process is the same whether or not you are using the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown (see section 9.3.8). The primary difference is that when not using the optional rule, you can only break down units into divisions available in your force pool.
Reform Corps/Army
Form Layout
As shown in figures 8.7.2.42.A and 8.7.2.42.B, the divisions to be reformed are on the left. All the possible corps/army units they can be reformed into are shown on the right, with a unit data panel underneath so you can examine the details of each corps/army unit.
The hex shown in this example contains three divisions: a MOT division, an INF division, and an ARM division. In the space between the INF and ARM divisions, you can see which one is being used to reform a corps/army unit. Figure 8.7.2.42.A shows the corps/army units that can be reformed using the INF division, indicated by "Use division above". Figure 8.7.2.42.B shows the corps/army units that can be reformed using the ARM division, with "Use division below" shown.
Note that when playing with the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown, the only divisions that can be used to reform a corps/army are those that were created by breaking down a corps/army. That is, the divisional units that start in the force pool can not be used to reform corps/army units. Instead, they either start the game on the map or can be build individually, like any other unit.
Using the Form
Click on a division on the left to select the one you want to reform into a corp/army unit. You can click on each one in turn to view the pool of units which may be reformed. If only one non-MOT division is in the hex, only one choice is available and is automatically selected.
If you are not using the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown, simply click on OK and the program randomly selects one of the displayed corps/army units. If you are using the optional rule Unlimited Breakdown, you first select a corps/army unit you want to reform and then click on OK. Should you change your mind and decide not to reform a unit, click Cancel at any time to exit the form.
- about time you get a break from those health-issues.