Sneak Peeks, Coming Attractions, Works-In-Progress

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: berto


Weeks, not months.

My recent post from Dev Forum:

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

Our first, full RELEASE CANDIDATE package is now available at the Opening Post.

It's a big one, for instance:

[*] Latest exes from Berto
[*] Recentered units from Mike
[*] Data fixes from Jason
[*] All Scenario Descriptions revisited, including Alan's three packages - Play Mode: H2H -> H2H/SIDE AB where feasible
[*] Teaching Set Lua player briefings (do check them out Jason) - 1982 scenario: added Gunships, MANPADs, and a Recce sqd
[*] \Manual subfolder rename: -> Manual\Guest Designer Documents -> Manual\NATO Symbols Explained
[*] NATO Symbol Map + document updated.
[*] Alan's Mods Enabled
[*] AllUnitDisplays as a disabled Mod.

[berto]

Another (private) Dev Forum post:

ORIGINAL: berto

In the most advanced test sequences -- the ones with the fewest interruptions, on WinXP & Win8.1 -- the number of scenarios auto-tested is now ~145. Aside from the several issues mentioned earlier, no new problems to report, everything appears to be WAD. 145 scenarios down, with

---

rober@Rob10rto /cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east/scenarios
$ ls -1 *.scn | wc -l
243

---

nearly 100 more to go. [X(]

For csttrun, I implemented a -r, reverse scenario list feature. This allows one to auto-test the scenarios in reverse order, from largest to smallest, for example:

---

rober@Rob10rto /cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east
$ ls -lS scenarios/*.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 264088 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Duel_For_the_Golan_1985-Rafid.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 146410 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Duel_For_the_Golan_1985-Night.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 116358 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Deversoir.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 69120 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Tournament_Set_C01.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 63549 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Abu_Ageila_1967.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 58993 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Rafah 67.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 53422 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Ismaliyah_1973.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 52701 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Khaldah_1982.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 50355 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Abuagheila67.scn
-rwxrwx---+ 1 rober rober 48086 Oct 15 21:03 scenarios/Port_Said_1956.scn
...

---

I tried a reverse test, with Duel_For_the_Golan_1985-Rafid.scn being the first scenario tested. Duel_For_the_Golan_1985-Rafid.scn is huge. Worse from a testing perspective, it is very long also -- 60 turns. After letting the scenario run for ~10 minutes, I could see where it would require perhaps a full day to run through entirely. We don't have time for that. So I aborted the test sequence and instead began (using the csttrun -s, -skip scenario option) with a scenario of more reasonable size, Tournament_Set_C01.scn. That scenario test took seven hours overnight to run through (successfully). In this new, reverse order testing sequence (on Win10), it is now Turn 41 (out of 50) in Abu_Ageila_1967.scn. Here too, so far so good.

Round-the-clock testing continues...

[berto]

Another (private) Dev Forum post:

ORIGINAL: berto

Tallying the score:

---

rober@Rob10rto /cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east/mods/SpellingGrammarFixes/scenarios
$ diff '/cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east/scenarios' . | egrep -v "\.org|\.map|\.lua|\.bmp|\.ai|\.aix" | egrep "^<" | wc -l
789

rober@Rob10rto /cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east/mods/SpellingGrammarFixes/scenarios
$ ls -1 | wc -l
194

---

789 fixes across 194 .sc[ln] files.

And with that, I am done!

...

With the .sc[ln] files. [8|] I still have to do texts/unittext.txt. But being smarter, I will just run that through the MS Word spell/grammar checker straightaway.

That is actually an undercount, because before that, Crossroads (Petri) had applied many fixes also. (We subsequently agreed that Petri would handle the unittext.txt spelling/grammar fixes.)

Yes, we at the CSL are spell/grammar checking the game text too!

QAing the product continues...

[Crossroads]

These might not be the most exciting Sneak Peek postings, but alas, testing and more testing is pretty much what we are doing at the moment.

Microsoft just released a new update to their operating system, so we needed to dedicate one test rig (mine) to ensure all's good there as well.

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

All test runs completed successfully. Seems we're good with W10 Fall Creator's Update edition as well. To be continued!

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

I've now completed the Fall Creator's Update installation, and launched a random set of games (a snippet from the scenario listing) to run under automated testing til morning.

[font="Courier New"]Ramtha_1970.scn
Rumani_1967.scn
Rumani_1973.scn
SAM_Hunting_1973.scn
Shadwan_Island_1970.scn
Sharm_el_Sheikh_1956.scn
Teaching_Set_A01.scn
Teaching_Set_A02.scn
Teaching_Set_A03.scn
Teaching_Set_A04.scn
Teaching_Set_A05.scn
Tel_al_Ful_1967.scn
Tel_Faher_1967.scn
Tel_Hermonit_1a_1973.scn
Tel_Masharah_1973.scn
Tel_Mashara_1_1973.scn
Thamad_1956.scn
Timimoun_1958.scn
Tournament_Set_A01.scn
Tournament_Set_A02.scn
Tournament_Set_A03.scn
Tournament_Set_A04.scn
Tournament_Set_B01.scn
Umm_Qatef_1948.scn
Winter_Lake_1973.scn
Yad_Mordechai_1948.scn[/font]

Me: [>:]

My computer:

[Crossroads]

In layman's language: while I had sweet dreams, the QA testing script launched 26 scenarios on AI-vs-AI mode. Each game played out to its conclusion, and all games were successfully completed. I just completed all DG Bootcamp scenarios as Hot Seat on Fall Creator's Update, that was a successful run as well. [:)]

So far so good!

[Crossroads]

Another day, another new build. We're getting closer to releasing (internally, to Dev Team) a "Release Candidate #2" package for further vetting. But not quite yet. Maybe tomorrow, or on Tuesday.

While I work with some other things, my test rig, a W10 64bit v1709 (Fall Creators Update) desktop, is about to execute the following 42 scenario run. First two ones already successfully completed!

Berto, in his awesome Man Cave, is not being vacant either:

ORIGINAL: berto

On my part here, I have

[*]Two systems (WinXP & Win8.1) resuming normal testing.
[*]One system (Win7) devoted to testing troublesome scenarios.
[*]One system (Win10, my main dev system) for special purpose tests, and tests done in full debug mode.

Good luck to us all.

[Big Ivan]

Good to see the Win7 testing, I'm liking it!![&o]

Question for the dev team that came to mind a couple of days ago.

I did some modding to the battalion & brigade files to add leaders to the major combatants. Also added real Israeli & Arab names to the name files.

Is it safe to assume those battalion and Brigade oob's will be over written by the new CSME 2.0?

If so can I resave those files and overwrite the oob's and name files after I install 2.0 or will I gum up the works?

I'm not sure how those files have changed with the new 2.0 so figured I'd ask. If I have to do more extensive work after 2.0 install, I want to be prepared.

Thanks
John

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: Big Ivan

Good to see the Win7 testing, I'm liking it!![&o]

Question for the dev team that came to mind a couple of days ago.

I did some modding to the battalion & brigade files to add leaders to the major combatants. Also added real Israeli & Arab names to the name files.

Is it safe to assume those battalion and Brigade oob's will be over written by the new CSME 2.0?

If so can I resave those files and overwrite the oob's and name files after I install 2.0 or will I gum up the works?

I'm not sure how those files have changed with the new 2.0 so figured I'd ask. If I have to do more extensive work after 2.0 install, I want to be prepared.

Thanks
John

Good day John [:)]

Yes, W7, W8.x and W10 are the supported platforms. XP continues to be part of our test part, although no longer supported by Microsoft, as it tends to be more peculiar to certain code behaviour at times that other operating systems have no issues with. Berto likes to make a note of those.

As for the Orders of Battles, I am pretty certain we've only modified the Platoon level files, so anything you've done above them should be OK. Package them as a Mod so you have them always available, JSGME continues to be part of CSME 2.0 as well.

So yes, you should be good with those with the next version as well.

[Big Ivan]

Thanks Petri,[:)]

Good idea, I will mod those and tuck away for future safe keeping.

Cheers!
John

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: Big Ivan

Thanks Petri,[:)]

Good idea, I will mod those and tuck away for future safe keeping.

Cheers!
John

Looking forward seeing your mod John!

By the way, Spartan, at Ode to DG thread, suggested using Leaders(foot) deployed on Halftracks as Tank Coy/Bn leaders. Was historical too, and HTs can stay up with tanks, while Jeeps can not.

A neat suggestion for sure.

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: budd

Think i mentioned this before but let me mention again the scenarios really could use some mission briefings for each side.

Something we can now do, with CS Event Engine messages. We'll have something like 20 scenario briefings place for the initial release (among other events taking place in those scenarios). Expect to see more of them in future updates, or even in a mod pack before one.

Here's a sample from the Teaching Set 1973. Briefings were first implemented to Bootcamp scenarios and Teaching Sets, to aid in getting a feel for the game and eras it covers:

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

ORIGINAL: budd

Think i mentioned this before but let me mention again the scenarios really could use some mission briefings for each side.

Something we can now do, with CS Event Engine messages. We'll have something like 20 scenario briefings place for the initial release (among other events taking place in those scenarios). Expect to see more of them in future updates, or even in a mod pack before one.

Here's a sample from the Teaching Set 1973. Briefings were first implemented to Bootcamp scenarios and Teaching Sets, to aid in getting a feel for the game and eras it covers:

Meanwhile, the Scenario Descriptions continue to provide information about force compositions, terrain, and historical challenges, and are always worth a close read. With the new user information dialogs, they are easier to read now too. Here's a sample of a new scenario information dialog:

[Crossroads]

We're getting close to final Code and Data Freeze, with our Release Candidate installs inching ever closer to the final product.

So if you'd like to have proper Boardgame and Counter Mods in place, like the two shown here, now would be the last minute to have them in.

[Crossroads]

Another view of the Boardgame Mapboard mod, with 3D unit images on display this time. Was an easy enough thing to do, so why not. As a sample, I hope it encourages you guys to create mods of your liking as well. [:)]

[berto]

Another recent (private) Dev Forum post:

ORIGINAL: berto

ORIGINAL: berto

ORIGINAL: berto


This effort is going well.

Quite well indeed. By the time I am finished, maybe by tomorrow, we should have an automated tool to vet proper Lua EE operation -- most aspects, if not quite all -- across several turns of test scenario play.

And it's done!

Sample run:

---

rober@Rob10rto /cygdrive/c/Games/Matrix Games/Middle East/middle_east
$ ~/cslint/csluaeechk
LuaEECheck1
243c243
< [DEBUG ID 10] (lua.cpp, line 423, l_log()) 2.9285714285714 average_morale ()
---
> [DEBUG ID 10] (lua.cpp, line 423, l_log()) 2.8571428571429 average_morale ()

---

The command '~/cslint/csluaeechk'

[*]Launches a special LuaEECheck1.scn in automated test mode.
[*]The scenario (an adaptation of Thamad_1956.scn) runs through its three turns.
[*]As each Lua EE function is called, its value or effect is logged to lua.log
[*]When the test scenario finishes, lua.log is stripped of its date/time stamps.
[*]The filtered output is diff'ed against a known-good, vetted reference output file, ~/cslint/csluaeechk.ref.

In the above csluaeechk sample output, you will note the diff's between the reference and last-run average_morale() values. It's nothing to worry about; it's an artifact of the testing methodology. No, what is important is the absence of any other diffs -- an indication that the latest output compares well with the known-good reference output, that the current Lua EE is operating properly.

We now have a handy-dandy tool for running automated Lua EE QA checks whenever necessary, after significant code changes (that might impact the EE) for instance.

And if it's not clear: the Lua EE has been vetted (again) for CSME 2.0! [:)]

[budd]

This all looks great. Will I be playing this on my Thanksgiving holiday[;)]

[berto]

Hope springs eternal. [:)]

[berto]

Recent (private) Dev Forum posts:

ORIGINAL: K K Rossokolski

TYPE:OOB additions

DESCRIPTION:France 1948-1954, addition to supplement Catholic Militia.

1:These people were, in general semi-prosperous small farmers and merchants. Many would have owned bicycles (not the cargo jobs).
2. Their priests can reasonably be expected to hold positions of authority in the militias. To be included as leaders.
I seem to recall both of these elements were included in an earlier .org.

CODING REQUIRED?:Not for the bicycles, which are widespread throughout the CS OOB spectrum. Priests maybe.

EFFECT ON CURRENT SCENARIOS?: Merely an addition to scenarios under preparation.

ORIGINAL: Warhorse

We DO have a NATO symbol for priests!!!

[X(]

[Warhorse]

Er, correction, we do in the WW2 games, not the new ones...yet, but I will!! I remembered making one for the Forgotten Battles Mod, for the Priests included in the West Front/East Front games. Just need to add it to the growing counter sheet!

[Crossroads]

ORIGINAL: Warhorse

Er, correction, we do in the WW2 games, not the new ones...yet, but I will!! I remembered making one for the Forgotten Battles Mod, for the Priests included in the West Front/East Front games. Just need to add it to the growing counter sheet!

What! We're missing a NATO symbol [X(] I thought the 450+ that's already there covers the world, and back [:'(]