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Here's another quick Developer Diary covering the imminent 2.01 release

"Let's Do: New Units!"

I will continue tweaking the Battle of Java 1942 Modification I created in Developer Diary #2. This time, we are adding new units to the Dutch unit roster, while creating a little "What-If" scenario.

MCS 2.01 now comes with full support for the -X NoEncryption option, discussed in detail HERE. While in 2.00 only the game exes were provided with this option, no the option is available with the editors too.

This option is only available for Versus-AI games. Even if you try to launch a PBEM game using the option, the game engine will revert to official, encrypted platoon and weapon files.

What-If the Dutch Java Defence Force had some infantry tanks with them?

In the following steps we will add a company of British Matilda II tanks to the Dutch Mobiele Eenheid unit to find out!

Step 1 - Package it as a User Modification!

As discussed in Developer Diary #2, we don't want to risk the integrity of the original data content in game folders. I will continue to enhance the mod I created there. At this time it might be a good idea to read the diary entry again, as I continue from where I lef there.

And here we go, again:

To begin, I copy the required Dutch Order-of-Battle (*.oob) files from the \Rising Sun folder and paste them there, to be edited as part of the mod:

[font="Courier New"]Platoon11.oob[/font] - Platoon files, the encrypted Platoon##.obx files used by the game engine
[font="Courier New"]Company11.oob[/font] - Company level organizations

Easiest way to find about Nation codes, available units, their unit values: Arkady's Unit Viewer!

Country code of Manchukuo? Open up Unit Viewer, select Rising Sun, Select Manchukuo as Nation, click at the first platoon to show in the viewer. Look at the Platoon ID, the first two numbers represent the Nation code. 36!

Then view the OOB files in File Explorer using fillter *36.oob. There they are!

Step 2 - Adding the new Matilda II platoon to Dutch unit roster

And we're on. Next, I will add the Matilda II tanks to Dutch platoon roster.

To do that, I locate the unit in the British Platoon09.oob roster, and copy the relevant line fully, as-is, into my Dutch Platoon11.oob, in my mod folder:

P09030 3 3 10 35 0 0 24 13 27 3 3 1 10 0 1 6 26 P09030 5 33 16 1 0 15 43 10 53 12 10 8 7 Matilda II Infantry Tanks , Matilda II ,

Then, I need to tweak it to match the Dutch parameters. While the line may look a bit uninviting, here's the key locations you need to modify:

Field#1 Unit ID:

PNNUUU
P = Platoon
NN = Nation Code
UUU = The unique unit ID

Looking at the Dutch file, I locate the next vacant unit number after the tanks there. I find out P11031 is not used anywhere, so I choose that.

Fields #17 and #18: Unit 2D NATO symbol and 2D Graphics symbol:

NATO symbol IDs are the same for all units of all nations per game folder. As the Matilda II info was copied from British OOB under RS, I can leave field #18 pointing at NATO armor symbol ID "6".

However, IDs are nation specific for 2D Graphics part. After studying the other Dutch tanks available using Arkady's Unit Viewer, I choose the same symbol as the Marmon-Herringto CTLS has, "35". It is not perfect for Matilda II's, but hey ho, I use NATO symbols anyway when in 2D mode.

Field#19 Unit 3D Graphics File (the P09030 in the middle):

This points to graphics file the game loads in any of the 3D views to represent the unit in battle map. Several units can refer to same graphics file, and for a while I thought I'd just leave it to point to existing British Matilda II graphics. I decide to modify the file though, so I change it to point to a file named after the new Unit ID of 11031.

Fields #26,27 and #28,29: Unit available from / Unit available until:

I choose to have the Matilda IIs available only for the duration of my Java 1942 What-If scenario, from 12/1941 to 3/1942

NOTE: For a complete listing of Platoon[##].OOB fields, look HERE.


This is the end result, in Platoon11.oob:

P11031 3 3 10 35 0 0 24 13 27 3 3 1 10 0 1 6 35 P11031 5 33 16 1 0 15 41 12 42 03 10 8 7 Matilda II Infantry Tanks , Matilda II ,

While at it, I tweak the existing Vickers-Carden 1931 unit parameters to allow for them to exist until March 1942. Their previous end date was December 1941, not enough to cover my mod:

P11025 3 3 3 50 0 0 37 19 4 1 1 1 3 0 0 68 41 P11025 2 161 0 1 88 8 36 11 42 03 3 1 1 Vickers-Carden Loyd M1931 Light Tank , VCL M1931 ,

As a summary, here's the first half a dozen lines of the new Dutch platoon file Platoon11.oob in my mod folder:

P11001 4 3 3 50 0 0 42 15 4 1 1 1 3 0 0 6 34 P11001 2 33 0 1 8 15 40 5 42 12 3 2 1 Vickers-Carden Loyd Model 1936 Light Tanks , VCL M1936 ,
P11013 3 3 3 50 0 0 42 15 4 1 1 1 3 0 0 6 34 P11001 2 33 0 1 8 15 40 5 42 12 3 2 1 Vickers-Carden Loyd Model 1936 Light Tanks, VCL M1936 ,
P11002 4 3 3 40 0 0 37 15 7 1 3 1 3 0 1 6 35 P11002 3 33 0 1 4 15 40 5 42 12 4 2 1 Marmon-Herrington CTLS Light Tanks, M-H CTSL ,
P11015 3 3 3 40 0 0 37 15 7 1 3 1 3 0 1 6 35 P11002 3 33 0 1 4 15 40 5 42 12 4 2 1 Marmon-Herrington CTLS Light Tanks, M-H CTSL ,
P11025 3 3 3 50 0 0 37 19 4 1 1 1 3 0 0 68 41 P11025 2 161 0 1 88 8 36 11 42 03 3 1 1 Vickers-Carden Loyd M1931 Light Tank , VCL M1931 ,
P11031 3 3 10 35 0 0 24 13 27 3 3 1 10 0 1 6 35 P11031 5 33 16 1 0 15 41 12 42 03 10 8 7 Matilda II Infantry Tanks , Matilda II ,
P11003 3 3 2 40 0 0 73 37 6 3 3 3 3 0 0 53 0 P11003 2 48 0 1 88 8 40 5 42 12 2 1 1 Alvis Staussler Armored Cars, A-S Arm'd Cars ,

Next, time to tweak the unit graphics, since I chose not to point to British Matilda IIs.

As I have identified the British Matilda platoon and made note of its Platoon ID of P09030, I copy the related *09030.* graphics (*.BMP, *.BIT) to my mod folder as well:

Up09030.bmp - Regular unit graphics for 3D view, from game folder (\Rising Sun)
Op09030.bit - outline file, used when unit is highlighted in 3D view, from same game folder
L-Up09030.bmp (late war graphics for 3D views) and S-Up09030.bmp (winter camo graphics for 3D views), from \Rising Sun\Special folder

P09030.bmp - Unit picture, for use in F2 Info Box, from \Rising Sun\Pictures folder

Then, I rename the copied files to match the Field #19 value I chose: 09030 -> 11031.

Up11031.BMP is an indexed bitmap having only one layer, I open it up on my favorite graphics editor (GIMP) and make a little modification so it stands out from the British ones. I save it in RGB mode, as indexed bitmaps lose information. Many of the bitmaps within the game are in Indexed mode, while many are not. I don't know the story behind this though but full RGB mode is superior to Indexed mode as far as I know.

If you later don't see the unit showing properly within the game, it is likely the Bitmap properties were changed into something not supported, or the bitmap was saved in 32 bit mode instead of 24 bit mode. If having issues with a bitmap not showing at all, have a look at the file properties!

I chose to identify the tank as Dutch by adding an Orange banner to its turret, proudly flying in the morning air. (Are you watching Huib!)

I choose not to alter the Special graphics, and having renamed the files to match the Dutch Unit ID I move them to their proper subfolder.

Providing a unit with a unique new graphics file is not mandatory! If you like the original graphics, just continue to point to them instead. Then, you don't need to worry about copying the graphics file into your mod folder either.

As JSGME Mod Management tool mimics the installation structure it sees under the folder including all the modified files, I create two new subfolders for the unit graphics:

[font="Courier New"]C:\Matrix Games\John Tiller's Campaign Series\Mods\RS - Battle of Java 1942 BG Mod\Rising Sun\Pictures
C:\Matrix Games\John Tiller's Campaign Series\Mods\RS - Battle of Java 1942 BG Mod\Rising Sun\Special[/font]

A JSGME User Guide is available as of 2.00 in: [font="Courier New"]C:\Matrix Games\John Tiller's Campaign Series\Tools\JSGME\JSGMEUG.PDF[/font]

[/quote]

Step 3 - Adding weapon values and Unittext information

Orange banner or not, the unit is not of much use if it can't fire its weapons!

Weapon.pdt

The hard and soft attack values of units capable of firing are defined in a parameter file called weapon.pdt. The game uses its' encrypted version weapon.pdx under normal use. If the unit isn't found from there, it won't be able to fire!

First, I will copy-paste a new file to my mod folder: the original [font="Courier New"]weapon.pdt[/font] from the game Rising Sun folder.

After copying it to my mod folder, I open the file up with my favorite text editor.

This step is easy. I will locate the British Matilda platoon unit ID, and copy-paste it to its proper new location within the Dutch unit numbers.

Before:

P09030 8 6 4
9 9 8 6 5 4 3 2

After:

P11031 8 6 4
9 9 8 6 5 4 3 2

The first row represents the hard attack values, in this case 8 within one hex, 6 within two hexes, and 4 within three hexes. From this we can conclude the main gun was considered to have an effective firing range of 750 meters. (One hex = 250 meters). The second row is used against soft targets, there's eight values so the effective firing range is 2000 meters.

If my unit would be considered to be carrying a different weapon system than the original Matilda II tank, I could change these values to reflect the unit I am portraying here. No need for changes, in this case!

Unittext.txt

To have my brand new Matilda unit to show up properly in the F2 Unit Info Box - Or in Arkady's Unit Viewer for that matter - one more detail is required: the platoon description.

I promptly copy the original [font="Courier New"]unittext.txt [/font]from the Rising Sun folder to my mod folder, and open up the copied file from there on my text editor for the required addition.

Again, I look up the description the original British Matilda II's have (P09030, remember!).

I want to be finished with the platoon tweaks, so I quickly copy paste it to a proper place where the Dutch platoon descriptions are.

Having pasted it there, I remove most of the original text, leaving the entry as:

P11031
This platoon represents an Matilda II tank platoon in my Java 1942 What-If scenario.

ARMAMENT
1 x 2pdr (40mm) gun
1 x 7.92mm machinegun
or
1 x 3-inch (76mm) howitzer
1 x 7.92mm machinegun
MAX ARMOR
78mm
WEIGHT
26.9 tonnes

And: We're done!

But don't take my word for it. It is time to briefly enable the mod to see if we've made any mistakes.

Arkady's Unit Viewer reads the unecrypted files for information, so I fire up JSGME, move the RS - Battle of Java 1942 BG Mod modification to right window. Easy as a cake, the original game content is moved aside, with my modified files replacing the original ones for the duration the mod remains enabled.

Let us fire up Unit Viewer next, to see how it looks:



Woo-hoo [&o]

The various Platoon information represented by those cryptic numbers as we found them in Step 2: they are described here. It is always a good idea to choose a closest to similar existing platoon line as a basis of your new platoon. Then, change only what needs to be changed.

Step 4 - Adding the new platoons into higher level organizations

That was fun!

Next, we'll add the modified Vickers-Carden platoon and the new Matilda II platoons as a Infantry Tank Company to Dutch Company11.oob organization file.

First, from the mod folder, I open up Company11.oob we copied there in Step 1 with a text editor.

I use jEdit text editor, any of the more advanced editors such as Notepad++ are recommended if you are serious about this.

There, I look for existing Tank companies, and find one:

[-----------------Java Fast Reaction Force Formations-----------------------]
41 12 42 03 C1100004 6 Lt. Tank Company (Mobiele Eenheid)
41 12 42 03 P11013 HQ Section
41 12 42 03 P11002 1/1st Troop
41 12 42 03 P11015 2/1st Troop
41 12 42 03 P11001 1/2nd Troop
41 12 42 03 P11013 2/2nd Troop
41 12 42 03 P11001 1/3rd Troop
41 12 42 03 P11013 2/3rd Troop

I copy paste these rows to the end of file, where I will tweak it to my liking. I put in new units, the Vickers amphibious tanks to 1st Troop, and the Matilda IIs to 2nd and 3rd Troop.

As I am pointing to platoons here, I will need to use the respective Platoon IDs, from Platoon11.oob.

The end result looks like this:

[-----------------Java 1942 Modification-----------------------]
41 12 42 03 C1100099 6 Infantry Tank Company (What-If - Java 1942 Mod)
41 12 42 03 P11025 1st Troop
41 12 42 03 P11031 2nd Troop
41 12 42 03 P11031 3rd Troop

Oh, the new Company ID C1100099 needs to be unique as well! Make sure not to have any duplicates there.

Note how I put some additional information to the Organization title, this will make it easier to find the proper unit when in Organization Editor. See the next step:

Step 5 - Adding the new organization to my scenario organization

Moving on, I will next add the new Tank Company to my random battle scenario I created in Developer Diary #2.

Let us recap:

[font="Courier New"][filename].ORG[/font] - The unit organizations available in the battle
[font="Courier New"][filename].MAP[/font] - The map used in the battle
[font="Courier New"][filename].SCN[/font] - The scenario file itself, where you deploy the units and other scenario data into battle map.
[font="Courier New"][filename].BMP[/font] - Scenario picture (not mandatory)

It is a good practice to have all three or four files to have the same filename, so that only the file type differentiates them. It makes it so much easier finding all the related scenario files later if you need them.

First, let us fire up the Organization Editor, in -X NoEncryption mode.

Two ways to go about it. First, you can copy the game executables to your desktop as shortcuts, then tweaking the shortcut properties with the required parameters. See: HERE.

Or, if you're old school like me, you will point your File Explorer to Rising Sun game folder, press [font="Courier New"]<SHIFT> [/font], and while keeping it pressed right click on the folder. This will open up a Pop-Up Menu, with an option Open command window here. Choose that, and you will have the good old command prompt available, with the focus on the game folder.

There, you can launch the exes: [font="Courier New"]rsorg -X -W[/font]

-X = No encryption
-W = windowed

This will open up the Organization Editor. Using the File->Open I locate the scenario organization file from my Developer Diary #2, named [font="Courier New"]Random5.org[/font]

The date is properly set on March 1942, I then open the Dutch unit roster, and look at the Companies available to me.

Next, I promptly include the tank company in the Dutch Mobiele Eenheid as intended:

Using the green arrow from menu bar I move the newly created Infantry company to right window where my scenario organizations are. There I navigate the unit to its proper place using red arrows from the menu bar arrow icons.

See the manual for the use of the various editors.

And there she is:



Save and exit!

Step 6 - Adding the units to my scenario

The hard work is behind us, now it is all about using the editors to have the new units in.

I fire up the Scenario Editor from my Command Prompt window. It remains nicely available, thanks to having everything running in windowed mode.

[font="Courier New"]rsedit -X -W[/font], and off we go!

Here's the Amphibious Vickers platoon already on the map, with the Matilda II platoons about to go next:



Save and exit!

Step 7 - Finishing up with the mod

All is now ready for the battle to commence!

Before that, I will copy the three Random5.* scenario files from the \Rising Sun folder, and add them to be included as a part of my mod files too. That way, they are saved for any future use.

This is how my Mod folder looks like now that everything is finished:

The special graphics: late war camo, winter camo (like that would be needed here!) are in the \Special subfolder, while the unit picture is in the \Pictures subfolder.

Step 8 - Time to have some fun!

With my user modification enabled, I fire up Rising Sun, select the Order-by-date option (now fixed in 2.00 and 2.01 to be better aware of the various date syntax used in scenario headers).

I find my scenario properly under March 1, 1942:



I try to play it. It fails!

Why? [X(]

The -X No-encryption option is only available for game executables themselves.

Front End is used for launching PBEM games as well. We chose to be very strict about this No-encryption thing.

Not available here!

Therefore: I will need to launch the game exe from a shortcut with the -X -W parameters added to the properties, just like with the editors.

Or, as I prefer: from the command prompt: [font="Courier New"]rs -X -W[/font]

[:D]

Step 9 - Battle Stations!

Opening up the Rising Sun directly means I need to locate the file via the File->Open dialog. A small price to pay, as I am by now intimately familiar with scenario name: Random5.SCN.

I could have saved it under a different file name when in Scenario Editor, but I prefer to keep all files under a same name instead.

There they are, the Dutch Matilda II tanks, with their banners and all!

And the Vickers amphibios, whose original best-before date was December 1941. It is March 1942 and they are here too!



The unfortunate Japanese Expedition Force will not know what hit them

That's it! Quite many steps, but nothing's too complex I hope.

I wish y'all will have tons of fun with the new -X NoEncryption option once the 2.01 UPDATE hits the stores near you [:)]

Very good write-up, Petri!! You DO like this modding thing, I see!![:D]

"...There they are, the Dutch Matilda II tanks, with their banners and all!..."

Nice! [:D]
Thank you. [:)]

ORIGINAL: Josh

"...There they are, the Dutch Matilda II tanks, with their banners and all!..."

Nice! [:D]
Thank you. [:)]

[;)]

The development work that has gone into v 2.0 and beyond is marvelous. Each of you are to be commended and my appreciation with heartfelt thanks is extended toward you.

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

Step 2 - Adding the new Matilda II platoon to Dutch unit roster

And we're on. Next, I will add the Matilda II tanks to Dutch platoon roster.

To do that, I locate the unit in the British Platoon09.oob roster, and copy the relevant line fully, as-is, into my Dutch Platoon11.oob, in my mod folder:

P09030 3 3 10 35 0 0 24 13 27 3 3 1 10 0 1 6 26 P09030 5 33 16 1 0 15 43 10 53 12 10 8 7 Matilda II Infantry Tanks , Matilda II ,

Then, I need to tweak it to match the Dutch parameters. While the line may look a bit uninviting, here's the key locations you need to modify:

[--- s n i p ---]

Here's the complete list of Platoon[##].OOB parameters per JTCS 1.x and 2.x. There's a couple of changes in place for ME, I will provide an update of those in a future Dev Diary:

parameters list:
-1 or -id
-2 or -strength
-3 or -assault
-4 or -defend
-5 or -firingcost
-6 or -loadingcost
-7 or -unloadingcost
-8 or -speed
-9 or -xcspeed
-10 or -weight
-11 or -pressure
-12 or -concealment
-13 or -movesound
-14 or -firesound
-15 or -video
-16 or -animate
-17 or -type1d
-18 or -type2d
-19 or -bitmap3d
-20 or -points
-21 or -moveflags
-22 or -carryflags
-23 or -fireflags
-24 or -otherflags
-25 or -moreflags
-26 or -startyear
-27 or -startmonth
-28 or -stopyear
-29 or -stopmonth
-30 or -frontmod
-31 or -sidemod
-32 or -rearmod
-33 or -name
-34 or -short
-35 or -nick

Thanks! [:)]