Can the Scenerios be re-organized?

jsaurman · Post by **jsaurman** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 5:21 pm

Since there is now so much room for Scenerios: 999 slots if I remember correctly, is there any way that they can be better organized? Sorted by date for instance? Or sorted by the countries involved? I know I could probably get one of the add-on scenerio managers that are out there, but wouldn't it be simpler to just re-order them in the standard game setup? Sorry if this sounds too nit-picky, but it is just a minor thought...

JIM

Redleg · Post by **Redleg** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 6:17 pm

You can rename them and put them in any order you want them to be... but it takes some work to do so.

I rename the first 20 or so in order to create some empty slots for my own scenarios.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 7:35 pm

Good suggestion, Redleg.

Steve "Warrior" Avery once prepared a list of all scenarios in version 4.5.

I would like to see that updated and also dates, combatants, date, and location (W Europe, E Front, Med) be listed.

I had one for awhile but could not keep up with it.

A worthy project for some avid gamer out there.

Using that list one could rename their scenarios and put them in any order they choose, area, date, combatants.

I'd love to have such a list...Wild Bill

Fabs · Post by **Fabs** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 7:42 pm

I have divided my scenarios in three broad groups:

1) Scenarios of my own under development
2) Scenarios by other authors that I like to play
3) Other scenarios

I have put all "Other scenarios" in an "Archive" folder.

I keep the first 20 slots for scenarios that I am working on at any given time.

The rest I am trying to calssify according to theater and time period, using large spaces of empty slots between each group to allow me to add to them.

Manipulation is easy if slightly laborious with the "Scenario manager".

I whish the scenario manager worked for maps, too!

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 8:18 pm

Hmm... This seems a fairly simple task.
I should have something that allows easy sorting and re-ordering of scenarios, maps and probably saved games too, shortly.

I'm currently thinking of the following:

moving a scenario/map/saved by specifying a destination slot number (sorry, no drag'n'drop) - probably also moving blocks of scenarios/maps/saved
inserting blank slots at a given point
sorting by scenario name, battle date, file date, nation (left or right sides), location, map size (sorry, no designer - too hard, so far)
printing a list of scenarios/maps/saved
deleting scenarios/moving them elsewhere
maybe also a user defined extra comment for custom sorting

Not all of that at first, but basic functionality should be pretty close.

Is anything else required?

...and I said to myself that it was only going to be Map Thing

ZinZan · Post by **ZinZan** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 10:01 pm

Sounds like a great idea, I'll definetely take one when its available.
One question, what format are you planning on designing it for?

john g · Post by **john g** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 12:53 am

Originally posted by Redleg:
You can rename them and put them in any order you want them to be... but it takes some work to do so.

I rename the first 20 or so in order to create some empty slots for my own scenarios.

How does this affect email games? Does an email game start with just the scenario # passed to the second player? Or will the game search for a scenario that matches the one the first player started?

And what if a player doesn't have the scenario that the first player is using, due to crash, not having downloaded a new one, or just deleting ones they thought they would never use?
thanks, John.

Zorfwaddle · Post by **Zorfwaddle** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 1:06 am

Originally posted by Wild Bill:
Good suggestion, Redleg.

Steve "Warrior" Avery once prepared a list of all scenarios in version 4.5.

I would like to see that updated and also dates, combatants, date, and location (W Europe, E Front, Med) be listed.

I had one for awhile but could not keep up with it.

A worthy project for some avid gamer out there.

Using that list one could rename their scenarios and put them in any order they choose, area, date, combatants.

I'd love to have such a list...Wild Bill

Sounds to me like a simple Access or other DB program sheet would take care of it. Fields would be name of scenario, month, year, combatant 1, combatant 2, location, designer, etc. Fairly simple....

Zorfwaddle · Post by **Zorfwaddle** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 1:10 am

Originally posted by Zorfwaddle:
Sounds to me like a simple Access or other DB program sheet would take care of it. Fields would be name of scenario, month, year, combatant 1, combatant 2, location, designer, etc. Fairly simple....

Oh, and people can add their own scenarios too. The entire list can be queried to list scenarios that take place between for example Germany and the Commonwealth, in North Africa, in July of 1941, for example. Only problem, you gotta have Access to run it. Best bet is the DB that Sun has out that is free (name escapes me at the moment).

Redleg · Post by **Redleg** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 1:38 am

What you are doing would not affect any form of play I can think of other than online play. In the case of online, the fix is pretty simple. One player would send the scenario to be played to the other so they are in the same slot..... with the same name.

USMCGrunt · Post by **USMCGrunt** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 3:20 am

I usually sort mine by size. That way I can pick a scenario to fit in the amount time I have to play. After that, I usually sort alphabetically.

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 4:39 am

Originally posted by ZinZan:
One question, what format are you planning on designing it for?

Umm... I can't quite figure out what you're asking. "What format" of what?

Originally posted by Zorfwaddle:
Only problem, you gotta have Access to run it. Best bet is the DB that Sun has out that is free (name escapes me at the moment).

Surely a full-blown, relational database engine would be overkill for such a task.

Warrior · Post by **Warrior** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 7:00 am

Originally posted by Wild Bill:
Good suggestion, Redleg.

Steve "Warrior" Avery once prepared a list of all scenarios in version 4.5.

I would like to see that updated and also dates, combatants, date, and location (W Europe, E Front, Med) be listed.

I had one for awhile but could not keep up with it.

A worthy project for some avid gamer out there.

Using that list one could rename their scenarios and put them in any order they choose, area, date, combatants.

I'd love to have such a list...Wild Bill

Don't worry, WB! As soon as 5.0 is released, I'll do another basic index. All the bell & whistles, however, will be up to the individual.

Zorfwaddle · Post by **Zorfwaddle** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 10:16 pm

Originally posted by ectizen:

Originally posted by ZinZan:
One question, what format are you planning on designing it for?

Umm... I can't quite figure out what you're asking. "What format" of what?

Originally posted by Zorfwaddle:
Only problem, you gotta have Access to run it. Best bet is the DB that Sun has out that is free (name escapes me at the moment).

Surely a full-blown, relational database engine would be overkill for such a task.

Well, depends. Could be handy for those people who build campaigns, or play a lot of scenarios. And it would be fairly easy to do. Just an idea...

Regards,

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 5:26 pm

Z: I don't deny that it wouldn't be useful or easy, I just think it'd be kind of like changing a light bulb by calling in a squad of engineers. Sure, it'd be easy and you could do other things with your squad, but if you only want to change light bulbs, it seems excessive.

Everyone: I would like to take this opportunity to announce a preview of my
automated light bulb changing machine. AT the moment, it only shows you the light bulbs you have, and gives some info about them. Within the next day or so, a version will be available that can change bulbs by itself. While it appears that it can only handle incandescent bulbs, it will work with both fluorescent and halogen bulbs too.

For those that can't be bothered wading through the above analogy-fest: A preview of Scenario Wrangler is available. Currently, it only lists scenarios, but it does that task quite well. A version that can move scenarios around will be ready shortly. While it may look like it only handles scenarios, it can also do maps and saved games - just give it a map or saved games directory as though it was a scenario directory. The download is about 153kB.

Wild Bill: You want to look at this. Trust me

Zorfwaddle · Post by **Zorfwaddle** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 12:27 am

Originally posted by ectizen:
Z: I don't deny that it wouldn't be useful or easy, I just think it'd be kind of like changing a light bulb by calling in a squad of engineers. Sure, it'd be easy and you could do other things with your squad, but if you only want to change light bulbs, it seems excessive.

Everyone: I would like to take this opportunity to announce a preview of my
automated light bulb changing machine. AT the moment, it only shows you the light bulbs you have, and gives some info about them. Within the next day or so, a version will be available that can change bulbs by itself. While it appears that it can only handle incandescent bulbs, it will work with both fluorescent and halogen bulbs too.

For those that can't be bothered wading through the above analogy-fest: A preview of Scenario Wrangler is available. Currently, it only lists scenarios, but it does that task quite well. A version that can move scenarios around will be ready shortly. While it may look like it only handles scenarios, it can also do maps and saved games - just give it a map or saved games directory as though it was a scenario directory. The download is about 153kB.

Wild Bill: You want to look at this. Trust me

Ahhh... no wonder you were dissenting

You had your own project going! Why didnt you say so before?? I wouldnt have wasted my time...

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 5:16 am

Well, I did mention something in the 4th reply up there ^

However, I'd probably have dissented anyway - I consider the use of something like Access to be a last resort. It offends my delicate sensibilities. Whether this is because my experience with Access goes back to version 1.0 (you know, the beta

), or simply because I tend to dislike inefficient solutions, I couldn't say. It just bothers me...

Also, do not view your efforts as wasted - I get the impression that you're tackling a different aspect. While I probably wouldn't use your tool (sorry - it goes against the closest thing I have to a religion

), I'm sure that others would. If there is more than one tool for a task, people are able to use the one most applicable to the current needs. This is a Good Thing.

Zorfwaddle · Post by **Zorfwaddle** » Tue Apr 10, 2001 12:22 am

Originally posted by ectizen:
Well, I did mention something in the 4th reply up there ^

However, I'd probably have dissented anyway - I consider the use of something like Access to be a last resort. It offends my delicate sensibilities. Whether this is because my experience with Access goes back to version 1.0 (you know, the beta ), or simply because I tend to dislike inefficient solutions, I couldn't say. It just bothers me...

Also, do not view your efforts as wasted - I get the impression that you're tackling a different aspect. While I probably wouldn't use your tool (sorry - it goes against the closest thing I have to a religion ), I'm sure that others would. If there is more than one tool for a task, people are able to use the one most applicable to the current needs. This is a Good Thing.

Heck, I wasnt going to do it! I dont own Access!

I dont play the scenarios often, Im more of a long campaign person. Hopefully your tool will come out before I go TAD and miss out on the download opportunity

Same goes for v5

Regards,

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Tue Apr 10, 2001 7:34 am

Originally posted by Zorfwaddle:
Hopefully your tool will come out before I go TAD and miss out on the download opportunity Same goes for v5

Don't worry - I won't wait until it's completely finished before making it available. I'll release milestone versions.

In the next 12 hours, the first milestone will be ready: it will verbosely list the contents of a directory, and allow movement within the directory, and to other directories.

The next milestone will be sorting, and after that will come printing and exporting the list as a database/spreadsheet readable file.

If you let me know how much time you have, I'll make sure you get the latest while you can.

ectizen · Post by **ectizen** » Tue Apr 10, 2001 11:48 pm

For those of you interested in Scenario Wrangler (I know you're out there, I've seen your tracks all through my web server logs

), FUNCTIONALITY HAS ARRIVED!

ectizen's SP:WAW Scenario Wrangler Vers 0.1 is built, packed and ready for downloading. It will keep your modem busy for about 168kB.

Features include lots of moving options, lots of displayed info, some instructions and a stern warning! Woohoo!