The World of The Gunny
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DSA program
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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 06 Jan 2013 15:30 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
i have been looking at its potential. It will form the basis for the BTS program. We decided to write this first to find out what we didn't know. Most of what I am learning is that the programming is easy, designing the DB so it has what I need is the hard part. Though some of the logic trees that we have used have given me fits. Ask Ken what the caps programming was like for the unit maker! Though I think what really gave me fits on that was adding the ability to permit new caps to be made. IE, caps modding for future games and people who wanted to specialized the caps for a particular time era or sci-fi/fantasy setting.


Lol, yeah, I remember some of the 'discussions' we had over the caps and their usage! :bs



Cheers, Thor.

Author:  haegan2007 [ 06 Jan 2013 15:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Ken, this is in response to some comments that we exchanged earlier today while chatting. An explanation of what we expect the screen to actually do does assist us in designing its code.

Okay, the player will pull up default HW informations and then can add a name and simply click Accept to get his mission created.This will permit basic missions to be quickly and easy created.

However, the screen will permit larger and smaller rockets to be added in order to permit variation in loads and preferences. It will also have to calc needed Cargo Payload requirements(CP) and if the combination can't do it it has to not permit the mission to be created.

I also need to show the minimum HW required in the commentary on the right. Right now there is nothing there

We don't need to look for available HW when the mission is created as we will do a hardware availability check when it comes time for the mission to launch. It is entirely possible that the player could actually not have the hardware when the mission is created, but have it available at the time of launch due to an accelerated research budget or could have bought it between the three months it takes for the mission to be scheduled for launch and when it actually occurs.

I have a feeling that half the code in the program will be run during the "Process Turn" button clicking!

Author:  Þórgrímr [ 06 Jan 2013 15:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Ken, this is in response to some comments that we exchanged earlier today while chatting. An explanation of what we expect the screen to actually do does assist us in designing its code.

Okay, the player will pull up default HW informations and then can add a name and simply click Accept to get his mission created.This will permit basic missions to be quickly and easy created.

However, the screen will permit larger and smaller rockets to be added in order to permit variation in loads and preferences. It will also have to calc needed Cargo Payload requirements(CP) and if the combination can't do it it has to not permit the mission to be created.

I also need to show the minimum HW required in the commentary on the right. Right now there is nothing there

We don't need to look for available HW when the mission is created as we will do a hardware availability check when it comes time for the mission to launch. It is entirely possible that the player could actually not have the hardware when the mission is created, but have it available at the time of launch due to an accelerated research budget or could have bought it between the three months it takes for the mission to be scheduled for launch and when it actually occurs.

I have a feeling that half the code in the program will be run during the "Process Turn" button clicking!


Sounds like a plan bud!

Now, as a Fun Factoid, the Apollo Missions were planned in 1964, long before the LEM, CSM, or Saturn V was completed. So this is why when I wrote the rules you could plan any mission you wanted, but to fly it you had to have the HW. :ac

More than likely. There will be a LOT of things that will need to be processed during a turn. :AH



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 06 Jan 2013 17:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Okay, the mission data is loading except for the text on the Hardware list that will show on the right. The Cargo Drop Downs will have a cargo list that is currently set for satellites and Probes. I will mod that so it will change based off of the mission type. At least that is the plan. Otherwise it will have something like 30 items on it which is waaay too long.

As you can see, the screen has had additional cargo boxes added (2) and items moved around to make room for the additions. It works, but is NOT clean looking. Ken and I should be able to hammer out a better look tomorrow. The mission name has a history. Not one of the Animal suborbital missions that I launched as the Brits ever succeeded. We joked a lot about making sure the sharks were fed well cooked food. After all, we would not want them to get indigestion.... lol

I have also removed the empty games and their references from the database so the game load screen looks cleaner. At least for now! :tu

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 06 Jan 2013 17:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Okay, the mission data is loading except for the text on the Hardware list that will show on the right. The Cargo Drop Downs will have a cargo list that is currently set for satellites and Probes. I will mod that so it will change based off of the mission type. At least that is the plan. Otherwise it will have something like 30 items on it which is waaay too long.

As you can see, the screen has had additional cargo boxes added (2) and items moved around to make room for the additions. It works, but is NOT clean looking. Ken and I should be able to hammer out a better look tomorrow. The mission name has a history. Not one of the Animal suborbital missions that I launched as the Brits ever succeeded. We joked a lot about making sure the sharks were fed well cooked food. After all, we would not want them to get indigestion.... lol

I have also removed the empty games and their references from the database so the game load screen looks cleaner. At least for now! :tu


I would like to add a Nations Space agency Logo to any screen they can access as a suggestion for looks.

And yes, it is appropriate. You were quite nice to the sharks with those missions that went boom! :bs



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 06 Jan 2013 17:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

the image control is added. I think that we may need to make the screen wider. Put the Miscellany on the left and the cargo on the right. It should open the space to have a larger agency pic as well.

Author:  Þórgrímr [ 06 Jan 2013 18:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
the image control is added. I think that we may need to make the screen wider. Put the Miscellany on the left and the cargo on the right. It should open the space to have a larger agency pic as well.


Sounds like a plan bud!

A question though, is it possible to support several screen sizes? Say, for example, my screen size is 1440 x 900 and your is 1020 x 760. Is there a way to allow the player to determine his own screen size? and have the parts of the screen in the proggie auto adapt itself?



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 07 Jan 2013 20:30 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

there is, but it's a purchased add-in for VB.

Author:  haegan2007 [ 08 Jan 2013 00:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Okay, this my first iteration. It looks better I think, but still feels cramped somehow.

I also added notably to the database for the manned EVA missions and the suborbital manned and unmanned missions. I think we have some 30 missions filled out of the 101 available... :fr

As some of these missions are over 30 days in duration, we need to be thinking about how to mark within the program how long these are to take. The only real thing I can think of is to take note of how many turns it will take and do a count down. The same is true of the interplanetary missions as well.

Lol! yes Ken, I woke up from my nap feeling better!

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 08 Jan 2013 10:38 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Okay, this my first iteration. It looks better I think, but still feels cramped somehow.

I also added notably to the database for the manned EVA missions and the suborbital manned and unmanned missions. I think we have some 30 missions filled out of the 101 available... :fr

As some of these missions are over 30 days in duration, we need to be thinking about how to mark within the program how long these are to take. The only real thing I can think of is to take note of how many turns it will take and do a count down. The same is true of the interplanetary missions as well.

Lol! yes Ken, I woke up from my nap feeling better!


Glad to hear you are feeling better! :bs

As for the other stuff, coming up! :w

Now you know how I felt when I began constructing them!!! :ad

In the excel sheets I had a turn counter to keep track of the changes, so I think a game turn counter, along with the Date, is the best way to go.

Now, another point you need to consider, the Manned missions require both a prime crew and a backup crew or the launch will be scrubbed. Moreover, they have to have been trained in, and assigned to, that program. The only reason I mention this is I saw your crew count drop down box.

The Space Agency logo looks great. As for the 'cramped' feel, I say elongate the screen until your cargo boxes all line up in the left hand column. :AH



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 08 Jan 2013 21:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Okay, the default missions now contain a record for the number of turns required to complete the mission. The default is one as all missions require a minimum of one end turn processing to see if they succeed or not.

All missions, including training missions, have one (1) subtracted from the turns remaining. Any missions with a zero(0) then are processed for completion(pass or fail!)

I have also added the default turn time to the missions that are successfully entered, however the mars flyby and a few others will need to be adjusted. I left them at one until we can get the hard numbers done and updated.

Coding is done so ken can see the numbers and information that is being saved and correct them if need be. We have 2 screens for DB correction and they will likely be included into the admin section of the program. I will create more as needed.

Ken, how does this look? Guys, let me know what you think! Some input on any of the screens would be welcome!

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 08 Jan 2013 21:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Okay, the default missions now contain a record for the number of turns required to complete the mission. The default is one as all missions require a minimum of one end turn processing to see if they succeed or not.

All missions, including training missions, have one (1) subtracted from the turns remaining. Any missions with a zero(0) then are processed for completion(pass or fail!)

I have also added the default turn time to the missions that are successfully entered, however the mars flyby and a few others will need to be adjusted. I left them at one until we can get the hard numbers done and updated.

Coding is done so ken can see the numbers and information that is being saved and correct them if need be. We have 2 screens for DB correction and they will likely be included into the admin section of the program. I will create more as needed.

Ken, how does this look? Guys, let me know what you think! Some input on any of the screens would be welcome!


Sounds good bud! I like the way the screen is set up now! Good job bud! :r You get two rifles up for that! :bs

You think you could get the HW safety mission steps to line up?

What did you have in mind for the IP and Long Duration Missions?



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 08 Jan 2013 21:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

The interface is much the same. There will simply be a different hardware list for them. For instance, no EVA Suit will be available, etc. I haven't coded this in yet.

I need to find a font where all the characters are the same width to assist in the spacing for the rich text box. Anyone have any suggestions?

Author:  Þórgrímr [ 08 Jan 2013 22:33 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
The interface is much the same. There will simply be a different hardware list for them. For instance, no EVA Suit will be available, etc. I haven't coded this in yet.

I need to find a font where all the characters are the same width to assist in the spacing for the rich text box. Anyone have any suggestions?


Sounds like a plan bud. :AH



Cheers, Thor

Author:  MrAnderson [ 09 Jan 2013 20:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

I've found a site that has a list of fonts that should be able to work, here's the link:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6527063_common ... fonts.html

Author:  haegan2007 [ 09 Jan 2013 20:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

IIRC, courier is installed in all windows installations. I am going to try that route.

Let me know what you think!

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 09 Jan 2013 20:47 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
IIRC, courier is installed in all windows installations. I am going to try that route.

Let me know what you think!


You be da bossman! Good job bud! :tu

I think the screen is looking like it is firming up in looks. :AH

What do you have for us tonight?



Cheers, Thor

Author:  Þórgrímr [ 09 Jan 2013 20:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

MrAnderson wrote:
I've found a site that has a list of fonts that should be able to work, here's the link:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6527063_common ... fonts.html


MrAnderson, thanks for the link bud. :AH



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 09 Jan 2013 20:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Tonight is behind the scenes coding. All told there are currently 65 pieces of Hardware in the game. This ranges from rockets to instruments to capsule types and even facilities like launch pads.

Some will, of course, not show up as equipment for a mission. Others should only be available for certain kinds of missions. The question is, how to write that code and what to use as the logic trigger for each section of code.

Author:  Þórgrímr [ 09 Jan 2013 21:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Tonight is behind the scenes coding. All told there are currently 65 pieces of Hardware in the game. This ranges from rockets to instruments to capsule types and even facilities like launch pads.

Some will, of course, not show up as equipment for a mission. Others should only be available for certain kinds of missions. The question is, how to write that code and what to use as the logic trigger for each section of code.


Sounds like a plan hoss.

I am working on AW myself. :ac



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 12 Jan 2013 15:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Okay the hardware inventory screen was bugging me. I have a before and an after shot. Now that it is wider we have dead space on the screen. Our current standard is to fill dead space with something like a national flag or logo of the agency. However, there may be other things we can put where the red box is. Any suggestions?

We may even end up redesigning the screen based off of comments that result from this post!

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File comment: No scrolling is now required, but we now have dead space to the right of the hardware descriptive text.
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File comment: Original before we started playing with it. We felt that there is too much scrolling required to see all the Hardware data.
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Author:  haegan2007 [ 12 Jan 2013 17:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

Okay, today we talked about the design of the Hardware Inventory screen and, of course, the continued coding on the Player's Mission creation screen. Lots of bug squishing going on!

I have been coding the hardware for the various drop downs based off of the mission type. Lunar modules should not be showing up for space station based mission types and vise verse for instance.

Unfortunately, when I have a color selected for a combo box, I cannot seem to only effect the currently selected text box. It effects the drop down text as well. I am sure there is a way to fix that, but I will have to tackle that tomorrow.

So our work in progress shows as follows!

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 12 Jan 2013 17:44 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

haegan2007 wrote:
Okay, today we talked about the design of the Hardware Inventory screen and, of course, the continued coding on the Player's Mission creation screen. Lots of bug squishing going on!

I have been coding the hardware for the various drop downs based off of the mission type. Lunar modules should not be showing up for space station based mission types and vise verse for instance.

Unfortunately, when I have a color selected for a combo box, I cannot seem to only effect the currently selected text box. I effects the drop down text as well. I am sure there is a way to fix that, but I will have to tackle that tomorrow.

So our work in progress shows as follows!


Outstanding Bud! Keep up the good job. :tu



Cheers, Thor

Author:  haegan2007 [ 14 Jan 2013 22:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

its been a bear of a day, but progress we have made. the mission screen has to be able to calc the lift versus weight in real time as the player is making choices. Well that takes a wee bit more then one line of code dangit.

And it had bugs.

It's working now though. The Available CP: code is now working. I think.

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Author:  Þórgrímr [ 15 Jan 2013 11:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: DSA program

It is looking good bud!

One question though, can you change Rocket To MLB? That way we can avoid confusion later on down the road. Since with expansion there can be all sorts of MLBs that are not rockets, per say. :bs



Cheers, Thor

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