The World of The Gunny

Eventually we want to be able to turn multi-play this across the internet. It is being developed using SQL server 2008.

We are currently working on the New Species Creation screens per the 3.0 Pre-Game Setup doc. The visual interface is established, now we are coding the dots!

This same screen will be used not only for the new game initial species creation, but any additional species to be added to that game.

The db already supports game and species passwords but can be played without passwords as well.

Hopefully, we can have the game not only play on a single PC, but also support multi-player play across a LAN or internet. This is a turn based game.

This is intended to handle the BTS! game rule set as of early this year. Any rule changes will be incorporated as we reach them.

The basic SP costs for the P-Dat is now working. Next is implementing an auto when ever you click inside the control arrays. right now it only runs when you switch the available SP's.

Haegan and I both agreed that the excel version of BTS! has been pushed to the maximum, and cannot go any further. But further we need to go. So we both agreed to proceed to the full program supported game. Which will only mean a far better game in the end.



Cheers, Thor

Sounds good to me!

I'll be looking forward to seeing that.. one day. lol I can't wait personally.

Lol, Axner, you and me both! Haegan and I have been working on and off, around our schedules, ever since Mav took over the testing for DSA. His doing of that has allowed me to concentrate on this project.

BTW, this is going to be for Beyond the Stars! base game. DSA is just the introductory game in the series.

So this program will use ALL rules from the BTS! Full game. And right now the design doc stands at 400 pages in a word doc. So if you like detail and science in your sci fi, BTS! will have it. But do not let that scare you off. My design philosophy is to put as much of the onus of the details onto the GM's shoulders, and let the players get on with the game.

What I mean by this is that the details are there, if the player wishes to view the data, but it is not necessary. And all of the numbers crunching and math will be handled by the program. This is why Haegan and I both came to the conclusion we needed to move onto a full program to support BTS! No sane GM would ever run a game of more than one star system!

There was just too much for him to handle.

As an example, below is part of the formula to determine the Zones in a star system:






Cheers, Thor

Ouch! I don't think my comp can handle that.

Ken, i think you will have to just plug those figures in for each system as needed. We can create hundreds! No, wait, thousands of such systems pre-built! Wow, that might take you days! weeks! months! maybe a year!

I am just making sure that your not bored while it gets programed....

No worries on the boredom! I gots you to harass every day. Plenty o guffaws in that.



Cheers, Thor

lol

P-Dat math is working, and now working on the biology. The basic method for adding and subtracting available SP's is working, at least so far .

We will have to limit the number of times environmental intolerance can be taken. Each time it is taken will require a separate control in the tab. Technically i could put in the ability to provide an intolerance for everything, but that would consume an entire tab or more for that simple biology disadvantage.

As capable as the written rules are and as open as they are, some options will simply have to be limited as to how many times they can be taken due to my limitations in programming. The hard part will be finding the balance that will let it be open enough to give the players freedom to effect what they want.

Sounds really nice. I think we'll also see a quicker time between turns too. Also, I feel sorry for you. The only thing I can program are guns, so I can vent my anger I got from coding it with it.

Good one bud! And I feel the same way about programming! But, fortunately, for BTS! Haegan likes to program.

I do the designing and developing, and he does the programming! As far as I am concerned, he has the harder job!



Cheers, Thor

I love Select Case statements!

I do not love forgetting to finish a piece of math code and then pasting it 41 times(the size of the control array) and THEN realizing that it would not do the math right. (ACCK! i sprained mee clicky finger!)

Species Abilities are now tied into the SP calculator. Any changes to the SP on any of the tabs, or selecting a different base SP amount, will result in a recalculation of the remaining SP available. The wonders of control arrays made this use a minimum of code, but it took me awhile to think of how to do it.

The amount of coding on this page extrapolated out puts me at thinking this program will be slightly over 2 meg compiled once the base rules are done. This is deceptive though. A goodly portion of the 179k complied as it is now is simple control info that the program puts in there automatically. My actual coding is likely close to 50k (stretching it).

All the same, I can feel this screen tying together slowly but surely.

We still have the attitudes and disadvantages to tie into the SP calculation as well as checks to see if this species is the first race of a new game or a new race in an old game. This will determine part of what is being displayed on the screen.

And, of course, the real fun. When the player clicks 'Accept' how to save it to the DB. When I am doing this I will also have to write a module for loading this info back from the DB and to place it into public variables. As I will be needing variables for EVERY possible combination of species info I may need a notebook to figure out what i have and don't have already!

I gots faith in yer abilites bud!



Cheers, Thor

Our goal this night is to finish the programming for adding and subtracting the SP on the page so that we can go to the next(and arguably Harder) step of creating the public variables and the SQL statement to save them all!

I think that we are looking at roughly a hundred variables for this screen alone, and some of these are simply storage variables for the later construction screens like the planetary and unit creator screens.

The other thing that popped into my head is what happens if they stop creating the race midway through. We need to have this progression saved somehow. Unlike some games, we simply cannot create the race, its planetary regions, and its units all on one page.

Although for the last, we could have generic unit templates pre-created for the player already and any new units from the player be new built from that point on. This would immensely simply what needs to be done, it also interferes with one of the basic premises of the game. The player is creating a power and should have absolute control over the initial starting units, regions, tech, etc of his or her race.

The exception being single planetary games, of course :D

Ah bug stompin! but now it is up and working as expected. Next is creating the public variables and the spots in the db to store them!

This is likely to be several nights worth of work.

I have also snagged a Ethernet card for my work comp which will allow ken to log in and see if its working as expected! As soon as i go back and change the login info for the db and alter the SQL login info as well.

I hate 3com nic cards. I spent 2 hours on that dang thing and all it would do is say "unplugged". It did the same thing even when i used the good cable from my other comp. (Sings Extreeeeme Fruuustraaationnn!"

So, i will hunt down a non 3com and try that one.

I cleaned up the screen and made sure that we had no more overlapping text boxes. I also added the SP Conversion tab and that is my next project. Always a good thing to know what your doing tomorrow!

I have yet to start on the variable list. We had issues yesterday and today that required doctors visits. This has left me whooped hardcore and in need of a days break to get the energy to dive back in again.

hmm, so the default tooltips used in VB6 do not support paragraphs. figures. I have lines with half the info actually off the right side of the screen! Thank god for Google. We'll see if the API calls work. This will require going back and recoding all the tooltip programming done so far, but at least this way will (should) work.

I have started making the basic racial variables for the program to reference and the code that will be filling them at the same time. (yeouch! that's a lot)

Many of these will be using Boolean variables(simple true/false) as this will minimized DB size usage and take up less memory then other variable types.

I think i will finish the variables listing and the code to parse them before working on tooltips. As the controls are all control arrays, I should be able to implement the tooltip code with a mouse over event.

The variables for the species abilities are finally done, but the code to populate then is only halfway there. But we are moving again and that is what counts.

Ability variables are now populated! Onto the next tab(Species Attitudes).

Disadvantage variables are made and code for them is done.

I still have to work on the SP Conversion tab. This tab permits the player to use any remaining Species Points for more templates, Nation Points, and other beginning resources.

We also need to go back and make sure that the advantages that have pre-requirements are checked for.
One that comes to mind is the Hivemind advantage.

Ken, did we take Balkanized World out of the 3.0 doc?

i found it in the SP conversion at the end of the doc.

No, that is still in, as part of the Power ads and disads.


[5.5] Neighbors:

Balkanized World (+15 NP):
While you are the greatest power on your homeworld you are not the only one. Other Powers exist, which have no loyalty to you. They do not pose an immediate threat, but you cannot easily conquer or control them. The other Powers start with 25% of your starting Nation Points each - before Disadvantages and the 100 NP adjustment per starting year.



Cheers, Thor

yeah, i remembered that while driving to work today.

Tech level variables done, and the exceptions programmed to turn off and on the abilities, etc that require prerequisites. What is left is the SP conversion and the variables to store that as well for the Nation building screen.

i am in the middle of adding code to use an easily transportable Access db for now. this has thrown me more curves then I expected.

Tomorrow I should be able to post the current racial creation screen!

This is the racial creation screen.