Friday, January 7, 2011

BattleTech Engineer - Infantry

This is my first blog, an attempt to avoid the moderators moving my topics over at the ClassicBattleTech.com forums.  It will also better allow me to support my products and announce new features and new releases.  Hopefully the dedicated followers among you can give me good feedback to help me make the applications more intuitive and easier to use.


Here is a duplicate of my last post over there:
Here is what I got so far:
http://www.cooltexan.com/bte.zip

No print functionality, need to finalize the sheet.

There *are* bugs, I'll list the ones I know below (and there is a menu button that displays this too) which I'll get to soon as I can.  If you see something NOT on this list, and want to let me know, please get a sequence from startup that led you to the "bug", and I'll try to duplicate and then fix it and produce a new version.

Known bugs, issues, or things not yet implemented:
::   I'm not 100% sure I always let units have 2 SECONDARY weapons, because I thought that meant SECONDARY weapons (http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=71921.0)
::   If you have a Manai Domini with >4 limbs, only the effects from 4 can be used in any turn, I am not modeling that.
::   Not taking into account the damage type with prosthetic weapons, just a damage number
::   Not sure if my BV is 100% right, some are a few points off, probably because I'm not rounding until the end (and am not real sure when to round))
::   MD Implants have no cost, introduction year, tech rating, or availabilities (maybe these are in ATOW?)
::   Suicide Implants (ISP, p121) aren't implemented yet
::   Mechanized SCUBA, Minelayers, and Portable TAG have no rules yet.
::   Genecasts (P128, ISP) and a couple MD rules in that book aren't implemented, and may never be
::   Changing squad size doesn't update the # of support weapons

I am planning on adding:
:   Add support for images, notes, source, page
::   Print to various forms
::   Can select random unit quality UPON PRINT for each platoon
::   Maintenance Per Week (P170, SO)
::   Infantry status table (P174, SO) - basically pre-existing damage
::   Battleforce stats & a battleforce page with lots of platoons
::   RPG Stats, maybe the ATOW squad sheet or this platoon (battletroops 2, YEAH!)
::   Create an infantry damage quick play sheet (just all the tables needed for infantry play on 1 sheet)
::   Create a bug submittal form
::   Version checker/update downloader
::   Look through TO/SO/TW/ATOW/etc for additional rules, and through all errata
::   Option for realistic damage (so short range weapons aren't added to long range damage, basically a Primary/Secondary/Disposable line for damage and accuracy)

I am pretty sure most of the bugs will revolve around change the platoon size, squad size, # of field guns, # of paramedics, or # of secondary weapons.  Many of those things can actually modify each other, and there is a good possibility of endless loops the way I wrote the code (which I completely REWROTE 3 times to get rid of issues like that!).

All the other bugs are probably things I think will probably be rules based, or some errata I didn't know of.

Hope its useful.  I'm planning on the same thing for all other equipment types next (and in some cases, they are easier!).

All of these apps will be rolled into one as they are finished.  Once they are all done, amazing things will come after Wink

Input is *greatly* appreciated, the more I think people are dying to see what I'm doing, the less likely I'll end up playing WOW because I'm not in the mood to program Wink

No comments:

Post a Comment