Saturday, May 4, 2013

Exodus

Well I got my official answer of 'no', and though I accept it, some of their logic was kinda hypocritical IMO.  Oh well, This blog will be dying as soon as I get all the resources together for anybody who may be interested.  I'll post a note letting people know when I'm done with updates.... if anybody wants to take it over email me.  If new page views drop below a couple a day I may just delete it.

For those who have some development skills, I wrote everything in vb.net and it could all be converted to C# rather easily.  Here is a list of stuff I was working on, that I will not finish, as well as various other things I'll be putting up... space permitting:


  • Aerotech game, using DirectX, top view.  Most of the code has been written, some stuff remained for the map interface as well as turn sequencing.
  • Infantry Platoon Builder.  I actually already released this.  It could use some more polish, and probably some errata, but it is the only utility I am aware of that'll let you create infantry platoons.
  • Mech builder.  This utility allowed you to build mechs, industrial mechs, superheavy mechs, and LAMs.  Needed a GUI.
  • Vehicle builder.  This utility allowed you to build support vehicles and combat vehicles of all types currently in the game.  Needed a GUI.
  • Character builder.  This allowed you to make characters.  I did much of the design, but needed to put in some of the newer career paths.  Needed a GUI.
  • Building Builder.  This let you create structures, mobile structures, and combine those together into a single base.  Needed some of the base merging code, as well as a GUI.
  • Aerotech Builder.  This let you build jumpships, warships, dropships, space stations, small craft and aerospace fighters.  Again, needed a GUI.
  • Battle Armor Builder.  Just that, again, no GUI.
  • Protomech Builder.  GUI.
  • Counter maker.  This made counters from Quick/Alpha strike statistics.  This was so you could play a game without needing any record sheets, allowing for much larger games.  
  • Random system generation using the rules from Explorer Corps, as well as the new test IO rules.
  • My BTE site, that pulled up all the units in the game, printed record sheets, created Quick/Alpha strike sheets, etc.  You can view this by going to http://goodsects.gotdns.com/bte
  • Record sheet creator.  This created the record sheets in TRO 3063, which were far more accurate than those on the BTE site.
  • Battle simulator. Basically enter an average terrain to hit and movement modifier, and any 2 units, and it'll run through a thousand iterations to figure out which one is best.
  • Cartographer.  This was done a while back and released to download, never really finished as I was waiting for HBHK to come out to finish the data.  Volt took over the data entry for system coordinates.  The next version was going to use XNA... oh well.
  • Tool to view the maps in Megamek, dynamically change their hex theme, released.
  • Icon creator.  This created the unit icons based on those in Strategic Operations.  Mostly worked, but I had some questions that never got answered and it stalled.
  • Website die roller site
  • Tool to take a list of systems, and print out a big-honking hexagonal map for playing larger games.
  • Player finder site
  • Application to rip data from ISAtlas.com
  • Application to rip data from Masterunitlist.info
  • Much of a program that'd let you basically play megamek in real time (those kinda graphics, but real time and online, not turn based).
  • A lot of work on the succession wars game I was planning, basically a game allowing you to be a house leader and control every unit.
  • A full database in excel with every single unit every produced in battletech, with book/page references, as well as all data needed to recreate their TRO or inputting into Megamek or a designer.  I also have links to their images, both record sheet and TRO.  The file is about 11mb in excel and has 5759 entries.  I have links to the MUL if it exists on it.  Not everything has the TRO text data, about 40%, but many things have no TRO data so the number may be higher.  There is also a file that is needed by this one that has all the equipment in the game (it will need updating based on recent errata).  This includes everything you need to design units, and if made modular enough (not like SSW, HMP, or MML) it can be extended without new code whenever CGL adds some new technology.
  • Much of the work for an online record sheet tracker you could use on your phone or tablet, instead of printing.  It'd keep track of your units, the BV at any given point, as well as the time/costs for repairs.
  • A daunting amount of data entry for battletech I've done over the years.  Not only that, but many various ideas thrown in there as well.
  • An absolutely huge amount of battletech stuff.  From graphics, logos, house rules, basically just huge amounts of things I've downloaded off the web over the last 20 years.  It totals about 22GB, and I don't believe has anything "illegal" in it, though it does have lots of art from the game.
  • I have purchased everything in the game PDF, and since I won't be using them anymore there is just one of you who I'll send them too.  I have about 15GB in that folder.
  • I will be putting together an absolutely huge amount of BT stuff (maps, books, novels, mostly miniatures) out for sale soon.  I'll start with craigslist as I *really* (and I can't stress that enough) have no desire to box up dozens of boxes of miniatures and stuff and take them to UPS stores for delivery.  I'll accept pretty much anything in trade if your local, and would love to do some form of donation thing... maybe some big BT fan is down on their luck, or knows some non-profit that wouldn't mind selling them all.  I'd give it to them freely.  Maybe I'll take them all to Origins and give a miniature to everybody who walks in the door or something (well the first thousand or so)... though I'm not sure I'll go.  I just know I have zero desire to mail them out, don't need the money, and have zero desire to have them anymore.
Anyway, I'll get most of that stuff zipped up into big files, perhaps torrents, for those of you who want the data, as soon as I get a round to it and parse it for IP infringing data.

As for me?  Well I'll be withdrawing out of the Battletech community.  I won't say forever, but I can't imagine getting my mind changing.  I was devoting some work to Federation and Empire, but the interest there is extremely low.  I figure I'll either just decide to design my own game, find some new game to devote my free time to, or just work on a couple enterprise level products for companies that would allow me to retire early.  I dunno yet.

I'm not, in any means, leaving the web or disappearing all together.  I'll still have my 16 year old yahoo email account, and will always answer it even if it is about Battletech (like questions on all the stuff I listed above).  I'll always help anybody who asks, as it is my idiom, I simply won't be actively trying to support the community anymore.  I'd be find helping out for anybody taking over my code so the BT community can finally get some decent design software.

I'll probably leave my BTE site up for a while, until it starts to suck up too much CPU or space.

So, unless somebody wants to pay me, 20 of you get together and hound me daily for new software, or Herb/Randall ask me nicely to write them some software.... I'm done, sorry to have disappointed a few of you who stuck around.

Download links coming soon...

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

One last shot!

2 things, one stupid, one important.  Stupid first.

I have to stop chatting and having interactive communication online.  Facts are that many people can't understand "where I'm coming from", and online people have a tendency to get VERY defensive, VERY quickly.  Ironically, they are the first to use the term "Troll", when most Trolls are just "trying to get a rise out of you", and you let them by referring to that term.  I have to avoid these situations, I think very differently than anybody I've ever known, and not many people can understand my points.  I have to remember this, and like everybody I feel sometimes my opinion is important, I think it is better if I just avoid voicing it in a forum where people are in their homes, and not likely to accept anything they don't already think is truth with anything but aggression.  

This blog is ok, though I may piss people off sometimes, it isn't really interactive, and most people don't bother posting.  *I* don't get mad at people online really, it makes me feel bad that people can get so irate over words, but it is *very* hard to get me "pissed off", just ask my wife ;)

Anyway, the important thing now, for the .5 readers that are still reading ;)

I am giving Battletech one last shot.  In the next few days, I'll write the official Forum folks apologizing for breaking their rules (2 times I referenced politics, 3 times mentioned I was bringing things to a LGS to sell, so I wasn't banned for being a douche or anything) to see if they will enable me again.  I'll be nice, and cordial, and ask in a serious manner.  The reason is, I'm a form of vampire online.  I have time, skills, and desire to do all sorts of things for various games.  However, I have to have feedback to keep going.  If I don't have, well, a fan club, of people giving me input and anxiously awaiting some new product I'm working on, my mind starts to think "why would I write this for just me and 2 other people?".  The official forums are really the only place I can find enough supporters of Battletech to "keep me fed", for lack of a better saying.  I know I'm in some way mentally deficient for this requirement, but I also like big boobs, and can't seem to control that either...again, ask my wife ;)

So, I'll ask if I can be re-enabled.  Upon doing so I should be able to have enough support to finish my web based unit (*every* type of unit) editor, record sheet generator, cost/availability/year validation stuff, online record sheet tracker, Quick/Alpha Strike converter, my Cartographer, etc, etc... 

But if they say no, which is totally ok and understandable, I'll zip up all my Battletech stuff, throw it online for ya'll to leech, and walk away.  I'll sell about 80% of my miniatures (regiments worth) on ebay, starting for $1 (I don't need the money, and they suck up space).  I'll stop checking the forums, stop keeping up with current Battletech events, and maybe even try to back away from miniature based gaming.  It'll be a rough transition, but I can then start writing non-game type software for corporation server monitoring, which though less fun, is by far more profitable.

On a side note, if you know exactly who I should contact at CGL it'd help.  I'll post the end result whenever I get an answer, and will always answer my emails.