More great progress this week. All the major database changes have been done, and code is coming along very smoothly. I've been able to implement features that in my mind would have taken days, sometimes in minutes. There have been a few hiccups, as there will always be, but so far nothing game changing or too distracting from the end goal.
I go into a lot more daily details on the facebook thread, which I update daily, but I'll give the compressed version here. Those users will have access to the alpha and beta when they are released as well.
Essentially right now I can do pretty much everything to design a unit. What I am working on now is the weight, cost, BV, years, and availability of said units. This shouldn't take too long, and I've done it before on my encyclopedia site, but I am doing it all from scratch to incorporate various lessons learned since the encyclopedia.
Once those calculations are done, I'll run it against my 6000+ unit database and work through the bugs.
After that is'll be onto record sheets and other feature implementation.
So, making great progress, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel already.
Here is a current screenshot, though pretty much every aspect about the interface is subject to change:
Feel free to recommend any features you'd like to see, and I'll add them to my "todo" list of features (assuming I haven't thought of them already!.
Looking very Nice!, a good workable lay-out on that screen shot.
ReplyDeleteA nice feature that would be helpful for GMs and other people running or hosting games might be a batch printing feature, where I can select a half-dozen units, right click, and print record sheets for each of them, without having to open and print each individually.
ReplyDeleteThis might seem niche, but it would also be handy those times you find the enemy (or players) calling in reinforcements unexpectedly.
Also, in a more general sense, thanks for the work you're doing. One of the problems I've found with getting new people into Battletech is that a generation of players that grew up with Army Builder and Hero Lab aren't always willing to get out pencil and paper and crunch numbers. Expediting that process will make it easier to sell new players - especially since you're integrating everything into one program, instead of having to download a half dozen programs, each suitable for a different unit type.
Thanks again :)
Thanks! Yes, you will be able to create "lists" of units (no size limit). They will also be persistent and can track damage/crits/ammo/pilots, all of which get printed along with your list.
DeleteHopefully CGL has sold a bit more BT recently with Alpha Strike, though I think a huge flaw in Battletech today is the absolutely horrible quality of the ugly miniatures.