kmart494
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Posts posted by kmart494
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SimPlot 2.1 will be released when H5 is finished. This is partly because of my work with ATG that prompted some changes to the program, mostly related to the turn replay feature and the turn/movement undo buttons.
I will consider adding a 1 second turn interval, but if you use it to play an entire scenario, the turn file might become too big to handle.
Kevin
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I certainly would. That will have to wait in line for a few things that are on my SimPlot plate now. I imagine the units might be generic, though. Such as AAA, SAM, armor, infantry, and a few others but without specifying the size of the unit (the Name field could be used for that?) I have not put much thought into it, but I think it would be a good addition to the program.
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Here is some additional information on map making for SimPlot.
1) AEGIS display colors that I use: (RGB values)
- Deep Ocean: 70, 70, 70
- Territorial Water (or Shallow Water): 62, 62, 65
- Land: 85, 87, 71
- Coast: 136, 133, 112
- Text: 192, 192, 192
The colors are derived from the COMMON NAVY WARFIGHTING DISPLAY SYMBOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE, 2007.
2) Here is the minimum data the map.txt config file needs to use a map image in SimPlot
MAP=GIUK1.png
SCALE=2.58The "MAP" should be the name and type of image file. The "SCALE" should be the number of pixels per Nautical Mile. This can be measured in an image editor by using the image scale bar as a reference (such as a Google Map image). The image scale is likely in miles, so convert that to NM. Then divide the number of pixels across the scale by the NM.
You may need to splice together multiple image files in an image editor. You must do this before moving on to the next step.
I always give the .txt config file the same name as the image file for clarity.
3) Open SimPlot and create a new scenario with the .txt map file you just created. To add country or city names, use the cursor to locate where the city dot or center of the country names will appear. Add that information to the .txt config file using the following format:
COUNTRY=ICELAND|-150.50|283.50
COUNTRY=FAROE ISLANDS|194.00|84.50
CITY=LONDON|400.44|-502.02|AL
CITY=Liverpool|314.39|-407.83|ARThe country format is Name|X|Y
The city format is Name|X|Y|Position
The position dictates where the city name will appear in relation to the dot. This is an attempt to conform to cartographic standards.
- AL - above left
- AR - above right
- BL - below left
- BR - below right
I capitalize countries and capital cities. The city and country names will not appear on screen until you quit the scenario and either reload it or start a new one.
Please note the X, Y values are SimPlot's Cartesian coordinate system with 0, 0 at the center of the map. If you change the map scale in the .txt config file, or you change the size of the image, then you will have to update all the X, Y values for the names.
If you intend to repaint the map image, it might be wise to first view the unpainted image in SimPlot so you can get the locations of cities or bases. Cities are a part of the config file, but bases are technically units in the game, so noting their location first while you can see them will help you to create new base units in the scenario.
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Darth,
Here is a quick repaint of the Santiago map using AEGIS colors. I hope this helps you to see the units and tags better.
I included modified .jpg and .txt files. The text file has the cities in it, so you will have to select the "Cities" button on the display bar in SimPlot to see them.
Kevin
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I had to temporarily disable the color change feature. The symbols were originally drawn in code, but I converted to using bitmaps instead. This made at least some of the color changers not work (and crash the program). For now, there is no way to change the colors. I will reinstate that feature later, but I want to create a map making utility program first (in progress).
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On 2/7/2020 at 4:57 AM, EnsCahalane said:
No luck with running the new macOS version of SimPlot2; I just get the following error message "The alias “SimPlot2” can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found."
After spending the morning fighting with the Apple Notarization process, I think I may have success. I just uploaded a new .dmg file. Please download it and let me know if it works.
NOTE: It may open into a mounted drive in Finder. You should create a new SimPlot2 folder in the Applications folder, then drag and drop the SimPlot2.app file there. This way, you will not lose any saved scenarios when the mount disconnects (it will when you power down).
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3 minutes ago, davidwhitt said:
I realize that is an option, and I do a separate save before actually starting. It would be nice to someday have the ability to essentially create a database of units. Perhaps that’s outside the direction you envision for your wonderful piece of software, but one can always hope.
I see what you are getting at. A database of units is not out of the question, but it could not include anything from copyrighted Harpoon material. As is, the only real difference between units is the domain (air, surface, etc), the affiliation (Red, Blue, Neutral), and a specific sub type (warship, civilian, etc). Everything else, such as location, heading, speed, perception, name, circles, etc has to be created within the scenario as they are unique to the scenario. A database would be useful if I could someday include things like rates of turn, climb, acceleration, max speeds, altitudes, and all the things in the Harpoon rules that would help automate unit movement (or even detection).
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6 minutes ago, kmart494 said:
Do you know where the SimPlot2.app file is located? Ideally, it should be in a folder in the Applications folder. I was trying to create a unique folder the the .app so future versions will not overwrite the existing folder (in case you had maps and scenarios).
Well, I just downloaded it myself to discover it opens in a mounted drive folder. It seems the .app file is just an "alias". I will create another .dmg file.
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On 2/7/2020 at 4:57 AM, EnsCahalane said:
No luck with running the new macOS version of SimPlot2; I just get the following error message "The alias “SimPlot2” can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found."
Do you know where the SimPlot2.app file is located? Ideally, it should be in a folder in the Applications folder. I was trying to create a unique folder the the .app so future versions will not overwrite the existing folder (in case you had maps and scenarios).
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29 minutes ago, davidwhitt said:
It would be great to be able to save units, and load them when creating a new scenario. It would be a great time saver. Do you think that is something that might be doable one day?
If you were going to replay the same scenario, you can save a separate version just after creating the scenario. For example, I always set up the units then save the file as "setup.json" before starting the scenario. After starting, I use the default "Referee.json" to play.
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2019 Origins System Test
These files are recreations of the System Test played at Origins 2019. The game was refereed by Larry Bond and the game turns were run by Kevin Martell (kmart494) on a MacBook using an earlier version of SimPlot2. The old files are not compatible with the current version of SP2, so I recreated them using the latest version.
Download and extract the Origins System Test folder to SimPlot's Scenarios folder. You will also need to download the GIUK1 map files from the Maps download section if you do not already have it. The map files can go in the Maps folder or directly into the Origins scenario folder.
Contents:
- player_settings.json -- This file contains the display and text tag settings.
- Referee.json -- The game file as played from Turn 0000 to Turn 0103. The game stopped there as the air and surface combat phases were played on the tabletop using miniatures.
- setup.json -- The game file at the start of the scenario (Turn 0000). If you want to play your own version using established units, then this is where you start.
- System_Test_Blank.json -- This file only has the starting reference points (no units). Use this if you want to play with your own unit formations and orders.
The scenario is published in The Naval SITREP #57 (October 2019) and is available at the Wargame Vault website.
NOTE: You must have SimPlot2 v2.0.0 to use these files.
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Submitter
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Submitted01/25/2020
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I uploaded version 2.0.0 of SimPlot2. (it sounds redundant, but I am naming things the "Windows way".)
Check out the change log for a list of new features.
You need to unzip the download into a different folder than the last SimPlot folder. Future updates will always have their own main folder. You can reuse the same maps (copy them into the new Maps folder), but you cannot use any existing turn files.
NOTE: the macOS version is not yet ready. I will post when it is. I have additional hoops to jump through with Apple first.
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Did you download or transfer the original SimPlot zip folder to the laptop? There are several resource and library folders/files that go along with the executable. Anything that is missing would produce an error.
Are the maps and scenarios located in the Maps and Scenarios folders on the laptop? You could load a non-map scenario from another network location without a problem, but SimPlot checks the default Maps folder (located with the executable) for an associated map file. (I think I might change this to allow the scenario map to be co-located with the scenario file.)
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One other thing to consider is that SimPlot is "folder sensitive". The map .txt and .png files must be in the Maps folder. The Maps folder must be in the same folder as the SimPlot2.exe file.
A few questions for you, please.
- Is your laptop Win10?
- Is it 64 bit?
- How much memory do you have?
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Does your laptop hate you?
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I posted a video of a SimPlot screenshot showing the new turn replay feature. The game running in it is a re-creation of the Origins 2019 Dance of the Vampires scenario that was run by me and Larry Bond. The original turn files are not compatible with the SP2 update, so I had to run the game all over again using the original turn files as guides. The end result looks just like it happened at the convention.
The Undo Turn and Undo Move buttons at the bottom right looked fine in the Win version, but as you can see they aren't right in the Mac version. I will have to fix that. They do, however, work very good.
The update is nearing completion. I want to spend this coming week doing some testing, especially with multiplayer files.
My next project is an experiment with using polygons to render land areas vs. using a bitmap image. If it works, then I will be creating a stand-alone application to make SimPlot maps.
H4 Forum Name Change?
in General
Once Harpoon5 is published, will this forum's name be changed to reflect the most current version, or should there be a new forum while preserving the H4 content?