TonyE

Welcome Dan and great writeup! I look forward to your AARs and issue reports Please see your messages for help with the installer download.

An old thread of interest

We have two main database authors, CV32 and Divefreak who have led two streams of platform database curating for public consumption. As you can see from this sub-forum's threads, neither of those masters are active presently which severely limits the attractiveness of the game to scenario authors. For many, if they can't put the latest platforms in a scenario, they will turn to a different simulation. Being inclined toward writing code I tend to try to solve with technology, in this case writing a new Platform Editor (PE) and the littany of associated changes to the other game components. Benefits: 1. Make the number of entries in the database nearly limitless, up from roughly 4096 per annex today. This 4096 limit, despite being doubled from 2048 is a limit that has been reached in the newer databases. 2. Eliminate dependency on Microsoft Access which few people have and despite free MS Access Runtime being available, installation of it is fraught with difficulties (mismatched Office versions breaking other apps, Access not working, etc.). 3. Allow additional fields and features. Think finally being able to associate URLs to photos, articles, videos to a platform's record. 4. Allow more collaborative editing with attribution. User 1 creates a platform, User 2 makes it faster, User 3 gives it more damage points. The scenario author could choose any of the 3 versions of the platform and you could track back to see the platform's editing lineage. Lots of questions and potential complexity here if an author wants to share a platform for use but not allow further modification and other similar use-cases. Challenges: 1. Would want to start with a web-based editor for simplicity meaning the website would have to be alive and working for database editing. The exported database could still be distributed as a file so would not be lost to websites crumbling. We would also use an open format (JSON, XML, ...) where someone could more easily write another editor as compared to the current binary format. 2. Not a small undertaking, other flashier changes would be put on hold for let's say much of 2022. 3. We'd need a authentication provider. It is easy enough to use the forum software here but worth a discussion if people would prefer using a different identity provider (Google, Facebook, etc.) Thoughts? What additional information do you need in order to formulate thoughts?

Thank you for the update.

I haven't been able to replicate this one. The scenario duration dialog appears fine for me, I can change the duration, and click OK without a crash. I'll cross my fingers that once we put up the next build (next week perhaps) you don't see the issue anymore.

Assuming you are using HCDB or HCDB2, check out the Ships Annex, INTL country, type SAM for items such as "SAM Patriot Bty"

I fired off my communications before supper. Give it about a week and I'll have a recommended path forward that we can debate and perhaps rally support around.

No, but that needs to change. HCDB2 is the most up to date but as you can see from the date of 2017, not good enough at this point. https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/files/file/934-hcdb2-170909-1980-2025/ There is also another effort that hasn't quite made it over the finish line. Once I check in with each of the editors we'll chart a path forward.

Next Harpoon chat on Zoom is Friday November 12th @ 7:00 PM Central. Hope to see you there! Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88443754075?pwd=ZXhoVjdQdFpCbkczeUFwamduSWVtZz09 Meeting ID: 884 4375 4075 Passcode: 874700 One tap mobile +16699006833,,88443754075#,,,,*874700# US (San Jose) +14086380968,,88443754075#,,,,*874700# US (San Jose) Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 884 4375 4075 Passcode: 874700 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdfSLC4a5A

Issue confirmed in 2021.007

Hmm, it looks like the audio is in the replay even though it wasn't in the livestream. and

I started to take a look and live-streamed it very poorly (audio wasn't in an acceptable format for YouTube). No useful debugging results yet though the Red F-35 just launched on me so there is hope.

Here is a bit about eff115 from the ReleaseNotes.txt HCE - 2009.027 ============== - Chg:B106 GE Implementing a new eff115 (Autonomous Sensor Intelligence) that determines when the AI should turn on active sensors and when to prompt the player to do the same. Added a new log type option to the command line for this, emcon_ai . Also added a new command line option to switch back to a fixed version of the old eff115 that will properly notice if a group's radars are already on. The option is -e i.e. c:\games\HCE\Winharp32.exe -e would revert to the fixed old eff115 that is much more apt to turn on radars than the new code. (thanks Lots of People) With the old eff115 the game took the stance that it is better to radiate than get zapped by an unseen foe. The re-write tempered that approach to use additional logic to only start radiating when it seemed likely the foe could detect your unit. The logging of the new eff115 is comprehensive and might be interesting for you to examine. It is the emcon_ai logging flag.

It does raise the question of who needs the game to still run as Windows XP API level compatible...

Video uploaded, Eric's approach can work and I show it in the video, updating HCE to the current beta. It is an unsupported configuration but happens to work with the builds available right now. There are no guarantees on that continuing to work but chances are good that it will.

Hi aviator, can you tell us one specific scenario you are trying to edit and the BattleSet name? Thank you

Concur, the iterative saving is the best tool. Then if your most recent save is bad, if you go back an additional save/game second chances are great you can load it. Sometimes the last save it bad as part of whatever bug you hit. I'll do a bit of a write-up on old eff115 last this weekend. You don't need to do additional logging until problems are more narrowed down. The additional logging is more of an on-demand thing, Y:"Hey Tony, why are my tankers always empty?" M:"Run through it again with the refuel logging turned on and send me the ge.log file." The logs make some sense the more you read them. The refuel once for instance will give you information I think you'd understand without any assistance.

Yes, add some ordnance like the AGM-84 and I'm in

Hmm, modelling the seasonal affect on daylight would be a lot easier than modelling terrain. I'd even welcome day/night changing by longitude before dreaming up too much fun for latitude. If you get bored and stumble upon a source of the equations for day/night/dawn/dusk by date & lat/lon, that is something I could add to the game in a weekend.

Do you happen to recall if the DD remained a localized contact (no uncertainty zone diamond lines)? Fratricide is purposely allowed for AAMs, torpedos have a bit more advanced modelling that are dependent upon the situation (whether still being wire guided to an exactly detected target for instance).

There is also the possibility that the transport needed to hang around the drop zone for a specified period of time. Unless the scenario orders were specific about dropping the paratrooper ordnance, sitting on station, or just keeping those aircraft alive, one would have to open up the scenario in the editor and examine the victory conditions.

That is fantastic news, thanks Don!

New network libera.chat

Heads' up, it looks like Harpgamer will be rehosted (from Hostgator to Interserver) next weekend. There will likely be some down time and will certainly be some time when you can't post new topics & files. We will post when the migration is done.

For the last 9 years we have been using the Freenode IRC network. Unfortunately there was recently a power struggle/hostile takeover of that network that seems to have now resulted in ever user connecting needing to be authenticated. We'll be moving to a different IRC network posthaste, probably tomorrow. Sorry for the trouble.