What is the HCDB / HCDB2?

[CV32]

What is the HCDB?

 

The HCDB is an acronym for what is now known as the Harpoon Commander's Edition Database, the official database that ships with AGSI's newest naval warfare simulation product, Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE).

 

The HCDB is available for download from the Downloads section of this website. Extract the zip file into your main HCE directory. It will overwrite your current 'commondb.res' file. To maintain multiple databases, be sure to rename your existing 'commondb.res' file. A *.txt file is also included in the zip which details the latest update.

 

The design philosophy of the HCDB is to maintain, wherever feasible, backwards compatibility with legacy scenarios. The platforms (ships, submarines, aircraft, installations, and weapon systems) contained in the HCDB cover (generally speaking) the 1980-2015 era, but this is not a hard and fast rule, and there are some exceptions, including platforms from the Vietnam era and some platforms that are purely hypothetical.

 

Please note that while the HCDB has been distributed with HCE, copyright to HCDB database content is held by Brad Leyte (aka CV32). HCDB database content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. You may copy, distribute and transmit the HCDB and all or parts of its content, but not derivative works based on it without the express written permission of the author Brad Leyte. You may also adapt the HCDB database to your own needs under the terms of fair use. By doing so, you agree to fully attribute Brad Leyte as the author of the HCDB database. The HCDB database may not be used for any commercial purpose whatsoever without the express written permission of Brad Leyte.

 

A common sense explanation of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License is found here.

 

The legal code of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License can be found here.

 

Like any database, the HCDB is always a "work in progress". Requests for new platforms are always welcome, and stand a good chance of inclusion if (1) they adhere to the design philosophy described above, and/or (2) they are required for upcoming new scenarios.

 

(This FAQ will be further developed as time goes on in order to keep everyone abreast of design or philosophy changes in the HCDB).

[CV32]

What is the HCDB2?

 

The HCDB2 is a new version of the long standing Harpoon Commander's Edition Database (or HCDB).

 

Unlike its predecessor, HCDB2 departs from the previous standard of maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy scenarios.

 

The platforms (ships, submarines, aircraft, installations, sensors, and weapons) contained in the HCDB2 cover the period from the year 1980 until sometime in the near future (say, about 2025).

 

There may also be philosophy changes in certain aspects of how the DB is structured or how it approaches things like electronic warfare, guidance/seeker generational advances, etc. The most obvious change will be more differentiation between and identification of platforms by point in time (so that a single entry would only contain weapons, sensors or loadouts relevant to that point in time, e.g. 1985, instead of all weapons, sensors, etc available to it over a long period of time).

 

HCDB2 database content continues to be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. You may copy, distribute and transmit the HCDB2 and all or parts of its content, but not derivative works based on it without the express written permission of the author Brad Leyte. You may also adapt the HCDB2 database to your own needs under the terms of fair use. By doing so, you agree to fully attribute Brad Leyte as the author of the HCDB2 database. The HCDB2 database may not be used for any commercial purpose whatsoever without the express written permission of Brad Leyte.

 

The HCDB2 will always be a "work in progress". For a period of time, this will be even more true of the HCDB2 than is usually the case as the underlying philosophy of the database and the mechanics of how it will ultimately be structured remain subject to change.