One of those "remember when" suggestions came up on Facebook the other day saying it has been 7 years since I finished the HC 20th Anniversary launcher utility. That got me curious what one or two things I would highlight for each year of my tenure as an HC programmer. Items with *s are ones where I did most or all of the coding but each of them took the effort of many people!

 

2003:

Platform Editor - PE

WestPac BattleSet

2004:

*Mobile Land Units (could have been 2003 but I doubt it)

*Base Source Level (BSL) exposed throughout the toolchain so that the database Authors could set a base noise level of a platform for sonar purposes.

2005:

*New active ECM model with graduated escort and standoff jamming.

*Harpoons can finally be fired at surfaced subs (this beat out Neutrals which happened around this timeframe)

2006:

Bug fixes

2007:

*BattleSet Builder

*ExportDLL interface introduced

2008:

*EC2000 BattleSets make their return

*Game graphics now loaded from individual images, meaning they can be modded easily.

2009:

*Introduced the concept of saved game format conversion as well as the concept of the option to have saved games in progress as BattleSet Builder scenarios so that planes can start in the air and such.

*Game clock can be stopped without the Pause dialog so player can give orders while paused.

2010:

*Masking of unit icons in formation editor finally fixed

2011:

*Bug fixes

2012:

*Use more than the first six sensors on a platform

2013:

*Re-made USNI scenarios can be used in the full game

*Reworked gunfire mechanics

2014:

*32-bit Scenario Editor so that scenarios can be edited on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows

2015:

*Revamped air to air refueling. Tankers can now offload fuel multiple times per sortie among other goodness.

*4096 items per database annex are now useable instead of 2047

2016:

*Gradual heading and altitude changes

Tony,

 

Thanks for all you do for HC!

Great Work! (Fourteen years!).

Some of us remember the dark and gloomy days before Tony. Now that is old.

Haha, I was looking for more of a yay Harpoon response but I'll blush and carry on. Brad, I remember the days before Bret let me loose on the code as pretty remarkable, hardly dark days! There was a whole lot of collaboration and taskmasters keeping ya'll focused on the prize.

Oh, it was a tough slog then, and HC has come an awfully long way even from those days.

Thank you all. This old game has come such a long way under your care.

In the 2 and 1/2 years I have been part of this group HC has come a long way.

 

You can now have 255 units in a group up from 128

 

Orbital missiles were not detected with radar. That now works. Orbital missiles were never able to be detected by radar in HC prior to that in HC

 

You increased the number of magazines each ship can have.

 

Fixed HC multiple times when I exceeded the limitation of HC.

 

2 major HC releases was made to Matrix.

 

Played our first paper Harpoon game in Milwaukee!

 

Had a Harpoon Geeks weekend last fall.

 

Lets not forget you had 2 sons born during the last 2 and 1/2 years!

 

Let's all not forget Mel (Tony's wife) puts up with us asking for help fixing HC issues while getting in some time of his own to make the improvements he wants to make.

 

We can't forget CV32 he keeps the HC Official database Current .

 

This a all pretty awesome for a bunch of guys who do it all for free.

 

I hope you guys know how much you guys are appreciated!

 

I forgot to mention all of the guys who have pitched in creating all the scenarios for us to play, and the utilities that are created to enhance the HC playing enjoyment!

 

Thanks to all!

 

Eric