I suspended working on upgrades for SimPlot and SimPlot Viewer in favor of an overall rewrite of the program that would include both single and multiplayer modes. I have been experimenting with a language called Xojo so I could create PC, Mac, and Linux versions without having to maintain multiple programs.

 

The experiment did not go well at first, but as I learned to cope with Xojo's way of doing things, and the differences between Mac and PC, I am at a point of increased confidence in Xojo. So, I have created a display test of what I would like SimPlot 2 to look like. Functionality at this point is limited, but at least you will get to see the future of SimPlot.

 

The units and the map are currently built in, but you can add new units or modify existing ones. The existing units lack some unit info, so just fill in the blanks as you see fit. I hope the new unit interfaces are intuitive enough. You can also modify the "Text Tags" that appear next to the unit on the map.

 

The map and icon colors are taken from an official US Navy document on the subject of war fighting displays. Presently, I have NTDS style symbols but I hope to include the Common Warfighting Symbology (CWS) set in the future. They look weird so I will put that task last.

 

Here are the mouse and key commands:

• C-center map on selected unit, map cursor, or 0,0 if none else.
• +, -, mouse wheel up/down to change map zoom levels. If a unit is selected, or the map cursor is present, then it will zoom on them.
• Mouse Click-select unit or set map cursor to display the game x,y coordinates.
• Select a unit, then hold Shift key while clicking on map will show the map cursor x,y and bearing/distance from the unit to the cursor.
• ESC-clear selected unit or map cursor.
• F1 with selected unit to modify the unit.
• F9 will bring up the Customize Display window. The symbol sizes are proportional within each symbol scale. The different scales are for use with larger displays (consistent with CWS--not sure if it helps so let me know). You don't have to close this window, just set it aside or minimize it and F9 brings it up again.
• The Units menu can be used to create some new units. Click the map where you want the new unit, menu select which type of unit and the position will transfer to the unit window. The Unit Types are a CWS thing, so you can just use the generic "Aircraft", "Helicopter","Warship" if you like. Later, those types will display different CWS icons.

Some of these windows are just thrown together for now. The polish comes later. I am just concerned with getting the look and feel of it right for a Harpoon game. I hope you enjoy it.

 

Note: I am posting the PC 32 bit version now, with the Mac version to come maybe tomorrow. I did not compile it tonight. The PC version works well with Win 7 & 10.

 

Let me know what you think.

 

EDIT: Mac OS X version is now ready. Some of the window controls have not been optimized for the Mac yet.

 

 

SimPlot 2 Win.zip

SimPlot2 OS X.zip

I uploaded newer versions of SimPlot 2 preview. Many new functions have been added, including range circles, ESM bearings, Sonar bearings, and perceptions. The perceptions are not fully implemented, however. Units can now move by selecting the turn time from the menu, then use CTRL-M (Win) or Command-M (OS X). The turn time is not yet tracked in the program, but you can still move units around as much as you want.

 

Units can now be deleted. Units cannot be saved yet. I eliminated the fixed units at the program start, so you can now add your own and even play a battle.

 

The new files are in the above post.

A quick update: Simplot 2 is nearing Alpha testing. I am working on the referee file save routine (the load routine is complete). Once that is complete, it will be possible to play a solo game with limited units. I will upload that version when it is ready.

The Alpha version is ready. I am putting together a ReadMe file that will be included in the zip archive. I will upload them this week.