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2/26/04: I've been posting WIP pictures for a couple of the 3D models I'm making for the viewing benefit of some other 3D modelers that have shown interest, and because I have such a tiny web space here, I've had to remove the V1 screenshots.
V1 testing has been going great, got a few things to change, but overall it's been extremely good!
2/6/04: Been getting a lot of those 3D ships, although I can't find ALL of the ones I need (FASA designs particularly), so I will probably use substitute existing designs for some of the missing ships, or create them myself. Also updated the Background section to reflect the current situation with the program.
Also put up a work-in-progress pic of my own design, the Federation strike carrier Illustrious - check it out here!
1/20/04: Version 1 Betas have been released to a select list of individuals, I couldn't find a server that would host my files, so I had to ship CD's to people I know are going to test this program out very well.
Version 2 is now in the beginning stages. I have found the right importers/exporters for 3D ship models and now have 3D Studio MAX to work them up and port them to DirectX!! Now I'm data-mining the internet for available ship models (most will come from the "Starfleet Command" world) so I can use 3D ships instead of generic race icons :) Got a LOT of work to do on this, so far I have several hundred models to work with!
1/2/04: DirectX is a pain...but I think it's going to be worth it. I've seen the graphics engines that are out there (free ones that is) and for what little I need to do with DirectX, I'll stick to the raw procedure calls. I'm now able to put my icons on a checkerboard-type map, position and rotate them, move the view around at will, and place 2D HUD text on the viewport. It took me the better part of the last two weeks to do that!
Since all that has taken up my time, I haven't finalized the beta yet...but will, and I still have no on-line download site to distribute from, so I'm kinda SOL until that comes about.
12/17/03: Still going through some bugs, and some items that aren't really sitting well with me, especially the movement. I will have to change some of the code so that even if a vessel has only one power point, then they can move at least one movement unit. I saw the error while testing a small craft that only had a couple available power points to begin with...nolo move-o...LOL! The power allocation in the next version is going to be much more granular.
The other item I'm having difficulties with is the "Orbit Stellar Body" routine...I may have to either ditch it, or re-write it completely. Right now it's awfully hard to get into orbit if you are outside the body's orbital radius, and almost impossible to do so when you're *inside* the orbital radius.
I've also been researching ways to render map displays and other items using DirectX - I'm to the point where I can create the 3D icon symbols (pretty cool :) ), and soon will be defining the engine that will power the display. DirectX is nice, but it's also difficult to find a free engine to power it through Visual Basic.NET, but there are plenty for the C languages - and I'm not about to undertake learning C! I may change the existing ship icons to graphic coversions of my 3D models though, because they look so much better than the ones I currently have.
ATTENTION: If anyone out there knows of a FREE online file-storage site that allows more than 5 or 20MB of storage for downloads, I would appreciate it if you would e-mail me. Thank you very much in advance!
11/24/03: Took me 13 days to do the Scenario Creator update...it's much better, and useable by at least someone who would be familiar with the STTCS board game. It was rather humorous to review this code - it was the very first thing I had started programming in VB5, and I didn't know a lot of the capabilities of the user-input controls, and the forms had given me heartburn. I was definitely wet behind the ears. Now to work on the main program again, hopefully I can get to a beta level before the middle of next month.
11/11/03: I've got the main program mostly where I want it, at least to the point of being fully operable. Now I need to go back to the Scenario Creator (whose code I haven't messed with for over a year) and do a major overhaul - it's ugly and not intuitive at all - I have troubles using it, and I'm the fool who coded it! If I like the changes I made there, I may go back to the main program and make some of the items there more user-friendly.
11/5/03: As I have promised several who've e-mailed me lately, I've updated the Screen Shots page to show the new, prettier game screens - go check 'em out! Oh, and please ignore the fact that the planet in the Power Allocation screen turns from an orange/red body to an Earth-like body in the subsequent screens...LOL! You'll also notice that the vessel icons are rotated to face in the general direction of the ship's heading (didn't have that before).
In coding the Shuttle/Fighter launch and retrieval routine, I have also decided to add a "capture" option, for hostiles that get way too close to an enemy vessel - they can be tractored aboard a ship or base (success is a 20% chance) if that ship or base has an empty shuttle slot. Guess the one that used to occupy that spot will be S-O-L! I felt it would be an interesting, if seldom-used, option.
10/30/03: I decided to give in to my sanity, and NOT upgrade the project to MSVS2K3, because it's so drastically different (the old graphics methods DON'T upgrade whatsoever), I figured it's easier to finish things up with VB5, then create the next version of GameMaster with the new programming environment. That will give me better tools to do client/server or peer-to-peer connections, plus work with DirectX, if I feel brave enough! I have more time now, since my brief job ended - they couldn't pay for me, LOL!!
10/25/03: I was finally able to obtain MS Visual Studio, the newest version (2003), and after performing an installation that takes most of a day, I upgraded the STTCS main code...ughhh! There is so much that has to be changed in order for my old code to work with Visual Basic 2003, it's gonna be ugly. I have a whole new learning curve to swing through with the new VB, hope it doesn't make me crazy...oh, wait, I'm already crazy. :)
10/11/03: Well, I've landed a job as a network engineer at a local ISP - go figure, LOL! I still want to get a business going...and keep developing GameMaster...lots on my plate! Sorry about the lengthy delay in updates. Maybe with the new job, I can get better goodies to help me develop the game!
7/12/03: Due to the economics in my local area being really awful for employment opportunities, I am starting my research into doing something I've always wanted to do - open a retail hobby shop! Since there are no such specialty shops within a hundred miles of my area, I anticipate that I could do pretty well in such an endeavor, and believe me I need the income, LOL! This means my development of STTCS GameMaster is going to slow down a bit, but it will not stop...it's been too much of an investment of time and effort to drop it! The updates will just be a bit less frequent. Thanks for your patience!!
6/9/03: Still working on re-vamping the look of all the forms, a definite improvement over what I had previously, but I'm holding off on posting screen shots until I've got all of them to the point where I'm satisfied with them. I'm also incorporating planet and star pictures instead of just a filled-in circle for the stellar bodies. It seems that with every new thing I want to incorporate, I learn that much more about VB programming, LOL! I also tracked down what I like to call a "stupid" bug...where I was stupid enough to make a certain type of data represent more than one thing...it resulted in showing that when I fired a weapon, it would appear to be "damaged", even though the vessel never got fired upon. I discovered, much to my chagrin, that I was using the same codes to represent "currently damaged" and "already fired" weapons. Unfortunately, it's making me add 60 fields to the overall database to correct it, plus a lot of corrections and additions to the weapon-firing code. Ugh.
I also added the "bearing/distance" and "track history" items, and they work great! They are not pop-ups, but rather a toggle on the form that shifts the main viewscreen into 3 modes - "Bearing/Distance" (where you click on two points on the screen and it displays the B/D figures between the two), "Track HIstory" (which shows the locations of the selected vessel over the previous 3 phases), and a toggle to go to the normal map display. These functions, not to mention how the overall display and controls work, are based heavily on the system that's used by the Air Force's E-3 AWACS aircraft's situation display consoles (I used to run those computers when I was in the AF, old technology but very stable).
5/29/03: Got my forms displaying straightened out - gawd, VB is so weird sometimes. Still a few minor bugs in some of the procedures, mostly having to do with situations that cause 'divide by zero' errors that really shouldn't be happening, plus I'm mulling over how to add a few extra functions, such as a bearing/distance pop-up calculator and a display function that shows a target's tracking history - its path throughout the previous three phases (thank goodness I already designed the database to hold those tracking values!). I'm also looking at ways to make the displays look more interesting - if you look at the screen shots, the forms are pretty standard, Windows-gray cheesy-looking things. I did this on purpose, since I wanted to make the game work before it looked good, LOL! Check out that hot pink 'fire weapons' button on the Weapon Control form...YUCK! Gotta do way better than that!!
On the issue of the Internet-enabled client/server game research - Winsock is the easiest choice, and hopefully I can make it work, just have to research more and test my theories.
5/22/03: OWCH - Long time being off-line with this site and the programming, just got it back up, having to make some changes cuz this new server doesn't like FP 2002 navigation bars...ugh, so my nav bars don't work - new text links now appear on the top of each page...ughhhgly! Back on the programming too...almost done with the main program, working out some dopey bugs with how the forms display...also have a huge amount of ships (finished with the standard-issue FASA ships, including Gorns, Independents, Orions) added, plus some fanships I've cultivated from the net!
I have also started researching how I can make this game a multi-player internet setup, with one PC acting as server host and gamemaster, the others as clients connected through Winsock. Ought to be pretty interesting stuff!
11/9/02: Had to take a bit of a hiatus to take care of some family matters, employment issues, etc. Got some great e-mails from folks with lots of good questions, and some of them got me thinking about future releases of this program and what I could include. Thanks to all who've written me!
10/7/02: Finally...many of the original ships/bases, etc. are entered into the Master DB - WHEW. Damage Control 99% done, still trying to make it just a little more user-friendly.
10/5/02: Still working on the master DB, in the middle of the Romulans, plus fighting the never-ending battle of Damage Control! Linking the various screens to the data generates a hell of a lot of code (I could kiss the person who invented "cut/copy/paste, wish I had it when I was programming TRS-80's way back when, LOL), so I'm doing my "little engine that could" impersonation.
9/25/02: Completed one of the basic "library computer" functions, which lists ships available, pics, and details on each one. Still inputting data to the master DB, managing about 10 ships per day, when I can find the time!
9/19/02: Been a while, had family visiting, and I've been working on putting more ships, etc. into the master database, right now I'm in the middle of the Klingon cruisers.
9/4/02: The more I go along in making this game, the more stuff I think of to put into it, LOL! In designing the Damage Control screens, I also realized that I had not created any means for a player to view their ship's status at any time during their turn (including Damage Control), nor did I allow access to a "library computer" function, to allow viewing of data about all available ships, bases, shuttles, fighters, and star systems. Consider those items on the agenda...and a lot more work! I addressed my peeves from yesterday, and now I'm much more comfortable with the Weapon Control - lots more friendly and informative. I've also added a few more technical issues dealing with repaired weapons and other items.
9/3/02: Labor Day was a lot of labor...got damage resolution and reporting straightened out - after adding about 60 fields to the database because I was foolish enough to think I could get away with using special codes in the existing record items. A sample screen shot of the Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) report can be seen in Screen Shots, and includes the ability to print out a basic report of damage given, damage taken, and systems impacted during the current phase. Now it's on to doing a little housekeeping in the other phase modules (I'm not happy with the beam weapon selection screen, even I get confused...not good!), plus I need to begin the outline of the Repair/Repower and Shuttle/Fighter launch-and-recover procedures.
8/31/02: Did I say long night? How about long week...
8/29/02: Working like a dog on the damage resolution routine...gonna be a long night, LOL!
8/28/02: Website goes up!
