Next Turn

[Mobhack]

If I was to put a dialogue box there, then the immediate reply from gamers would be "and what about this Y/N question in the map editor, this numeric input there" - ie they would want a complete redesign of the user interface. Which simply is not going to happen. This is an MSDOS game originally, and so based on keyboard input.

The Y/N question was as I recall, specifically added by end-user request back in the DOS days, as the button had no such thing, and it was too easy to mis-click it and hence end turn when you did not intend to do so.

And to the original poster - please do not put up exactly the same question in both the WW2 and MBT forums since it means we have to answer the same sort of queries twice over to 2 separate end user groups. Should anyone do this again in the future - one of the duplicated questions will be deleted from one of the fora.

Andy

[RVPERTVS]

Don/Andy:

I have this question I’ve been wanting to ask ever since the "complex code" issue appears, it might be idiotic since I don’t know anything about programming and has nothing to do with the y/n option (I like it the way it is now) but wouldn’t it be more simple and practical to write the code again from scratch using modern programming tools?

I know there are copyright issues involved but maybe it can be done with certain differences with the SSI´s original that make it the same game but different enough to avoid copyright infringement?

I repeat, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, and maybe there’s some copyright and programming issues I ignore but my question remains.

Regards
Robert

[PatG]

I asked a similar question on the WW2 side a while back:
Andy said:

The source (CPP and H) is over 6Mb for all the sub projects.

Full thread: http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...b=5&o=&fpart=1

6 Mb is one heck of a lot of code to re-write especially for unpaid programmers - heck with just the Windows bloat it would probably go to a couple of gigs

[RVPERTVS]

Thanks for the fast reply Pat!

I think the issues are different, on that thread you pointed me to Andy didn´t answer if it´s more complicated to build a new code than to work in this one, he just explained comprehensively how complicated is (for unpaid programmers) to work variables in this code.

The question is, what´s more complicated: to work in this code or to build a fresh new one? Maybe (and most likely) the reason to not to work on a new code has to do with copyright issues, I wonder if it´s possible to make it the same game but different enough to avoid those intelectual property issues.

Regards
Robert

[DRG]

IF we totally rebuilt the game it would not be SP any longer and to ensure that everything would need to be changed not just code but also graphics, image storage, sound, OOBs, everything and yes, this has been discussed off and on for at least 8 years but in the end we always decide to forge ahead with what we have because even though the old code can be a real PITA to deal with.......... so is starting from scratch. In fact, this could have happened before the windows version was produced. It was seriously discussed and ( very ) experimental versions of the first baby steps of the game were built and poked around with but in the end it was decided to go further with SP because we really didn't want to throw out all the work we had done so far and start over. If we HAD decided to go the other path the only thing I could tell you with any real certainty right now is we wouldn't be discussing any of this on this forum because there wouldn't BE a WinSPMBT or a WinSPWW2 and therefore no discussion forum for either of them and God only knows how close we would be to releasing a new game... if at all.

OK?

Don

[RVPERTVS]

DRG said:
IF we totally rebuilt the game it would not be SP any longer and to ensure that everything would need to be changed not just code but also graphics, image storage, sound, OOBs, everything and yes, this has been discussed off and on for at least 8 years but in the end we always decide to forge ahead with what we have because even though the old code can be a real PITA to deal with.......... so is starting from scratch. In fact, this could have happened before the windows version was produced. It was seriously discussed and ( very ) experimental versions of the first baby steps of the game were built and poked around with but in the end it was decided to go further with SP because we really didn't want to throw out all the work we had done so far and start over. If we HAD decided to go the other path the only thing I could tell you with any real certainty right now is we wouldn't be discussing any of this on this forum because there wouldn't BE a WinSPMBT or a WinSPWW2 and therefore no discussion forum for either of them and God only knows how close we would be to releasing a new game... if at all.

OK?

Don

Ok Don, thanks for the reply.

I guess then is a matter of "love for the code" and saving all the hours of work done. I understand that, we wouldn´t be discussing at this forum but at the "steel tigers" forum or something like that if you guys had decided to build a new game.

I absolutely love this game and I think the job you have done is outstanding, as a matter of fact I´m glad you developed over the original code, I was just wondering what was more problematic: to work on this code or to build a new game.

Actually all this came to my mind from the comments that you and Andy have posted from time to time about how problematic is to work with this code, it ocurred to me that maybe it was more simple and practical to build an identical game with modern programming tools, thus more firendly, but maybe I don´t have any idea what I´m talking about.

I like the y/n confirmation the way it is now, IMHO it should remain that way.

Regards
Robert