[REQ] SH4 commander

[mountainmanUK]

"sh4 Exec"

[Potoroo]

Originally Posted by mountainmanUK

"sh4 Exec"

SH4 XO?

[Crueak]

or just simply SH4 Enhanced

[GSpector]

How about someone collect all the possible names and setup a pole so we can vote on.

It seems everyone is submitting a different name and no one is saying they like a suggested name. we could all go on for weeks if everyone keeps suggesting new names. If a name is going to be picked, we either need to agree on 1 or Potoroo will do it on his own.

I for one like SH4 Skipper. The others are good too but they are more of a play on the letters and numbers.

[Donner]

I heartily concur with the praise of the fine contributions of JScones with his wonderful mod enabler and SH3 Commander.
I only recently returned to SH3 with the release of GWX and was absolutely stunned at the marked improvements of SH3 Commander 2.7. The last previous version that I had was 1.4 or so.

It is a shame that a few rotten apples have to ruin the lot, but I understand and fully respect his decision to remain "ashore" on this one. Best of luck, JScones!

And I trust that someone will pick up the ball and carry it forward for us in SH4.

As for a name....how about ComSubPac ... to remain with the US Navy theme.

[Potoroo]

Originally Posted by GSpector

How about someone collect all the possible names and setup a pole so we can vote on.

It seems everyone is submitting a different name and no one is saying they like a suggested name. we could all go on for weeks if everyone keeps suggesting new names. If a name is going to be picked, we either need to agree on 1 or Potoroo will do it on his own.

I for one like SH4 Skipper. The others are good too but they are more of a play on the letters and numbers.

I think it's good to float a few ideas before making a choice. I could live with SH4 Skipper, SH4 Exec, SH4 XO, maybe even SH4 HQ. Some of the rest seem a bit fanciful but that's OK, they help make the good suggestions standout.

One thing I have decided is to make its architecture multi-SH4 installation compatible right from the word go. That way when the supermods and what have you do come out there will be only one installation of SH4 Commander (hi Jaesen!) and it should be easier to accomodate them than was the case with SH3 Commander (I often wonder if Jaesen regretted the '/l' switch). The trick will be to manage this neatly.

[irish1958]

The USN had a name for the command in the Pacific. I don't recall what it was, but this would be a good name for the SHIV CMDR.
I wouldn't play SHIII anymore without SH3CMDR.
Jaeson, Jaeson, why has thou forsanken me?

[JScones]

Originally Posted by Potoroo

One thing I have decided is to make its architecture multi-SH4 installation compatible right from the word go. That way when the supermods and what have you do come out there will be only one installation of SH4 Commander (hi Jaesen!) and it should be easier to accomodate them than was the case with SH3 Commander (I often wonder if Jaesen regretted the '/l' switch). The trick will be to manage this neatly.

There are MANY things I would do differently if doing it all again. Remember, when SH3Cmdr was first released, multiple SH3 installations didn't really exist, indeed, the only "supermod" was RUb! And the original architecture did not anticipate the eventual popularity. To be honest, the first thing I would do differently is the backup/rollback process. I'd implement a much more robust method similar to dedicated backup software. And I'd make it all transparent to the user. And I wouldn't backup changed cfg files, I'd just back up the changed contents. And I'd look at utilising a database to manage it all. And...well, I could go on...

Insofar as supporting multiple SH4 installations, I hope you consider two things:

1. each installation of SH4 may require it's own set of "SH4Cmdr" files to run, meaning you will need to maintain duplicate (albeit slightly different) copies of files or settings;

2. players may want different sets of files to be installed depending on SH4 installation, meaning you will need to maintain duplicate copies of "Date" (and similar) based folders and files;

These two points were what stopped me from re-engineering SH3Cmdr, because to support multiple installations with maximum user flexibility, I'd need to basically maintain multiple and distinct copies of SH3Cmdr anyway, no different then if the user installed (copied) it multiple times. Essentially a rewrite of SH3Cmdr. But if you are starting from scratch, I'm sure you can "frontend" "SH4Cmdr" to have it maintain multiple copies of itself to support these requirements (always drawing upon a "default clean" set of itself to use with any new installation).

You are quite fortunate in that you can start from a clean slate with learnings from SH3Cmdr. I'm sure that after a period of time we will have a similar beast for SH4 but without some of the nuances of SH3Cmdr. Good luck!

[Potoroo]

Originally Posted by JScones

There are MANY things I would do differently if doing it all again. Remember, when SH3Cmdr was first released, multiple SH3 installations didn't really exist, indeed, the only "supermod" was RUb!

Absolutely. MultiSH3 didn't come along until SH3Cmdr 2.6. Obviously, I'm assuming SH4 will expand in much the same way and thinking now about how best to plan for it. I'd be foolish not to let the SH3 experience will inform my thinking.

To be honest, the first thing I would do differently is the backup/rollback process. I'd implement a much more robust method similar to dedicated backup software. And I'd make it all transparent to the user. And I wouldn't backup changed cfg files, I'd just back up the changed contents. And I'd look at utilising a database to manage it all. And...well, I could go on...

I have wondered why the rollback wasn't automated from the get go. It seems to me many problems caused by not rolling back could have been prevented if SH3Cmdr had simply rolled everything back the moment SH3 closed. Thoughts?

I'm also curious about the idea of using a database to manage it. I've built enough front-ends to Jet in my time to feel comfortable with the mechanics of it but I wonder if it wouldn't be overkill if the "Cmdr" modded files are automatically restored. (ooh, last minute thought: does Vista support Jet? Or would I have to use something else?). A database could also impose dependency requirements for users they might not be comfortable with (ie, do I really want to be distributing MDACs or SQL Server Express?).

Insofar as supporting multiple SH4 installations, I hope you consider two things:

1. each installation of SH4 may require it's own set of "SH4Cmdr" files to run, meaning you will need to maintain duplicate (albeit slightly different) copies of files or settings;

2. players may want different sets of files to be installed depending on SH4 installation, meaning you will need to maintain duplicate copies of "Date" (and similar) based folders and files;

As it happens I was pondering these sorts of questions last night. Assume a list box on the main screen with two paths (using SH3 as an example), one to stock and one to GWX. The user clicks on which one they want to use and the appropriate careers, settings, etc appear. That's all doable programmatically. Now, GWX 1.4 is released and requires new "Cmdr" files. How does the user easily get them installed in the right folder, for example? These are the sort of questions I need to resolve before getting stuck in.

But if you are starting from scratch, I'm sure you can "frontend" "SH4Cmdr" to have it maintain multiple copies of itself to support these requirements (always drawing upon a "default clean" set of itself to use with any new installation).

My assumption is it will be better for the user in the long run to have one installation of "Cmdr" that is smart enough to handle multiple game installations that to have multiple "Cmdr" installations and multiple game installations. I don't see a real benefit from "front-ending" multiple installations of "Cmdr" over simply doing it all in one package.

You are quite fortunate in that you can start from a clean slate with learnings from SH3Cmdr. I'm sure that after a period of time we will have a similar beast for SH4 but without some of the nuances of SH3Cmdr. Good luck!

In time I hope so. My thinking at the moment is to get the architecture in place to handle multiple game installations first, then deal with the easier game settings stuff like time compression defaults and keyboard settings (I want to add an SH3 keyboard compatibility function for those who want it and maybe even what would effectively be an SH4 SetKey), and then deal with the actual career management later. I'm even pondering putting the MultiSH4 functionality in it. I want to avoid the SH3 Cmdr dependency on My Documents\...main.cfg and have the new "Cmdr" able to realise there isn't a save folder or even that the multiple game installations all point to the same save folder and ask the user if that's what they really want, that kind of thing.

One thing I'll say on the question of open source is that I will commit to not using proprietary or payware code. Right now though I want to control the architecture and get that right before thinking about opening it up though.

[gouldjg]

Please put a randomiser option in. Please please please.

I was hoping not to need it, but after a few hours play etc, I really do need it.

Please please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please please

[letterboy1]

Originally Posted by gouldjg

Please put a randomiser option in. Please please please.

I was hoping not to need it, but after a few hours play etc, I really do need it.

Please please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please pleasePlease please please

If you mean for the Gramophone tracks, I agree. Except that your post could use one more "Please."

[letterboy1]

Oh, here's a good name: SH4Kommander. Clever, huh? JScones will be none the wiser.

Seriously, I like the suggestion already made in a previous post: SubComPac. I think Irish1958 was thinking of that as well.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by letterboy1

Oh, here's a good name: SH4Kommander. Clever, huh? JScones will be none the wiser.

Seriously, I like the suggestion already made in a previous post: SubComPac. I think Irish1958 was thinking of that as well.

Or perhaps NinComPoop? :rotfl:

[Sailor Steve]

:rotfl:

That's a good one!


But won't it lead people to falsely believe it will work on a Nintendo?

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I'm pretty sure I saw that on a Chinese menu once :hmm: