DW on operational level - an external program

Molon Labe · 12-24-08, 04:53 PM

I can't speak for the technical side of creating a program to do this, but I've done the work myself before. And it is a LOT of work. Getting a program to do that instead of a human would be full of awesome and win.

Janus · 12-27-08, 07:49 AM

I think the silence in here says it all: no interest in this kind of project because of its complexity

Hawk66 · 12-29-08, 05:03 PM

I had a very similar idea this summer. Random mission campaign / framework by generating doctrine and mission files.

The generating part is not the problem but mainly the AI/missing API. I think it is not feasible to test the suff directly in DW since you have no API to connect to and manual testing was no option for me.

Perhaps it is manageable but you need unlimited time ;-) and need to be more determined as I was :-).

Janus · 12-30-08, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawk66

Perhaps it is manageable but you need unlimited time ;-) and need to be more determined as I was :-).

Very true. Those are the main constraints...
Hawk66, just out of curiosity: did you get beyond the idea and already started coding something or did it stay in your head as an idea only?

Blacklight · 12-30-08, 01:36 PM

You know.. this is a fantastic idea and will really open up a LOT of new possibilities with this sim ! The only catch is that the external program would have to read the mission's completed objectives somehow or otherwise, we'd have to write down the outcomes for all the mission objectives and plug them in manually which might be a pain. On the positive side, I still think that this is a fantastic idea ! It will open a lot of doors and there is an audience who would really appreciate something like this.

Janus · 12-30-08, 02:38 PM

Can't completed mission objectives be read from debrief.txt located in the Dangerous Waters main folder?

Hawk66 · 01-02-09, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janus

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawk66

Perhaps it is manageable but you need unlimited time ;-) and need to be more determined as I was :-).

Very true. Those are the main constraints...
Hawk66, just out of curiosity: did you get beyond the idea and already started coding something or did it stay in your head as an idea only?

Before I forget it: Happy New Year to all of you guys :-)

No, I didn't code anything in that area.
Do you plan to go forward with your project?

Janus · 01-02-09, 09:32 AM

Well I would not call it "my project". It is an idea which I wanted to present here to find out if there is any interest and especially if there are people with programming- and mission design skills who would participate in such a project.
I definitely don't have the time (and skills) to pull this off on my own. Scenario generation for DW would only be a part of the application (maybe even an optional one if there would be automatic resolution of combat events...). And therefor you first have to reengineer the structure of DW scenario files, I don't know if anyone has done this before and did document it in a useable format?
Then there is the whole operational application itsself of course...

Hawk66 · 01-05-09, 05:52 AM

Re engineering of the structure of a scenario is not tough...I've done some 'tests' in the past...the keywords/structure are very clear and it is pure text-based. It's almost readable as a XML schema.

My 'dream' was/is to generate (some) doctrine files and bound it to the scenario (it is possible, there is a DOCTRINE(?) command, which is not accessible in the editor but it works. With this approach, you could realize a carrier group with a moving patrol screen. It is not 100% reliable but anyway it would be a new experience IMHO.

I think the investment could be worthwile but you would need a couple of guys doing it and the question which bothered me most: What is the remaining lifetime of DW?

12-24-08, 04:53 PM	#1
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	I can't speak for the technical side of creating a program to do this, but I've done the work myself before. And it is a LOT of work. Getting a program to do that instead of a human would be full of awesome and win. __________________

12-30-08, 01:36 PM	#5
Blacklight Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,507 Downloads: 145 Uploads: 0	You know.. this is a fantastic idea and will really open up a LOT of new possibilities with this sim ! The only catch is that the external program would have to read the mission's completed objectives somehow or otherwise, we'd have to write down the outcomes for all the mission objectives and plug them in manually which might be a pain. On the positive side, I still think that this is a fantastic idea ! It will open a lot of doors and there is an audience who would really appreciate something like this. __________________ Be my friend or be a mushroom cloud. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes !" Last edited by Blacklight; 12-30-08 at 01:39 PM.

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12-27-08, 07:49 AM	#2
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	I think the silence in here says it all: no interest in this kind of project because of its complexity

12-29-08, 05:03 PM	#3
Hawk66 Commodore Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 609 Downloads: 36 Uploads: 0	I had a very similar idea this summer. Random mission campaign / framework by generating doctrine and mission files. The generating part is not the problem but mainly the AI/missing API. I think it is not feasible to test the suff directly in DW since you have no API to connect to and manual testing was no option for me. Perhaps it is manageable but you need unlimited time ;-) and need to be more determined as I was :-).

12-30-08, 02:38 PM	#6
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Can't completed mission objectives be read from debrief.txt located in the Dangerous Waters main folder?

01-02-09, 09:32 AM	#8
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Well I would not call it "my project". It is an idea which I wanted to present here to find out if there is any interest and especially if there are people with programming- and mission design skills who would participate in such a project. I definitely don't have the time (and skills) to pull this off on my own. Scenario generation for DW would only be a part of the application (maybe even an optional one if there would be automatic resolution of combat events...). And therefor you first have to reengineer the structure of DW scenario files, I don't know if anyone has done this before and did document it in a useable format? Then there is the whole operational application itsself of course...

01-05-09, 05:52 AM	#9
Hawk66 Commodore Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 609 Downloads: 36 Uploads: 0	Re engineering of the structure of a scenario is not tough...I've done some 'tests' in the past...the keywords/structure are very clear and it is pure text-based. It's almost readable as a XML schema. My 'dream' was/is to generate (some) doctrine files and bound it to the scenario (it is possible, there is a DOCTRINE(?) command, which is not accessible in the editor but it works. With this approach, you could realize a carrier group with a moving patrol screen. It is not 100% reliable but anyway it would be a new experience IMHO. I think the investment could be worthwile but you would need a couple of guys doing it and the question which bothered me most: What is the remaining lifetime of DW?