[REL] SH3 Patrol Log Editor plug-in for SH3 Commander R3.0

[Paco]

Secretary! It's time to take a dictation

Thanks,
Paco.

[HundertzehnGustav]

Originally Posted by Paco

Sectretary! It's time to take a dictation

Thanks,
Paco.

ouh yea, i had a dirty thought when i red that one.

The editor works GREAT

[Gairith]

Originally Posted by JScones

Alternatively, you can use any tool that allows export to comma or tab delimited files (in other words I'm no longer planning on developing a dedicated tool just for this task).

Tip: You can download Openoffice for free. It has the same programs as Microsoft Office (including Excel spreedsheet).

www.openoffice.org

[irish1958]

Originally Posted by Gairith

Tip: You can download Openoffice for free. It has the same programs as Microsoft Office (including Excel spreedsheet).

www.openoffice.org

And Google is giving away StarOffice 8 for free.

[Tomcattwo]

Thanks, Garith!
R/
TC2

[JScones]

Good idea Gairith.

[ryoga_77]

Thanks for this addition to an already excellent SH3 Commander 3.However i cannot help but ask if there is some way by which log entries could have been made within the game itself so as to increase the immersion factor.

Thanks again!

[JScones]

Originally Posted by ryoga_77

However i cannot help but ask if there is some way by which log entries could have been made within the game itself so as to increase the immersion factor.

Source code needed.

[JScones]

Well, I guess I was expecting more complaints or problems with the editor, but as all seems fine (either that or no-one is using it), I guess I won't wait any longer to release v1.1.

v1.1 includes the previously promised import feature. It also includes a spreadsheet template set up specifically to help you get the most out of the import feature. If you plan on using the spreadsheet, please (in pleading voice) read the instructions first; the spreadsheet even opens up with them on display.

If anyone wants to develop their own mid-patrol log editor, pls feel free. If you provide the ability to save the contents in comma or tab delimited format, with the structure YYYYMMDD,HMM,event text (pls use common delimiter conventions) then the patrol log editor will pick them up and treat them as SH3Cmdr entries.

If you cannot get your entries to import properly, post the csv file contents here and I'll point out the problem(s).

[Gairith]

Most excellent, Thanks Jaeson!
Use the template that Jaeson provides, excellent work Sir!

[KeldorKatarn]

Originally Posted by JScones

Well, I guess I was expecting more complaints or problems with the editor, but as all seems fine (either that or no-one is using it), I guess I won't wait any longer to release v1.1.

v1.1 includes the previously promised import feature. It also includes a spreadsheet template set up specifically to help you get the most out of the import feature. If you plan on using the spreadsheet, please (in pleading voice) read the instructions first; the spreadsheet even opens up with them on display.

If anyone wants to develop their own mid-patrol log editor, pls feel free. If you provide the ability to save the contents in comma or tab delimited format, with the structure YYYYMMDD,HMM,event text (pls use common delimiter conventions) then the patrol log editor will pick them up and treat them as SH3Cmdr entries.

If you cannot get your entries to import properly, post the csv file contents here and I'll point out the problem(s).

I actually have a small request about the format of the KTB and the usability of the editor. It's concenrning both the editor and SH3Cmdr actually.

Right now the second column reads only "Planquadrat" according to two fotos of real u-boat logs I've seen (pic below) the second column should read "Angabe des Ortes, Wind, Wetter, Seegang, Beleuchtung, Sichtigkeit der Luft, Mondschein, usw."
Meaning "Location, wind, weather, sea state, lighting, visibility, moon light, etc"
The last column is ok again "Vorkommnisse".
Actually I'd like to be able to manually edit the titles of those columns. This way they are adjustable and you don't have to change them. And I can add something that is important to myself.. I use a Fraktur font, which has a special character for the 2nd Fraktur "s" which is not the one used at the end of a word, so right now the ss in Vorkomnisse is wrong, which I could correct if the title was editable :P
Anyway... that would just be a bonus.
About the second column.. with the change of the title also comes the need to be able to put location AND weather report two the second column. Right now only the first line is added to that column, the rest appears in the last column. The first two might be better. Any way to make that and still have it appear nice in the ingame log too?

Also it would be nice if one could have a title of the KTB (as displayed in the book "Auf Feindfahrt mit U-170 und Ritterkreuzträger Rudolf Mühlbauer" by Ulrich Lange).
The tile reads:

GEHEIME KOMMANDOSACHE

K r i e g s t a g e b u c h

* U 170 *

4. Unternehmung


Kommandant:

Ob.Lt.z.S.d.R. H a u b e r

Begonnen: 28. 5. 1944
Beendet: 5. 12. 1944


Rought Translation:

SECRET DOCUMENT

W a r D i a r y

* U ### *

#. Operation


Commanding Officer:

[Rank Abbreviation] L a s t n a m e

Begun: D. M. YYYY
Ended: D. M. YYYY


Right now such a title is not quite possible because if made it will appear in the SH3Cmdr generated log with a date next to it like a normal entry. The possibility for a seperate first entry like above would be nice.

About the weather, it seems that a standard weather entry looked something like this:

W: OSO 2, S: 1, sehr gute Sicht

which was in long form:

Wind: [rough compass direction] [wind strength beaufort scale], Sea: [seastate beaufort scale], [visibility: very good, good, medium, bad]

It was in several documents roughly like this, never completely the same, I'd recommend probably adding something about moon phase and rain in there.
Or leave it completely open to the player to write it up himself without a standard way of generating it in the log editor.

Also.. the log editor automatically sorts the entries.. but it doesn't always keep the screen on the last entered entry.. I have to scroll around a lot in there.
Also it would be nicer to be able to edit the entries where they are, not first mark them and then edit them in a special edit place. More like in a normal text editor, I don't know, the usuability right now is a bit rough.

Also I once lost all entries because I switched to patrol log 2 before pressing "save" on log 3. if the player switches logs, please add a warning message asking the player to save the old log first or something.



These comments are all meant as requests and productive criticism. I'm a programmer myself so I know how hard it is to make the user interface of a tool really well :P So I tried to give as much input as possible.
The tool is for me right now not so useful, I like to edit the logs with a text editor right now, and I tried to summarize why and how to improve the interface so it comes closer to a really well experience

If you have any questions about some of my suggestions/critical points, please ask
Otherwise thanks so far for your tools, I begin to really really like SH3Cmdr Just started to use it recently.


Oh.. and a last question.. if automatic rollback is activated and SH3 crashes instead of being left by normal means.. will SH3Cmdr still do its rollback?

Pic:

[Murr44]

Hi Jaesen:
I just wanted to say that your SH III add-ons are really appreciated. As far I'm concerned Ubi ought to be paying you for giving SH III a new lease on life (that isn't going to happen I know). Just my 2 cents...

[JScones]

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Right now the second column reads only "Planquadrat" according to two fotos of real u-boat logs I've seen (pic below) the second column should read "Angabe des Ortes, Wind, Wetter, Seegang, Beleuchtung, Sichtigkeit der Luft, Mondschein, usw."
Meaning "Location, wind, weather, sea state, lighting, visibility, moon light, etc"
The last column is ok again "Vorkommnisse".

There were many variations in KTB format. While the majority utilise similar text to your examples, there were numerous other formats adopted throughout the course of the war. The format I have adopted is based on a ~1942/3 variant (btw this is explained here in the forum archives) which uses columns titled "Tag/Uhrzeit", "Ort/Wetter", and "Verkommnisse". By this stage too, Fraktur fonts had been replaced by Antiqua fonts, as directed by Hitler in Jan 41.

This variant better fits SH3's limitations, which have still seen the need for "Ort/Wetter" to become simply "Planquadrat", as defined in the game's de_menu.txt.

Remember, SH3Cmdr must remain true to SH3 and cannot assume that everybody is using a patrol log editor.

However, you can easily change this by editing your de_menu.txt file, string #4272. Just keep in mind that what you enter will prolly show up in the game somewhere else (most likely as a part of the ship sunk/aircraft destroyed entries).

FYI though, despite the inclusion of "Wetter", the majority of the examples I've seen in this format list nothing but patrol grid in this column. Lazy buggers.

And also, by late 1943 some Kaleuns were adopting the approach outlined by Doenitz during 1943 (or was it 1942, can't remember now), that is, free form "story telling" (ie the same format as Doenitz's own war diary).

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Actually I'd like to be able to manually edit the titles of those columns. This way they are adjustable and you don't have to change them. And I can add something that is important to myself.. I use a Fraktur font, which has a special character for the 2nd Fraktur "s" which is not the one used at the end of a word, so right now the ss in Vorkomnisse is wrong, which I could correct if the title was editable :P

Titles are editable. :P

Change "Planquadrat" as indicated above. Change "Datum und Uhrzeit" and "Vorkommnisse" by editing lines 240 and 241 in SH3Cmdr_de.txt (located in your SH3Cmdr folder). While you're there, feel free to change any other text you want.

The patrol log editor will still add <Grid>|<Entry> by default when you click "Add New", but that's not a problem and I can change that to be more generic in a later version. Just replace <Grid> with what you want to show in the second column.

Just keep in mind that for the "ship sunk" and "aircraft destroyed" entries, added by SH3, it's the second block of text that is placed in the second column.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

About the second column.. with the change of the title also comes the need to be able to put location AND weather report two the second column. Right now only the first line is added to that column, the rest appears in the last column. The first two might be better. Any way to make that and still have it appear nice in the ingame log too?

I don't see a critical problem with it as it is now:





Achieved by making one heading change as outlined above and tweaking each entry text through the patrol log editor as outlined above.

Granted the grid and weather are on the same line, which tended not to occur in RL, but again, this is nothing critical. Certainly not worth releasing a new version of SH3Cmdr just for a one character change.

(Bear in mind I have resized the SH3Cmdr KTB screen)

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Also it would be nice if one could have a title of the KTB (as displayed in the book "Auf Feindfahrt mit U-170 und Ritterkreuzträger Rudolf Mühlbauer" by Ulrich Lange).
The tile reads:

<snip>

Right now such a title is not quite possible because if made it will appear in the SH3Cmdr generated log with a date next to it like a normal entry. The possibility for a seperate first entry like above would be nice.

Yes, and I'd like to include all 50 odd pages of the Wehrpass. There comes a point of compromise though. And having each patrol log link through such a title page would become laborious for many users very quickly, IMHO.

However, you can change the heading from "KTB" to anything you want though - within reason.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

About the weather, it seems that a standard weather entry looked something like this:

W: OSO 2, S: 1, sehr gute Sicht

which was in long form:

Wind: [rough compass direction] [wind strength beaufort scale], Sea: [seastate beaufort scale], [visibility: very good, good, medium, bad]

It was in several documents roughly like this, never completely the same, I'd recommend probably adding something about moon phase and rain in there.
Or leave it completely open to the player to write it up himself without a standard way of generating it in the log editor.

I have no intention of forcing a standard onto SH3 players. Were they Kriegsmarine officers, perhaps. But forcing the average player to record moon phase, or any other entry, when real Kriegsmarine officers were not forced to do so, well, that's going a bit too far.

It will stay as free form for players to enter what they want, how they want; just like a blank piece of paper. Everybody's happy then.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Also.. the log editor automatically sorts the entries.. but it doesn't always keep the screen on the last entered entry.. I have to scroll around a lot in there.

Yep, that's on my "fix" list.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Also it would be nicer to be able to edit the entries where they are, not first mark them and then edit them in a special edit place. More like in a normal text editor, I don't know, the usuability right now is a bit rough.

Pls remember, as I have said all along, that this tool is a quick and dirty way to allow easy editing of the player's patrol logs, borne out of regularly appearing threads titled "How can I edit my patrol logs".

In fact, total development time so far has been less than one hour.

I actually envisaged the editor, although all my experience says otherwise, as merely a prototype to inspire some other developer with more time on his hands to create a more robust editor. All they need to do is ensure a few minor rules are followed and their tool becomes fully compatible with SH3Cmdr. Other than that, how far they take it, ie to also be a mid-patrol editor, is up to them.

If only I had the time...

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Also I once lost all entries because I switched to patrol log 2 before pressing "save" on log 3. if the player switches logs, please add a warning message asking the player to save the old log first or something.

Yep, that's on my "fix" list.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

These comments are all meant as requests and productive criticism. I'm a programmer myself so I know how hard it is to make the user interface of a tool really well :P So I tried to give as much input as possible.
The tool is for me right now not so useful, I like to edit the logs with a text editor right now, and I tried to summarize why and how to improve the interface so it comes closer to a really well experience

Thank you. I appreciate constructive input such as this.

I would encourage you to take a little longer to become familiar with the tool though, for its use is only really limited by your imagination. I mean, it took merely a minute to create the above log example.

If you still prefer to edit your logs by hand, then go for it.

Originally Posted by KeldorKatarn

Oh.. and a last question.. if automatic rollback is activated and SH3 crashes instead of being left by normal means.. will SH3Cmdr still do its rollback?

Yes. It's used to handling SH3 CTDs caused through one way or another.

[Sailor Steve]

Brilliant! Just lovely. Now we even have post-game mods.

[wildchild]

top work again JS as all ways