Feature requests for TripleA

[Veqryn]

I recently released TripleA 1.6.1.1 as a stable.

My current plans are:
1. Release another stable, triplea 1.6.1.2 with a couple small bug fixes, and a proxy / network connection settings option, so you can play PBEM/PBF with a proxy (like over a vpn).  I will also change the ‘draw territories on top’ option to auto-change to medium if you are zooming.

2. Start working on TripleA 1.7, ideally getting it so that we can play “Risk” in some form, as well as any other little features I become interested in.

Since Global 1940 is basically done, and because 1941 and 1942 second edition can basically be supported by the current engine without any engine changes, we can begin focusing on other stuff.

So, please list any feature requests here.

(there are feature requests for the ENGINE.  if you want to mod a map, that is something different, and you can probably do it right now without changing the engine at all.)

If you guys have any cool, and hopefully simple, ideas on how to improve the triplea experience, then I am all ears.

[Make_It_Round]

I know a few people, myself included, who would like to see a ‘Double-Blind’ or ‘Fog of War’ setting, where you only see enemy units when you encounter them during the Combat Move phase… Would this feature be feasible to incorporate?

Best regards,

MIR

[Veqryn]

unfortunately there is no way to hide anything in triplea, and it would be near impossible to implement
and even if you could, what is to stop you from saving then loading in single player and seeing what the enemy has by skipping to their turn?

[Make_It_Round]

Ah, that’s too bad.

From what you say, it’s unlikely, but could this be an option the single-player game?

[Gargantua]

A “History of Luck” feature.

So the dice handicap can be seen.  And maybe an -END OF TURN- report feature like the old school A&A game used to have.

I am willing to front significant $ for these features. Particularily the dice feature… and I would fundraise specifically for it.

Basically… by each country, for each ROUND, add up all of thier attack/defense values, and divide by 6.  that would give you their mean expected amount of hits.  then compare it to how many hits they delegated onto their opponents.

if you were given 32 chances to roll, with 8 possible hits.  And scored 8.  your dice handicap would be 100%.  If you score 7 or 12 hits,  then it would be less than 100… or MORE than 100 accordingly.

The -I got diced- arguement will either hold MUCH water, or will be clearly wrong.  Players would then calculate how often they win, and with what handicaps, and the handicaps of their opponents.

NO EFFORT should be made, trying to prove the -well if this unit had survived- agrument for dice.  Just raw dice, raw results, raw information, per country, PER round.  SBR or Convoy’s would be extracted from this report ENTIRELY, or put on a seperate report.

in PBEM games, the marti dice server could calculate reports, and send them to something tripleA could check-read, therby formulating this possibility.  (Perhaps the same server that hosts online games/chat?)

[Gargantua]

and a back feature would be nice… even if just at the -post- feature…

[Make_It_Round]

I’m with Garg: more stats of all varieties.

Accuracy %s for each nation’s dice rolls, and each kind of unit within each nation.

(Perhaps even stats for individual units?)

Analysis of total IPC expenditures in %s between Air / Sea / Land / Infrastructure units for each nation.

Total numbers of attacks and defences (and enemy kills) for each nation per game, with success / failure stats added on.

Toggle-able battle histories of each territory and sea zone, displaying turns of encounters, orders of battle, casualty lists, etc.

Stats for Longest Battle (i.e. total number of rounds of fire), Bloodiest Battle (i.e. total number of units lost on both sides), Costliest Battle (i.e. total IPC value of units lost on both sides), and so on.

These are just a few examples of stats which are easy for TripleA to record, and having access to which might advance A&A theory considerably.

[Veqryn]

savegames are already getting pretty big

recording dice rolls will definitely increase the size of it…

how long should i keep a record of rolls within the game data?

[Gargantua]

Probably leave that in the game options?

Make it a feature that you have to -turn on- at the beginning of the game.  Then you can record dice, etc, etc, at your leisure?

Nothing EASY when it comes to programming… what kind of finanical support can see some/any of this implemented Veq?  Give me a hard #.

[Gargantua]

The dice actually dont have to be recorded.  So much as the numbers simply need to be added together.

For example…

IF over a game, all of germanys attacks and defense rolls = 600 dice power.  and throughout the game they only scored 50 hits instead of 100, they’re dice handicap would be 50%.

Keeping one value, that’s constantly changing and increasing, as oppossed to seperate values for EVERY dice rolled, might be easier no?

[Veqryn]

it is not at all as simple as it sounds

not all dice are thrown “at” something, for example deciding what air dies in a random death selection

some dice are backwards, like tech

and not all dice have the same “dice sides”

for example, a map may have 12 sided dice for combat units, and 10 sided dice for aa guns

[Gargantua]

Damn…

Can battle -types- be identified?  so you can scrap anything excess? like SBR’s, Tech, convoy’s etc?

IF NOT what if you just had a PURE log of what dice were rolled?

100 6’s
200 5’s
50 2’s
10 1’s

would be a bad game for example?

16.7% is perfect average for a die result.  if you are getting 30% 5’s, or 40%2’s and 23% 1’s you can tell if you’re having a good or bad game.  Irregardless of battletype.

This could be used to show 12 sided die results too.  You’d atleast know if you were rolling normal, or badly abnormal. and that’s a start.

[Veqryn]

well, there is another thing,

these results are going to be very very close, after a couple rounds, even on a per player basis

right now, you can look at the dice stats for the whole game.  you will find that the numbers for each roll are very similar.  there is no reason to think it will be much different if we find a way to do it on a per-player basis.

so, we’d probably have to do it on a per round basis as well, but once we do that it really starts taking up more memory the longer the game goes on

throw in the fact that some rolls mean nothing, while other rolls are very very very important….

[aqrit]

do live games still require port forwarding?
maybe implement something like ice4j so TripleA can be more accessible to the masses

[Veqryn]

@aqrit:

do live games still require port forwarding?
maybe implement something like ice4j so TripleA can be more accessible to the masses

That would be nice, except that neither ice4j, nor any others that I googled, come with working examples or even tutorials or wikis on how to use.
It seems they expect you to download all their code, compile it yourself, and somehow read all their code until you figure just how to use the software.

I don’t exactly have time for that.  Unless you can find some working simple example of someone using ice to host something (ie: get through a nat), then it would be too much trouble for me.

[Guest]

Suppose you put in an option for TripleA to keep a “screwed by dice” (SBD) score.  When playing with the option turned on, after every battle TripleA will secretly run its Battle Calculator using the same units as the attacker and defender had in the actual battle.  Anytime an attacker loses a battle with >90% prior odds they would have won, they get 1 point added to their SBD score.  Anytime an attacker wins a battle with <10% prior odds that they would have won, 1 point is added to the defenders SBD.  To speed things up, you might reduce the number of iterations in Battle Calculator from 2000 to 1000.

SBD could also be known as the Self Pity Justification Index.

[Gargantua]

LOL Nice concept Vance.

But that would bog the system down no?  Basically battle calculating ALL combat moves before they are rolled?

I suppose if it did 100 iterations, instead of 2000, it would move faster.

We need to creatively find a SIMPLE solution to have some kind of dice/luck monitor… SOMETHING.  Because dice whines are too common!

[Panther]

@Veqryn:

…
So, please list any feature requests here.

(there are feature requests for the ENGINE.  if you want to mod a map, that is something different, and you can probably do it right now without changing the engine at all.)

If you guys have any cool, and hopefully simple, ideas on how to improve the triplea experience, then I am all ears.

I don’t know whether this is engine- or map-related (or maybe both):

I would like some options allowing to use the rule-improvements of G40/1941/1942-2ndEd. in other (older) AA-games:

Basically

• Tanks cost 6
• the “new” AA-Guns
• the new submarine rule (Transports are not allowed to unload in SZ containing an enemy sub, unless escorted by a warship)

in AA50 and Spring1942.

[Veqryn]

@P@nther:

@Veqryn:

…
So, please list any feature requests here.

(there are feature requests for the ENGINE.  if you want to mod a map, that is something different, and you can probably do it right now without changing the engine at all.)

If you guys have any cool, and hopefully simple, ideas on how to improve the triplea experience, then I am all ears.

I don’t know whether this is engine- or map-related (or maybe both):

I would like some options allowing to use the rule-improvements of G40/1941/1942-2ndEd. in other (older) AA-games:

Basically

• Tanks cost 6
• the “new” AA-Guns
• the new submarine rule (Transports are not allowed to unload in SZ containing an enemy sub, unless escorted by a warship)

in AA50 and Spring1942.

ya, those are map related

you could easily do them yourself with the xml file and notepad++ or any other text or xml editor

[Guest]

@Gargantua:

We need to creatively find a SIMPLE solution to have some kind of dice/luck monitor… SOMETHING.  Because dice whines are too common!

Hmmm OK so what if you could make it do all the calculations at one time using the History?  Usually you would only do it once at the end of a game.  TripleA would chug away for an hour or so and then post the total number of attacks made by the axis side and the allies side throughout the game up to that point in the game history, the total number of anomalous outcomes had by each side, and percentages.  I would bet that both sides have anomalous outcomes in about 5-10% of their battles in any game.  Boo hoo.