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Thread: WGS for Tabletop Simulator

  1. #1

    Default WGS for Tabletop Simulator

    As some of you may have seen over in the officers club, I have been tinkering with creating a version of WGS in tabletop simulator.
    Rather than continue to hijack that thread, I have created this one to document progress.

    Initial plan for a first release is to have a largely manual version (i.e. physically manipulating pieces as in real life) with up to 8 A6M2s, F4Fs or P-40Es on the table. The mix of aircraft (fighter bases only) can be easily altered and expanded as only the relevant 3D models are required as the various manoeuvre decks and fighter bases are already created.

    As of today the initial version is 90% complete in that the assets exist to play manually, however I need to tweak the table design and a few components such that everything is actually usable and the relevant hidden information remains hidden.

    In the longer term I am looking at scripting various features to make play flow much more easily and will be implementing them in largely this order:
    - Model 'peg' adjustment (already implemented) - the models float above their base and can be adjusted in height using +/- buttons.
    - Automated firing range/arc checking - presenting a list of viable targets
    - Automated movement of 2nd card to 1st slot - initially a simple button to shift cards and speed token over.
    - Automated altitude - tracking climb counters and once sufficient then incrementing model altitude.
    - Automated damage tracking - initially a simple boom chit detector, but eventually a total value calculator and special damage announcer (e.g auto draw of fire/smoke chits). If i can figure out turn traking, removal of smoke/fire chits and drawing of associated damage could be automated.
    - Automated movement - this is the biggest and toughest one to crack but should be achievable.

    As things progress I will almost certainly make some visual tweaks as well.

    Comments, suggestions and assistance all welcome!

    Some teaser material on progress so far:

    P-40s in flight.
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    A Damage Chits
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    Player Dashboard
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  2. #2

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    Is this project can be of any help ?



    https://forum.unity.com/threads/wing...-alpha.271276/

    The author says :
    This is an early alpha/prototype that I worked on for ARES games and their Wings of Glory game.
    Note that I worked on this prototype for free, as a proof of concept and to demonstrate my development skills (or lack thereof) to ARES.
    Note this game, at this time, has not gone into production, so if you are a fan of Wings of Glory and would like them to make this game please contact them
    .”

  3. #3

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    A good example of a game very easy to follow. The cliks were a bit offputting though.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  4. #4

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    A little more tinkering today, now just about ready for initial release. At the moment damage is not hidden properly from to other players, though I should be able to fix that eventually. I have cracked the automated movement problem too, at least in theory. It will require some time to code up vector information for each movement card and creating the links between player board, cards and aircraft base is tricky, but the basic principles are working in my test version. Initial release will require manual movement.

    Not quite got as far as measuring individual targets, but this simple arc ruler tool is less code intensive and very user friendly. It simply toggles on and off via a button on the miniature base.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    No need for special code to chose manoeuvre cards just yet, TTS has a handy inbuilt deck search function. Way down the line I might work on restricting cards to legal moves, but then where would be the fun of your opponent over-stressing their aircraft and crashing!
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    Last things to do before initial release are stat cards for the aircraft to go next to the player boards. These may eventually be replaced by automated 'decals' for the player board and mini base. Hopefully will have a version live on TTS at the weekend. If anyone wants tro playtest, I'd be happy to have a game!

  5. #5

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    Ok, first version is up on Steam Workshop:
    https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...?id=2081041122
    Plenty still to do, but I'm getting my head around the code side of things now, so hopefully more automated functionality soon.

  6. #6

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    That looks good, Monse. It is a great pity that Ares did not take it further. I too found the clicks annoying though.

    Your game also looks good, Woof, but it will be a while before I can try it because I have to install Steam first.

  7. #7

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    Slowly plugging away at the automated bits and pieces. Automated numerical damage tracking is now working. I need to work on the presentation but it will happily count your damage tokens which is a start. Special damages trigger a prompt, but I hope to also have them present you with the correct tokens in future.
    Click image for larger version. 

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  8. #8

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    Just uploaded an update with the automated damage counting and special damage alerting embodied.

    Next step with damage is to auto-compare to the aircraft's 'health' value and alert if destroyed. This is part of a wider chunk of coding required to assign aircraft parameters to the player boards based on the aircraft selected. This should also allow climb counters to be counted vs climb rate, ceiling to be enforced and eventually special damage conditions to be tracked.

    I have also been tinkering with automated movement. this has moved up my priority list given how clunky and imprecise moving the cards/bases around is in TTS. At the moment this is just a coding test table you can see in the video and it only triggers 2 different manoeuvres, but you get the general idea. The eventual intent is to have buttons on the player board to first flip the cards and speed token, then execute the manoeuvre and finally retrieve the card and move everything from the #2 to the #1 slot. This does require me to assemble a database of cards as vectors in terms of fwd, side-ward movement and rotation, which may take a while! It's also proving tricky to determine where each element of the movement code best sits as in TTS code is either global or attached to specific in game objects, so presently I'm passing vector details from the card to the aircraft base which then moves the card and executes its own movement. This code will also have to interface with the player board to determine which card and speed token has been planned.


    I've also been tinkering with this:
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  9. #9

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    Getting there!

  10. #10

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    Wow, great progress... I've yet to dig into building with TTS, so this has been a lot of fun to read and follow along!

  11. #11

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    A longer video covering some of the recent developments. Fully scripted movement is almost there, a few tweaks and much error handling to add!

  12. #12

  13. #13

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    Looks very promising. I guess I'll have to find time to Steam now
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  14. #14

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    More progress.

  15. #15

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    I like what I see Mark.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  16. #16

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    Looks great!

  17. #17

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    Very clever and looking great. Looking forward to the first AAR's.

  18. #18

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    Updated on Tabletop Simulator Steam Workshop. Automated movement works now!

  19. #19

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    This looks very very good, Mark.
    Will there be an ability for players to play remotely, that is from 2 different computers, so I could play you from the USA?
    One thing I noticed, though: when you drew damage for the Wildcat, you got an 8, an 8, and a 5 for 21 hits. The Wildcat starts with 17, but you game left it with 1 point.

    Definitely liking what you're doing.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jager View Post
    Will there be an ability for players to play remotely, that is from 2 different computers, so I could play you from the USA?
    Yes. If you are not familiar with Tabletop Simulator, it is set up for both solo and online play. The WGS module I've been working on is geared towards online multiplayer, though you could use it with a solo app. I'd be happy to conduct a demonstration game online with anyone who wants one.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jager View Post
    One thing I noticed, though: when you drew damage for the Wildcat, you got an 8, an 8, and a 5 for 21 hits. The Wildcat starts with 17, but you game left it with 1 point.
    I spotted that this morning too! Turns out I forgot to load the most up to date A damage chits to the mod so they aren't getting counted. I'll put a patch out this evening to fix it.

  21. #21

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    No, I've not done any gaming on Steam....on any on-line gaming at all.
    Old dino that I am
    But this does have a great deal on interest for me, with friends....well around the world to play with
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  22. #22

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    I have done Total War in all its incarnations on Steam Karl and it can be good fun. I do like the look of this game as it developes.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  23. #23

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    Some more work today:
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    Will work on encoding the B manoeuvre deck soon (along with the A and H decks). Also have a Spitfire in the works but the model is less simple than the 109 to render well at a low poly count. Hopefully Spit, 109 and Hurrincane won;t be more than 80 years late to the start of the Battle of Britain!

    I've also figured out how to make parts custom colour-able in game, so depending on how I set things up you will be able to colour tails, spinners etc on some models to make them more easily distinguishable.
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    Not sure with the 109 whether to stick with just the tail or go all out and have the cowl, wingtips and tail all change.

  24. #24

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    I knew I should have bought Tabletop Simulator when it was on sale. Waiting for the next one so I can get the group package but I cant wait to try this!

  25. #25

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    Working on a few more aircraft. Battle of France anyone?
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    Next update will be along shortly and include the Bf109 and D520 and include the ability to trim the bases with the player colour for ease of identification.
    Plugging away in the background on additional code to help with altitude tracking but that will be a while to complete yet. Next priority is some RAF aircraft!

  26. #26

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    Another Progress update:

  27. #27

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    The Battle of Britain is about to begin...
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  28. #28

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    Looks good, Mark. I'll certainly be giving them a fly when it goes active.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  29. #29

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    Looking really interesting. I have a Steam account. I'm a little reluctant to go down that route again as in the past I have spent way too much time on it, at the expense of things like painting and writing. However, this looks too good not to have a go at. Thanks Mark

  30. #30

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    Tabletop Simulator is one sale on Steam right now. If you were curious about the game like I was now is your chance to grab it.

    Can't wait to check it out!

  31. #31

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    As Alpine points out, Tabletop Simulator is currently in the Steam sale. The WGS mod can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...?id=2081041122

    Just finished the Spitfire model, so now just work to set up the manoeuvre code for the A deck then the Battle of Britain update will be ready. I am continuing to work on the .xml re-code of the UI controlling movement and it now does extra legality checks and automatically tracks altitude. The BoB aircraft will definitely be out in the next week (gotta be ready by July 10th!), the UI improvements may take a little longer but shouldn't be too far behind.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  32. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by mikeemagnus View Post
    Looking really interesting. I have a Steam account. I'm a little reluctant to go down that route again as in the past I have spent way too much time on it, at the expense of things like painting and writing. However, this looks too good not to have a go at. Thanks Mark
    Yes Steam can be adictive. Took me a year to complete Rome total war, and then I foolishly did it all again as a different household.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  33. #33

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    Just updated the mod on steam workshop so it is now available to play with the Spit and Hurricane. Had to add some more code to cope with the A deck's extreme sideslip cards, though the same code will also make it possible to add large deck aircraft in future.
    Click image for larger version. 

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  34. #34

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    Sorry but I am not familiar with this app. Through Steam do we buy the tabletop app and then buy your mod. Is that correct? Will it enable solo play?

  35. #35

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    To clarify how the WGS mod works for those not familiar with Tabletop simulator.

    Tabletop Simulator provides a sandbox/development environment for virtual gaming. It comes with a number of classic/traditional games (Chess, Cards etc.) There are also a number of paid DLC versions of more modern games you can add too. The WGS mod I'm working on is a "workshop" mod. These are free to download and there are a huge variety of games with various levels of automation built in (you can browse the workshop here :https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/.../?appid=286160. Workshop mods are generally not endorsed by the game publisher and are built/maintained by fans. Once you subscribe to a workshop mod, tabletop simulator will check and download the latest version when it starts up.

    There are regular half price offers on Steam (or other sites selling steam download keys) for both tabletop simulator and the paid DLC. I make no money from any of it!

    At present the WGS mod does not include automated solo play (there is no AI) but you could use it with the WGS solo app to plan your opponents manoeuvres as you would with real miniatures. I could look at solo AI integration but it's quite a long way down the list at present. The game works best for online play against 1 or more opponents.

  36. #36

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    Some more progress on automated features:

  37. #37

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    This looks great. Can't wait to see/play this game. Thanks for the effort you are putting in to get it done.

  38. #38

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    Something I've been working on alongside the coding. Still a bit to do on the code side of things to get the new arc functionality to work with multiple arcs but hopefully soon it will be as simple as defining a table of firing arc positions and angles for any aircraft without having to re-jig the detection code. Now if only WGS arcs were simple and didn't include altitude restrictions, blind spots etc...
    Click image for larger version. 

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  39. #39

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    Been away for a while with work so not much progress with coding recently as I have not been able to connect to Steam. However in my down time I have produced a number of additional models and variants and designed the spec/framework for bombing code. Looks like the 80th anniversary of the end off the battle of Britain may pass before I finish related updates (Stukas, Ju88, Bf110 and associated bombing and multi engine code), but I hope to provide an incremental update to the mod shortly with some of these features.
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  40. #40

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    I love checking back in and seeing progress. Keep it up Mark!

  41. #41

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    It is all looking very good Mark.
    keep up the good work.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  42. #42

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    Thanks! Good to know people are still interested.
    I updated the version on steam a few days ago with a new system for loading aircraft models and a few new types such as Cannon armed spits and Hurricanes as well as Gloster Gladiators.
    The code for drawing multiple fire arcs is now working so will be in the next update along with this guy:
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  43. #43

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    I have recently figured out a way to procedurally generate the code for the manoeuvre decks, which should save some significant time in adding more aircraft in the future. The Stuka is now ready to go too, including all dive bombing manoeuvres with relevant rules enforcement. Next job is to finish up the code for placing and moving bombs and make some ground targets. Then on to multi engine beasts! Although in reality I will probably end up adding a few aircraft along the way as the modelling is a lot less stressful than coding!
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  44. #44

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    This is incredible! I played this mod a while back and thought it was amazing - I didn't expect to find it on the forums here

  45. #45

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    Great work on this project Mark. I usually stay away from games on a computer but might have to give this a try.

  46. #46

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    Looking very good to me Mark.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  47. #47

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    Preview of upcoming additions:
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    Code is now in place for level bombing, dive bombing also works, but I need to add a trigger to show/hide the bomb drop button if not at the right altitude. Once dropped the bombs are linked to the aircraft and move each time the aircraft moves until they hit the ground.
    One of the really nice things about doing it with code is I can have the bombs fall under the aircraft (yes the bomb model does fall each time it is moved) rather than in front of it as we are forced to do when playing with cards.
    The arcs on the base are now drawn on by code too and I have tested them with all kinds of odd multiple arc setups so they will work with the heavies when the time comes.
    Finally I have started on some ground target cards. The flak gun in this pic can have range rings toggled on/off to allow legal token placement to be determined.

  48. #48

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    Awesome!
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  49. #49

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    I have been doing some more background work outside of tabletop simulator to speed up the process of getting decks into the game. Whilst I had developed a procedural method for coding the movement vectors for the game it still relied up me drawing the cards in paint shop and manually transcribing data. I have now almost finished a google sheets utility that simply takes an input of the general parameters for a deck and its constituent cards and produces a card sheet svg image and the corresponding movement code. Once complete, all I will have to do is simply list the cards in the deck and hit go to generate all the required files. The really cool part is the same utility could be used to readily produce custom cards/decks in real life without needing to use a graphics program.

    The output doesn't always match the official decks in terms of the lengths of some manoeuvres as I had to make certain rules/assumptions on how to treat turn manoeuvres and slideslips in terms of ratios of the chosen high and low speeds (there are a great many oddities in how the real cards work depending on what assumptions you make about speed/distance per mm on the table and time per card).

    Test card I used to try out the various manoeuvre types and symbols:

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  50. #50

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    Well annoyingly Microsoft Edge no longer supports saving SVG images to PNG, thus I have spent most of my evening working around this problem to generate the deck files for tabletop simulator. Unfortunately it adds an extra step in paint shop back into the workflow to add a background image, but it should still be quicker in the long run. I could just forgo the background texture/image but it looks pretty good...
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    I also think I've figured a way to print directly in scale to .pdf for custom real life decks, but that is a project for another time. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be verifying that the movement code matches the generated deck in game and then I'll be a few short steps from having the next release ready (expect Ju-88, Ju-87 and Bf-110 in this one too).

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