[Announce] PCC2 beta 6
Stefan Reuther
I have uploaded PCC2 beta 6. For those who haven't heard of it yet: PCC2
is a 32-bit VGAP client which runs under Windows, Linux and probably
more systems (I've recently got a success report from Snow Leopard).
Get it as usual from <http://phost.de/~stefan/pcc2.html>
And if you're wondering where new PCC 1.x and PHost versions are: I've
spent most of my tube time on PCC2 this year. If you want me to adjust
my priorities in a different way, say so :-)
Have fun with it,
Stefan
Planets Command Center II Beta 6
=================================
This release adds several improvements, but probably no big surprises.
Wrapped maps work much better now, as does ship building.
PCC2 now learned the PCC 1.x "team" feature. You can define other
races to be your team-mates, which will make PCC2 display them as
allies in the starchart, and allows you to display scores by team, not
just by player.
In addition, wrapped map support and map display in general was
improved, as was general font rendering.
Target Audience
----------------
If you're using PCC 1.x or VPA, you'll rightfully think PCC2 sucks.
It's still missing many advanced features.
If you're using planets.exe or Winplan, or your operating system does
not run your favourite client, PCC2 might be a playable alternative
for you. In particular, because it is a 32-bit program, those
new-fashioned 64-bit operating systems don't have a problem with it
as they do with our beloved 16-bit programs.
Probably everyone will have a use for PlayVCR, PCC2's combat viewer
and simulator. Its graphics are a little nicer than those of the others,
and its simulator runs faster than all other simulators known to me.
Hosts might find Un-TRN useful, especially its ability to "sanitize"
turns.
What is still missing?
-----------------------
The starchart is still underdeveloped (but is heavily improving).
The scripting engine is not yet there. Adding that will bring back
useful features such as search, labels, and auto tasks.
The history is developed much less than in 1.x. In particular, message
parsing is missing completely (but UTILx.DAT is processed).
Finally, we of course want new features as well. Planned features are:
+ a "play-from-map" mode, similar to VPA. Rudiments of this already
exist in PCC 1.x, where the object keymap is active when an object
is selected in the map (thus, you can rename ships from the map). In
addition to that, we'd also need to display some neat map overlays
to make it useful.
+ display of past and future turns on the map.
On the back-end, I'm planning to convert everything to Unicode, to
support non-Western environments.
Stability
----------
Beta 6 should be fairly stable. I am now using this in a game, most of
the time under Linux, sometimes under Windows, and have not seen any
crashes.
I might add that I generally use PCC2 in no-unpack mode. Unlike
traditional clients, PCC2 allows you to play even if you give it just
a RST file (and ship list and configuration of course), you don't have
to unpack. You don't have to configure anything in PCC2 to make this
work, just let it loose on a directory containing a RST (and,
optionally, a turn).
There is one known weakness: some BMP files can cause the library PCC2
is using to load images to crash. Unfortunately, such files seem to
appear in various replacement ship sets. I am using Donovan's
replacement VCR pictures (WPVCR.DLL file) together with a replacement
PCC 1.x picture set (CC.RES file), those are fairly safe. If you
encounter a problem of this kind, try to identify the offending
picture, load it into MS Paint and save it again, to convert it to a
sane format.
Interoperation with Other Clients
----------------------------------
PCC2 aims to be a successor to PCC 1.x, supporting most file formats
and features PCC 1.x has. Switching between the two should now be
possible:
+ The starchart database, "chartX.cc", is essentially handled
identically by PCC2 and PCC 1.x. Currently, PCC2 processes all
information written by PCC 1.x, and vice versa.
+ The PCC 1.x score database, "stat.cc", is converted into PCC2's
file format and named "score.cc" upon PCC2's first start. From
then on, both clients will use their own file. PCC 1.x cannot (yet)
display "score.cc", and I'm unsure whether it ever will.
Mixing PCC2 with a different client should also be fine. PCC2
maintains all checksum files required by Winplan or DOS Planets.
Remember to not run two clients in parallel, though.
To generate registered turns, PCC2 needs a "fizz.bin" file created by
a registered client in the game directory, just like PCC 1.x.