JVPC Features

JVPC offers features that are completely new into the world of VGA-Planets, like advanced team-game checking features, PDA support and Check'n'Actions.

JVPC reads datafiles from DOS planets 3.x and is aimed at PHost (using info from util??.dat files, reading pconfig.src, mission.ini and hullfunc.dat). Since the VGAP world mostly uses THost, however, some work is going into getting data from important messages as well.
Registration key also read from TRN (if FIZZ.BIN is not available),

Incomplete List of Current Features

• Menubar added to Map and buttons at top changed (real PDA usability enhancement!)
• Good beahviour on adding and removing widgets, typically seen in the CargoFrame and the MessageFrame,
• Showing bases differently than planets on the map,
• Removed a couple of crashes and other oddities,

• Minefields parsed from THost messages!
• Various small fixes and tweaks,
• Ionstorms!
• Fixed 50% chance of proper Sender when writing message and having more than one RST (dropped deselect-ItemEvent),
• Fixed writing message to TRN (newline issue, had to call the (existing) Message.writeMessageTo() instead of meddling my hand,

• Added a bunch of buttons of buttons to the Map to help editing on a PDA,
• Fixed seenBy() such that it also notes shipXY vessels, not just targets,
• report() of Ship also works for ships without known hulltype,
• No longer builds >0 beams/tubes of type zero, but builds zero (as it should; unfortunately, THost accepts it),
• Fixed torp-buying behaviour (minimum amount of torps was not computed analogous to minimum amount of fighters),
• Taken out infinite loop when switching ships, due to event handling,

• Ship to Enemy Ship cargo transfer,
• Computation of happyness next turn fixed (truncated at the wrong point in the formula),
• Took out mineral circles, they're in RVV, now,
• cargo transfer to unowned planets no longer possible (click ship in JVPC, then transfer; but that's not an object of the class Planet :),
• made mineral circles proportional in area, rather than radius,
• automatic toFront() when viewing something (saves time searching for a window, particularly useful on a PDA or with fullscreen starmap),
• Added Prev and Next Buttons to BaseFrame,
• fixed setFC() when no FC available, yet,

• work-around for multiple-minefield-on-save bug,
• Started implementing Mineral views on map (one needs overviews...),
• Copies player??.rst, util??.dat and player??.trn to the backup directories automatically (don't need an external script anymore),
• Fixed Cargo Window update for bases,
• Blitz support (as stand-alone client),

• Fixed ammunition cargo-transfer (double lock-aquiring failed),
• Fixed structure breakdown (mine, fact, def) when there are more structures on the planet than allowed (e.g. w/ Amorphus or a planet obtained w/ battle).

• Locking system added (preparation for blitz, as well as enabling the next bullet), which also required a big improvement in event throwing and consistency check placement,
• Uneditable Universes are again viewable,
• Makes TRN's (just Save the data),
• Added some next-object buttons for PDA support,
• Initial try to run JVPC on an iPAQ (w/ linux + kaffe), which is doable for most screens, inconvenient for the starmap and completely awkward for the cargo-window.

• Markers can be added and are saved, but not read (i.e. almost there...)
• More cleaning of LocationList (getting really short),
• Can set fix/recycle ship for a starbase,

• Consistency check applied much more often, notably just before saving data,
• Setting warp no longer possible above maximum due to damage, including Lizard bonus,
• Temporarily(?) moved Planet on-screen, while in the process of cleaning LocationList and Map; Setup of MapSearch changed, now allows adding of Located's at any time,
• Replaced Window by Dialog for Find/Settings,
• Cleaned MapFrame thoroughly (Map got a bit more obfuscated, though),

• Moved home-page definitely to SourceForge,
• Made the web-pages a lot nicer,
• Can build torpedoes on a base (in 'BaseDetail' Window),
• Lowering tech-levels now safe, UI will attempt to do so when you cancel/change a ship build order,
• Cleaned up JVPC.java a bit,
• Can open BaseWindow from Map by pressing 'b' (instead of 'v' for 'V'iewing planet),
• Added score viewing ability (press "sCore" in main window),
• Considering mass of towed ships for fuel prediction,
• VPCheck has Check (in configs default and all) for planets detectable by Sensor Sweep,
• VPCheck has Action (in config pre) to build mines, factories and defense when those were maximised the previous turn (if you back-up al useful info in the history-subdirectories, of course),

• Sun jdk 1.2 on HP-UX 11 (yes, you read correctly: java 1.2 aka 2).

• Declared Beta,
• Can build ships, check out the Base Window (do not be surprised you do not see a way to change tech-levels, raising them is done automatically).

• Uses registration either from FIZZ.BIN, or (if that is shareware) can take it from an old TRN,
• ``Load''-button added for JVPC,
• Mission ``Hiss'' taken into account when calculating next turn happyness,
• Showing more native / happyness info in both VPCheck and JVPC,
• jvpc.vga Can raise tech levels.

• Added gravitonic engines to fuel usage formulas,
• Added PHost accurate fuel model to fuel usage,
• Added techlevels to consistency check,
• Fixed length of two arays, so Colonies can do a turn,
• Changed BData.getFighters() to count fighters instead of torps,
• Consistency check improved (called on start-up and with each ``complicated'' command (not on setting warp, but on building factories). If JVPC crashes while you edit data with it, send me an e-mail with the commands you gave and the message printed on stderr (like: ``Error 1002: [something]'').,
• Added fighters and torpedo transfer to Cargo Window,
• Added view of ship-to-be-built to Base Window,
• Base Window (small start, you can build defense posts and fighters).

• Kaffe focus problems circumvented,
• Can't intercept/tow ships you don't see; particularly useful in team-games,
• Cargo Window (no transfer from ship to foreign ship, yet),

• Frames and strings for planets and ships are much more equal and complete now,
• Those frames can switch content by themselves (PgUp and PgDn),
• Message window gained simplicity, lost functionality (I want to put much more in it, anyway),
• VPCheck now exists in its own package,
• Bug in reading trn's fixed (also in K-Util's reading trn's, but not in writing them, so neither in K-MkTurn),
• Old Kaffe and Sun ``font'' problem in message window solved (a signed byte minus a number becomes a signed int, not a signed byte); is this a Java 1.2 issue?
• A BufferedInputStream does not skip() very well, so I use a ByteArray instead. Since VGAP has only ``small'' files, this works nicely. All JVM's I have now work; again, is this a Java 1.2 issue?
• Reads and writes fizz.bin (this even fixed the data after Tim's own unpack on an unjustifiable large game; Tim's maketurn ran! This would justify going to version 0.50 immediately :-)
• Planet Window added (everything but transfer (to ships) can be done),
• Simple configure added (easier installation),
• Docs HTML'ified.

0.07

• Find ship by ID in starmap (focus is a little awkward),
• Ship Window added, in which you can edit some fields,
• Reads PHost mission.ini for extended missions,
• Way too many bugs on reading and writing data fixed. VPUTIL now accepts the data written by VPCheck, but Tim's programs still have trouble (hallucinating, I'd say). Running VPUTIL with cp, un, uc is sufficient to let maketurn run succesfully. I call this workable, but it's still not perfect. Running JVPC without changing (and saving :-) anything is no problem.

0.06

• Knows about additional hull properties (reads PHost hullfunc.dat for can cloak, is refinery and such),
• Shows this and much more info when you select an object on a starmap,
• Can write messages (see screenshots),
• Shows ships, planets, wormholes, explosions and minefields on the starmap,
• Can select any of the above items and displays a short mesage with info,
• Toggles for viewing the above items,
• (More) Color possibilities in starmap,
• Adds battle-result info to still existing (and visible, for now) enemy ships,
• Reads jvpc.cfg to configure your game and JVPC itself,

• Reads all normal player data,
• Reads results,
• Reads TRNs (yes, reads),
• Reads pconfig.src for PHost configuration,
• Can save all data,
• Can handle multiple turns of the same game simultaneously (history),
• Can look into the future,
• Can view result-data and turn-data separately,
• Can have any number of Maps,
• Can handle multiple races for a team-game,
• Can have any number of Message viewers,
• Can show coverage of sensor sweep, mine scan and ship/planet scan
• Has a grid on the starmap,
• Has VPCheck for running various very useful checks,
• Has Actions that can be coupled to checks,
• Can set waypoints of ships,