GTK-based Reinforcements Editor for LGC-PG.
by Michael Speck
released under GNU GPL
To use this editor you will need the original Panzer General (DOS)
data as this program does not modify the scenarios but the input
for converting the scenarios when using lgc-pg.
For the following I assume that you have copied either the contents of
the pg-data package (from http://lgames.sf.net) or the contents of the
dat directory (from your PG CD) to ~/tmp/dat and that you have put the
lgeneral source to a directory ~/sources/lgeneral-X.X.X and that you
are now in ~/sources/lgeneral-X.X.X/lgeneral-redit
Starting from the this very directory do:
> configure; make;
> cd ..
> configure --disable-install; make clean; make
First we have to compile lgeneral-redit, lgeneral and lgc-pg so, that
it runs from the source directory. While lgeneral-redit always runs
from the source directory lgeneral and lgc-pg require --disable-install
for this. The make process of lgeneral-redit is separate as it requires
GTK which is an unnescessary dependancy for LGeneral itself.
> cd lgc-pg
> lgc-pg -s ~/tmp/dat -d ~/sources/lgeneral-X.X.X/src
lgeneral-redit requires pg.udb, thus we have to run the converter
a first time. lgeneral-redit looks for pg.udb in ../../src/units
which is a relative path. Don't rename or move anything! BTW
doing this without 'make install' saves us trouble with the
permissions in /usr.
> cd ../lgeneral-redit/src
> lgeneral-redit
Now, whatever you change will be saved in reinf.rc from which
you can load again. Some information on the interface is given
further below. Let's assume you defined some nice reinforcements,
then hit the Build button from the menu. This will modify the file
../../lgc-pg/convdata/reinf which is again a relative path, so don't
rename or move anything!
> cd ../../lgc-pg
> lgc-pg -s ~/tmp/dat -d ~/sources/lgeneral-X.X.X/src
Every time the converter is run, the delayed units for all scenarios
are added according to the information in data/reinf.
> cd ../src
> lgeneral
Now, you can test the scenario. If something is not okay, you can
re-run lgeneral-redit, do a Build in it, run lgc-pg and then lgeneral
again. It sounds more complicated than it actually is. It is best to
use a multiterminal to be present in all three directories: src,
lgc-pg and lgeneral-redit/src.
*** INTERFACE HINTS ***
The layout is very simple and quite self-explanatory. If you select a
scenario SCENARIO, the label at the top right will change to 'Add Unit
For SCENARIO'. This way you always know, for which scenario you
currently edit the reinforcements.
Then you select the side (Axis,Allies), the unit category (Infantry,
Tank ...) and the unit itself. Note, that all units from this category
will be displayed, no matter of the time of the scenario! Thus it is
possible to deploy a Tiger for the Axis in Poland and equip it with an
Opel transporter. Which you should not do, of course.
'Delay' is the number of turns after which the unit will be available
for deployment. 'Strength' is the unit strength which may range from
5-15 and 'Experience' is the experience ranging from 0 to 5 stars.
If you select a unit from the lower right-hand side box you can either
remove it or replace it with the current settings you have made.
Replacing is the same as simply removing the old unit and then adding
the new one. This is useful when changing a property for a delayed
unit: for instance, if you added a tank that should appear after 2
turns but that should appear now after 4 turns. Then you select the
unit, simply change the delay from 2 to 4 and hit replace.
There is no undo function, so save and load on a regular base. When you
feel like the reinforcements for a scenario are ready to be tested, hit
the 'Build' button in the menu. This will, as explained above, generate
the reinf file in lgc-pg. Then re-running lgc-pg allows to test the
reinforcements in LGeneral.
*** CONTRIBUTIONS ***
If you want to contribute to LGeneral please create reasonable
reinforcements for a scenario of your choice. (thus no Tiger2 in Poland
or stuff!) The reinforcements should be roughly within the historical
contexts of the scenario and not to excessive.
Please, tell me in advance if you want to build reinforcements. Just
to prevent unnescessary work, in case someone else is already going for
it. Reinforcements contributions will be listed in the AUTHORS file.