WFMC - Formations Look Like REAL WotR Formations and Groundwork for Reconfiguration Costs Put in Place [Part 4/11]

Time is just flying by, it seems. Two more weeks have come and gone ... I've made some interesting changes over those last two weeks - hopefully everyone else will agree.

WHERE WE LEFT OFF WITH PART 3/10

Here is what the application looked like on the 23rd of March 2015. Where we left off with it from the Part 3/10 post is shown below:

It was looking really good (granted still being a little cramped) - and I had gotten in the formation reconfiguration combo box - and had it drawing to the OpenGL View.

Furthermore, I had hoped to make progress in the following areas over these last two weeks:

• Hornblower/Drummer applicability to units based upon upgrade capabilities.
• Add the math to do the reconfigurations
• Add the math for rotation based upon configuration dimensions

Let's go through some of the changes that HAVE been made, and see what you think ... I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

MORE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE

First off, having disabled fields to "force the workflow" through the application, it was a little difficult to see "what to do next" within the application. To help facilitate this, instead of simply having blank combo boxes that would enable - I've added the text "Select ..." to the next combo box that is intended to be used in the workflow. So, when the application is first launched, the Desired Faction combo box has the text to indicate that that is the first selection that should be made.

 

Once a Desired Faction is selected, the Desired Unit combo box enables (as it did before) and is now populated with the "Select ..." contents to indicate that that is the next selection to be made.

Similarly, once the Desired Unit is selected, then the Unit Type, Move Value and Number of Companies are populated (as before). Likewise, the Formation Configuration combo box is enabled and labeled to indicate that it is the next selection point.

Something else to mention at this point. As I had set for a goal from the list above, I wanted to enable and disable the "Simulate Hornblower" checkbox based upon the profile for the selected Desired Unit. I went through and for each unit determined if there was a "hornblower/drummer" option for the unit - and if there is (within the WotR core rules) I enabled the use of the field. If the unit had no command upgrade option for a hornblower, it was unchecked and disabled - and finally if the unit was a Legendary Formation that had a hornblower in the base cost for the command company, it is disabled and checked. 

All that is working properly, now ... and I consider that a pretty big accomplishment in-and-of itself. In the case of the Oathsworn Militia that were selected above, they have the option for a hornblower to be included in the command company, so that option is enabled and unchecked to allow the selection to be made (as desired)

Selecting one of the valid configurations from the Formation Configuration combo box really starts to "bring on the sexy" from the last two weeks' worth of work...

The View no longer simply draws blue "empty" boxes, but actually draws the companies as if they are the literal bases in play. Here is the formation of Oathsworn Militia (an Infantry Formation) comprised of the 9 companies that make it up.

Similarly, here is a formation of Cloud of Bats (a Cavalry Formation) comprised of the 9 companies that make it up.

Both are drawn to scale and formations are comprised within the selected configuration. I personally think this gives the view a lot more of a "realistic WotR feel" and makes it seems more "tangible" (as if it were actual units being simulated).

Notice in both of the cases above, the "Baseline Config" line (just under the Formation Configuration combo box) has been updated (since it is effectively the next piece in the workflow). It is implying that the sliders should be adjusted to put the formation in the initial desired position, rotation and configuration and then baseline (using the "Set Baseline ..." button) to establish where the formation is going to be located for the first round.

 Clicking on the "Set Baseline ..." button brings up a pop-up that indicates that baselining will set the current location of the formation and set the Round Number to be 1 (meaning that the formation is in its first round's position). Here the formation of 9 companies of Oathsworn Militia have been rotated and moved - and the Baseline has been set. Notice that the baseline configuration for the formation is populated and the round number (just above the move distances under the OpenGL View) has also been set to 1 (as indicated in the pop-up). I still need to reset the expended move value to be 0 and reset the Remaining move value back to the stat for the unit (plus/minus any movement modifiers that are checked) after the baseline has been set.

The point of baselining is so that when the formation configuration is changed after the baseline is established, the difference between the baseline configuration and the reconfiguration can be determined and the movement cost associated with the change can be calculated. For example, here is the same formation - and it has been changed within the Formation Configuration combo box to now be in 2x5 Configuration.

Making this change from 4x3 Configuration to 2x5 Configuration requires a move value of 6.41".

I've updated the database to have the full set of reconfiguration costs for any configuration to another. This ended up with over 450 rows for all the different permutations for Infantry and Cavalry. This was the "guts" of this entire application - since the intent is to provide a quick means to determine feasibility and cost for movement … Now that that's done, I still need to do something with pushing the value to the expended move cost … or checking to ensure that there is sufficient remaining move value available to accommodate the reconfiguration request. I have a feeling that doing such will be little harder than it simply sounds.

Another thing is - setting the Baseline now is the trigger for enabling the Reset Round button and the End Round button. Since the baseline has been saved, the Reset Round button now has something that it can "look up" and return the formation back to a given state. It will always look for the highest Round Number record to reset back to, as well.

The End Round button now also launches a pop-up. Clicking on OK will add to the Round Number by 1 (incrementing it to the next round) and save the location and configuration of the formation at its new updated location and configuration.

So, here the End Round button has been pressed after reconfiguring the formation to be in 2x5 Configuration. Notice that the Round Number under the View has been updated to 2 and the Baseline Configuration for round 2 is now the updated Formation Configuration that was selected - so now if another configuration is selected it will be compared against the 2x5 Configuration for determining move value expended cost.

One more note … Notice the button down at the bottom-right. When the application is closed it is not persisted - in other words, every time that you re-launch the application it basically makes you "start over"; however, since the Baseline button, Reset and End Round buttons are saving the state, I can get back to the last saved state by loading the highest round number for the formation. It works effectively like the Reset Round Button - but allows the user to pick back up where they left off, if they so desire. One thing to keep in mind, though - if a different faction/unit is selected and that is baselined - all other historical records are "blasted away" for the new baseline.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

So there is still a lot to do! I got 2 of my 3 goals done, plus I got the "bonus sexy" look and feel implemented as well (so that's a plus). I think the thing I'll shoot for next is resetting move values based upon baselining, reseting, and ending rounds - and then apply the reconfiguration costs from the table to actual expended move value … that sounds reasonable.

Stay tuned! I'll continue to provide updates as it goes on!

LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WFMC PROGRESS SERIES

• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Work in Progress [Part 1/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Update ... Progress still being Made [Part 2/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - WFMC Continuing to Come Together [Part 3/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Formations Look Like REAL Formations and Groundwork for Reconfig Costs Put in Place [Part 4/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Load Previous Data & Reconfig Costs/Restrictions [Part 5/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Fixed Expended Move Costs Round-to-Round and Added Color to the Reconfiguration Combo Box [Part 6/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Movement Modifier Checkboxes Work Properly and Zoom Capability [Part 7/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Implementing the Options for Rotation [Part 8/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Calculating the Translation Distance for Vanilla WotR Rules of Movement [Part 9a/11]
• WotR Formation Movement Calculator - Calculating the Translation Distance for Vanilla WotR Rules of Movement (Continued) [Part 9b/11]
• TBD [Part 10/11]
• TBD [Part 11/11]

LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF MOVEMENT TYPES AND LIMITS SERIES

• Movement Types and Limits Series - Translational and Rotational Movement [Part 1/23]

• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 2-3 Companies [Part 2/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 4 Companies [Part 3/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 5 Companies [Part 4/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 6 Companies [Part 5/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 7 Companies [Part 6/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 8 Companies [Part 7/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 9 Companies [Part 8/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Summary of Infantry Formations by Company Size [Part 9/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Infantry Restrictions of Reconfiguration by Formation Name Summary [Part 10/23]

• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised of 2-3 Companies [Part 11/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised for 4 Companies [Part 12/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised of 5 Companies [Part 13/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised of 6 Companies [Part 14/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised of 7 Companies [Part 15/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Cavalry Formations Comprised of 8 Companies [Part 16/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Movement of Infantry Formations Comprised of 9 Companies [Part 17/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Cavalry Movement Example 1 from Page 33 of WotR Rulebook Analysis [Part 18/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Cavalry Movement Example 2 from Page 33 of WotR Rulebook Analysis [Part 19/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Cavalry Movement Example 3 from Page 33 of WotR Rulebook Analysis [Part 20/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Reconfiguration Summary of Cavalry Formations by Company Size [Part 21/23]
• Movement Types and Limits Series - Cavalry Restrictions of Reconfiguration by Formation Name Summary [Part 22/23]
• Using WFMC to Verify Movement Examples [Part 23/23]