Extended
Features for VPA
=========================
Feature Descriptions
2004 by C.Graefe
The features documented here originate from an extension to
VPA formerly known to only a few people as 'CGExt'. They have
been merged with the main source tree under the term 'Extended
Features' and will no longer be maintained separately.
==============
Major Features
==============
Quality Assurance
-----------------
The idea behind the QA-Feature is basically the as the 'actual
list' implemented by Andrew Andrienko -- only he was quicker
to integrate his version into the main VPA code. Still, there
are a few aspects to the QA that the actual list is missing,
so I made it into an additional front-end to the actual list.
The QA-Feature was designed to help you organize
your work when playing your turn and to prevent you from overlooking
any of your units in the process. Basically, all of your ships,
planets, and starbases have been extended with a new approval
flag which indicates whether you have already given them the
commands you want them to perform, i.e. if you approve its
current status. When you have entered your commands on an
object, just press ctrl-a to approve its status. Approved
objects will display a small yellow check mark close to their
name when they are selected and also left to their name in
the object list. Press ctrl-d to disapprove the selected object
again. Objects will be disapproved automatically if they are
changed in any way.
(NEW: Auto-disapproving will only occur if
the parameter AutoDisapprove is set to Yes in the [Interface]
section of your VPA.INI config file. Furthermore, the parameter
ShowCheckMark may be used to disable the display of the check
marks.)
To help you find the units you haven't handled
yet an overview list is provided. Press '#' (hash) to open
it on the right hand side. First, all your planets and their
starbases (if they've got one) will be displayed, followed
by you ships. In addition to it's type, id, and name some
auxiliary information on each object will be displayed. Planets
are displayed in green, starbases in blue, and ships in turquoise.
But any object you have already approved will be displayed
in dark gray which makes it easy to find those you still need
to have a look at. While you navigate through the list the
object currently selected will be centered on the map. Use
the following keys to work on the QA-list:
up/down
Move the list cursor up or down one object.
page up/down Move the list cursor up or
down 14 objects.
home/end Move the list cursor to the beginning
or the end of the list.
ctrl-a Approve the item currently selected.
ctrl-d Disapprove the item currently selected.
'/' Toggle the status of the item currently
selected.
Esc Close the QA-list.
Enter Close the QA-list and jump to the
item currently selected.
The Borgculator
---------------
This is a feature I implemented when I was playing the Borg
and was continuously forced to decide how to get the max out
of my natives before they were all gone. The Borgculator is
a prediction and planning tool for planets that has already
proven useful to all other races, too.
Select a planet on the map and press ctrl-b
to activate the Borgculator screen. At the top of the screen
name, id and owner of the planet are displayed. If the planet
is unowned set the owning race by pressing 'o' before you
continue or the predictions might not be accurate. If you
have openend the Borgculator before, the last planet you selected
will still be displayed. Press space to import the data from
a newly selected planet.
The easiest way to use the Borgculator is
to select one of the predefined strategies by pressing 'g'.
Currently, there are four such strategies:
*
Growth Optimized - This will tax your colonists and natives
in intervalls to maximize both income and population growth.
*
Constant Tax - This will tax your colonists and natives
down to a happiness of 70% and keep it there by imposing
a constant tax rate.
*
Borg Growth Optimized & Borg Constant Tax - Same as
above for your colonists but your natives will be taxed
to maximize your income before they are assimilated.
Alternatively, you can develop your own strategy
for your planet. Use the following keys to operate on the
prediction table.
up
Move back one turn.
down Move forward one turn and add data
row if necessary.
del Remove last data row.
enhtumadscpx Press one of these keys (You'll
find them highlighted in the table header.) to alter one
of the values of the data row currently selected.
In addition, you may press alt-c
to reset the Borgculator, 'r' to write the
current data to a text file, and 'Esc' to
exit the Borgculator screen.
Object Notes
------------
Little notes to assist your memory may be associated with
ships, planets, and starbases. When you have selected one
of these objects, press ctrl-n to display the note on the
right hand side. You may use '-' and '+' to switch turns and
view older versions of the note if you have changed it at
some point. Now press 'e' to edit the note and press 'Esc'
when you are done editing. Press 'Esc' again to exit the note-mode
or press 'c' to clear the note.
Resource Statistics
-------------------
This feature was designed to provide an overview of your resources.
Press ctrl-F10 on the main screen to enter the resource stats
screen. (Please be patient: the statistics are calculated
at this point so this might take a while on slower machines.)
At the top of the screen a table is displayed showing the
total amount of resources you have at your command. The first
column shows the amount of each resource that are currently
ready, e.g. ships and planets you own and minerals on the
surface of your planets or on board of your ships. The second
column indicates by how much the resource will increase next
turn if this can be determined. The third column shows how
many minerals are still under the surface of your planets.
Press the letters highlighted in the table
to add the resource to the graph at the bottom of the screen
and press it again to remove the resource. Hold down shift
or ctrl when pressing the key to add the second or third column
of that resource, respectively. Note: You must have data for
at least two turns in your VPA database to display the graph.
Press ctrl-F3 to send your stats of the turn
currently selected to an ally by planets mail. Press +/- to
switch between turns or press cursor left/right to switch
between races if you have received data from an ally.
Press Esc to exit the stats
screen.
Fleet Report
------------
Press ctrl-F11 on the main screen to enter the fleet report
screen. This screen will give you an overview of the number
and types of ships you own. In addition to information on
engines, beams, and launchers it will also display the amount
of AutoScore points a ship or class of ships earns you. Use
cursor up/down, page up/down, home, and end to navigate the
ship list.
==============
Minor Features
==============
Inter-Planetary Connections
---------------------------
Press shift-l when you are on the main screen to toggle the
display of inter-planetary connections. When switched on,
all planets that are 84ly or less apart (i.e. planets that
can be reached in one turn using transwarp) will be connected
with slim gray lines. While this might look confusing at first
to those already accustomed to VPA, give it a chance -- I'm
sure you won't want to miss it once you have gotten used to
it. Some of the advantages:
-
At one short glance you can see which routes you may travel
without beeing seen.
-
Get an overview of the "natural borders" of your
territory. This will help you to predict the direction of
potential attacks and to protect your borders.
-
The connections make it easier to orientate yourself in
the Echocluster, esp. if you're new to VGAP.
-
Communication about areas of the Echocluster will also be
easier -- at least to my experience. My ally and I have
invented names for all those constellations that appear
when this feature is turned on. Our discussions on strategies
now involve sentences like "By turn 40 we should have
conquered most of the Stag so that we can move on to attack
the Hummingbird from the east." (If you like, try to
find these constellations on the standard Echocluster
map: The Stag, The Humminbird, The Diver, The Caterpillar,
Jumping Jack, The Peacock :-)
The distance of 84ly mentioned above is the
default value. It may be changed in VPA.INI using the ConnectionDist
parameter in the [Interface] section if you need that (maybe
for a shareware game?). In addition, you can draw temporary
connections by pressing ctrl-l on the main screen.
Ion Storm Waypoint Prediction
-----------------------------
This feature will help you to navigate your ships through
class 4 and 5 ion storms that will drag your ships along.
Note: Movement of ion storms is not entirely predictable.
So I should say this feature mearly helps you to guess where
to move your ships.
If one of your ships is under the influence
of a dragging ion storm, press space and move the cursor to
the location you want to go (or where you want to stay). Now
press alt-i: The cursor will be moved to the location you
should send your ship to so that you'll have a chance to end
up where you wanted to go in the first place. However, as
stated above this is not guaranteed. An arc of dots on the
map indicates all the coordinates that your ship might be
dragged to.
Population Growth Prediction
----------------------------
When you have selected one of your planets, the predicted
colonist population for the next turn is displayed below the
current one. The same would be possible for native clans of
course, but unfortunately there was no more room for that
number.
Even worse, the place for this useful figure
was taken by some other data before I could merge my changes
with the main VPA code. So, you will have to set the parameter
ShowColonistPrediction in the [Interface] section of your
VPA.INI to Yes if you prefer to see the popuplation prediction.
Or you may press shift-j to toggle the display for the current
session.
Disable Map Border
------------------
You can now disable the dashed edge markings VPA displays
in games with a map that wraps-around. Add the following parameter
to the [Interface] section of your VPA.INI if you are irritated
by those lines: ShowMapBorder = Off
Data Exchange Subscription
--------------------------
This feature allows you to regularly send the data of certain
planets to your allies automatically.
Create a file names VPADXCxy.INI in your game
directory where x is the id of your own race (1..B) and y
the id of the receiving race (e.g. VPADXC9A.INI if you are
the Robot and want data to be sent to the Rebel). Create a
section within the file and add object ids to subscribe to:
[planets]
237
483
102
This will create messages to the receiver
(y, see above) containing the data for planets 237, 483, and
102 every time you unpack your new RST file.
Score Prediction
--------------------
When you are on the build screen of one of your starbases,
the potential score value of the ship you are about to build
is displayed at the bottom of the hull list. For torpedo ships
and fighter carriers the maximum value is displayed in parentheses.
The scoring system you would like to use may be configured
in the [Interface] section of your VPA.INI by the ScoringMethod
parameter. Supported values are currently: AutoScore, PTScore,
and None. AutoScore is the default value.
Territory Overview (experimental!)
------------------
Press ctrl-e on the main screen to temporarily
draw areas of influence on the map.
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