WesWorld

Quoted

We have done a lot of work on SS3.0b3 since my last post here. With the release of of Visual Studio 2008 SS3.0b3 has been updated to use .Net framwork 2.0. This is good and bad news. First the bad news - You will need to install .Net Framework 2.0 (if it is not already on your computer) to use SS3.0b3. From the programmers perspective the change to 2.0 is not seamless - especially on Vista using a Pentium 4 HT chip. This leads to the good news - The change has forced our hands to restructure the program so that it is far more modular, smaller and faster. The 3rd beta was prepared entirely using SharpDevelop, an open source IDE and no longer relies on DotNetBar. This should allow Linux and Mac OSX versions - albeit using Mono - the open source version of .Net 2.0. As to capability additions - there are many bug fixes of small errors found in the rebuild process. A new tab page has been added to give a summary page for the guns including buttons to jump to the specific gun page and a table of weights. The error and warning messages on the gun pages have been reinstated and a description box previews the full description as it will appear in the report as you assemble the inputs for each battery The weapon page is fully activated now. The mines, depth charges and AS mortars all work and are included in the report. A description box has also been added as in the Gun pages. The abilty to choose between a simple fixed mortar like the Hedgehog or a training mortar like the Squid has been added. On the armour page the belt incline responds to input. It increases the allowable belt height by the incline degrees and is included in the report. The bulkhead choice box will distinguish between bulkheads that are non structural and those that strengthen the hull and the beam between the bulkheads will allow for different voids and reduction in engine spaces. The engine page has been redesigned but is largely still a work in progress. The ability to lock the power will be added. This will require manual recalculation of resistance and speed once the power has been locked. Other additions to come will include the ability to choose a percentage mix between high performance lightweight engines (where 0% requires short trips or being accompanied by a destroyer tender) to high endurance heavy engines (where 100% has multiple redundancy, high damage sustainability and the ability to do extended tours/blockades with minimal support. This will need to be balanced and carefully monitored lest we see 15,000 nm range battleships with destroyer weight engines. However its should eliminate the need to allow destroyers with less than 1.00 composite strength. Finally diesel engine size, room and consumption and the new resistance model is still to come. Structurally the report page has been replaced by the side panel and the fly out sidebar by an integral one. With luck SS3.0b3 should be downloadable by the end of March Ian