FLAT TOP Version History
Updated 080717
080714: Version 3.0b## (Brent Easton, Bill Thomson):
- Custom code specific to Vassal 2.5 was removed as module was not longer
functional with current versions of Vassal (2.99, 3.x). Impact to various
aspects of former functionality is not known.
- Updated Version History.
######: Version 2wim (Wim Oudshoorn)
- Module updated to improve the legibility of the game counters and charts.
Areas of enhancement include:
- More options in counters' drop-down menus.
- Added playing aids not available in original boardgame.
- Completed the unfinished Air Record Chart.
- Added the surface combat map.
- Reduced redundant code in the mod.
- Credited Playtester: Rob Holme.
- Graphic changes:
- Recoloured both Japanese and Allied counters to improve
esthetics and legibility. Provided two versions of each
- Replaced numbers on all counters with a larger font to improve legibility
and hand-dithered them.
- Recoloured and re-organized Japanese and Allied Charts A & B to
improve legibility and to make organizing counters easier.
- Reconfigured Allied Chart B to fit better on-screen even though there
are some empty spaces now.
- Added wider borders to charts to make room to sort game counters.
- Replaced fonts, redrew some fonts and hand-dithered fonts on Japanese
and Allied Charts A & B to improve legibility.
- Replaced the "hits" counter with a smaller one that does
not completely mask the underlying ships and can be made invisible.
- Recoloured all armaments counters.
- Created Allied and Japanese "Search" counters to facilitate
playing without a referee (see below for rules added).
- Created Allied and Japanese “Shadowing” counters.
- Created Allied and Japanese “Movement Radius” counters
for quick visualization of an aircraft’s movement radius.
- Created Allied and Japanese Effective Combat Radius “E.C.R.”
counters to quickly visualize at what distance an opponent can be attacked
using a Full Launch.
- Created new marker counters for the Day, Time, Initiative and Points
record tracks and added an Automatic Victory marker.
- Recoloured the Time, Initiative and Points record track and replaced
and hand-dithered the fonts.
- Made the Clouds counter transparent.
- Made background of wind direction counter transparent and reduced it
to a single rotateable counter.
- Completed and activated the Allied and Japanese Air Record Sheets.
- Created Japanese and Allied base and AF counters for the AF plot sheets
as well as a time bar and attack time icons.
- Redrew the base flags and added an Australian flag for Port Moresby
.
- Partially redrew some of the game menu icons.
- Created new "Dispersed" counter.
- Created “Deployment” boundary markers for use in setting
up scenarios.
- Created a new Splash screen but retained Scott Giese’s as well.
- Created counters for “Conditional” reinforcements.
- In some scenarios the Wildcats use a BHT of 7 in Air-to-Air Combat.
Altered the Combat Table to reflect this.
- Added “Coastwatchers Observation” and “Conditions
Explained” to the Observation Table
- Added a “Sequence of Play” to the Player Aid Tables.
- Added Allied and Japanese “Survivor” counters.
- Added Allied and Japanese “Shadow” counters.
- Expanded the Fleet Ammunition Record, added variant ships and simplified
the tables at the bottom.
- Expanded maps and added off-map flight paths between off-map bases.
- Greyed the AMMO and TORPEDO factor counters so these could be placed
on the ammo record in white and grey rows.
- Added casualty storage boxes to the victory points table.
- Added Allied ship counters with radar.
- Added surface, periscope and deep counters to submarines.
- Created a Surface Combat map.
- Added Variant Combat Results and Critical Hits Tables.
- Program Changes
- Altered the stacking order of flags, clouds, wind, ships, planes, and
search counters to keep wind marker on top of clouds and planes on top
of everything.
- Added a new small "Search" counter to the Allied and Axis
counters list and properties list. Activated the "Area of Effect"
property for search ranges 1, 2 and 3. The Japanese counter is a small
flag with red sun, the American counter is a small white star on blue
background.
- Copied the "No Search" counter to both the Allied and Axis
'General' counters mix and altered their properties for use when playing
without a referee.
- TF and AF movement trails recoloured by nationality and thickness differing
between air and task forces.
- Made both sides’ flags accessible to both players to be able
to deploy and play without a referee.
- Altered scenario listings and included all the original scenarios.
- Edited "masks" to cover whole TF or AF counter rather than
just an insert.
- Added new properties to most counters and changed the sequence of these
on the pop-up menus. For example, gave the anchor the “invisible”
property so you can see what is underneath it.
- Increased and decreased the number of columns in counters boxes in
the game menu (so I can’t remember if the overall effect is different
or not.
- Programmed separate Allied and Axis Air Record sheets as well as their
markers and menu icons.
- Deleted the "clone" and "delete" functions from
the TF and AF counters on both sides so that these could not be accidentally
deleted. Cloning is now no longer necessary. The un-numbered TF and AF
counters in each sides' "general" tray should now no longer
be required.
- Incorporated the new Deployment, E.C.R. and Movement Radius counters.
- Activated the “Conditional” reinforcements counters.
- For game pieces with layered graphics, deleted the unnecessary “basic
piece” graphic.
- Populated the Fleet Ammunition Tables and removed the AMMO and TOPEDO
factor pieces from the general pieces mix.
- Renamed both side’s AF and TF stack layers to “Forces”
to enable accessibility to the bottom-most AF and TF units in multi-nationality
stack.
- Abbreviated ship names to eliminate stacking alignment problems.
- Created a “radar” on-off layer for ship game pieces.
- Layered submarine counters so they could be at the surface, at periscope
depth or dive deep.
- Implemented the Surface Combat Map.
- Added switchable Area of Effect to bases with radar to show radar range.
- and other stuff I lost track of . Although Scott’s original framework
remains largely intact, many of the details have been altered, in part
out of necessity to accommodate the graphics changes and in part to add
features that I wanted.
- Help Files Added
- New Splash screen
- Credits & Changes
- Preface to the Scenarios
- Individual Scenario Notes
- Rob & Wim’s House Rules
- Air-to-Air Combat Explained
- How to Use the Surface Combat Map
- How to Install Wim’s Alternate Red & Blue AF & TF Counters
051009: Version 1.2 (Scott Giese)
- Original Version
- Credited Playtesters: Rick Billings, Jim Merson, Chuck Tewksbury
- Version History
051003: Version 1.1 (Scott Giese)
- Fixed location reporting
- Partial scenario setup files - More to come
- Layers added to the map to help assure proper stacking order
9/27/2005 Version 1.0 (Scott Giese)
- Initiative added to Time Record Chart
- Fixed property sheet display
- Activated logging
- Added counter rotation for Air Formation and Task Force counters
- N/A counter does not stack
9/22/2005 Version 0.6 (Scott Giese)
- New counters and updated counter traits
- New aircraft labels for movement and range factors
- New aircraft property sheet for managing launch and landing times
- Map Zoom
- Map Overview
- Counter-less Map Vie
- Errata updates
9/15/2005 Version 0.5 (Scott Giese)
- Updated counter set and traits
- Enhanced Maps
- Updated Time and Points window
- New Ammunition Record window
- Updated Air Record Sheet - Still Inoperative, Use Notes window
- Die roll hot-key
9/8/2005 Version 0.4 (Scott Giese)
- Complete counter set w/traits
- Notes window
- Time and Points window
- Allied and Axis Air Record Sheet - Inoperative, Use Notes window
- Air Operations Charts A & B complete
- New toolbar icons
9/1/2005 Version 0.3 (Scott Giese)
- Area of Effect counter trait for clouds
- Double-Blind Support
- Die Roll
- New Charts
- Combat Results Table
- Observation Table
- Allied Air Hits Table
- Axis Air Hits Table
- Player Aid Card
050822; Version 0.2 (Scott Giese)
- Axis and allied ship counters complete
- Updated map boards
- Added hex labels
- Added sector nomenclature
- Added off-board entry hexes
- Updated splash screen
010218: Version 0.1 (Scott Giese)
- Minimal counter set
- West and East map boards
- Splash screen
Please send all additional comments, suggestions for enhancements/modifications/error
correction to
bill@wargameacademy.org; 817-501-2978