Hotkeys, Editing tools, Audio glitch

[neonlicht]

Hotkeys:

The manual lists many useful hotkeys. But I was wondering, do hotkeys also exist for actions such as:

-End of phase/turn
-Change unit formation (line/column etc)
-Visibility
-Snapshot (Screenshot) ?

There is a hotkey (Shift) for showing map labels. But is there a hotkey for keeping map labels on permanently? If I press Shift twice, then I just get a Windows message about "sticky keys". I did, however, discover that, if I press & hold Shift and then open & close a dropdown menu, then the map labels remain on screen. But this method seems a bit laborious.

Is there a JTS tool or utility that allows players to bind/rebind their own hotkeys?

***

Editing tools:

Are there any tools/utilities for editing PDT files, or creating OOBs?
Are there any documents that explain the PDT & OOB files?

***

Audio glitch:

I sometimes (not always) get an audio glitch in JTSNapoleonic/Musket&Pike games, in which the sounds--either background music or background ambience--get stuck in a short, endless loop. I was was wondering if anyone else had experienced this or whether the problem could be related to my PC set up (Win10 with Steinberg UR22  external sound card)?

***

Many thanks in advance and hope all is well with you guys. :-)

[LordDeadwood]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

[neonlicht]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

Hey, many thanks for this--SHIFT+ALT works perfectly. Excellent!

As for editing tools, the M&P game has a scenario editor and a submap editor, but no OOB or PDT editor. Seems to me that the JTS Squad Battles series is the best-served when it comes to editing tools.

[TheGrayMouser]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

Hey, many thanks for this--SHIFT+ALT works perfectly. Excellent!

As for editing tools, the M&P game has a scenario editor and a submap editor, but no OOB or PDT editor. Seems to me that the JTS Squad Battles series is the best-served when it comes to editing tools.

Both the OOB and PDT is easily editable with a text editor.  There is documentaion in the both H&M games,  look for a PDF called "notes" which explains every line in the PDT and OOB's .

[neonlicht]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

Hey, many thanks for this--SHIFT+ALT works perfectly. Excellent!

As for editing tools, the M&P game has a scenario editor and a submap editor, but no OOB or PDT editor. Seems to me that the JTS Squad Battles series is the best-served when it comes to editing tools.

Both the OOB and PDT is easily editable with a text editor.  There is documentaion in the both H&M games,  look for a PDF called "notes" which explains every line in the PDT and OOB's .

Many thanks indeed for this. Ah, OK--I will certainly check the Notes doc. Thanks again--appreciated.

[-72-]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

You need to use a text editor to edit PDT and OOB files, it isn't just the Musket and Pike series, but also in the Napoleonic series, Early American Wars, and I assume that is still the case with the Civil War series.

I use Notepad ++ and use the black skin for it; I like ultra edit maybe better, but I didn't feel like spending that much money on it was going to be warranted.

The how to guides (assuming you use one with the current PDT version -as some engine changes had changed around the order of various PDT entries) are pretty good - but it really ends up being more about how you structure indentations, and using spaces to make things more legible on yourself.   That part is optional but I found that it helped out.

I know that part really messed me up when I was working on one of the projects for that publisher - as SYW introduced some things like adding in the ability to code command ranges for armies and wings that wasn't part of the initial release of the Renaissance.  You do learn a lot by working with this material manually -it is a bit like hand coding  a web page using a text editor and nothing but html - as opposed to using a what you see is what you get editor.

[neonlicht]

I don't have any of the M&P titles, but all the other titles have OOB/PDT/Campaign Editors included in the installation. As for the map labels, try SHIFT+ALT to make them stick.

You need to use a text editor to edit PDT and OOB files, it isn't just the Musket and Pike series, but also in the Napoleonic series, Early American Wars, and I assume that is still the case with the Civil War series.

I use Notepad ++ and use the black skin for it; I like ultra edit maybe better, but I didn't feel like spending that much money on it was going to be warranted.

The how to guides (assuming you use one with the current PDT version -as some engine changes had changed around the order of various PDT entries) are pretty good - but it really ends up being more about how you structure indentations, and using spaces to make things more legible on yourself.   That part is optional but I found that it helped out.

I know that part really messed me up when I was working on one of the projects for that publisher - as SYW introduced some things like adding in the ability to code command ranges for armies and wings that wasn't part of the initial release of the Renaissance.  You do learn a lot by working with this material manually -it is a bit like hand coding  a web page using a text editor and nothing but html - as opposed to using a what you see is what you get editor.

Many thanks for this input--useful info! :-)

[-72-]

Just trying to save you an un-necessary headache  .. :)  ...   if you get super into things, you can rename the weapons files in the weapons.dat file -then rate things to whatever you want in the pdt.

I made a bunch of different combination pike to shot ratio combinations - also put together a White Mountain oob that I used in a scenario that I created for REN (as a combat model -and command range test). 

I probably ought to go and un-redact all of that stuff now as it might make a lot more sense than when I was sworn to their vow of secrecy . . . 

I can't help you with the audio glitches- I never play their sound - a habit I got into when playing some of their really big scenarios in other series and I wasn't overly interested in spending the extra time listening to a bunch of AI fire (Minsk '44 --- I still love ya ... but I mean ... seriously   ... lots of units in that one).


-if i had to give anyone one tip- is really watch spacing - as if something doesn't load up it could be something, literally, as stupid as a comma where the engine might have expected only a period (yes, I did inherit someone else's OOB file that had that exact problem ... those ones are always 'fun' to work out... especially when you know for a fact there is absolutely no way that person could have tested their OOB file because ... well... because it couldn't load up ... as in... ever. #War Stories don't mind me lol.

[LordDeadwood]

Just trying to save you an un-necessary headache  .. :)  ...   if you get super into things, you can rename the weapons files in the weapons.dat file -then rate things to whatever you want in the pdt.

I made a bunch of different combination pike to shot ratio combinations - also put together a White Mountain oob that I used in a scenario that I created for REN (as a combat model -and command range test). 

I probably ought to go and un-redact all of that stuff now as it might make a lot more sense than when I was sworn to their vow of secrecy . . . 

I can't help you with the audio glitches- I never play their sound - a habit I got into when playing some of their really big scenarios in other series and I wasn't overly interested in spending the extra time listening to a bunch of AI fire (Minsk '44 --- I still love ya ... but I mean ... seriously   ... lots of units in that one).


-if i had to give anyone one tip- is really watch spacing - as if something doesn't load up it could be something, literally, as stupid as a comma where the engine might have expected only a period (yes, I did inherit someone else's OOB file that had that exact problem ... those ones are always 'fun' to work out... especially when you know for a fact there is absolutely no way that person could have tested their OOB file because ... well... because it couldn't load up ... as in... ever.   #War Stories  don't mind me lol.

As someone who writes some code and works with databases frequently I can really appreciate that last statement! Hunting through hundreds of lines of text to find that one out-of-place comma, or extra space... been there done that!

[krmiller]

.....

Audio glitch:

I sometimes (not always) get an audio glitch in JTSNapoleonic/Musket&Pike games, in which the sounds--either background music or background ambience--get stuck in a short, endless loop. I was was wondering if anyone else had experienced this or whether the problem could be related to my PC set up (Win10 with Steinberg UR22  external sound card)?

***

Many thanks in advance and hope all is well with you guys. :-)

Don't have 7 YW but I've seen this audio glitch occasionally in all of the HPS/JTS games, Napoleonic, ACW and various WWII games.  It also happened back in the old Tiller Talonsoft games under XP and Win 7.  It seems to happen more often since moving to Win10 with the HPS/JTS games.

My pc is over 10 years old and built for Win 7 so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.  I have tried reloading audio drivers both from the company and Win 10 recommended but it doesn't seem to help.

As an aside it is even worse in the Matrix Tiller Battleground ACW games, it happens so much there I have had to turn off the sounds in order to play those games.