Hello
Background
As an infrequent player of TI3, when i finally get a group together, it has usually been so long since our last game (and usually there are a few who have never tried the game), that we (as in I
<-- meh face) have forgotten most of the rules. As the GM, people look to me for the explanation of the rules, so I usually sit with my nose in the manual 40% of the entire game, looking stuff up left and right.
As of writing this, its been more than a year since my last session, and when people ask me about it, I reply: "Yes... when the tool is DONE!"
Introduction
TwIR attempts to make the rules more manageable by presenting the user with a tree view that contains all the rule in relevant ordering. The final goal is to have short and concise rules descriptions that explains what the user needs to know, quickly. Its assumed that you've gone through the rules at least once, since the app doesn't contain everything in minute detail.
The app contains all official game options. When an option is activated, the rules displayed are rewritten to reflect that game option. No more, no less. I don't want the user to have to read stuff about tactical retreats if that game option isn't in effect.
Development
TwIR is open source and coded in C#. It is licensed under the MPL license. This means that if you modify any license protected file, you must make the modified file available, free of charge, for at least 12 months. Read the license if you start fiddling with it.
I'll change the license if it is causing problems though.
The project can be found here, in all it's modesty: http://sourceforge.net/projects/twir
The rules are modifiable by editing the Rules.xml file that is distributed along the executable. You can edit this file yourself. Doesn't require a lot of technical knowledge. The technical stuff is documented already at the bottom of the file. You can learn how the app uses the file, just by observing the structure of the XML.
Current Version
I've decided to call the current version a beta. It still needs polish, and loads more rules/errata etc needs to be written into the Rules.xml. It doesn't support a lot of game options yet. You can activate all of them, just don't expect the rules to change a whole lot, yet. Vanilla TI3 & SE >should< be done though.
You can always find the latest version of TwIR here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/twir /files
You need the free .NET 4.0 Framework from Microsoft to run it.
Doesn't run on a Mac I'm afraid, unless that Mac has Windows installed.
Changelist
30-03-2011 - Initial beta release
Todo list
- More exception handling.
- Have monkeys update Rules.xml since I'm getting tired just thinking about it.
- Additional parsing logic.
- Maybe a web version, to make the app platform independant (means an almost complete rewrite).
Legal Stuff
I'm currently using a few pictures from the publicly available TI:3 manuals for displaying board layouts etc. I assume that is legal. I intend no harm with this app.
Finally
I work on this app in my spare time, so the frequency of updates will vary. Feel free to post suggestions.