Can I (and others of course) use the Scenario Options functionality to add in extensions to a module, without having to actually manually select those extensions?
Iāll assume that due to a total lack of any response, the answer is resounding NO. Now I ask, why not?
Have you read the documentation for Scenario Options?
Yes, I even printed it for reference. I do not see any reference to usage to auto add in extensions.
Did you see any references to extensions in the documentation? I didnāt. So far as I can tell, Scenario Options doesnāt interact with extensions specifically.
Exactly my point. So, again, why not. Said functionality would be awesome. Surely there is someone out there that has done this.
I canāt say exactly why not on the basis of your description. What would āuse the Scenario Options functionality to add in extensions to a moduleā be, exactly?
Forget it. If a player loads Vassal, a module and then starts a game they can access āscenario optionsā. Thing is, they cannot access āscenario optionsā without a game being loaded. Thus, to do a completely different map set for a game is not possible. Loading other extensions, such as additional units, etc, OK. But main maps, no way.
Either way, if a player selects a āScenario Optionsā GP, then I want that option to become immediately added in (available). The user guide says it is a manual process (in short). I want (or would like) to automate that. Why have a GP and not be able to use it to activate an extension.
Ok, thatās not at all what I thought you might have meantāwhich suggests why itās never been implemented: It didnāt occur to anyone to do it.
To all you smart people out there. Can a scenario option āactivatedā GP be used to somehow include/addin an extension. Some sort of macro or whatever. The possibility exists of a java addin, but that is way beyond my abilities.
The functionality you describe is way beyond what Scenario Options where designed for and could not be re-purposed to do what you want. Extensions are loaded at module startup. Scenario options are in-game options, the two donāt match.
Thank you for really clarifying that one Brent. Extensions are also selected at the start of new games. Could the āstartup GKCā be used (at the start of every fresh game only) to pop up a window where a player can configure/select what extensions will be used for a new game?
This is not quite accurate; any Vassal extensions that are configured with the module are loaded when the module starts up. Start a module on its own and you will see any associated extensions logged to the chat window.
When it comes to starting a game, if Vassal finds that a required extension is no longer active, it puts up a warning message in the chat window.
If you want to provide your users with a little more help, you could use a Startup GKC already. Youād need to devise some condition to allow you to detect that a required extension is absent. You could then put out a more informative chat message or popup alert to guide the user to add the extension to the module in the Module Library and restart the module.
Integrating extension selection with the Player, especially at Game file level, is a big ask, at least from my limited knowledge of Vassal v3 architecture and source code, and especially given that Vassal v3 development activity has now fallen back towards 2019 levels. Iām not optimistic that the idea will gain traction at this late stage in Vassal v3ās life.
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Iām confused with the responses. Load Vassal, launch a module, select new game. Is not that the point one can select an extension or two to add in that new game? The then new game will always launch the required extensions for any continued game play. Iām just looking at the possibilities available (or not) to, somewhat, āautomateā what extensions a new game is using.
Well, no. Not unless Iāve missed something in my few years of using Vassal (possible, of course).
Do you use the Module Library on your machine? The Vassal Reference manual refers to this as the āVassal Start Screenā. Just now, I canāt find documentation on this tool which doesnāt help. Iām aware that on PC at least it is possible to launch a module directly by clicking on the vmod file or a game file, so perhaps youāve not come across the Module Library?
Here is what that looks like for me:
About half way down, you can see a couple of Extensions that Iāve associated with one of the Flying Colors modules on my machine.
If you can bring up the Module Library on your machine, right click on a module and youāll see a command that letās you add an extension for that module (assuming that youāve already got the extension file on your machine).
I want to bring in/launch extensions when players launch a new game via an automatic menu system. Sort of the Scenario Options thing for games but triggered by a new game launch. Scenario options look alike but only on new games