CCN Game Support Applications

I have developed two companion Microsoft Windows 10 applications, 'CCN Scenario Designer' and 'CCN Game Assistant', to aid the creation of scenarios and to provide gameplay assistance for the 'Commands & Colors: Napoleonics' suite of boardgames by GMT Games LLC. I initially created them for my own personal use, but thought that they might be useful to the player community generally, hence posting here. Permission has been sought and granted from Tony Curtis, Manager at GMT Games LLC, to make these applications generally available.

'CCN Scenario Designer' is an alternative to the Vassal Scenario Editor and enables the creation and editing of scenarios for use within the companion application 'CCN Game Assistant'.

'CCN Game Assistant' enables players to keep track of, and record, game progress and also provides aids for game play (such as line of sight and combat dice calculations). It is not, however, intended as a substitute for the physical game.

If anyone is interested, the applications can be downloaded as zip files via the following links (updated for latest versions):
[strike]CCN_Scenario_Designer.zip:[/strike]
[strike] drive.google.com/file/d/1MBm8lkcyZ3KLHjX...f9D/view?usp=sharing [/strike]
[strike]CCN_Game_Assistant.zip:[/strike]
[strike] drive.google.com/file/d/18bK6HOv5u68bdeH...QHQ/view?usp=sharing [/strike]
CCN_Scenario_Designer_v1_1.zip:
drive.google.com/file/d/1XzZTIRT9Xv77-ou...yBb/view?usp=sharing
CCN_Game_Assistant_v1_1.zip:
drive.google.com/file/d/1F40cEFUivZFSJ9H...K1y/view?usp=sharing

The files are too big for google drive to virus check, however this can be performed through a virus checking program once the zip files have been successfully downloaded.

The SHA256 Checksum values are as follows (updated for latest versions):
[strike]CCN_Scenario_Designer.zip:[/strike]
[strike]27E3D385CFBFBFAEFF541738B90E7B8441F6D4C0B64488195FC863B97D337CFE[/strike]
[strike]CCN_Game_Assistant.zip:[/strike]
[strike]E49E741B1C2E5D4B8A342EC637EB59543A06A37F37AF3FF6EB24E623A0631C57[/strike]
CCN_Scenario_Designer_v1_1.zip:
ED41EDA6460E6C0C3F809FCD25A854E02F1EB125E1379DFB7690C7DD93AF4906
CCN_Game_Assistant_v1_1.zip:
8F1F3AB9AEA00D19B7C70971A7811916DE55536A8313C8F244E7F30C2F4A7810

'CCN Scenario Designer' can be used on its own, however the scenario files provided with it (or created using it) are required in order to use 'CCN Game Assistant', so both applications will need to be downloaded if 'CCN Game Assistant' is to be used.

Note that both applications have a fixed window size of 1600x920 pixels so any display must have a minimum resolution greater than this.

The applications are provided as freeware as explained in the README.txt file in the appropriate zip file. Developing these applications has been a part-time activity over many months during Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, so I'm afraid there will be little support, however I will try to fix any major bugs or errors discovered as and when I can. Suggestions for improvement are welcome but don't hold your breath! I'm hoping to port the applications to Linux at some point if there is enough interest.

Many thanks Rob for doing this. I have been working with picture to design my own scenarios for Epic and LGB as we do wargames with figures - see blog - waterloosimon1815.blogspot.com/

How hard would it be to expand the map to 26 by 11 or even 26 x 13 or to do the epic of 20 by 11 for EPIC? If you can that would be great!

I did think about this when starting the project, but as it was initially only for my own interest and use, and as I do not have the game expansions with the larger mapboards, I decided to limit the design to the standard mapboard. In theory it would be possible to accommodate the larger mapboard sizes, however it would probably entail some 'scrolling' mechanism as I don't want to resize the overall mapboard area or introduce zoom in/out functionality. I'll have a look at some point, perhaps after the apps have been used for a bit and any bugs discovered are needing to be ironed out. Hope that answers your question!

Rob, many thanks. As I have no capability in this area, beggars cannot be choosers. I will certainly try out the basic game for some applications and look forward to any 'expansions' art a future date.

All the very best and many thanks for doing this.

I have now created a new version (v1.1) of both CCN_Scenario_Designer and CCN_Game_Assistant to cater for the 'Epic' and 'La Grande Battles' mapboards and scenarios. I have also taken the opportunity to fix some minor bugs. The 'Scenarios' folder also now includes all the standard Epic and LGB scenarios.

To upgrade from v1.0 simply replace the existing files with the equivalent contents of the corresponding v1.1 zip files which can be downloaded via the following links:
CCN_Scenario_Designer_v1_1.zip: drive.google.com/file/d/1XzZTIRT9Xv77-ou...yBb/view?usp=sharing
CCN_Game_Assistant_v1_1.zip: drive.google.com/file/d/1F40cEFUivZFSJ9H...K1y/view?usp=sharing

As the files are too big for google drive to virus check, please use a virus checking program once the zip files have been successfully downloaded.

The SHA256 Checksum values are as follows:
CCN_Scenario_Designer_v1_1.zip: ED41EDA6460E6C0C3F809FCD25A854E02F1EB125E1379DFB7690C7DD93AF4906
CCN_Game_Assistant_v1_1.zip: 8F1F3AB9AEA00D19B7C70971A7811916DE55536A8313C8F244E7F30C2F4A7810

These new versions of CCN_Scenario_Designer and CCN_Game_Assistant will still work with scenarios and games created with v1.0.

As it has now been a month since I released CCN Scenario Designer and CCN Game Assistant, I would be interested to hear from anyone who has downloaded these applications and used them in some way.

All feedback is welcome. In particular, if there are any bugs that need addressing, or if I have interpreted any of the CCN rules or scenarios incorrectly then I would appreciate details so that I can make corrections for a future release.

I have created a User Help Manual (as a PDF file) for each of the CCN Game Support Applications. They mirror the help information that can be accessed from within each of the apps.

This will allow people to have a look at the functionality provided by each of the apps without having to download them first. It will also enable users who may be using a browser that the apps do not recognise to access the help system.

There is now a new (minor) release (v1.1.0.1) of CCN Scenario Designer which now has a new menu option under the 'View' menu called 'Terrain Only'. This option enables the current state of the mapboard terrain to be displayed without being obscured by units etc.

When this option is toggled 'on', all units and leaders (along with their strength/square markers and labels if displayed) are removed from the mapboard so that the terrain under the units and leaders is visible. The 'F11' key also enables toggling of this option.

While in the 'terrain only' mode, the 'Edit' menu is disabled and only the 'Scenario Statistics' and the 'Terrain Only' option itself are enabled under the 'View' menu. The left mouse button can still be used to display mapboard data for a particular hex, but not to access pop-up menu options. The 'arrow' keys (Left, Right, Up & Down) cannot be used except in conjunction with the 'M' key to move around an 'Epic' or 'La Grande Battles' mapboard.

When this option is toggled 'off', all units and leaders are re-displayed on the mapboard along with unit/leader markers and labels (if already set for display), and the 'Edit' and 'View' options along with the mouse and keyboard actions are restored as normal.

This new version can be downloaded as a zip file (CCN_Scenario_Designer_v1_1_0_1.zip) via the following link:
     drive.google.com/file/d/1ov_EIXbXVofZD8b...eyp/view?usp=sharing

The file is too big for google drive to virus check, however this can be performed through a virus checking program once the zip file has been successfully downloaded.

The SHA256 Checksum value is as follows:
    3B8910E6FCD1E10C20F79CC45CD03821298B76125A48F7FA717F524CF7D4A31B

To upgrade from v1.1.0.0 simply replace the existing CCN_Scenario_Designer.exe file with the exe file extracted from the zip file.
 

Just to let folk know (if they are not already aware) that the latest version of the CCN Game Support Applications Suite (v1.2.0.0) has been available on the BoardGameGeek website ('Files' section of the 'Commands & Colors: Napoleonics' game entry) since March 2022.

For ease of maintaining and publishing updates, new versions will be only be posted to the CCN Files section of BGG in future, however I will still use this 'General' Forum topic to make folk aware that a new version is available from BGG.

Please therefore note that the application versions available from this 'General' Forum topic and from the 'Downloads/Player Aids' section of the website are no longer current and the BGG website should be used instead.

The current BGG link is:
boardgamegeek.com/thread/2521103/ccn-game-support-applications
Look for the post dated 'May 6, 2021'