laxx

*doh!* link fixed. any problems pls let me know.

Unofficial CMBB Vehicle Database Version 1.0 FAQ / ReadMe /Usage Guide Introducing UCMBBVDB Version 1.0! Section I: Frequently Asked Questions a. What is UCMBBVDB ? UCMBBVDB is the Unofficial CMBB Vehicle Database. This is a standalone database program containing all wheeled and tracked vehicle details found in Combat Mission:Barbarossa to Berlin. b. What can you do with UCMBBVDB ? You can view vehicles, modify vehicle data, sort, and search for specific vehicle details. In addition, there are placeholders for vehicle icons and vehicle photos. Due to legal reasons, vehicle photos are not included. Some icons are included as samples. (Caution: adding and deleting functions are included but is not supported because all the game vehicles (all 311 of them) are included) c. What/Which data are included and what is excluded: - Most of the tank.xls spreadsheet found in http://users.erols.com/chare/cm/ (Chris CM database) has been populated into the database (with Chris? kind permission). - Blast Details are not included in this release. - Placeholders are made for Rarity and Cost (June 41,42,43,44 May 45) but the data is NOT populated yet - A field called Alternative Name is included. This is to store other names of which the vehicles are called. eg. The Hetzer 38 is nicknamed ?Little Trouble?. - A field called Other Classifications is included. This is to facilitate family groups of tanks, eg. Panzer III family with different model numbers. - A field called Tank Crew is included. - A field called Comments for each vehicle is included, this is for your own notes about the particular vehicle. - Placeholders are made for Vehicle Icon (Top Right Corner) but not populated yet, you can drag and drop an image into the placeholder (or Ctrl-Click/Right Mouse Click to add picture) and the data will stay for that record/vehicle - Placeholders are also made for a Photo Album of maximum 4 pictures per vehicle. Drag and Drop images (or Ctrl-Click/Right Mouse Click to add picture) into the Album, and click on the bottom grey bar to enlarge the picture. d. What platform does the UCMBBVDB run on ? Current Platform support are: OSX, Classic and Windows. e. Is this program free or is there a charge ? Well, this is community-ware, there is no charge. The runtime program created by Filemaker is also royalty-free. g. How can I download the database/program ? For mac OSX users, download here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDBv1X.sit For mac classic (OS9 and below) users, download here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDBv1C.sit For Windows users, download here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDBv1w.zip h. How do I install this program once it is downloaded ? Step 1: Uncompress the zip / sit file using Winzip or Stuffit Expander. It should uncompress into a Folder called ?UCMBBVDB Solution Folder? Step 2: Open the folder and double-click on the program called ?UCMBBVDB Solution? i: How can I contact the author to report bugs, inaccuracies, or suggestions to enhancements ? You can write an email to me at laxx@myrealbox.com. I can also be found lurking in the Battlefront.com forum. Section II: Read Me / Release Notes : A couple of enhancements: * Clicking on Records in the List View will jump into that record in Form View. * All column headings in List View is clickable for Sorting. Except those in beige color which is non-Sortable, ie. Armor Values and Pictures. * For PSI settings, because there is TEXT and NUMBERs, the sorting does not work properly either way, hence I have decided to put in a number in front of the text. So: 0Poor 1Ave 2Good. * Fixed the 222 armored car sil typo Section III: Usage Guide I have tried to make the program easy to use. Just remember the Basic Icons, the first is List View, followed by Form View and the third is Find view. In addition there are: Home Icon (which will bring you to the Main menu), and the Quit Icon (which will exit the program). List View: Serves two purposes: a. To view the database in a tabular manner b. To sort vehicles according to the Column Heading. a. Under List view, it does not allow modification to the database. You can quickly browse the database for vehicle that you are looking for, clicking the vehicle data will bring you directly into the form view. b. To sort the database, click on the Column Heading, in Whitish-pink color. Eg. Force or Country or Vehicle Name. The database will then sort according to that Column. Form View: WIth form view, you can a. View the vehicle stats b. Modify the data c. Search according to certain criteria. a. Viewing. To navigate, you can click on the arrow bars at the bottom of the form view (First Record, Previous Record, Next Record, Last Record). You can also click on the top-most icon to jump to List View, Search or Main Menu screen. There are four TABs which will show different details, the first is Armor Details, Other Details, Rarity and Costs, Picture Gallery and Comments. b. Modifying the data is as simple as clicking on the data and changing it. Some of the data have a pre-defined values, eg. Force is either Axis or Allied. So a pop-up menu for selection is shown when you click on the data. Some of the Pop-up menus allows you to add/modify/delete these values. Eg. The optics field. You can choose the exising values of optics like ?2xMag, Good, Binocular...? or you can Edit these values and add your own. c. To Search or FIND for Data. Two important icons here. The first is the Magnifying glass icon, the other is an circular icon titled ?Show All Records?. To search data, click on the Magnifying Glass Icon. You will be presented with a Form view and the data is blanked out. You enter your search criteria, (Show me all Armored Vehicles in Finland), click on the Vehicle Type and choose Armored Vehicles, click on the country and choose Finland. To start your search, either Click on the Magnifying Glass again or Press Enter. If your search produces one record found, then it will automatically be shown in the Form View. If your search produces more than one record, the records will be shown in the list view. (In list view, you can click on the specific record to see it in details). After your search, you will be shown a subset of the records that matches your search criteria. To see all records agains, click on the ?Show all records? icon. Screen Shots Splash Screen: List Screen: Clicking on the Elefant Tank details will bring you to the next screen: Note the tabs at the bottom, eg. clicking on the rarity tab will show: Clicking on the picture gallery: Clicking on the grey bar at the bottom of the picture: Request I am looking for someone with 15mb of online space for me to host this. The current site is running out of space [ March 11, 2003, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: laxx ]

Stage #1 -------- Well, if you are starting from Scratch, download the file which best describes your system: Windows -------- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-win.zip OSX ---- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-0.3B.sit Mac Classic ----------- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-3B-Classic.sit Stage #2 -------- Unarchive your files, if you using Windows, use winzip, if you using mac, use stuffit expander It should produce a folder called "UCMBBVDB Solutions Folder" DELETE the file UCMBBVDB.FP5 Stage #3 -------- Download the latest update file: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB.zip Stage #4 -------- Unarchive the ucmbbvdb.zip file, using stuffit expander or winzip It should produce a file call UCMBBVDB.FP5 Stage #5 -------- Move this file into the "UCMBBVDB Solution FOlder" Stage #6 -------- Double Click on UCMBBVDB Solution to run.

Hoo! COngratulations and Accolades all around! Start Small Think Big Grow Fast but Stay Responsive! cheers!

Hi, *** interim version : 0.6 *** is available for download. It fixes most of the Sorting problems, has a much better sorting and intuitive menu under List View. To install, delete the old UCMBBVDB.FP5 Data file and copy the new datafile into your exising UCMBBVDB folder. The new datafile can be downloaded at: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB.zip A couple of enhancements: * Clicking on Records in the List View will jump into that record in Form View. * All column headings in List View is clickable for Sorting. Except those in beige color which is non-Sortable, ie. Armor Values and Pictures. * For PSI settings, because there is TEXT and NUMBERs, the sorting does not work properly either way, hence I have decided to put in a number in front of the text. So: 0Poor 1Ave 2Good. * Fixed the 222 armored car sil typo I really like this version, hope you will try it out and comment on it. cheers! [ March 07, 2003, 02:07 AM: Message edited by: laxx ]

Thanks for the feedback, a simple problem that needs fixing, the ROF is in TEXT format and not numerical, hence it will sort in ascending order: 1 12 13 1443 2 3 which is clearly incorrect, let me make the changes, I have to figure out how to resolve russian flame tanks which have two rate of fires... edited shortly after: yup, confirmed the changes to numbers is the correct solution, expect this in the next release early next week. [ March 06, 2003, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: laxx ]

Hi, Thanks for the feedback. Bad news first: - Doan populate or make changes to the database yet. The next release will not have a migrate function and the database will be back to the original. Of coss you can open both programs and drag and drop the images but it can get quite tedious. Good News: ---------- - Expect Version 1 out by early next week. There will be three basic screens: (a) Form Screen for viewing and making changes and adding images, ( List Screen for sorting ( i have coded in sort routines, and yes, all fields can be sorted (eg. rarity, costs, cannon size, length etc !) except for armor and lastly © Advanced Search screen. Other Comments: -------------- - Additional enhancements will include a Comments Tab screen, for adding comments, or text. - I will most likely not have Blast Values in the next release. This requires scrubbing/normalising of the spreadsheet into a database readable form. I will leave it for future releases. (yes, by then, I will have figured out how to do a safe and painless migration ) - As advised here, I will not include any Images for fear of copyright infringements, I will leave the flag details in there and perhaps one/two sample screens. Request: ------- - Please comment on Typos, incorrect wordings ("United States" instead of America or USA, "Russia" instead of Soviet Union etc). Also I am not sure if the flags are correct representation. If there are no serious disputes, I will leave them as-is. - Some comments on Secondary Sorting. Alot of the fields are Primarily sort on the Field (eg. Turret Speed) and then Secondary sorted on Vehicle Name. eg. Vehicle Name Turret speed (Secondary) (Primary) Panzer IIC Slow Tiger (Early) Slow Tiger ausf E Slow or would it be more useful to have a secondary sort by Force (axis or allied) or by countries (perhaps a Tiertiary Sort) etc. Turret Speed is an obvious example. What is not clear are things like COST of machine in June 1944, would a secondary sort of Countries, AFVs or Force be more useful ? eg. Vehicle Name Cost (June 1944) Country --------------------------------------- Tiger Early 100 germany Tiger Early 100 hungary Ferdinand 100 Germany I am no grog as my member number clearly shows cheers! laxx [ March 06, 2003, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: laxx ]

question of fair usage ---------------------- if I were to download images from the web and populate the database with the images to compliment the data, would this constitute plagarism ? I am assuming there is no modification done to the pictures, just a matter of attaching the images to the database. or would I need to seek permission from every author that I took the images from ? (eek!) eg. or perhaps just leave the graphics out of the DB and let the end-users populate them.

kewl... the two russian sites quoted above are great sites, too bad me in armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/ I doan read russian, and the pictures aren't into specific models (eg. at least for panzer III). not complaining or anything Very nice pictures though!

totally off-topic, but from the http://www.weapon.df.ru/ web site, I finally got a glimpse of what my digital waffen SS were throwing at KVs and T-34s during the early months..... but seriously, where is the tank link in www.weapon.df.ru ? I can't read Russian...

dang! i want my own PPsh!

one question i have is this: I have always felt that "hidding" in defense until the enemy is right at your door step (<40 metres) then you open up with max firepower is always better than firing at attrition when the enemy is at long range. I usually play German, and somehow, the ammo is usualy depleted too quickly on attrition defense. Besides the Russian attacker being ambushed will more often than not, break and panic. what are some of your thoughts on this ?

* double post * [ March 05, 2003, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: laxx ]

Updated to reflect windows, Mac Classic and OSX versions. Windows -------- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-win.zip OSX ---- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-0.3B.sit Mac Classic ----------- http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-3B-Classic.sit all comments can be posted here or email me at laxx@myrealbox.com enjoy! laxx (ps. taking a break for now)

Thanks for the tip. I just installed the Developer for Windows under Virtual PC. Sorry to hear about the dearth of Macs among your customer base, it is funny that my company uses mac and Unix and not Windoze...

hi, *updated* Filemaker Pro does not automatically generate Mac Classic Codes, you have to install the same developer tool in Classic to generate the codes. For OS 9 and previous Mac OS , you can download the UCMBBVDB at http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-3B-Classic.sit cheers!

Introducing UCMBBVDB 0.3 Beta for All! FAQ: a. What is UCMBBVDB ? UCMBBVDB is the Unofficial CMBB Vehicle Database. This is a standalone database program containing most (except Assault Boats) of the vehicle details found in Combat Mission:Barbarossa to Berlin. b. Is this program finished ? This is in version 0.3 beta. Basically the file format/structures are completed. You can modify data and even add/delete records though this is not advisable. Currently, vehicles are sorted via Force/Country/VehicleType/VehicleName. There is also a table view to browse quickly. Later releases will focus on advanced searching, sorting. c. What/Which data are included and what is not included: Most of the tank.xls spreadsheet found in http://users.erols.com/chare/cm/ (Chris CM database) has been populated into the database. - Blast Details are not included in this release - Placeholders are made for Rarity and Cost (June 41,42,43,44 May 45) but the data is NOT populated yet - Placeholders are made for Vehicle Icon (Top Right Corner) but not populated yet, you can drag and drop an image into the placeholder and the data will stay for that record/vehicle - Placeholders are also made for a Photo Album of maximum 4 pictures per vehicle. Drag and Drop images into the Album, and click on the bottom grey bar to enlarge the picture. d. What platform does the UCMBBVDB run on Current Platform support are: OSX, Classic and Windows. (*updated* 5th march 2003). e. Is this program free or is there a charge ? Well, this is community-ware, there is no charge. The runtime program created by Filemaker is also royalty-free. f. I am interested. How can I help out ? Well, I need help to populate the database and also to spot inaccuracies in the database. If you are keen, start adding pictures into the database, and I will use your database (with your permission with credit-due) into the final UCMBBVDB. g. How can I download the database/program ? For mac OSX users, you can download the whole proggie here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-0.3B.sit For mac classic users, you can download the whole proggie here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-3B-Classic.sit For Windows users you can download the whole Proggie here: http://www.web.ms11.net/retro/CM2FM/UCMBBVDB-win.zip h. Where are the customary screen shots ? 1. Main screen. Use this for Modification and page by page navigation. Note the Top right corner icon, click on it to go table view, to access records by browsing. Note that Table View here is READ-ONLY. 2. An example of Modifying data in the Vehicle Type, this uses pop-up menus where possible and the values are mostly defined. Note the "Edit.." line at the bottom of the menu, you can add additional vehicle types. Tabs. The first tab is the ARMOR tab, followed by OTHERDETAILS, and RARITY&COST and lastly Pictures. Clicking on the grey bar will result in the below: This allows the attached picture to be enlarged. enjoy! [ March 05, 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: laxx ]

FlamingKnives, with permission, I would like to quote verbatim what you said above into the UCMBBVDB.

hi Guys, i have a question here regarding the AA ht 251/21, the main gun is the MG151, if I were to use the convention, xxx/Lyy, what would it be ? i know it either had 3x 1.5cm MG151/15 or 2cm MG151/20 gun could I possibly (!) list it as 3 x 15/L15 gun ?

Hi, a couple of futher questions: - What is the calculation of Armor for TOP ? The numbers for Vickers T-26E is 6 Deck, 10 Turret while the numbers for T-34 os just 20. What do the numbers mean ? - What happened after August 1944 for Finland ? Did the war end for Finland in August 1944 ? I found no error messages when I chose may 1945, Finland Axis. Except that it defaulted back to August 1944. - Thirdly, what constitute a team versus a squad ? Is a 2 man tank hunter considered a Team ? An update on the Unofficial CMBB Vehicle Database (UCMBBVDB), the main db has been populated from Wolfe's CMBB spreadsheet (with his kind permission), and new fields has been created, here are the screen shots: main screen: bottom half- tab screen for armor thickness etc: bottom half - tab screen for rarity and cost picture gallery (maximum of 4 + 1) note, the grey bar under each picture can be clicked to open up a bigger picture, (below) Well, it is still very rough and lacks proper search function etc, and it lacks blast value database, graphics is still not aligned, details needs to be broken into further granularity etc..... Any mac users out there want to help me populate/check additional data like rarity/costs/pictures etc ?

*cough* *cough* use a mac *cough* *cough*

Thanks JPS, Firefly, digging up the old threads: Moon said: ""Good optics" is a "better" rating (game-wise) than "dual-mag optics". The Tiger I optics, while certainly dual-mag, were also among the best optics out there from what I have seen, and therefore qualify for "good optics". In other words - the rating in the game is primarily based on the game and combat performance, and not (only) the feature(s) of the optics. In CMBB the JT has ?narrow optics?, but sounds more like ?long-range? or even ?very long-range optics?. "Narrow optics" basically includes the "long-range" feature, as most optics with a narrow field of view are optics with high magnification. However, "narrow" is "worse" than "long-range", meaning that the overall optical quality was poor and/or that the field of view was extremely narrow. In the case of the 2/1, it's mainly the latter. The field of view was extremely narrow according to my sources (FOV 4°), among the most narrow sights there were. As a comparision, the TZF 12 (Panther) has a FOV of 27°-28°." Going by rating system, i would gather from the above quotes that: "Good Optics" is better than "Dual-Mags" "Long Range" is better than "Narrow" can i assume that Dual Mags is generally better (rating wise) than the Binocular & Very Long Range is better (rating-wise) than "Long Range" hmmmm, most interesting.

* bump *

wolfe, i have crew tables based on your spread sheet if you want. only vehicles only though.

me too!