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Post by KWOAOA on Jul 22, 2020 1:05:48 GMT -5
tnmlyger I seen you mention this in the push thread and I didn't want to highjack the thread and turn it into something else since it has some very important information in it. So if I understand right you almost have TNM maxed out for what you can do with it as a dos program ? What would you take to turn it into a windows program ?.. besides lots of time ?.. Not trying to assume anything but with you having TNMTE a windows program one can possibly think that you might have a basis down ? I'm hoping for some indepth analysis on this because if it wasn't for dosbox I know I wouldn't be able to run TNM but I would like to see it become a native windows app
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Post by tnmlyger on Jul 22, 2020 2:24:17 GMT -5
DOS programs only have access to 640k of memory but the real amount available tends to be around 470-480k. And in terms of the match engine, the Control Center and the card scheduler, this is all maxed out.
Here's the number one thing to understand: porting a software like TNM to another language or another technology is a multi-year project. And I'm not talking multi-year as in "I'll put a few hours in every evening" but full-time job, 14-16 hours a day.
When the UFC and I parted ways in early 2019, that gave me the opportunity to consider making developing a new TNM a full-time project, and I decided to take that risk and forgo finding new clients so I could finish it in a passable timeframe. It was a huge gamble because there was - and is - no guarantee that enough interest in a wrestling sim like TNM still exists to run this like a business.
I put around 6,000 hours of time into making TNM TE over 18 months. Even using conservative numbers, this equates to a 200k-300k time investment on my end.
Even with - as you astutely observed - a large part of the base having been established thanks to creating TNM TE, I'd still have to put in about another 2,000-3,000 hours to implement circuits, cards and everything having to do with this.
So I'm giving this three months, will tally up TNM TE's sales during this time and will make a decision then. From today's perspective, chances of TNM7W happening are slim at best.
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Post by KWOAOA on Jul 22, 2020 8:30:57 GMT -5
Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. That insight, for you to more or less pull the curtain back.
Honestly I wish I could help in some way to help port things to windows, but I know zero about coding so I know I'm no help at all.
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Post by tnmlyger on Jul 22, 2020 11:50:51 GMT -5
I appreciate that. The thing is this isn't just a port but a complete redesign. From scratch. With new functionality - nobody needs the same thing with a different coat of paint, you know.
DOS and Windows applications have completely different interface concepts. In DOS, I own the screen and control whatever happens. I control the mouse and control the keyboard. So I can do things like assigning hotkeys like "a" and "o" to functions. This doesn't work in Windows - it's always CTRL+something, ALT+something etc. Even the tiniest things work completely differently and lead to code that works entirely differently.
In DOS, the program starts, I do something and then end the program.
In Windows, the program starts, I cede control back to Windows and if somebody clicks something or interacts with the window in any way, the program is sent messages which you then need to handle. Completely different concept and it necessitates a completely different approach.
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