Reckall
11 Mar 05, 18:47
DB2000 is often subjected to “micro adjustments”, changes in the data which are not recognized by a new version number. To give you an example, the current “6.5.24” version actually covers three different set of files, thus far.
- One dated Feb, 6th 2005
- One dated Feb, 11th 2005
- One dated Mar, 10th 2005
By opening the .zips you can easily see that the size of many .dat files is different, even if the official version remains the same.
The reason why these changes are unannounced by the maintainers of DB2000 was discussed some time ago. Basically the rationale was that should the version go up for every small adjustment we'd be up to 6.100.100 by now.
However, be advised that changing the data within a .dat file COULD lead to problems with scenarios written using a different version of DB2000 – and this includes versions which do have the same version number, and so *only apparently* are the same database.
To give you an example, by exporting the three versions of DB2000 6.5.24 in Excel and running a quick check, you can find a number of changes involving major platforms, from the one dated Feb, 6th to the one dated March, 10th.
For example, the Belgian F-16 which previously was found at the 9734 entry now is at the 19734 No changes were made to any systems or data except for the ID number.
DB2000 6.5.24 Feb, 6th
9734 F-16AM Falcon MLU|Belgium/1998 FTR
DB2000 6.5.24 Mar, 10th
19734 F-16AM Falcon MLU|Belgium/1998 FTR
The result is that a scenario using this plane (not an uncommon platform, BTW) built with the Feb 6th version of the database and received/downloaded by someone using the Mar 10th version would crash on the latter PC - with nobody having a clue about why it happened.
The sites maintaining scenarios on the Web always guarantee that their files are compatible with the latest released version of DB2000. But, for the reasons given, we strongly suggest the community to follow this simple guideline: if you meet problems in designing/running a scenario always check that the DB2000 you are using is the same down to the file dates/sizes, even if the "official" version is the same.
We also suggest that all Harpoon dB developers announce their changes so that others do not encounter problems with version mis-matches.
Happy harpooning! And may the muse of imaginary wars always be with you!
Vince
- One dated Feb, 6th 2005
- One dated Feb, 11th 2005
- One dated Mar, 10th 2005
By opening the .zips you can easily see that the size of many .dat files is different, even if the official version remains the same.
The reason why these changes are unannounced by the maintainers of DB2000 was discussed some time ago. Basically the rationale was that should the version go up for every small adjustment we'd be up to 6.100.100 by now.
However, be advised that changing the data within a .dat file COULD lead to problems with scenarios written using a different version of DB2000 – and this includes versions which do have the same version number, and so *only apparently* are the same database.
To give you an example, by exporting the three versions of DB2000 6.5.24 in Excel and running a quick check, you can find a number of changes involving major platforms, from the one dated Feb, 6th to the one dated March, 10th.
For example, the Belgian F-16 which previously was found at the 9734 entry now is at the 19734 No changes were made to any systems or data except for the ID number.
DB2000 6.5.24 Feb, 6th
9734 F-16AM Falcon MLU|Belgium/1998 FTR
DB2000 6.5.24 Mar, 10th
19734 F-16AM Falcon MLU|Belgium/1998 FTR
The result is that a scenario using this plane (not an uncommon platform, BTW) built with the Feb 6th version of the database and received/downloaded by someone using the Mar 10th version would crash on the latter PC - with nobody having a clue about why it happened.
The sites maintaining scenarios on the Web always guarantee that their files are compatible with the latest released version of DB2000. But, for the reasons given, we strongly suggest the community to follow this simple guideline: if you meet problems in designing/running a scenario always check that the DB2000 you are using is the same down to the file dates/sizes, even if the "official" version is the same.
We also suggest that all Harpoon dB developers announce their changes so that others do not encounter problems with version mis-matches.
Happy harpooning! And may the muse of imaginary wars always be with you!
Vince