vee.net Btech - Saikoro - a Battletech players game aid

Saikoro is a Battletech game aid. It keeps track of 'Mech statistics during the game, so you don't have to scribble them down on sheets of paper.

Status

The current release of Saikoro is 0.01.

Current features

Saves, loads games (duh!)
Tracks initative, movement and heat

Features to be added

Additional stats, eg: damage, pilot data, crits, ammo
'Mech status: destroyed, off-board, and others
Automatic rolling for initative, heat effects, and others
Grouping units into lances, stars and other org units
Predefined 'Mech templates
Support for infantry, vehicles and other unit types
Customizable for house rules
Networked games, over a LAN or the Internet

If you'd like to suggest a feature, please let me know.

Screenshots

Only one for now:

2001_10_29_200511_shot.png

Download and installation

Download either the tar.gz file, or the zip file, below.

Tarred, Gziped files

btech-0.01.tar.gz

Zip files

btech-0.01.zip

To install Saikoro, just uncompress the distribution file with GNU tar, Winzip, or similar.

Saikoro is a Java application. To run it, you must have a Java2 Runtime Environment (JRE), version 1.3 or above installed on your computer. If you do not have a version 1.3 or newer JRE, you can download one from Javasoft for Linux, Solaris and Windows. For others, please see the list at Javasoft's Platform Ports. Follow the instructions which accompany the JRE to install it.

Running

To run Saikoro, just execute the following command from a command line:

java -jar [path to Saikoro directory]btech.jar

Windows

For example, if you installed Saikoro to c:\Program Files\btech, open a DOS prompt and type in the following command:

java -jar "c:\Program Files\btech\btech.jar"

Alternatively, you may just be able to double-click the file btech.jar in the Saikoro directory.

Linux, Solaris and other UNIXen

For example, if you installed Saikoro to /usr/local/btech, just run:

java -jar /usr/local/btech/btech.jar

Using Saikoro

Getting started

To start a new game, select the File > New game... menu item. You can only have one game open at a time.

New 'Mechs can be added to a game at any time by selecting the Game > Add 'Mech... menu item. You will be prompted for a name for the 'Mech, but you can change this at any time.

Game data

The Saikoro window contains a table of the statistics for your 'Mechs in the game. You can edit the statistics and the 'Mech's description by selecting the table cell and make the changes with your keyboard. Pressing Return, Enter or selecting another table cell will accept the changes. Pressing Escape will cancel them. Editing statistics is only allowed for the current turn.

The Initative column accepts a list of numbers in the form x[/y]..., for example: 7 or 12/4/2. This is useful for tracking which 'Mechs have moved and in which order. It is also useful if you roll initative individually for each 'Mech.

The Movement column keeps track of both movement mode and the number of hexes moved in that turn. The movement mode is either S (Stationary), W (Walk), R (Run) or J (Jump). The number of hexes moved is a whole number. Both are recorded as [mode][distance], for example: R5 w4 or j8. Distances for stationary modes are ignored.

Lastly, the Heat column tracks the 'Mech's final heat level for the turn. This is a whole number.

Turns

Below the statistics table is the turn bar. The turn bar displays the current turn number, the displayed turn number and allows you display other turns, or end the current turn.

To display another turn's stats, just use the Next or Previous buttons, or type the turn number into the field between the two buttons, and press Return or Enter.

To end the current turn, press the End turn button. But beware, you cannot edit the stats for previous turns.

For more information, email: mike@vee.net

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