[DEFORD] - DEF Orders Creator

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

DEFORD is the DEF-ORDers creator!


READ MORE ABOUT |DEF| - The Doenitz Elite Flotilla

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

All clans, groups and flotillas suffer from the exact same issues: the necessary and unavoidable micromanagement to keep the team afloat and the sheer incredible laziness and foul excuses of the majority of the members who never want to bother and invest time or even show the least common courtesy to respond to their emails in a timely manner. Most members do only want their fun and take, take, take, but hardly contribute or give anything in return.

The usual excuses are
- poor, on benefits -> they could help in another way than helping cover the cost, why do they not?
- not computer-savvy -> they could still help in some other way in the efforts, why do they not?
- not responding to roll-calls -> which clearly shows the incredible ignorance and plain asshole-attitude in the end.

And that is exactly why most flotillas are long dead and gone. You need someone loyal and willing to service and pamper the members, set them up, help them, guide them, issue them orders - often enough I have asked myself if I am the only one running this group and how I shall get everything done. More than once have I asked for assistance and my requests fell on deaf ears. A good summary is YOU CAN(!) help out in |DEF| ...this is how!

After programming a bunch of tools to automate most of the group-processes (see: Software specifically developed for the Doenitz Elite Flotilla) this is now the next step: Orders that are created using an editor and finalized in neat shape, the idea for DEFORD was born.

As everyone can see in DEF's Admin Change-Log (="What's new?") that I introduced WPO already long ago (entry= 20171006), but it has been a long way to go with so little support. I had to leave many fare dodgers and hot air merchants along the road to get this far.

CREDITS go to GATORDAD/x|DEF| for immense contributions in WPO-writing and aid, RICK FORTENS/|REV|+|DEF| for the GFX and me, myself and I for coding.

We are not releasing this tool for the wide public because we have seen how much respect, appreciation and reward we got, we only mention this to make the others, especially the talkers, a bit jealous :-)

Read on if you care, close if you do not. Your choice. But no other flotilla has ever done this. We did.
BL/TZzzz

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

- 20160912 - NEW: Beginning to collect orders after Operation Kernevel I has been completed.
- 20170418 - NEW: After writing an installer for rudewarrior's JFO it dawned on me as to why not have OUR DEF-orders as draggable sheets IN the game.
- 20171006 - NEW: Introducing WPO = Wartime Period Orders.
- 20171126 - NEW: Grouping orders for both SP and CP.
- 20180722 - NEW: Grouping orders per flotilla.
- 20180728 - NEW: Format for WPO.
- 20180925 - CHANGED: All files per flotilla in one folder.
- 20181119 - More than 200 files compiled so far!

Following were a lot of pre-release-code-versions:
V0.0.9.9a: DEFORD now uses the same data to put it into its drop-down-menus as DEFO, that means that it connects to our server to retrieve.
V0.1.0.0a: "Look at Operation-Map" takes your entry for "U-Boot" and centers the map on the U-Boot you use DEFORD for.
V0.1.1.0a: Signatures work.
V0.1.2.0a: SAVEorEXIT routine creates file.png
V0.1.2.1a: Added credits for RF, his GFX are really good work - as always highest TBT-quality!
V0.1.2.2a: now "AN:" does no longer address to the player's name, but to U-xxxx instead. (Free text with Kommandant+name possible!)
V0.1.2.3a: now catches exception when no U-Boot has been selected yet and you click on "map" button.
V0.1.2.4a: downloading the correct WPO-files: .cfg and .png
V0.1.2.5a: and take the x/y data from WPO.cfg
V0.1.2.9a: Changed all transfers from HTTP to FTP due to unreliabilty of HTTP.
V0.1.3.3a: KMPQ does not update when the new grid is entered. It still prints the default grid. - FiXED!
                 Flotilla Stamp (circular) needs reduction. Let's try 110 x 110 pixels. - FiXED! I took -10%
V0.1.3.5a: Fixed the bug with resizing! Found a misplaced code line and that was it...
V0.1.3.6a: If no handwritten Kommandant-signature-file is available, DEFORD now defaults to DOENITZ.
V0.1.3.7a: Fixed the bug with always defaulting to Doenitz's signature, it was only 1 code-line misplaced.
V0.1.3.9a: Cleaning code, adding field for Kommandant.
- 20190117 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.0.0b.
- 20190120 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.0.4b has +2 sig and +2 stamps.
- 20190206 - NEW: Adding new function: USER TASK ORDERS
- 20190424 - NEW: Adding new function: MON/PE/JA/33 for Paukenschlag.
- 20190430 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.0.5b has +2 sig and +2 stamps
- 20190505 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.0.6b has +2 FLs and +2 FLcmdrs. Can now handle PAU-campaign-files.
- 20190528 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.3.0b can now handle MON-campaign-files.
- 20190826 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.4.1b can now handle the new members.db()-format.
- 20200604 - [UPDATED] FLOTILLA TOOL: DEFORD V1.0.5.5b: NEW name-format: DATE_DEFF-Name_U-Boot_what.png

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

Every set of WPO consists of 3 files each for each flotilla (each flotilla has its own folder on DEF-server):
YYYYMM_YYYYMM_YYYYMM_[_KAM].txt - a backup of the text
YYYYMM_YYYYMM_YYYYMM_[_KAM].cfg - the configuration as listed below
YYYYMM_YYYYMM_YYYYMM_[_KAM].png - the created image as orders, see example below
3 times YYYYMM = wardate in the described steps (refer to WPO-documentation for details)
optional when applicable: _1, _2, _3... if multiple assignments are necessary for that WPO
optional when applicable: _KAM for the Kampagne of the Kriegsmarine, e.g. MIT, BLA, PAU, ARC, ...



VARIABLES in the .cfg-file for each WPO with examples:

Header_Flotilla= 0262, 0122
Header_Base= 0262, 0134
Date= 0093, 0194
An= 0085, 0219
Depart= 0164, 0269
Return= 0144, 0282
KMPQ= 0142, 0303
Fchef_Signature= 0063, 0649
Fchef_Rank= 0063, 0660
Fchef_Title= 0063, 0678
Flotilla_Stamp= 0151, 0647
Signature= 0064, 0621

Coordinates are TOP LEFT of to-be-written-item seen from TOP LEFT (0,0) of the document!

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

This is how DEFORD looks like. With an example of such orders on the right (DEFORD includes a preview-screen).

[REV_BL!TZKR!EG]

In real life a U-Boot Kommandant did not know his patrol area (KMPQ) until he left port and was well out to sea.
While in port the Kommandant was given sealed orders with the words "do not open until out of sight of land secure in safe".
The reason for this was to keep spies from knowing which direction he was going.
The Kommandant would lock his orders in his safe and proceed on a random course until he was well at sea.
Once he was at sea he would open his orders and have the navigator plot a course to their assigned patrol grid.

We in DEF offer that. The orders created by DEFORD and posted into the personal thread of the Kommandant are 'hidden' in a brown envelope.

Style. ;)