Bridge Command - Scenario writer

Introduction

The Scenario writer is provided to guide you through the process of writing a scenario. It automates the generation of the scenario files defined in the scenario specification

Using the scenario writer

Getting started

The scenario writer allows you to define the initial position of your ship, and all other ships in the scenario, and plan the tracks for the 'other ship' models - These are the vessels in the scenario which have a fixed and pre-planned route, made up of one or more legs. In addition, you can set the time and date of your scenario, weather, and any objectives that should be carried out in the exercise.

The scenario writer is written to take you through the process of defining your scenario in steps. These are:

Once you have done this, you can start to define your scenario. With your mouse, click and drag the map, so the map is centred where you want your own ship to start. Click on the 'PLACE' button at the top left of the map area to place it there, and use the 'Bearing -', 'Bearing +', 'Speed -' and 'Speed +' buttons to set your initial speed and heading.

From now on, you can exit and save your scenario at any point, using the 'Exit/Save' button at the top right of the map screen.

Other vessels

Click on the 'Next stage' button to move onto the other ship stage. Here you can define the type of other ships loaded, their starting points, and what track they should follow. On the right of the screen, you can select what other ship you want to place, clicking the 'V' and '^' buttons to move through the list (please refer to the list of available models).

With your mouse, click and drag the map, so the map is centred where you want the vessel to start, and click the 'PLACE' button. Vessel movements can be defined by pre-set tracks. To define the first leg of the track, drag the map so the end of the leg is at the centre, and click on the 'SET' button. The speed can be set with the Speed '+' and '-' buttons. You can create up to 100 legs for each vessel like this. If you need to go back and change a leg, press the Leg '<' button to clear the last leg.

Instead of defining a fixed start point, it is also possible to define an area on the map, and the vessel will be placed randomly within this area. To do this, left click on the 'PLACE' button to define one corner of the area, and right click on 'PLACE' to define the other corner.

To place another vessel, click the Ship '>' button, select the vessel from the list on the right, and place it with the 'PLACE' button.

Controlled ships

Controlled ships are other vessels loaded into the scenario, which have their movements controlled during the exercise from the Map Controller (see Running interactive simulations).

To set the starting positions for controlled ships, click the 'Next stage' button to move onto the controlled ship stage. Vessels are placed exactly as for other ships, but only the starting position is defined.

Weather

To set the weather, press 'Next stage' until you reach 'Stage 4: Weather'. Use the buttons here to change the weather and visibility. Weather may be set from 0 to 12, and visibility is set in nautical miles. The current weather and visibility are displayed to the right of the map.

Time and date

Press 'Next stage' to go to 'Stage 5: Time/date', and use the buttons to change the scenario start time and date. The current start time and date are displayed to the right of the map.

Objectives

Objective may be set for the scenario. The objective is defined by a vessel or buoy that must be approached, or a fixed location that must be reached, and how close the target must be approached. Contacts can be other ships, controlled ships or buoys, or a fixed latitude and longitude. To set an objective, click on the 'Type' '<' and '>' buttons to select whether the contact is an othership, controlled ship, buoy or fixed position, and select the contact with the 'Target id' < and > buttons, or place the position with the 'Here' button. The selected contact will be highlighted with a red circle on the map, or the location shown as a pale blue mark. To set the distance required (in metres) , use the 'Max distance' </> buttons. Details for the current objective are shown to the right of the map. To set further objectives, use the 'Objective' > button to move onto the next objective.

Save

To save the scenario, click on 'Exit/Save' at the top of the map display. When asked if you want to save the scenario, click 'Yes', then type a name for the scenario, and press enter. The scenario will now be available the next time you start Bridge Command.

Other information

Command line parameters

If the scenario editor is started from the command line, starting the editor with the command line:

GraphicalScenarioEditor.exe /AUTORUN

will start Bridge Command with the scenario running once you have saved it.