Hubert Cater

Wushuki, Glad you like the changes and to expand on the combat calculation changes here are a few more examples using Tanks. Essentially the current values for each unit target type will be the minimum but the minimums can change depending on the differing research Levels. For example two Level-0 Tanks will combat at the following attack and defense values: TA=5 TD=5 Two Level-2 Tanks, assuming TA/TD values increase by one point for each level, will be the following: TA=7-2=5 TD=7-2=5 So you can see that with the changes they will attack and defend against each other at the minimum default TA/TD values which is '5' since their applied research levels cancel out. A Level-3 Tank and a Level-1 Tank will be the following: TA=8-1=7 TD=6-1=5 i.e. TA is really 5 + the L3 which would make it 8 TD is really 5 + the L1 which would make it 6 At this point I have the engine look at the differences between the current TA/TD values and their base values. The difference on attack is 3 and the difference on defense is 1. Since the difference on defense is lower this is the value that used to reduce both the attack and defense values bringing it to the base minimum for the defender and +2 for the attacker as shown above. That's the basic algorithm and essentially the engine just looks at how it can bring either the attacker or the defender down to the default base value. If it cannot, i.e. if it is L4 attacking L0, then combat continues normally since one is already at the default base value. * * * In terms of different types the same algorithm applies since each type has an applicable attack and defense value, i.e. infantry have a TD (Tank Defense) value and Tanks have a SA (Soft Attack) value. If a Tank is attacking an Infantry unit and there is applicable research for each unit that directly contributes to the Attack/Defense values then the engine attempts the same reduction as shown above. Hope this helps, Hubert

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone as I think you guys are really going to like this one We've also made a few other changes to game play that should make some of the aspects of the war that much more interesting, i.e. for one example expect a significant 'Battle of the Atlantic' this time around.

Hehe... I thought about it once but I don't think I could put my life out there under such a continuous microscope

It would of course not be rude to ask, but the answer is unfortunately still not definite... hopefully soon enough though

Just an updated thread here based on the recent announcement of new features from the main page. We've had a chance to test the bulk of these over the last few weeks in Beta testing and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of the new functionality and options for game play. I hope you guys like the planned additions http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1486&Itemid=1 Hubert

If you mean other than counting the tiles manually, unfortunately not at the moment.

Those represent the new 'port/coastal shipping' raiding positions that can reduce resource strength in those areas. This is a nice feature that gives raiders more options across the Global map. Hubert

I can gladly confirm that this has been amended for the Global release, i.e. non belligerent nations will no longer stop or block movement and hidden units will only be revealed if you end your turn next to that unit. Hubert

Unfortunately with a few limitations requiring us to max out at 6 majors China really was the best choice for a Global game. If we had made them a minor then it could potentially throw off the game balance and/or make it play very ahistorically if we did as suggested. Essentially the same arguments for not making France a minor are even more so if China were a minor since China is in the game for a very long time whereas France is usually not. With China its own power it can be fine tuned and controlled, i.e. an Allied player cannot throw all his MPPs into China to outmatch the Japanese but rather has to play carefully with the available Chinese MPPs and make the right decisions regarding increased aid and supply via various Decision events. Not only that but it also plays in a way that definitely encourages the Japanese player to expand its empire (for the required MPPs) as China is still a tough nut to crack but at least this way it is crackable If you are familiar with Operation Z from the Pacific release this is then a familiar argument. Hope this helps, Hubert

AI is still being worked on so it is a bit early to say right now if there will be any considerable speed improvements just yet. Hubert

Sounds like a great one Robert, great stuff

Good to hear and I'm not sure why but sometimes the directsound error pops up even though it is infact a video error. Either way, glad to hear you got it working again. Hubert

While I agree that such a feature would be nice I'm not sure if it is necessary as one option would be to play in windowed mode and have the PDF manual already open and ready to refer to as necessary. Would that not essentially do the same thing?

Looking at the customer list I think it is safe to say there are significantly more than 3 players playing the game even if they are not regular forum contributors. Fact is more people are playing AI in the SC2 series nowadays and I think that is a strong reflection of the improvements the games have seen in recent years.

Hi Realbilly, I would try and update the video card drivers for your system to see if that helps. I would also suggest trying to run the game in XP mode to see if that helps as well. Hubert

If you are playing on Vista take a look at this article as Vista is a bit quirky with files such as these. The article should help you track down your files: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/VistasShowCompatibilityFilesAndTheScrumptiousWonderThatIsFileVirtualization.aspx

This is a message that is displayed when one of you is playing off of a different version of the campaign, i.e. your opponent has edited the campaign on his end or perhaps is playing with a different language version. If neither of these are the case then it could be that the saved game file was slightly corrupted via email transfer and if this is the case you can always try to compress the file first before sending the saved turns. Hope this helps, Hubert

Skrivebordsgeneralen, Masterclaude, Lampcord, SeaMonkey, very glad to hear you guys are enjoying the series and much appreciated on the kudos as well

Hopefully sooner rather than later

Absolutely

Good ideas but not likely for this release.

I'm still thinking about this one because it would require a system that avoids abuse, i.e. I'd like to avoid an all or nothing assault from the sea that would allow a player to simply reload their turn until they achieved the desired result. I've got a few ideas around this but I am just not sure it will make it into the initial release of Global.

I would double check the minimum activation % as well for your convoy scripts as perhaps these are having some affect. Also, I would double check to make sure the ports are at least strength 5 in your mod.

In fairness this is more of a design decision rather than a bug really. For example, there are essentially two basic ways to handle a non active major country, i.e. you can simply keep them off of the map until they are activated or you can allow them to move about just like any other country. There are pros and cons for each choice but we felt this was the best way to go to give players more freedom during game play. Consider if we didn't allow movement for a major country prior to becoming fully activated... and let's use Italy as an example since this is the major you referred to. An Allied player could time Italian entry into the war and knowing exactly where their fleet is located, they could sink and destroy it each and every game. By giving the Italian player the option to move his fleet about prior to entry they now have the option to put them into an optimal position for their own planning or defense and so on. The mechanisms we have in place to compensate is to add various penalties to aggressive movements, such as an increase in US mobilization should Italy aggressively posture itself in the Med prior to entering the war etc. In more recent games we've added a few more solutions where applicable as Bill has mentioned above. Otherwise there are of course house rules but again we are trying to minimize those while at the same time maximizing game play. One additional option is of course the pass through feature that Sea Monkey mentioned and if there is time this may also be included in the Global game. Hope this helps, Hubert

SeaMonkey, I can easily answer this one Truthfully there is not much to say right now for earlier beginnings in terms of official campaigns as we really haven't decided on that just yet. Granted that is not an exciting answer but it really is the best answer we can give at the moment. Hubert