Minotaur

Downloaded and ready to use when needed... ;-) There's no point in arguing anymore about this one... Obviously, you don't believe me (dunno if it's personal or because it's bad for business, no matter...)... The E-mails exchanged between me and the MS tech are long gone and I didn't recorded the hour+ he controlled my PC to check my system and found the eLicense problem, so I have no hard proof to show you... Adding a icon with no user functionality in the Control Panel, the spot you go when you want to configure your system?... Kinda weird... Since, the problem with UAC seems well known, is there no way to make a patch for runservice.exe and/or any other eLicense files to solve this?... No arguing there. Norton is the worst offender, in my experience. I have McAfee and so far got only 2-3 troublesome cases, all legit files blocked as Trojan... I heard Kaprinsky is the most forgiving, but I didn't tried it... True, I don't know head from tail about programming a thing like eLicense... But put yourself in my shoes: Years ago I got serious problems when I installed SC2 on my new Vista PC. And now (few years later), I install SCGC to finds trouble again with Vista... Sorry, but there's matter for doubt here, from my point of view... Perhaps the improved eLicense will work fine now, but and if it does, will it still work fine when Microsoft will release a new update to it's UAC? or a new Service Pack for Vista or 7? or a new Windows?... Btw, thanks for taking the time to answer this post...

Another Question about eLicense: What's the point of having a 'eLicense Control' icon in Control Panel if clicking on it do nothing? Leaving my mouse on the icon makes the message 'Show you information on the applications that are installled (yes, really 3 'L'...) on your machine.' But when double-clicking the icon, a small window appear then disappear in the same second. Same when Right-clicking then choosing 'Open'.

...But it seems 'Unlicensing' doesn't completely remove eLicense (from the control panel, for example...), as I painfully learned a few years ago...

True that Vista is good at corrupting itself (especially the registry), but in the eLicence case, to make a short story, everytime I tried to create a shortcut I got an Explorer error popup (check web or close program). I gave Microsoft technician access to my PC. He found traces of eLicence, remove it, solving the problem: I was able to create shortcuts again... Fine, put the blame on the UAC, but answer this: Why I have no problems installing programs from Steam or another wargame online company? No need to play around UAC or such... No asking my admin authorisation each time I click the SCGC shortcut... No fuss from download to clicking the shortcut and play... Seems their DRM can handle UAC or any Vista clumsiness without problems... I'm not too bad with PC, so finding, reading and understanding troubleshooting is usually not beyond my abilities, but for one of my friend, it's too much to ask (he still have difficulties to grasp the concept that deleting a shortcut do not uninstall the program...). For him, installing a software, clicking a shortcut and nothing happens means 50$ down the drain... Until he think to ask me for help ;-) Glad to hear you're, at least, trying to improve eLicense, but sorry, I still have doubt...

I bought 5 games total from Battlefront.com: -Tac Ops 4 -Combat Mission Beyond Overlord -Strategic Command No problems installing these games (of course, some are now obsolete and incompatible with Vista...) Now the 2 games using eLicence: - Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg At the time, I used XP and the game installed without problem. But later I got a new Vista PC. I tried to install SC2 on it, but to no avail. And eLicence managed to corrupt Vista!!! I had to call Microsoft for support... - Strategic Command Global Conflict Successful installation, but when I clicked the Shortcut of the game, nothing happens... I had to go to the troubleshooting to find that it was the fault of the clumsy eLicence (RunService.exe in DEP, dx7vb.dll, etc...) I hesitate buying SC2 Global Conflict because of my bad experience with SC2 Blitzkrieg, but I told myself that a lot of time has passed, and it was very unlikely that I'll have that kind of trouble again, but I did... Although the game is now working. But what will happen when a new OS will be released? Point is, from my point of view, eLicence is more trouble (now and for the future) than worth and I'll won't buy any more games that use it... I sincerely hope Battlefont.com will found something more reliable in the future...

Indeed... The new beta has corrected all the Esc problems... Good work...

Long time no see... But now that I have something new to sink my teeth into... So far so good... Everything seems to work fine, except for the "Esc/Toolbar" bug... (See Troubleshooting section)... I think the most obvious thing that have changed, but not noted in the list of fixes, is the AI... A good surprise indeed... - Yugoslavia Pro-Allies Coup happen sometime after USSR declaration of war (playing Axis)... Not very historical, but interesting... Keep the Italians on edge... - AI seems more efficient at outflanking units and cities... Very noticeable in USSR... - AI seems more creative in using it's Air Fleet... (German Air Fleet in Italy helping taking Marseille... German Air Fleet in Romania helping taking Yugoslavia... etc...) - Allies AI more careful when preparing it's "D-Day"... D-Day in mid-1943 is now standard... And of course, because of this year of preparation, they do far more damage... Far more than doing it in 1942... Good work Hubert...

============================================== UPDATE: I tried the new 1.07beta and all seems well... It corrected all 3 problems... You can sleep well and forget this post... ============================================== I also saw the "Escape/Taskbar" bug... - If I press Esc in the main screen and return, I have the taskbar hiding the 3 bottom countries MPPs... To counter that, I click an other screen, like 'War Map' then return back to the main screen... Now most of the taskbar is gone, except where the MPPs are displayed, but now I can see the numbers with the Taskbar in background... - If I press Esc in a popup-menu screen and return, when I close the popup, the Taskbar disappear completely... - Now the Big Bad Bug: If I press Esc when in the 'War Map', when I try to return to SC = CTD!!! (Crash To Desktop)... Note: I used the Old 1.07beta... downloading the new beta now [ April 21, 2003, 02:35 AM: Message edited by: Minotaur ]

I saw a few times the "slow explosion" in every game I played... Never happen with 1.06... I only play alone against the AI, so network slowdown is not a issue in my case... It seems to happen mainly when I have another program running with SC at the same time... For example, when I listen a music CD with Winamp... Random slowdown in the other program or SC... Spike in the processor % usage... I can't tell... --- Some of my tech info --- Old 1.07beta patch... Pentium III 450... Windows 98... DirectX 8.1 (4.08.01.0881)... [ April 21, 2003, 01:30 AM: Message edited by: Minotaur ]

Very intersting and good work Shaka... To resume, all help USSR receives from UK & USA is there right when she starts the war... No convoys needed ... That explains some things we see in SC... - The feeling that UK & USA don't have the amount of MPPs they should have... - That it is almost impossible to see Axis around Stalingrad in 1942... The time USSR need to receive & put in place the help from others is not needed... - Why there is not convoys/Uboats in the first place... To keep the game simple, that's a valid idea... Only one thing bother me... UK could use the MPPs she gives to USSR... Especially as long as USSR is not at war!... It's not relevant to USA, since it enters the war after USSR... Unless you choose to put USSR neutral... I think the 'Keep MPPs or give-via-Convoys' should be there in SC2... If we want a "what-if" game, each countries (axis included) should have the choice of how-much, when and to-who she can give its MPPs... - Direct in the bank for simplicity... - Via Convoys... Implementing the use of a more realist Convoy/Escort/U-Boot mechanic in SC2... [ March 09, 2003, 01:22 AM: Message edited by: Minotaur ]

Or perhaps it would be only 15 Armies, because they have only pitchforks as weapon... It's not only quantity, but also quality that matters... Perhaps an army that have 100,000 well trained, well equiped mens equal another army that have 500,000 poorly trained & equiped mens... [ March 09, 2003, 01:28 AM: Message edited by: Minotaur ]

Sometime it's fun to change the world, sometime it's fun to improve a game and sometime it's fun just to talk about how we plays... So, assuming you are the Axis and you have plenty of time to prepare for it... Where is your main attack will be?... - The line Riga-Leningrad to make sure Finland survive? - The line Minsk-Smolensk to take Moscow? - The line Odessa-Sevastopol-Rostov to grab Russian Caucasus? - The line Kiev-Kharkov-Voronezh? - An equal advance on all fronts? - A mix & match of all of the above?

I know this has been posted on another topic but I think it's important for SC2... And since it's the economic topic... Should all hexes held by a Major Country have a minimum value?... Like : (these are only examples) Plain = 1 MPP... Swamp/Mountains = 1/2 MPPs... Forest/River = 2 MPPs... Desert = 0 MPP... It would simulate farmlands producing food for industries... Small manufactures here & there... etc...

Here how I see technology in SC and possibly in SC2 (although more can be done for SC2)... 1) Anti-Tank Weapons - Change name for 'Advanced Infantry' or 'Mechanized Technology'... - Increase Soft/Tank/Air Defense... - Increase Maximum Strength... 2) Heavy Tanks - Increase Soft/Tank Attack & Defense... - Increase Maximum Strength... 3) Anti-Aircraft Radar - Increase Air Defense for all Strategic Ressources (City, Ports, Mines & Oil Fields)... - Increase Air Defense for Corps, Army, Tank & Rockets... 4) Long Range Aircraft Scrap this... Merged in Jet Aircraft & Heavy Bombers... 5) Jet Aircraft - Change name for 'Advanced Fighters'... - Increase Air Defense & Air Attack of Air Fleet & Carrier... - Increase Spotting & Strike Range of Air Fleet & Carrier... - Increase Maximum Strength of Air Fleet & Carrier... 6) Heavy Bombers - Increase Air Defense & Air Attack of Strategic Bombers... - Increase Spotting & Strike Range of Strategic Bombers... - Increase Maximum Strength of Strategic Bombers... - Increase Strategic Attack of Strategic Bombers... 7) Sonar Scrap this... put in Gun Laying Radar... 8) Advanced Subs - Increase Spotting of Subs... - Increase Action Points of Subs (snorkels)... - Increase Naval Attack of Subs... - Increase Maximum Strength of Subs... 9) Gun Laying Radar - Change name for 'Advanced Warships'... - Increase Naval Attack & Naval Defence of Battleships & Cruisers... - Increase Maximum Strength of Battleships & Cruisers... - Increase Air Attack & Air Defense of Battleships & Cruisers... 10) Rockets - Increase Strike Range of Rocket Detachment... - Increase Soft, Tank, Air, Naval & Strategic Attack of Rocket Detachment... - Increase Maximum Strength of Rocket Detachment... 11) Industrial Technology - Decrease cost by 5% for Germany, Italy & France... - Decrease cost by 10% for USSR & UK... - Decrease cost by 20% for USA... (as suggested by Arby...) New technology to replace those scrapped: 1) Workforce Planning - Increase Country MMP Total by 2%... 2) Spying & Sabotage - Decrease Enemy (all Major Countries) MMP Total by 2%... 3) Defensive Urban Tactics - Entranchment Level +1 for all Cities/Ressources Hexes... 4) Research Protocols - Research Point cost -10 MPPs per level... OR - Total Maximum Research Funding +250 MMP per level... New technology possible for SC2: - Weather Preparation... - Amphibious assault...

The size of the map sould be taken into account in the obvious lack of ressources... Especially for the Allies... Russia - When Axis reach a line Leningrad-Smolensk-Kharkov-Twin Mines-Sevastopol, you know USSR is in trouble... USSR lost a good chunk of MPPs and produce less than Germany... If a landing is not done somewhere to stop Axis momentum, it's Game Over soon... That's why we saw "D-Day" as soon as 1942!... Russia should still receive some MMPs from Urals, Siberia, etc... Not just the Siberian troops... USA - A lot of ppl agree (me too...) that USA has not enough MPP... So much has been said about USA outproducing Germany in 1944!... UK - Lack of MPPs & troops coming from Commonwealth countries via convoys is also an inaccuracy...

I can't even put a size on how much I learned about WW2 since I join this Forum... Peoples here know their stuff (well... most of them... ), that's for sure...

That's a major change to SC... I've seen it in Third Reich (PC) and Boardgames and I can live with that, but I guess a lot of people will not... Beside it needs a major programming change... Perhaps in SC2?... That can be (and should be) done to SC in the next patch... But Axis needing to invaded USA to win should be removed as well, and all will be fine... Because with this Industrial Technology change, it may be difficult for Axis to win at all... Especially if you choose the French-Russia-UK-USA path (and most ppl do exactly that)...

Is Finland still fighting? Have you though about Transporting an German HQ with a couple of Armies or even a Tank Group there? You'll be surprized how it helps... - Some reinforcement possible near Leningrad... Like 7 or 8... - Full reinforcement possible near Helsinki... - You have enough supply to move around lake Ladoga (the lake just right of Leningrad)... The best spot to put it is in the Finland swamp hex closest to Helsinki, just north of Leningrad... ======= As for Iraq, Liam is quite right... - Be master of the Mediterranean sea... - Capture Vichy France to have Syria as a base of operation... - You can bypass Egypt and transport directly to Syria if you wish, but be mindful that you won't have any port to return home... Then again, you can attack Egypt both side that way: One group starting from Lybia attacking the left and your landed troops in Syria attacking the right... - Don't forget some HQs... They will help you in Iraq, but they will be necessary in USSR...

JerseyJohn - You are quite right... And you didn't talk about men in the U-Boot branch... Surface ships... Troop that you must left behind to garrison and 'pacify' a newly acquired objectives... Men that was on shore leaves because they fights for months... The wounded that are still soldiers but not available... Should I go on? ... About Arty discovery... I think we should hold the press... Because if the 'Combat Algorithms' is that flawed, we need a new one and most idea will go down the drain because they all assumed we keep the initial formulas... We only though about tweaking it, but now it's more like we scrap & build a new one... That's a huge step...

Well... My jaw is on the floor :eek: ... I've never, ever though about the 'Combat Algorithms' being so wrong... At the very least I though they need a little tweak here and there (like lowering Air Fleet attack, etc...)... But if your theories are correct (and it seems you have done your homework)... Then yes, it needs a major overhaul... Perhaps my ol' boardgames charts & dice weren't so bad after all ...

That what's I had in mind when I created this topic... House rules can be possible when playing with 2 willing peoples... But when playing against the AI... Although it's not the AI that buy 10 Air Fleets ...

Ok... Some clarification... First, I hope idea will be for a future SC patch... We can start another topic for SC2... Second, I don't think creating new unit size can't be done because we must work with the map we have and keep in mind it's scale... About the first idea, the Increasing Cost, we could do 2 things: - 1st cost ?, second cost ?+10, third cost ?+20, etc... - A certain number of units cost ?... After that, the next cost double... After that, x4... About the second idea, since I'm not an historian I can only guess or use a boardgame as a starting point... Some research need to be done here... About the third, I think the more you conquer, the more you can build... Lets say 1 Corps at normal cost for each city you control and 1 Army at normal cost for each country you control... JerseyJohn - You indeed put a lot of work these days... JayJay_H - Indeed the Commonwealth troops are missing... We may include them in the UK Pool or add them periodically like the Siberian troops... They could come from Canada, Suez or the pretty red arrows ... Brad Tennant - I know that every ideas cannot please everyone... I think JerseyJohn know a lot about it too... But the Unlimited Manpool is too ahistorical to be discarded... You could not create 20 Air Fleets or 100 Armies at that time, so you shouldn't be able to do so in this game...

It should be a City AND a fortification AND a Port... In other word, a city (of 10) with an entranchment possible of 8... Perhaps making it a Supply Point, like Moscow or Stalingrad may do the trick... So unit created there would be fully supplied, even if isolated from Ukraine and Caucasus... [ March 05, 2003, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: Minotaur ]

True... When playing the Allies, I like putting a Air Fleet there to help defend Odessa and harrass the Axis as long as possible, knowing I can fall back to the Caucasus when in danger...

I read about this problem in a lot of topic and agree that it is a problem... In fact it seems to be the root of a lot of problems or ahistorical things we see: - My 3 hexes wide 'Barbarossa' ... - Italy way too powerful... - Putting Corps on every Russian swamps to prevent Partisan creation... - Being able to defend France and make Russians fall back at the same time (!?!)... - Having too much of a specific unit (Air Fleet anyone )... - Etc... Ok... We agree it's a problem... Now lets put some solutions here... Here are some possible solutions I heard about: 1) The more units of the same type you buy, the more the next one will cost you... 2) You can only buy 'x' number of a specific unit... No more than that number... When you reach the maximum, the only way to buy another one is when one is destroyed... This solution works a lot like most Boardgames... And it has the advantage of putting differents maximums for different units... For example... Maximum 5 Air Fleets, 20 Corps, 8 Tanks, 10 Battleships, etc... 3) You take one of the two solution above, but you add this: The more territory you have, the more you can buy units... Simulating you have more population (Conquered) to do your MMPs so your home population (Conqueror) may be free to fight the war... What do you think?