Problem with Bridges in PBM Cross-Platform Games

[mdjamd]

A friend and I are attempting to set up a game on a map with no bridges (#109). He is using a Wintel machine, I'm on a Mac with OS X. We both have the latest TacOps versions. We have run 2 tests.

In the first, I set up a Custom US Army with myself playing Red. I used the Engineering Tool to build bridges everywhere they are supposed to be, set as "Known only to Red".

In the second, I set the bridges as "Known to both Red & Blue."

In both cases, he cannot see or use any of the bridges. Obviously, they show up fine on my side.

We have played several PBM games successfully in the past.

Does anyone know what the problem is, or if there is a cure?

Many thanks for any help you can provide.

Regards to all,

Mike A.

Waterville, Maine

warlord@midmaine.com

[MajorH TacOps Developer]

I am away from my dev system right now but I will check on this and reply in the next day or so.

In the meantime, try repeating your PBM game setup experiment with the Blue player being the one who creates the bridges. Just working from memory here but it is possible that the program will only allow the Blue player to create engineering items during PBM game setup.

[mdjamd]

Thank you for the quick reply.

I suspected that possibility based upon other postings I found this afternoon, but could not find an exact case.

I will try your suggestion and look forward to any additional light you can shed on this issue.

For the record, IMHO, TacOps is the best tactical-level computer war game out there. You have given me hundreds, if not thousands (don’t tell my wife!) of hours of pleasure.

I certainly hope you can continue find the time and the inclination to carry on with the further development and enhancement of this game.

With warm regards always,

Mike A.

Waterville, Maine

warlord@midmaine.com

[mdjamd]

We have performed several more tests.

To be very clear, this is the procedure I'm using:

1.) Start new 2-player game, US Custom Army, using Map #109.

2.) Using the engineering tool, build bridges "known to both Blue & Red."

3.) Save game.

4.) Start new PBM game using the saved 2-player game.

5.) Proceed to build units and send Blue turn #1.

The reason I am using this procedure is because the engineering tool is grayed out when starting a PBM game.

It turns out that anything that is built using the engineering tool at step #2 (bridges & obstacles) doesn't seem to exist for the Red player in the PBM game. They operate normally for the Blue player.

I'm using an 800 MHz PowerPC G4 Mac with OS 10.2.8. He is using an Intel machine with Windows XP Home Edition v5.1 service pack 2.

We are both using TacOps v4.0.6 (AH).

Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards to all,

Mike A.

Waterville, Maine, USA

Warlord@midmaine.com

[MajorH TacOps Developer]

Sorry that it has taken me so long to nail this down but I have been out of town a lot since this first came up.

There is a bug here but it is probably not what you expect.

Play by email mode does not support the adding of minefields, obstacles, entrenchments, bridges, or landing zones via the umpire tools Engineering menu item. The bug is that the program fails to disable the Engineering menu item when play by email mode is selected. The program should not be offering you that option in play by email mode.

The reason that you are not seeing bridges and obstacles in your play by email game is probably that they are simply not present in the game situation for your color. It took an hour of stepping through the code for me to remember that in play by email mode, items added using the Engineering menu item do not get communicated to the other player during orders exchange. [Engineering menu items added by an umpire during a multiplayer teams game do get communicated via the special umpire situation update.]

Example: In a play by email game, if the Blue player uses the Umpire Tools Engineering menu item to add a minefield, obstacle, entrenchment, bridge, or landing zone then those items will only be present on the Blue computer. They will not be present on the Red computer.

The only work around for this is for the Blue player to design the scenario while in two player on one computer mode. While in that mode place any minefield, obstacle, entrenchment, bridge, or landing zone items on the map, and then preserve that setup turn as a saved game file. The Blue player should then email that saved game file to the Red player for him to use to start the email game. In other words, both players then start a subsequent play by email game by loading that same saved game file.

I didn't test it but there might be a second work around where the Blue player might design a scenario while in two player on one computer mode and place only Blue engineering items. The Blue player would then save the game and send the saved game file to the Red player. The Red player would then load the file in two player on one computer mode and place Red Engineering items. The Red player would then save the game and send the saved game file back to the Blue player. That last "Red" saved game file would then be the file that both players would use to start the subsequent play by email game. Whew ...

[mdjamd]

Many thanks again for your quick reply.

My only remaining question is; will a game file created on a Mac run on a Wintel machine, and vice versa?

Regards to all,

Mike A.

Waterville, Maine, USA

warlord@midmaine.com

[MajorH TacOps Developer]

> will a game file created on a Mac run on a Wintel

> machine, and vice versa?

Yes.

[mdjamd]

Thanks, again!