A fun way to fight a regimental war

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Decisive Battles: Korsun Pocket >> A fun way to fight a regimental war

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A fun way to fight a regimental war - 8/18/2003 7:35:43 AM

Adam Parker

Posts: 1848
Joined: 4/2/2002
From: Melbourne Australia
Status: offline

In reply to Bagpuss over in the bug threads!

Bagpuss, whilst I feel for the guys who can't get things going right away, as Matrix will tell you these are the unfortunate exceptions to the rule and whilst I did experience some CTD's these can be avoided for now by saving regularly (Autosave will also give you your very last completed turn). I replayed Wiking Wipeout again yesterday as the Germans - finally did very well too (!) and the game didn't crash on me.

I remember the same apprehensions when I bought Uncommon Valor with the install challenges posted on its forum and simply blinked when the game not only installed properly but the intro screens and scenarios loaded for play as they should. You know, all those years ago I even remember the same feelings with Steel Panthers - my old Pentium 100 - and reading those loose-leaf paper sheets about making boot discs if that DOS game failed to fire up properly! It did.

I think you will find Korsun Pocket a warm welcome to hex-based operational war gaming (note: war gaming - as opposed to SSI's Panzer General which was hex-based too!). It is a fine mixture of simplicity and complexity with a unit, map and time scale that ensures a quick, "to the point" style of play.

Even for someone well versed in this aspect of our hobby, there's enough of a learning curve to identify the little nuances which make this series tick - where information can be found and how to use it.

It's easy to fight ad nauseam only to find your forces, despite your success, on the verge of extinction when you next check their status. Sometimes it's a risk well taken - whilst on others it's a measure of operational finesse that's required to ensure the long term viability of your plans.

Whether it's easier or harder/more artificial or realistic than some other current series' isn't really the issue. With Korsun Pocket and the included Ardennes Offensive v3, gamers are given the choice that if they want to fight a WW2 campaign at the "regimental" level, then this is a well-thought out, unique and fun way to do it.

Adam.

Post #: 1

Re: A fun way to fight a regimental war - 8/18/2003 9:31:09 AM

gus

Posts: 237
Joined: 3/16/2002
From: Corvallis, OR
Status: offline

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Adam Parker
[B]In reply to Bagpuss over in the bug threads!

whilst I did experience some CTD's these can be avoided for now by saving regularly (Autosave will also give you your very last completed turn). I replayed Wiking Wipeout again yesterday as the Germans - finally did very well too (!) and the game didn't crash on me.

Adam. [/B][/QUOTE]

Hi Adam,

Its all well and good to put a positive spin on this but there is no autosave for PBEM so if and when the game CTD during one's turn it can be quite annoying and I hope this is fixed soon.

Also I think you meant to say that the effects of a CTD can be minimized not avoided by using autosave. A crash is a crash whether you are using autosave or not, any unsaved portion of your turn is lost.

-g

(in reply to Adam Parker)

Post #: 2

- 8/18/2003 10:03:11 AM

Adam Parker

Posts: 1848
Joined: 4/2/2002
From: Melbourne Australia
Status: offline

Hi Gus, so in PBEM what you're saying is that if you receive a crash during the making of your turn, you then can't restart your efforts with your opponent's last email and your total game is void (other than if your opponent re-emails you so you can re-try your turn again)? Yes, that's a pain and I suppose a feature of good PBEM is the inability to "save restart" in this way. So with crashes around, it's Catch 22 in PBEM - good security vs incovenience.

Vs the AI though which is what consumers should know, it is that Autosave (which operates in the background) gives a gamer the last completed turn. For example in the zip I sent the company regarding my last crash on turn 4 of a game, Autosave provided the action up to the end of turn 3.

A pain yes but at least liveable as the crashes to date - though seemingly varied by cause, are to desk top only and not Windows critical requiring a re-boot. The player is simply taken to the KP menu window and it's a matter of firing up the Autosave, running the AI's turn again and re-doing yours. So far I'm 3 crashes out of 6 games.

Yes, it's surprising that intermittent crashes exist. But this is a new engine and I expected them. Regardless of what I think, we'll see what the reasons are and await their resolution with the 1st patch.

For now, I approach KP as I would any regular MS Office product like Word. I simply save - and often (that prevents my reliance on Austosave in total). Folks, I recommend this practice, especially if you're playing a campaign (or reliant on the North American power grid) ;)

Adam.

(in reply to Adam Parker)

Post #: 3

- 8/18/2003 11:25:29 AM

gus

Posts: 237
Joined: 3/16/2002
From: Corvallis, OR
Status: offline

Hi Adam,

All I am saying is that I don't consider autosave as a solution to a CDT. I am sure that SSG is working hard to reprodcue and solve the problem. I am equally sure however that their solution won't be 'well we do have the autosave feature' ;-)

You can restart your turn in a PBEM game after a CDT by simply reloading the file that is not the issue, fixing the CDT's is the issue.

I agree that a CDT is better than taking out the system but I am sure you will agree that neither is desirable.

-g

(in reply to Adam Parker)

Post #: 4

- 8/18/2003 12:14:58 PM

Fred98

Posts: 4430
Joined: 1/5/2001
From: Wollondilly, Sydney
Status: offline

Autosave, only saves turns at the end of a turn, not mid turn.

In Word, I turn autosave off as I find it an irritant.

Instead I save every 5mins, just as I do playing KP.

As for a PBEM game, you cannot save in the middle of a turn, therefoe the issue does not arise.

(in reply to Adam Parker)

Post #: 5

stability of KP.... - 8/19/2003 1:04:22 AM

bagpuss

Posts: 21
Joined: 8/10/2003
From: Northwest UK
Status: offline

Adam
thanks for the thread here ..........as I have wrote, Im completly new too hex games ........I was a bit concerned about the ctd but I am not that naive to believe that "any" new game is released with out any bugs ,I do think matrix games are on-the-ball about these matters ,an like another game I have enjoyed Medieval Total War ,you got to save often an after each turn (btw that game WAS a nightmare for ctd!,the addon Viking was kind of cool but still very buggy )
I am going to get KP this friday ,I have read up at Wacht am Rhein with the excellent tuts over there ...lol ...its kind of hard to try an take things in when I havent got the game though,

gus
I hear what your saying also, we can only hope matrix get on it with a patch.....

Joe 98
I will do as your doing, an after a good "action"and turn will save manually
cheers
bagpuss

(in reply to Adam Parker)

Post #: 6