Wish List part 1 (Full Version)

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pad152 -> Wish List part 1 (5/23/2002 11:48:00 AM)

Wish list:

1. Separate listing of Jap and Allied ships sunk, looking at the ships sunk screen it's hard to tell what nationality the ship was. Add the nationality to ships in the ship data screen.

2.A rest mission button for air groups, too much micro-management of air groups setting them to training mission and then setting the amount to zero. Maybe a have stand down rest all airgroup button in the the base screen.

3.Keep the last sorting order in the arrival screen for ships/troops etc.

4.Provide some notice of arrival of new re-enforcements.

5.Ability to replace commanders.

6.Add a range limit so your ships don't down chase the enemy to far into enemy air area cover.

7. Wheel mouse support for all scroll bars.

8. Some info on mine fields (size/number)?

9. Add delete file to save screen.

10.Patrol area for PC, SC, MWS, and subs, where you highlight a group of hexes with the mouse and the ships/sub will then go and patrol that area. It sucks to keep having to move each PG/SC group to each hex.

11.Mining, I don't understand why I have to disband and then recreate a sub task force just to re-load mines. Why not just reload a sub when it refuels, change the button to refurbish/refuel.

12. Air drop mining.



juliet7bravo -> (5/23/2002 12:43:55 PM)

Add these to pad152's list;

(1) Be able to access the manual in-game by clicking an icon...it's not rocket science people. To be blunt, if the WiTP manual isn't accessible in-game, I won't be buying it. By the time I drove 80 miles to a print shop that would print a .pdf and paid them to do it, it cost me another $25-35 USD total. Great game, but not worth $100 USD.

(2) Fuel listing on the "all base" screen

(3) Get rid of all the blue pictures, blue screens, blue everything..it's depressing, and I plan on spending a lot of time looking at it.

(4) Barge Hub/Barges...maybe I "just don't get it", but that is a real clusterf!ck. Why not just give us the barges and let us make up the barge TF's ourself?

(5) Don't give transport TF's an auto-destination when you create them. It's a pain in the butt, if you forget to reset it to the port, they take off without getting loaded or undocking.

(6) Loading TF's...be able to tell them once what to load, and not go through this routine of load supplies one day, and then have to tell them again to load fuel when they're done with that.

(6) Mines...what he said, doubled! Great idea, very cool and useful, but the execution just plain sucks, badly.

(7) Caveate to #2, why should I have to set the airgroups to "rest" when they don't fly due to bad weather, or don't fly any missions? Rain days should be automatic rest days.

(8) Caveate to #10, add a ASW TF option where they patrol the DH and surrounding/adjoining hexes, and keep on doing it automatically until relieved, and return to home port to refuel as required.

(9) Save the turns sighting/intel reports and AAR's so you can look at them while setting up the next turn

Gameplay note...withdrawing at commanders discretion. From my experiences so far, every TF commanders secret desire is to spend the war sitting in port playing cards...minute the enemy appears they're heading for the barn at flank speed. It's a strategy level game, I shouldn't have to spend my time holding my commanders hands and cajoling them to remain on station or to accept combat. When a patrol boat appears (one memorable occasion) a full CV TF shouldn't run for home.



legio -> (5/23/2002 12:50:44 PM)

Two simple things I would add in the patch would be:

Quick save = alt s or similar?

Link combat and sighting reports to the ship/plane datbase for quick reference remembering that these are of course not 100% accurate (reports that is)?

Great game!



MKSheppard -> "Operation" AARs! (5/23/2002 1:08:11 PM)

Allow us to create our own limited AARs in addition to
the normal combatreport.txt file.

Basically push alt-O or something, and a dialog box
pops up saying "Name of Operation You Wish to Initate,
Commander?"

and you type in something like "OPERATION REVOLVER",
and the game begins to log an AAR in operationrevolver.txt
and keeps on doing it automatically (appending the file
each turn with the previous turn's AARs) until you push
alt-o again, and then another dialog box comes up, and
it asks you:

"END OPERATION REVOLVER? Y/N?"

If you select Yes, the game stops automatically logging
AARs to that file.

It's a pain in the @ss to have to copy/paste files from
combatreport.txt so we can have a complete AAR for
our intended master plan.

Whaddya think?



MKSheppard -> A new screen for "intel" (5/23/2002 1:40:30 PM)

Add a new intelligence option (1st attachment shows where it
would be), that allows you to compile all the various damage
reports and after-action-reports to get a rough picture
of how bad you hurt the enemy

[img]http://cgibin.erols.com/ryanwolf/UVmod1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://cgibin.erols.com/ryanwolf/UVmod2.jpg[/img]

Several enhancements:

EST REPAIR TIME (AT DOCK) for enemy ships is wildly variable,
all depending on what your pilots actually reported back,
not the actual damage the ship suffered. He might be
able to repair it at sea, or it might actually take him only 20
days to repair it instead of 60!

[B]RELIABILITY OF REPORT takes into account several
variables, like the weather at the time, and how experienced
your attacking force was. Obviously, a higher pct. rating is
better.

SIDE is either USN/IJN.



Andrew Offen -> (5/23/2002 1:53:20 PM)

The biggest bang for my buck would be a player controllable limit on the closest distance a TF will move from a known enemy airfield.

This should be controlled from the TF screen and apply to both movement plots and reactions moves.

This will solve the problem of the AI sometimes initiating an unintended suicidal reaction move without resorting to just turning the react to enemy function off.

Andrew



Marc von Martial -> (5/23/2002 4:08:45 PM)

[QUOTE](3) Get rid of all the blue pictures, blue screens, blue everything..it's depressing, and I plan on spending a lot of time looking at it. [/QUOTE]

No, itīs naval, not depressing ;). Anyway, WITP will have a different color and style of course .



Fuchida -> (5/23/2002 4:56:48 PM)

Great game!! but i do have a few wishes :)

1) Notification of reinforcement arrival

2) Configurable distance from enemy airbases within which reacting task forces will not venture.

3) Add to combat reports, the notifications of ships sinking

4) Add option to retain combat reports for previous turns

5) Add to lists of ships/units etc in theatre, the option to centre the map on the selected unit.

6) All sighting reports should be logged for later viewing. Its a real pain to start scribbling everything down.



AlvinS -> (5/23/2002 5:13:45 PM)

[QUOTE](1) Be able to access the manual in-game by clicking an icon...it's not rocket science people. [/QUOTE]

I keep the manual open while I play the game and just alt-tab to it when I need to look something up.



Odin -> (5/23/2002 7:05:33 PM)

I have a wonderful printed manual in german:D :D



juliet7bravo -> (5/23/2002 7:38:42 PM)

"I keep the manual open while I play the game and just alt-tab to it when I need to look something up."

It's a pain. You have to remember to load it first. The game is balky alt/tabbing on my system and sometimes locks up or binds. It's all well and good to save money on the manual, but if it's going to electronic, it should at least be convenient.

You can't print the manual off the CD, so you have to burn the .pdf onto a CD, then find a print shop that'll print from a .pdf.

Not everyone has a burner, or is computer literate to the point of knowing how to find and copy the .pdf. The only thing they could have possibly done to make the manual more difficult to use, print, or access is to format it in some esoteric file format that requires you to download some special viewer program...oh, wait...they did that too



Fuchida -> (5/23/2002 8:07:17 PM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]You can't print the manual off the CD, so you have to burn the .pdf onto a CD, then find a print shop that'll print from a .pdf.

Not everyone has a burner, or is computer literate to the point of knowing how to find and copy the .pdf. The only thing they could have possibly done to make the manual more difficult to use, print, or access is to format it in some esoteric file format that requires you to download some special viewer program...oh, wait...they did that too [/B][/QUOTE]

Everyone I know who has a PC also has a printer. Is there just a general lack of printers among the list members.

I recently bought my wife a machine which does colour printing. scanning and even colour photocopying for Ģ170 (about $240). A decent laser printer isn't much more.

You can buy much cheaper printers for just simple black and white. Probably about $100. If people are spending $15-20 a time getting a manual printed, just buy a printer. It will pay for itself in no time and you can even it use for other things besides printing manuals.

Personally, I couldn't live without my printer :)



Fuchida -> (5/23/2002 8:13:11 PM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]The only thing they could have possibly done to make the manual more difficult to use, print, or access is to format it in some esoteric file format that requires you to download some special viewer program...oh, wait...they did that too [/B][/QUOTE]

er...

Aren't pdf files pretty much the standard multi-platform document file format across the entire IT industry?

For esoteric read Industry Standard.



juliet7bravo -> (5/23/2002 8:50:54 PM)

"Aren't pdf files pretty much the standard multi-platform document file format across the entire IT industry?"

Not here in South Buttfuck Ohio apparently, the local print shop gave me the "goggle-eyed stare".

Cheap $100 printers take expensive $50 ink cartridges, that you're lucky to get 100 pages off using higher print quality. I own a very nice laser printer...but it doesn't do colour or double-sided.

Should owning a CD burner and printer, living in the "big city", and/or being a computer geek be a mandatory requirement for buying the game?

I can fully support the e-manual concept from a business perspective, but wouldn't it be a lot simpler and easier on the paying customers to embed the manual into the game and have it accessable via an icon ingame? That's pretty much industry standard as well, instead of the current low-budget Mickey Mouse goat screw.



Fuchida -> (5/23/2002 9:09:02 PM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]"Aren't pdf files pretty much the standard multi-platform document file format across the entire IT industry?"

Not here in South Buttfuck Ohio apparently, the local print shop gave me the "goggle-eyed stare".

Cheap $100 printers take expensive $50 ink cartridges, that you're lucky to get 100 pages off using higher print quality. I own a very nice laser printer...but it doesn't do colour or double-sided.

[/B][/QUOTE]

I used a B/W laser to print the manual and it was fine. The colour screenshots were obviously B/W but clear enough. I don't need the manual to look very high quality. I just need it to be readable.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]Should owning a CD burner and printer, living in the "big city", and/or being a computer geek be a mandatory requirement for buying the game?[/B][/QUOTE]

You hardly need to be a computer geek. You either need a printer or you need to download Acrobat, which is free, and then use Alt-Tab

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]I can fully support the e-manual concept from a business perspective, but wouldn't it be a lot simpler and easier on the paying customers to embed the manual into the game and have it accessable via an icon ingame? That's pretty much industry standard as well, instead of the current low-budget Mickey Mouse goat screw. [/B][/QUOTE]

I think having the manual in game sounds likes a reasonable idea.

However, UV is anything but low budget. If I get the choice of flashy graphics, colourful manual, little gameplay, vs functional graphics, PDF manual and excellent gameplay, give me the latter every time (and I'll pay more for it too)

Matrix are catering to a very niche market. The vast majority of gamers are click-twitchers who would have a brain overload trying to play a game that requires some thought and analysis.

Matrix could cater to the blast-em-up crowd and no doubt make more money. Instead, they are obviously trying to produce high quality games for people who they know will appreciate their efforts.

While money is obvious a consideration for any company, Matrix seem more interested in creating great games than making vast amounts of money. That attitude should be applauded by the gaming community.

Due to the fact they will sell smaller numbers of their games than the big companies which churn out vast amounts of low-intelligence-required games, they need to price them a little higher to make up for the lower number of units. If you add the cost of a printed manual to that, it starts to take the game into a price range where a lot of people would not buy it.

Therefore, we either support Matrix in their efforts to produce great games, which means having a PDF manual, or we don't buy the game because they don't have a printed manual, in which case they go out of business and we all start playing Quake.

So you do you want great games or nice, glossy-looking manuals?



AlvinS -> (5/23/2002 9:29:55 PM)

"Aren't pdf files pretty much the standard multi-platform document file format across the entire IT industry?"

Not here in South Buttfuck Ohio apparently, the local print shop gave me the "goggle-eyed stare".

Exactly where is that in Ohio? My Atlas needs updating. ;) Which print shop are you using? pdf files are standard and if the shop your using does not know what they are you might direct them to the Adobe web site where they can download a free reader that will allow them to print it. That is if the internet is available in South "" Ohio.:rolleyes:



juliet7bravo -> (5/23/2002 9:54:28 PM)

It's very nice ect. ect. I'm glad you have such strong feelings ect. ect. I fully understand and respect ect. ect.

But...if you're finished...I'd just like to say (again);

(1) Be able to access the manual in-game by clicking an icon...it's not rocket science people. To be blunt, if the WiTP manual isn't accessible in-game, I won't be buying it. By the time I drove 80 miles to a print shop that would print a .pdf and paid them to do it, it cost me another $25-35 USD total. Great game, but not worth $100 USD.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp. I don't want to have to remember to load the manual first, then alt/tab, I don't want to have to drive 80 miles to have it printed, I don't want to have to print a sub-quality copy out on my printer, and I don't want to have to burn the .pdf onto a CD and then go find a print shop that's part of the 21st century. All I want is for them to add an icon and a few lines of code to access the e-manual from within the game quickly, easily, painlessly, and seamlessly.

Okay? Does my having an opinion meet with your approval? Is David Heath going to close Matrix in a huff over it? Is the strategy sim market going to collapse totally leaving us all to play Quake (great game BTW)? Am I a loathsome traitor to the cause? Am I kicked out of the "I play strategy sims because of my superior intellect so I'm better than everyone else" club?



dgaad -> (5/23/2002 10:26:38 PM)

Juliet : dude, PDF files have been around since 96 or earlier. Thats 6 years. They are the standard for quality documentation in the IT business, have been for years.

I'd like to see a printed manual too, and would be willing to pay the extra 2-4 bucks for the game that it would cost the company to print / ship the game with a printed manual. But, you shouldn't get your camo undies in a bunch over the whole PDF thing. I'm finding that the PDF manual is actually easier to use than a printed one now that I've gotton used to it.

Any local computer store/print store that charges you $25 to print a PDF file of this size is ripping you off, seriously.



Chris21wen -> User Manual Online (5/23/2002 10:41:20 PM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Fuchida
[B]

I used a B/W laser to print the manual and it was fine. The colour screenshots were obviously B/W but clear enough. I don't need the manual to look very high quality. I just need it to be readable.



You hardly need to be a computer geek. You either need a printer or you need to download Acrobat, which is free, and then use Alt-Tab



I think having the manual in game sounds likes a reasonable idea.

However, UV is anything but low budget. If I get the choice of flashy graphics, colourful manual, little gameplay, vs functional graphics, PDF manual and excellent gameplay, give me the latter every time (and I'll pay more for it too)

Matrix are catering to a very niche market. The vast majority of gamers are click-twitchers who would have a brain overload trying to play a game that requires some thought and analysis.

Matrix could cater to the blast-em-up crowd and no doubt make more money. Instead, they are obviously trying to produce high quality games for people who they know will appreciate their efforts.

While money is obvious a consideration for any company, Matrix seem more interested in creating great games than making vast amounts of money. That attitude should be applauded by the gaming community.

Due to the fact they will sell smaller numbers of their games than the big companies which churn out vast amounts of low-intelligence-required games, they need to price them a little higher to make up for the lower number of units. If you add the cost of a printed manual to that, it starts to take the game into a price range where a lot of people would not buy it.

Therefore, we either support Matrix in their efforts to produce great games, which means having a PDF manual, or we don't buy the game because they don't have a printed manual, in which case they go out of business and we all start playing Quake.

So you do you want great games or nice, glossy-looking manuals? [/B][/QUOTE]

I agree with everything you've said, give me functionality anyday over pretty graphics.

The only problem I have with pdf files is when they have a background picture. Matrix produce one recently that had a magnificent couloured background. Would have cost a whole printer cartridge plus to print it.



Marc von Martial -> (5/23/2002 11:06:53 PM)

Just a few points:

1. PDF is a standard, itīs the standard when it comes to electronic/digital books and itīs allready a 90% standard in pre-press. So if your copy or print shop doesnīt know what pdf is then I would question their competence in the printing business at all ;). Also the latest Acrobat Reader comes with the CD, itīs easy installable via the game- or installmenu. Nobody has to download it.

2. PDF is so much a standard that for example in the Engineering company I work in in reallife, every customer (big construction companies for example) wants every single sheet of paper and construction plans also in pdf. That way you avoid the constant bugs and grey hair Office documents give you.

3. PDF has the immense advantage of beeing interactive (and the UV manual is). You can search the text, you can click the bookmarks (look on the left side ;) ) and you can click the index and the little "s. page soandso" hotlinks we put in there. Now try that with your printed manual. The only real advantage a printed manuals has is killing flys and that you can take it with you to the johnson. Thatīs why Iīm planning to buy a notebook :D

4. We are talking about a 132 pages document here with a lot of big screenshots. Does anbody here have the slightest idea what it takes to convert such thing in lets say a windows "help file", so that you could acess it "in game" ? That alone would have postponed UV about a month or two ;) . Not that we havnīt thought about it.

5. You guys really pay 50$ for a single new printer cartridge
:eek: ? Go get a refill pack for your printer, that costs 25$ and lets you refill the cartridge about 10 times !

6. Iīm not going again into to why is there not printed manual discussion.

7. Agreed on the point that the manual is not directly accesible from the CD. Thatīs a bummer and Iīll take care that it wonīt happen again.



NorthStar -> PDF's (5/23/2002 11:42:06 PM)

Like Marc above, I work for an Engineering company, and not only do we provide almost all documents (including absolutly mamoth Operating Manuals) to our Customers in PDF format, we have an intranet system that stores all our specifications and fabrication documents for internal use that way as well.

PDFs are compact, flexible, and nearly universally accepted. I find it hard to believe any remotely technologically experianced person can't deal with them.

But for the real topic of this thread, I too would suggest an improvement. How about an intelligence screen that lists all of the previous contacts (at least for the last week or so) including location, composition, and time of sighting (realizing that the first two will certainly be inaccurate and/or incomplete). Similarly, a list of the last recon report for bases, with date, would be useful. This would be very similar to the report provided in Talonsoft's Battle of Britain game.

This would be a lot easier than trying to remember all of the contacts, or trying to scribble everything down as it happens. As I have said in other posts, real Theater Commanders have staffs helping them with this stuff, so as much as possible the computer should simulate the routine data crunching, and allow us to use our limited brain power on the big picture.



juliet7bravo -> (5/24/2002 12:02:27 AM)



Once more, and this time "Read my lips"...

Be...able...to...access...the...manual...in-game...by...clicking...an...icon.

Nothing said about Matrix supplying a printed manual. I fully understand and support the decision to go "electric" from a business standpoint.

But, if you're going to have an e-manual to save costs, lets do it right and make it easy to use by being able to access it within the game. It's been done in games for eons, and is a concept called "functionality". Matrix failing to think the e-manual through, and failing to do it properly, in a game I paid a premium (both ways) for, is most defintely not my problem (except as the end user).

The...pdf...locks...up...my...system...when...alt/tabbing...and...is...an...enormous...pain...in...the...***

I have a very nice manual thank you...I drove to civilization and went to print shop that wasn't owned by a 90+ old man with hardware he bought at Ben Franklins "going out of business" sale. I'm quite certain he'd be crushed to know that his little small town shop for printing flyers, wedding invitations, and business cards doesn't meet with you snooty up-town engineer types approval.



brisd -> My wish list (5/24/2002 12:33:36 AM)

#1 Manual is fine as is, spend your time on making a better WITP.

#2 TF operations are fine, no need for a special command to avoid airfields. It is factored into the aggressiveness of your commanders. Take charge of your forces or go back to C&C type games.

#3 Like the blue screens, it is a Nautical Game after all.

#4 All of Pad152's list is cool with me with emphasis on:

#5 Make the reinforcement screen for ground and air units like the naval screen, highlighting the imminent arrivals in green.

I understand some of the features are built into the game engine and probably can't be patched without a major re-write. You have only so many resources to devote to UV while developing WITP.
A superb WITP is my #1 wish, UV is great as is. Maybe the best suggestions can make it into WITP if not UV.

IMHO :cool:



Fuchida -> (5/24/2002 12:35:22 AM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]

The...pdf...locks...up...my...system...when...alt/tabbing...and...is...an...enormous...pain...in...the...*** [/B][/QUOTE]

Its hardly Matrix's fault that your system has a problem with Alt-tab. I alt-tab in and out every few seconds when writing up an AAR without any problems. Does your system meet the minimum spec for the game?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by juliet7bravo
[B]I have a very nice manual thank you...I drove to civilization and went to print shop that wasn't owned by a 90+ old man with hardware he bought at Ben Franklins "going out of business" sale. I'm quite certain he'd be crushed to know that his little small town shop for printing flyers, wedding invitations, and business cards doesn't meet with you snooty up-town engineer types approval. [/B][/QUOTE]

If he has a PC, a printer and a connection to the internet then he can print PDF files. If he lacks those things, then he has a real business problem.

No one is being a snooty up-town engineer, they are just pointing out the reality of the world beyond buttsville (or whatever it was)

To quote Adobe...

"Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is the open de facto standard for electronic document distribution worldwide. Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics, and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. Adobe PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with free Adobe Acrobat Reader software"



deilthedog -> (5/24/2002 12:37:38 AM)

slaps forehead
just press ctrl + esc and stop being a pain in the ***
for the wish list-
TF's that are spotted should have estimated course and speed so that your own TF'S (especially subs) can automatically interercept them.
TF's searching subs should react to sub sightings automatically to save micromanagement
planes should sink more subs (they never do)



legio -> (5/24/2002 12:40:39 AM)

How about letting us have the choice of printed or CD manual?

I would be prepared to pay the extra because its going to cost me a cartridge to print off with no binding and poor quality?

Me, I would pay the extra for the printed bound manual.

But I use alt tab.



Fuchida -> Re: My wish list (5/24/2002 12:48:24 AM)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by brisd
[B
#2 TF operations are fine, no need for a special command to avoid airfields. It is factored into the aggressiveness of your commanders. Take charge of your forces or go back to C&C type games. [/B][/QUOTE]

If you carrier force is simultaneously protecting two separate areas against two enemy forces and in one case reacting is necessary but in the other reacting would take you into LBA range, how does your commander help you?

If you switch react off, you miss a possible intercept and if you switch it on, you could get zapped by LBA. What you need is to be able to allow reaction but not within LBA range. How does the commander help that. As far as I can tell, there is no difference between commander when it comes to knwoing about LBA range.

Besides, what is wrong with adding an extra option for those who want it? No one would force you to use it.



Marc von Martial -> (5/24/2002 12:48:32 AM)

[QUOTE]How about letting us have the choice of printed or CD manual? [/QUOTE]

Basically the idea is okay and we allready thought about it. Problem with this is, we would need a stock of printed manuals here. It would only make sense to let them be printed in huge amounts, 1000 or even 2000+ copies, to save money and fit the minimum for an order with the printing house. If only 100 gamers buy the printed manual for an extra charge we would sit on the rest of the pile.
Print on demand is no option at the moment Iīm afraid. We will see what the future brings.



Philbill1 -> I agree (5/24/2002 12:59:13 AM)

With Pads list, which in fact is identical to one I was going to post. I also Alt-Tab with the manual, no problems. How much Memory is on your system and do you have other apps open?
Phil



brisd -> LBA range (5/24/2002 4:54:12 AM)

in response to item #2 (having a safe mode for the TF's):

Land based aircraft have a range that covers most of the playing area. B-24's, B-17's, Betty's and Nell's mean that your TF's would never go in harms way. Now that I think of it, perhaps that is a good feature. Those that want the feature can turn it on and watch your TF's stay safe and sound protecting the rear areas. Meanwhile the enemy is sinking your transports and despite their pleas for help the cold-hearted TF command replies "They don't pay me to go in harm's way". I'll definitely play a pbem game with such a player.

Three words:
Combat Air Patrol ;)



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