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Erik Rutins -> Patch Progress Update... (6/13/2002 2:29:42 AM)
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Just a quick post to update you on what to expect in the first patch. This is not necessarily the final list, but it's close. :)
Patch Items for Uncommon Valor version 1.10
1) Most critical damage text passages for naval combat are no longer upper case.
2) The program should no longer require 100% of CPU capacity.
3) Spelling for torpedoes, critical and surprised were corrected.
4) Tactical exposition has been added to the air combat screen for fighter versus fighter and fighter versus bomber combat.
5) Fighter type aircraft given a sweep mission, should no longer try to strafe the target area, unless the group altitude is set to 100 feet.
6) The routines for the list all ships function called from the upper tool bar have been optimized for speed.
7) Japanese auto-victory conditions were updated to include all scenario conditions.
8) Passwords for PBEM games are now encrypted. Old PBEM games which did not have encrypted passwords will start work with v1.10. The player will not have to start those games over.
9) Base bombing animation has been adjusted to fit into the new base bombing screen.
10) To prevent ships from unloading troops in shallow water hexes, ships may now unload only at bases or beaches.
11) A new scenario has been added.
12) The code for calculating plunging fire and penetration for deck, tower, turret and belt hits has been rewritten, using new formula. Results should now seem more realistic, when used with new data base.
13) Non-penetrating hit locations are now displayed in naval combat. Naval battles also now show more descriptive text, concerning damage to locations and surface vessel torpedo fire.
14) Aircraft that carry torpedoes as default load, such as patrol aircraft and torpedo bombers were not switching ordnance loads to bombs, when on search and anti-submarine missions properly. The torpedoes were not very effective against submarines. This has been fixed. These aircraft will still carry torpedoes, when on naval attack or night naval attack missions.
15) The F2 key now toggles the shallow water indicator on and off. When on, a small, white “s” will appear on the map in all shallow water hexes. This indicator should be useful for submarine and mine laying operations.
16) Mine fields placed in deep water decay at the rate of 50% per day. These either sink, float away or the moorings brake.
17) Mine layers, mine laying submarines and submarines on special mine laying ops may now only rearm mines at Noumea or Truk. Rearming at any other base will replenish the gun and torpedo loads, but not the mines.
18) Passwords for PBEM games are now encrypted. This will necessitate restarting PBEM games.
19) Minesweepers will now clear friendly, offensive minefields. Task forces will avoid friendly offensive minefields, when determining shipping routes.
20) The mine warfare text message has been changed from “will MINE” to “will conduct mine warfare ops”.
21) A bug that allowed the Allied player to see Japanese fleet dispositions during the replay in PBEM and hot seat games has been corrected.
22) Task Forces of greater than 10 or more ships now suffer an anti-aircraft penalty.
23) Graphics clipping for the bottom bar has been fixed and during the execution phase, the top line of the thumbnail map should no longer be visible.
24) The average pilot fatigue is now displayed on the air group screen, immediately below group morale.
25) A bug which prevented Japanese submarines from refueling to full tanks at bases has been corrected.
26) The new data base has adjusted penetration values for 5” guns and smaller, which should make cruisers fare better in a gun battle against smaller ships.
27) The code for laying, entering, searching minefields has been rewritten. Minefields placed anywhere other than a friendly base, airfield, port or friendly beach are now defined as offensive mines. These are not as well mapped or maintained as well and are much more likely to damage friendly ships.
28) Please note that the program will now run inside of a window, instead of full screen, if in 1024x768x16 bit screen mode and if the command line parameter –w is used.
29) Air groups bombing ports now target significantly fewer ships in port. Port facilities, supply, fuel and base troops are now targeted more often. The greater the number of ships in port, the greater the chance that one or more will be bombed. Also, note that ships in port take a reduced amount of damage from being bombed.
30) The computer opponent strategic abilities and options have been extended.
31) Sub chasers (SC) may now train to a higher level, the level of destroyers, in shake down cruises.
32) Patrol craft attacking submarines will now always report the attack.
33) A bug which allowed air groups to transfer to carriers, such as the long Island, not on the map has been corrected.
34) Text error, “Sub attackat X,Y” fixed.
35) A new number now appears immediately after the unit name on the ground combat screen. This number is the assault value of the unit or the number of artillery pieces being used in the battle for artillery units. That value can be reduced via bombardment, casualties, fatigue or disruption, during the combat phase. This should provide clues as to how the units are faring during combat. Note that units with no assault value or bombardment capacity, such as headquarters units, do not appear on the list. The units listed are considered to be in or directly supporting the front line. The player will first see text which tell which attacking units are bombarding and if the bombardment does any damage, the numbers for the defending player will be reduced. Counter battery fire may occasionally reduce attacking unit numbers. He will then see text telling which units are attacking. At this point the attacking unit numbers may be reduced substantially. This represents fire from the defensive fire phase. He will then see text telling which units are assaulting or providing support fire. These will come one at a time and the numbers for the defender will be reduced. This is the offensive fire phase. After all this, the player may see reductions in defender player artillery and other units not on the front line, that have been overrun. Finally, the player may see text saying that units, including non-combat units have been destroyed. These units have also been over run and captured.
36) Naval combat description has been enhanced. The player should now see more text items at the bottom of the combat screen, including the results of the maneuver attempts by the task force commanders, such as “Fletcher has crossed the ‘T’ “ or “Russell has dispersed task force and is evading”.
37) Pilot rotation for training, search and anti-submarine missions has been reworked to allow pilots with less experience to fly more missions. This should help relieve the problem of the best pilots flying all the missions and becoming very fatigued.
38) The Japanese auto-victory conditions have been changed. To achieve an auto-victory, the Japanese player must now hold one of the following: Townsville, Rockhampton, Brisbane, Noumea, or Luganville after January 1, 1943 with twice the supply needed to operate the base.
39) Movement on a major road should now be less fatiguing than before. And, no matter how tired troops are, they should now be able to move at least 1 mile per day, across any terrain.
40) An extraneous space was removed from the ship sighting message.
41) The land based combat screen now shows the Japanese forces on the top of the pop-out box and the Allied forces on the bottom. Icons for armor, infantry and any other forces assigned an attack mission will appear, to a maximum of 26 units for each side. Extra text messages describing the battle have been added.
Notes on Combat Exposition
1) Land combat. The values listed after the unit symbol are either the assault value or in the case of artillery, the number of tubes engaging. The player will note that the assault value listed during the orders phase will not always be the same as the value listed in the combat screen. This is because the one listed in the orders phase is the assault value at rest, or potential assault value. The one listed in the combat screen has been modified by the combat situation, the disruption and fatigue, damage and confusion of the battle. During the combat execution, the player will note that the value may sometimes be decreased. This dynamic value is the one actually used in the combat calculations. After combat, in the orders phase, the unit has had some time to drink a bit of tea, bandage wounds and reorganize, so the resting value may be higher than it was at the end of combat. The values in combat can be used to ascertain the general condition and strength of the opposition, but fog of war makes it impossible to assume accurate figures.
2) Naval combat. The general situation is now displayed at the beginning of combat. Non-combat task forces will try to disperse and flee, while escorts run interference and engage the enemy task force. Fog, darkness, sea conditions and the lack of knowledge of minefields or other forces in the area can sometimes make full engagement difficult for the combat task force trying to attack a non-combat force. And, although the player can see all the ships in the defending task force, the task force commander may not be able to. Combat task forces will try to engage each other in the most favorable fashion. If possible, they will try to cross the T, that is turn and fire broadsides at the front of the enemy column. If they cannot, they will try to assume the best position. The player should note that non-penetrating hit locations are now displayed and penetrating hits now display a variety of messages, concerning the nature of the damage. The messages are taken from tables assigned to various ship locations and are generic in nature. So, messages saying that the ship is taking on water, for instance, mean damage below the water line has opened the ship to the sea.
3) Air to air (version 1.06). The cloud cover over the general target area is now displayed. This affects the bombing accuracy and the ability of CAP to find the attacking aircraft. The message that the group is climbing to intercept, means it does not have adequate climb rate to engage effectively during that impulse. Higher altitude gains an advantage for both attacking fighters and bombers. The messages that the group is intercepting means it has sufficient altitude and is close enough to attack effectively. The message that LR CAP (long range CAP) is intercepting means some CAP was approaching, while some returned to base and the group is engaging with less effectiveness than if it were all together. The message that the group area CAP is intercepting means that the CAP was spread out over a goodly area and is engaging, like LR CAP, piecemeal. There may also be a group tactic. This is what the group leader is trying to do and may include bouncing, that is attacking from above or with surprise, attacking head on in a slashing attack, maneuvering for a tail attack, gaining the advantage by attacking in formation or engaging, that is just trying to get his planes to shoot at the enemy, however they can. After this last message is displayed, the flights exchange fire. Each group is broken into flights and these are handled separately. Each flight is broken in individual planes and these are handled separately. Cloud cover, the range the attacking group has had to fly, the group leader's characteristics, the relative altitude and the aircraft characteristics, mainly speed and maneuverability help to determine the relative position and conditions under which the individual pilots operate. Similar tactical calculations are made for each pilot. So, although the flight may be at a tactical advantage the pilot may not be able to take advantage of that advantage. When fighters attack bombers, the messages will tell he attacker and direction of attack. On the bomb run, the cloud cover over the specific target is displayed. When bomber formations turn back or fighter formations break off, a message now appears.
Regards,
- Erik
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