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Indirectlemon -> New Public Beta v2.5.1.0 for WiF (6/7/2017 2:16:29 PM)
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Hi Everyone,
The next public beta for World in Flames (v2.5.1.0) is now available in the Members Club
Please check it out and note any new issues with the listed changes.
Change History:
DOW
- Fixed a problem with the program asking about calling out Vichy France reserves.
- Enabled restoring games in the middle of DOW on majors and minors. However, after restoring a game the decisions in the subphase have to be made anew for all major powers.
Air Operations
- Fixed an occasional non-fatal error in Assign Roles to Carrier Air Units when the current major power is not the major power that needs to decide the role for a carrier air unit.
- Changed the current major power to the deciding major power when necessary for deciding roles for carrier air units in port attacks and naval air combats.
- Enabled restoring games which were saved in the Defender Intercept subphase of air missions after fighter interceptors have flown.
- Modified the routines that check for use of surprise points to hide the originating forms (i.e., either Antiaircraft Fire, Air-to-air Combat, and Naval Combat Results) so only one form is visible at a time. The originating form is redisplayed after the decision about using surprise points is made.
- Fixed a fatal error with using surprise points to avoid combat in a Port Attack during the air-to-air combat subphase. Usually the question about using surprise points is first asked during the anti-aircraft fire subphase. But in those instances when there is zero anti-aircraft fire, the air-to-air combat subphase becomes the first time that surprise points can be used. The program was having trouble processing a decision to avoid combat.
- Fixed a problem with returning air units from missions when both sides have fighters to return to base. In some instances the program branched (bizarrely) to a naval interception digression. That no longer occurs.
Partisans
- Fixed a problem with French partisans not being controlled by the USSR once France is completely conquered.
Production Planning
- Rewrote the code for routing resources overseas so it always finds a path using the minimum number of convoys. Previously it would sometimes take a circuitous route.
- Fixed a problem with Production Planning when a resource (e.g., a build point originating from Washington D.C.) would add an extra sea area to the beginning of a route because the hex of origination was a coastal hex. Usually starting the overseas route with the adjacent sea area is best but sometimes a shorter overseas route can be found by moving along rail lines to a different port.
- Fixed a problem in Production Planning where sometimes a route for a resource was found but the resource was not marked as Used. The result of this error was that the program kept finding ‘new’ routes for the resource. This caused multiple convoys in a sea area to be marked as Used for getting the (one) resource to its destination. Ultimately, there were insufficient convoys to get other resources shipped overseas. This only came up when using routes that had been successful previously.
- Fixed a problem with Production Planning when choosing which convoys to use in a sea area so that the priority is: (1) receiving country’s convoy, (2) sending country’s convoy, and (3) convoy belonging to another major power on the same side that will permit its convoys to be used. Previously, the USA (while neutral) shipping resources to China would oftentimes usurp a Commonwealth convoy - ignoring its own convoy in the sea area.
- Fixed a problem in Production Planning where the maximum number of build points being sent from a factory hex was always twice the number of factories in the hex. Now it is equal to the number of factories in the hex times the production multiple (PM), with any excess over a non-integer value rounded up. For example, if there are 2 factories in a hex and the PM is 0.5, then only 1 build point can be sent from the hex to another major power as part of a trade agreement. But if the PM is 0.75, then 2 can be sent. If the PM is 1.25, then a hex containing only 1 factory can send two build points.
- Fixed a problem in Production Planning where the number of idle factories in a hex became negative (e.g., 254, 255) after a single factory received multiple resources for production.
- Fixed a problem with Production Planning where routes were being set to a nil value instead of being cleared of all hex entries.
- Made changes to Production Planning so that when a game is restored during a Production Planning phase, the previously stored routes for the resources are reaffirmed as valid. Previously, some routes through enemy ZOCs where being assumed valid. Now the program checks for enemy ZOCs, as well as all the other stuff, and does not accept invalid routes.
- Added code to reduce (somewhat) the search time for finding overseas paths for resources.
- Fixed a problem with the Production Planning form where the informative message about no viable destination for resource to the be saved/used in production kept reappearing, after its first appearance, whenever the player clicked on almost any place on the form.
- In Production Planning, eased the restrictions on setting source, destination, and action for a resource. If a player controls the sending major power then he can change the source resource, destination, route, and action at any time before the final production planning phase or after the production phase. If a player controls the receiving major power, then he can change the destination and action at any time before the final production planning phase or after the production phase. What this means in practice is that when playing Solitaire, you no longer have to change the current major power to make changes to which resources go where, how they get there, or what happens once they arrive. Also, if you control the Axis major powers, you can change the source, destination, route, and action for all the resources the Axis control, plus the destination and action for all the resources the Axis receive from the Allied side. And vice-versa for the Allies.
- Added missing code for saving which resources go where each time a successful route is found, labeled Most Recent. Previously this was only done for resources that were part of a trade agreement. Separate sets of data on “which resource goes where and what happens when it arrives” are maintained for Override, Default, Most Recent, and Last Turn. The processing order is: Override, Default, Most Recent, and Last Turn. Only if all of those fail (or are undefined) does the program search for a new destination.
- For all major powers, initialized the variable Return Unused Convoys to Base to False at the beginning of the Preliminary Production phase. These flags were not being initialized and sometimes would have a value of True, which meant that convoys not needed for getting resources moved overseas would be taken off Sentry status and forced to return to base. Those variables are also reset to False when a game is restored - so older saved games won’t have the problem of convoys incorrectly being forced to return to base.
- Added a check to avoid a possible fatal error when restoring a saved game where no major power controls a resource.
- Fixed a problem with saved resources being used in production not being restored correctly if the game is saved and then restored.
- Fixed a problem with the Production Planning form where sometimes selecting the Route layout did not change to the Route layout. This happened if no resource was selected. Now the program selects the first resource in the list if one exists and none has been selected.
Production
- Increased the maximum number of units in the game from 8000 to 8050. More importantly, added code so the program reuses temporary units (e.g., pilots, convoys) that have been removed from the game, once the number of units exceeds 5000. For example, when a player builds a pilot, a temporary unit is created and placed in a Production Pool to arrive in a future turn. When that turns occurs, the major power’s number of pilots is increased by 1. Concurrently, the temporary unit is moved to the Removed Pool. After the number of units in the game passes 5000, the program starts checking for a unit of the same type in the Removed Pool. If one is found, it reuses it rather than creating a new unit.
- Removed City Based Volunteers from the list of units that can be built unless the optional rule for those units is being used.
Peace
- Fixed a problem with conquest of territories (i.e., not major powers, not minor countries, and not subcountries) so that a hex occupied by a land or air unit (not a partisan) remains under the control of the player owning the land/air unit.
- Modified the code for Conquest so processing hex H, containing only air units and H does not have a land combat unit exerting a ZOC into H, and H belongs to the conquered country, assigns control of H to the air unit’s controlling major power.
- Fixed a problem with the complete conquest of a major power (M) where hexes held by M that were not in M’s home country and not in countries M had conquered, were being left in the control of M. These hexes were usually in countries conquered by an ally of M, so they are now given to that ally. An example would be hexes in France (which was conquered by Germany) held by Italy when Italy is completely conquered. Those hexes now become controlled by Germany. In the odd case where M held hexes in countries conquered by or aligned to major powers on the other side, then those hexes are given to the major power that conquered M. For example, if Italy held hexes in Greece (unconquered and aligned to the Commonwealth) when Italy was conquered, then those hexes are now given to whichever major power conquered Italy.
- Added some code to the end of the Conquest phase to check to two conditions. (1) Saved oil and build points that belong to a completely conquered major power so they become controlled by whichever major power now controls their hex. (2) Overrun units that haven’t been forced to rebase; they are now forced to rebase. The latter would sometimes occur when a territory become conquered.
- Fixed a newly created bug (due to changes for NetPlay) that left units belonging to conquered countries in the game (even on the map!).
- Fixed a problem with determining which major power controls a minor country (MinC) that had been conquered and its conquering major power is completely conquered. The problem only arose if there where no units in MinC. After these changes, control of MinC reverts to its original controlling major power. This problem happened when Italy was completely conquered and there were no Allied units in Ethiopia. Under those circumstances, Ethiopia now reverts to control by the Commonwealth.
- Modified the processing of incomplete conquest of major powers so their units “not on the map which arrive in future years” are no longer removed from the game. Those units are available as future force pool additions.
- Fixed a problem with being unable to move Axis peacekeepers out of Bessarabia if peace is enforced between the USSR and Rumania. Made a similar change for the Finnish Borderlands if peace is enforced between the USSR and Finland.
- Fixed a problem for the first conquest of Italy where if two of the conquering major powers had equal priority for becoming the conqueror of Italy, the ‘first’ is assigned the conquest. The order for Allied major powers is: China, Commonwealth, France, United States, USSR. Previously in this situation, China was being awarded the conquest even though it was not even at war with Italy.
- Added a check to delete trade agreements between major powers on the same side when one of them becomes neutral. The situation where this occurred in a game was when Italy was only at war with France and upon Vichy being declared, all French administrative areas went to Vichy. That set Italy to Neutral. The change in the code now deletes any trade agreements between Italy and Germany. Another place where this might occur is if the USSR is at war with Japan and ‘peace’ between those two major powers is declared. Any trade agreements that the USSR has with France and the Commonwealth would now be deleted. However, any arguments with the USA are left intact because of the various US Entry Options for sending resources and build points to the USSR.
- Added some checks to avoid a non-fatal error when trying to move the AOI unit after Italy has been conquered.
- Confirmed that the Liberation of Italy cannot occur on the same turn that it is conquered.
- For Liberation, added a call to the same code used in Conquest to handle saved oil and build points, and overrun units.
- Fixed a problem with liberating France where Vichy units in Vichy France were causing those hexes to remain Vichy controlled, even though Vichy France no longer existed.
- Fixed a problem with liberating France where naval units newly transferred from Vichy France to France were being forced to rebase out of hexes newly converted to ownership by France.
Cosmetic
- Added Gearing Limit information to the Pools form. It appears when Force Pool data is selected.
- Added code for the Production Planning form’s Route List to show which major power’s convoy is being used in each sea area in the route. For example, when the United States ships the Alaska resource to the lower 48 states to be saved or used in production, the sea area in the Route List is shown as: “USA Gulf of Alaska”. Previously it had simply displayed “Gulf of Alaska” without specifying which major power’s convoy in the sea area was being used. This is especially useful when the Allies have convoys belonging to multiple major powers in a sea area and resources/build points are being shipped through the sea area. This is merely a cosmetic change to provide more information to the players. Older saved games are missing the requisite data and may show Germany as providing a convoy - that gets corrected when a new overseas route is determined.
- Corrected the positioning of the Resources View in the Production Planning form so it aligns with the Summary Statistics. This is for purely cosmetic reasons.
- Modified the Assign Roles to Carrier Air Units form so double the number of carrier air units are visible. Previously in a large naval air combat, involving multiple carriers, the number of carrier air units would be more than 14 and scrolling left and right to see them all was difficult. The new version of this form has the same functionality as the old: the buttons are the same, the depiction of units is the same. The only substantiative change is that the list of carrier air units for whom roles need to be decided shows twice as many units.
- Modified the New Owner form so multiple units can be selected for assignment to a major power. For instance, you can now selected a dozen units and assign them all to be controlled to a major power by clicking once on the new owner’s flag. Before you had to select each unit, one at a time, and click on the new owner’s flag.
- Resized the New Owner form for assigning a new owner to units so more units are shown.
Forced the Choose New Home Country form to appear on top of other forms, so it doesn’t get buried.
Quit
- Added checks to avoid non-fatal errors when quitting the game.
Other
- Fixed a recently created bug where after an Overstacking Digression the phase of the game did not advance.
- Corrected a newly created problem with Australian units not being added to the list of units belonging to Australia.
- Removed the execution of the US Entry Action “Japan Militarizes the Marshalls” when Japan simply defends them with a notional unit against an invasion.
- Fixed a problem with using oil that was caused by recent changes to the search algorithm.
- Added some code so if China passes, then the Communist Chinese have zero for all their action limits. This handles the special case when the USSR action choice is made after the action for China. Previously under those circumstances, the program gave the Communist Chinese the same action limits as the USSR, even though China had passed.
- Added some checks to reforming corps when playing with Unlimited Breakdown where the absence of any divisions was causing a non-fatal error.
- Added some code to avoid an occasional non-fatal error in recalculating supply.
Head-to-Head Play
- For Head-to-head play, fixed a problem with setting up the German Reserves being skipped.
- For Head-to-head play, added code so when the decision makers change to a group, but the current local major power is not a member of that group, yet the current player does control at least one major power in the group, then the current local major power is changed to a member of the group. For example, if the phasing side is Allies and the local major power is France and the subphase changes to align minors, and only the US has a minor to align (e.g., Panama), then the program now changes the local major power to the US, so it can decide whether to aligning Panama.
- For Head-to-head play, made numerous changes to standardize the code for when the players have to switch.
NetPlay
- For NetPlay, (this might have affected Solitaire and Head-to-head play too), fixed a newly created problem with naval combat use of surprise points when only 1 surprise point remained.
- Added code to send information on each major power’s gearing limits when the Production form is closed.
- Enabled ‘restoring’ a NetPlay game from within an existing game - but only for the purposes of Reviewing it. In practical terms, there is now a button on the Restore Game form for reviewing a game if it is a NetPlay game. This has the same functionality as a similar button on the opening splash screen.
- Added some checks to avoid fatal errors due to nil values when recalculating supply.
- Added some checks to avoid fatal errors due to nil values when assigning damage due to Anti-aircraft Fire.
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