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RE: Interface Wish List - 7/29/2006 7:35:01 AM

Legun

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From: Cracow, Poland
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quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious

quote:

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

It doesn't work this way. 100% force proficiency does not guarantee no early turn endings due to "proficiency checks".

Are you quite sure? I think Jarek achieves just that effect in his WERS scenarios. I recall that some part of the documentation implies that tests against both force proficiency and the remaining part of the turn have to be passed; but I suspect that it is an either/or. Of course if Ralph has looked at the code and told you exactly what it says that's fair enough.

I can say, after many, many games of both FB and WERS scanarios, that both sides 100% force proficiency and both sides 111% shock bonus cause that an early turn ending NAVER happens.

(in reply to golden delicious)

Post #: 151

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/29/2006 1:12:24 PM

golden delicious

Posts: 5575
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From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

Think that these ideas would require a substantial rewrite to TOAW.

I dunno. You'd have to ask Ralph- but I wouldn't think it would be that difficult. A couple of points;

a) I think setting up new supply depots is a separate subject. This should be dealt with along with a general revision of the supply system
b) Obviously the current rail damage is a simplification. However making the player go through every hex and do the equivalent of "destroy bridges" would be a pain. I'm not sure if there's a happy middle ground.
c) Building airfields, roads, railways and so on is good, but of course there have to be limits on this, and the designer should be able to turn this off for his scenario. Perhaps the default should be off to protect existing scenarios.

_____________________________

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"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

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Post #: 152

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/29/2006 8:03:00 PM

rhinobones

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quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious
I dunno. You'd have to ask Ralph- but I wouldn't think it would be that difficult.

. . . However making the player go through every hex and do the equivalent of "destroy bridges" would be a pain.

I'm sure Ralph is fully aware of these ideas. It was all noted in my original wish list that went to HEAT. All that was supposedly passed on to Ralph.

As for being a pain, just what are you intending to do, blow up everything on the map? Don't you want to keep a few things around for your own use? Get real, the only things that would be blown would be those military assets that are in immediate danger of being captured. You know, there's only so many engineer units around that can do the type of demolition I'm proposing and they are not going to be blowing up every hex on every turn! Actually, most of them will be occupied with repairing damaged stuff and building new infrastructure.

Ralph, James . . . are you listening?

Regards, RhinoBones

(in reply to golden delicious)

Post #: 153

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/29/2006 8:38:33 PM

JAMiAM

Posts: 6165
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Legun

quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious

quote:

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

It doesn't work this way. 100% force proficiency does not guarantee no early turn endings due to "proficiency checks".

Are you quite sure? I think Jarek achieves just that effect in his WERS scenarios. I recall that some part of the documentation implies that tests against both force proficiency and the remaining part of the turn have to be passed; but I suspect that it is an either/or. Of course if Ralph has looked at the code and told you exactly what it says that's fair enough.

I can say, after many, many games of both FB and WERS scanarios, that both sides 100% force proficiency and both sides 111% shock bonus cause that an early turn ending NAVER happens.

I ran a test a couple of years ago with Arracourt 44, setting the German force proficiency to 100% and repeatedly executing first round attacks until I got early turn endings with 20% or more movement left over. It happens. Likewise, I set it to 0% and was able to run multiple rounds of combat. I'll have to get Ralph to send me the entire snippets of code from that section so that I can state authoritatively exactly what the routine is, but it is not a single "die-roll" against the force proficiency, with it being the probability of continuing.

< Message edited by JAMiAM -- 7/29/2006 8:39:22 PM >

(in reply to Legun)

Post #: 154

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/29/2006 8:42:23 PM

JAMiAM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones
Ralph, James . . . are you listening?

Listening, but am only operating on memory and 2 cylinders. My laptop fried in last week's heat wave, and until it's repaired I'm using old back up computers around the house or sneaking onto the computer at work.

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 155

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/29/2006 9:26:46 PM

rhinobones

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That�s the best we could hope for.

Too bad about the laptop. Feel glad you don�t own a restaurant. There�s a guy here in LA who has a meat locker with 600 pounds of spoiled fish . . . the city has dispatched a Haz Mat crew to clean it out.

Regards, RhinoBones

(in reply to JAMiAM)

Post #: 156

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/29/2006 9:37:14 PM

ezjax

Posts: 75
Joined: 7/5/2005
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OOB Dialog Box Simple Request.

1. Is it possible to have the text align left for each of these blocks (Formation, Location, Unit Info) instead of center.

2. The ability to sort these blocks especially the Unit Info Block, this will help find Units better.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to ralphtricky)

Post #: 157

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/29/2006 11:54:31 PM

rhinobones

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Can't do anything about the Unit Info, but the Unit and Formation names can be left justified. So can the designer entered news strings.

Regards, RhinoBones

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 158

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 12:00:38 AM

rhinobones

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How about making the Deploy and Orders menus cascade off each other? Would be real nice to be able to make both selections with one mouse movement.

Regards, RhinoBones

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 159

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 12:44:27 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones
Can't do anything [left justified] about the Unit Info, but the Unit and Formation names can be left justified. So can the designer entered news strings.

Regards, RhinoBones

Why can't ralph left justify the Unit info? You know something we don't? I'd like it left justified also, as well as a capacity to sort on type.

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 160

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 12:53:48 AM

rhinobones

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quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
Why can't ralph left justify the Unit info?

I'm sure he can, and I would also expect to see the scenario briefing left justified in the next update. That's just a guess of course.

The News Strings, Unit and Formation names are justified by the scenario designer.

Regards, RhinoBones

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 161

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 1:07:27 AM

Nemo69

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones
I'm sure he can, and I would also expect to see the scenario briefing left justified in the next update. That's just a guess of course.

That'd be neat indeed. Even better, let the designer have the ability to insert some very simple formatting code: various justifications, italics, bold etc.

quote:

The News Strings, Unit and Formation names are justified by the scenario designer.

By adding extra typographic spaces after the news string isn't it?

Cheers,
Marc

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Fais ce que dois

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 162

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 1:59:00 AM

rhinobones

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Nemo69
By adding extra typographic spaces after the news string isn't it?

Exactly. But now Larry knows too!

Also, been playing around with events for your alternative deployment problem. Not quite done, but close. Can send you the "in work" version if you want.

Your address is TOAW@ . . . . . . right?

(in reply to Nemo69)

Post #: 163

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 2:17:47 AM

Nemo69

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nemo69
By adding extra typographic spaces after the news string isn't it?

Exactly. But now Larry knows too!

Damn

quote:

Also, been playing around with events for your alternative deployment problem. Not quite done, but close. Can send you the "in work" version if you want.

Thanks a lot, that's excellent. Please send away, by all means.

quote:

Your address is TOAW@ . . . . . . right?

Indeed

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Post #: 164

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 12:46:57 PM

daBorg666

Posts: 6
Joined: 7/30/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

The 'D' Key

I would pay money if this key ONLY dug the unit in and DID NOT ADVANCE to the next "available" unit. This would save me vast time on every single turn.

Binding a single key to two actions is assuming that players manipulate their units in a certain way, which obviously some of us don't. If you want to string multiple actions together then please provide us with a complete macro language

And the same goes for the 'T' Key.

Something else (although not directly related to the interface): When attacking and the attacked unit retreats before combat it would be nice to be able to get an option that lets me choose if the attacking unit is supposed to advance or if it was only making a limited attack.

(in reply to Captain Cruft)

Post #: 165

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 6:53:56 PM

golden delicious

Posts: 5575
Joined: 9/5/2000
From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

As for being a pain, just what are you intending to do, blow up everything on the map? Don't you want to keep a few things around for your own use? Get real, the only things that would be blown would be those military assets that are in immediate danger of being captured.

Right. Now, imagine having to do this in a Barbarossa type situation. There are literally hundred of candidate hexes every turn.

quote:

You know, there's only so many engineer units around that can do the type of demolition I'm proposing and they are not going to be blowing up every hex on every turn!

Actually, damaging railroads is pretty easy. I believe during the American Civil War, raiders would pile up the sleepers and set fire to them, using the heat to soften the rails, then bend them around the nearest tree. Voila: a wrecked rail line. A couple of hours work for a platoon.

If that's too much work, the Boers would just stick big rocks, or packs of explosives on the rail line. I'm sure 75mm shells would do the trick. All this will have to be removed by the enemy before using the railroad.

< Message edited by golden delicious -- 7/30/2006 6:59:59 PM >

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 166

RE: Interface Wish List - 7/30/2006 6:57:39 PM

golden delicious

Posts: 5575
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From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ezjax

1. Is it possible to have the text align left for each of these blocks (Formation, Location, Unit Info) instead of center.

I think this could be done by editting the .dll files which contain this text (also an opportunity to make those units mechanised instead of "mechanized") and adding spaces so the strings are all the same length, just the same as Rhinobones suggests doing for the other text strings.

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to ezjax)

Post #: 167

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 9:42:22 PM

rhinobones

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quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious
Actually, damaging railroads is pretty easy. I believe during the American Civil War, raiders would pile up the sleepers and set fire to them, using the heat to soften the rails, then bend them around the nearest tree.

Are you quoting from an old John Wayne movie?

The people who enjoy scenarios such as Barbarossa love fiddling with thousands of units making many more thousands of actions. I think they would enjoy blowing up some airfields, ports, roads and rails. This is the primary reason why I would only have engineers performing demolition, thereby, capping the number of units available to perform such tasks.

Regards, RhinoBones

(in reply to golden delicious)

Post #: 168

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 11:07:59 PM

golden delicious

Posts: 5575
Joined: 9/5/2000
From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

Are you quoting from an old John Wayne movie?

No- but I suppose it's possible that's the original source of what I reported. The bending of the rail lines might not work in reality, but burning the sleepers and moving or burying the rails would certainly be doable.

quote:

The people who enjoy scenarios such as Barbarossa love fiddling with thousands of units making many more thousands of actions. I think they would enjoy blowing up some airfields, ports, roads and rails.

See Ralph's axiom about "interesting decisions".

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 169

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 11:15:02 PM

Chuck2

Posts: 830
Joined: 10/12/2005
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quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

Are you quoting from an old John Wayne movie?

No- but I suppose it's possible that's the original source of what I reported. The bending of the rail lines might not work in reality, but burning the sleepers and moving or burying the rails would certainly be doable.

Are you referring to this:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/bowties.htm

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Post #: 170

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 11:15:39 PM

JAMiAM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious
Actually, damaging railroads is pretty easy. I believe during the American Civil War, raiders would pile up the sleepers and set fire to them, using the heat to soften the rails, then bend them around the nearest tree.

Are you quoting from an old John Wayne movie?

Do a search on "sherman bowties". That's a fairly well documented practice of his troops on his "March to the Sea".

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 171

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/30/2006 11:24:52 PM

Chuck2

Posts: 830
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quote:

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious
Actually, damaging railroads is pretty easy. I believe during the American Civil War, raiders would pile up the sleepers and set fire to them, using the heat to soften the rails, then bend them around the nearest tree.

Are you quoting from an old John Wayne movie?

Do a search on "sherman bowties". That's a fairly well documented practice of his troops on his "March to the Sea".

I beat you by a few seconds again.

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Post #: 172

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/31/2006 1:44:44 AM

*Lava*

Posts: 1924
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Hi,

Actually, I hope nothing really radical is done to the interface. I'm kinda used to it like it is.

However, saying that I could actually do with eliminating most of the "buttons" and showing more map. To me more map is always good.

Since all the buttons can be accessed from the drop down dialogues, all these things do is cover the map. I almost never use any of the buttons in game. There are a couple exceptions like "zoom" and "supply", but it wouldn't bother me to take out that whole section of the screen, move the unit box from the top right hand corner down to the lower left hand corner and free up the screen so you can see map from the left hand side all the way to the right hand side.

It's not worth it though.

Please, just don't put more buttons and crap that I won't use and that clutter up the screen.

My 2 centimos...

Adios!

Ray (alias Lava)

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Post #: 173

RE: Need Better Engineers - 7/31/2006 7:48:01 AM

JAMiAM

Posts: 6165
Joined: 2/8/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Chuck2
I beat you by a few seconds again.

Those were the 37 seconds that I spent searching for typos and deciding whether to put a link in the message. The problem with my being a pedant...

(in reply to Chuck2)

Post #: 174

RE: Reinforcements - 8/2/2006 5:37:42 PM

MarcA

Posts: 1181
Joined: 3/2/2005
From: England
Status: offline

Sorry if somebody already mentioned this.

Could the expected reinforcements screen have links in so that clicking on a unit will position the cursor over the hex the unit will arrive in. It is very time consuming having to track all over the board to find the arrival positions of numerous reinforcements

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Post #: 175

RE: Reinforcements - 8/2/2006 6:27:52 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
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quote:

ORIGINAL: mantill
Could the expected reinforcements screen have links in so that clicking on a unit will position the cursor over the hex the unit will arrive in. It is very time consuming having to track all over the board to find the arrival positions of numerous reinforcements

Excellent suggestion.......I've had experience trying to gauge where these hexes are myself and I know from my own personal experience that it's time consuming and not a little frustrating to try to find them all.

(in reply to MarcA)

Post #: 176

RE: Reinforcements - 8/2/2006 11:47:43 PM

Telumar

Posts: 2236
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: niflheim
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quote:

ORIGINAL: mantill

Sorry if somebody already mentioned this.

Could the expected reinforcements screen have links in so that clicking on a unit will position the cursor over the hex the unit will arrive in. It is very time consuming having to track all over the board to find the arrival positions of numerous reinforcements

Yes! That would be a big enhancement in micro management. Excellent!

I think, from my amateur's point of view, this should be easy to integrate.

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(in reply to MarcA)

Post #: 177

RE: Reinforcements - 8/3/2006 3:12:26 AM

Industrial

Posts: 143
Joined: 5/29/2006
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I'd like to have an on/off option which would highlight all selected units from a formation on the minimap aswell (by yellow blinking dots?)
This would make it a lot easier to see where the bulk of this formation is moving to, easier spot units who belong to this formation but were accidently left behind/send to the wrong direction, and generally help in keeping formations together.

_____________________________

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<--- aka: Kraut

(in reply to Telumar)

Post #: 178

RE: Reinforcements - 8/3/2006 11:47:38 AM

golden delicious

Posts: 5575
Joined: 9/5/2000
From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
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quote:

ORIGINAL: mantill

Could the expected reinforcements screen have links in so that clicking on a unit will position the cursor over the hex the unit will arrive in. It is very time consuming having to track all over the board to find the arrival positions of numerous reinforcements

That would be good.

Perhaps also any reinforcements which are left over from the current turn (i.e. their arrival hex was blocked so they were shunted back to the next turn) could be marked in some way.

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to MarcA)

Post #: 179

RE: Reinforcements - 8/7/2006 5:26:55 PM

hank

Posts: 623
Joined: 8/24/2003
From: west tn
Status: offline

I would like to see another button on the PBEM replay window that would allow you to exit from the game after the replay is finished or if you need to pause it.�

I personally can't see how this would allow cheating since you would never get to the main game menu's and battlefield map.

Many times I would like to exit from the game without having to go through the trouble of saving it to another name, etc etc.� ... being able to exit after the replay would allow for Real Life to intervene OR in case I need to go cry in my beer due to an overwhelming series of attacks from my opponent.

< Message edited by hank -- 8/7/2006 5:27:23 PM >

(in reply to golden delicious)

Post #: 180