Matrix Games

The third official update of Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe is finally available for download.

After the “Garand” and “Gewehr” updates, we are very proud to release the “Panzerfaust Update”, and there are many reasons to be excited about it.

This Update is truly massive, touching hundreds of game elements, bringing the game to its highest level.

NOTE: Before proceeding to download the update and to the changelog below, there are three important things to notice.

GoG users will have full control over the download choice.

But let’s not waste any time further and jump straight into the Panzerfaust Update! Click here to download it.

You can check the full changelog below:

v1.16.00

Game Engine Changes/Fixes

• Fixed a bug that allowed naval units to enter sea ice hexes.
• Fixed a unit movement error that allowed units to move a second time under a rare combination of circumstances.
• Fixed an error where an artillery unit with no shells could attack under fog of war during a surprise encounter.
• Fixed AI Strategic Bomber and Rocket attacks to have a higher priority on available resource targets.
• Fixed a convoy protection message error that output the same name for the recepient and sender countries.
• Fixed a unit display error that would show enemy unit experience under FoW when mouse hovering over an enemy unit.
• Fixed an upgrade error that allowed some instances of upgrades in non cooperative hexes.
• Fixed a reinforcement error that allowed some instances of reinforcement in non cooperative hexes.
• Fixed a mouse hover delay error after conducting combat in game.
• Fixed a Major_01 custom bitmaps retrieval error for mods or other custom campaigns.
• Fixed a Diplomacy screen text display error when the number of friendly majors investing exceeds 6 majors.
• Fixed a rare CTD bug in the Convoy Map screen that would happen if there should be a convoy listed for a country completely knocked out of and removed from the war.
• Fixed some AI transport handling that incorrectly added units to transport plans beyond the scripted size.
• Fixed a LOOP event issue that caused the scripted loop positions to change locations.

• Fixed a PBEM++ Lobby error where if there were no entries in the Join list and you pressed the Enter key, it would cause a CTD.
• Fixed a TERRITORY event error that could lead to the creation of more than one Capital for a new country.
• Fixed a mouse hover resource MPP display error that did not show MPP values for Fortresses if they were assigned a value.
• Fixed a Reports screen error that did not count Major Cities and Major Capitals when mouse hovering over the bar chart for Cities.
• Fixed an error that did not take into account an enemy crossing action point penalty value for Major Rivers.
• Fixed an error that did not take into account general action point penalties for River terrains.
• Fixed a Diplomacy screen error where friendly majors not yet at 100% were not showing in the list.
• Fixed a Diplomacy screen error that did not list fully mobilized Minor countries that are not yet at war with the currently selected Major.
• Fixed a National Morale error that saw large decreases of National Morale during Strategic Bombing attacks.
• Fixed an HQ attachment error that allowed you to attach/detach units that had attacked but not yet moved.
• Fixed a hidden unit error that had Subs attacking other Subs when an AI Sub was surprised by an enemy Sub.
• Fixed an issue where some DECISION TYPE=3 events were not firing on AI turns.
• Fixed an issue where Amphibious Transports could remain at sea and attack adjacent land units over subsequent turns, now they can only attack once without the ability to attack again on a new turn.
• Fixed an issue where Special Forces could not load into an Amphibious Transport in an available coastal hex if it was located next to an adjacent Port that was full of naval units.
• Fixed an error that allowed Paratroops units to air drop into bad weather hexes.
• Fixed an error that allowed UNIT event Garrison units to arrive with strengths > 5.
• Fixed a position check error that led to some unwanted POPUP events triggering when they shouldn't have.
• Fixed a bug where an enemy naval unit trapped in a friendly port, after hex ownership change, could not be attacked.
• Fixed a bug where Coastal Guns could not fully spot adjacent enemy naval units under FoW.
• Fixed an error relating to declaring war on all available nations and then attempting to launch the Diplomacy screen which led to a CTD.
• Fixed a 3D model unit sprite error for some AI units coming off of the production queue.
• Fixed an issue where a Sub would dive and disappear from view under FoW despite ending its dive next to another eligible attacking unit.
• Fixed an issue where naval units that took refuge along neutral major country coastlines could not be attacked.
• Fixed an AI reorganizational issue that led to it placing air units adjacent enemy borders when it was at 100% but not mobilized.
• Fixed a Carrier move and strike range error that did not allow Carriers to recon once they moved their maximum AP and had no visible targets in range.
• Fixed an escort error that allowed fighters from bad weather tiles to escort.
• Fixed a unit desertions/surrender error for units with supply < 5 that had them incorrectly re-appear on the purchase list at a discounted price.

• Fixed a combat error that did not list destroyed units that were in good supply for possible repurchase at a discounted price.
• Fixed several AI Carrier combat issues as Light Carriers were never attacking and Carriers were avoiding enemy naval units in port.
• Fixed reinforce tool error that did not allow you to elite reinforce the aircraft portion of a Carrier.
• Fixed a hide/show unit error that kept units hidden when you elected to end a turn.
• Fixed a bomber flying over neutral territory error.
• Fixed a bug that did not turn fog of war off for when a game over state was achieved in PBEM++.
• Fixed a rare AI Carrier combat error that led to a Carrier restrengthening itself prior to a follow up strike if intercepted and it had acted as its own escort.
• Fixed a minimum shell reloading for artillery error at the start of each turn.
• Fixed a rare AI naval combat error that led to a CTD.
• Fixed an error that led to zero strength units not being destroyed in some rare cases.
• Fixed a spotting error that did now allow units to have a proper FoW shroud reveal at sea relative to their spotting range.
• Fixed a spotting error that allowed some units such as Carriers to have a full range shroud reveal as well as spotting within rain/storm hexes.
• Fixed a Carrier movement issue that set Carrier strikes to 0 when full AP had been expended under FoW.
• Fixed an end of game error that would lead to a CTD when navigating sub menus after the game has ended.
• Fixed a MOBILIZATION#4 DECISION linking error that did not properly fire linked events from other scripts.
• Fixed a MPP losses calculation error for when the defender was a Transport, actual unit type MPP losses were not taken into account.
• Fixed and better optimized several issues related to AI transport escorts and screens with naval units.
• Zero supply units, HQs excluded, automatically lose 1 strength point per turn if and only if they are at least one hex beyond traceable supply.
• Automatic interception will now select fighters with an optimal combination of high readiness and advanced aircraft research level.
• Information tips added to Diplomacy screen to help further indicate the diplomatic status of the majors listed at the top of the country list.
• Upper left country flag selection in the game screen will now default to the first non AI controlled friendly major country ID on your side when playing an AI game.
• Selecting a major in the upper left country flag selection area of the game screen will now determine the first major country ID selected when navigating the various interface screens.
• AI will no longer disproportionately focus on Coastal Guns with its navy, and will try and avoid Kamikaze attacks on enemy subs since they are likely to dive.
• POPUPs specific to AI controlled Majors on your side will no longer appear during your turn.
• FoW will no longer be recalculated before a friendly Major is controlled by the AI on your turn.
• Hidden resources on the map will no longer appear in any reports screens and/or totals.
• Reclaiming a diplomatic chit will now warn you before finalizing the action.
• NATO sprites will now also mirror their facings as needed, similar to 3D units, which will be useful in some mods.
• PBEM++ in game messages to opponents now increased to 130 characters from 65.
• PBEM++ games will seamlessly work if you switch from one computer to another between turns.

• Majors that reach 100% will now still appear in the Diplomacy screen list enabling declarations of war against them, but diplomacy will still be inapplicable as they've reached 100%.
• Abandoned Ports adjacent an enemy City/Town will now switch to enemy control.
• Clicking on a location in the Convoy Map will now have the game jump to this location.
• Implemented support for UNICODE (UTF-8 BOM).
• Re-typed internal data types to use less memory bits wherever applicable.
• Increased the number of MAJORS from 8 to 10.
• Supply rule changes: Subs can no longer dive at 0 supply.
• All raiders can no longer raid at 0 supply. Defending units at 0 supply will receive 50% more damage from a successful attack against them.

• Fighters and carriers cannot intercept/escort when at 0 supply.

• Maximum reinforcement points is now 5 strength points per turn for all naval units except Motor Torpedo Boats.
• Naval units positioned top of a small island sea enemy hex will no longer be fully revealed under FoW.
• Minor nation Capitals, Fortresses with 3 or more adjacent enemy units will now have their supply reduced by one strength point per turn.
• Neutral majors can no longer load units onto Amphibious Transports.
• Research and intelligence breakthroughs have been amended to simply increase the development advance percentage by a random 10-20% rather than a full development breakthrough as was implemented in previous games.
• Defending subs at zero supply, or defending land units defending from ground attack at zero supply, will now have their morale fully recalculated after any defending strength losses are applied.
• Research progression report popup alerts now display the percentage advance in the popup.
• Research breakthrough advancements doubled from 5-10% to 10-20%.
• Operational movement cost for air units is now double that of land units.
• Zoomed map that shows the entire map will now recognize if the 'hide' unit option is enabled and only show unit activation symbols if units are not selected to be hidden.
• Scrolling of map when mouse cursor is along map edges will no longer occur if a player has left clicked the map to drag the map instead.
• Computer income bonus (MPP %) has been changed to 5% increments from 10%.
• Special Forces units, after amphibiously unloading, now maintain supply for up to 5 turns with a drop of 2 supply points per turn.
• Free French units can now be attached to British HQs.
• Subs will now have a 25% chance of receiving at least a single strength point loss when diving from attack.
• Ports no longer provide supply to land units if there is an enemy land unit adjacent to the port.
• Improved AI HQ landings which now better attempt to consider adjacent enemy units before landing.
• Improved AI Amphibious landings in general.
• Fortifications that have a lower defense value than the terrain they are located on, will now adopt the terrain defense value + 1. Otherwise the regular Fortification defense value will apply.`
• National Morale losses and bonuses due to naval combat will now be doubled for all naval units except for Destroyers, Subs, Motor Torpedo Boats and Transports.

• NEW UNITS screen will no longer be displayed unless there is at least one new unit that can be placed on the map.
• Intelligence spotting of hidden units under FoW now capped at 5 units per turn.
• New units that cannot be placed on the map will now have the OK button shown as disabled, with a tool tip over the OK button providing further information.
• tile_highlights_sprites.png file amended to add an extra highlight which separates the ZoC highlight, 7th sprite, from the sometimes used extra attached HQ highlight.
• Added a load and apply custom MOD screen under the SETTINGS screen, allowing players to turn on or off installed MODS at anytime in game. Mods must be installed in the USER folder for the game, typically Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - World at War\Mods
• Mods must be installed in the following format: Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - World at War\Mods\<modfoldername>
• Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - World at War\Mods\<modfoldername>\Bitmaps
• Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - World at War\Mods\<modfoldername>\Interface etc.

Editor Changes/Fixes

• Forced march and naval cruise range multipliers are now editable.
• Max strength for resources amended to 15 from 20.
• Dramatically improved script compilation speeds
• New View button to help with editing and viewing POPUPs and DECISIONs to see how they will appear in game
• More powerful display options for POPUP and DECISION events, see header notes at the top of these files for more details.
• POPUP events now have a #MAP_POSITION field that if specified will center the map on this position before the popup image appears.
• Added a #NAVAL_CRUISE= flag for AI TRANSPORT and FLEET events.
• Fixed a v1.15 -> v1.16 conversion error that did not properly convert the turn/economic data from modded campaigns when using the CampaignConversionTool.exe
• • Fixed a CTD when attempting to zoom in on small map sized custom campaigns.

Campaigns

• Successful diplomacy against Majors will now move them only 4-8% towards your side, and the cost of a chit has consequently been reduced from 175 to 150 MPPs.
• Successful diplomacy against Minors can move the targeted country 4-24% towards your side.
• Tanks De-Moralization value increased to 35% and Heavy Tanks' to 50%.
• Tactical Bombers' De-Moralization value increased to 30%, and their attack values reduced from 2.5 to 1.5 against Soft and Hard targets.
• Medium Bombers' De-Moralization value increased to 50%, and their attack values reduced from 1.5 to 0.5 against all land targets.
• Strategic Bombers' De-Moralization value increased to 15% and their Fighter Defense value decreased from 1 to 0.
• Chance of all types of Transport retreating increased to 75%, with the potential retreat range for Transports and Amphibious Transports (Long Range) increased from 2 to 3 hexes.

• Subs’ Hidden Attacker Readiness Bonus reduced from 25% to zero.
• Decreased land units’ Operational Costs from 15 to 10%; air units from 30 to 20%.
• Division; Corps; Paratroops; Cavalry Division; Cavalry Corps moved to be second line units when assessing Zone of Control rules.
• Shock Army’s upgrades for Infantry Weapons will now improve their Light Armor and Tank Defense by 1.5 per level rather than 1 per level.
• Aircraft occupying Marsh or Mountain now benefit less from the terrain’s defensive bonus if they are attacked by infantry or armoured units (room).
• The cost of Mechanized units has been increased from 200 to 250 MPPs (Pocus).
• Cost of Coastal Guns doubled from 100 to 200 MPPs so as to increase their repair costs.
• The cost of Motor Torpedo Boats reduced from 100 to 75 MPPs (Mithrilotter).
• The cost of the UK’s Fighters has been reduced from 250 to 225 MPPs.
• O.S.S. and Norwegian Batteries’ Strength scripts corrected (dhucul2011).
• O.S.S. Strength scripts’ effects increased to bring them in line with WorldAtWar.
• Trigger date for Mobilization_2 scripts Sealion (Turkey?Axis); Axis Advance To Sevastopol (Turkey?Axis) and Axis Conquer Egypt (Turkey?Axis) amended so they can fire from 1st September 1939 (Taxman66).
• Italy’s National Morale will now fall by 5,000 points if Germany surrenders, providing Italy is still on the Axis side.
• If the UK moves its capital to Canada then Halifax Town and Port no longer switch ownership to the UK, instead Yarmouth does.
• Removed the mention of Vichy from the Unit script for the deployment of the Lorraine Battleship (Taxman66).
• National Morale script boosting Soviet morale when France is liberated no longer requires Moscow to be in Allied hands when it fires, but it does now require Paris to be in Allied hands (Numdydar).
• The wording of the Soviet National Morale boosts when Allied forces are in France and Italy amended, so they will also feel right when these forces haven’t landed but have instead marched into France or Italy from elsewhere (Xwormwood).
• Strategy Guides updated to reflect DE 603 where Germany can entice Franco to enter the war requires Spain to have a pro-Axis leaning of 60% to fire.
• All air units deployed via DE 301 now arrive with full research and the 1939 and 1940 Strategy Guides have been updated to reflect that (Taxman66).
• Research progression to levels 4 and 5 is now at an average of 4% per turn.
• Patton’s base rating increased from 6 to 7 (JJRambo).
• Fortification’s Maximum Entrenchment increased from 3 to 4.
• DE 619 now provides 4 rather than 2 Volksgrenadier Corps, and their formation boosts German National Morale by 5,000 rather than 2,500 points (LLv34Mika).

1939 Campaign

• France’s Tourville Heavy Cruiser now deploys from the Production Queue on the 1st March 1940.
• The time delay between the UK ordering Operation Fork and it being carried out has been removed.
• Improved AI handling of a post Sealion situation.
• Germany’s starting MPPs increased from 50 to 100.

1939 and 1940 Campaigns

• Alternative deployment locations added for the Afrika Korps so that if the original location is not available, the units can deploy elsewhere.

• 1939-41 Campaigns
• #BELLIGERENCE_CONDITION= corrected in the Belligerence script AXIS AI: Germany Declares War On The USA (sPzAbt653).
• The cost of DE 627 for Germany to deploy Coastal Guns corrected so that it matches the Decision text (sschnar1).

 Strategy Guides updated to reflect that DE 113 fires 1st September 1941 rather than on the 1st December 1940.

1941-1944 Campaigns

• When France is liberated it will now have Mobility and Anti-Aircraft Defense level 1 (Mithrilotter).
• defender losses would be greater than the remaining defender unit strength, i.e. unit will be beyond destroyed.
• unit count totals in the Reports screen will now include units in a naval loop.