Version 7 Patch

[Imp]

Early days yet but just have to say a thanks for the time you guys put in & the work you might have caused yourselves in the future. Still coming to terms with it & not used all the tweaks as of yet but so far have been quite surprised at what a difference it makes.
Even setting up the first battle under the new patch albeit quickly I soon realised I could have deployed a lot better.

[Mobhack]

More for WW2, but with the 2 MP required to assault I have had the AI "bull through" unsupported infantry with tanks especially in a case where my guys had just arrived on the spot in light trucks then got hit by advancing armour. Cue routed grunts being peppered up the backside by Pz3s and burning Morris 15cwt...

Infantry that want to receive armour will now have to have had the time to "go firm" on the held position, i.e. had a move or so halted.

Plus, attacking infantry that are fighting through a position that come on some unexpected enemy armour cant just take a quick "off the cuff" assault on it now either if the MP has all gone, so will have to proceed a little more slowly or at least with more caution.

Andy

[Imp]

Plus, attacking infantry that are fighting through a position that come on some unexpected enemy armour cant just take a quick "off the cuff" assault on it now either if the MP has all gone, so will have to proceed a little more slowly or at least with more caution.

Yep more caution & thought is required else you just end up sitting there waiting to get torn up next go. The old tactic of probably being able to attack him & get someone else to if it failed needs planning.
I am going to hold off playing early Russia in WW2 for a while as the old swarm him with a platoon & hope one grenade finds its target is not going to work without serious planning.
Taking up suitable positions is now far more important, gamey tactics wont work.

[Imp]

Okay these new artillery options are quite interesting I am finding myself pounding suspected locations more frequently due to the longer call times.
Probably a lot of work for little use & I suspect mainly a WW2 thing but an out of player control walking barrage would be nice for assaults. Might also benefit the AI playing as say WW2 Russia or a minor power.
Player just sets start hex & turn plus perhaps 2 options on speed of walk which happens automatically.
If holes appear due to "drift" he cant adjust.
Very good patch guys its become less gamey.

[Imp]

I am now 3 battles in on the new patch & my observations so far using the CD versionespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />>>
>>1) Formation IDs on at the start is a welcome touch, my preference would be for smoke to be on also but its a minor point.>>
>>2) and not enough time to judge really but the new pricing structure seems better overall>>
>>3) New backgrounds are excellent, far clearer than before.>>
>>4) Turning off wrecks has proven to be a handy option already to see who owns the victory flag underneath>>
>>5) Extra terrain info takes a bit of getting used to but I am getting the hang of it now. You can get a better idea of the terrain layout.>>
>>6) New victory hex spaced cluster, I love this & would prefer this setting 70% of the time. On an 80x80 map covers a nice area you have to hold. In most cases it makes far more sense to you dont just take the objective you take the area round it.>>
>>7) Victory hex timed objectives is great playing at 27 for the moment. With it on they become far more important & time becomes a factor. I will probably set it off or low for meetings & high for other engagements.There may however be score issues with it though must admit to not sitting down & reading how it works properly. I just got a decisive victory defending in what was a very good battle but a large part of my score was I think due to hanging onto most of the victory hexes & then counter attacking to reclaim the lost ones.>>
While there MAY be the odd issue with scoring I feel the changes including (6) have made a vast improvement, nice lateral thinking the clock is ticking speed matters.
>>8) Vehicle movement, I have been fighting in Tunisia so not to many woods but the new movement rates seem far superior & as a bonus probably help the AI by slowing them down. Certainly WWII infantry can tag along pretty much with them.>>
Paying one more MP when buttoned, what a great idea this can get you in trouble. Also means arty strikes can break up a formation, the new suppression routines are an improvement to though took a bit of getting used to seeing more main gun shots available than secondary weapons.>>
>>9) Using infantry also needs more thought being able to take cover & the changes to assaulting mean you need to plan a bit. In fact due to the new RPG changes infantry are not quite the king of the battlefield they once were. Another nice little balancing act that requires praise>>
>>10) Jury is out on CM arty changes as I have not used it enough, I am hoping we have not weakened it too much as the threat of it does require different tactics.>>
>>11) Bombard screen adjustments are great with the delay in access.>>
>>12) Artillery buying has become more complicated, what do you want to use it for? Longer call times mean you use it differently. Assaulting pound a position then move to a gold spot do not use for close support as you might lose control of it & walking it is slow. Yet another nice touch & I must admit to falling foul of arty overload when defending by 47 points as my arty % was 18.>>
>>Im sure there is more but overall the changes are quite dramatic & more thought is required to do well, in fact the changes might have had a bigger impact than you would expect. Either that or the AI has been improved, cohesion seems better & there has been some very good use of smoke along with a few clever flanking attempts.>>
So from me thats a big thumbs up apart from maybe a slight issue with scoring which frankly does not bother me overly as I know how well (or badly) I played.>>

[Suhiir]

LOVE the new terrain info, but as John said it takes a bit of getting use to.

I've been playing around quite a bit with the victory hex timed objectives and think I bit myself in the butt trying to use them during a player vs AI Assault scenario. But for the typical Meeting Engagement they are a VERY nice addition (I have however noted you have to kill off about 90% of the AI forces before victory is declared, even if it's victory hex score is zero).

LOVE the RPG changes, I use to think of RPG-7 armed units as snipers with big HE weapons, now they seem a lot less "Rambo".

For my part the artillery access delay hasn't been much of a change, but that's no doubt due to my play style not inclining me to fire at suspected/possible enemy locations.

I was hoping the infantry cover hot key would allow anti-tank teams to pop-up, fire one shot, then hide; thus requiring the opposition to z-fire vs direct-fire on them, unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case. But other then that it seems to work pretty nicely.

[PanzerBob]

Bravo Zulu on the new Patch, Excellent Work as usual!!

[daferg]

Name me one other game that has the same level of dedicated support that these two games have. The game was great and somehow it continues to get better with every patch. Every once in a while I purchase another game but it does not take long for me to shelve it and come back to this game. The old say of "If it isn't broke don't fix it" does not apply to this game. This game is like wine and gets better with time.

Imp....I got a good chuckle out of your post. What you wrote isn't funny but the dates and times are. It looks like you applied the new patch and then camped out on your computer for a few days. I can't tell you the number of times I have been involved in an epic battle and was shocked when I looked at the time. Or better yet you're playing and you notice through your window that its getting light outside because the sun is coming up.

A big thank you to everyone behind the scenes who continue to make this game better.

ferg

[Imp]

Must admit I started playing this game around version 4 & keep thinking that I should do another install just to try the original version & see how much the game has evolved over the years, have a feeling it wont run on windows 7 without a few patches though.
You certainly would struggle to get a better return for your money than than this game offers. The support & time played means its costing me fractions of a cent an hour to play, every time I start getting bored it takes another step forward & I am hooked all over again.

[Suhiir]

Actually I've had MUCH less trouble with Windows 7 then I did with Vista.
Not quite as trouble free as XP but close,other then the need to NOT install the game in the default directory.