detailed combat map problem

[CorvusRex]

I have a problem when playing detailed battles, where half of the maps hexes are blacked out. At first I thought it was just and ugly version of fog of war but hen I realized that some of my own troops were behind the black and I couldn't see them the only way I could tell they were there was by the movement markers extending out of the black hexes. It doesn't' do it all the time but enough to make detailed battles unplayable.
Can you Help

[Gil R.]

I don't remember seeing a report of this sort of thing happening. Are you able to post a screenshot?

[CorvusRex]

I don't know how to take or post a screenshot. One thing I did notice was that it happened when I loaded a save game that was saved during a detailed battle. Basically it looks as though the complete bottom half of the maps hexes are blacked out( displaying no graphics in them whatsoever, the top half of the map looks fine.The blacked out part Stays within the hex borders. It looks as though the game is still playing fine in the background and I can give commands normally etc. Every now and then when the AI moves the enemy I can briefly see the map normally.

[Randomizer]

I had this happen only once, when I was defending and the bad guys got the Screen Terrain scouting option.  All of my units were in the blacked-out portion of the map but just skipped the turn and next turn all was fine after the AI did some more movement.  Thought it strange at first but being out of contact, no harm no foul.  Actually concluded that it was working as designed since it gave the attackers a one-turn movement advantage but CorvusRex' incident and Gil's response now has me thinking perhaps not.

I should add that in my experiance detailed combat's will often exhibit odd behavior when reloading a saved battle. Now I try to avoid saving DC's except at night or when completely out of contact with AI forces.

[Gil R.]

Randomizer,
Don't use my reaction as a guideline -- I don't remember seeing Screen Terrain done to me by the AI, so I wouldn't recognize it if that's what CorvusRex is experiencing.

Incidentally, the upcoming patch has some bug fixes relating to saved detailed battles, so whatever you've experienced might be gone soon. Please let us know if that's not the case.

[CorvusRex]

I don't think it's as designed(I could be wrong) only because the units that are in the black, their movement paths (basically all the hexes I can move to during that turn)begin in the black hexes,extend out of the black into the normal area so if I click on the few movement hexes that are out of the black they move out of the black and into the normal are. that would be a really weird fog of war effect,and not much fun to play. I could be wrong though I'm new to this game. how do I post a screeshot??

[Gil R.]

Most/all PC's come with a free program called Paint. While playing the game, hit CTRL-SHIFT-PRINTSCREEN (which copies your screen) and then ALT-TAB over to Paint, where you can paste the image. Save it as a JPEG, and you've got a screenshot.

[CorvusRex]

Thanks,
I posted the screenshot, what do you think?
By the way it's a great game I like it, very addictive, this one and 2nd Manassas are really good.
One question, are the message boards always this quiet.

[Gil R.]

That's not something I've ever seen before. I've drawn it to the attention of Eric (= designer/programmer/debugger), who will no doubt get back to you on this soon. Tonight's his gaming night, though, so don't sit at your computer hitting "refresh" every 30 seconds!

The forum is much quieter than it used to be, which is a function of the game having been out for more than two years, plus lots of people waiting for the upcoming patch before starting a new game. (The patch will break save files.)

[CorvusRex]

no problem,
gaming night, I can relate to that
Thanks Gil

[Gil R.]

Eric's out of town but I asked him, and he says that what you're describing (and showing) is indeed an example of the enemy getting the "Screen Terrain" option, which should be only for the beginning of the battle. (It's not persisting, is it?)

I've never seen this because 90% of the time when I was testing FOF I played as the CSA and rarely got more than two years into the game before a new build destroyed my saves, so whenever I was playing I had the superior cavalry and scouts -- not to mention more cavalry -- and also battles usually took place in my territory, where signal towers could also give me the advantage in the pre-battle Scouting Check. But you're playing the Union, so you're going to lose more checks than you're going to win, at least for the first year or so.

[CorvusRex]

it's persisting through this one particular save game.
I have been doing what Randomizer said, and avoiding saving any of the detailed battles, and it's been working fine.
Thanks for the quick replies

[Gil R.]

Since there was a significant bug in the mid-battle saving process that has now been fixed in the upcoming patch let's see if this Screen Terrain problem persists once you install that patch. It seems to me that there is a decent chance it was "accidentally" fixed already. Thanks!


P.S. Get yourself more cavalry and scouts so that you win more scouting checks!