Fresh install!!!

[decaro]

I recently updated to 2.5, but had some bizzare problems, esp. w/the longer scenarios (please see my posts). I couldn't understand why the Beta testers didn't have these troubles, so I finally had the time to do a fresh UV install -- uninstalled UV and all previous patches and then applied 2.5 directly, instead of on top of 2.3 -- and though it's too soon to tell, I'm not having any problems, so far.

As 2.5 was a comprehensive patch, I thought it was simply a compilation of all the other UV patches; but that was an assumption I made in the absence of any readme file or instructions from Matrix re how to apply the new patch.

I'm playing Turning Tide, which formerly gave me bizzare problems -- i.e., disapppearing text, mine sweepers sunk by their own mines, units transported by air disappearing from their bases, etc. -- but so far, so good. I want to do a smaller scenario (Green Hell) and then a short one (Coral Sea) before I know for sure that the fresh re-install is/may be the answer.

I've played this game for years and I've noticed that the TT scenario seems to play differently under the new patch, which, if true, would breathe some life back into this old game.

If anyone else has done a fresh 2.5 install and has not experiened any problems -- or notices the game plays slightly differently, i.e., US subs congregating NW of Rabaul instead of all heading along the Jap shipping lanes to Truk -- please post.

Frankly, after waiting months for this patch to be perfected, the lack of info about it from Matrix makes me feel like a Windows '98 user getting the msg from Microsoft to update to XP (WitP) or else no user support!

Or is that just me.

[spadman]

I sure hope not as I just bought the game.[X(]  I am really looking forward to it.  I had been waiting until I was done with college classes and moving.

[tocaff]

I too installed V2.5 over all the other patches, in their ordered progression, and hate to tell you that:

I had the text problem too
I had a ML hit it's own mine
Transports still giving problems with leaving port before done loading
And the list goes on. 
V2.5 doesn't claim to fix all the bugs, just what's specifically mentioned so don't expect the world of it.  Perfection isn't in the mix.

[Mark Ezra]

Spadman: Welcome aboard! I have owed this game since v1.0 and have really enjoyed the in depth tactical challenges. This latest patch is the squashing of a few lingering bugs in the game. Most gamers have experienced no difficulty with the patch. Since you will be installing a fresh game you'll most likely be fine.

[spadman]

I cant wait to learn it.  Maybe Witp is in my future but right now it sounds too difficult for me to get into right away.

[decaro]

Tocaff, do a fresh install and only patch w/2.5 and see if those problems don't just disappear. I also noted the following under (only) 2.5 in the Turning Tide scenario:

- that torpedoes -- esp. Jap torps -- seem much more effective now w/multiple strikes in the same turn. I had a carrier that got 3 fish from a Jap RO sub; the torps caused so much damage -- from fuel and ammo explosions -- that it had to be scuttled on the next turn w/o being able to recover any aircraft. Surface ship torps seem also more effective as well.

- that Jap troops seem more tenacious; in Turning Tide, I usu. drop some paramarines from Lungaville on Lunga that usu. just chase the Jap engineers out, but not this time.

- that Allied CAP and ship AAA seem more effective; in TT, 4 Jap CV's and 2 CVLs in 2 fleets went head-to-head against my 4 Allied CVs and a surface fleet (total 3 fleets) and my ships didn't even get a bloody nose; what my aircraft didn't get the AAA did, or was I just real lucky?

I wonder if they tweaked 2.5 along the lines of WitP? But w/o a readme or other info, it's just a guess. After all the trouble Matrix went to and the annoucement on their home page, I would have thought they had more to say about both the patch and its application.

[Reg]

Spadman,

Welcome aboard.

ORIGINAL: spadman

I cant wait to learn it.  Maybe Witp is in my future but right now it sounds too difficult for me to get into right away.

Not at all. If left to it's own devices, the war will run itself (it just that your forces won't be doing too much with out your orders). So jump on in and have a go.

This thread (Please help (very newbie) ) might give you some encouragement.

If it all gets too much, just read one section of the rules and concentrate on that one aspect (ie land based air (LBA), carrier operations, troop transport, invasions, supply, etc) for a few turns. The rest of the war run itself quite happily for a while.

When you are confident you know how that feature works, read up and play around with another aspect of the game for a few turns. (this is one big advantage of a computer game over a board game, if you don't know all the rules the PC can do things for you).

Best of luck.

[spadman]

Sounds great Reg.  I am hoping to get my feet wet tomorrow afternoon. (in UV that is)
Mike

[decaro]

Although I've only been playing this game since version 2.0, I offer the following tips:

-- Land units take some time to get moving, so be patient. You can always check to see if they have orders by clicking on the unit and viewing the destination/status info in the upper right of the screen.

-- Recycle aircraft/crews from port Morseby to Australia to improve their moral. Time consuming, but worth it until your air support gets large enough to just "stand them down" at Morseby. I usu. send certain aircraft to certain cities, i.e., fighter-bombers to Townsville, fighters to Charter, B-17's to Rock., Marauders to Brisbane, etc. -- so I know where each type is I and don't have to hunt for them later.

-- As the Allies, don't tangle with the Jap carriers until the airfield on Guadcanal is up and running. That way when the inevitable carrier clash occurs and you can't return your first strike aircraft on your carriers -- because these ships have been sunk or very damaged during your opponents first strike -- they can land on Lunga and fly a second sortie in the same turn, which has often evened the score for me by taking enemy carriers out of the game. Otherwise, the Jap fleet will anchor north of the 'Canal and simply stop your supply convoys from docking and unloading while Jap troops assualt Lunga as your supply status slips into the "red."

-- The tutorial for UV isn't the best I've seen; a good way to learn this game is to review the forums and just play.

Tech tips:

-- You should go into the options screen and add hexes while decreasing some message display times as this can get very time consuming as the game progresses.

-- Finally, only install patch 2.5.

Smooth sailing,

[tocaff]

After you can beat the AI in the historical difficulty setting it's time for your real lessons to begin.  PBEM is a whole different game as a human opponent will do things that you would never expect.  Be prepared to do a lot of losing as you really learn the game, I speak from experience.  

[bostonrpgmania]

ORIGINAL: spadman

Sounds great Reg.  I am hoping to get my feet wet tomorrow afternoon. (in UV that is)
Mike

Reg's help is invaluable.
I actually got started with his help
I think matrix should pay for him (of course, in terms of free matrix games to be realsed [:D])

After my last game (actually second game in UV scenario 1) which ended in draw, I will be trying my third game (scenario 1 again this week).
I was awy from this game due to my BiN PBEM about two or three weeks
but I am very excited to going back to UV.

[decaro]

I actually remember this thread; interesting that all the same players, i.e., Tocaff, are in it.
Coincidently, I also bought Korsun Pocket, but later re-sold it; although it was the turn-based combat game of the year, it's massive patch fix and less than impressive AI and graphics proved disapointing. Spadman will like UV much better.
Speaking of graphics, did anyone load the new UV ship art, and if so, how?

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: bostonrpgmania

Reg's help is invaluable.
I actually got started with his help
I think matrix should pay for him (of course, in terms of free matrix games to be realsed [:D])

But I already am getting stuff... Free patches, free artwork, free advice........

This is a great forum to hang around.

[spadman]

Thanks for the welcomes guys.  I do hope to learn by playing a little bit.  I am certainly thankful for the the people willing to help on this board.  It might be tough to learn without you all. 
I bought about three books about this area of the war that I have also been reading.  Just not enough time to read and play at the same time.  I am sure enjoying it though.
spadman

[tocaff]

Don't forget that UV is a game and that as such things that could and did happen in real life won't in the game.  For example a Midway type result just isn't in the cards against a human player in '42 as the best strategy for the Allied player is one of survival and saving the growing strength for an offensive.  A 'Canal type operation in August '42 which actually worked against Japan will surely fail in PBEM and holding PM against a determined human opponent is almost impossible for the Allied player.  Enjoy! 

[bostonrpgmania]

ORIGINAL: spadman

Thanks for the welcomes guys.  I do hope to learn by playing a little bit.  I am certainly thankful for the the people willing to help on this board.  It might be tough to learn without you all. 
I bought about three books about this area of the war that I have also been reading.  Just not enough time to read and play at the same time.  I am sure enjoying it though.
spadman

Having a back groud knowledge seems very important
Scenario 1 is relatively simple and short, good for new players such as you and me[;)]

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

Speaking of graphics, did anyone load the new UV ship art, and if so, how?

There are two ways of loading the graphics.

1. Just dump into your UV folder and overwrite your existing files, or

2. Use the JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler which will allow you to restore your art files if you wish to remove this mod at a later date.


Method 1. Quick and simple!! This method is also described in the readme file included with the art package!!!

The picture below show an extract of the file structure in Uncommon Valor. The Allied ship side art (AnSidexxxx.bmp) are located in the Art\AlliedShip_Back folder and the Allied ship art transparancy files (AnShilxxxx.bmp) used the battle animations are located in the Art\AlliedShip_Transp folder.

(Guess where the Japanese artwork is located. Note the difference in folder names.)

If you unzip the Standardised UV Shipart - Allied package into the Uncommon Valor game folder ensuring you have 'use folder names' option selected, the files will be put into the correct location and the new art will appear next time you load the game.

[Reg]

Method 2. A bit more mucking around but I think worth it.

Go to JonesSoft Site and download the Generic Mod Enabler (it's also available on Spookies site) and install in your Uncommon Valor folder.

Create a new folder in your Uncommon Valor game folder called Mods (it must be called this). See folder list in previous post.

Create a new folder inside the Mods folder and rename it to what you want to call your mod. (see examples above). For the Allied artwork Standardised UV Shipart - Allied sounds like a descriptive title though you can use what ever you like.

You then create a mirror of the game folder tree inside the this folder and populate it with the files you want to insert. These will overwrite existing files but don't worry, Mod Enabler keeps a backup copy. In our case we simply need to unzip the Allied art package into the Mods\Standardised UV Shipart - Allied folder ensuring you have the 'use folder names' option selected and the folder structure will automatically be created.

Note the mirrored folder structure in the example above.

Lastly run the Mod Enabler program, highlight your mod in the left panel and click on the > button to install. See example below.

Simple Huh? I'll let you read the help file to work out how to un-install.

======================================
For you information, in the example below see how the mods available for selection line up with the folders in the folder list above.

Also note how easy it will be for me to change the Allied aircraft artwork at different dates in the game with just a couple of mouse clicks. (these are my own files adapted from Cathartes work for WITP).

======================================

It's up to you how you install the artwork.

Best of Luck and have fun!!

[decaro]

Thanks Reg: do you have a link to spookie's site?
I trust this new artwork doesn't require another fresh install of UV; after playing around w/2.5, I have re-install fatigue.
I notice you're posting from "down under," therefore I assume this game has great significance for you as it closer to home, i.e., what would have happend if the Japanese retook Guadalcanal and used its airfield to isolate Australia and India from the rest of the Allies? Would we even be having this conversation (in English)?

[spadman]

So tocaff, Does it seem amazing after playing the game that the Allies were able to hold onto the canal.  I have been reading a lot lately including a book called Lightning Strike (about the mission to Kill Admiral Yamamato) and he mentions that just like at Pearl Harbor the Japanese military leaders often were to hesitant to take some risks when opportunities were possible.  The few books I have read seem to suggest this as well.  Is that why history cannot be duplicated on the game because the Japanese player knows what happened and knows exactly the basic strength of the Allied navy and infantry and thus can push the matter beyond the Japanese military leader of 1942 would have?
Boston maybe once you get a handle on the game we can give it a go H2H and beat each other up to prepare for some of the better players.
Mike