ETA on New Patch

[dolphinsfan9910]

Since checking the "not an April Fools Joke" thread, I've been checking every day for this new patch. What is the current scuttlebut for a release??

[Gil R.]

The patch is 100% done, approved, and ready to be released. Matrix might need a bit of time to cobble together the press release, but there is no longer any problem with the patch itself or the installer. I guess you should just check the usual place periodically.

[WallysWorld]

Very good news!

Thanks, Gill.

[goodwoodrw]

What exactly is in the patch and why does it make saves incompatible? Is it worth starting a new game, or finishing off your existing one?
Ron

[Gil R.]

Well, since more than one person has asked, I'll post the "ReadMe" update here. As for why it makes saves incompatible, I can't give you the precise reason, but in general the reason is that one or more changes were made to the save-file structures. I can't advise you on whether to finish your current game -- I guess it depends on whether you see the game as half full or half empty.


FOF V1.12.2 from V1.10.10
-------------------------
Strategic Level
- Improvements to legendary units, and generals' statistics.
- New generals' biographies (300 total): Ambrose E. Burnside, Philip St. George Cooke, Thomas L. Crittenden, Jefferson C. Davis, Alfred Duffié, George W. Getty, John Gibbon, Gordon Granger, Alexander Hays, Philip Kearny, Rufus King, John A. McClernand, Irwin McDowell, Wesley Merritt, James Nagle, Richard J. Oglesby, Peter J. Osterhaus, John A. Rawlins, Phil Sheridan, Charles F. Smith, William F. Smith, George D. Wagner, Lew Wallace, William H.L. Wallace (U.S.A.); George T. Anderson, Robert Houston Anderson, John C. Carter, Philip St. George Cocke (revised bio), Philip Cook, Montgomery D. Corse, Arnold Elzey, Robert S. Garnett, States Rights Gist, Elkanah B. Greer, John B. Grayson, William P. Hardeman, John B. Hood, William Y.C. Humes, Benjamin G. Humphreys, John D. Imboden, Evander M. Law, Lunsford L. Lomax, Armistead L. Long, Dandridge McRae, William McRae, Albert Pike, Gideon J. Pillow, Gabriel J. Rains, Albert Rust, Stand Watie (C.S.A.)
- INTERFACE UPDATE: CTRL+Mousewheel and CTRL+'+' and CTRL+'-' now zoom the map at the strategic level and in detailed battle.
- VP’s are now properly assigned only for decisive battles.
- Removed "attack the fort" option from PBEM.
- FIX: gun problem in special unit file.
- FIX: Artillery strength now set properly from scenario start file.
- RULE CHANGE: Shenandoah is now worth $10 if the controlling player also controls the governor of the state.
- INTERFACE UPDATE: Always Instant Combat option now works in PBEM (so that when this option is chosen, players do not watch combat replay when watching PBEM replay files).
- RULE CHANGE: Gunboats now automatically heal 1 strength per turn.
- RULE CHANGE: National Will. The USA loses 1 additional point of NW if it loses a decisive battle in a US province (both currently and originally owned). The CSA gains 1 additional point of NW for winning a battle under these circumstances.
-FIX: National Will bug for empty city capture
- Added 10 new special abilities:
Thrifty (inf./art. only): Attacks use only 1 point of supply.
Stalwart (inf./cav. only): While unit is Fresh it takes only 1/10th normal morale loss from fire attacks.
Rangers (inf. only): Reduces cost to enter a hex by 1 if the terrain cost is 3 or more.
Cautious (inf./art. only): Reduces damage this unit takes and causes in fire combat by 25%.
Aggressive (inf./art. only): Increases damage this unit takes and causes in fire combat by 25%.
Tenacious (inf. only): When in a pin-position with another unit, both units are automatically pinned.
Hill Defenders (inf. only): Unit takes 10% fewer casualties and loses 33% less morale loss when defending from fire attacks on heights.
Uphill Charger (inf. only): Unit suffers half the normal penalty for charging enemies located on heights.
Efficient Fire (art. only): Unit may ignore the restriction that artillery units cannot fire after moving more than 4 hexes.
Anti-Battery (art. only): Reduces penalty for artillery-vs.-artillery fire attacks from -90% to -70%.

Detailed Battles
- Tweak AI use of charges
- Increased AI aggressiveness under particular situations.
- FIX: Weather report/damage bug
- FIX: Save game bug for casualty levels.
- AI now varies aggression level and "frenzies" to attack more aggressively
- Tweaked other AI attack calculations
- FIX: Targets now do not return fire on artillery units firing indirectly.
- FIX: Avoid battle bug.
- AI has extra chance to entrench before battles.
- INTERFACE UPDATE: game now shows supply info for units in chit view mode.
- RULE CHANGE: Bonus caissons now show up with reinforcements if any of the following apply:
1) Division has high supply priority
2) Division has Logistical Staff of Great or better and supply priority at least normal
3) Division has Logistical Staff of Superb and supply priority at least low
- RULE CHANGE: Reinforcing troops now are affected by all the morale modifiers of troops that begin the battle in a province.
- FIX: casualty report for weather
- RULE CHANGE: artillery now cannot move within 2 hexes of infantry.
- RULE CHANGE: WTF is now modified by reinforcements.
- INTERFACE UPDATE: For hotseat games, added transition screen between players' turns.

[Graycompany]

Thanks Gil, Sounds like you guys did alot of hard work on this

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: Graycompany

Thanks Gil, Sounds like you guys did alot of hard work on this

Well, yes, though during the final push to finish COG:EE we were more "hardly working," unfortunately.

A ton of credit goes to the testers, of course. They put a lot of time into this patch as well, and made numerous contributions.

[Kingmaker]

HiHi

Yer ditto GC's comments, and Cyber pints to all concerned

All the Best
Peter

[marcbarker]

Gil Did you by chance and I hate asking this sometime back I gave you some Info on the 27th Alabama...Tattered Volunteers....You mention you would update the Bio and give them the coveted Polar Bear ability, Did you?

[tgb]

Thanks, Gil. Just downloaded it and am looking forward to taking it for a spin.

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: barker

Gil Did you by chance and I hate asking this sometime back I gave you some Info on the 27th Alabama...Tattered Volunteers....You mention you would update the Bio and give them the coveted Polar Bear ability, Did you?

The short answer is, yes, that's all in there.

The longer answer is that when I saw this post I went to the file to doublecheck, and didn't see them at the end of the file where new units go, so shocked that I could have left them out I spent 10 minutes going through various files to see how I could have messed this up. Only then did I go to the original thread you started and see that they were in the game from the beginning (LU#53), and that's why they weren't there with the two new LU's, Perry's Saints and Rush's Lancers. (Those new LU's were created by the late Bill Hawthorne, known here as wzh55, in the weeks before he died. I posted them as a mod, but now they're officially in the game. I think we forgot to mention this in the patch documentation.)

[Kielec]

Allright then. Sounds like "soon" remains the word.
 
By the way, Gil, did you just forget to mention the INTERFACE UPDATE: "Zoom" for the detailed battles, or it effectively didn't make it for the patch?

[Gil R.]

The zoom for detailed battles is mentioned. Look again...

[Kielec]

Ah!
Marvelous! It's just that it was mentioned under "strategic level".
 
Cheers! A new campaign, ho!
 

[Gil R.]

Yeah, I noticed that too, though after it was too late.

[Randomizer]

Works like a charm so far.  Thanks to all at WCS.
 
Best Regards

[Oliver Heindorf]

now I know why i need the patch...started with + 6VP - lost a battleand now I am at -4. It was just a battle.....hmmmm