ORIGINAL: garymc
Did you get my email yesterday?
Nah, but that might be because of my control panel settings.
There is a general forum for HPS games at http://hpssims.com.c7.previewyoursite.com/forums/ though, I admit, it's not hugely busy much of the time.
Ah, the SDC forum. I had checked there for Midway specific game information, but the pickins' were mighty slim. This is a great little game, but there's stuff that happens with aircraft handling that just mystifies me. In particular, my inability to coax aircraft into the air is frustrating. The usual suspects:
1) The Carrier must be headed into the wind - Green Light
2) The Carrier can't be going too fast or too slow - Green Light
3) The Carrier can't be spotting aircraft - Green Light
4) The aircraft themselves have to be spotted and ready - Green Light
Anyway, sometimes it seems like that I have to do a "snake-dance" to get things moving. I try using LAUNCH from the aircraft dialogue, or by selecting the a/c then right clicking on the map, or allowing the aircraft to take off on their own (having been assigned to a mission, Patrol for instance). Some days the magic works, some days it doesn't. [;)]
Anyway, all carriers can only do one deck operation at a time. You can launch, land or spot at any given moment, but not a mixture of them.
I know that you guys researched the heck out of this, but I can swear that I've seen footage of aircraft emerging from below-deck on a hanger-lift while aircraft were taking off in front of it. Obviously, they couldn't use the forward elevator in this situation, but I'd think that the aft or amidships lift could be operational. I also think that I've seen video of the elevators in use while landings were taking place.
As to the docs, those are done by JT himself, but I'll certainly pass that along
This might be a case of y'all being too close to your own work. You're so familiar with the game that much of what you do with the interface is programmed into your neural-pathways! However, many of your customers will find aspects of the game a tangle to negotiate. Above, I mentioned that I sometimes have difficulty getting aircraft into the air. One way that I've found to straighten out a problem operation is to go into the PACKAGE DIALOGUE and DELETE the package (gulp), which brings me to the only pertinent text that I've been able to find pertaining to that interface, page 9 of the Getting Started Help File:
"You can review all the missions, or “packages” you have assigned by clicking the “Packages” button in the Aircraft Dialog and opening up the Package Dialog pictured above.
You gotta admit, Gary, that's a pretty skimpy treatment of that particular interface. [:)]
Anyway, enough with the grousing! The game is a lot of fun. I think that it would be really swell to play online, competitively or Co-op against the AI. I've been playing all afternoon, BTW, with Victory at Sea blaring in the background. I managed to sink the Hiryu in the tutorial, but the Saratoga was also sunk and all her aircraft were lost as well. I'll just have to keep at it.
