New kid on the block asks basic questions

[toawfan]

Any reason why you must completely exit the game after completing your PBEM moves? Your turn is over; you save the file; and the confirmation screen comes up with only one option, a checkmark that closes the game. Any way to change that?

Also, the best part of any game is knowing how your battles were resolved. How come we don't get to see the same screen by screen view in PBEM of battles as we do when we play the PO?

I know there is a sitrep.log and that you can create AARs. But the preview movie of your opponent's turns really has no value for me. I can't see the screen; have no option to zoom; and don't know the battle results.

Is it impossible to some day allow us to see the same battle screen as when we play the PO, battle by battle, as we open the opponent's PBEM moves?

Or, if we must use the sitrep.log for reference, is it impossible to program where you can have the log and the game open and be able to click on a hot link inside the sitrep log file that jumps on the map to the specific hex where you can see the icons and read the log of what happened?

One more thought, if all of the above is too hard to program: Can the sitrep log show more than just the overall outcome of the battle but post the actual number and units lost?

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: toawfan
Any reason why you must completely exit the game after completing your PBEM moves? Your turn is over; you save the file; and the confirmation screen comes up with only one option, a checkmark that closes the game. Any way to change that?

I'd like to hear the answer to that question my own self.

ORIGINAL: toawfan
Also, the best part of any game is knowing how your battles were resolved. How come we don't get to see the same screen by screen view in PBEM of battles as we do when we play the PO?

I'd like to see those as well.

ORIGINAL: toawfan
I know there is a sitrep.log and that you can create AARs. But the preview movie of your opponent's turns really has no value for me. I can't see the screen; have no option to zoom; and don't know the battle results.

All good points. The main value I get from the playback is unit ID ( from the status line as the unit moves), and a general idea where the opponent is moving his forces.

ORIGINAL: toawfan
Is it impossible to some day allow us to see the same battle screen as when we play the PO, battle by battle, as we open the opponent's PBEM moves?
Or, if we must use the sitrep.log for reference, is it impossible to program where you can have the log and the game open and be able to click on a hot link inside the sitrep log file that jumps on the map to the specific hex where you can see the icons and read the log of what happened?

This is an excellent idea. I wonder how hard it would be to do this for TOAW.

ORIGINAL: toawfan
One more thought, if all of the above is too hard to program: Can the sitrep log show more than just the overall outcome of the battle but post the actual number and units lost?

I'm not sure what I changed to caue it but here lately the sitrep_log file DOES contain those numbers. I'm posting an example to show what I mean:

[Oberst_Klink]

ORIGINAL: toawfan
One more thought, if all of the above is too hard to program: Can the sitrep log show more than just the overall outcome of the battle but post the actual number and units lost?

I'm not sure what I changed to caue it but here lately the sitrep_log file DOES contain those numbers. I'm posting an example to show what I mean:

SitRep should show the reulsts (as in Larry's) example, when the detailed combat report is switched on... HOWEEVER, in a PBEM, it only shows YOUR moves and results (of course?!), not the ones of your opponent. You could agree with your opponent, to exchange the SitReps, too. However, you would have to employ a G-2 or, in case you take the German side, an Ic (Feindlage und Abwehr) to analyse all the data and get blue/red grease pencil and a large board to keep track

[toawfan]

My mistake on that one point about the sitrep.log. The latest version I'm using does indeed include those details and that's an important improvement.

[Curtis Lemay]

ORIGINAL: toawfan

Any reason why you must completely exit the game after completing your PBEM moves? Your turn is over; you save the file; and the confirmation screen comes up with only one option, a checkmark that closes the game. Any way to change that?

I'm pretty sure that's necessary for cheat prevention. I don't know the details, though.

Also, the best part of any game is knowing how your battles were resolved. How come we don't get to see the same screen by screen view in PBEM of battles as we do when we play the PO?

?? You must have turned off the detailed combat report option.

[toawfan]

ORIGINAL: Curtis Lemay

ORIGINAL: toawfan

Any reason why you must completely exit the game after completing your PBEM moves? Your turn is over; you save the file; and the confirmation screen comes up with only one option, a checkmark that closes the game. Any way to change that?

I'm pretty sure that's necessary for cheat prevention. I don't know the details, though.

Also, the best part of any game is knowing how your battles were resolved. How come we don't get to see the same screen by screen view in PBEM of battles as we do when we play the PO?

?? You must have turned off the detailed combat report option.

I have detailed combat report on. I'm talking about when you load your opponent's PBEM moves. You can only see the video at the start, which is so tiny, cannot be zoomed, and does not show a battle result screen.

Your only way of knowing what happened is to look at the sitrep.log, which does not show the map or allow you to view the battlefield the same as when you're playing the PO.

[ogar]

I do not know if this helps you or not, but I've gotten into the habit of pulling up the DO NOT SEND END OF TURN ...sal before I load the new PBEM turn -- it gives me a chance to review the map, see if a unit advanced into a hex or not, which ones went into re-org, etc. If I'm really concerned, I'll snapshot a section of the screen and use that for compare and contrast after I've done with playback.

I've always accepted the lack of info as part of Fog of War thing - and yes, sharing text sitreps in PBEM is helpful; but it does keep a lot of the unit IDs, conditions, support, etc. hidden and I think that's the way I would keep it.

I suppose you could try a PBEM with Fog turned off (?!) and see what happens....

[walkra]

Remember that the game should simulate real life combat (usually with little information of what is happening and with little time for analysis). I like how the game is presented in relation to the opponent's movements. (Im sorry my English). Regards.