Hot Patch Version 02.08.07.02

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Attached is a zipped file that contains the new MWIF.exe: version 02.08.07.02. It also contains the Release Notes shown below.

The reason for this hot patch is to fix the problems described below.

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Release Notes for Version 02.08.07.02
(changes since Hot Patch 02.08.04.00)

All Modes of Play

Air Operations
1. Made some modifications to the code for Air-to-air Combat. No fixes per se, merely tidiness.

2. Removed some questionable code that could potentially end air-to-air combats prematurely.

3. Streamlined the code for processing air-to-air combats so it less convoluted. These changes were to: (1) post-processing using surprise points to avoid a combat, and (2) when the OK Done message is displayed so players can acknowledge that an air-to-air combat is over.

4. Made some more changes to the processing of air-to-air combats. These should have only cosmetic effects on game play.

5. Doubled the offset (from 20 pixels to 40 pixels) of the placement of the prompt in the Air-to-air Combat form to select which unit to receive the effect of a combat die roll. This extends its location beyond the left edge of the Air-to-air Combat so if it is behind the Air-to-air Combat form, at least 40 pixels of it is visible.

6. Fixed a problem with carrier air units placed on carriers during the reinforcement phase arriving disorganized. That no longer happens.

7. Made a small change to the Ground Support processing so the phasing side (i.e., the attacker) can fly fighters their full range during the Fly A subphase, even if they have no bombers flying to the target hex. This is because that subphase is the only opportunity for the attacker to effectively fly ‘CAP’ against the defender’s bombers. Previously, the attacking side was only able to fly fighters as interceptors (at half their range), unless the attacker also had bombers flying to the target hex.

8. Added a check to make sure pure fighters are marked as flying as fighters in naval air combats.

9. Fixed a problem with some carrier air units flying as fighters in a naval air combat being omitted from the air-to-air combat.

Production Planning
10. Added code so there are separate variables for the source factory generating a build point to fulfill a trade agreement and the receiving ‘factory’. Previously one variable was being used for both and it confounded what should have been two variables. This change means that the program finds the first factory (i.e., the northern most factory) which can successfully send a build point to satisfy the trade agreement. Due to this change, the structure of saved game files (GAM) was modified slightly.

11. Made a couple more code changes so the Production Planning form correctly reports the destination of build points sent to fulfill trade. Note that this can be a city (with or without a factory) or a major port. The program finds the closest viable destination, preferring rail routes to overseas routes. As before, the capital of the major power receiving the build point is preferred (since it can store and use an unlimited number of build points).

12. Removed some double counting in the Production Planning form’s summary page. This was a newly introduced cosmetic error.

13. Modified the description of how resources are lost to differentiate between: damaged oil points, oil/production points lost due to strategic bombing, resource/build points lost due to search and seizure, saved build points unavailable due to limits on how many can be removed from a hex in 1 turn, trade resource/build points lost due to no path, resources lost due to enemy Zone of Control, and resources lost due to the presence of enemy partisans. Previously, these had all been described simply as ‘lost’. One example of how this change affects the Production Planning summary layout, is that resources lost due to the presence of partisans are combined with those lost to enemy zones of control in the summary value for “Lost to EZOC”.

Supply
14. Made a minor change to the Supply Sources and Paths form to avoid a non-fatal error when clicking on the ‘path’ of an OOS supply source.

Vichy
15. Fixed a problem with a fatal error when the possibility of a Vichy French unit defecting existed.

16. Fixed a problem with Allied (non-French) air units [alone in a hex in Occupied France when Vichy is declared] not influencing who controls that hex. Also eliminated any influence by oil points and build points on which major power controls a hex under the same circumstances.

17. Fixed a problem with creating Vichy France where if Free France does not exist (all administration areas went to Vichy) then French air and naval units had been forced to rebase. Instead, they now remain where they are and are processed the same as all other French units being converted to Vichy control.

18. Fixed a problem with the End Phase button not being enabled after returning all French naval units to base during the Return French Units To Base subphase of forming Vichy France.

Other
19. Fixed the problem with the United Kingdom not getting any land units in the Guadalcanal scenario.

20. Modified the View Units form (Ctrl-U) so that if a selected unit is transporting another unit, then the transported unit’s picture is shown to the right of the Unit Data panel. Due to space limitations, only the first transported unit is shown. Which means that if two units are transported by a single ship, then the second one will have to be identified using other means.

21. Corrected the positioning of some of the tables in the Victory form.

Head-to-Head Play

22. Fixed a problem with the United States sometimes being shown as the deciding major power in head-to-head play of Barbarossa.

NetPlay

Air Operations
23. Fixed a problem with using bombers with “No Attack” factors in an air-to-air combat, which had been causing a fatal error.

24. Fixed a problem in Air-to-air Combat where if only one unit was capable of taking a Destroyed or Cleared Through result the program would hang on the Axis computer. At the same time fixed a cosmetic error where the odds for the next combat round were shown for the next two combat rounds instead of for just one.

25. Added another check to avoid an occasional non-fatal error after an air-to-air combat has finished.

26. Added a check to avoid the attacker’s die roll in air-to-air combat from being made a second time.

Land Operations
27. Modified which major power ends the Land Movement phase so it is always the phasing side instead of the Allied player. Usually this makes no difference, but in some cases (e.g., the last Axis move being the overrun of an air unit that is forced to rebase) the program on the Allied computer may not process the end of phase correctly.

28. Fixed a problem with advance after combat forcing naval units to rebase, which are then intercepted and engage in combat. Previously, the program would halt in the Advance After Combat subphase with no units selectable.

Naval Operations
29. Fixed a problem with a second naval combat involving submarines.

30. Added code so bottomed ships are moved to the Construction Pool on all computers.

Other
31. Made sure that when the Allied player changes a die roll, the Axis player is informed about the change. Previously that was only true when the Axis player changed the die roll.

32. Added code so when a player voluntarily deletes a trade agreement, that fact is recorded on the other players’ computers. If there are any old trade agreements between the same two countries, they are also deleted (to correct trade agreements lists in old saved games).

[rkr1958]

"Houston, we have a problem." Or in the parlance of software, we have a major break with this patch. As soon as I ended the naval movement phase (i.e., transition to the naval search) the program "automatically" rolled fro a search in Cape St. Vincent. After that everything froze.

[rkr1958]

game turn. Just end the naval movement phase to encounter the bug.

FYI. When I load "Phasing Combat - Search.GAM" autosave, I don't get the bug. However, I get it, and it's repeatable, when you end the naval movement phase.

[rkr1958]

It gets worse. In the attached game enter search rolls for the South China Sea of 5 for the USN and 2 for the IJN. Two USN CVP fighters disappear and the game doesn't advance when you get to the IJN form to fly their sole CVP as a fighter (which I tried to do) or bomber.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: rkr1958

It gets worse. In the attached game enter search rolls for the South China Sea of 5 for the USN and 2 for the IJN. Two USN CVP fighters disappear and the game doesn't advance when you get to the IJN form to fly their sole CVP as a fighter (which I tried to do) or bomber.

I fixed these. There was a not equal sign that should have been an equal sign.[:-] Signs, sigh.[8|]

See Hot Patch 02.08.07.04.