Pilot replacement bug problem

[Gilligan]

Heya guys,

Once again, my opponent DWBradley and I are running into the pilot replacement bug. Our game is currently at 11/'44 using the Tanaka modified campaign scenerio, and updated to version 1.60.

It seems we have run out of slots in the game for new pilots, and as such we can't add pilots to our units. With the help of MichaelM, who was able to clean up the database or something along those lines, we were able to free up some room, but this fix only lasted a short time.

My question, which I hope can be addressed by Matrix, is what can we do about this, and is this a result of our using the Tanaka scenerio as opposed to the stock version? I'd like to start a new game with someone, but not if I know this is going to happen again.

Thanks...hope Matrix is looking into this,

Gilligan

[dwbradley]

Gilligan and I have been discussing various potential solutions to this problem. Most revolve around some voluntary sacrifice of pilots and/or squadrons currently in the game to free up enough pilots to continue. Even if MichaelM can perform the same magic as last time it seems that this would last maybe not as long as the previous fix since Gilligan reports many allied formations will be arriving soon. So we may be looking at some really draconian cuts in our exisitng inventory in order to finish the game.

I have had one idea which, although it seems a bit crazy, might offer a way out. If we could create a new game with all units in the game as they are now then we could make all pilot kill counts zero and the "greatest pilot history table" (I forget the exact title) would be empty. Now in theory we could write down the status of all units and put that into a blank OOB, create a scenario and away we go. We might also eliminate enough "useless" units to make sure we stayed under the 30K? limit. I don't really know how much work this might be but I suspect perhaps maybe weeks or months. The "magic bullet" that could reuce this work would be a utility that would take a current game file and create an OOB. I don't think this exists. Is it possible? How difficult would it be to create? Is there any hope it might someday be created?

I am casting about a bit here but for Gilligan and I to have come this far and not see the end will be a big disappointment.

[scout1]

Hey guys,

A number of people are listing AAR's or other information indicating that their games have reached late war. Is anyone else experiencing the issue of flat out running out of pilot slots. If dead pilots still keep a slot, then I'd bet others have run into this or is it specific to Tanka's Sc ?

[Gilligan]

No idea...I haven't heard of anyone else talking about this, and our posts seem to go unnoticed by Matrix, so beats me.

[DFalcon]

What modifications did Tanaka make to the scenario?

[Belphegor]

ORIGINAL: scout1

Hey guys,

A number of people are listing AAR's or other information indicating that their games have reached late war. Is anyone else experiencing the issue of flat out running out of pilot slots. If dead pilots still keep a slot, then I'd bet others have run into this or is it specific to Tanka's Sc ?

Not in my late game.... 03/44 but maybe not late enough?

[Gilligan]

Ours began sometime soon after that I believe, maybe around 6/44? Possibly a little later even, but as far as changes to the stock go, I don't believe Tanaka is responsible for the problem. He just adjusted some upgrade paths I believe...

[Dereck]

I've reached mid-July 1944 and, as the American player against the AI, I've seen a DRAMATIC decrease in my army pilot pool in just 7 turns from 1492 pilot replacements to only 148.

I received 12 B-29 squadrons and 3 B-24 squadrons with planes but no pilots and they don't seem to be filling up even though I'm leaking pilot replacements dramatically.

I'm rather upset and pissed since I've been playing this game since February and to get this far and suddenly have the game screw me over is really frustrating.

[Gilligan]

Thats understandable..I'd be upset too...wait, I am...my opponent and I have just conducted ops over Luzon that consisted of me flying over 400 transports on a supply run to an base with no cap so he could intercept and knock em silly, and he did the same to me plus fly some kamikazi over ships I covered with CAP ..all so we could kill off some units and get some pilot replacements. Not exactly something we should have to do just to get replacements, but we don't want to abandon the game after nearly a year in.

I really would like to see some response from Matrix. We've posted twice about this in the support forum, without response.

[Dereck]

But I'm not conducting any flight operations worth speaking ... the MOST losses I have had in 10 turns has been 9 operational losses yet I've seen my Army pilot replacement pool drop from 1492 down to 6.

This game takes up so much time that right now it's just not worth what I paid for it and not worth putting any more time into it if it's just going to screw me over like it is.

[DFalcon]

ORIGINAL: Gilligan

...my opponent and I have just conducted ops over Luzon that consisted of me flying over 400 transports on a supply run to an base with no cap so he could intercept and knock em silly

Very resourcefull. Would you also be able to disband units to keep groups at operational levels?

This bug is a show stopper. How many pilots did it take to hit the wall?

[Dereck]

I have this problem in three threads and keep bumping it up but NOBODY other than you seems to even really care.

[DFalcon]

This does not seem to be universal. In the AARs Dude vs Zeta they are well into '45 with out a mention of this. I wonder how your losses and active aircraft compare.

[Dereck]

What type of losses?

[tsimmonds]

I wonder how your losses and active aircraft compare.

I'd bet it is a problem if only losses are high. If they didn't keep the dead guys around for the statistics, this wouldn't be a problem.

[Captain Cruft]

There is an absolute limit of 30,000 on the number of pilots. This is probably causing the problems.

Try emailing support@matrixgames.com for a response. The staff haven't visited this forum in ages.

[Dereck]

I've emailed and PMed Frag, Mogami, Joel Billings, Kid, Erik Rutins and Marc Schwanebeck.

It should be easy to write a stand-alone utility players could run that would clear out the dead pilots from the pilot slots.

This is a problem that every person who plays this game could run up against - especially if you've had a game where you've taken and inflicted heavy air losses.

[Captain Cruft]

OK well good luck.

It's not about how easy it is to fix it - it's taking the decision to do so. Right now WitP seems to be right at the bottom of the priority list.

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

OK well good luck.

It's not about how easy it is to fix it - it's taking the decision to do so. Right now WitP seems to be right at the bottom of the priority list.

There's going to be a lot of games coming to a scratching halt in mid-1944 and later when neither side can get replacement pilots for their planes. I have 16 B-29 squadrons sitting on the ground now and no ability to fly them and any plane/pilot loss I get now is gone forever which is bogus.

People should realize this could affect them eventually too and reconsider investing as much time as this game takes to play when all the time invested could be for nothing.

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: dereck


People should realize this could affect them eventually too and reconsider investing as much time as this game takes to play when all the time invested could be for nothing.

Did you have fun with it up to this point? If the answer is "yes" then I wouldnt say it was "for nothing". Would it piss me off? Sure it would.