Matrix Games Forums

The ability to not just toggle between mercs, but to toggle the camera's focus to the mercs, too, would be nice.  Maybe this is available and I can't find it documented anywhere, but I got really spoiled with it by playing too much Advance Wars (don't laugh--too much, anyway) over the years.  It's kind of frustrating to lose your squad in a grove of trees that doesn't properly disappear despite having treetops off.  I know they're in there somewhere, but there's a battle going on in the sector and I'm wasting all sorts of AP just disentangling the idiots from each other.

ORIGINAL: brak

The ability to not just toggle between mercs, but to toggle the camera's focus to the mercs, too, would be nice.  Maybe this is available and I can't find it documented anywhere, but I got really spoiled with it by playing too much Advance Wars (don't laugh--too much, anyway) over the years.  It's kind of frustrating to lose your squad in a grove of trees that doesn't properly disappear despite having treetops off.  I know they're in there somewhere, but there's a battle going on in the sector and I'm wasting all sorts of AP just disentangling the idiots from each other.

It does focus on a merc when you double click their picture on the left gui. Or did you mean permanent focus/camera follow as they walk? Yea I don't think that's available.

A hotkey to switch the item from your right hand to your left hand (useful for going into hand-to-hand combat) would be very ... handy.

In the manual there is a key chart and it  says "S = move item to other hand / store to inventory"

Thanks. I'll have to test that in the game to see exactly how it works, as the manual is unclear. ("store to inventory"?)

Yea, don't know exactly what it means store to inventory. Probably when you are in the strat screen and if you click on an itm in your backpack it will store it to the common store inventory. I just tested it in the tactical screen and it switches hands just as it says. If one hand is empty and gun is in the other it does as you want.

One thing I just had happen in the game is that my merc could not see the NPC even though he was facing him but the NPC could see my merc so was able to shoot and hit mt merc but I couldn't do the same back. Seems the LOS calculations are lopsided in the enemies favor.

Rationally, if you don't tweak the breath-per-shot cost, the only squad that makes sense has 6 snipers, with 6 sniping riffles, shooting once per turn trying to maximize damage; anything else is rather useless being that you have to dig in once for all - moving is too expensive - to waste hordes of superhuman enemies that can land a shot or nade from half across the map. I, for one, would prefer a bit more diversity.

Then there's a few shortcomings 'reporting' wise: there's no way to look for your character traits, or condition, and most annoyingly, because there's no way to estimate the to-hit chance other than statistically sample (AKA shooting) you're never sure you've made the right positional or logistical choice. A simple to-hit estimation would really go a long way there, like other's noticed already.

Also, you'd think spotting would be settled when you get to make actions, but simply switching among your squad members sometimes reveals some more ennemies. And that ain't right: that's no action (no AP cost) and un-intuitive as possible. Let's say it's a bug (sadly, not the only one regarding spotting).

Now excuse me, i'm going to reroll another campaign, this time with tweaked breath so i can use burst once in a while

ORIGINAL: milkweg

ORIGINAL: Joram

I second everything HS said.

Also, ability to take ingame screenshots.

Use Fraps to take multiple in-game screenshots, you can even make movies and display FPS. This tool should be in every gamers arsenal. It's free but there is also a pay-for version that has more features.

http://www.fraps.com/

Fair enough but I shouldn't have to get a TPA to do what 99% of games already do these days. That's why it's called a "wish list" anyway...

is there a way to see what the Merc's health is out side of the tact screens ?

kind of a pain trying to figure out who needs to do the healing and who needs to be healed out side of battle

(I have been going back in to look and then make changes afterward)

and for those who have not caught it, alot of times when the Mercs are saying silly things, it means that they just got a increase in some skill area (for a old man, Pitbull learns ACC pretty well)

and Really, we got to have the weapons and the ammo linked togeather, don't give us Mercs with weapons that have no ammo on them, or in the store or on the maps

and again, ammo is a dime a dozen, it is the weapons that are needed

(I got a SDV, a M4A1, a M-79, a mini-14, a M-14 (also seen a ensfield) and no ammo anywhere)

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

is there a way to see what the Merc's health is out side of the tact screens ?

Yea, right click the area in the bottom left of the strat screen and all the mercs pop up showing stats (green means they have increased in that stat) and health etc.

ORIGINAL: Joram

Fair enough but I shouldn't have to get a TPA to do what 99% of games already do these days. That's why it's called a "wish list" anyway...

OK, I wish HG would do the dishes for me. I hate washing dishes!

ORIGINAL: milkweg

ORIGINAL: dodger bullet



can we have a realistic version? where one bullet is fatal, and enemies drop what they're equipped with?

If they added that then it would apply to your own Mercs too. That would kill the gameplay.

no. it'll be like JA 1.13 with realistic value of gun damage. not 30 45s to the torso and the guy can still nade you graveyard dead.

ORIGINAL: dodger bullet

ORIGINAL: milkweg

ORIGINAL: dodger bullet



can we have a realistic version? where one bullet is fatal, and enemies drop what they're equipped with?

If they added that then it would apply to your own Mercs too. That would kill the gameplay.

no. it'll be like JA 1.13 with realistic value of gun damage. not 30 45s to the torso and the guy can still nade you graveyard dead.

it's just a wishlist milk. don't be a negative nancy now and add consternation and needless heckling to an otherwise productive thread.

I think what they are asking for, with  realistic value of gun damage, is that a 30-06 to the Chest or Head is not a good thing to have happen to you, I have gotten Arm Kills with a 9mm, and have seen a guy take 3 head shots with a 30-06 and not even be damaged (still has the same damage level as before the hits)

(did have a nice one though, shot at a Officer on the bridge, missed him and hit a guy up on the cliff face, in the leg, and watched him slip and fall off the cliff and then die when he hit the bottom (that was a rifle round)

I got one of my gals taking out the dieing, 3 head shots from point blank range and the dieing guy is still dieing (9mm)

I am getting some nice chest hits, but most are still only doing -2 damage

a pain to be shooting at legs all the time

(not to bore you or to bragg, but this is part of my background, I was the Pit NCO on a Rifle range, I was a expert with a Rifle, a High Expert with a Pistol, was asked to join the Div Rifle Team, did train people to fire Rifles and Pistols (Match and field) in the Corps, we had a 200, 300 , 500, 1000 and 1200 yard line for fireing, some of the guys (and Gals) could put 10 rounds into the bull from 1000 yards with iron sights, and the bull is 6 inch)

(so far, none of these Merks would be allowed to join my team, until they did some training and learned some fireing skills)

I've still got three suggestions to improve the gameplay, now that we have a way to edit the breath, camera and NPC strength issues:

1. I wish we didn't get rifles and assault guns so quickly in the game. I liked how in JA2, you always started out with handguns and then it was a big deal when you found a rifle after a battle. When we(and the enemy) start HG with mac10's and Uzi's, why bother even having handguns for sale? It may be more realistic to have assault rifles from the very beginning, but IMO it cheapens the sense of accomplishment and discovery. Finding a crate of Garands would've been very exciting had the mercs all started out with .38's and Baretta's.

2. The grammar, and the writing in general needs a complete overhaul. The story is not compelling, the translations are horrible and grammatical faux-pas are legion. Also, it is sadly lacking in humor, which IMO is a huge mistake in their design decision.

3. The whole LOS situation need to be improved. It shouldn't cost 3-6 AP's for me to have my merc try to shoot at an enemy with a red target over his head, only to have that merc tell me he can't shoot at that. If he can't shoot at a target, then it shouldn't have a red target over it's head.

I actually think this game has good potential, but it needs some work. There is a lot of good in the game, and the fact that I want to see it get better instead of just dumping it, says a lot.

ORIGINAL: milkweg

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

is there a way to see what the Merc's health is out side of the tact screens ?

Yea, right click the area in the bottom left of the strat screen and all the mercs pop up showing stats (green means they have increased in that stat) and health etc.

am I doing this wrong ? I get the stats, but not the health ?

I would like to see the number of grenades an enemy NPC has be finite.

ORIGINAL: milkweg

Yea, right click the area in the bottom left of the strat screen and all the mercs pop up showing stats (green means they have increased in that stat) and health etc.

Oops, that's wrong. Left click on the stores in the bottom left and it also brings up your mercs so you can see their current health level on the strat screen.

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge


am I doing this wrong ? I get the stats, but not the health ?

Sorry, was going by memory and told you the wrong thing to do. Left click on stores and you see the same info you would see in the tact screen for your mercs. I'm assuming you mean the red health bar, right?