Matrix Games Forums

By the way, tiemanj, "New Folder" is where I keep all my porn, to throw everyone off. [;)]

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

Some of the bombardments were taking forever, even with doing that. Alt tab out and then back in and the combat was resolved and the combat summary up.

I'm not sure on this (haven't explicitly tested it), but I've noticed that when I do this, I [think I] seem to have more "synch bug" issues. If I had to venture a guess than perhaps alt tabbing or selecting a separate window just "skips" to the end of the combat or in some way progresses through the random numbers differently.
Don't take this on any authority what-so-ever. It is just a correlation I think I have noticed. Perhaps some day I'll get around to actually testing it.

I do it literally every turn in every one of my games. It shouldn't impact sync bugs at all. My guess is that your computer just runs through everything much faster because it isn't rendering any of the graphics (even if still visible on the monitor after you switch windows, the game will not visually update until you click back in).

Also, the replay is generated once and then played back to you. What you see as happening in real time, as it were, in the replay has actually already been determined by the game when the Japanese player opens up the turn file and sees the "Saving combat replay" message.

Also also, if this were the case then it would be repeatable as well as different every time. Because a sync bugged replay is the same every time you watch it, the flaw is definitely somewhere in the relationship between the file itself and the Allied player's game client.

Also, the replay is generated once and then played back to you. What you see as happening in real time, as it were, in the replay has actually already been determined by the game when the Japanese player opens up the turn file and sees the "Saving combat replay" message.

I don't think it works this way... if it did, there wouldn't be a sync bug at all. Rather, I think what happens is the game in effect "stores" a list of "random numbers". When it reaches a point in the turn resolution where it needs a "dice roll", it grabs the next random off the list. Since both players have (in theory) the same list, the results come out the same.
If it was simply replayed there would be no synch bug.

Also, if you go to single player mode (or as the Japanese player in PBEM) and repeat the turn resolution (without changing anything), you get the same results. This prevents the Japanese player from simply re-running the "resolution" if he doesn't like the result. He can rerun all he wants, the randoms are pre-determined, so the results won't change.


All that said, simply alt-tabbing or clicking off isn't some kind of guarantee to cause a synch issue. It is quite possible that the game just "speeds up" due to not rendering. My guess (and it is just a guess) is / was based purely on the differences in turn replay mechanics between single player and PBEM and statements from JWE about the game never being designed for windowed mode - and because of this having some issues. It is certainly a week case... as I said, just a guess.

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

By the way, tiemanj, "New Folder" is where I keep all my porn, to throw everyone off. [;)]

heh, I just checked it and sure enough, a bunch of Gorn porn. Get off my laptop! I guess it is time to update my anti-virus[:)]

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

Also, the replay is generated once and then played back to you. What you see as happening in real time, as it were, in the replay has actually already been determined by the game when the Japanese player opens up the turn file and sees the "Saving combat replay" message.

I don't think it works this way... if it did, there wouldn't be a sync bug at all. Rather, I think what happens is the game in effect "stores" a list of "random numbers". When it reaches a point in the turn resolution where it needs a "dice roll", it grabs the next random off the list. Since both players have (in theory) the same list, the results come out the same.
If it was simply replayed there would be no synch bug.

Also, if you go to single player mode (or as the Japanese player in PBEM) and repeat the turn resolution (without changing anything), you get the same results. This prevents the Japanese player from simply re-running the "resolution" if he doesn't like the result. He can rerun all he wants, the randoms are pre-determined, so the results won't change.


All that said, simply alt-tabbing or clicking off isn't some kind of guarantee to cause a synch issue. It is quite possible that the game just "speeds up" due to not rendering. My guess (and it is just a guess) is / was based purely on the differences in turn replay mechanics between single player and PBEM and statements from JWE about the game never being designed for windowed mode - and because of this having some issues. It is certainly a week case... as I said, just a guess.

No, the replay is saved first thing. I can run a new turn, and the first thing it does is save the replay. I can quit out having only watched 1/10th of the turn or even less, and yet I have a fully functional replay saved in slot 1.

And that replay won't vary -- unless I run the turn in different versions of the game.

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

Also, the replay is generated once and then played back to you. What you see as happening in real time, as it were, in the replay has actually already been determined by the game when the Japanese player opens up the turn file and sees the "Saving combat replay" message.

I don't think it works this way... if it did, there wouldn't be a sync bug at all. Rather, I think what happens is the game in effect "stores" a list of "random numbers". When it reaches a point in the turn resolution where it needs a "dice roll", it grabs the next random off the list. Since both players have (in theory) the same list, the results come out the same.
If it was simply replayed there would be no synch bug.

Also, if you go to single player mode (or as the Japanese player in PBEM) and repeat the turn resolution (without changing anything), you get the same results. This prevents the Japanese player from simply re-running the "resolution" if he doesn't like the result. He can rerun all he wants, the randoms are pre-determined, so the results won't change.


All that said, simply alt-tabbing or clicking off isn't some kind of guarantee to cause a synch issue. It is quite possible that the game just "speeds up" due to not rendering. My guess (and it is just a guess) is / was based purely on the differences in turn replay mechanics between single player and PBEM and statements from JWE about the game never being designed for windowed mode - and because of this having some issues. It is certainly a week case... as I said, just a guess.

You're partially correct, yes. What you're calling "stores" and "random number lists" are called seeds for... well, random number tables.

Lowpe is correct - the replay is saved instantly when the Japanese player loads the turn file. You can close the game and send the replay to your Allied opponent immediately if you wanted to, without having even watched it, and he would have a 100% correct replay (unless a sync bug occurred, but that would have happened or not in any case when the replay was generated).


The reason that you can generate different replay results in single player is because it does not seem to store the random number table's seed number unless you are playing "PvP" - hotseat or PBEM. As the Japanese player, you definitely can reload the turn on the pre-combat autosave and it will generate different results - you just can't change any orders first, so if your poor results are really because you flubbed an order (say, running KB into Pearl) then you're still going to have KB run into Pearl but the actual die rolls will all be different.

As the Allied player, if you load the pre-combat autosave, it allows you to change orders first. I suspect this is an artifact of how they set it up for PBEM, and having both PBEM/hotseat and Vs-computer use the same code for loading saves. I've loaded pre-combat autosaves hundreds of times for both Allies and Japan.

Have to say, even more joy today[:)], instead of finishing the turn I downloaded and got Tracker up and running in windows 10 for both my games.

So, tracker can run on screen two, along with a todo list etc, and the game can run pretty much full sized in a window on the primary screen.

Now, I need to figure out how to take screen shots from the primary monitor only and not both monitors at the same time.

Have to say, it was the easiest Tracker install I ever did.[&o]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe


Now, I need to figure out how to take screen shots from the primary monitor only and not both monitors at the same time.

You ever heard of something called a camera?

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

I realize my computer system is pretty far back in the dark ages, but I have to mention that I am really enjoying playing on two monitors.

I am playing in windowed mode on one monitor; while the second monitor can hold a to do list, calculator, oneNote, cheat sheets, tracker.

Well, I haven't gotten Tracker up and running yet on the newly upgraded beast, probably this weekend. Shouldn't be hard, just get Java on it and run tracker from a USB drive.

I do have to use the keyboard arrow keys to move the in game display to the right though. Easily adapted too.

with regard to not using tracker for a while, it makes running the turn fun for a while as you enter into game screens you don't normally enter with tracker running. Makes for a little different experience.

Two monitors is the way to go. And while I use combat tracker, and WITP tracker, I am not nearly as meticulous. I keep no notes, and use no spreadsheets.

This seems almost necessary to play Japan, and scares me to death!

ORIGINAL: Revthought

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

I realize my computer system is pretty far back in the dark ages, but I have to mention that I am really enjoying playing on two monitors.

I am playing in windowed mode on one monitor; while the second monitor can hold a to do list, calculator, oneNote, cheat sheets, tracker.

Well, I haven't gotten Tracker up and running yet on the newly upgraded beast, probably this weekend. Shouldn't be hard, just get Java on it and run tracker from a USB drive.

I do have to use the keyboard arrow keys to move the in game display to the right though. Easily adapted too.

with regard to not using tracker for a while, it makes running the turn fun for a while as you enter into game screens you don't normally enter with tracker running. Makes for a little different experience.

Two monitors is the way to go. And while I use combat tracker, and WITP tracker, I am not nearly as meticulous. I keep no notes, and use no spreadsheets.

This seems almost necessary to play Japan, and scares me to death!

It's easy with "duallies" [:D]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Now, I need to figure out how to take screen shots from the primary monitor only and not both monitors at the same time.

Most image viewers like xnview, irfanview and probably others can capture screen partially.

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Now, I need to figure out how to take screen shots from the primary monitor only and not both monitors at the same time.

You are running Irfanview aren't you?

Menu: Options/"Capture/Screenshot" brings up this requestor


Also if you press alt-PrintScreen while you are running AE in windows mode, the operating system will capture just the active window to the clipboard where you can paste into a graphics program like Paint or Irfanview. This is how I captured the picture above and I did not need to crop it. This is the same as Capture Area 3 above.

Capture Area 6 looks interesting where you just click on a window to capture it. (ESC to return mouse to normal operation).

Cropping is so extremely easy. I just use my full display (both screens) screenshots and crop down. I have to crop down anyway to get the wasted space out of the window.

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Have to say, even more joy today[:)], instead of finishing the turn I downloaded and got Tracker up and running in windows 10 for both my games.

So, tracker can run on screen two, along with a todo list etc, and the game can run pretty much full sized in a window on the primary screen.

Now, I need to figure out how to take screen shots from the primary monitor only and not both monitors at the same time.

Have to say, it was the easiest Tracker install I ever did.[&o]

alt-printscreen will take a picture of the active window only. So just select the WITP window, than hold "alt" and press print screen. Paste into your favorite image editing program.

Many thanks to you all for your helpful advice.....except for the Gorn, of course![:D]