Patch?

[jungelsj_slith]

Patch in time for the weekend? Eh? Do the testers take bribes to "overlook" minor bugs that would normally hold things up? [;)]

[jhdeerslayer]

Looking forward to it as I have not played in a few months due to CTD's. Looks well worth the wait though.

[JudgeDredd]

I'm alos holding out since I discovered the supply bug...so haven't played since then as I didn't want to start anymore until it had been quashed...but I'm good with the wait...as long as it's fixed, it's cool with me.

[MarkShot]

Cowards!

Well, it's a quiet Sunday afternoon and I am off play the beta. Bugs don't scare me. If anything, they are quite useful. For example:

Eddy: Mark, did you play that scenario yet? Did you find it hard?

Mark: Hard, not really. I would have easily won too, but the game CTDed.

Who was is that said "software bugs are the last refuge of a scoundrel"?

[Arjuna]

We made excellent progress this last week. Finally got the strategic AI aggression level working much better when a side is on the offensive. All known bugs have been accounted for. Hopefully our testers will finish the last bit of testing this weekend. I hope to then get Matrix to build the installer for the patch. We'll then test this to make sure it all works and a few days later it will be ready. So hopefully at the end of next week or early the week after you will be able to download it.
 
Thanks for your patience. I reckon the wait will be worth it. [:)]

[AlexB]

Thanks for the update. Good luck with the final stretch...

[Arjuna]

Testing today revealed a bug with the rescheduling code when attacking as part of an exit. Effectively it wasn't bringing forward the sequential tasks in the attack plan and hence they units were often waiting inordinately. This explains in part why in scenarios where the Germans have to exit they appear to take forever to push their way forward. In part it was due to other issues which we have fixed in the last few weeks.

This one is now fixed and I have uploaded new app for testing over the weekend. Hopefully that's it.

I certainly had an exciting time testing this in the First Clean Break scenario. The Germans really tear down the highway now mounting attack after attack. Here is a screen shot with around 10 hours to go.

[Arjuna]

I thought the Germans were going to shoe it in but was pleasantly surprised to see the Brits Ranger Bn mount a counterattack that stalled the Germans just 2kms short of the exit. The Germans eventually threw them back and forced their way to the exit. But they had only time to exit two units before the final bell sounded and it ended up a draw.

[Arjuna]

Anyway its very late here ( 0120hrs Sat ). I'm looking forward to a rest this weekend while the beta testers give it a bash. Hopefully we can work up and test the installer early next week and release it shortly after.

[MarkShot]

Dave has really outdone himself again.

I've been testing the latest build all afternoon/evening. So far, I have sucessfully blown 4 for 6 bridges (which I think is an excellent batting average), used every tip from my Mini-Guide and some tips yet to be published, and the Germans just keep coming! I have a single bridge left to blow on the East and West approaches and after that my back will be to the wall!

Wow! This is intense.

[Arjuna]

Hey, hey, hey! The changes to the AI hit pay dirt this week. Here's an excerp from MarkShot's feedback earlier today on our Dev forum. He was testing the Elasson Rearguard scenario.

I must say that this is the hardest fight I have had since starting to test COTA. I am really impressed.

The battle started out pretty slow North of Elasson and the Germans did not seem to be doing too much other than putting more orders in to ATTACK than MOVE compared to previous builds. But once the Germans got across the Elasson divide, they have been pushing hard and heavy along two different axis and also doing some open field maneuving too. Truly what the AI does best ... find a crack, exploit it, and then drive a wedge through it.

What a game!

And Paul who played the First Clean Break scenario had this to say:

If you dont blunt it it will steam roller you now, which is good...All in all though I think it is playing pretty well. Watching it launch attacks to clear the way and then continuing on was good.

So unless anyone finds something serious, ship it I say....BFTB bekons!

And ship it we will endeavour to do. The only obstacle at the moment appears to be the saved games for the tutorials. These may need to be redone, which is a bummer and may delay us a few days. but otherwise, it's full steam ahead. Stay tuned.[:)]

[MarkShot]

I think there is a message to those of us who post in the development forums; start posting in quick sound bites.

[MarkShot]

(There is still less than a day left to play in the scenario.)

A little bit more about the game I was playing. As a matter of honor against the AI, I always play to win. Now, I never seriously expected to see the AI push as hard as it did. But as a matter of caution, I think I ultimately had something like 9 bridges primed to blow and up to now I may have brought down about 6 bridges. I think I have one left to the West which I could still blow. That is no small number. This should give you some idea of just how hard and fast the AI is moving. In the past, simply blowing a couple of bridges was sufficient to really hamper the OPFOR's advance, but not against the AI as it now stands.

[MarkShot]

I will share with you another observation as to the implications of increased OPFOR AI aggressiveness.

In my playing of this scenario, I severely overloaded my senior HQ (playing with MAX order delays) by lots of low-level unit specific orders. After all, this is a delaying style scenario over a large map with a very thin force. Of course, this increases order delays across the board. My rough estimate from observation is that I am paying a 25-35% penalty on order delays.

Now, I fully knew that going in constructing my plans. However, from my perspective, I figured I can afford the penalty if such fine control allows me to make all the right moves.

For the most part, I think I have been making all the right moves. I've blown about 70% of the bridges between me and the enemy. Aside from bringing down bridges right and left, I have used closed terrain and reverse slope dug-in positions as a force multiplier backed up by heavy arty barrages.

In any case, the AI's increased propensity to push and attack has put it inside my decision cycle. Every right move I made did slow it down, but never excessively delayed or halted its eventual advance. So far, twice for two separate arty fire bases East and West (in the rear area), the enemy lead elements have come into direct fire range and exchanged fire with my guns as they headed South to new fire bases further back. Additionally, a significant amount of my starting force is now stranded behind the enemy's advance with no chance of being withdrawn. This was due to both the speed of the enemy's advance and my own rapid demolition of bridges.

Bottom Line: Good players will need to watch their order delays and command load. Making the right decisions won't be enough to compensate for too much low level commanding. The AI >>> WILL <<< get inside your decision cycle. For average and poor players, I would not even think about overloading my HQ through excessive micromanagement. The AI will eat your lunch.

[MarkShot]

ORIGINAL: MarkShot
The AI will eat your lunch.

How's that Dave? I am learning how to speak in sound bites. I expect tomorrow to see running across the Matrix Forum Ticker:

"MarkShot - The COTA AI ... will eat your lunch. Full story at the top of the hour."

[Arjuna]

I don't know Mark. Give the man an inch he want to take a mile! [;)]

[TheHellPatrol]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

The only obstacle at the moment appears to be the saved games for the tutorials. These may need to be redone, which is a bummer and may delay us a few days. but otherwise, it's full steam ahead. Stay tuned.[:)]

Hmmm, from the sound of it (the ai) it might be wise to replay the tutorials again[;)]. Full steam ahead[:D]

[Arjuna]

Hi all,
&nbsp;
Good progress. All issues addressed. Final candidate build underway. It will go out later today. Hopefully in a few days time we can sign off on the patch. Thank you all for your patience.
&nbsp;
BTW the AI rocks!

[Arjuna]

Here is a list of the changes/fixes:

• TT3000 - AI - Arty - Ensure mot arty units can fire into woods
• TT3105 - AI - AtStartPers Bug - Ensure bossTask and plan version's match before setting AtStartPersQty of bossTask
• TT3066 - AI - Attacks - AssessForNoEnemy - Increase threat range
• TT3069 - AI - Attacks - Don't call AssessForNoEnemy if poor visibility
• TT1889 - AI - Attacks - Modify TaskAttack::AssessForNoEnemyAtObjective to use assault route
• TT2947 - AI - Bases - Should go through on-map-boss if organic boss off map
• TT3047 - AI - Check out possible bug in In-situ orders
• TT3022 - AI - CTD - Check out JudgeDredd's saved game
• TT2980 - AI - CTD - From Deerslayer in Pindos Historical Campaign
• TT3026 - AI - CTD from Bil
• TT3056 - AI - Cull Objectives - Add IsAchieved component to DetermineCullingPriorities()
• TT3054 - AI - Cull Objectives - Ensure Threat Range Set Correctly
• TT3053 - AI - Cull Objectives - Fix Bug in Sort Routine
• TT3055 - AI - Cull Objectives - Reduce APer value to 20 inside kDefaultEnemyCombatValues
• TT3102 - AI - Delay - Ensure waypoints maintained when recalcing route after failure truncating delay route
• TT3098 - AI - Delay - Single Force - RecalcDelayRoute if Initially invalid
• TT1635 - AI - Enemy Intel - Retain reports of stationary forces
• TT2968 - AI - Ensure arty units rest in-situ when Rest After Bombard option checked.
• TT3057 - AI - Ensure Intel initialised on StartSavedGame
• TT2674 - AI - Ensure para units reorg on arrival by para drop
• TT3061 - AI - Exit VCs - Ensure points awarded only while active ( between HHour and End )
• TT3037 - AI - Fix bug inside InitializeDocument() when opening saved game and unit exits immediately
• TT3113 - AI - Force Allocation - Don't allocate uniots that cannot reach the objective in time
• TT3068 - AI - Force Allocation - Ensure onMapBoss allocated correctly depending on posture
• TT3059 - AI - Force Allocation - Ensure SourceSubject Base is isolated and allocated correctly
• TT3030 - AI - Force Allocation - Prevent transfer of Bases in Penultimate Pass
• TT3119 - AI - ForceAllocation - Change MoveSuitability to modifier on RangeSuitability
• TT3088 - AI - GetEnemyConcentrations() - Exclude those close to other nearby objectives
• TT3038 - AI - GetGTI() - Prevent selection of locs across rivers where inappropriate - prevent infinite recursions
• TT3092 - AI - Halting - Why do units at their objective display Halting messages?
• TT3043 - AI - Increase AI Aggression - Increased prob of initiating attacks and decreased prob of pullback
• TT3013 - AI - Increase initial reorg times for German Bad Para Drops
• TT3096 - AI - Intel Reports - Age those created in SM from forces that never appear on map
• TT3089 - AI - Make Strategic AI more aggressive
• TT3087 - AI - MoraleCheck - Fix bug with AirStrikeModifier
• TT3049 - AI - Mxd Mode Movt - InSitu Attack - Ensure FUP adjusted where impassable to FG
• TT2985 - AI - No Basics being delivered - From Goodguy ( Gunnar )
• TT3067 - AI - Reaction Code - Ensure threats sorted by range and ensure long ranged units stand-off
• TT3064 - AI - Recording - ScenRealForce Line 11628 - Refine FPAssert
• TT3065 - AI - Recording - Task Doctrine Line 7450 - Refine FPAssert
• TT3120 - AI - Rest Task - Resolve SPS line 4989 assert
• TT2972 - AI - Resupply - Determine why transport column reports losses but no trucks actually lost
• TT3035 - AI - Resupply - Fix Assert in SupplyArrivalEvent at line 110
• TT3003 - AI - Resupply - Fix calc of unit vehicle level
• TT3029 - AI - Resupply - Prevent recursion inside GetCurrentSupplyBase()
• TT2804 - AI - Resupply - Review Tanks at Platamon - why no requests
• TT2615 - AI - Resupply - Why no Emergency Request for out of ammo arty - see Mark's SG
• TT3097 - AI - ScenPlanScheduling Line 13686 - RemoveDud missionPlans after AbandonMissionPlan
• TT3084 - AI - ScenPlanScheduling, 13082 - Fix rounding error
• TT3099 - AI - SetLocation() - Ensure MoveType of Subject used if formationType is inSitu
• TT3039 - AI - Sort Bases - Cater for those with no boss - ie he's dead
• TT3045 - AI - Stalled Move - Check out MarkShot's Saved Game
• TT3106 - AI - SupplyArrivalEvent- Use podDouble to cater for big vehicleCount
• TT3036 - AI - TryToReorg and TryToRest - Ignore if duration of rest/reorg less than 5 mins
• TT3110 - AI - Victory - Ensure VCs that end prior to scenarioEnd get awarded their completion VPs
• TT3048 - AI - Victory Points - Fix bug in Exit VPs
• TT3004 - AI- Resupply - DetermineInitialStockRequirements - Ensure attachments for on-mapBoss included
• TT3024 - AutoTest Error - at EstabForce::GetTaskDoctrineType() EstabForce.inl line 215
• TT2986 - CTD - DudSupplyRoute - From CaptSkillet et al
• TT2988 - CTD - From Goodwood
• TT2989 - CTD - From Martin Krejcirik
• TT2984 - CTD - From Matt Schwartzstein ( Crimguy ) - FOG scenario
• TT2987 - CTD - From Simon Elwin
• TT2982 - CTD - TAP - From Bill Cations
• TT3044 - Estab - Change symbol colour of Au/NZ bases to white
• TT3008 - Estab - Conversion to recount Ammo
• TT3062 - Estabs - Add Bicycle version of It Bers Bn HQ
• TT2975 - Estabs - Set sMG34 to Must Deploy to Fire
• TT2956 - Maps - Partial Map Edge Bug - Check out ability of mot units to move through woods on eastern edge
• TT3033 - Maps - Recalc Terrain Tables for all maps
• TT3006 - Maps- Platamon - Check out Road move rates
• TT2964 - MM - Confirm option to rescale ground scale of maps for developers
• TT2333 - MM - Fix bug in display code for MoveTable that ignores "no crossing" setting
• TT2997 - MM - Multi-Layer Select - Should not select hidden layers
• TT3072 - Scenarios - Battle of the Maltese Cross - Review stubborness values for AA units
• TT3020 - Scenarios - Charge of the Centaurs - Review Arrival Loc of Reinforcements
• TT3111 - Scenarios - Elasson Rearguard - Review Allied VCs and Arrival of Bases in all Reinf Schedules
• TT3082 - Scenarios - FCAV - Revise Briefing to remove reference to three Gk Regts
• TT3090 - Scenarios - FCAV - Revised objectives
• TT3060 - Scenarios - First Clash at Veve - New version with alternate reinf schedules & revised objectives
• TT3041 - Scenarios - First Clash at Veve - Revise Objectives and Initial Allied Deployments
• TT2949 - Scenarios - Para over Corinth - Add bridge to Bridging Tp
• TT3015 - Scenarios - Para over Corinth - Add in alternate Reinf Schedules
• TT2935 - Scenarios - Para over Corinth - Missing Br Bridge form Bridging Column
• TT3040 - Scenarios - Revised Initial Intel Reports
• TT3028 - Scenarios - Take the Pass - Add 12th Gk Div Base
• TT3042 - Scenarios - Tempe Gorge Crisis - Add Unit History for Au 2/2nd Bn and Cmdr details for Au Bns
• TT3027 - SM - CTD - On Export of Force List
• TT3021 - SM - CTD - On Import Force List
• TT2990 - SM - ForceList Import - Find out why unit supply levels zeroed on import of ForceList
• TT2996 - SM - LOS Tools - Use Standard Daylight Good Visibility Weather rather than Current Weather
• TT2957 - UI - Default Folders - Ensure default for Save As dialog is the Saved Games directory
• TT3011 - UI - Depot Tab - Increase width of text boxes to avoid truncating numbers
• TT2594 - UI - Disable Terrain Popup during Recalcs of MoveTable after Blown Crossings
• TT3046 - UI - Ensure that enemy SEPs cannot be selected.
• TT2860 - UI - Ensure User pref sticks for Reverse Mouse Zoom and for Show Crosses
• TT2991 - UI - Make sure SaveFileLocPref.cfg is not included with the installer
• TT3070 - UI - Reattach Button - Ensure enabled for newly arrived reinforcements
• TT3079 - UI - Retain Settings from Display Toolbar
• TT2916 - UI - Reverse Mouse Zoom Setting not saved
• TT2761 - UI - RunUntil - Rollover with time running till when button depressed
• TT3086 - UI - Save Prefs - Ensure done when Quitting
• TT3114 - UI - Task Data - Ignore InSitu Formation button for mobile Tasks - beep
• TT3100 - UI - Terrain Popup - Abort if no Terrain or Move Tables

[JudgeDredd]

That's some patch content!!
&nbsp;
Looking forward to getting back into this one...I've stayed away since I found the supply bug. Looking forward to it.