Chronic pilot shortages

[pasternakski]

Okay, maybe I'm dense and missed something somewhere.

Please explain to me the pilot shortages I am seeing in v. 2.10. For example (June 1, 1942, sc. 17), I have a P-40E squadron in Port Moresby, 16 ready aircraft, 8 pilots. B-25 squadron, same place, 14 ready aircraft, 8 pilots. P-39D squadron, same place, 22 ready aircraft, 14 pilots. And so on.

On the other hand, P-400 squadron in Noumea, 16 ready aircraft, 56 PILOTS!!!

When Lexington and Yorktown did the F4F-3 and F4F-4 upgrade switch we have all seen so often, each carrier wound up with only 20 fighter pilots. The TBD squadrons have been short on pilots by 4 to 6 men since the first attack after the beginning of the scenario.

The pilot numbers are not improving with time or with assignment to various types of missions.

As a side matter, the squadrons do not seem to fill out to maximum permissible numbers of aircraft the way they used to, either.

This all seems inconsistent with what I was seeing in v. 2.0, with which I was perfectly happy in terms of pilot allocations and squadron aircraft numbers.

I have not yet had time to try the IJN side to see if the same conditions exist there.

What happened?

[Mike Wood]

Hello...

As you have posted your complaint in more than one thread, but missed the proper venue, the BUGS section, I will respond, here.

You seem very passionate about your complaint. I can here your frustration.

Pilot staffing routines, on version 2.0 and earlier, were not funtioning properly and we received dozens of complaints. We put a considerable amount of time on pilot routines for this patch. We tried to address combat pilot rotation, non-combat pilot rotation, group transfers leaving pilots behind and adequate pilot staffing for all groups.

Neither I, nor any of the play testers can reproduce your problem. I have test played the new patch for several hundred hours, watching pilot staffing carefully, as I played. We added a new phase, the "Pilot Assignment" phase, in which the program checks, at the end of every turn, every aircraft on the map that is operational, and if it has no pilot, adds or creates one. This works correctly, and has 100% effective in all our tests. In addition, as a bullet proofing measure, when a flight is formed, if there is no pilot for a plane, one is generated on the spot.

It would help me out, if you could check the version number shown on the game selection screen. You can also find it under program properties, from the explorer. If the version number is not 2.10, you are playing wrong version.

If that version number is 2.10, then play a turn, with a 3 second message delay, and look for the Pilot Assignment phase message. If this message does not appear, then you may have a corrupted executable. Try downloading again and reinstall the executable.

If you are playing from a saved game, the saved file may be corrupted. Try starting a new game.

If you have tried all the above, please send Ross Moorehouse a copy of your saved game, and I will look at it.

Thanks...

Michael Wood

_________________________________________________

Originally posted by pasternakski
Okay, maybe I'm dense and missed something somewhere...

[pasternakski]

Originally posted by Mike Wood
Hello...

As you have posted your complaint in more than one thread, but missed the proper venue, the BUGS section, I will respond, here.

You seem very passionate about your complaint. I can here your frustration.

Pilot staffing routines, on version 2.0 and earlier, were not funtioning properly and we received dozens of complaints. We put a considerable amount of time on pilot routines for this patch. We tried to address combat pilot rotation, non-combat pilot rotation, group transfers leaving pilots behind and adequate pilot staffing for all groups.

Neither I, nor any of the play testers can reproduce your problem. I have test played the new patch for several hundred hours, watching pilot staffing carefully, as I played. We added a new phase, the "Pilot Assignment" phase, in which the program checks, at the end of every turn, every aircraft on the map that is operational, and if it has no pilot, adds or creates one. This works correctly, and has 100% effective in all our tests. In addition, as a bullet proofing measure, when a flight is formed, if there is no pilot for a plane, one is generated on the spot.

It would help me out, if you could check the version number shown on the game selection screen. You can also find it under program properties, from the explorer. If the version number is not 2.10, you are playing wrong version.

If that version number is 2.10, then play a turn, with a 3 second message delay, and look for the Pilot Assignment phase message. If this message does not appear, then you may have a corrupted executable. Try downloading again and reinstall the executable.

If you are playing from a saved game, the saved file may be corrupted. Try starting a new game.

If you have tried all the above, please send Ross Moorehouse a copy of your saved game, and I will look at it.

Thanks...

Michael Wood

_________________________________________________

This is not a passionate complaint. I was just trying to get your attention. "Bugs" doesn't always do that. My version number is 2.10, as reflected in the game screen. This is a new, not a saved, game.

As you suggest, I will screw around and try to solve the problem for myself, if a solution is available from the way the patch is designed. If not, I suppose I will have to forward a saved game.

By the way, I used True Update to get the patch. Your download page is overloaded again, apparently (I get the "unavailable" screen when trying to use it).

[CapAndGown]

I just want to chime in here to note that the "remote control" plane syndrome is back. It went away with 2.0, but for some reason it has reared its head again. I just transfered some planes from Truk to Rabaul. 2 Irvings made the transfer, but no pilots went with them! (Nice to see that the Japs had perfected drone technology as early as WWII.) Did a piece of code get commented out? Its too bad this problem reappeared after having been sqaushed once.

[pasternakski]

Okay, I have uninstalled, re-installed, Leni Riefenstahled, and Augean Stables stalled. Everything says I have the latest, the greatest, the hippest, and the grooviest.

I'm gonna try to start another game against the AI to test this sucker (after I go back to Spooky's site and get my preferred graphics back). After I got back up on what the screen told me was "v. 2.10," I played a quick turn or two to see if there was any difference. There was none - I'm still short pilots. I get no "pilot assignment phase" message. I started a new sc. 17 game just to see if such a phase was announced. In two quick day turns, it was not.

Remember that I'm the guy who cannot start UV directly after booting up his system (p4 2.0gHz, 512m, WinXP). I have to do a soft reboot (shut down - restart), after which it launches just fine.

I have no idea whether I am in Oz or Kansas. Frankly, Scarlett, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.

Feel free to move this to "bugs," if that's where you prefer seeing it. I'm feeling a little bugged myself.

[Mike Wood]

Hello...

If it seemed to go away in version 2.0, it just didn't happen to you in that version. The problem did not go away in version 2.0. We had a several complaints on this issue using version 2.0. It is a difficult issue, because it seldom happens, and in fact I have never seen it. We have been tried to fix this problem for a while, now. We will continue to work on it.

Thanks...

Michael Wood
__________________________________________________

Originally posted by cap_and_gown
I just want to chime in here to note that the "remote control" plane syndrome is back. It went away with 2.0, but for some reason it has reared its head again. I just transfered some planes from Truk to Rabaul. 2 Irvings made the transfer, but no pilots went with them! (Nice to see that the Japs had perfected drone technology as early as WWII.) Did a piece of code get commented out? Its too bad this problem reappeared after having been sqaushed once.

[Yamamoto]

Pilot spawning works perfectly for me. It even worked in a group which had been reduced down to zero pilots. In the past a group that got down to zero pilots NEVER got replacements (at least for me). This is a big improvement and I'm glad to see it.

Yamamoto

[David Heath]

Hi Pasternakski

I must admit I see the message every turn and I am not having any problems. Something has got to be wrong either with your game or PC system.

Both Mike and myself tried it again and still no problems. We are getting pilots. We are currently at a loss, if someone else reports this or we get a save file that can reproduce this.

David

[fcooke]

David & Mike,

Here's a saved file showing the pilot shortage glitch. The B-17s have never flown and most planes in Oz have never left (except for the p40s). I'm playing as Allies, it's scen 19. Everything else for 2.1 seems to be fine (well, more planes are certainly getting flamed). Don't know if it matters but I was not able to use TrueUpdate to get the patch and grabbed it from DrWho.

Thanks,
Frank

[Wolftrap]

I am currently also having the problem of pilots not being allocated. I don't get the message either. I am running 2.10, have redownloaded and run the executable, have wiped out UV, done a fresh install and patch, all to no avail.

This save game is after a month as the allies with the carriers just sitting in Noumea and several squadrons set to stand down. The only fighting has been one squad of P-40's at PM and the aircraft destroyed on the ground there.

Anyway hope this helps track down the issue.

[Chiteng]

I am sure you have already stated this but is it XP Pro?
I am using XP Pro and other than being a HUGE memory hog
with sometimes bizzare slowdown it runs just fine,
and you have a better system than I do.

[ismo]

I also have similar problems. My 67th FS flying
P-400 Airacobras have 14 planes and 51 pilots.
19th BS with B-26B Marauder have 16 a/c and 8 pilots.
Various squadrons have less pilots than a/c.

[pasternakski]

Originally posted by Chiteng
I am sure you have already stated this but is it XP Pro?
I am using XP Pro and other than being a HUGE memory hog
with sometimes bizzare slowdown it runs just fine,
and you have a better system than I do.

I've got XP "home" version. In a perverse sort of way, I'm glad it's not just me having this problem, because I was afraid I was just being an idiot again.

I have FOR THE THIRD TIME dumped UV, reinstalled up through 2.0, then loaded v. 2.10 from the zipped download file, not through True Update. I fired up a game of sc. 17 as the Allies, and noted on the first turn that all of the pilot numbers exactly matched the numbers of available aircraft, so MAYBE I have somehow, in a semi-mystical, divine intervention way, been able to work around this game-killing glitch. I'll keep ya posted.

If I see the "pilot allocation phase" message at the end of the turn, I'm gonna take some time off to celebrate. I think I'll break out my old C-64 machine and fire up War in the South Pacific, the silly, fatally flawed old game that NEVER LET ME DOWN and NEVER WAS PATCHED.

It occurs to me at this point that I have been scr*wing around with UV for over seven months and am getting tired of everything changing all the time. Can we just stop patching soon, please, and move on???

Don't mind me. It's just my frustration showing through. I'll get over it, probably the same way my game seems to have fixed itself without my knowing how.

sayonara.

UPDATE: Nah, it's still broken. Squadrons short of pilots, no "pilot allocation phase" message, P-400 squadron in Noumea with 50+ pilots, and so on. The thing that really kills you as the Allies in sc. 17 is when the F4F-3s on Lexington go to 36 and you get 36 F4F-4s on Yorktown (or is it the other way around). Anyway, you still only have 20 fighter pilots per carrier. You can "goose" the pilot numbers to 28 by putting your CAP setting to 80 percent (yes, I tried putting them on LRCAP, which would be 100 percent pilot commitment, but that doesn't seem to help), but that's all you get.

[Yamamoto]

Originally posted by pasternakski


It occurs to me at this point that I have been scr*wing around with UV for over seven months and am getting tired of everything changing all the time. Can we just stop patching soon, please, and move on???

You come off sounding very ungrateful for all of the extra time and effort the developers have put into this game. Not only have they been fixing bugs, which I believe is their resonsibility, but they have been ADDING features in almost every patch...many of them features which we have requested.

I'm sorry that you are still having problems with your pilots but it is working fine for most of us.

Yamamoto

[pasternakski]

Originally posted by Yamamoto


You come off sounding very ungrateful for all of the extra time and effort the developers have put into this game. Not only have they been fixing bugs, which I believe is their resonsibility, but they have been ADDING features in almost every patch...many of them features which we have requested.

I'm sorry that you are still having problems with your pilots but it is working fine for most of us.

Yamamoto

So that does what for me and my fifty bucks?

[XPav]

Originally posted by Yamamoto


You come off sounding very ungrateful for all of the extra time and effort the developers have put into this game. Not only have they been fixing bugs, which I believe is their resonsibility, but they have been ADDING features in almost every patch...many of them features which we have requested.

I'm sorry that you are still having problems with your pilots but it is working fine for most of us.

Yamamoto

Pasternaki is well within his rights to complain. Matrix has provided lots of great new features for UV, but that doesn't mean that anyone should turn a blind eye to the things that don't work.

[pasternakski]

Please understand. I am as big a supporter of Matrix/2by3 as anyone else here. My posts reflect this. I have also ignored some of the nickel-and-dime strangeness of UV because it doesn't get in the way of satisfying game play. I congratulate the design team and other staff on producing an innovative, highly satisfying product and supporting it admirably.

V. 2.10, however, is a game-killer for some of us - and I am not the only one who is seeing these problems. You cannot play UV as the Allies when your early two carriers' fighter groups do not fill out to 36 pilots toward the end of May when the F4F-4s become available. You cannot play UV as the Allies when pilots are not being allocated to the fighter and bomber groups you rely on to defend Port Moresby. Because of the lack of pilots, the groups will not fill out to allowable numbers of aircraft, and even the aircraft they contain are undermanned. This absolutely KILLS UV. I have dabbled over on the Japanese side, and it is happening there, too, though not to the same destructive effect in the early game (although pilot shortages in the experienced A6M groups are critical, it doesn't matter as much because the Allied fighter groups are also anemic).

I cannot accept explanations that "we aren't seeing this here" or "there must be something wrong with your game or system." Others have seen exactly the same thing. My computer is less than a year old, is highly capable, tests out perfectly, and does not perform anomalously with any other program. The original game installed perfectly, as have all subsequent patches - except v. 2.10. There has to be a reason that v. 2.10 does not perform for a number of us the way the designers intended.

As a stopgap, I have dumped v. 2.10 and am trying to enjoy v. 2.0, which is not easy with its bloodless air combat resolution. I was really looking forward to the improvements that v. 2.10 promised to make. I was hoping that this would be the "patch to end all patches" so that I could play UV over several AI and PBEM games without everything changing all the time. I fear that too much effort has been expended fixing something that wasn't broken (yeah, it might have been a little bent and dented, but ...).

My seven-plus months playing - and coping with - UV have been, to a degree, frustrating because of the myriad changes that have been made in the game - we've had 1.1, 1.11, 1.2, 1.3. 1.4, 2.0, and now 2.10, after all. I suggest that we catch our breath, refine this last patch so that it is usable by ALL who have supported the game by buying it and trying to contribute to its improvement, and give it a rest.

Finally, let's remember that this is, at bottom, business, not a mutual admiration society. I am extremely happy that Matrix/2by3 exist, that they are producing games that suit my favorite mode of entertainment, and that they are good, dedicated people who care about their product and business reputation. Still, as a consumer, I can only say, as Henry Ford did, "The only satisfaction is in usefulness." Don't Edsel me, guys, please.

With sincere respect,

Pasternakski

[Nikademus]

I have experienced the pilot allocation issue too. The pattern i've experienced revolves around transfering air-groups that contain damaged planes.

When you transfer the group, the pilots all remain with the damaged plane(s) at the original base. Once the plane(s) repair they then either transfer automatically or else you have to re-issue the order to transfer the now repaired plane(s) to the base you sent the others too in which case the pilots will be reunited with their mounts.

I've observed this phenomenum with Catalinas, B-25's and TBD's so far so it does not appear to be restricted to any one plane type, the only common denominator in all my cases was that the airgroup suffering the bug all had damaged planes that could'nt transfer at the time.

[Joe Kemper]

Sorry to say that I am having the same problem with not enough pilots nor am I seeing the pilot assignment phase message.

I have v 2.1 and I am playing new scenarios. I also have the message delay set to 4.5.

The patch item notes mention it occurs at the beginning of each game and the end of each day. It could be that I am receiving the beginning of the game adjustment because there are enough pilots to match the ready aircraft but on subsequent turns I receive planes but no pilots.

Is the pilot assignment phase message supposed to come after the land replacement message?

Thank you.

[Mike Wood]

Hello...

Some people seem to be having this problem, while others are not. We have a few saves and are looking into the issue. We will make a quick patch for those with the problem, as soon as we have it resolved.

Thanks for Your patience...

Michael Wood