Matrix Games Forums

Hi everyone...

I have been playing the game for a few days now (i have a lot of free time on my hands right now.. so i have been litereally playing for a few days now...) and I have a somewhat mixed opinion of the game right now...
Overall I would say it is a game with tremendous potential that in my opinion falls sadly short of what it could be.
Some (or all [8D]) of my assessments may be wrong due to my inexperience so feel free to set me straight... but realy felt I hade to get this off my chest...

So... how do I arrive at that conclusion?
Well as for the great potential... the database and the way the weapons and vehicles (for lack of a better word (english is not my first language) planes, ships and bases are all vehicles...) interact with each other were actually the reason why i bought the game.
I am not an expert of how weapon systems work in real life so I will assume that the game's simulation is a rather close representation of what would actually happen.

So for the Cons...
1. Next to ingame help... the tutorials are sort of useful. but i beleive they were made for a different version of the UI

2. there are several problem with the handling of units. for example after I issued a manual RTB-order to one of my planes it was not possible to revert that order. so a fully fueled an fully armed aircraft went back to the base (for a rather lengthy refit) and could not be convinced to do anything else.
another thing would be submarines with diesel engines. I have not found a way to get a sub to use the diesel engine. The only way I could get my sub to use the diesel engine was by having it deplete the battery.

3. Another problem I think is that I can't really find out what a unit is currently doing. If it is not assinged to a mission (because I am trying to micro manage it) it does not really tell me what it is up to. A list of tasks woudl be helpful (in real life a pilot would be able to tell you what he is up to... or there should be some other record of his missions)
Also an option to "divert from current mssion" would be nice. (Example a fighter flying on a course from A to B comes across a target. I would like the fighter to attack the target and then continue on its way)

4. Sometimes I feel that everybody under my command is a complete moron... (this is where i most suspect the fault is with myself rather than the game)
I have been playing the "Canary's Cage"-scenario that came with the game. And I have been losing it due some rather unexplicable (to me at least) behaviours.
REFUELING: When and how do planes refuel? I wanted to assemble a strike against the enemy's ships I therefor assigned my F-18s to a support mission to form up before attacking. Right next to the formup position there were two tankers circling so the F-18s could refuel. They did not... well maybe they did not need to...
So I ordered them on the strike mission. They started towards the enemy's ships and after a few miles turned around with RTB(Bingo)... and completly ignored the tankers. One of them even ran out of fuel on the way back and crashed... (I had checked their doctrine they were set to refuel always)
A manual refuel order would have helped quite a bit...
The other extreme was when I had two different refueling points (for two different patrols). Some of the aircraft would go across the wohle operation area to refuel.
Ans a last one... a bomber going for it's target just turns around to refuel... i would think that it coudl drop the bombs and refuel on the way home.


Well I hope I was making sense...
If anyone could help clear some of these things up a little bit I would be very grateful...

Thank you for your feedback Berti [8D]

First of all, can I ask what version of the game engine you are using?

v. 1.07 build 678
does this answer the question? if not where do i find the required info?

1. Yeah that is my fault. Haven't gotten around to update it to Mission Planner 2.0. Will try to re-write it before the next db update [8D]

2. If there is something that seems to be a bug, please immediately grab the Autosaves, zip them, and upload to the troubleshooting section along with a detailed description on how to reproduce. Make sure you're always using the latest version of the game engine, database and scenario or else the problem may already have been resolved.

We should probably also give sub snorkling/battery/speed/depth logics an overhaul, hopefully for version 1.09. No promises though.

3. Not sure what you had in mind on 'what-I-do-right-now' status. Planes under manual control only do what you tell them to, or? Please elaborate [:)]

And you can manually order units to attack contacts using the F1 hotkey (manual attack). Manual targets have priority over mission targets.

4. You should have tried Harpoon hahahaha [:D] A single F-4 Phantom with a single AIM-9 left will fly 200nm to engage four fresh MiG-29. So in terms of AI intelligence we've come a long way but Im sure there are many things that can be improved. In exactly what situations did the AI not perform as expected?

You can manually order aircraft to tank. Go to the Unit menu or Right-Click on the unit, select Refuel, and select the tanker.

We know there are some tanker issues including the one where a/c sometimes pick the furthermost tanker. Currently, remaining fuel aboard the tanker takes presedence over distance. We'll look into.

Thanks again [8D]

ORIGINAL: bertibott

v. 1.07 build 678
does this answer the question? if not where do i find the required info?

Okay please grab the 1.08 Release Candidate, it fixes a bunch of stuff [8D]

ORIGINAL: bertibott

Hi everyone...

So for the Cons...
1. Next to ingame help... the tutorials are sort of useful. but i beleive they were made for a different version of the UI

Baloogan has actully just started a very helpful tutorial series, I reccomend checking it out. - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 0WR4rzt6tA

2. there are several problem with the handling of units. for example after I issued a manual RTB-order to one of my planes it was not possible to revert that order. so a fully fueled an fully armed aircraft went back to the base (for a rather lengthy refit) and could not be convinced to do anything else.

If you manually issue an RTB order you can press 'U'. They key unassigns units from their missions, including manual RTB.

another thing would be submarines with diesel engines. I have not found a way to get a sub to use the diesel engine. The only way I could get my sub to use the diesel engine was by having it deplete the battery.

This game logic is very tricky and has been the topic of some serious debate, the devs are constantly working on improving the logic here.

3. Another problem I think is that I can't really find out what a unit is currently doing. If it is not assinged to a mission (because I am trying to micro manage it) it does not really tell me what it is up to. A list of tasks woudl be helpful (in real life a pilot would be able to tell you what he is up to... or there should be some other record of his missions)

You can see this in the status section of the menu sidebar on the right of the screen. It will say things like unassigned (no orders), On plotted course, engaged offense/defensive, etc

Also an option to "divert from current mssion" would be nice. (Example a fighter flying on a course from A to B comes across a target. I would like the fighter to attack the target and then continue on its way)

This can be accomplished a couple ways. The first and most easy is to make sure that the "Engage Opportunity Targets" doctrine is set to yes. With that on your units will fire at targets they can hit. The second method uses patrol zones and prosecution zones. Set up a normal patrol and then add a prosecution zone where you want your units to engage.

REFUELING: When and how do planes refuel? I wanted to assemble a strike against the enemy's ships I therefor assigned my F-18s to a support mission to form up before attacking. Right next to the formup position there were two tankers circling so the F-18s could refuel. They did not... well maybe they did not need to...

Refueling is another complex beast. There are numerous doctrine options that can hamper this, and really the best way for any of us to take a look and help you out is for you to upload the scenario you were playing. You'll have to upload it as a .zip. If you do I'll be happy to take a look and see if I can help you further.
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Careful with the 'Engage opportunity targets' setting hehe [:D] It overrides all the 'does it make sense for me to attack this target' logics and the units will go after anything on the map that they can teoretically attack. In the most extreme cases an F-22s will chase down SA-15 SAM units with its 20mm gun!

So yeah you have the ability to override just about anything in the sim. Just be careful what you allow your units to do!

thanks or the quick replies! and the quality of them... i had half expected something along the lines "if you don't know what you're talking about just shut up!"... but then again this is not league of legends...

ORIGINAL: emsoy
Okay please grab the 1.08 Release Candidate, it fixes a bunch of stuff [8D]

how do i do that? I bought the game on steam which is not very helpful...
i checked the manual but that tells me to use buttons that simply are not there (start-menu)

i think i should get the latest version of the game before adressing any of my other issues...

ORIGINAL: bertibott

thanks or the quick replies! and the quality of them... i had half expected something along the lines "if you don't know what you're talking about just shut up!"... but then again this is not league of legends...

ORIGINAL: emsoy
Okay please grab the 1.08 Release Candidate, it fixes a bunch of stuff [8D]

how do i do that? I bought the game on steam which is not very helpful...
i checked the manual but that tells me to use buttons that simply are not there (start-menu)

i think i should get the latest version of the game before adressing any of my other issues...

From here: tm.asp?m=3873653&mpage=4

Just unzip it to your game folder and let it overwrite. In your case game folder if found in your Steam folder (/steamapps etc.).

I am so sorry… But I couldn't help laughing… But these guys gave you good help… I even learned a new trick about refueling.... It must be part of one of the later update but it is very useful be able to pick the tanker you want your aircraft to go to…