Patch version 1.02 and 1.02B available again!!

[kool_kat]

Here is the comprehensive list of what players will lose by reverting to a down level and unsupported version 1.02 patch:

----------------------------------------

IMPORTANT!!! -Assault Rule Change
- The new assault routine runs through the casualty processing, then does an odds ratio melee resolution, then does a combined morale test of the defending stack. If the attacker has at least one non-disrupted unit, wins the melee resolution, and the defender fails his morale check, then the attackers win. For assault purpose only, disrupted units have their morale halved.
- Basically, anything the defender can do to increase his morale makes it harder for him to fail the morale test and thus successfully repel the attack The best thing to do when assaulting is ensure you're assaulting with overwhelming force to provide the victory you seek


o West Front – 16 new scenarios
o East Front – 8 new scenarios – Many new Bootcamp scenarios that provide the opportunity to play with the new features, additions.
o All – Day to Night, Night to Day Capability
o All – Varying Visibility Added
o West Front – US Army OOB revisions and mass expansion – 1930 to 1953
o East Front – Soviet OOB revisions and mass expansion – 1930 to 1953
o East Front – German OOB revisions and mass expansion – 1930 to 1953
o Rising Sun – Two new nationalities added
o East Front – Numerous new units for Germans and Soviets.
o West Front – Numerous new units for US Army
o Panzerfaust/Bazooka: These have Assault Values remaining at 1. These are designed to be used differently than the Soviet ATR platoons, they should be rarity on the battlefield.
o Special Forces: This provides a very few select units to remain hidden when shooting. This is a new code primarily for snipers and/or small commando sized units. This will be a rarity.
o Sniper: These have an Assault Value of 1 to prevent automatic overrun by an assaulting unit. They should be rarity on the battlefield.
o Armour Penalty: Armour suffers a 50% penalty (attack and defence) when assaulting villages, towns, suburbs etc. It is best to assault with infantry when capturing towns/cities – which is proper practice anyway!
o Hidden Anti-Tank: This provides small anti-tank guns (57mm – 6pdr or SMALLER) a 50% chance to remain hidden when it fires. This also applies to Bazooka/Panzerfaust/AT Rifles
o Artillery vs. Armour: Artillery now has a 4% chance of disabling armoured vehicles.
o Trucks: Truck Victory Points are now worth 3 per Strength Point. Use them wisely.
o Truck Carry: Only 3 Trucks are required to carry a 6 Strength Point infantry platoon. MG and crew served weapons still require the same amount of trucks per SP to carry. (A 4 Strength Points MG Platoon requires a 4 Strength Points of Trucks)
o Halftrack ***: Designate halftracks with improved firepower. They are worth 6 Victory Points per Strength Point, but fire similar to a normal MG. These are new units, and will only affect new scenarios where they are included.
o Maintenance Units: AKA Recovery Platoon, AKA Werkstat, AKA Dozer. These are units that can REMOVE 2 WRECKS PER TURN. They act similar to Engineers in that respect. You move the unit into a hex with wrecks and leave it there for a turn to start removing wrecks. At this point, these ARE NOT combat units but have some defence, so you will have to secure the area they intend to operate prior to sending them to the frontline. Again, as a new unit, these will only affect new scenarios.
o New Engineer Capabilities
- Bridging Engineers: These are special Engineers that can build medium bridges across hexsides. See Manual Section 5.17.1 for more information.
- Mine Engineers: These are special Engineers that are capable of laying a one strength minefield. See Manual Section 5.17.2 for more information.
- Construction Engineers: These are special Engineers that can build a block and trenches. See Manual Section 5.17.3 & 5.17.4 for more information.
o All – Improved Position to Trench by Construction Engineer Capabilities
o Engineer Trucks: Increased to 6 Victory Points per Strength Point. These are specialty vehicles that can haul pontoon ferries and crewed boats.
o On map Air Attack Capabilities
- Recce: These are ON MAP aircraft that provide some intelligence to the operating commander. They can fly pretty much anywhere, but cannot take points. Again, as a new unit, these will only affect new scenarios.
- Bombers: These are ON MAP flying bombers that have a limited strike function. They can fly to a target on the map, fire at it and since it has run out of ammunition, it will be best to fly off the map. Again, as a new unit, these will only affect new scenarios.
- Anti-Aircraft: Small anti-aircraft guns are now coded to target Recce and Bombers. Obviously, AA has a purpose on the map now as opposed to just being meat grinders.
o Training: There are numerous new infantry types with Green or Veteran designations. This represents the combat effectiveness of the platoon. Green stands for infantry that has been rushed through training and have had no combat experience. All of the Stock Units are classified have no visual designation and are classified as Regular – having infantry training with little or no combat experience. Veteran platoons have had ample combat experience. The differences are in the Assault and Defence numbers as well as the weapon attack numbers. A Veteran unit is more likely to put more shots on target than a Green unit in a combat situation. Again, as a new unit, these will only affect new scenarios – the stock units did not change.
o East Front – Various Graphic BMP improvements
o West Front – Various Graphic BMP improvements
o Rising Sun – Various Graphic BMP improvements
o West Front – Various Unit BMP improvements
o East Front – Various Unit BMP improvements
o East Front – Incorporation of some LADMO graphics
o All – Beginning to implement 24-bit BMP graphics
o East Front – Talonsoft German and Soviet Order of Battles reinstated for DCG’s (Warning: these are stock; user beware)
o East Front – German and Soviet Order of Battles revised for use with DCG’s. This is a work in progress, SS units, etc will be coming with future updates.
o User Mods folder available with various mods that are available to install.
o Save Game Counter (1.03): This counts how many times the game has been saved and reopened, and will display that information in the turn Dialog at the start of a turn for the opponent. This information is installed in the registry of the game so it cannot be tampered with. After TWO saves from player A, the game is supposed to flash a warning to the Player B that the file has had multiple saves. While not perfect, it should help curb some replaying.
o New Encryption (1.03): The other anti-cheating measure is a new encryption system for the platoon files to ensure that everyone is using the same platoon/weapon files. It was a problem in the past, and I recently received an email yet again about it. The new Encryption Tool will not be available to the general public. Instead, there will be a place available on the forums for requesting new unit types or revisions.
o Campaign Save Location: The Campaigns now automatically save, the save game Dialog box no longer appears.


• Fixes
o West Front –Minor Nations not firing - Fixed
o All – Horses firing in a continuous loop – Fixed
o Rising Sun – Cave Bug – Fixed
o All – Campaign Save Game location updated – Fixed
o All – Concealment Values revised – Fixed
o East Front – Dynamic Campaigns – Barbarossa DCG – replacements have been improved from mid 1942 to 1945, with the assumption a player will accept higher commands as the campaign progresses - Fixed
o West Front – Dynamic Campaigns – Many Campaigns have been modified and improved
o East Front – Dynamic Campaigns – General campaign file has been tweaked, hopefully resolving the Congressional Medal of Honour bug – Fixed
o East Front – Soviet 82mm Mortar Graphic Bug – Fixed
o West Front – Org Editor Bugs – Fixed
o East Front – Org Editor Bugs – Fixed
o Rising Sun – Org Editor Bugs – Fixed
o All – Assault Value of Naval Vessels reduced to 0
o All – Vehicle Assaulting village, suburb or city; rules modified.
o All – Assault Rules adjusted


• Manual Additions
o A Complete revision has been done to the Manual.
o MCS BOOTCAMP document available
o Hints and Tips document available
o Assaulting Basics PDF available
o Creating and Modifying a DCG document available
o Scenario Introduction Template document available

----------------------------------------


One of the most important items to note with reverting back to a down level, and unsupported patch... JTCS players will inherit a number of software "bugs" that were fixed in the version 1.03 patch.

Note that several Dynamic Campaigns are negatively impacted by reverting to a down level, and unsupported patch.

IMO, it is very important for players to understand the trade offs and make informed and intelligent decisions on what game patches to run on. [:)]

[Jason Petho]

Locked by request.