That is an easy mistake to make. So many times you see a juicy target and fail to fully judge the situation, it is like in chess I constantly see opportunities and have to force myself to calm down and look over the full situation. However I do feel if I understand the supply in the new game that it may have been an ok trade off compared to the first game. One other question, I see some of the stacks have those green markers indicating the number of units in the stack and some do not and in some screen no stacks have this displayed, am I wrong in what these markers indicate? The lines down the bottom of the icon are the bullets if i recall. Thanks for the info, and the hard lessons that I will remember. Also Great Site!!!!! Can't wait for the game!

Hi Ken.. you win the prize for the first person to post on the new site :) Woo hoo..

There is a dot for each unit in each stack. 4 dots means 4 units in the stack. The colour of the dot tells you what state the unit is in.. ranging from green to red.. Look under the Articles Link and then go to the Bullets and Supply article.. it explains in detail what each of the colours of the dots means.

The reason some of units and stacks in a few of the screen shots above dont have dots is because I grabbed some of the shots from the "replay" function, and they dont show up when the replay is running.

Not too sure what the lines down the bottom of the units represent.. its not bullets though.. I think it unit size, Reg, Bat.. etc.. will look it up in the manual and get back to you..

Hopefully the prize is an immediate copy of the game :) . I am just now going through all the articles and reading up on it (much better reading than the sunday paper with all the depressing news). Have you had a chance to mess around with the AI/Scenario editor at all? I am betting it is as engrossing as the game if not moreso. Thanks for the replys!!

One of the new features in the game that I am very proud of is the ability to hit the 'combat advisor' button and find out where all the possible combats are on the map nad what odds you can get against them. It is a bit like a puzzle. I have a combat that I have bought all my force to bear and get a satisfying 7-1. I then use the combat advisor which tells me that I can get 8-1 against it. It then means a hunt for the combat unit or artillery that can make up the extra numbers.

Playing an email game you can opt for a 'combat advisior off' option. I know someone who used this recently in a test game only to find that the other player refused to play. Such is the power of knowing who you can attack.....

Roger

That sounds like a feature that is very helpful but can be to powerful (maybe). I can see it being used as a handicap for a less experienced players, is it something that one player can have on and the other not? I find that exact point, weighing the benefits of attacking with full odds or two separate attacks at lower odds a great part of the enjoyment. All that being said, having that feature is another fine addition,and having the odds onscreen bring another level of strategy and thought to the game without the manual calculations in my head. I can hear some crusty Grognard, saying "then it is not a real wargame without all the manual odds calculation" >:[

" I can hear some crusty Grognard, saying "then it is not a real wargame without all the manual odds calculation" >:[ "

which I think is the reasoning behind being able to toggle the Advisor off at the start of an email game. Having it side-selectable is an interesting option too, but it is such a powerful tool I would think the disparity between players would need to be quite large to justify one side's usage only.

Mind you, once you are presented with the odds display, you then have to make intelligent decisions based on that information. Now that's the hard part (well, for me :-)

Chris

My partner, Ian, was of the 'never use it' category at the start of development whereas I used it to see engineers being used to hold that critical section of line (those 10-1+ show up really well in rough hexes). At one time a combat came up on top of a supply truck that I thought I could not touch. I clicked on the combat odds symbol which then shows which units and artillery could make the combat... and one supply truck bit the dust. He is now a convert and uses it all the time.

There are many things that can go into making this system more powerful, the top of the list for me would be a powerful security system for email games (half written but will need a lot of testing), a simultaneous turn based network system allowing two internet players to play their turns at the same time, and an improved AI system which will allow players to develop their own AI strategies to a level that would give anyone a great game (perhaps having a ladder for this option), and a new, easy to use, editor as the current on is a bit hard to understand and use.

From my own selfish point of view, I'm rating the order of priority in which I'd like to see these enhancements:

#1. Secure email games - great idea, epecially for those infatuated with fair ladder play. No other game will offer the kind of security planned. I am rating this one first as it will improve game enjoyment of the orginal, published KP scenarios.

#2. Easier to use scenario editor - user made scenarios will enhance the attractiveness of the DBWWII system. The current out of the box editor may be daunting for some (Rob and I intend to publish a how to article..once we know how to..!)

#3. Simultaneous network play - brilliant idea, allowing both players to plan at the same time - this would make network games less time consuming.
Rob and I could set up a little online chat room for swapping IP's and setting up games, no problemo.

#4. Custom AI - this would a fascinating addition to the system, no doubt. I think I would prefer to see the above implemented before this one from a priority point of view though - but then again, I would really like to see them all implemented :-)

Cheers Chris

Ken, as mentioned, the Editor can be a bit tricky to get into - it is a very powerful it is effectively the tool which SSG has used to create the game. So you can imagine how powerfult it is.

But, being so powerful, out of the box its going to be a case of.. 'where do I start'. Roger has said that he intends to rewrite it for the next game in the series (No it doesnt all end with Korsun Pocket - there are more games planned - especially if this one sells well so get all of your mates to buy a copy so that we can secure its future!) to make it a bit more user friendly.

As Chris has mentioned, over the next few weeks we will throw up some articles on how to use the editor. We will also be aiming to support users in the use of it.. and hope to feature many of the user made scenario's on this very site.

I have to mention it, because I got a chuckle out of it.. Roger wites "My partner, Ian, ..". For the record he means his Business partner Ian Trout (the other original half of SSG). Infact Roger is officially on his honeymoon now as we speak - without Ian :)

Sounds very nice regardless of complexity. I look forward to trying it out and hopefully contributing scenarios or being part of a scenario creating team. One other question I have as being a never played by email yet person, what about the current email process of game turns is insecure? I am assuming this means cheating is possible now (like rerunning turns several times and such to get a favorable result)? Also would the future simultaneous play feature you mention be a "wego" system where I input my move and you yours at the same time and then hit the play button and we both watch the turn unfold at the same time,(sorta like Combat Mission games now)? I am trying my best to promote this game to the fullest. I have three copies on order two as presents just to hopefully get my Brother and friend as involved as myself. Need to pratice on newbies before I take on some vets such as yourselves! ;>

At the moment, as I understand it, the email games do not have any security. This means yes, players can reload the game several time to try and get the best result before sendind it on.

Roger is reworking the security to make it better then what it was on TAO2. My understanding is that they didnt want this to be a show stopper to the game being released as it has no real impact upon how the game plays.

Im sure you would agree you would prefer the game to be released sooner so you can get some practise in with the AI prior to taking on human opponents anyway..

I also understand that this is slotted as one of the first things they look at over the next few weeks.. and it will probably be introduced as a minor patch. The 'official' ladder and tournaments that we propose to run wont be ready for a month or two anyway.

The simultaneous play that Roger speaks of is something which he has been toying with since TAO was released years ago. He is very keen to introduce it and has a firm understanding of how it will work in his head. There isnt much more I can say on it at this stage - except that the area's that they want to take this series is an indication that they are serious about the product line and have big plans for it. This isnt a one off..

With both Chris and I being SSG testers, we often get an inside running in terms of what the company are planning in relation to future releases and features.

And I can assure you.. you will hear it first on this website - both from us and SSG directly. So stay turned.. we have some big announcements and some 'teasers' to throw your way over the next few weeks and months..

Teasers are good :) , very good! You are right, the game can't come soon enough for me! How is your game with the other tester coming along, did the blunder set you back a bit or have you recovered? I am sitting here as I have the day off for Memorial Day here in the US (quietly thanking those who gave their life so we could live and play and enjoy a peaceful life) as well playing TAO and I am thinking of all the battles that I would like to see for the next game and I have not even gotten to play Korsun yet. Maybe North Africa could be next (lots of manuever possible there), or normandy (lots of interesting fixed peice battles there, mortain, falaise, Lorraine,), on the Russian Front I would say kursk but that was a limited opportunity IMO for any true operation manuever from what I have read and learned. Maybe a title that offers some of Mansteins battles that I am just reading about now, in Russia in later '43. I am just starting to read "Zukovs Greatest Defeat" about the battles west of Moscow. Some good operations in that area as the soviets were beginning to adapt and improve. One site note is that the "Remember personal info?" buttons do not remember the information as far as name and address. No problem retyping each time though. Just realized this post is huge, sorry :)

The battle I am having with the Matrix tester is very different to the one I am having against Chris as shown in the Replay. It just shows diverse a game can be.. I have played some where the battles has been very mobile with lots of 'fire fights' and then I have played some where its more like a WWI battle with the front line very static.

Gosh.. in terms of what scenarios you would like to see.. all I can say is be careful of what you wish for :) Kursk? Why settle for one battle.. what about Barbarossa? :)

Sometimes the Remember Personal Info works.. sometimes not.. its part of the engine I am using, its call Moveable Type - its freeware... its really neat software actually.. check it out.

http://www.moveabletype.org

On the combat adviser - does this adjust on the fly as the player plays through a turn? In other words, if I move a unit out of range during my turn so that it is no longer available for a potential attack, does the adviser show the revised maximum odds, or is it frozen at the beginning of a turn?

It's interesting that the combat adviser is really an "attack" adviser. Maybe there should be a "defense" adviser, too. This would show the combat odds that your opponent could obtain against you. Obviously, it could be based only on your current intelligences, which might be limited due to fog of war. Still, it would be useful in helping you to ascertain where the weak points in your line are - and whether you've inadvertently exposed some poor supply truck to overrun!

The combat adviser does update through out your turn to take account of units that have already attacked or moved etc. You have to toggle it off and then back on again for it to update, but yes it will show the new odds as your turn progresses.

When you toggle it on, it will show you the odds for all of your attacks superimposed over the units that you can attack. If you then click on that enemy unit, all of your units that can take part in that attack are highlighted (including ART). Its then a case of moving those units into position.

Though its not always that easy.. the combat adviser is an adviser. It wont move the units for you.. and often it will say you can get X odds and you will start to pull your hair out trying to get the troops into the correct position to pull it off..

The combat adviser is an excellent new feature.. once you have used it there will be no going back. Email games without it really will be interesting..

I have a question for you guys who have extensive experience with PBEM. I see from the AAR that you sometimes go a couple of days without getting a turn completed. What in general when not testing a game is considered normal turn around for a turn, ( I know it can be subjective). Sometimes I cannot get to play or log on for sometimes 3-4 days, before I could get a turn sent off. Other times I could get them out 2-3 a day. ( I am supposing this is not abnormal as everyone has life chores to do also). I am just new to PBEM but would definitely look forward to playing Korsun with some of you guys so I am trying to get a feel for the etiquette of PBEM.

It really varies Ken. Some days I am able to shoot a turn back the same day I get it. The AAR ones take us a bit longer because we have to find the time to do the write up. For example, Chris has just posted his most recent turn in the AAR.. but he actually sent the file on to me a few days ago.

As far as PBEM etiquette goes, normally at the start of the game or when you throw out a post looking for someone to play again you would let them know what you think the turn around times will be. If you know you are going away for a period.. then normally again you would just shoot off an email to the other person putting them on notice that you may not get the next turn back for a week or whatever.

Go to the blitz at http://www.theblitz.org/index.php and have a read around there.. they have previously hosted the TAO2 ladder.

For tournaments and ladder comps, there may be strict rules or settings, for example, turn around times and option settings within the game itself (like historical weather etc..).

If you are playing out of comp though, you do whatever you and your opponent agree upon.

Sometimes its good to play against someone who you know isnt going to have a quick turn around time with their turns (ie over a week between turns). Can be hectic otherwise playing 4 games and trying to get turns out each day or two..

When we get into a position to run tournaments and comps we will provide more details..

They say history repeats itself. As testimony to this.. it was only a few turns later in the same game that I found that I made the same mistake again!

Lucky for the me allied player didnt exploit..