Hex of Steel News

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are happy with the recent events overhaul ! :)
It really opens up a new world of possibilities...

Anyway, since I recently finally found a way to open modding to iOS, people on all platforms can now enjoy modded games!

One thing that got back to me a lot (and that I was aware of for a long time) was that mods crashed the game on phones/tablets. I really didn't understand what was going on and decided to... ignore this issue... Until recently, when iOS users got back to me with the same 'mods crashing the game' issue.
This was the drop in the bucket and I decided to do some serious research.
(All this time I was sorta helpless because I am in an Apple environment and the game being only available on Android, I was not able to perform any debugging).

Turns out... This whole time, it was a memory issue. Loading mods taking several GBs of memory.
Now that's good, because I learned what was causing the crash. Only thing that was left was to solve this excessive memory use. TURNS OUT, when loading images into the game, those images remain uncompressed, so they take a LOT of space.

All I had to do all this time was add an extra line of code saying 'downloadedTexture.Compress()' . And voila! By doing this, I cut the RAM usage by 50%.... Now, this is not ideal, but it's a good step in the right direction! And many mods now work on phones/tablets.

For this compression fix to work though, images need to have a specific resolution. Only multiples of 4 can be compressed. Currently, in the game, almost all textures are multiples of 4, at the exception of all round ones (Round counters, all ships, and heroes images).

So, I have resized all textures from the base game to be properly sized (So that the remainder of the resolution divided by 4 never is a decimal: 1024 / 4 = 256) but mods remain largely unchanged.
I am calling all modders to update their mod and make sure the images they are using are all multiple of 4. Without that, there will be no formatting, and excessive memory usage when loading them.

I have updated the modding doc, and the base files that you can use for making mods.

For modders, flags must be 200x100. Tiles must be 2000x2000. Units must be 1024x1024. All counters must also be 1024x1024 EXCEPT for ships or planes (or any round counter), they must be 1260x1260. Heroes must be 212 x 308.
Please, double check your files and update your mods :)

[h3]ADDED:[/h3]

• Engineers for Denmark.
  
• Brand new policies category: Economy! Coming with 5 brand new policies to pick from (Manpower and/or Tech Tree options must be ON).
  
• Save file locking when starting a new scenario. This will prevent anybody to ever open the save in the map editor and edit it. Convenient when you want to play with someone online but don't trust him. Or just to be sure.
  
• Light infantry to Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  
• Parachute logo in the store panel to better show ground units that can go airborne.
  
• Turn production stat in the store.
  
• Friedrich Paulus as a german commander.
  
• Showing the true production value of a tile when destroyed, with normal values in '( )'
  

[h3]CHANGED:[/h3]

• RAM usage when loading mods. Has been reduced by 50%.
  
• AI carriers will now play before AI planes, so that the planes better follow and cover allied carriers, and provide better resupply possibilities.
  
• Mouse cursor from the old ugly one to something more in line with the game's UI.
  
• Unit's name (real one) is now shown in its history panel.
  
• Next human player panel when doing local multiplayer.
  

[h3]FIXED:[/h3]

• Some campaign scenarios' balance.
  
• Shanghai spelling error in Pacific 41 and 42.
  
• Event action 'Spawn unit' could in some cases not execute properly.
  
• Not possible to upgrade units that had a max purchase limit.
  
• Fixed AI freeze instance due to policies changes.
  
• AI never moving its ground units in some instances.
  

WARNING: This update comes with a multiplayer version update. You will only be able to play in multiplayer with other players that have updated to 6.8.0 and onward.

Hello fellow wargamers!

Something that I wanted to do for a long time was to change the way events worked.

I don't know why I had implemented it as I did in the first place, but it clearly was not optimal and not versatile.

With this update, events are more modular than ever! And they will work the way people would think they should work (onTrigger -> doAction(s)).

Events now consists of a trigger, and a list of actions.
You can have an unlimited amount of actions per event.

So far there are only 4 triggers:

• onDateReached
  
• onTurnCountReached
  
• onVPcaptured
  
• onVPsCaptured
  
• onWarDeclared
  
• onAllianceMade
  

An event can only have one trigger at a time.

Actions available are the following:

• Show message
  
• Add money
  
• Add HQ points
  
• Change faction
  
• Declare War
  
• Make peace
  
• Make peace with faction
  
• Make alliance
  
• Set VP ownership
  
• Capitulation
  
• Add unit to reserve
  
• Spawn unit (with custom level).
  
• Destroy tile.
  
• Country change.
  

More actions/triggers will/can be added later... Feel free to suggest some in the comments, I'll read through and eventually implement them if doable/relevant.

Each event also has a customizable percentage of chance to be executed. Setting 50% will mean that when the event should be executed, it will have 50% chance to actually be executed.

Each event can be executed once, or more. Choose how many times you want your event to be triggered!

If you made custom maps and are worried about what will happen with this update, fear not, I have made a automatic conversion tool that will automatically convert old events into new ones.
All you have to do, is open your map in the map editor, and hit save! Events will be converted.

Events from your current playthrough will also be converted upon loading of any save.

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• New event system. Clearer and WAY more modular!
  
• New event actions (Add HQ points, set VP ownership...)
  
• Keyboard shortcut to quickly toggle the map overlay.
  
• Marmon-Herrington MTLS-1GI4 to the Netherlands.
  
• Carro Veloce L3-33F to Italy.
  

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• Prices of buildable tiles (Trenches: 500, Airfields: 750, Factories: 1500, Refineries: 3000).
  
• Balance to Defense of Sicily scenario.
  
• Various stats of various italian ships.
  
• Heavy cruisers will now provide AA cover too.
  
• Destroyers will now retaliate at 50% of their hard damage against enemy subs when attacked by them.
  
• Added policy date check to hide useless policies when playing with certain mods (Ex: Napoleonic Wars, disabled all air related policies).
  
• When copying / pasting a unit in the unit editor, the country will not be discarded anymore.
  
• Arado 440 changed role from Light bomber to Heavy fighter.
  
• Changed price of peacing out countries (more expensive).
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• Corsica and Sardinia should not have been under Italian control in Europe 1944.
  
• AI buying garrisons that were not within the good timeframe.
  
• Missiles (V1s, V2s... or modded ones) would have an encirclement penalty apply to them, which makes no sense.
  
• One freeze instance in the store when trying to toggle ON then toggle OFF the veteran option.
  
• Encirclement modifier was off.
  
• You could not build buildings in unhabitated islands.
  
• Modded heroes not showing up in game (white rectangle instead).
  
• When calculating each player's income, AI was not taking into account occupation, therefore an AI could think it was winning while in reality not really since its mostly occupying a lot of territory and not getting a lot of income from it.
  
• Upgrading/downgrading a unit was not synced during real time multiplayer.
  
• Damage in real time multiplayer were not animated.
  
• XP in real time multiplayer were not animated.
  
• Level up animation was not showed in real time multiplayer.
  
• Now showing accurately the weight of the file being downloaded when loading a map in real time multiplayer.
  
• You could deploy things around engineers in countries you were not allied or at war with.
  

Hello everyone :)

I just came home, and I am already pushing out an update!

Here's the changelog:

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• Europe 44 scenario.
  
• Light inf. 43 for Australia.
  
• Light inf. 43 for New Zealand.
  
• M3 Grant for Great Britain.
  
• Type 3 ka chi for Japan (Amphibious).
  
• Italian commander Giovanni Messe.
  

[h3]CHANGES[/h3]

• You can now deploy units while all units are hidden. No need to keep toggling ON and OFF.
  
• Turkish light infantry graphics.
  
• Improved Overlord 44 balance / realism.
  
• Improved Europe 41 balance.
  
• Improved Europe 42 balance.
  
• Improved Europe 43 balance.
  
• Mods loading code improvements.
  
• Mods can now support any resolution for units / tiles. They will be upscaled automatically to the game’s standards. For example, base game units are 1024x1024, they roughly are 300kb, a 256x256 weighs about 70kb, which is more than 3 times less. This allows you to make lighter mods that should also increase loading speed. Visual difference is minimal. CANCELLED. Converting graphics triggered an auto generation of mipmaps (What are mipmaps?) and as a result all units or tiles or flags from mods looked blurry. Sorry. I have no workaround, I cannot delete them or not generate them, its some low level shit from the engine API.
  
• Encirclement modifier now is a % instead of a fixed value. It used to be -5 to final damage from 2 units and above (per unit). It is now changed to -15% damage per unit from 2 units and above.
  
• Finnish winter damage bonus also gets changed from +5 to +15%.
  
• Hills do not add a fixed +5 to the damage, but a +15% damage.
  
• Recon attack bonus is no longer a fixed 5 damage but a +15% damage.
  
• Landing penalty is no longer a fixed -5 but a -15% damage.
  
• Generals/Commanders do not give fixed damage buff anymore but a percentage. So, the value of their stats is now a percentage instead of a hard value. If a commander has 15 in soft damage, this translates as all units within range of this commander will receive a +15% damage bonus to soft damage. Using percentages is better for balance and for modding. adding a flat +15 to soft damage would completely break the balance and overpower artillery for example.
  
• Many changes and improvements to the damage calculation system.
  
• Updated the manual.
  

[h3]FIXES[/h3]

• Multiplayer not working when joining (PBEM or Real Time).
  
• Random scenarios generation black screen.
  
• Damage breakdown inconsistencies (total not adding up to final damage).
  
• AI not properly buying ships.
  
• AI not properly buying planes.
  
• AI was landing on mountain tiles.
  
• Flags mipmaps were too harsh and I decided to remove them entirely. Flags should now always be crispy even from a distance.
  
• Mod's thumbnails will keep their aspect ratio when seen in game.
  
• Doctrines/Policies panel not resizing automatically (could not pick lower ones).
  
• Air commanders/generals were not buffing air units.
  

Hello there!

Well, well, well... It's already summer, folks! Time flies by so fast!

I hope all of my players are doing well and having a blast playing the game (or any other games, it's totally okay :p).

I've got some exciting news for you all! In celebration of the summer season, I'm thrilled to announce a fantastic -50% discount on Hex of Steel! If you've been eyeing the game but were on a tight budget, now is the perfect opportunity to grab it and dive into an epic gaming experience. And hey, if you're feeling generous and have friends who are interested, why not gift them a copy too?

But wait, there's more! For those who want to get a taste of the action before committing, we've got a FREE demo available with 100% of the content! The only limitation is a 20-turn restriction on all scenarios.

To get your hands on the demo, simply locate the demo button conveniently placed right above the purchase option.

Alright, that's all for today, folks. I wish everyone a delightful and warm (but not scorching hot) holiday season, safe travels, and a friendly reminder to take some time off screens and appreciate the wonders of the real world too. ;)

See you on the battlefield gentlemen!

PS: Little reminder to let you know that the game also is available on iOS and android for the price of a coffee (with whipped cream)

PS2: You can join our discord to chat with interesting people here invitation link

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• New unit editor toggle: IsAmphibious. Units marked as IsAmphibious will be able to cross rivers.
  
• Cavalry to Mongolia.
  
• Ironman system. Achievements will now be unlocked only if the scenario you are playing is ironman compatible. Leaderboard entries will only be uploaded to steam's server if the scenario you are playing is ironman compatible. When placing your mouse over the ironman logo, a tooltip will appear to let you know which settings need to be set to what. Fog Of War must be ON. Complex Supplies must be ON. Infinite ammo and fuel must be OFF. Human income modifier must be 100% or lower. AI income modifier must be 100% or higher. General difficulty must be Normal or higher. No active mods that adds new units or changes base units stats. This ironman system has been added to provide players with an actual common base to compare themselves to others, since with this you are sure others are playing with similar settings. Before this, players could play with infinite ammo, no complex supplies, give themselves 200% income modifier and AI 10% income modifier, and would see their name at the very top of the leaderboard for playing with completely broken rules :)
  
• Many more leaderboards entries (Spanish Civil War, Winter War, Greece 1941, Berlin 1945, Tutorial, Stalingrad 42/43 and more).
  
• Plenty of new achievements (for completing scenarios).
  
• Per player income modifier in singleplayer (will come for multiplayer later, for now the base value used will be 100%).
  
• Possibility to mod tiles' manpower + occupied manpower values.
  
• Possibility to swap units with Allied AI units. Very useful to let's say use a harbour or railroads.
  
• New toggle in the event slot in the map editor: Force apply to humans (Some type of events do not take effects on human controlled countries, such as diplomacy changes). If this toggle is set to ON, the human controlled check will not be made and any diplomacy check will take effect.
  

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• LVT-1 Alligator, T-37, Ka-mi were turned into amphibious tanks. These tanks are now able to move across river tiles.
  
• Reduced min amount of units to be on the battlefield to buy commanders for the AI. Used to be 50, it is now lowered to 20. AI should now purchase commanders on smaller maps.
  
• Reset public steam leaderboard due to introduction of new ironman system. Should be the last time since now all players are forced to play with identical settings to upload their records on maps :)
  
• Editing a save from the map editor will disable ironman mode for the edited save.
  
• AI minimum amount of money to send to allies set to 50. Looked a bit dumb to see the AI send you 6 money....
  
• Many many achievements have been renamed.
  
• AI will now properly buy more AA if he is losing the war and cannot gain air superiority.
  
• Difficulty doesn't adjust income anymore, since you have per player income modifiers now. It will only influence what units the AI is purchasing.
  
• AI majors will no longer buy outdated units. No more Pak36 or Bf 109 E on the frontline in 1945 :)
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• AI commanders cost didn't cost HQ points when playing with Policies setting turned ON.
  
• You could build tiles (Factories, refineries, etc) in somebody else's territory, effectively stealing his territory.
  
• You could open the policy panel in real time multiplayer when it was not your turn to play.
  
• AI would bomb reinforcement tiles, as a result the tile would turn black for a few turns.
  
• Medals for completing a scenario would not unlock unless you were completing the scenario in one sitting. Continuing a scenario through a save would not trigger medal unlock. This fix takes effect only on new scenarios.
  

[h3]REMOVED[/h3]

• Several achievements for campaign scenarios.
  
• Human / AI income modifier from main menu settings. Not needed anymore since we have a brand new per player income modifier system.