Armoured Commander II News

A minor update today with some fixes and additions. As always, please report bugs and crashes in the discussion boards. This update is compatible with saved campaigns from 5.0.0.



ADD: Display of fate points remaining in attack console if player is able to use one
ADD: New French AI units: 105mm L mle 1913, 155mm C mle 1917, 20mm mle 1939 AA, 25mm mle 1938 AA
ADD: Additional detail to modifier list descriptions, possible to wrap description across two lines
ADD: Check for old config file and automatic update to avoid a crash
ADD: Additional historical notes for units
ADD: AI units may pivot but not attack, in order to get a better attack next turn
CNG: Modified enemy spawn odds for Canada's Best campaign slightly
CNG: Modified base Fatigue gain odds slightly
FIX: Bug where crewman birthdays could be set to day 0 of the month
FIX: Bug where campaign day map zones recaptured by enemy forces would have their strength already known to player
FIX: Empty "long_range" field for some 75mm guns in unit definitions
FIX: VP from Hold objectives not being awarded at end of combat day
FIX: Stun checks from saved AP hits not actually applying a Stunned condition to crewmen
FIX: Crewmen can now only manage the ready rack of the gun in their tank location (turret/hull)

After having been in the Alpha branch for a few days, I've uploaded the new 5.0.0 version of the game to the default branch. If you were testing the alpha, please do finish up your campaign and switch back to the default branch (under Betas, select NONE - opt out of all beta programs), since all future minor updates will happen there.

[h2]NOTE - If you were in the middle of a campaign in 4.0.10, your saved campaign will not be compatible with the new 5.0.0 version.[/h2]

If you want to finish your 4.0.10 campaign you will need to do the following:

• open the properties for ArmCom2 (usually a little gear icon)
  
• click the BETAS menu tab
  
• under "Select the beta you would like to opt into", and select the legacy_4.0 branch.
  

Your local copy of the game will be set to 4.0.10, and you can continue your campaign.

As always, please post bug and crash reports to the discussion board. I've enabled additional crash logging in this version, so please do check your bootlog.txt file, located in [your user directory]/ArmCom2 to see if there's any message there that might help me track down the problem.

Also - I've had to update the structure of the configuration settings file, so you may have to reset your game options the first time you play the new version. Your options will be saved from then on.

Full changelog for 5.0.0 follows, with some additions since the intial preview release:



[h2]General[/h2]
ADD: North Africa region and terrain types for Campaign Day map
ADD: "Delete Saved Campaign" command in Load Campaign menu
ADD: Player Tanks for Italian campaign: L3/35, L3 cc, M11/39, M13/40, 105/28 gun for arty support
ADD: British AI units for North Africa: Stuart I, A10 Mk IA CS, 2 pdr Portee
ADD: French AI unit for Battle of France (Germany) campaign: Autocanon de 75mm
ADD: Indication of 'None' for injuries in Crew Menu
ADD: Interpreter exception catching and writing error message to boot log before exit
ADD: Crewmen Grit stat will reduce average length of stay in Field Hospital
CNG: Modified front facing to now be between 330 and 30 degrees
CNG: Crewmen no longer have a 'Normal Position', instead a skill is required to work a commander/gunner/driver position without penalty, and another skill required to gain skills specific to that position
CNG: Greatly increased chance of crewmen being sent to field hospital for Heavy or Serious injuries
CNG: Increased base firepower destruction odds for unarmoured vehicles
CNG: Minor display changes for clarity
FIX: Bug where returning crewmen from Field Hospital could not use their Advance Points
FIX: Crash when trying to change master volume level with sounds off

[h2]Campaigns[/h2]
ADD: Option of playing a campaign of fewer days
ADD: Option of adding a chance in campaign weeks for combat days to take place along coast
ADD: Check to make sure that saved game structure is sane, and display a notification if not
ADD: Check to make sure no repeated dates are added to the combat calendar, which leads to time loops
ADD: Display list of crew positions in right column of tank selection menu
ADD: Display of current progress in the combat calendar (Day x/y)
ADD: Display of Day Ended in main panel
ADD: Player has a chance to swap crew positions after getting a new tank but before fresh crewmen are assigned to empty positions
ADD: Campaign option to ignore rarity factors of units
ADD: New Campaign Skill for early-war Italy: "Audacia"
ADD: 'Natural Leader' skill for Commanders
ADD: 'Cautious Driver' skill for Drivers
ADD: Can tag unit types as 'captured'
ADD: Can set earliest date that enemy unit types can spawn in campaign
ADD: Display of renderer used, automatic disabling of fullscreen if SDL2 or OPENGL2 not in use
CNG: The final day of a refit period is now used for the calendar, in case a tank model only becomes available to the player later in the refit period
CNG: Player tank selections can now be restricted to only after particular dates, in addition to regular unit rarity factor restrictions
CNG: National Skills now called Campaign Skills

[h2]Campaign Day[/h2]
ADD: Maximum number of certain terrain types on CD map can be limited
ADD: Maps in North Africa now have neutrally-controlled zones, only some zones can be captured by either side
ADD: Zone capture VP values in North Africa increased
ADD: Check when generating map that it can be traversed
ADD: Ocean zone type, only spawned when combat day is along the coast
ADD: Chance of being attacked while waiting for resupply, random time required before resupply arrives
ADD: Key command to clear the current default command and hatch status for a crewman
ADD: Chance of landmines present in a map zone
ADD: Pop-up message if player tank was immobilized, ending combat day
ADD: Temperature for day: hot/cold influences crewman fatigue, extreme heat or cold makes weapon and vehicle breakdowns more likely
ADD: Notification of number of HE rounds used during Advancing Fire
ADD: Loading screen before starting a battle on the tactical/scenario map
ADD: Fatigue check on player crew when moving on Campaign Day map
ADD: Crewman can rest, have chance to lose fatigue, if player Waits in place
CNG: Slight change to map generation procedure
CNG: Minor changes to how certain zones on the map are displayed
CNG: Made display of extra ammo in Ammo Load menu more clear
CNG: Reorganized display of crewmen slightly
CNG: Removed Targets of Opportunity, replaced with Objectives
CNG: Depiction of zone control no longer obscures rivers and bridges on hex zone borders
FIX: Bug where enemy strength levels would not be generated after moving to a new map area
FIX: Bug where player location may be set to enemy control after moving to a new map area
FIX: Advancing fire no longer possible if gun is Broken

[h2]Scenario[/h2]
ADD: Unit destruction VP values in North Africa increased
ADD: Target line turned grey if targetting an enemy out of Line of Sight
ADD: New hex depiction for North Africa
ADD: Woods and Hamada firepower effect for HE hits, display in attack console
ADD: Can set a default hatch status and command for crewmen at start of scenarios
ADD: To-Hit bonus when firing Smoke
ADD: Units cannot test to recover from being pinned in the same turn as they took an effective firepower attack
ADD: Player can choose target terrain type when repositioning
ADD: AI units now take into account chances of armour penetration when choosing attacks
ADD: Console display with info about current map zone
ADD: Type of gun used in artillery support attack now displayed to player
ADD: Sound effects for when player pivots tank, rotates turret, landmine explosion
ADD: Additional detail to decriptions of crew commands
ADD: Nickname or common name of unit displayed in unit info console
CNG: Button Up command now Button/Close Up command
CNG: Ground cover and fortified etc. firepower modifiers no longer stack for HE hits
CNG: Hull Down now only effective 95% of the time for hits incoming from same direction as HD, 80% for one sextant to each side
CNG: Targets hit by HE now only have one of the following applied (if any): Fortified, Entrenched, Dug-In, Airburst Effect, Hamada Effect, Deep Snow, Muddy/Snow
CNG: Targets hit by Area Fire now only have one of the following applied (if any): Fortified, Entrenched, Dug-In, or Terrain Modifier
CNG: Concealed enemy units no longer have a sound effect played when moving
CNG: Adjusted RoF chance calculations slightly
CNG: Withdraw command can now be used when 1+ enemies are within 2 hexes, but the more enemies that are still nearby, the greater chance that action will not succeed
CNG: Slightly increase odds of crew injury if CE when tank is hit by a firepower attack
CNG: New procedure for resolving HE hits on unarmoured vehicles
CNG: To-Hit and To-Effect chances can now range from 0.5% to 99.5%
CNG: Critical Hit / Effect not possible if original odds were CNG: Fate point use no longer allowed for AP rolls
CNG: Enemy AI units more likely to attack player if the player has Acquired Target on them
FIX: Smoke hits no longer have possiblity of being critical, and Hull Down save against Smoke ammo is not allowed
FIX: Enemy units being spawned dug-in in terrain where digging-in is not allowed
FIX: Hull Down restriction for firing hull-mounted weapons more precise now
FIX: Operation of AA MG no longer possible while crewman is BU
FIX: To-hit bonuses for Very Long guns at medium and long ranges
FIX: HD can no longer save against Close Combat attacks
FIX: Rare crash when player's selected target was not cleared properly
FIX: Player's moving status not being update properly in Player Info console
FIX: Pivoting now maintains order of unit stacks
FIX: AI units not losing Fortified status after moving

Thanks to everyone who helped test the 5.0.0 Alpha yesterday, unfortunately it was a bit of a rough ride, but I think by today most of the bugs have finally been worked out.

My current plan is to keep working on a few more things relating to the core game engine that would break saved game compatibility, test this alpha a little further, and then move it onto the main branch, while keeping the 4.0.10 branch for players who are finishing up campaigns.

I think that the improvements and changes introduced in 5.0 have been very positive, so rather than waiting for all the new early-war content that I have planned to be added before making it the default branch on Steam, I'll do a major release first, and then proceed to add the rest of the early-war content through a series of minor updates to 5.0. This will include the rest of the Italian campaign plus German and British desert campaigns for 1940 to the end of 1941.

If everything goes to plan then, by the time the 5.x branch is all finished it will cover the main theatres of the early period of the war, and then 6.0 will focus on Eastern Europe from 1941 to about 1943.

The 5.0.0 Alpha 1 build is now live on the alpha branch. To try it out, you may need to first restart Steam, then you will need to open the game properties, click on the "Betas" menu tab, and then under the "select the beta" drop-down menu, select "alpha." No code is necessary, and your game should update to 5.0.0 Alpha 1 right away. (Build: 5098670)

Some important notes: This is a work-in-progress build, so there's still missing elements and rough features, and it's not intended for long campaigns. Future updates probably will break saved game compatibility. The main 4.0.x branch should continue to be used for normal gameplay.

An initial changelog of the work so far follows:



ADD: North Africa region and terrain types for Campaign Day map
ADD: "Delete Saved Campaign" command in Load Campaign menu
ADD: Player Tanks for Italian campaign: L3/35, L3 cc, M11/39, M13/40, 105/28 gun for arty support
ADD: British AI units for North Africa: Stuart I (more to come)
ADD: Indication of 'None' for injuries in Crew Menu
ADD: Interpreter exception catching and writing error message to boot log before exit
ADD: Crewmen Grit stat will reduce average length of stay in Field Hospital
ADD: New National Skill for early-war Italy: "Audacia"
CNG: Modified front facing to now be between 330 and 30 degrees
CNG: Crewmen no longer have a 'Normal Position', instead a skill is required to work a commander/gunner/driver position without penalty, and another skill required to gain skills specific to that position
CNG: Greatly increased chance of crewmen being sent to field hospital for Heavy or Serious injuries
CNG: Increased base firepower destruction odds for unarmoured vehicles
CNG: Minor display changes for clarity



ADD: Option of playing a campaign of fewer days
ADD: Option of adding a chance in campaign weeks for combat days to take place along coast
ADD: Check to make sure that saved game structure is sane, and display a notification if not
ADD: Check to make sure no repeated dates are added to the combat calendar, which leads to time loops
ADD: Display list of crew positions in right column of tank selection menu
ADD: Display of current progress in the combat calendar (Day x/y)
ADD: Display of Day Ended in main panel
ADD: Player has a chance to swap crew positions after getting a new tank but before fresh crewmen are assigned to empty positions
ADD: Campaign option to ignore rarity factors of units



ADD: Maximum number of certain terrain types on CD map can be limited
ADD: Maps in North Africa now have neutrally-controlled zones, only some zones can be captured by either side
ADD: Zone capture VP values in North Africa increased
ADD: Check when generating map that it can be traversed
ADD: Ocean zone type, only spawned when combat day is along the coast
ADD: Chance of being attacked while waiting for resupply, random time required before resupply arrives
ADD: Key command to clear the current default command and hatch status for a crewman
ADD: Chance of landmines present in a map zone
ADD: Pop-up message if player tank was immobilized, ending combat day
ADD: Temperature for day: hot/cold influences crewman fatigue, extreme heat or cold makes weapon and vehicle breakdowns more likely
ADD: Notification of number of HE rounds used during Advancing Fire
ADD: Loading screen before starting a battle on the tactical/scenario map
ADD: Fatigue check on player crew when moving on Campaign Day map
CNG: Slight change to map generation procedure
CNG: Minor changes to how certain zones on the map are displayed
CNG: Made display of extra ammo in Ammo Load menu more clear
CNG: Reorganized display of crewmen slightly
CNG: Removed Targets of Opportunity, replaced with Objectives
FIX: Bug where enemy strength levels would not be generated after moving to a new map area
FIX: Bug where player location may be set to enemy control after moving to a new map area
FIX: Advancing fire no longer possible if gun is Broken



ADD: Unit destruction VP values in North Africa increased
ADD: Target line turned grey if targetting an enemy out of Line of Sight
ADD: New hex depiction for North Africa
ADD: Woods and Hamada firepower effect for HE hits, display in attack console
ADD: Can set a default hatch status and command for crewmen at start of scenarios
ADD: To-Hit bonus when firing Smoke
ADD: Units cannot test to recover from being pinned in the same turn as they took an effective firepower attack
ADD: Player can choose target terrain type when repositioning
ADD: AI units now take into account chances of armour penetration when choosing attacks
ADD: Console display with info about current map zone
ADD: Type of gun used in artillery support attack now displayed to player
ADD: Sound effects for when player pivots tank, rotates turret, landmine explosion
ADD: Additional detail to decriptions of crew commands
ADD: Nickname or common name of unit displayed in unit info console
CNG: Button Up command now Button/Close Up command
CNG: Ground cover and fortified etc. firepower modifiers no longer stack for HE hits
CNG: Hull Down now only effective 95% of the time for hits incoming from same direction as HD, 80% for one sextant to each side
CNG: Targets hit by HE now only have one of the following applied (if any): Fortified, Entrenched, Dug-In, Airburst Effect, Hamada Effect, Deep Snow, Muddy/Snow
CNG: Targets hit by Area Fire now only have one of the following applied (if any): Fortified, Entrenched, Dug-In, or Terrain Modifier
CNG: Concealed enemy units no longer have a sound effect played when moving
CNG: Adjusted RoF chance calculations slightly
CNG: Withdraw command can now be used when 1+ enemies are within 2 hexes, but the more enemies that are still nearby, the greater chance that action will not succeed
CNG: Slightly increase odds of crew injury if CE when tank is hit by a firepower attack
CNG: New procedure for resolving HE hits on unarmoured vehicles
CNG: To-Hit and To-Effect chances can now range from 0.5% to 99.5%
CNG: Critical Hit / Effect not possible if original odds were CNG: Fate point use no longer allowed for AP rolls
CNG: Enemy AI units more likely to attack player if the player has Acquired Target on them
FIX: Smoke hits no longer have possiblity of being critical, and Hull Down save against Smoke ammo is not allowed
FIX: Enemy units being spawned dug-in in terrain where digging-in is not allowed
FIX: Hull Down restriction for firing hull-mounted weapons more precise now
FIX: Operation of AA MG no longer possible while crewman is BU

This Saturday I'm going to upload a preview of the upcoming major update 5.0.0 to an alpha branch. If you enable this branch on Steam, you can try out a very early work-in-progress build for the upcoming major update, which will being lots of changes and improvements, as well the addition of North Africa as a new region for campaigns.

It's still a work in progress, so expect bugs and crashes, and the main new campaign is still unfinished, but it might be interesting to get a sneak peek of upcoming changes to the game.