Slitherine

We are releasing a new update for Order of Battle, bringing the game to version 7.1.8.

This one mostly consists of bug fixes, you can read the full changelog below.

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Changelog
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v7.1.8 – May 14, 2019

• Fixed PBEM creation of MiscData in certain situations.
• Added safety checks to better catch many other PBEM errors.
• Ambient sounds volume loads correctly from Options slider.
• Mines unit plates update accordingly from the first turn.
• Improvements to pathfinding on Seek & Destroy Tasks for AI.
• Fighter CAP on top of ship fixed.
• Faction specialisations appear as intended in custom campaigns.
• Fixed importing Waffen SS core.
• Allied AA providing false support on friendly air attacks fixed.
• Campaign spec tree white errors no longer overlap when switching factions.
• Unreliable trait effect enabled.
• Scrambling specialisation description and effect resolved.
• E-series specialisation date fixed.
• Taiyo class & 7TP jw spelling corrected.
• Other units / scenario data fixes.
• Disabled unit types inactive after reload fixed.
• Exit to menu button not working fixed.
• 2D Map Graphical Artifacts fixed.

Blitzkrieg
• Fixed minor trigger errors from scenarios.

Endsieg
scn Ita_Anzio
• corrected few location names

Panzerkrieg
scn 03_Kharkov_42
• changed Barvenkovo/Balakleya fail triggers
scn 11_Kharkov_43
• removed misplaced deployment hex

Winter War
4_RaateRoad
• Raid Trucks objective validation fixed.
• Captured artillery spawns during capture hex event.
5_Summa
• Conscripts activated on turn 12 exchanged for Engineers for mine clearing duty.
6_ArcticFox
• Capture Tank trigger (under Setup) disabled.
• Objective validation for early mission completion fixed.
• Missing image for constructing an airfield fixed.
8_EastKarelia
• Horse transport added to spawned artillery.
11_TaliIhantala
• Missing image for artillery spawn fixed.

Sandstorm
• Operation Crusader scenario: Fix to supply output so the British would not start
undersupplied.


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Click here for the 7.1.6 changelog: v7.1.6
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thanks

Unreliable trait - has it been repaired? back to an earlier version?

Thanks, but it's the wrong changelog.

The posted above is identical to v7.1.6

GabeKnight wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 2:18 pm

Thanks, but it's the wrong changelog.

The posted above is identical to v7.1.6

There's a "whatsnew.pdf" in the installation folder. I extracted the v7.18 Change History from it and edited the opening post.

kondi754 wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 2:17 pm

Unreliable trait - has it been repaired? back to an earlier version?

Viewing the list that I just posted, you may be in for a pleasant surprise . . .

I'm curious about this part:

Xbox & PS4
• Close from Objective Award reacts to B instead of A
• Yes/No invisible popup from Panzerkrieg campaign fixed
• PS4 trophies creation

There's no (official) beta that I'm aware of, so who is this info meant for? ?

bru888 wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 3:40 pm

kondi754 wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 2:17 pm

Unreliable trait - has it been repaired? back to an earlier version?

Viewing the list that I just posted, you may be in for a pleasant surprise . . .

Yes Bru, I've just tested "new" face of this trait and I'm very happy
It's a pleasant surprise indeed but Spike will be dissatisfied for sure



Below, in my opinion, extremely apt quote from the book "Tank warfare on the Eastern Front"

"The Russo-German War in general, and armoured combat on the Eastern Front in particular, have remained popular subjects in English-language historiography of the Second World War for the past six decades. However, much of what Anglo-American readers know or think they know about armoured warfare on the Eastern Front has been shaped by self-serving memoirs such as Guderian’s Panzer Leader or von Mellenthin’s Panzer Battles, or popular wargames such as SPI’s Panzerblitz (1970) and a new generation of computer wargames. A cult of German tank-worshippers has arisen and its members are now firmly entrenched in their belief that all German tanks (meaning their beloved Tiger and Panther series) were better than any Soviet tanks and that the Red Army’s tank forces only prevailed because of numerical superiority. There is a grain of truth in this argument, which was fostered by German veterans seeking to perpetuate the Third Reich’s propaganda-line that the victory of the Red Army’s ‘barbarian hordes’ was due to mass, not skill. However,the quantity over quality argument ignores a variety of critical factors encompassing the opposing war-fighting doctrines, strategic miscalculations and terrain/weather that significantly influenced the outcome of armoured operations in the East. Key facts, such as the German inability to develop a reliable diesel tank engine while the Soviets had one in production before Operation Barbarossa began, are often just ignored – even though it had a significant impact on the outcome of mechanized operations on the Eastern Front. [...]
Looking across a hexagonal grid super-imposed over a two-dimensional map sheet, cardboard counters or plastic miniatures representing German Panthers or Tigers look so much more impressive than the opposing Soviet T-34s. The German tanks’ strengths – long-range firepower and armoured protection – carry great weight in these kinds of simulations, while their main weaknesses – poor mobility and poor mechanical reliability – are only minor inconveniences, if depicted at all. For example, the oft-repeated canards about the Panther’s ‘teething problems’ at Kursk are fobbed off as a temporary issue, costing a wargamer a few movement points, without realizing that the Panther had persistent mobility issues throughout its career that prevented it from conducting the kind of wide-ranging mobile operations required by German maneuver warfare doctrine. The main strengths of the Soviet T-34 – reliable mobility over vast distances on its own tracks and suitability for mass production – are factors that lie outside most tactical-level simulations. Consequently, two generations of Anglo-American history buffs have been presented with numerous simulations that emphasize the superiority of German tanks and the cannon-fodder nature of Soviet tanks.

Like I mentioned some time ago, it's a priceless treasure this unreliable trait and we should protect him
Thanks to this I can now return to my mods

Kondi, you are absolutely correct and the quoted text is a fine read. But it is important to remember that it was not just German armor that suffered from mechanical unreliability. I believe the KV series tanks and early T-34's should also carry this unreliable trait as detailed numerous times throughout the same source.

Anybody else noticing graphical glitches with this patch? Tracked vehicles are showing their tracks through the model.

prattaa wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 8:35 pm

Kondi, you are absolutely correct and the quoted text is a fine read. But it is important to remember that it was not just German armor that suffered from mechanical unreliability. I believe the KV series tanks and early T-34's should also carry this unreliable trait as detailed numerous times throughout the same source.

Unreliable trait should be extended to other tanks and armored vehicles, totally agree
Not only Tigers and Panthers but also vehicles built on their chassis (Elephant, Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger, Sturmtiger moerser etc), as well as a certain number of Soviet vehicles - certainly all KV models (except maybe KV-85) and vehicles built on their chassis ( SU-152), early production of SU-76 (only SU-76M was a mechanically successful vehicle), when it comes to T-34s, the worst were produced from autumn 1941 to spring 1943. The main drawback was the poor quality of steel used in their production, but the drive system has also often failed in fact.
Therefore, unreliable trait is so important to me because I use it in my mods much more "broadly" than Devs

Anybody else noticing graphical glitches with this patch? Tracked vehicles are showing their tracks through the model.

Terminator and me for sure

http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 72&t=91905

kondi754 wrote: ↑

Tue May 28, 2019 4:53 pm

Yes Bru, I've just tested "new" face of this trait and I'm very happy
It's a pleasant surprise indeed but Spike will be dissatisfied for sure

If you're saying a lot of tanks are going to be reduced to useless junk by the unreliability trait, yes I'm sulking and pouting a little bit because nothing in all my WW2 reading (my bookshelf below) suggests that tanks broke down to such a severe extent as they do in OOB, so I'm beginning to wonder if this is a wargame or 'Scrapyard Challenge''?..
PS- Anyway, I mostly play only my own sensational scenarios, so I can easily avoid putting the unreliable tank types in my creations, and yah-boo to you..

Plus, you can edit the traits column in units.csv and remove all instances of "unreliable." Caveats:

1) Obviously, be careful editing units.csv or else an error may make the game crash. Save the original file someplace as a backup.

2) You need to open units.csv in some program that can handle it properly, display it in columns for easy reading and editing, and save it in the required semicolon-separated format. I was using CSV Easy but recently switched to LibreOffice Calc.

3) Each new version and each patch will overwrite your edited units.csv file with the current official version. That will, for example, restore all of the "unreliable" traits. You need to keep track of your edits so that you can do them again as necessary.

bru888 wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 6:54 pm

Plus, you can edit the traits column in units.csv and remove all instances of "unreliable.".....

WHOA BUBBA!
Tweaking files to suit myself is something I never do because it'd mean my own OOB would no longer be the same as anybody else's, which would make all my stunning tests and screenshots totally meaningless because I wouldn't be singing from the same song sheet as other players.
That's why I prefer to stick with un-modded un-tweaked pure vanilla OOB right down the line..

PoorOldSpike wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 4:38 pm

If you're saying a lot of tanks are going to be reduced to useless junk by the unreliability trait, yes I'm sulking and pouting a little bit because nothing in all my WW2 reading (my bookshelf below) suggests that tanks broke down to such a severe extent as they do in OOB, so I'm beginning to wonder if this is a wargame or 'Scrapyard Challenge''?..
PS- Anyway, I mostly play only my own sensational scenarios, so I can easily avoid putting the unreliable tank types in my creations, and yah-boo to you..

It's a matter of the last 15-20 years, since historians and military theorists began to pay more attention and thoroughly examine the actual level of failure of vehicles and their impact on warfare during World War II. Available reports of armored units are analyzed.
I don't know what books you read but a lot of superficial scraps about World War II has been published, so I'm not surprised that this topic may be new to you
Or maybe you buy and read books only about combat operations, not about equipment problems

I will not agree that the "unreliable" trait causes the tanks to become a pile of scrap. Appropriate and well-thought-out tactics mean that this is only a minor inconvenience

EDIT. I'm sorry, but if someone doesn't need it, he can remove it, but I need it for my mods

kondi754 wrote: ↑

Thu May 30, 2019 8:38 pm

I will not agree that the "unreliable" trait causes the tanks to become a pile of scrap..

Yes, if a tank breaks down in OOB it can always serve as a useful tourist attraction for civilians..


http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ic&t=21910

PS- Luckily only 7 tanks in OOB (7.1.8 ) have the Unreliable trait (if I've analysed the Unit Nav Tool correctly), so we have the choice of simply avoiding playing any scenario with them in it..

The Unreliable stuff:-
Germany= Tiger H and Panther D
USA= Shermans with sandbags
Japan= Type 4 Ke-Nu

(There are no unreliable British or Russian tanks in OOB)

Shermans with unreliable trait? Huh?

prattaa wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 01, 2019 1:17 am

Shermans with unreliable trait? Huh?

Yes mate, but only if they're carrying sandbags as extra frontal armour..-





To clarify the situation, here's OOB's Sherman family (v 7.1.8 )-
The player can allocate or remove sandbags from any of the 8 in the blue box during play.
(note the sandbags graphic on the 4 in the right column)
The 4 in the left column can never be sandbagged.




Below: note this bagged Sherman's speed is 6, and its armour is 18, (plus of course its got the Unreliable trait like all the other the bagged Shers)
To remove bags, click this icon on the left-




Below: now the bags have disappeared and the speed goes up to 8 but the armour drops to 16 (and the Unreliable trait will have gone away).
Click the icon on left to bag up if you want-




As mentioned, the 4 on the left can never be bagged, so their icon box remains empty-

I just ran this test to confirm that sandbags in the game really do bring the Unreliable trait with them.

In this first pic I lined up 3 x unbagged (at top) and 3 x bagged Shermans (at bottom) and gave them an identical move order to the northeast.
(The wire decorations are just reference points for where each tank started)
This is the situation at the end of only turn 1, the unbagged machines are bright and bushy-tailed at efficiency level 10, but one of the slower bagged boys is already showing his unreliability trait by dropping to '8' efficiency even though a shot hasn't been fired-




Below- this is at the end of turn 3 and his efficiency has now dropped to 4, and furthermore his bagged mate at the bottom's efficiency has dropped to 8-



Below:- a closeup of the bagged boys-

"Hey Lieutenant, won't the weight of these sandbags make the tank unreliable and prone to breakdowns?"
"Well high command don't think so or they'd have banned bags wouldn't they?"


http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... orum&f=134