Patch 3 is out - Improvements to AI, UI, Multiplayer, Random Maps and more

[AlbertoC]

We are releasing Patch 3 now, and it is a big one.

It includes many improvements to Performance, AI behaviour, Random Maps mode, Multiplayer, UI and more, as well as plenty of fixes.

Most of these changes have been implemented following your feedback and suggestions: Alex, the game's designer and lead developer (better known on the forum as Rudankort) is constantly checking the forum and comments section, so if you have feedback for us, on what you would like to see changed, improved or added to the game, please let us know!

We hope you will like this patch.

Changelog:

Bug fixes:
- Fixed the problem with start of turn autosaves not writing for some players
- Fixed bug with units losing medal effects when going to the next mission in the campaign
- Fixed "Low Altitude Attack" trait in Anti-air vs. aircraft combats
- Fixed destroyers not attacking coastal hexes
- Fixed transport options for captured towed guns
- Fixed high ground status getting lost after split
- Fixed "Reduced Slots" and "Zero Slots" heroes incorrectly changing slots of units in Reserve
- Fixed display of captured strength in on-screen notification
- Fixed units in reserve triggering "below maximum strength" warning when ending the Deployment Phase
- Fixed entrenchment sometimes going over maximum
- Fixed autosave filtering in localized versions (will only work with new autosaves)
- Fixed unit trait icons being mirrored in the right UI panel
- Fixed the problem in Persia map where soviet aircraft crashed to the ground even though there are other soviet airfields available
- Fixed "script not found" error when running custom campaigns from Documents/My Games/Panzer Corps 2/Campaigns

Performance:
- Added a new setting to control number of trees (Options -> Video -> Forest Quality)
- Optimized all landscape materials
- Added FPS display to Options (bottom-right corner) so that it's easier to see what effect various settings have

AI changes:
- Order in which the AI moves its units has been improved
- Improved value calculation when deciding if a combat is favorable or not
- The AI will now put more emphasis on escorting its bombers with fighters
- The AI now understands how to use mount-move-unmount action
- Attacker AI will now try to rebase aircraft closer to the front line
- The AI will now switch units more often
- The AI can now use "Forced March" ability
- Improved AI usage of phased movement
- The AI will now approach victory hexes, supply hexes, flags and river crossings hidden in the fog more carefully
- The AI will now prefer to force retreats into disadvantageous terrain
- The AI will now prefer to force a surrender instead of outright killing a unit
- The AI now better understands the value of reducing entrenchment
- Units with "hold position (active)" order will capture flags if presented with an opportunity

Random maps:
- Random map interface has been improved, and the following new options added:
-- Year - select any year from 1939 to 1945 for the upcoming battle, or use "no year" to have access to all equipment (as it worked before)
-- Player factions. Each player can be assigned a specific or random faction
-- More factions: Poland (in 1939) and France and Hungary (in 1939-1940) can also be selected. Italy is available till 1944. USA is available starting from 1942.
- Starting force on random maps now includes a random number of aircraft
- The AI will purchase units in FFA missions
- Distribution of victory hexes has been made more uniform
- Random map is now assigned random location and season
- Starting prestige and prestige per turn generally increased
- Prestige income from all flags increased in FFA missions
- Number of slots increased on most map sizes
- Victory conditions and unit generation logic reworked for all mission types

Multiplayer:
- All Multiplayer games now allow to specify a number of advanced options: randomness, weather, supply, fog of war, shroud, custom army.
- Random maps can now be created for up to 8 human players in FFA mode (Survival, Attack and Defense are still limited to two human players)
- Random maps now support team mode where two people can play in coop as a team, or several teams of two players each can compete with each other in FFA
- Fixed several more issues which could prevent old games from loading
- Fixed a random crash which could happen in Multiplayer game list
- Fixed damage and combat event popups sometimes appearing in the fog when two enemies are fighting each other
- Fixed occasional camera jumps into the fog when two enemies are fighting each other there
- Fixed units purchased by the opponent sometimes visible through the fog of war
- Finished games now have "VIEW" button to review game ending
- Added a button ("-") to hide MP games from the list. Can be used to hide abandoned games and reduce the clutter in the list.

Interface:
- Added new option Display/UI -> Mouse Interface. One-Button mode works as before. Two-button mode allows to select units with left button and give orders with right button. Choose the mode which works best for you.
- Added tooltips to unit class, movement type and target type icons in Unit Details
- Added a UI button and a hotkey (7) to toggle the Minimap
- The game will now remember and restore in every mission open state of Stats Panel, Overview and Minimap
- Added a new hotkey (G) to toggle hex grid
- Added a new hotkey (H) to toggle hex names
- Added a new hotkey (V) for moving a unit from/to Reserve (since these commands are mutually exclusive, they are tied to the same button)
- Understrength units are now shown in Unit List with red strength number, so its easier to see which unit requires replacements

- Improved chat flow in-game, so you can quickly send a message without using the mouse:
-- Press Enter to open Chat panel
-- When Chat is open, keyboard focus is automatically set to input box, so you can instantly start typing message
-- Press Enter to send the message, and you can start typing the next one
-- Pressing Enter when input box is empty will close Chat panel

Editor:
- Added functionality to rearrange the order of players (Edit->Scenario Params..., Players tab, click player header with down arrow to invoke move menu)
- The Editor will now offer to save custom scenarios in the appropriate folder.

Localization:
- Polish localization has been updated (thanks Grzegorz Kłos!)
- Shop will now display localized unit class names

Other:
- Major difficulty has been made easier
- Added two more tactical advisor clips to "Tutorial" section of the game
- Updated "Double Strike" puzzle to eliminate possible shortcuts in the solution
- Added "cheat AllEqp" cheat code which unlocks all equipment for the current player
- Added "cheat AddMedal <medal> <optional level>" cheat code which gives specified medal to the currently selected unit. Possible options for medals are:
-- HeroicDefenseMedal
-- UnstoppableOffensiveMedal
-- AntiInfantryVeteranMedal
-- AntiTankVeteranMedal
-- AerialAceMedal
-- DependableSupportMedal
-- UrbanLegendMedal
==========================================================================

[Rood]

Big patch indeed, nice!
Big thanks to the dev's for all your continued hard work!

[Lokesz]

Graphics performance is stil a problem. When I reset MSI afterburner to default settings the blower ramps up immediately. So I am already back to underclocking my 1660ti.

[Peter_Iliev]

Changelog:

- The AI will now put more emphasis on escorting its bombers with fighters

- Attacker AI will now try to rebase aircraft closer to the front line

As far as I understand the improvement of AI, especially in the management of air units, will increase the player difficulty. In fact, I'm OK about making the game look more realistic, but whether it's planned to make some fighters/AA guns cheaper or some other compensation. Sending fighter support to bombers will make bombers usable for more turns. On the other side may make it easier to use your own bombers and tactical aviation on different places of the map.
Are these changes have been reliably tested?

[comradep]

Has the split unit mounted movement issue been addressed this time? It doesn't seem to be on the list.

See posts 4 and 6 on this page.

viewtopic.php?f=464&t=97527&start=60

[RandomAttack]

So, the medal thing is very strange. It doesn't update stats in saved game, and when I reload the last turn of a previous scenario and proceed to the next one all the medals are "missing". They are there in unit info tab but all grayed out. If you deploy, after first combat the medals show up ("re-awarded")-- of course the combat log shows the medals aren't applied. Essentially you will always be fighting the first combat w/o benefit of the medals stats increase. Kind of a big disadvantage. Even worse, the upgrade/downgrade procedure that worked before is no longer working-- so this seems pretty broken. Is there some particular method or process to get this to work?

[ErissN6]

Graphics performance is stil a problem. When I reset MSI afterburner to default settings the blower ramps up immediately. So I am already back to underclocking my 1660ti.

Overclocking is not supported by devs. I have a 1650, with i3, both not overclocked, and I have no problem. Use your hardware as they were intended and supported. If you need to underclock, it means you have damaged your proc' while overclocking it; then sure afterwhile you may have graphic perf' problems.

[Cortilein]

Just a little something to consider for the next patch: it would be convenient for the player that if no unit upgrade is available at all (like for the Bf 109E fighter at campaign start), the UI button for upgrading that particular unit would then (and ONLY then) be greyed out/unavailable to click.

[RandomAttack]

Just a little something to consider for the next patch: it would be convenient for the player that if no unit upgrade is available at all (like for the Bf 109E fighter at campaign start), the UI button for upgrading that particular unit would then (and ONLY then) be greyed out/unavailable to click.

Don't think you want to do that. Sometimes you want to DOWNGRADE a unit, or change overstrength...

[Hassanka]

Hello,

In patch number 1, it is said that bug with over-experience (level 6 +) units has been solved.
Right now, after patch 3, i have this exact bug again.

Experience Bug

expBug.jpg (937.14 KiB) Viewed 4838 times

[ErissN6]

. Autosave filtering in localized versions is not fixed (at least in french), even with new autosaves:
all is in autosaves, even manual saves
. The WASD keys are still not localized in french (ZQSD), nor can be bind.
. Where can we set this FPS display option?
. The limited zoom option is too limited, we should be able to set it.
. In strategical map, the under/up toggle works bad, sometimes planes are still under, or it's terrain units that remain under (and we have to zoom to 3D to be able to choose them)
. Who actually uses the minimap? (uninformatives blips)

[GUNDOBALDO08]

sov motortzicle has more german driver

[Horseman]

Great new improved AI just in time for my invasion of the USA!

[Lokesz]

Graphics performance is stil a problem. When I reset MSI afterburner to default settings the blower ramps up immediately. So I am already back to underclocking my 1660ti.

Overclocking is not supported by devs. I have a 1650, with i3, both not overclocked, and I have no problem. Use your hardware as they were intended and supported. If you need to underclock, it means you have damaged your proc' while overclocking it; then sure afterwhile you may have graphic perf' problems.

Who said I did an overclock? Don't need it and there are no problems with the graphics themselves. It works correctly, but much to loud. No problem during a shooter when I use a headphone. Never had any stability problems so the card is perfectly healthy.

What is wrong with the game is that it does strange things with my graphics card. When I force the performance down everything is perfect. Silent and smooth gameplay at maximum quality. So what's is the game doing when I allow it to use more graphics power? Nothing is missing as far as I can tell. Is it used for calculating the AI are what?

[ErissN6]

Who said I did an overclock? Don't need it

When I reset MSI afterburner to default settings

Afterburner is a tool made for overclocking, it is not named Underburner. Sorry if I hadn't understand what you meant.

[Tassadar]

The medal bug is not fixed by the patch. I in fact encountered it for the first time in the Smolensk'43 scenario start just now after updating my GOG installation as per the attachment provided here. Previously things worked just fine. It's not gamebreaking, but really annoying.

[WileyKojote]

Not sure if this is a bug, or anything new but.... for multiplayer If I end my turn, it simply grays out the hour glass and while leaving the game because I assumed my turn was finished it still highlights "Play". I hit it because it didn't seem right, and sure enough I had to redo my turn again. This is a big 8 player random FFA (lol) that I created and is now full with 8 players. Do I have to leave the game open until everyone takes their turn?! Surely not. Do I need to refrain from going back in the game once i click my turn end? What if someone is taking their turn already? Seems like a bug.

[Catacol]

Graphics performance is stil a problem. When I reset MSI afterburner to default settings the blower ramps up immediately. So I am already back to underclocking my 1660ti.

Overclocking is not supported by devs. I have a 1650, with i3, both not overclocked, and I have no problem. Use your hardware as they were intended and supported. If you need to underclock, it means you have damaged your proc' while overclocking it; then sure afterwhile you may have graphic perf' problems.

Who said I did an overclock? Don't need it and there are no problems with the graphics themselves. It works correctly, but much to loud. No problem during a shooter when I use a headphone. Never had any stability problems so the card is perfectly healthy.

What is wrong with the game is that it does strange things with my graphics card. When I force the performance down everything is perfect. Silent and smooth gameplay at maximum quality. So what's is the game doing when I allow it to use more graphics power? Nothing is missing as far as I can tell. Is it used for calculating the AI are what?

Performance possibly slightly better with this patch, but agree that graphics are still a problem. I've done a fair bit of roadtesting and water seems to be a trigger to overcooking cards. When I increase graphics detail level it actually goes down - but that's because the card is already running at 100% and when asked to go to high or maximum settings it cant...and the quality drops.

I'm running an RX 570. It's fine on any map up to 40x40. To be honest it's fine up to 50x50 and I'm playing a self made multiplayer scenario that just about works at 75x55 on medium settings - but the card is running hot. I can just about squeeze 30fps. This is fine, but I like big battles and potentially I'd like the ability to play the big battles. It needs a lot more optimising.

[Catacol]

On multiplayer if one side is denied a deployment phase using the editor and unclicking the deployment phase option it breaks the game. When loaded the game still tries to give a deployment phase, but it cant be exited to get to turn 1. Player to player comms also don't work if the deployment option isn't clicked.

[CrimsonStorm]

The medal bug is not fixed by the patch. I in fact encountered it for the first time in the Smolensk'43 scenario start just now after updating my GOG installation as per the attachment provided here. Previously things worked just fine. It's not gamebreaking, but really annoying.

Is this a unit you changed to a tank from something else? Did you have the medal and now lost it?