My PC beta impressions thread

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Mon May 23, 2011 7:27 am

Just wrapped up the Low Countries scenario. Everything looks in order; the Eben Emael forts are a real pain in the arse to knock out... it seems even pionere units can't put a real dent in these things. Thank goodness it seems that the forts run out of ammo rather quickly LOL.

Multiplayer seemed to be running slow tonight. Movement lags, brief freezes, long load and save times.

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:30 am

dshaw62197 wrote:Multiplayer seemed to be running slow tonight. Movement lags, brief freezes, long load and save times.

Movement lags, brief freezes? The game does not rely on the server while playing the turn, so these facts cannot be explained by MP problems, it must be something in the game, effecting both MP and SP equally.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Tue May 24, 2011 3:44 am

Rudankort, I figured out where the lags during the game were coming from. I forgot that on Sunday nights my PC automatically runs a full virus scan, so that was slowing the game down.

As for the issues on long uploads/downloads, it continued to be a problem until earlier this evening... did anyone figure out what the problem was?

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Tue May 24, 2011 3:49 am

Finished the France scenario again. This is a relatively easy scenario to get through... of course, I suppose that mirrors the historical event, as the French campaign wrapped up pretty quickly after the Germans stuck on June 5. I did notice one issue: in this scenario, I observed a graphic "hiccup" that occurred several times. Namely, when I attacked an AI unit, the AI unit's combat animation started, froze for a millisecond, disappeared (as my unit's combat animation ran) and then the AI's combat animation played without incident. Nothing huge, but this seemed to be the first time I've encountered this glitch (if that's in fact what it is). Now it's off to Greece once more...

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:36 am

Just a thought about the editor. I think it would be a great addition to have a "favorites" pallette or window when placing things like coasts and rivers. I find that I usually need only 4-6 different tiles when doing a map, but it is a pain having to scroll back and forth to find just those few that I need. Or maybe some way to sort the tiles differently so the ones I am using are at the top.

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:38 am

dshaw62197 wrote:Just a thought about the editor. I think it would be a great addition to have a "favorites" pallette or window when placing things like coasts and rivers. I find that I usually need only 4-6 different tiles when doing a map, but it is a pain having to scroll back and forth to find just those few that I need. Or maybe some way to sort the tiles differently so the ones I am using are at the top.

This might be useful, yes. But don't you use Tools->Generate Tiles command to place coasts and rivers for you?

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:44 am

You can do that? I thought "generate tiles" only worked with the items in the "terrain" set. IIRC there isn't a terrain feature for either coasts or rivers.

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:47 am

dshaw62197 wrote:You can do that? I thought "generate tiles" only worked with the items in the "terrain" set. IIRC there isn't a terrain feature for either coasts or rivers.

Rivers are in Terrain Features layer, together with roads nad railroads. As for coasts, they are not in any palette because the coast is the border between land and see. So, wherever there is the border, the editor will place coast tiles for you.

Kerensky · Post by **Kerensky** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:57 am

Space bar is your friend.

When you press the space bar, the map is stripped down to the basics of what tile contains what terrain type. Press it again to revert the normal view.

If your rivers dont exist in this 'stripped' mode, they don't exist as rivers.

This should help illustrate what I'm talking about:
viewtopic.php?t=24054&highlight=editor

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:59 am

When you press the space bar, the map is stripped down to the basics of what tile contains what terrain type. Press it again to revert the normal view.

That is a fantastic shortcut. Good to know for future projects. Thanks!

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:48 am

OK, here's another issue from someone who is visually challenged: in scenarios using frozen terrain, the little white movement arrow is almost invisible. Any way the arrows could be a different color when using frozen/winter settings?

Razz1 · Post by **Razz1** » Wed May 25, 2011 1:58 pm

umm.. did not notice this as a problem but the white dots for movement are hard to see.

I suggest a light Gold or Tan for the dot on winter tiles.

Xitax · Post by **Xitax** » Wed May 25, 2011 2:53 pm

Just outline the white arrow - problem solved...

myness · Post by **myness** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:32 pm

I played my first couple of games (tutorial scenarios) on a Dell Latitude 6400 running Vista Business. Last night I installed .98 beta on my Dell Alienware Aurora (i7, 8gb RAM, dual ATI cards). From a hardware standpoint, both systems worked perfectly well, though the large monitor on the desktop and better speakers took the game to a whole new level.

First Impressions

I played the original PZG back in the day, but haven’t played in over 10 years. I picked up the user interface right away. Simple, straight-forward access to just about everything. Unit icons and map graphics are great already. I need to check the detail on the animations, but have to say the flame spouting Pioniere are awesome.

The new scenario selection screen is a great improvement. The old list was fine. The new layout gives me that briefing feel that made the PZG such an immersing game experience. Nicely done.

So far, I’ve played the first two tutorials, Poland, and a few turns of Norway (love the variety with the airborne and naval units). The AI has thumped a few of my units, and I am generally satisfied with its performance, but need to play a few games and focus on what it is doing to comment in detail.

30 seconds – I’m actually in the beta! Easy to choose a scenario. Graphics are awesome. Loads fast on laptop.
60 seconds – Like the music and the sound as my units move. Figured out left-click/right-click. I’m playing already!
2 Minutes – Check out the interface – panels are useful and don’t get in the way too much. Turned on strong hexes (I’m an old board gamer). I can tell if my infantry are going to march or use trucks by the highlighting – awesome. Just look at the map detail!
10 Minutes – “I’m just going to play one more scenario, honey. I signed up for a beta, so I have to do this!” Playing new scenario. I’ll buy a new unit. Artillery – OK, select transport at the bottom – super-intuitive. Hey, can I get falschirmjaegers? Oh well. Oh, look at the spotting range on that recon unit. Have to remember that.
30 Minutes – Time for Poland. Air units! Took a move to figure them out. Buy some more panzers and heavy artillery! Hey, they AI is counterattacking. I just lost a unit of PzII’s! Have to respect the AI. This game is a blast.

User Interface

Simple and elegant like its predecessor. So far, everything I’m doing is a right-click or left-click. I like the option of displaying panels with OOB and unit info – great learning tool. Last/Next unit is also helpful and prevents overlooking a unit. Purchase interface is simple and it’s easy enough to select the transport for an infantry or artillery unit if desired.

I thought the left-click to deploy a purchased unit was counter-intuitive. I expected a right-click (as in move and attack execution). Minor issue, though, as once learned, it’s easy enough to remember. Highlighting of available move hexes/attack targets is awesome! I also like the location of the weather icons (I learned to watch these when I couldn’t use my air units in the rain).

No glitches so far.

Gameplay

I’m already addicted. PZC offers a quick games with simple mechanics and I look forward to the campaign feature once enabled (or when I buy it).

As mentioned before, on-map highlighting of available options is super helpful. I also like the pre-combat analysis, which helps me decide whether to assault or await support.

The interplay of the different arms is a salient feature of the game. I really enjoy the usefulness of recon units, ranged artillery, air assets, and the naval aspect of the Norway scenario (the AI cut up my fleet!). I’m also a nut for airborne forces, and really enjoy the ability to deploy them and the randomized drop location. Lots of nice touches I need to review in more detail.

The game is immersive and supports both quick game sessions just for fun and allows for more in depth play for those who want to analyze attack and defense values, etc.

Looking forward to testing more scenarios and multiplayer as well.

Steve

Kerensky · Post by **Kerensky** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:31 pm

Xitax wrote:Just outline the white arrow - problem solved...

Not a bad suggestion, I'll check what we have in store and pass this along if it's warranted.

Thanks Myness for the positive feedback. Stay tuned, a new BETA is coming soon with many more improvements.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Thu May 26, 2011 12:54 am

I like the idea of the outline around the white arrow... but Razz is right, the movement "spots" also need to stand out more against a frozen tileset.

And welcome to the beta boards, Steve! Having been playing PzC for the last few weeks, I can tell you this game is even more fun -- and addicting -- than the original PG. Looking forward to the next beta release.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Fri May 27, 2011 5:27 am

I find I use the strategic map quite a bit... something that would be helpful: while in the strat map view, would it be possible to click the next/previous buttons and have that particular unit highlighted in the map? This would be a good way of clicking through a bunch of units to see what units on the board still have movement in a broader view.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Sat May 28, 2011 3:14 am

Thanks to a neighborhood-wide Internet outage I was unable to download the latest build until late this afternoon... right before I had to go to work. As such I was only able to get a couple of MP turns in before I had to leave...

However, two things immediately stood out, both positive. First, I really like the movement arrows. The green is MUCH easier to see, thank you! I think you've finally gotten the "symbols" down pat (move/attack/gas/ammo). Also, I like the new "red dot" for planes to show their beyond resupply range. A little less intrusive than the red hexes, and still gets the job done.

I also like the help messages. I assume once the game goes live they'll only be in the tutorial? However, maybe there should be an option to flip the help messages on and off during the course of the game -- after all, just seeing them once in the tutorial might not be enough for some new players (and I found myself finding out a few things I didn't know either).

Finally, I'll make an effort to proof the unit descriptions in the purchase menu; I saw a couple of mistakes and figured you guys would want someone to look them over.

Looking forward to a lot of good PzC gaming this weekend.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Sun May 29, 2011 6:16 am

I just wrapped up the tutorial. Not sure of what the various difficulty levels mean, I went with the middle of the road and picked "general." The missions were a bit tougher than they were the first time I played, but still not too difficult to overcome. The expanded scenario briefings and pop-up windows are great; as I mentioned before, it would be nice to be able to turn the pop-ups back on after the tutorial for reference later in the game.

I read over the briefings to each scenario, and here are a few issues I found.

Tutorial #1:
1. The briefing says, "Primary objectives are marked by golden rings." This seems to refer to the older version of objectives, as they are now squares.
2. On the campaign screen, the tutorial scenario is marked with the year 1936; however, the tutorial is set in 1939. I think this should be renamed to just "Tutorial," as it obviously isn't 1936 and calling it "1939" might confuse it with the actual 1939-45 campaign.

Tutorial #2:
1. Where it says, "...your core, units are marked with..." the comma should be after "units."
2. Where it says, "...at this time, any casualties are..." there should be an "as" before "any."

Tutorial #3:
No issues.

Tutorial #4:
1. Where it says, "...behind your enemies main defenses..." "enemies" should be "enemy's."

Tutorial #5:
No issues.

Tutorial #6:
1. Where it says, "...serve two distinctive roles..." there should be a colon after "roles."
2. Where it says, "...able to attention the..." "attention" should be "attend."

Tomorrow I'll read through the unit purchase screen descriptions and then move on to the 1939 campaign.

OmegaMan1 · Post by **OmegaMan1** » Mon May 30, 2011 6:43 am

Tonight I read through the unit descriptions on the purchase screen. Here's what I found under each.

Infantry:
1. Where it says, "...indespensible in both offensive and offensive..." I assume one of the those should read "defensive."

Armor:
1. Where it says, "In Panzer Corps tank is..." put a "the" before "tank."

Antitank:
1. Where it says, "...designed and used primary against..." "primary" should be "primarily."
2. The last word, "scarse," should be "scarce."

I also noticed a few times where "a" and "an" were missing (such as, "On offense, artillery unit is etc. etc."). If you'd like me to point those out, let me know, otherwise I'll assume that it's okay.