Slitherine

Hi guys

we're pleased to announce a public beta of Panzer Corps v1.21.

You can download the patch here:

****************** THE BETA IS NOW COMPLETE AND THE FILE HAS BEEN REMOVED - TO GET THE PATCH CHECK FOR UPDATES FROM YOUR GAME MENU *************************

Please note you must have a copy of Panzer Corps already installed. The public beta is a full build that must be installed to a separate folder - if in doubt use the defaults. Do not install it on top of your normal version of the game or you will break it!

The public beta can be used along with your full version. The public beta uses test server and you will not be able to see games in the live version and vice versa.

If you see any issues please let us know by posting in this forum. Thanks for your help!

The Panzer Corps & Slitherine Team


Change list

Patch 1.21 is primarily intended to resolve the issues which people have with the game in 1.20 (we used this topic as the reference).

- Fixed advaced options in GC
- Fixed the issue with too generous hero assignment in GC
- Fixed default game layout: if the patch is installed on PzC Wehrmacht, UI will not default o Allied skin after install.
- Kamikaze units (like V weapons) no longer get to reform list.
- Fixed AK intro movie - should play correctly now if AK expansion is activated.
- When starting GC, UI skin should switch to german, unless Allies in the only installed expansion.
- Disbanding 0-strength no longer gives prestige. Disbanding understrength units (e. g. 1-strength) gives proportionally less prestige.
- The game should now display an error in case it fails to save the game (bad file name etc.)
- Replays no longer display danger dots when moving airplanes.

Other changes:

- If "Custom difficulty" checkbox is not checked, difficulty sliders are updated to reflect the currently selected difficulty level.

- Unlocked a few more experimental options which were used in the Allies beta, available via gamerules.pzdat file.
- Added russian localization of Afrika scenarios.


What to look out for

The most important thing to check is that all fixes work and no new issues are introduced. In particular, we need to make sure GC is now working with advanced settings without issues in any and all possible combinations. To implement this, I changed the code to merge gamerules settings from base game file (gamerules or gamerules114, depending on the ruleset selected) with gamerules settings from the GC campaign. Note that this logic will apply to user mods too.

Okay, installed it. What are we supposed to be looking for?

The custom difficulty works for the Grand Campaign. This I tested just now.

I guess we will have to wait for the changelog to see all the changes/fixes. But you could always check if any existing content/game mechanism is broken by this patch, if anything is weird or missing. There were some issues with 1.20 reported in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=121&t=43404

On a further note, I've dug through the gamerules file, and Alex has done it again: he has smuggled in even more options! The previous version added 'MaxShots (# Max number of shots a unit can make (even if strength/rate of fire allows more). 0=no limit)' , but a couple more have been added by the looks of it, so modders take note:

MaxShootingStrength (default=0)
# Max strength which participates in combat (any strength above this is considered reserve). 0=no limit

RangeAttackPenalty (default=0)
# Attack penalty per hex of range beyond 1

OverstrengthDependsOnExp (default=1)
# Is overstrength connected to experience (1 point per star)? 1=yes 0=no

woozers...almost 500MB...sheeshhh...remember when an entire game could fit on one of those big floppy disks??!!

Blathergut wrote:woozers...almost 500MB...sheeshhh...remember when an entire game could fit on one of those big floppy disks??!!

Yeah but sounds and pictures were 4-colour coded ones.

hey...Space Quest was damn snazzy for its time...how many other games could you fit a ladder in your pocket??!!??

...and...colour???...everything was green!!!!!

Blathergut wrote:hey...Space Quest was damn snazzy for its time...how many other games could you fit a ladder in your pocket??!!??

...and...colour???...everything was green!!!!!

I had Roger Wilco in 16 (!) colors, so I was spoiled. Although later on, the 10-floppy shuffle (a Sierra specialty it seems) got kinda annoying. Still, good times.

Installed fine. Ran first Polish scenario...seemed fine. Will try to get a couple games in and see how it runs.

Hey Iain.... Downloaded fine and began playing GC39..first with 1.20 rules and no other changes. Appears to be just fine. Will try to run the first couple of scenarios from each GC using 1.14 and 1.20 and then use alterations to the AI 1.20 rules. Will let you know if I encounter anything unexpected....

Downloading now. I love Panzer Corps with the new options. I set entrenchment defense vs infantry at 75 rather than 50 so the troops face 6 levels instead of 4 when taking on an enemy whose heavily dug in at 8. Artillery and air power still wipe most of it away in a turn but at least the soldiers have some fighting to do in the cities. Lower level defenses are not affected.
Love the suppressed replacements, prestige cap and exp changes, difficulty sliders.. . . All excellent
Will try out another Polish campaign soon, the way its meant to be. Hope the DLC works

Advanced options seems to be working for the grand campaign. The various slider settings are also altered depending on what difficulty level you are set at.

Excellent stuff. You guys rock.

Ah! Finally! "Panzer marsch!"

After the first scenarios of the GC, the patch seems to be working fine. Very good work!

More later...

Hello all!

I have updated the first post with change list and what to look out for. Thanks!

So far it seems to be working nicely. The worst thing I managed to find is that the version number in the advanced options screen is out of date: you can choose between the rules for versions 1.14 or 1.20, that last number should now be 1.21 I guess? Oh, and thanks for the extra modding options, I'll try to check them out as well.

I really like the new MaxShootingStrength setting. I always disliked the overpowered nature of overstrengthed units, giving weak units like soviet conscripts the unfair ability to smash tough units by simply number of attacks instead of attack values. I think everyone knows how often a supposedly 2% chance happens with a 15 strength conscript unit. Overstrength can normally also make fights too short in the end if you steamroll over every unit in one turn.

With MaxShootingStrength 10, you basically turn the overstrength into a reserve buffer, removing the necessity to reinforce once or twice during a scenario. I've additionally reduced the OverstrengthCostPerPointX settings down from 100-300 to 100-200 to compensate the lowered value of overstrength. Can't help but I like it better this way so far.
Thanks for this new feature!

Still undecided if I should use the other new RangeAttackPenalty setting. Thinking of naval units, their fire was usually more effect at longest compared to mid range because the shells hit the deck instead of the heavily armoured belt. High-angled impacting explosive shells also produce a wider fragment circle compared to short, cannon-like low impacts.

I also don’t think of touching the new OverstrengthDependsOnExp setting. I imagine the experience stars could also reflect the command level of each unit. Inexperienced units wouldn’t have the proper executive power to handle large units. For soviet conscript units, it wouldn't really matter because they were usually treated truely like cannon fodder anyway.
Just my silly thoughts.

I don't know if I'll be able to test it in time, so I just wanted to mention it: Can someone test the switching from 1.14 to 1.20 rules in mid-GC campaign? (change the options in the battle result screen)

As for this beta... if I install it, can I do that with my default installation and later be able to install the final 1.21 version without problems?

KeldorKatarn wrote:As for this beta... if I install it, can I do that with my default installation and later be able to install the final 1.21 version without problems?

Yes. This beta installs to a separate folder, while the final one will install on top of your existing Panzer Corps installation.

I really like the new MaxShootingStrength setting. I always disliked the overpowered nature of overstrengthed units, giving weak units like soviet conscripts the unfair ability to smash tough units by simply number of attacks instead of attack values. I think everyone knows how often a supposedly 2% chance happens with a 15 strength conscript unit. Overstrength can normally also make fights too short in the end if you steamroll over every unit in one turn.

Its a good option for sure but I'm not sure how works in relation to those pesky conscripts. To me there's a big difference between your star panzer division whose been specifically built up to deal with tough breakthrough situations and just being an essentially flabby army with lots of excess manpower at your disposal. Are conscripts really an overstrength unit ?

The bugs related to the Grand Campaign seem fixed, great!

The experimental options also seems to work nicely. As for the "reform units" option, I think these would be a great addition for the "advanced/custom" options tab.