Issues encountered (have played all 5 scenarios)
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 8:47 pm
This pertains specifically to the PC version (and Windows 7, if that matters):
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The game is fun....until you run into the serious issues. As others have noted, many of these are so obvious, one has to assume that NOBODY played all the scenarios (other than the first one) before releasing the game. Devs? Please fix these!!
1) "Global" bugs (some may be design features that can't be changed, but listed here anyway):
- You can't have multiple versions of Saved Games. Once you save, it overwrites the previous saves. Annoying but one could live with it except....
- Reloading a saved game restores all the minefields. At least they are visible, but it's really a pain to have to go and clear many of them out again.
- Your "troop funds" get a sizable jump when reloading a saved game. The game code seems to award the capture bonus funds for every city you own. So depending how many you captured prior to the save, it can be a huge number. Yes you don't HAVE to spend the extra $$, but who remembers what their funds were at the save? Really annoying.
- Reloading a saved game also resets the turn count. For example, turn 27 reloads as turn 1, but at the same stage of game play.
- The hex selection code for your units does not factor in KNOWN minefields. So be very careful when giving one of your units a long march near a minefield, because they may very well march right through it (blowing themselves up in the process). Annoying, but you can usually avoid this if you are careful.
- Sometimes when you supply units the function remains "stuck" on several units for several turns afterwards where the "cost" shows even when supply unit is not selected. There is no way to free it up, and you can't move it or fight with it. Sometimes it frees up at the start of a new turn, but not always. I've had several stay "stuck" for the entire scenario.
- Unit hits the beach (and can move inland), but the "landing craft" graphic does not go away. Looks ugly (if you have enough funds, send it on a suicide mission and replace it). The same thing happens every now and then to your Sherman tanks (the floating graphic does not change when it hits the beach).
- This next one is pretty close to game breaking. It is VERY EASY to hit the Menu tab (it's at the top of the screen and clicking a unit near it always triggers the Menu to drop), and sometimes hitting the "Resume" button or even the "Menu" tab itself (one or both is needed to make it go away) will ALSO trigger an end game result (usually when you have enough objectives to qualify for at least a "Marginal Victory"). There is no way to avoid this other than by NEVER hitting the Menu button, which is impossible. And once you trigger it, that's it, the scenario is over. HORRIBLE!!!!!!
2) Utah Beach: Can be played through to completion, although it's trickier than Omaha (not from degree of difficulty, but because of bugs):
- An air attack on the antitank unit in the hex to the bottom left of Ste Marie du Mort Town in the upper left of the map), it loses a few points and then doubles it's health points and a second (identical) unit appears in the same hex. Only one of them is real however, and it will take damage and can be destroyed. However a "ghost unit" remains on the map - looking real and blocking progress through it's hex - but it won't fight and can't be attacked. NOTE: In another game I captured the town with a flame thrower unit and used THAT to attack this unit. That did NOT result in the double unit/ghost unit problem, perhaps because it suffered severe damage and was driven into another hex.
3) Omaha Beach: I've played this through to completion a few times. No real problems other than some of the "globals" noted above.
- In one game, the Panzer Grenadier unit in Colleville Sur Mer could not be killed. It seemed to start at something like 20 points and although you can attack it down to about 10, the unit always recuperates the next turn. There is a workaround in which you can surround the town on six sides and make the unit surrender, but a "ghost unit" is still sitting there and you cannot send a unit directly into the town hex. Fortunately you can have troops march through the town and capture it that way. Might be related to using an air attack on it first (like the one described above).
4) Gold Beach: Have never been able to play this scenario all the way through (and neither has anyone else).
- Every other scenario has one "Main Objective" (capture all objectives within a certain time limit) and two "Optional" ones (usually pretty easy to achieve. But in this scenario all three are "Main". And since one of those requires "eliminating all opposing forces" AND since there are a few "unkillable" units, well, the scenario cannot be won. This is the ONE TIME when the "Marginal Victory Bug" (described earlier) is helpful, otherwise you would never be able to move on to the next scenario. Still....this is horrible.
5) Sword/Juno Beach: Theoretically it should be possible to complete this scenario, but the "Marginal Victory Bug" strikes every time I've tried.
- You cannot kill (or even attack) the artillery unit immediately to the right of the "Franceville" town objective (top of the map, near the beach). It makes conquering this town extremely painful since there is no way to stop it from firing at your troops when they attack the town. The only good news is that it does not fire on it's own, so you can ignore it after you finally conquer the town.
- Two units in Benouville (originally called this "Grenceville" by mistake): Have both Assault infantry and Nebelwerfer in Benouville
6) Cherbourg: Fantastic Scenario! It's worth dealing with the Gold & Sword/Juno issues to get here.
- The only bug is a Transport "ghost unit" in the mountains two hexes to the lower right of Octeville. It's completely harmless though as it has no zone of control and your troops will walk right through it (they can even occupy the same hex)
- I didn't get the complete victory because I forgot about the "APCR ability" (whatever that is) and it said I didn't liberate all the cities. Which is odd because I was pretty sure that I did. Thinking about this a bit more, when I captured the town in the upper right-most corner of the map, it did not produce the "capture glow" you normally get, so maybe there's something bugged with the code on that one. Unfortunately, there is no permanent visual indicator that shows the Allies have taken possession of a non-objective city.
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The game is fun....until you run into the serious issues. As others have noted, many of these are so obvious, one has to assume that NOBODY played all the scenarios (other than the first one) before releasing the game. Devs? Please fix these!!
1) "Global" bugs (some may be design features that can't be changed, but listed here anyway):
- You can't have multiple versions of Saved Games. Once you save, it overwrites the previous saves. Annoying but one could live with it except....
- Reloading a saved game restores all the minefields. At least they are visible, but it's really a pain to have to go and clear many of them out again.
- Your "troop funds" get a sizable jump when reloading a saved game. The game code seems to award the capture bonus funds for every city you own. So depending how many you captured prior to the save, it can be a huge number. Yes you don't HAVE to spend the extra $$, but who remembers what their funds were at the save? Really annoying.
- Reloading a saved game also resets the turn count. For example, turn 27 reloads as turn 1, but at the same stage of game play.
- The hex selection code for your units does not factor in KNOWN minefields. So be very careful when giving one of your units a long march near a minefield, because they may very well march right through it (blowing themselves up in the process). Annoying, but you can usually avoid this if you are careful.
- Sometimes when you supply units the function remains "stuck" on several units for several turns afterwards where the "cost" shows even when supply unit is not selected. There is no way to free it up, and you can't move it or fight with it. Sometimes it frees up at the start of a new turn, but not always. I've had several stay "stuck" for the entire scenario.
- Unit hits the beach (and can move inland), but the "landing craft" graphic does not go away. Looks ugly (if you have enough funds, send it on a suicide mission and replace it). The same thing happens every now and then to your Sherman tanks (the floating graphic does not change when it hits the beach).
- This next one is pretty close to game breaking. It is VERY EASY to hit the Menu tab (it's at the top of the screen and clicking a unit near it always triggers the Menu to drop), and sometimes hitting the "Resume" button or even the "Menu" tab itself (one or both is needed to make it go away) will ALSO trigger an end game result (usually when you have enough objectives to qualify for at least a "Marginal Victory"). There is no way to avoid this other than by NEVER hitting the Menu button, which is impossible. And once you trigger it, that's it, the scenario is over. HORRIBLE!!!!!!
2) Utah Beach: Can be played through to completion, although it's trickier than Omaha (not from degree of difficulty, but because of bugs):
- An air attack on the antitank unit in the hex to the bottom left of Ste Marie du Mort Town in the upper left of the map), it loses a few points and then doubles it's health points and a second (identical) unit appears in the same hex. Only one of them is real however, and it will take damage and can be destroyed. However a "ghost unit" remains on the map - looking real and blocking progress through it's hex - but it won't fight and can't be attacked. NOTE: In another game I captured the town with a flame thrower unit and used THAT to attack this unit. That did NOT result in the double unit/ghost unit problem, perhaps because it suffered severe damage and was driven into another hex.
3) Omaha Beach: I've played this through to completion a few times. No real problems other than some of the "globals" noted above.
- In one game, the Panzer Grenadier unit in Colleville Sur Mer could not be killed. It seemed to start at something like 20 points and although you can attack it down to about 10, the unit always recuperates the next turn. There is a workaround in which you can surround the town on six sides and make the unit surrender, but a "ghost unit" is still sitting there and you cannot send a unit directly into the town hex. Fortunately you can have troops march through the town and capture it that way. Might be related to using an air attack on it first (like the one described above).
4) Gold Beach: Have never been able to play this scenario all the way through (and neither has anyone else).
- Every other scenario has one "Main Objective" (capture all objectives within a certain time limit) and two "Optional" ones (usually pretty easy to achieve. But in this scenario all three are "Main". And since one of those requires "eliminating all opposing forces" AND since there are a few "unkillable" units, well, the scenario cannot be won. This is the ONE TIME when the "Marginal Victory Bug" (described earlier) is helpful, otherwise you would never be able to move on to the next scenario. Still....this is horrible.
5) Sword/Juno Beach: Theoretically it should be possible to complete this scenario, but the "Marginal Victory Bug" strikes every time I've tried.
- You cannot kill (or even attack) the artillery unit immediately to the right of the "Franceville" town objective (top of the map, near the beach). It makes conquering this town extremely painful since there is no way to stop it from firing at your troops when they attack the town. The only good news is that it does not fire on it's own, so you can ignore it after you finally conquer the town.
- Two units in Benouville (originally called this "Grenceville" by mistake): Have both Assault infantry and Nebelwerfer in Benouville
6) Cherbourg: Fantastic Scenario! It's worth dealing with the Gold & Sword/Juno issues to get here.
- The only bug is a Transport "ghost unit" in the mountains two hexes to the lower right of Octeville. It's completely harmless though as it has no zone of control and your troops will walk right through it (they can even occupy the same hex)
- I didn't get the complete victory because I forgot about the "APCR ability" (whatever that is) and it said I didn't liberate all the cities. Which is odd because I was pretty sure that I did. Thinking about this a bit more, when I captured the town in the upper right-most corner of the map, it did not produce the "capture glow" you normally get, so maybe there's something bugged with the code on that one. Unfortunately, there is no permanent visual indicator that shows the Allies have taken possession of a non-objective city.