Bugs / Problems?

[Pak43]

Where to report these?

I've started to spend some time with the game this evening and a couple of things have occurred:

(Win7 64-bit Pro, Intel Quad Core CPU Q8300 with 4gb RAM and a ATI Radeon HD5700, running in 1920 x 1080)

First Tutorial

Alt-tabbing from the game to switch to my 2nd monitor to scroll the manual causes a number of units to disappear from the 2D view. These seem unrecoverable except by exiting the program. The units are viewable on the 3d view. If I alt-tab all of Espagne's regiments disappear from the 2-d view except for his HQ. I can move the cursor over where they used to be and the unit displays will change on the LHS of the screen. Switching between 3d and 2d does not cause them to reappear.

I don't seem able to select a unit as per the tutorial description. The tutorial says to select the 8me and press F5 to get a view locked to that unit. Nothing happens when I hold the cursor over the unit and press F5. The manual says "The selected unit is generally the unit which is under the cursor and the information panel displays the principal data on it". So I can see the panel on the left showing the 8me when I have the cursor over it. The orange border that shows I have the unit selected doesn't show (which leads me to believe it's not selected).

I can press the RMB over the unit and get the 3d top-down view of the unit and I can move between the 3d and 2d views.


Any ideas?
Also can I get a windowed mode of the game up and running at the moment?

[nix]

Try flashing through the three tutorials (just press enter until the tutorial script at the top of the page disappears)then leave the tutorial and do the next in the same way. I found that 'tutorial 3' did as you report the first time through,  but when you have been through it once and the options page shows the game options solo mode, tutorials, etc then the tutorials work ok.

[Hook]

If you didn't get the orange border, the unit wasn't selected.  You may have to move the mouse around a bit, but the infantry and cavalry units are generally easy to select. 

To set windowed mode, look in the Langage folder for a file named initDiag.txt.  There's a line in there:

0000  #Fenétré 2309

If the first number is 0000, you're in full screen mode.  If you set that to 2309, you'll be in windowed mode.  The line will then look like this:

2309  #Fenétré 2309

Hook

[Pak43]

Thanks Hook, that's sorted out windowed, hopefully I can read the manual and play at the same time now

If I select La Rothiere and the Coalition as the battle then I can definitely select a unit and the orders menu appears, so I think my setup is ok.

Nix, thanks for the tip, doesn't seem to work for me though..

None of the tutorials seem to let me select a unit. If I left click over the artillery or cavalry then I get a red "lightning symbol" and what appears to be like a text box in the middle bottom of the centre display... If I left click away in the tutorial from a unit I get what appears to be a system menu pop up, so I'm pretty confident I'm over the 8me when I'm clicking...

*Edit*
Aha, cracked it...I have Command the Coalition Army selected in the main "Options" menu, I hadn't worked out this applied to the tutorials as well... eh voila...

[Hook]

Aha, cracked it...I have Command the Coalition Army selected in the main "Options" menu, I hadn't worked out this applied to the tutorials as well... eh voila...

Ouch.  I forgot about that.  The tutorials assume the options are set to the initial defaults of Conscript and the side set to Grand Armee.  You can set Conscript in the options easily enough, and to set Grand Armee you only need to click on Solo  mode and set the side, then return to the main menu.

Sorry it didn't work the first time.

Hook

[Pak43]

No worries, fixed now...

Right I've finished the tutorials, I'm ready for the real thing tomorrow...

I still feel like I'm fighting the interface at the moment, but I'm getting there. A unit facing marker in the 2d view would be really helpful and also defaulting to the same way your unit is facing when you go to F5 / F6 would be fantastic as well. Having the F3 camera go to max elevation once you select it after going F5 / F6 would be also immensely useful. I found myself going to a unit with F5 / F6 and then wanting to move on from that unit and hitting F3 which immediately *almost* put the camera exactly where I wanted it except I then had to roll the mouse wheel to get the elevation..

I'll stick them in the suggestions forum if they are not already there...

All that said... I deployed my 4 corps in the final tutorial with great ease and executing a basic plan (orders wise) seemed easy and intuitive. I'm sure there's more to learn on the orders front but already it seems to hold a lot of promise...

The 3d view is definitely not the way to get an impression of the game (yet?) units perform fine while concentrating and deploying but then zoom around madly and erratically when combat starts...

Is it polished enough for release? Yep, I'd say so, no crashes, the odd weird thing going on in 2d view with the F8 button but recoverable, but the game delivers what it promised (based on the tutorials anyway).

Well done JMM!, my heartiest congratulations I think there is an absolute gem that just needs some polishing but you can certainly say that the time for talk is over and the time for taking a swaggering walk with a huge sign saying "I told you so" is definitely here. I sincerely hope you sell enough of the thing to make it a financial success...

Oh and please, please, please fix the damn scroll bar on the forum reply button!

[Hook]

I'm glad you're liking the game, Pak43!

The tutorials are a good way to just watch the game without having to make a lot of decisions.  I usually give the orders and switch to the F5 view from the CinC or the corps commander.  If I'm using F3 view, I'm still usually at ground level.  It gives a good feel for the Napoleonic battlefield.

If the view is spinning around, you're probably using F5 or F6, which is locked to one of the figures on the battlefield.  I've requested unlocking the facing on those so it never moves unless you tell it to.  When it happens you're probably better off using F3 to watch that fight.

F6 has two heights it views from.  Hit F6 a second time to change the height.

It may not be obvious, but you can zoom all the 3D views... F5 and F6 by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse vertically, F3 by holding control and the right mouse button and moving the mouse  vertically.  Control and the mouse wheel also change the zoom.  The F4 views can be zoomed as well using the F3 zoom methods.

Enjoy the game!

Hook

[Pak43]

Hiya Hook,

yeah enjoyed it a lot last night...

I use  F6 extensively (at the moment) Pick a unit on the 2d map and hit F6 to get a nice view from that unit of what I'm interested in looking at.

It's not that it's "spinning round" I understand it's locked to the unit. It just seems that when I go F6 the camera often isn't facing the way the unit is facing (which is why I want to go to that unit). I understand that I can't move from there, which is why I then go F3 to be able to browse the 3d view to see what's going on in the vicinity...

This isn't anything major (obviously) it would make getting an appreciation of the battlefield quicker though at the moment it's Hit F6, rotate the camera, Hit F3 and then raise the elevation and then move the camera...

Still it'll all be moot when I play hardcore mode and get locked to the C-in-C

[bidermann]

The problem I have is the game crashing after I start the battle.I give my orders to the corps etc, then when I click to start the battle the game drops out and goes back to my desk top.

[AJ]

Biderman,  What is your computer configuration?  Op system, Graphics, processor etc.. A true bug is something that is experienced by many using the same configuration (as long as that config meets the games minimum specs).

[Hook]

It just seems that when I go F6 the camera often isn't facing the way the unit is facing (which is why I want to go to that unit).

I think the camera for F6 always starts looking at the unit from the front.  This is usually exactly the opposite of the direction I want to look.

If you're in F6 view for one unit, you can right click on another unit in the list at the bottom to shift the view immediately to that unit.  Also works for F5 and possibly for F3 in some cases.  Useful if you want to quickly switch views between corps commanders.

Hook

[Pak43]

Hook, Ah that's well worth knowing.. thanks...

I hadn't really used the unit icons at the bottom of the screen at all yet...