RHS (now with installer) Comprehensive Update 5.05 Issued

[el cid again]

I need several players for some medium to long term test games.

Test game 6A2 is a tag team game with an opening for a Japanese operational player (you don't have to
do the economy unless you wish to) - it is 5 days in and very exciting: The Allies have lost Enterprise,
Lexington, Prince of Wales, West Virginia and Pennsylvania; Japan has lost Akagi and Kaga. The Japanese
strategy was pretty conventional, except for secondary landings far to the South after the normal ones
in the North in Luzon and Malaya - offering the prospect of very short campaigns. Russia is almost quiet -
a Russian sub just sank a Japanese merchant though - but China is hot: it remains to be seen if China
can sustain the contest?

Test game 7A has not yet begun. There is now an installer for almost instant installation. RHS also is using
the standard Allied Air Art system in common with stock and other mods. Players are welcome on either
side, solo or team if you come with your own team. There are different scenarios - so you may elect to have
active Russians (not at war) or passive (like stock and most mods), strictly historical full blown or simplified
production, and a Japan enhansed scenario.

[el cid again]

We have a test player for a series 7 test as Allies.

We still have an opening for a Tag Team chair if there is any interest. The game is proceeding well
and will continue in any case - but it promises to be a very even contest with negotiated deals between
Allies.

[Enforcer]

are you still looking for any players?

[el cid again]

I am looking for Allied players for Test 8A. The 5.05 file set is now completed and an installer is available.
For the first time, we seem to have Japanese volunteers in numbers - so it is a tag team test. At least
three players per side. RHS tests are open tests - four game files sent to the RHS mailing list every day -
in addition to reports - and the passwords are published. Players, however, do not generally look at
the "wrong" side - unless asked to do so as part of a technical investigation of some issue. As well,
the Japanese reports are published in an AAR.

[el cid again]

Aside from folding in an art issue just reported, which only takes me a moment as I have the needed ship art, and packaging, we are done. Verified too.

I am surprised to report that the task of revising the air groups is of Olympic proportions. The USAAF is simply too big! If it wasn't historical, I would reject it as destroying play balance! Yamamoto was right - Japan must win soon - or it will lose. Period. Never mind atomic bombs. There are enough bombers to sink Japan. Not to mention P-47s which probably deliver as many bombs again. But this work, long neglected, is more important than I realized: any air unit with a gap in its list of devices didn't have the use of devices below the gap. Much of the work we have done on aircraft will only be realized with this update. I decided to go for task completetion than cutting corners: but I did make one compromise: an air unit NOT used in ANY RHS scenario also was not updated. If you copy a unit, and it does not have an X beside the name, update the aircraft for safety.

5.05 is an unintended comprehensive update. I just intended to do air groups and maybe aircraft if eratta were found. Well - I found about 10 eratta that matter and a few more cases of cosmetic nature (removing GP from behind the name of a bomber) - so we do have to add aircraft. I found one device needed a different date so the plane that uses it could actually have a valid device (if they built it, it must have been available!). So we need device files. I have this art report above, so class files need to be revised. And yesterday I found a strange error with respect to I-400 class submarines - while doing their air groups. Seems we had the early (original) version dates (sooner) but the later (actually built) ships in all scenarios. It should be the as built version exists in all scenarios except 105 (and possibly 100 when that is completed), but with the 1944 and 1945 dates. 105 (and 100) should have the early smaller version with 1943 and 1944 dates. I had dummy slots for some of the additional units planned - and these were activated for 105 only (so half the planned 18 will appear in 18, and all as aircraft carriers, none as tankers). This means we need to issue ship files as well. For safety I will insure current cam and aei files, and I will do the notepad only files with the version number update. Lastly I will try to put supporting documentation into a new folder in the installer. And write a note to Mifune that we should do an AE version of the RHS Manual - there is too much to expect players to know and a reference is probably indicated.

Next I will try to organize Test 8A. We seem to have a Japanese testing team, and this is unusual: few players are willing to try Japan in any form, never mind the demanding RHS version with its economic and air training complications. So I need to get the Japanese to define a strategy that shows off RHS features and organize an Allied team.

Work wise, I intend to update the later pwhexe files to current standard. Then I will work on making Scenario 106 playable (1945 start situation). After than, we plan a Level 2 map system, more or less Andrew Brown's Extended map with additional RHS features - possibly like WITP RHS with a mini map - and possibly with dynamic movement for both sides at certain points.

I want feedback. While I will resist changes of an extensive sort, there is always eratta to punch. We badly need long term human testing, but there must be an update to address certain things when we get the revised aircraft filmstrips. Also, we must stop changing things so Mifune actually can make the filmstrips! We will then update everything we have fixed at the same time. That will probably be update 5.10

The update will issue within the hour. Not far into the hour either. This is an exercise in packaging.

[bigred]

Sid, can u put the most current installer link at the top of this thread?

edit, wrong thread...