New player questions on game/editor/bugs, + feature requests?

[Davekhps]

Hello all-- veteran (ancient, really) Harpooner here. I waited on the sidelines until I couldn't wait any longer!

Been playing the game for a week, and already started dabbling in the editor. I *think* I've got a decent handle over much of it, but had some questions I couldn't find answers to, as well as some possible feature suggestions (if they aren't in the game already).

GAME QUESTIONS:

1. Is there a pure "Locate/Identify Target" mission? e.g., I guess if I fly my aircraft near a target details will show up, but if I try to prosecute an ASW target, I have to designate it for attack. I've blown up my fair share of tuna schools that way.

2. Is there a way to add notifications of your own weapons firing in the message log? I get the enemy weapons messages coming in, but I'd like to also track my ordnance going out.

3. How does one plan a one-time mission in the editor? I don't always want a mission to repeat.

4. Is there a way to see remaining fuel and weapons of your groups, or can you only get those for individual units? I've lost a number of aircraft to no fuel because I didn't know I needed to refuel them (maybe a warning on each group when they're close to bingo fuel, or automatic notification that they need to make an appointment with a tanker ASAP?)

5. I found that my air groups always start as groups but inevitable split apart at some point during the mission, usually under fire, but sometimes randomly. Is this WAD? How do I regroup those aircraft, just bring them all close to each other and press G? Or is there a better way?

6. Is there a way to display the ship names in the group window, or do you only get the classes of ships you have in the group?

7. Is there a way to select individual ships for details vice selecting the group? (Used to be able to do this in Harpoon-- you'd have the "group" window and then the "unit" window. In this game, you don't appear to have that display flexibility).

8. Is there a way to use sensors intermittently? (Again, like in Harpoon) Or is it all on or all off?

EDITOR QUESTIONS/FEATURE REQUESTS:

9. (Feature request) When adding a unit, can you make it possible to access the database? Right now, you have to back out, access the database, then go back in to add a unit.

10. Are there named units anywhere in the database? e.g. if I add a Nimitz-class carrier, will I always just get a default "Nimitz" that I need to manually rename with help from Wikipedia etc., or is there a way to select individual ships (as in Harpoon-- their database would include each ship/hull registry under the respective classes).

11. Is there anything in the database that tells the player which aircraft go with which ships? e.g. adding ASW helicopters to classes of ships, again, I find myself consulting Wikipedia etc. to try to match them.

12. Is there a way to streamline a seemingly very clumsy process of adding aircraft to bases and ships while simultaneously populating a weapons magazine? Right now I have to Edit AC, add an aircraft (again, by independently researching what goes where), then modify the magazine (again, via independent research of what I need-- with no knowledge of how many of each weapons are needed, or normally carried by ship or at a base). But then when I want to ready the aircraft, I can't do it in the Edit AC menu, I have to back out and go to the Air Ops menu and ready them there. (Would be nice to be able to do all that from one menu).

Would also be useful to be able to copy/duplicate aircraft packages so I can always add the same AC/magazine loadouts every time I add aircraft to ships and bases. Additionally, when copying and pasting ships, simultaneously copy and paste their loaded aircraft, i.e. I should only have to edit the AC once on one ship and then duplicate everything as often as I'd like.

Bottom line: Adding ships is easy. Adding airbases is easy. Adding aircraft is *not* easy-- or at least does not appear to be.

13. (Feature request) When adding a unit, it would save click time if the menu always defaulted to the last country chosen, e.g. if I'm adding units for China, when I select "Add Unit" the menu defaults to Chinese platforms. Right now, every time you go back into the menu you have to drop down the menu. FYI, this happens with some other selections as well (but not all-- some actually do "remember" where you just were).

14. I was able to add the DB3000 and CWDB *pictures* to the database after downloading, but the *descriptions* don't show up even when I added them to the descriptions folder. Is there some trick here?

BTW, I sure hope the user community populates the descriptions, because a lot of units I simply have no idea what they do / what their purpose is without a lot of independent Googling or dusting off my (aging) copies of Janes and IISS. It's always better to have that background "in game."

BUG REPORTS:

15. In the editor, when you "X" out of the Weapons Magazine menu, the game "tabs" out to a different window (running Windows 8, e.g. I've got CMANO and a browser open, when I "X" out of the menu it doesn't stay in CMANO, it tabs over to the browser. FYSA, this seems to happen on more than one menu in the editor, but it definitely happens on the Weapons Magazine menu).

16. What slows down a user-built scenario?

I built what I thought was a modest test scenario, about 5 ships to each side plus three airbases loaded from the Import/Export database (e.g. with roughly ~100 facilities grouped into each airbase), plus about 60 aircraft. Not many reference points, not many patrols. I added no events/actions/etc., just a raw timed scenario.

When playing it, the scenario crawled, no matter what time compression. Yet, when I play official scenarios that came with the game with far more units and complex missions, the time compression is no issue. Is there some sort of trick here when building a scenario that I'm missing?

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Anyway, LOVE the game, thank you for the great work that's definitely worth the price-- everything I've wanted in a naval game. No complaints-- just some things I would personally tweak differently to streamline the game and editing experience. YMMV, of course!

[Davekhps]

Oh, one more I forgot to add:

17. (Feature request, both game and editor) When you lock your reference points to a unit (e.g. when setting up a helicopter patrol around a ship), can something be added (perhaps to the Unit or Group box on the right) that shows those points are locked to that particular ship/group? Right now you can't tell for certain they're locked without wading through a few menus.