Testing thread for Public Beta 1.03 M3 : Last Update 4th april

VR designs has been reinforced with designer Cameron Harris and the result is a revolutionary new operational war game 'Barbarossa' that plays like none other. It blends an advanced counter pushing engine with deep narrative, people management and in-depth semi-randomized decision systems.

Moderators: Vic, lancer

Post Reply
User avatar
Vic
Posts: 9282
Joined: Mon May 17, 2004 2:17 pm
Contact:

Testing thread for Public Beta 1.03 M3 : Last Update 4th april

Post by Vic »

Hi all,

1.03m3 is still PUBLIC BETA. Public beta means that it is still in testing and might not be fully stable.
(the latest official release version is 1.02g)

Please do report in this thread if you have installed and running the v1.03 without any issues.

If you are uncomfortable installing files manually or your anti-virus software is not playing ball please wait till this patch goes gold.

If not keep reading...

Install instructions

1. Download the ZIP: http://www.vrdesigns.net/privatepatch/Barbarossa_Public_Beta_Patch_103m3.zip

2. Find your game directory.

3. Rename your existing Barbarossa.exe to something like Barbarossa_backup.exe

4. Rename your BarbScenarios directory to something like BarbScenarios_backup

5. Unzip the zip downloaded in step 1 and copy the contents inside your game directory.

6. Start the game and verify you have v1.03m3 in the left-top corner of the main menu. (the scenario setup screen should read in very small print 21st march below the title)

NOTE: That save games are fully compatible between all versions in circulation.
NOTE: Only the items below noted with (E) should kick in with older saved files, for the other fixes to kickin you'd need a fresh start.

Changelist 1.03m

- War Diary implemented

- Map Graphics improved

- Hoth’s photo implemented correctly on PG tab

- Auto relocate Siege Artillery back to Warsaw at game start if moved during Free Set-up

- Siege Artillery NATO symbol changed.

- Reorganised preferences tab

- Multiple different resolution options (for 1280x960 or higher)

- Changed back the smaller OFF and DEF modifiers (people didnt seem to like it)

- Added AP+RDN to select attacking units popup

- Big and minimalist counters now also show divisional + same hq highlighting

Changelist 1.03h

PBEM++ wrong preview settings issues fixed (fixed when challenges are made with 1.03h) (E)

Windows 10 rendering improvements. Used to look slightly fuzzy. Should be sharp now. (E)

Free Set Up option for both sides (Pre-Start turn)

Fixed first turn Soviet AI defensive penalty (normal AI) from -45% to -65% (they were transposed for the first and second turns)

Update ‘Tougher Soviet’ mouse over text to indicate it’s non-historical

German fast Division field maintenance only occurs if unit didn’t move OR fight (previously only did not move)

Fixed a few message typo's.

Ranks corrected, eg. Kol.Gen -> Gen.Obst., MajGen -> Maj.Gen.

Past Relationship no longer affects Soviet Difficulty rating if Germany is an AI

Additional (-30%) Soviet AI Defensive penalties on Easy Mode (for duration of game)

Finland Border violation and Fatigue movement bugs fixed

Siege artillery reverts to travelling on ALL rail for Decisions OFF and Easy mode (all else is German rail only). Also in Easy mode the effect is to reduce entrenchment levels to zero (down to 100 for all else)

Fixed faulty +5 PP refund when Soviets play Defensive Posture card in a theatre where Zhukov is present and there is a Comm’s breakdown

Helper buttons - fixed bug where buttons were disappearing when first clicked and prevented multiple uses of a button in a single turn

Finnish units base colour changed to a darker blue

Commanders Report - Supply added

Changelist 1.03b

The Zhukov / Card cost issue has been fixed

The Soviet AI no longer receives a small extra AI bonus during the German Human turn. This should making winning against the AI on normal at bit less difficult.

Changelist 1.03

This update is primarily aimed at balancing the game for the Soviet Player, whether versus the AI or PBEM.

Fixes

Army Status report fatigue tool tip made clearer
German 110st Inf changed to 110th Inf (and a few others)
Fatigue bands (eg. Low/Mod/High/Severe) corrected in Div report (minor bug)

Engine Changes
After panicking units can never have more morale remaining then basemorale. (E)
Mouse over on unit morale now shows base morale as well. (E)
P-key in history was performing as intended but now also changes stop/play text on button. (E)
The history and AI replay of regular moves (non-combat) speed has been halved to be able to actually see what's going on. (E)
The 0-6 hotkeys now also work with keypad (if numlock switched on) (E)
The 0 key now displays the units again when pressed for the second time. (E)
Could not pinpoint the Korean combat detail button issue, but at least prevented the combat window from closing on any key. Now only closes with SPACE or ESC. (E)

Balance

New Combat calculation check: Reduced Chance Panic Check is now done if losses+retreats are above base morale of unit troops.

NOTE: Chances are not huge, but you’ll be taking a risk when putting retreat standing order above the base morale of the unit. Chance for a reduced chance panic increases with the difference between morale and base morale getting smaller. This makes it harder for the Germans as they can get stellar morale units in early mid-game.

Siege Artillery restricted to German gauge rail
Siege artillery base delay % now increased by a small amount (round # / 3) to represent the increasing inability of the converted rail to handle very heavy trains
Siege Artillery now reduces entrenchment levels to 100 (halved), rather than 0

NOTE: Siege artillery was overpowered and has been place on a more realistic footing. It's still very useful but no longer a silver bullet.

Minor city Ports no longer access seaborne supply. Units cut-off in grey dot port cities will be treated as any other cut-off units. Units in red dot major cities will continue to receive seaborne supply as will any nearby units in the pocket.
Sevastopol now a Major City (Major Garrison, Threat increase if lost, 5 VP)

NOTE: Sevastopol has increased in importance not only from extra VP (and Paranoia increase if lost) but it also provides bonus PP's while held (see below)

Soviet Retreat % locked at 50% (normal) for first active German turn only in order to prevent a Soviet Player exploit (changing all to 100%)

Initial Soviet Blitzkrieg and Entrenchment penalties no longer apply to Soviet units situated in the Finnish, Romanian and Hungarian border region.
Soviet units on the Romanian & Hungarian border regions commence with a Neutral posture (previously offensive)
Soviet adverse terrain bonuses (forest and marsh hexes) no longer apply to Soviet units in the Finnish border region

NOTE: The Romanian/Hungarian frontier is no longer the walk over it was before. Both this and the Finnish frontier are immune from the big early turn Soviet penalties as they were a lot better situated when the campaign commenced. On the other hand the Soviets no longer gain a forest/marsh bonus against the Finns as they were equally competent, if not more so, in fighting in this terrain.

Soviet units that did NOT activate no receive 50 AP (previously 40 AP)

NOTE: The extra 10 AP should allow the 12th Soviet Army in the Southern Front (and a few others) to retreat across rivers.

Leningrad, if unable to trace route to Murmanks (hex 41,0, northern rail line) or Gorki, will have it’s per turn supply amount reduced to 200 (was 20,000)

NOTE: A cut off Leningrad still retains a small amount of supply as it's assumed to have it's own limited resources but it's only enough for a small force.

Zhukov’s presence at a Front (any HQ) lowers cost of Def Posture card for that Front by -5 PP (no effect if he is at STAVKA or travelling)
Soviet Reinforcements will arrive configured to a Defensive Posture (previously Neutral) if the objective city in that Front is under threat

NOTE: Two big changes here to enable the Soviets to better defend their objectives. Once the Germans get close enough reinforcements will automatically turn up in a defensive posture (desperate times require desperate measures) and Zhukov now has the ability to lower the cost in whatever front he is in. The Combat bonus differential between a Soviet Division set to Offensive posture and Defensive is 60%.

Soviets gain bonus PP’s for each Strategic city held beyond a certain point (see Staff report rd 3+). Cities generating PP’s are shown with their name in Yellow

NOTE: The idea here is to provide the Soviets with additional PP's (not a lot but enough to make a difference) which is handed out if they can manage to hold strategic cities past a certain point (shown both in the Daily Staff Log from round 3 onwards and visually by the city having it's name displayed in Yellow).

Soviet ‘No Retreat’ card initial cost changed to 0 PP (was 5 PP)

NOTE: Major Garrisons have greatly increased in value with the changes to Siege Artillery. The cost of the first one is now free (+5 PP for each additional one).

Soviet Player gains pre-set fortifications at game start at Leningrad & Moscow

NOTE: These represent a small number of preset fortifications that the Soviet player would normally build. It frees up the Garrison card for alternative fortification strategies.

German Starting Fuel Bonus lowered a touch (-1k bbls) in each theatre

‘Tougher Soviets’ option added (all Soviet Reinforcements +5 XP), Diff +15

NOTE: This is a straight difficulty increase aimed at PBEM players.

A number of German Commander Reports added to highlight problems.

NOTE: There are five reports displaying, for example, the Divisions with the highest fatigue levels by theatre. They represent the situation at the start of each turn and aim to help the German Player identify problem areas without having to ask each Division to report status.

FINAL NOTE: Balance is a difficult thing to get right and it would greatly help us if you turned the Metrics setting on, if you haven't already, so we had some hard data to work off. (See the Metrics post in the stickies section of the forum).

Testing
Feel free to give feedback in this thread!


Best wishes,

Vic and Cameron
Visit www.vrdesigns.net for the latest news, polls, screenshots and blogs on Shadow Empire, Decisive Campaigns and Advanced Tactics
User avatar
willgamer
Posts: 900
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 11:35 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by willgamer »

Vic said-
"FINAL NOTE: Balance is a difficult thing to get right and it would greatly help us if you turned the Metrics setting on, if you haven't already, so we had some hard data to work off. (See the Metrics post in the stickies section of the forum)."

Perhaps the metrics could be further refined. When turned on, a new drop down box could ask the player to identify whether he considers himself to be novice, intermediate, advanced, or elite.
Rex Lex or Lex Rex?
James Ward
Posts: 1163
Joined: Tue May 09, 2000 8:00 am
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by James Ward »

Looks good.

One suggestion if you want to test it is to set the front line soviet units to 25% retreat level initially. This lets you open up some decent holes the first turn where some good size pockets can be formed.
User avatar
Flaviusx
Posts: 7732
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Southern California

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Flaviusx »

I might quibble with some of this stuff (Leningrad supply could be a bit higher, still think major garrison costs should be fixed at 5 PPs) but on the whole it looks solid. Am especially pleased to see the positive PP incentives for the Sovs to hold on to territory.

It should be much easier to get defensive posture now, too. 35 PP investment + Zhukov = free defensive posture for a given theater. Heck, 15 PPs investment +5 per army for a given theater with Zhukov is not terrible. This is especially important down south. And having reinforcements arrive with said posture for threatened theaters is a pretty huge.
WitE Alpha Tester
governato
Posts: 1318
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 4:35 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by governato »

these are all excellent changes going in the right direction!

Falke
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:11 am

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Falke »

Zhukov’s presence at a Front (any HQ) lowers cost of Def Posture card for that Front by -5 PP (no effect if he is at STAVKA or travelling)

Small Bug(s) with this(Turn 3):
a) Card costs 5 pp but should be 10pp (other fronts are 15pp)
b) If you get failed communication when playing the Card you gain 10PP
User avatar
Flaviusx
Posts: 7732
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Southern California

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Flaviusx »

I'd say those are big bugs!
WitE Alpha Tester
Tweedledumb
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:35 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Tweedledumb »

Thanks, Vic (and Cameron), for your ongoing support of this unbelievably good game.
lancer
Posts: 2963
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:56 am

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by lancer »

Hi,

Looks like the law of unintended consequences has affected the Zhukov part of the update.

Sit tight, we'll get a new version out shortly.

Cheers,
Cameron
User avatar
Flaviusx
Posts: 7732
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Southern California

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Flaviusx »

Yeah, this is borked. Among other things, Zhukov doesn't need to be assigned to a Theater for his cost reduction to apply. He will grant the bonus even from an Army.

There's also some oddities in how bonus PPs are getting calculated, but that might be me not understanding the mechanic. It seems to be generating more PPs than it should as time goes on. Is the bonus per city increasing by design or is this a bug?

But it is definitely worth fighting forward now. You can more or less average an extra 4 PPs a turn pretty quickly doing so. That adds up and makes the expensive cards much more playable than before. This indeed helps to offset in large measure the increase in costs.
WitE Alpha Tester
User avatar
nukkxx5058
Posts: 3141
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 2:57 pm
Location: France

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by nukkxx5058 »

Cool !
"0 key" and numpad already implemented !
Thanks guys for your reactivity [&o]
Winner of the first edition of the Command: Modern Operations COMPLEX PBEM Tournament (IKE) (April 2022) :-)
User avatar
Vic
Posts: 9282
Joined: Mon May 17, 2004 2:17 pm
Contact:

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Vic »

v1.03b is coming up shortly! Thanks for spotting those issues so quickly. Thats why we do PUBLIC BETA's :)
Visit www.vrdesigns.net for the latest news, polls, screenshots and blogs on Shadow Empire, Decisive Campaigns and Advanced Tactics
User avatar
Vic
Posts: 9282
Joined: Mon May 17, 2004 2:17 pm
Contact:

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Vic »

Updated with 1.03b.

Best wishes,
Vic
Visit www.vrdesigns.net for the latest news, polls, screenshots and blogs on Shadow Empire, Decisive Campaigns and Advanced Tactics
User avatar
Flaviusx
Posts: 7732
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Southern California

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Flaviusx »

Are the bonus PPs working as intended then? I confess not entirely understanding how this amount is calculated as it doesn't seem to match +1 per active city objective. I was getting bigger numbers than that.
WitE Alpha Tester
VANorm
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:17 pm

RE: Testing thread for Public Beta 1.03b : Balance Adjustments

Post by VANorm »

ORIGINAL: Vic


Soviets gain bonus PP’s for each Strategic city held beyond a certain point (see Staff report rd 3+). Cities generating PP’s are shown with their name in Yellow

NOTE: The idea here is to provide the Soviets with additional PP's (not a lot but enough to make a difference) which is handed out if they can manage to hold strategic cities past a certain point (shown both in the Daily Staff Log from round 3 onwards and visually by the city having it's name displayed in Yellow).


Vic and Cameron

In Turn 1, as the Soviets, I don't see any city names in yellow displayed on the map in 1.03b. Are these only displayed later and maybe variable, so the Russian player does not know exactly what they will be?
Norm from Falls Church
User avatar
Michael T
Posts: 4445
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:35 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia.

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Michael T »

Soviet Reinforcements will arrive configured to a Defensive Posture (previously Neutral) if the objective city in that Front is under threat

What exactly defines the 'threat'?

Also I see nothing in the patch that stops a Soviet just deciding to pack up and defend the 3 objectives. Why fight forward? A few extra PP if you fight forward. Nice. But you still need to penalize the player who gives up the whole country just to defend the objectives. This is not the mindset of Stalin. You have provided the carrot but not the stick. Why not a reduction in PP if said cities fall to early? That is not unreasonable.

User avatar
Klydon
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 3:39 am

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Klydon »

The issue is a tough one. On one hand, you can penalize for not forcing the Russian to hold, but what happen if they tried in good faith or took a blood bath doing it? Great.. you took very heavy casualties and get nothing for it except you avoided a penalty to make things worse.

On the other hand, you can reward for holding. The Russians may take extra casualties holding, but hopefully some extra points is good enough incentive to hold. For the Germans, it places the burden to advance a bit more faster than perhaps they would like and if they don't take those areas, it will start piling up on the Germans that the Russians are going to get stronger by holding onto areas more forward if the Germans don't take them.

If I have to pick one or the other, it would be the second. While the Russians play run away, the Germans also don't advance as recklessly as they did at times either and if they do in some games, they are almost bullet proof in that most any Russian attack against them is a disaster.

At any rate, I also agree on some how avoiding the clumping of the front into 3 separate groups. While that might be somewhat plausible in the Leningrad area and in front of Moscow, it is not in the south where there are a lot of different important areas all over the place.
User avatar
Michael T
Posts: 4445
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:35 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia.

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by Michael T »

I am thinking in the context of what Flavius did in our last PBEM. If he were to employ the same strategy again with this latest patch and cover Gorki then I fail to see how he (or any experienced player for that matter) employing the same strategy could lose.

I am happy enough with the changes if the Russian fights forward. But the Russian who runs with everything and just defends the 3 objectives has a pretty solid position for doing the very thing that Stalin would not have tolerated.
lancer
Posts: 2963
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:56 am

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by lancer »

Hi,

The bonus PP's are best understood by looking at the Daily Staff Log for the Soviets. It doesn't kick in until round 3.

Strategic, red dot, cities will provide a bonus + 1 PP for each turn they are held beyond a certain round (shown in the Staff log).

Once a city is 'Active' (it's been held past the point required and is generating a bonus PP) it'd name is displayed in Yellow on the map (up until it is captured) so both sides can see which cities are generating bonus PP's. Cities that could potentially generate PP's but which haven't been held for long enough to do so don't receive the special yellow name treatment.

It's possible for the Soviets to gain bonus PP's from other sources but there is a summary of where all their PP's are derived from in the Daily Staff Log.

Cheers,
Cameron





lancer
Posts: 2963
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:56 am

RE: Public Beta 1.03 : Balance Adjustments

Post by lancer »

Hi,

Somebody asked at what point do Reinforcements arrive configured to a Defensive posture?

It's when the objective city in that front is under threat. When's that?

It's deliberately undefined to prevent people trying to game the system.

If you were living in Moscow at the time it's about where you'd expect it to be at the point where you'd start packing your suitcase.

Cheers,
Cameron
Post Reply

Return to “Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa”