Steam and Iron 2.0b out

[Capn Darwin]

What has everyone's turn around time for getting the install code been? I was thinking of grabbing it but the day to get a code threw me off doing it tonight.

[jomni]

How's the replay value?  Will playing the same scenario bring out variable results.  I think it does but I'm not too sure.   

[Bismarck]

What has everyone's turn around time for getting the install code been? I was thinking of grabbing it but the day to get a code threw me off doing it tonight.

Very fast.

[Bismarck]

How's the replay value?  Will playing the same scenario bring out variable results.  I think it does but I'm not too sure.

historical, variable and maximum force levels, 3 play modes, 32 scenarios and an editor.  I think there's replay there.

[spelk]

Low-Level Steam and Iron AAR...

-snip-

You see, reading this I am astounded how much detail in the decisions made you can go into with simple actions.

I tend to run a scenario, and end up in a frantic cat and mouse chase, of turning arcs, that ultimately sees me losing the enemy, or losing my vessels to attrition.

I can see I'm going to have to take it slower, and at a more considered pace. I think I'm playing it too much at the real time, action end, and not enough in the planning in my mind phase.

Are there any rules you can condense, for the dense (beginners) like myself?

WWI naval warfare is not really my forte, but I am amassing a large appreciation of the equipment and happenings of the time.

[Bismarck]

Play in Admiral mode at first and trust the AI to handle targeting. Keep your flag close to all divisions until engaged. Turn sight and firings on and keep at extreme range until you're sure you see most of the enemy. Never go to max unless you're running away. Use Flotilla Attack to slow the enemy. In the heat of battle, use the 5-minute run so as to not let the game get away from you. (Unlike Herman, I don't mind clicking.) Keep the scenario objectives in mind; break off when you meet them. Don't go for complete annihilation.

Oh and remember: you play this game with your head, not your fingers.

[gabeeg]

The 1.03b (beta) has been released:

1.0.3b
Changes

* Very slow now equals roughly one minute every 20 seconds.
* E key now pauses and restarts the game.
* Shift + Q now ends the scenario (with confirmation dialog).
* Rearranged buttons on toolbar so that "nice to have" buttons are furthest to the right (to make the game playable on 1024 x 768 resolution).
* Added possibility to copy battle details to clipboard.
* Added arrows to course indicator in main window.
* Double clicking a division or ship in the OOB will center the map on that unit.

Bug fixes

* Fixed problems with the main map losing focus after hotkey use in previous version.
* Squadron Max and Median speed buttons now enabled and disabled correctly.
* Fixed unintended centering of map when engaging lock function.
* Speed ordered for division is now limited to highest speed of any ship in division.
* Fixed a bug with centreline torpedomounts.
* Fixed a bug that caused high scores not to be saved in some situations when one side had zero points.
* Corrected torpedo outfit for Lion, Tiger König and Nassau classes.
* Fixed a bug introduced in 1.0.2b that caused CL to turn away fom enemy heavy ships without need in some cases.
* Corrected Tondern Raid scenario.

[Capn Darwin]

Ok, I caved to peer pressure (you heartless bastards  ;D ) and got the game this afternoon. It is a very Harpoon 1-esc game and feel. I'm not big on WW1 surface action, but this is a fun game. It may take a while to get the subtleties of fire and maneuver down but I've scored a major victory and two minors with small scenarios. There are some interface items I'd like to see tweaked/fixed (need to get on their forum and list them) to make things a bit easier to command and also review at games end. Looking forward to seeing this game evolve.  8)

[Grim.Reaper]

I think I may cave this weekend as well.....hoping all my other activities keep my mind off of it :)

[Bismarck]

(you heartless bastards  ;D )

LB, he's talking about you again.

[LongBlade]

(you heartless bastards  ;D )

LB, he's talking about you again.

He might be, but I don't own this game.





(yet)

[Capn Darwin]

I like the game, but it does need a few UI tweaks to make life easier.

1. Mouse wheel zoom. Using the mouse to hit the buttons or going to the keyboard is very 1988. Plus they can get rid of those two buttons on the bar. The global zoom button can stay.

2. Refreshing of the screen. I'm not sure what language they coded in, but when I hit a button to turn on range circles it should appear on the screen when I do the button push and not when the turn is started. It is still okay to refresh with the turn, but visual feedback is important.

3. Along the lines of #2, the objective area to reach needs to show on screen at the start, perhaps a button to toggle those on/off would be nice. I lost a scenario, because I could not see the objective on the map since it only shows if I open the objectives tab and then click the entry. To much hunt and click.

4. I would also like to be able to left click on a group and then right click a heading on the map without having to hit the heading button. Double left clicking to open the group info panel would keep most used functions one the mouse and on the group flags.

5. There also needs to be a bit more in the postmortem phase. First thing I wonder is how the scoring is done. There are points shown that don't seem to apply to the final score. Also the details page needs a heading for Side. In some cases I can tell whose ships are whose, but being able to filter would be nice. Also it would be great to have a reply showing the track of the ships, where ships got sunk/detached/etc with time stamps. A lot of older games did that and it was a cool thing.

[Capn Darwin]

Succumb to the peer pressure LB, you know you want to blow up ships.  ;)

[Nefaro]

I like the game, but it does need a few UI tweaks to make life easier.

1. Mouse wheel zoom. Using the mouse to hit the buttons or going to the keyboard is very 1988. Plus they can get rid of those two buttons on the bar. The global zoom button can stay.

Engine doesn't support it.  I really like the Zoom in feature of just click-dragging a lasso and it zooms to encompass that area.  It's zooming out that I need to use hotkeys or buttons for.  You can use the Z and X keys to zoom in and out.  F will zoom out to encompass all visible units.  E or P will pause the game (if you run it straight through). I also use the WASD keys for moving the view, but usually go with holding rt-mouse button and moving the map.  Spacebar for advancing one 1min turn at a time, and spacebar to start continuous time.  After all these keys have been added, I'm fairly satisfied.

2. Refreshing of the screen. I'm not sure what language they coded in, but when I hit a button to turn on range circles it should appear on the screen when I do the button push and not when the turn is started. It is still okay to refresh with the turn, but visual feedback is important.

This was a side effect of the 1.02b beta patch unfocusing the game window after every turn.  It was fixed in the 1.03b patch, I suggest you install that one now.  If it's a bug, I'll see if I can also replicate.

3. Along the lines of #2, the objective area to reach needs to show on screen at the start, perhaps a button to toggle those on/off would be nice. I lost a scenario, because I could not see the objective on the map since it only shows if I open the objectives tab and then click the entry. To much hunt and click.

You can see the objective area by clicking on the objective text, in that tab.  It will pop-up on the map.  I also didn't know this (wasn't in the manual IIRC) and had to ask.

4. I would also like to be able to left click on a group and then right click a heading on the map without having to hit the heading button. Double left clicking to open the group info panel would keep most used functions one the mouse and on the group flags.

There's a hotkey:  Hold down shift and left click on map to set heading.  I use this far more than the buttons in the game. :)

5. There also needs to be a bit more in the postmortem phase. First thing I wonder is how the scoring is done. There are points shown that don't seem to apply to the final score. Also the details page needs a heading for Side. In some cases I can tell whose ships are whose, but being able to filter would be nice. Also it would be great to have a reply showing the track of the ships, where ships got sunk/detached/etc with time stamps. A lot of older games did that and it was a cool thing.

He added some text file output but there's no map notes.  Having some map symbols shown for major occurances, after the battle is over, would be nice.  But I think there's a lot more to be done before that point.  They're gonna give us a free update with a whole campaign game layer!  And we will even be able to adjust or build our own ships in it!  Fun fun! 

Dunno if you've found out, but you can dbl-click on each ship in the Details window, after the battle, and look over the hits it took, damage levels, etc. 

[Double Deuce]

How powerful is the Editor and does the map "really" cover the entire globe?