Armoured Commander: WW2 Tank Commander Roguelike

[GalagaGalaxian]

Fans of this game, or, perhaps, Rev Sudasana himself, might find this website interesting:

http://www.theshermantank.com/

[Rev_Sudasana]

Excellent resource, thanks very much for posting it here!

[monkie]

Just had a hidden tank take a shot at me. I thought if an enemy tank was hidden it could not fire at my tank and I cannot fire at them?

[GalagaGalaxian]

Excellent resource, thanks very much for posting it here!

Well, here is hoping it positively influences the game a little. 

It definitely has a point, IMO, about the Sherman's undeserved reputation in popular culture.

[Rev_Sudasana]

Just had a hidden tank take a shot at me. I thought if an enemy tank was hidden it could not fire at my tank and I cannot fire at them?

Perhaps either you or the other tank moved after it went hidden? Either of these would make it lose its hidden status, and afterward it might have not been spotted, making it Unknown which means that you can't attack it, but it can attack you.

[monkie]

Not sure how to post images to this forum but from the screen shot I took it doesn't look as if my tank or the enemy tank moved. My tank was stopped and hull down.

The sequence was as follows:

Unknown Tank is now hidden.
Hidden Tank doesn't appear to do anything.
(my tank was firing at light weapons infantry)
Hidden Tank doesn't appear to do anything.
Hidden Tank is hit with smoke from friendly units.
No results from spotting attempts.
(my tank was firing at light weapons infantry)
Light Weapons infantry shifts it's position.
Friendly Sector Control Lost.
Hidden Tank fires at you!

[Rev_Sudasana]

That's disturbing! Will go over the code and try to figure out what's happening. Unfortunately the system for unit status has been layered up over time rather than being designed at all once. I bet something has slipped in that allowed this to happen. Will report back what I find.

Thanks very much for this!

Edit: You can send a screenshot to the armouredcommander gmail account, that might help.

[Rev_Sudasana]

Quick bug report: On a fresh install of b2.05, movement times displayed on the left side menu are consistent with the new standard (i.e. 30, 45, 60); however, the (y) or (n) dialog box  that appears when a move is selected still uses the old times, and indeed the time subtracted (from the time left in the day) is the old number not the new.

This is fixed in b2.06, will be uploaded later today.

The overhead diagrams of the tanks are great. Is there a reason why the m4a3(75)W has a shorter gun than the plain m4a3 (and all other 75mm armed tanks for that matter)?

I'm not sure! I'm basing it off of the Patton's Best tank cards, where that model has a shorter barrel. I'll do some research and make fixes if required.

It would be great to have the m4a1(76)w, just for completeness , as many of the early Sherman 76's deployed were of that model

The M4A1(76)W is actually already in the game, but I had only activated a later version which was quite rare and available only from October onward! It will be now be available from the start of the campaign from b2.06 onward, and if you choose unlimited tank selection, you can start in it from the beginning.

[Avagart]

I have more time finally, so I can check latest beta now

Crew skills and activation levels, wooow!

One minor issue. When I choose skill, prompt for confirmation appears. This y/N looks like case-sensitive and... yes, it is case sensitive, but 'N' reacts when 'n' is pressed, not 'N'. I think this capitalized n is for indication that options is 'default' as in many games.

After one moment I relized that crew skills are awesome, but some of them are un-flavourish, rather for fantasy or just action setting than for tan commander game.

[alt] in Main Gun Ammunition Menu is a bit counter-intuitive for me. It would be more comfortable if clicking [alt] would switch between un/loading ammo.

On campaign map... One more interface issue. Switching areas by [tab] is a bit weird. For example, I started 'surrounded' by 4 areas.

Code: [Select]

11223344
11SSSS44
11SSSS44
s - starting area
1 - first area
2 - second
3 - third
4 - fourth
In which order they switches? 2-3-1-4. Maybe would be better using arrows (left/right) instead of [tab]?

And last thing for now - it's strange for me if area-under-mouse is descripted instead selected, highlighted area. I know advantages of this solution, but seriously, I ever thought that this description in left-down panel is about highlighted area

[Rev_Sudasana]

One minor issue. When I choose skill, prompt for confirmation appears. This y/N looks like case-sensitive and... yes, it is case sensitive, but 'N' reacts when 'n' is pressed, not 'N'. I think this capitalized n is for indication that options is 'default' as in many games.

This was a known issue; I've nowgone through an enabled capital-letter input throughout the game for the next major version (Beta 2.1). The engine always treats different-case letter input as distinct, so this took a bit of time but was well worth it!

After one moment I relized that crew skills are awesome, but some of them are un-flavourish, rather for fantasy or just action setting than for tan commander game.

As much as I am trying to stick close to the history with ArmCom, in the end it's about fun and exciting narrative rather than a strict simulation. In real life, a book in your pocket will not save you from mortal injury, but in the narrative world it makes sense to have something that can save your crewman from death. Luckily, if a player is unhappy with these skills they can choose not to buy them for their crew.

[alt] in Main Gun Ammunition Menu is a bit counter-intuitive for me. It would be more comfortable if clicking [alt] would switch between un/loading ammo.

Changed in 2.1; works much better, thanks for the suggestion!

On campaign map... One more interface issue. Switching areas by [tab] is a bit weird.

I think I can improve this so that the tab key moves the selection clockwise around the player location. I've already changed the procedure for determining which nodes are linked, so this will be a good change to make as well.

And last thing for now - it's strange for me if area-under-mouse is descripted instead selected, highlighted area. I know advantages of this solution, but seriously, I ever thought that this description in left-down panel is about highlighted area

What I could do is have the description change to the highlighted node when the player is in that mode, but I'm worried that it will become a little confusing. I might add a highlight under the mouse cursor that disappears when a map area is selected; let me try a few things and get back to you.

Thanks as always for the feedback! Glad you're enjoying it, having seen it grow up so much these past few months.

[Incognito]

I have been having a little trouble with the "rescue" missions. Every time I've run into them (only twice, for the record), the rescue destination is too far away for me to reach in the allotted time.

Can't wait for the Firefly, by the way!

[Rev_Sudasana]

I'll try to fix the rescue missions in the next release, although I might end up just removing them altogether since they are so similar to Capture missions anyway.

The Firefly has been fun to play! The long range capability is a big change from the 75mm gun. I haven't had very much time to work on ArmCom recently, but hope to get a big chunk finished over the holiday.

[panzerdiesel]

It is a pleasure to discover the newest developments on ArmCom. I want to make a Let's Play on YT about this.

PS: I want a German campaign! What about the tough fights on the Eastern Front in 1944? Or maybe some action in the Normandy? GUDERIANS BEST

[Rev_Sudasana]

I've used Open Broadcaster Software and it's worked perfectly for me every time. I run my videos through Handbrake first though to decrease upload time to Youtube.

I assume you already know about the Guderians Best module since you mentioned it! The next version is really going to start opening things up in terms of creating new campaign modules, starting with the Canadians.

[panzerdiesel]

Is there a way to start ArmCom under Linux? With Wine it was too slow after a short time. I am no Linux crack I must tell.