TacOps v3.x Change Report

v.3.0.5 Changes.

User Request. Mac & Win. Enabled the display of a color miniature
situation map for both Type1 and Type2 maps.

Bug Fix. Mac & Win. Fixed a rather nasty crash bug curtesey of a saved
game file from Chuck Bracy. The bug occured occasionally when a SAM shot
down a helo that was carrying a vehicle in a sling and where the
vehicle's crew was also embarked on the same helo.

v3.0.4 Changes.

User request. Mac & Win. Added a new type of map to TacOps - the Type2
map - to facilitate the creation of new maps by users. Type2 maps are
fully crossplatform for Mac and Windows. The artwork for a Type2 map is
stored as an ordinary bmp file. Thus Type2 artwork can be created and
modified by using various popular art programs. The non artwork data
(the terrain coding) for a Type2 map is stored separately as an ordinary
binary data file and requires a map editing utility to produce (available
free from www.battlefront.com). The artwork for a Type2 map has the
following naming convention: 'Map' + 'three digit number' + 'c' +
'.bmp'. The non artwork data for a Type2 map has the following naming
convention: 'Map' + 'three digit number' + 'c' + '.dat'.

User request. Mac & Win. A Type2 map may also optionally have an
associated Map Legend text file. This text file may contain up to 20,000
characters of plain text. The contents of this file (if present) will be
displayed to the user in a scrolling text box when the Map Legend menu
item is selected. To allow crossplatform usage of the same text file
whether the file was created on a Mac or on a PC, the Mac version ignores
linefeeds (if present) in the text file and the Windows version adds
linefeeds (if missing) in the text file. A Map Legend text file has the
following naming convention: 'Map' + 'three digit number' + 'c' + '.txt'
and must be saved as plain text.

User request. Mac & Win. Moved the optional unit name text (if present)
to the front of the title line of the Unit Orders Window.

User request. Mac & Win. Added optional drawing of unit names alongside
the unit marker on the map. The drawing of the unit names can be turned
on and off by using the Tab key or by using a menu item.

User request. Mac & Win. Reorganized the major text reports to show info
in a more consistent manner. Also widened the reports windows.

User request. Mac & Win. Situation Report, Logistics Report, Ammo
Report, Support Report - if a line in these report windows contains a
unit id number in the format 'ID:x', then that line can be double clicked
on so as to automatically open the Unit Orders window for that unit.

User request. Mac & Win. The Logistics Report and the Ammo Report now
mark units with asterisks that have 50% or less of their ammunition
remaining. These reports used to only highlight units with 10% or less
ammunition remaining.

User Request. Mac & Win. Ammo/Logictics Report now shows a statement at
the beginning of the report, rather than at the end, as to whether any
units in the report are below the 50% ammo level.

User request. Mac & Win. When loading a saved game file, the program
will start its automatic search for the associated scenario file and map
file by looking first in the directory where the saved game file is
located. This simplifies game startup and file organization (i.e. allows
one to easily isolate similarly named saved game files and orders files)
for players who prefer to create a special named folder for each PBEM and
CPX game in progress into which they have placed copies of the scenario
file and the map file for that game.

User Request. Mac & Win. In solitaire games in previous versions, the
Red AI computer opponent selected its opening moves for off-map units in
the game setup phase as soon as the scenario was loaded. This prevented
the Blue player from saving and reusing his starting setup for future
replays of that scenario because doing so would mean that the Red AI
computer opponent would always use the same opening moves for off-map
units. The new startup logic is as follows. If you are in solitaire
mode, and if the Red force has units that enter the map after the setup
turn, and if you save the game before running the first combat turn, then
when that saved game file is reloaded the Red force units will usually
(but not always) select a different opening move from what was used in
the last game. This only applies when all of the above stated conditions
are met and it only applies to Red units that enter the map after the
first turn. If you are playing a scenario where the Red force starts out
already setup on the map then you will continue to be stuck with only
that particular Red setup whenever that saved game file is reloaded.

User Request. Mac only. Sped up initial appearance of 'Add One Unit'
window by precalculateing and then hard coding its alpha sorted unit name
arrays.

User request. Mac & Win. Added more terrain info to the text shown in
the info line at various places in the program.

Misc Info. Mac & Win. Shortened the Report Menu list by five items by
eliminating menu list distinctions between blue reports and red reports.
Program can now deduce which force to display reports for.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. If a player interrupted the orders phase of a game
session by saving the game and exiting TacOps, then when the player next
reloaded that saved game file and resumed giving orders, the shift point
restrictions for ongoing artillery and mortar units were sometimes
ignored.

Bug Fix. Win only. Program double printed optional unit name text in the
ammo/logistics report.

Bug Fix. Mac & Win. Windows version would sometimes crash or begin to
display garbled graphics or begin to fail to draw some graphics if there
were large numbers of small smoke clouds on the map and if two or more of
these clouds were located consecutively in memory and if two or more of
those consecutive clouds were removed from the map in the same 15 second
combat pulse. The same bug existed in the code for the Mac version but
it did not cause a problem on Macs.

Bug Fix. Mac & Win. When loading a saved game file, the program failed
to automatically look for a needed scenario file in a factory folder with
the same name as the scenario. Example: when looking for 'Task Force
Craig.sce', the program would fail to extend its search to include the
factory folder named 'Task Force Craig' and would then stupidly ask the
user to locate the scenario.

Bug Fix. Mac & Win. The program failed to disable the check box line
titled '9 No Enemy OOB Reports' in the Options/Preferences window when
displaying a CPX map overlay file in which at least one side was
protected by an overlay password and the creator of the overlay had set
the overlay to not show enemy order of battle reports,

Bug Fix. Win only. The program would sometimes crash while drawing the
Order of Battle report when displaying a CPX map overlay file when the
creator of the overlay had set the overlay to not show enemy order of
battle reports.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. If a unit was towing a damaged vehicle and if the
towing unit lost a strength point, the towed unit would be instantly
released/placed on the map with its damage repaired.

Bug fix. Win only. If a unit had five weapon systems, the Unit
Ammunition Resupply window failed to show the correct maximum possible
ammo load for the fifth weapon system. The window incorrectly repeated
the maximum possible ammo load for the fourth weapon system.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. Deleted French accent over the 'e' character in
'Guide des scenarios.pdf'. The accent mark caused installation problems
for Chinese and Japanese language versions of Windows.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. Program would sometimes wrongfully refuse to load
more than one item on a landing craft.

Bug fix. Win only. Symbol spacing was sometimes off in the Unit Preview
Window.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. Program would wrongfully remove from play a non
amphibious unit that was stationary on a bridge, if the bridge was coded
as road + water.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. Changed lift capacity of CH53 helicopter from 33333
kg to 14515 kg.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. Changed light anti tank weapon on Canadian Taurus
ARV from AT4 LAAW to M72 LAAW.

Bug fix. Mac & Win. If a helicopter or a landing craft was carrying an
APC which was in turn was carrying an infantry unit and if the user
duplicated the helicopter or landing craft, the program would fail to
duplicate the infantry unit inside the APC.

Bug fix. Win only. If the user selected a group of units and if the user
then selected the Setup/Unload Unit menu item, the program would stop
unloading the list of selected unit markers as soon as it encountered any
marker that was not carrying troops.

Best regards, Major H
MajorH@mac.com
http://www.battlefront.com