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The Operational Art of War IV - The legend is back!
Daniele
"First, a big thank to all the community for the patience regarding the long development time for The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587). Despite some bumps along the way, the TOAW Development Team is working very hard to deliver the great wargame everyone is awaiting.
Today, we are very proud to announce that this project is in its final stages!"
Check out its official Product page (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587) for more information!
Stay tuned for further updates!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Art/TheOperationalArtofWarIV/TOAoW4_Box_2D_800.jpg)
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The Operational Art of War IV opens the gates for Beta Recruitment!
The Operational Art of War IV development is proceeding straight forward and today developers are very proud to announce the game is ready to enter the Beta Phase!
If you think to have what it takes enlist here (http://www.matrixgames.com/beta/cnda.asp?gid=587) and help us in giving the final touches to the game!
The Operational Art of War IV is the new generation of operational wargames. With more flexibility than before and with a new array of exciting features, it will make you relive the most iconic battles from the dawn of the 20th Century to modern day, including the ones that never occurred!
More than 200 scenarios like the Battle of Marne, Dien Bien Phu, the Battle of Arnhem, the Falkland Invasion - and lots more! - will forge your strategy skills and ability to master all kind of troops and terrains!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/Breakthrough-imminent-at-Gorlice-Tarnow.jpg)
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/Hypothetical-invasion-of-North-Vietnam-in-1969.jpg)
MORE SCREENSHOTS IN THE PRODUCT PAGE! (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)
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BATTLEFIELD TIMESTAMPS
by Bob Cross[/center][/size]
Let’s take a trip back in time to about 2002. TOAW exists, but as “ACOW”. You’re a newbie just starting out with the game. If you perused the manual you might have seen these few items:
Individual battles are resolved in a series of tactical rounds. Each player turn is divided into ten tactical rounds, and individual battles begin on the round that most closely corresponds to the proportion of the attacking units’ movement allowance expended before the combat. …
Battles continue until all units of one side have broken off, but not beyond tactical round 10. …
After combat, all of your units will have their remaining movement allowances adjusted to reflect the highest tactical round needed to resolve all attacks. …
Your turn will end if either of the following conditions apply:
• You have launched no attacks.
• The mean remaining movement allowance of your entire force is too small to allow for successful exploitation of your attacks.
• Your force fails a proficiency check.
But, in a huge manual, those scattered tidbits can be missed, or their importance overlooked. You want to get started.
You fire up the CFNA scenario and start setting up Axis attacks. One attack involves a foot unit that has moved quite a distance:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_01.jpg)
Note that the unit has expended 23 of its 28 MPs. The 5 remaining MPs amount to only 18% of its original movement allowance. So this unit has a Time Stamp of 9 out of 10. This attack is going to cause your turn to end. But, as a newbie, you’re unaware of this. Perhaps you go on to setup several more attacks. Then you execute your attacks. After they are all resolved, you get this screen:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_02.jpg)
You stare at it in disbelief. There were a potential ten combat phases, and you only got one. And note that there isn’t even a reason given for the early turn ending or even which combat was the issue. You are left to gape in wonder.
This is where newbies often got off the TOAW bandwagon. But, even if they didn’t, and hung around long enough to figure out the deal with using late units in attacks, there was another way to get the early turn ending that stymied even veteran players: Attack Complexity.
As the manual said, battles continued till one entire side broke off. So, really complex combats with lots of determined units on both sides could last several rounds – even the entire player turn. And the bigger the scenario, the more such attacks each combat phase tended to have. Huge scenarios were thus often harried by such combats, far more so than smaller, simpler scenarios – just because they had more combats. Obviously, this didn’t make any realistic sense, and tended to sour even veterans on the game. “Why should a battle in North Africa screw up action in the Ukraine” was the complaint. And they were right. Something had to be done.
Move forward to about 2007 and TOAW III. Two features were added: The “Circle of Stars” and MRPB.
The “Circle of Stars” reflected both the current round, and the max start round that had been setup in planned combats. So, if properly monitored, this feature could alert players to the presence of late units in attacks. But it did require that monitoring. Fail to notice and you could have the same result as in the first example.
MRPB (Max Rounds per Battle) could put a limit on individual battles lasting very many rounds. But, it required designer action before it could have any effect. And a value below three induced some strange combat effects (not to mention removing most of the skill required to play the game). Since most existing scenarios won’t ever see designer action again, and a limit of three still can waste two rounds, this was still not ideal.
Finally move forward to 2017 and TOAW IV. New feature: Battlefield Timestamps.
Under the Battlefield Timestamp system, after all combats are resolved, the player-turn will advance to the combat round of the MEDIAN length combat. In other words, if there were seven combats that lasted 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, & 6 rounds respectively then the player turn would advance only two rounds, instead of the six rounds of before. Note that this means that three combats lasted longer than the round of the new combat phase. This will be accounted for by placing a TIME STAMP in those three hexes that will equal their actual ending round.
TIME STAMP definition: The fraction of the player-turn, in tenths, that has been expended. This applies to the Player-Turn itself, to Units (the fraction of their MPs that they have expended), and now to battlefield hexes.
Movement effects of Battlefield Time Stamps: Any unit that enters a hex with a Battlefield Time Stamp will have its movement points reduced until its unit time stamp is at least equal to that of the hex.
Combat effects of Battlefield Time Stamps: Combats planned for a hex with a Battlefield Time Stamp will start on a combat round as if the player-turn is the same as the hex’s time stamp. All units that participate in a combat that results in a Battlefield Time Stamp have their time stamps increased to the resulting time stamp of the battlefield.
Combat creation of Battlefield Time Stamps: If a combat lasts longer than one round, it creates a Battlefield Time Stamp equal to the last round that combat expended.
In addition, if a defender was prevented from retreating from a combat by non-participating enemy units then the combat’s Battlefield Time Stamp is the greater of the time stamps of the blocking units and the time stamp of the last round of the combat. So, if the combat ended on round five, but there was a blocking unit that prevented the defenders from retreating and it had a time stamp of seven, then the Battlefield Time Stamp would be set to seven (and all participating units would have their time stamps increased to seven). Note that this ends the time-machine effect of blocking units that the game had endured up to this point (This part of the feature is still under development).
RBC creation of Battlefield Time Stamps: Whenever a defender is forced to retreat-before-combat (RBC, also referred to as Overrun) by a unit with a Time Stamp greater than the Player-Turn’s Time Stamp, there is a Battlefield Time Stamp created in the hex equal to the time stamp of the overrunning unit. Note that this ends the time-machine effect of overrunning units.
Battlefield Time Stamps are shown on the map by a dedicated graphic (see below) and their effect on movement is incorporated into the path feature and shown in the unit panel. Note that there is now an option to display the unit’s time stamp on its counter.
After all combats are resolved and the combat phase has been advanced, all Battlefield Time Stamps on the map that are either less than or equal to the new time stamp of the player-turn are erased. So all Battlefield Time Stamps are erased by the end of the player-turn.
Note that by advancing to the MEDIAN instead of the MINIMUM combat length the game retains a requirement for a level of skill in marshalling the player’s combats. Players still need to try to minimize the number of combats that last multiple rounds to get the best amount of combat exploitation. But now a single slip-up or bad break won’t ruin an entire player-turn.
Now let’s try it out in a game.
Here’s a shot showing several attacks set up in Kaiserschlacht 1918 (note the six gold crossed swords). But note the Unit Panel: Somewhere one of the attacks has been set up with a late unit in the attack. We know this because the Current Round is shown as 1, while the Progress Bar (replacement for the Circle of Stars) shows four rounds set to expire upon execution. Note that the unit in the Unit Panel has moved 5 of its 12 MPs. It is late.
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_03.jpg)
This can also be seen by the new Planned Combats dialog:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_04.jpg)
As shown, of the seven battles (there’s a seventh battle south of the first screen shot) six have no delay – they have been planned without late units. But one has not.
But, despite the clear warning, let’s go ahead and execute the planned attacks.
This shot shows the results:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_05.jpg)
Note the Progress Bar has one round consumed, the Current Round is 2. So only one round expired on the map – except in one location. Note the six silver crossed-swords showing where battles took place. But one such location also has a bronze crossed-swords in it. That is the Battlefield Timestamp (BTS) symbol.
Now look at the new Combat Results dialog:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_06.jpg)
Note that one combat consumed 5 rounds, while the other six only consumed 1 round. Remember that under the previous system, that would have meant that the player turn would have advanced to round 6, not round 2. The BTS system has saved four rounds. Only the one hex that had the delayed combat in it has any adverse effects. This was because the median length combat of the seven combats was one round. (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 5). In order to get this result, most of the combats need to be conducted correctly. The BTS system will shield the player from a minority of slipups or bad breaks. It will not shield him from a majority of screw-ups. Furthermore, note that if you have the idea that you can trick the BTS system with a bunch of one-round bombardments, know that the median formation only includes bombardments if no non-bombardments are involved.
So, skill is still required. Complete boneheaded play will still waste rounds.
To illustrate this, this shot shows just such a boneheaded play: Only one attack is set up – a bombardment with a very late unit. (Note the Progress Bar in the Unit Panel).
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_07.jpg)
The attack is executed. As one would expect, this consumes the remaining rounds in the player turn. (There were no non-bombardments in this combat phase, and only one bombardment – making that bombardment the median). But, unlike back in ACOW, there is now a message informing the player why his turn ended early:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_08.jpg)
Had the reason been a Force Proficiency Failure, that would have been in the message instead (note that Force Proficiency Failures are not changed by the BTS system – they are legitimate checks on force plans based upon how organized the force is). So, at least the player doesn’t have to wonder what when wrong. If there is any doubt, the Combat Results dialog should clear them up:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_09.jpg)
Note that the bombardment consumed all remaining rounds.
There is still the issue of BTS’s generated by RBC’s. While RBC’s are not combat, and so will not result in early turn endings, they do force enemy units out of the way of friendly forces. If the unit that forced the RBC had moved a long way to get there to do the RBC, while the nearby units available to exploit the gap forced by the RBC are fresh and unmoved, you can see the time-machine effect the RBC can generate. That’s why such RBC’s now generate BTS’s.
Let’s see this via an example:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_10.jpg)
A number of armored battalions have moved adjacent to an enemy position. Most came from just across the boundary line, expending only 3 MPs. But one (the top one) came from quite a bit further. As shown, it has expended 11 MPs.
If we now RBC the defender with that unit, this is the result:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_11.jpg)
Note that there is now a BTS in the RBC’d hex. That BTS is equal to the Timestamp of the overrunning unit. As a result, the exploiting units behind it will have to pay an extra cost to enter the BTS hex – equal enough to raise the exploiting unit’s Timestamp to the same as the BTS.
Let’s look at that cost:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps/TOAOW_IV_Battlefield_Timestamps_12.jpg)
Note that I continued the overrunning unit’s advance, generating another BTS, while evaporating the defender. But now one of the exploiting units is trying to follow its lead. Normally, the cost to enter an empty, unconverted sand hex would be 3 for a motorized unit. But here it is 11. That’s the cost to both enter the hex AND adjust the unit’s Timestamp to the BTS. So, no advantage was attained by using a distant unit to effect the overrun while leaving the nearby exploiting units unmoved. The BTS system has fixed the Time-machine effects of RBC’s.
Only one more thing about RBC induced BTS’s: If you RBC a weak unit all over the map, you’ll now leave BTS’s all over the map as well. That can leave you with a barrier to exploitation. It’s more important than before that such small units are corralled and eliminated, instead of engaging in such silly chases.
Happy Wargaming!
Original post: HERE (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4274372&mpage=1&key=&)
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TOAW IV SUPPLY ENHANCEMENTS
by Bob Cross
Supply enhancements contained in TOAW IV include a new supply state that falls between “Supplied” and “Unsupplied”, an option to reduce the movement cost of motorized units on Improved Roads by a factor of from 2 to 10 – impacting supply broadcast along such roads, and the removal of the 50% limit on Unit Supply Recovery per turn.
I. Overextended Supply State:
There is now a new supply state that falls between “Supplied” and “Unsupplied”. It’s called “Overextended”. If used, it will allow a designer to realistically impede units from continuing to press on indefinitely at red unit-supply conditions. Units in this state will have to slow down enough to keep their unit supply levels above their desertion levels – or wither away.
• A unit is “Overextended” if it has a line-of-communications to a supply point but is far enough from any supply source to be in a hex with lower location supply level than the designer-set “Overextended Supply Threshold”. For example, if that threshold were 6, then any hex with a supply level of 5 or lower would be “Overextended”.
• The default setting for the threshold is 0 – making it impossible for any hex to qualify for the new state. Therefore, only scenarios specifically edited for it will employ this feature.
• “Overextended” units receive supply normally.
• However, they also suffer desertion losses (see below) during the interturn calculations the same as if they were “Unsupplied” – except that those losses go to the “On Hand” pool, not the dead pile. To review, such losses start when the unit supply-level drops below (100 - unit proficiency). The percent loss per turn is scaled by turn intervals per week and by how far below the threshold they are.
• “Overextended” units only receive replacements if they are not suffering desertions (their unit-supply level is above (100 - unit proficiency)).
• “Overextended” hexes have a different supply font from the normal supply font in the supply display, for information purposes.
This shot shows the pull-down access to the Force Extended Supply Threshold. (Note that it is a Force Parameter – each side has one). You have to have the Force Editor active for these options to be listed:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_01.jpg)
Clicking on the parameter brings up this dialog. The default setting is zero. But, as shown, this scenario (Soviet Union 1941 Mobile Variant) has been given a setting of 4. So, all locations less than 4 will be overextended:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_02.jpg)
After playing that scenario to turn 18, this is the Supply View around Moscow. Note that as you go east of Moscow, the locations become overextended (note the change in supply view value color):
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_03.jpg)
Now I made the units visible in that shot. The Germans have proficiencies greater than 80 in this scenario, so they need to have unit supply levels of at least 20 just to exist in overextended locations. To carry out offensive actions, they need to have nearly full unit supply. Note the few red-lined units I’ve identified that are now overextended (the supply radius just changed in the scenario, putting those units in this situation). They need to be extracted from these locations and moved to the west – being replaced by units in better health.
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_04.jpg)
Recognize that in previous versions of TOAW there would have been no need for such unit shifts. Red-lined units could proceed indefinitely in such conditions without adverse consequences, with no limit on how far from their supply source they ranged. This puts an end to the “infinite supply line” problem.
Note that, although not a factor in this scenario (because the Soviets are falling back on their supply network and so are not on a supply tightrope, like the Axis), Soviet units have proficiencies in the 30s here. They would need unit supply levels in the 70s to just exist in such locations and offensive operations would be nearly impossible even for units at full supply. So, you can imagine the Soviet offensives grinding to a halt once they get to the end of their supply tether – a realistic effect.
II. Motorized Movement over Improved Roads
When in Deployment Mode or with the Force Editor active, the Edit pull-down contains the “Set Divisor of Improved-Road-Motorized-Movement” game parameter:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_05.jpg)
The default value is 1 (same as non-improved road), just as it was under TOAW III and before. But the limit is a max of 10, and, as shown, CFNA has a value of 2:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_06.jpg)
This shot shows the impact of that parameter. Motorized units only pay ˝ MP over Improved Roads:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_07.jpg)
While this is primarily a movement cost feature, it has an impact on supply distribution, as shown in the supply view from CFNA. (There is a supply point in Tobruk). Recall that there is an improved road running along the coast. Inland locations get further and further away from the coast road. This is reflected in the location supply inland:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_08.jpg)
Note that this now means that operations south of the Qattara Depression are going to encounter much worse supply situations – enough so that the Overextended Supply Threshold will probably be exceeded. So, supply distribution in desert scenarios should be made more realistic by this feature.
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_09.jpg)
III. Unit Supply Recovery Limit lifted:
There had been a limit of 50% max to how much unit supply a unit could recover in a turn. That limit has been lifted. So, if the location supply is lush enough, a unit can now go from 0% to 150% unit supply in a single turn. (Admittedly, this is a minor change that will rarely be encountered, but I’ve included it for completeness.)
Here’s a demonstration:
This shot shows a unit with zero unit supply under TOAW III:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_10.jpg)
But it is sitting on a supply point with 137% strength, and a Force Supply Level of 100%. There is also a HQ in the hex with the unit. So, the location is lush enough for the unit to recover to full (150%) supply in a single turn, if that was allowed by the game system.
But here is the unit after one turn of supply recovery:
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_11.jpg)
The unit only recovered to 50% supply. The limit kicked in to prevent full recovery.
Now we switch the scenario to TOAW IV. Again, the unit starts with unit supply of 0% but is sitting on a supply point with 137% strength of 100% Force Supply Level.
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_12.jpg)
One turn later, though, the unit now has full supply (150%):
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/TOAOW_IV_Supply_pictures/Supply_13.jpg)
Happy wargaming!
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TOAW IV In-depth Analysis - NAVAL WARFARE
TOAW IV includes a suite of new naval features that should prove to be a good first step towards a full naval warfare model.
1. Naval Combat: To recap, naval combat in TOAW had been very crudely modeled. Ships were literally treated as if they were a single piece of equipment – like a single squad. Any AP hit killed them. Their defense strengths weren’t used in that determination, by the way. This surprising discovery meant that it was as easy to sink a Battleship as it was to sink a Destroyer. AP strengths were combined for hit determination – making a bunch of DDs as powerful as BBs. Whether hit ships were permanently destroyed or just sent to the “On Hand” pool bizarrely depended upon a check against their proficiency. Fleet units could “evaporate” like a land unit that had lost cohesion. Embarked units employed their various strengths when attacked. The whole thing had to be overhauled if there was to be any hope of realistic naval warfare. It has been. The new naval combat model has the following features:
• Ships now have damage levels, and take damage in combat, if hit by the attacking ordinance. Those levels are displayed in the unit report (see below).
• Attacking equipment Anti-ship factors are evaluated as individual shots/planes so that each warhead can be evaluated for armor penetration.
• Hit chances depend on a number of checks made involving various factors such as the visibility, attacker proficiency, target agility, aircraft anti-naval strength, gunnery range, and shock levels.
• The amount of damage a hit inflicts on a target ship depends upon shell weights of the ordinance hitting them, their armor thickness, and their durability.
• Ship armor and durability are derived from the ship’s defense strength, unless the designer has explicitly specified them using the new naval equipment add-on to the scenario’s equipment file. That file also allows ship agility, accuracy, and speed to be explicitly specified.
• Embarked units’ armor, durability, agility, and AAA are fixed at 0, 25, 18, and 0, respectively. This means that the strengths of the embarked equipment are no longer used to resolve attacks on embarked units.
• Ships that accumulate 100 or more damage points are eliminated – sent to the dead pile.
• Ship damage levels less than 100 are saved in the unit on each TO&E line. Those levels debilitate the ship’s AP, AAA, Speed, Nuclear Strength, and Agility accordingly. They do not affect Defense Strength, Armor, or Durability levels. Damage levels of 50 or more turn the ship’s TO&E button silver (for a bit of chrome).
• If a TO&E line contains more than one ship all damage on that line is applied to only a single ship until the damage totals 100 – at which point one ship is sunk and the damage level of the TO&E line drops back to zero. Call it the “lead” ship in that line. Other ships in that TO&E line remain undamaged (and invulnerable) – until they become the “lead” ship due to the sinking of the previous one. Note that there is a technique available to designers to split such multiple-ship lines up into single ship lines, if desired.
• Naval units cannot be disbanded by players or evaporated by combat short of all ships in the unit being sunk. Combat never sends ships to the “On Hand” pool.
• Aircraft Carriers with more than 66 damage points cease to function as aircraft carriers. If that means that there are then fewer aircraft carrier bases than air units in the hex, one air unit will be eliminated.
• Carrier-based air units are exempt from combat reorganization.
• Damage points incurred by embarked units destroy a weight of equipment equal to those damage points.
• There is limited ability to repair some damage while at sea and significantly more while at port.
This new combat procedure only affects combat where the target is a ship or embarked. Bombardment of land units by naval forces is still resolved just as it has always been resolved.
(http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/upfiles/14086/4A51C5A2B6AF40F88B0DFD81FA236134.jpg)
READ THE FULL ENTRY HERE (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4292790)
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The Operational Art of War IV gets a Live Preview!
Few wargames of the past have reached a legendary aura like The Operational Art of War. The incredible flexibility of the editor, the massive number of playable scenarios, the quality of the AI, made Norm Koger’s latest effort an operational wargame with unsurpassed standard.
No surprise that the recent announcement of a new chapter in the series captured the interest of many wargamers out there.
But as the saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”, a Live Stream is definitely better than 1000 pictures, and applying this rule, we are happy to announce that next week on Tuesday 27th we will be taking a look at The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587) LIVE!
Agrippa Maxentius will play some of the scenarios available in the game, including Iwo-Jima and Korea 1951 and show-off the different strategies, the features, the key innovations and more.
We will stream Tuesday 27th at 11 am CEST / 3 pm GMT / 5 pm CEST and for the first time ever, we will be live simultaneously on our official Twitch Channel, Youtube Channel and Mixer Channel at the same time.
Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup)
Youtube (http://bit.ly/2tJ4YEN)
Mixer (https://mixer.com/Slitherine)
You absolutely cannot miss this chance.
Get more information about The Operational Art of War IV on the official Product Page. (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587)
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/793_image.jpg) (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup)
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TOAW IV BETA AAR - Part I
By Larry
My D21 Game These Are All Done - Part I
As of June 22, 1941
Here's what the map looks like zoomed all the way out at game start from the Axis point of view.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/01_T1_front_lines.jpg)
Here's the game options I'm using.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/02_advanced_game_options.jpg)
I notice that the proficiency of the German fighters is exemplory and higher than I expected. I'd like to keep track of this air unit to see if the proficiency gets any higher as the game goes on. The Axis air shock is 140 and the Soviet air shock is 28 or so and I'm thinking that the situation calls for some airfield attacks to punish the Soviet air power a bit. Cut down on the numbers I'll have to fight when the shock levels normalize.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/03_typical_me-109.jpg)
I did a save game and then executed the airfield attacks as a sandbox exercise and I saw lot of evaporating Soviet air units and those that survived the attacks are in poor shape but I don't expect Elmer to pull them back to safety ro rest. Let's see if he does.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/04_soviet_air_report_sandbox.jpg)
Here's what the front lines look like at game start. Nothing special in my strategy...goal is Riga and Pskov eventually.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/05_north_front_lines.jpg)
I've formed some bulges in the Soviet front line and I'm trying to push some Panzers through. They are heading out in the north but the south is still unaavoidably blocked. Maybe it's time to drop the paratroops.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/06_bulges.jpg)
This is what the bulge had developed into in the north after I've moved about 100 units. I'm moving the Panzers as far as they will go and shoring up the walls of the bulge so as to allow more troops yet to pass through there.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/07_bulge1.jpg)
Here's some of the round one attacks pending.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/08_t1r1attacks.jpg)
Here's what's happening in the middle of the front lines. The Soviet lines have collapsed and the Axis forces are rushing in. I'm thinking of dropping the paratroopers where the Soviet forces will attempt to escape from the envelopment movement.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/09_front_lines_middle.jpg)
Here's the round 2 front lines in the north. I've developed some bulges and there's plenty of Soviet gaps. I've moved just about everybody as far as they can go.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/10_front_lines_round_2.jpg)
Here's what's happening down south. I seem to have a nack for surrounding the enemy units before they get killed. More of the enemy equipment gets destroyed that way.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/11_south_front_lines.jpg)
Here's the pending battles for T1 round 2 and there's a lot of them. I expect to eliminate a lot of Soviet equipment this time.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/12_round_2_pending_battles.jpg)
Here's the round 3 front lines in the north. I've surrounded and destroyed a bunch of Soviet units so now the path is clear to Riga and points north.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/13_front_lines_round_3.jpg)
Here's what it looks like in the south right now. Progress is being made as Soviet units are destroyed and pushed aside.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/14_south_front_lines_round_3.jpg)
In Round 3 the number of attacks is waining and targets are further apart. Most of the units have expended their movement points and there's only a few still active, moving or shooting.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/15_round_3_pending_battles.jpg)
There's only these few attacks left to do besides the last round units that are pending attack setups.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/16_round_4_pending_battles.jpg)
Here's what the front lines look like at the beginning of T1 round 5.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/17_front_lines_round_5.jpg)
Round five has about half of the turn left and this is the round where I attack with everybody reguardless of MP's left. I'm hoping to break lose those log-jams that exist on the roads.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/18round_5_pending_battles.jpg)
Now here in round 6 the attacks really are just a few.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/19_round_6_pending_battles.jpg)
And one more in round 7.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/20_round_7_pending_battles.jpg)
Here's how the air war is going. Lots of airfield strikes has caused a lot of losses to the Axis, especially the long- range bombers. I'll post a picture to show what I mean.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/21_T1_air_losses.jpg)
Here's what I mean about the losses of the medium bombers. You can see that losses have been moderate and not exactly light but around what's expected for the operational tempo.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/22_ju-88_losses.jpg)
Here's the movement of the units during T1. I dropped some paratroopers to the east of the front lines in the middle of the map to prevent the Soviets from escaping my trap. I want to destroy as many of them as possible.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/23.jpg)
Here's the T2 front lines before I've moved anybody. It's panel 1 of the movement movie I'm going to make for this turn.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/24.jpg)
I've been moving units and the T2 front lines are changing. I've got my recon units out in front and everybody is moving in a gigantic tidal wave, mostly moving to the east.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/AAR_1/25_moving_units_in_T2.jpg)
STAY TUNED FOR PART II!
Original post: HERE (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4303714)
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Operational Art of War IV Live Stream!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/848_image.jpg)
We’re here today to announce that the great “Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)” is going to be broadcasted on Twitch next week!
On Monday, 28thof August you’ll have the chance to watch and learn from Agrippa Maxentius, who will focus on a couple of different scenarios to show the great variety of strategic options.
We will stream Monday, 28thof August at 11 AM EDT / 4 PM BST / 5 PM CEST!
If you missed the first stream, you can find it HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2rA6YZSa8)!
Follow us on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup) and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/SlitherineGames) and stay tuned. You really don’t want to miss this event guys!
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The Operational Art of War IV Live Stream TODAY!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/854_image.jpg)
Hello everyone!
We just wanted to remind you that today, August 28th, we will be having a live stream of "The Operational Art of War IV"! (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)
Come hang out with us on Twitch (http://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup) or Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/SlitherineGames), at 11 AM EDT / 4 PM BST / 5 PM CEST!
If you want to know more about the game, this is a great opportunity! Don't miss this chance.
And if you want to see our previous broadcast, you can check it out HERE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2rA6YZSa8)
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The Operational Art of War IV FAQ!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/883_image.jpg)
Hello everyone!
Since we've announced The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV), many of you have asked for more informations about the game!
The preview streams we had a while ago (that can be found HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2rA6YZSa8) and HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUo2tYrFt9c)) were followed by a lot of people, and we appreciated your support!
This is why we decided to post some Frequent Answered Questions, to let you all have a better overview on what there is to know about TOAW (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV) until now!
Here's a little preview:
Q) What are the most noticeable differences from TOAW III?
A)
- Naval warfare has been radically improved.
- Battlefield Time Stamps have radically altered the "turn burn" issue.
- The User Interface has been extensively revised and improved.
Q) How many scenarios will be available? And how many will be available from the previous title?
A) Almost all of the previous title's scenarios will be available. The number of new scenarios has not been finalized yet as our scenario designers keep working and submitting new materials. We will include as many as can be finished and tested by the game's release date, and we are planning to keep adding scenarios as part of free updates after release.
If you want to read the whole FAQ, just click on the banner you can find down here! :Thumbsup2
(http://prm.slitherine.com/w/images/ed7000e56bcf059d89cbc938f9bb1437.jpg) (http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/PDF/TOAoW4_faq_final.pdf)
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The Operational Art of War IV Streams Playlist
From Matrix:
"Hello everyone!
Since our announcement of The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587) we've been streaming a lot of content regarding the game on our Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup) (check it out, we stream very often!).
Some of you, however, didn't have the chance to follow us and missed our streams.
However, we thought it would be a good idea to give you guys a playlist of our streams that we uploaded on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/SlitherineGames) (check it out too!).
This way you will be able to enjoy our past streams (that you can find HERE (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup/videos/all) too) as well, but don't forget to follow our future streams too!"
https://youtu.be/DuKZtmPqOhM?list=PLQrYLOdjwRhQaIvemAGT3Ev67J1jg9o1j
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The Operational Art of War IV Release Date!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/938_image.jpg)
The Operational Art of War saga will be back soon, and we can finally tell you when!
Are you ready to get back on the battlefield? The 16th of November TOAW IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV) will bring you in the middle of the the most important conflicts of the last hundred years.
From The Great War to the Cold War, through World War II, [/b]The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV) will let you experience the profound changes that warfare had seen during the 20th century, giving you the chance to re-write history or create your own scenarios with the game editor!
Your army needs you!
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The Operational Art of War IV Scenario List
From the beginning of the 20th century to the dawn of the new millennium, the upcoming The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587) covers over 120 years of wars with unmatched details.
The game will have more than 200 scenarios available at release, featuring conflicts of different size and scope, iconic battles and underrated operations, and a powerful editor to expand this already massive content even further.
Many of you have wondered what scenarios will be included, how many from TOAW III, how many completely new ones, and so on.
That’s why we have decided to publish the full list of the accessible scenarios, to give you a nice overview of the historical depth available.
Stay tuned! The Operational Art of War IV will be released on November 16th!
Click on the banner below to read the full list!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Art/TheOperationalArtofWarIV/TOAW_IV_Scenarios_List_Preview.png) (http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/PDF/TOAoW4_scenarios-list_low-res(4).pdf)
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The Operational Art of War IV Manual Preview
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/951_image.jpg)
Sneak peek of the manual that you will receive if you purchase The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)'s physical copy!
If all you ever wanted was to become a proper warlord, with medals and everything, this books is what you're looking for!
This little preview contains 40 pages abstracted from the full manual, that will be 176 pages long, so click HERE (http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Art/TheOperationalArtofWarIV/Operational-Art-of-War_manual_web.pdf) to open the PDF.
Don't forget that the game will come out in two days, the 16th of November, don't forget to buy it!
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The Operational Art of War IV has been released!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/953_image.jpg)
Operational Art is a thought process that guides conceptual and detailed planning to produce executable plans and orders – from The Operations Process (2012)
The Generals and High Officers have gathered in the War Room for hours. On the large tables and all over the walls maps and military charts are displayed, with thousands of counters of different size and colors covering every theater.
The air is dense, and you can feel the pressure. Suddenly, a voice from a speaker captures everyone’s attention. A few words in code are heard from the speaker. The mother of all Operations has begun.
The wait is over. The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587), the most anticipated wargame of the year, has been released!
Watch the Tutorials!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4_F4gtuLeI&list=PLk5K-IfEIqTtb2XCumq4JyFFifnDA6Rr-
Play in over 200 scenarios, covering more than 120 years of conflicts depicted in astounding precision.
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/toaow4_images/toaow4_ww1.jpg)
(http://www.matrixgames.com//amazon/Screenshots/TOAOW4/toaow4_images/toaow4_vietnam.jpg)
Fight on land, sea and air, but beware! Understanding how the new Supply System works is vital to keep your troops fighting and marching!
Finally, the new Battlefield Time Stamp feature takes on TOAW's unique way of handling game turn resolution and makes it easier for players to plan ahead!
The Operational Art of War IV is the top-notch military simulation that every wargamer needs! Grab it now!
To celebrate this important milestone We are going to have a two hour stream on our official Twitch Channel (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup), starting at 10 am EST / 3 pm GMT / 4 pm CET!
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Excited!
One of my all time fav wargames. Its just complicated enough and operational as opposed to strategic so if you dont want to worry about production and those more strategic things and focus solely on the operational art of war, this is your game.
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http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4379218
latest round of updates and fixes being added as i type to the first patch
4K and other Resolution issues
see http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4379197
Longer term, I want to be able to change the size of all the graphics.
Crash - Fixed crash in Bitter Victory Sicily. I believe this was caused by a land unit being knocked out of ship transport mode while moving as a fleet when it was the last remaining unit.
Major - Fixed issue with the AI not moving Ships. It may have prevented some land units from moving as well. I made a change to make the ship AI faster but didn't fully test it.
Minor - Found and fixed the bug that causes the formation lines to show up. Since it's intermittent, I can't verify 100% that it's fixed, but I believe it is.
Minor - Added in some updates to the expanded time and distance rules. Bob had made these a couple of weeks ago but since none of the current scenarios use them I didn't want to put this out as part of the release. No UI changes, just some cleanup of the existing new levels.
Minor - Chinese characters should now show up in the diplomatic pouch.
Minor - Classic view map resizing no longer leaves classic view.
Minor - Fixed issue with Chinese in diplomacy pouch
Minor - Fixed issue with zoom in classic view leaving classic view.
Major - Fixed issue with loading/saving non-game object like units.
Minor - Fixed Net Awards calculation
Minor - Fixed F1 now opens the manual
Feature - Added a Graphics entry under the [Scaling] section fo the Opart 4 Fonts.ini file
This upscales many of the graphics. Values greater than one make things bigger, values less than one make things smaller. This should be used with larger or smaller fonts.
Minor - Made scrolling easier.
Increased the scrolling area around the main map to 32 pixels.
Modified the dialog boxes so that the mouse capture no longer extends beyond the visible area
Modified the dialog boxes so that the drag area is 15 pixels around the visible area
Minor - Hid the warfare panel on screens equal to or smaller than 1024x768.
Not Fixed - There is a known bug that doesn't allow you to drag the button panel. I'm investigating.
Not Fixed - An error was reported that Cease fire didn't work properly.
:book enjoy and hope you all love the new game
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The UI will scare off some players, especially new ones. :scared1
Some bugs seem so obvious. It makes me wonder sometimes what the beta testers do? :dunno
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The Operational Art of War IV Stream TODAY!
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/957_image.jpg)
From Matrix/Slitherine
Quick reminder: as almost every day, we're going to have a stream today, and it will be The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587)!
Come have fun with us, 12 PM EST / 5 PM GMT / 6 PM CET, on our Twitch channel (http://twitch.tv/slitherinegroup) and see what we're capable of!
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The UI will scare off some players, especially new ones. :scared1
Some bugs seem so obvious. It makes me wonder sometimes what the beta testers do? :dunno
This version is way more user friendly. I've owned every version and have always put it down as it just didn't click with me. This version is just easier but does take some reading while playing to connect the dots. I've always been seduced by the scope of the games scenarios, I went from 41 east front scenario to a zulu wars scenario....... nice. I think the game is finally clicking with me. No major bugs for me so far, 2 crashes on the tutorial and sometimes you have click things twice to activate but that's it. I've spent time learning to use Elmer and it does a pretty good job and its a cool feature i should of learned/used in TOAW 3.
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The UI will scare off some players, especially new ones. :scared1
Some bugs seem so obvious. It makes me wonder sometimes what the beta testers do? :dunno
wasn't one of mine, and tbh over 300 battles to test, and so far only 3 reported with slight errors which were corrected but didn't make it on time were patched and uploaded the same day, so minor in the larger scale of things, i think the epic scale of the game and what it can do, most will or have already forgotten day one issues, as a wishlist patch list what put out in a few hours with so far almost everything fixed as it's in testing now, no idea who or how many were on it tbh, but the developer are very happy and pleased and so far the forum feedback has been very high and positive so regarding the numbers with issues, most have either been answered and sorted or will be on the first patch, sales have been excellent btw :howdy
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I have it since day 1.
Not had much time with it yet
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There's a link in the TOAW 3 forums to a bunch of downloads for scenarios from all versions of TOAW , 600+ scenarios. I converted a few in TOAW4 and they seemed to work just fine, its quite a list. Only played one so far, Zulu wars scenario and it seemed to play fine, not sure they all will though but there's a lot of interesting scenarios on the list.
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There's a link in the TOAW 3 forums to a bunch of downloads for scenarios from all versions of TOAW , 600+ scenarios. I converted a few in TOAW4 and they seemed to work just fine, its quite a list. Only played one so far, Zulu wars scenario and it seemed to play fine, not sure they all will though but there's a lot of interesting scenarios on the list.
Thats what I like. different eras/conflicts :thumbsup
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This game is already in my chest comrades.
I'm new to TAOW and i've found it splendid and, for some way, something to cover my disappointing with Point of Attack 2.5 and Tigers Unleashed.
I found the game a must have beucase it's a multi-era platform and this is a feature that is in the top of my list.
The only thing that i would give a thumbs down is the editor. It's not so hard to master it, however, it was not made by someone thinking in make the life of scenario creators easy. A good example of that is the editor UI and how do you paint, edit and remove titles, a real "ant way of work" that could be improved, that's for sure.
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the game is still developing so like the whole game, the editor will also get some loving over time, beta patch is up for the main game with some good added bit, over the life of the game, the editor will also hopefully get the same amount of time spent on it as the rest has and involve into something better for all to use
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TOAW IV AAR for beginners! Campaign for North
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/969_image.jpg)
Do you think you are not able to handle the complexity of The Operational Art of War IV? Have you always wondered what scenario could be played by beginners?
Our forum member warspite1 has decided to test himself in battle and he is currently doing a very nice AAR about the “Campaign for North Africa 40D-43”!
From his own words, “I've never played TOAW before but as there is a North Africa Campaign, I think that is good reason to play the game! I like to try and get into games and start the fun stuff with as little pre-reading before hand so there will be lots of mistakes along the way. But I like to do these AAR from a sort of "Numpty's eye view". As ever I will be asking lots of questions so if anyone has the time and inclination, I would welcome any help anyone wishes to give....”
Take a look at his AAR! (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4380161) Veterans and newcomers will find it pretty entertaining and helpful!
Kudos to warspite1 for the great job done so far!
Get The Operational Art of War IV now! (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)
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TOAW IV Vietnam Campaigns
The Vietnam War was very unique, it was the first time that the US used on operational level helicopters to transport troops in areas hard to reach and to support ground troops. High trained troops, from small teams of Special Forces to autonomous battalions, were deployed to put in practice new counterinsurgency tactics.
Guerrilla forces fought against conventional ones on a scale rarely seen before.
The Operational Art of War IV (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587) offers a huge array of scenarios and campaigns covering almost every military operation that occurred in this conflict, ranging from multi years campaigns to single (but crucial!) battles.
Our forum user Primarchx has done a nice overview of these scenarios contained in the game, giving his impressions and thoughts on scale, kind of units and so on!
Take a look here (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4388699)! It’s definitely a good post if you want to read a bit about this setting!
Grab The Operational Art of War IV now! (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/product.asp?gid=587)
(http://www.matrixgames.com/files/spotlight/973_image.jpg)
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The Operational Art of War IV V. 4.0.1.23 is available!
Good news from the front! The Operational Art of War IV[/uerl] has reached a new important milestone, as version 4.0.1.23 is now available!
This new version brings a lot of bug fixes and improvements requested by the players, making the game deeper than ever!
Some highlights:
- Combat Planner now respects the Scaling factor in the opart 4 fonts.ini file.
- Fixed crash bug caused by using new scales
- The scrolling has been made easier
- A whole new scenario – Directive 41 – has been added
- And more!
The changelog is very long, so be sure to check it out below.
You can download the update from [link=http://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/TheOperationalArtOfWarIV/TheOperationalArtofWar4-UpdateComp-v4.0.1.23.zip]here[/link].
(http://www.matrixgames.com/products/587/details/The.Operational.Art.of.War.IV)New to the game? Watch these tutorials!
https://youtu.be/yjv9ku_fjN4
Version 4.0.1.23 Changelog
• Found and fixed the bug that causes the formation lines to show up
• Fixed issue with the AI not moving Ships. It may have prevented some land units from moving as well
• Fixed crash in AirAndFleetInterdiction
• Fixed issue with Chinese in diplomacy pouch
• Fixed issue with zoom in classic view leaving classic view
• Fixed issue with loading/saving non-game object like units
• Added titles over buttons in the new game dialog
• Fixed netAwards
• F1 now opens the manual
• Made scrolling easier
• Increased the scrolling area around the main map to 32 pixels
• Modified the dialog boxes so that the mouse capture no longer extends beyond the visible area
• Modified the dialog boxes so that the drag area is 15 pixels around the visible area
• Hid the warfare panel on screens equal to or smaller than 1024x768
• Diplomacy Pouch now wordwraps (Needs testing)
• Minor changes to the diplomacy panel and progress bar. The prophecies at the bottom were not aligned
• Combat Planner now respects the Scaling factor in the opart 4 fonts.ini file. If you go above about 1.5 there will be overlap.To help isolate and/or fix the problems some people are having with Chinese logins, if you add a file called DefaultFolder.txt file and put the path to the folder inside, it will use that instead of trying to find the my documents folder. To use this, you might create a folder called C:/TOAW and put contents of Documents/My Games/The Operational Art of War IV and all it's subfolders into it. Then launch TOAW as an administrator and it should work
• Game Select dialog now has labels for the buttons. This should help new players
• PBEM Errors should no longer leave you on a blank screen
• Removed the extra sound from the combat planner
• Modifed startup code to give better errors on startup issues
• Shifted units slightly in the smaller map views to look better
• MapPanelButtons is now draggable
• Tweaked the position of the counters on the map
• Fixed the issue with right scroll not working after changing from large to small map view
• Fixed the bug that was causing PBEM crashes
• Fixed DefaultFolder.txt file
• Fixed crash bug caused by using new scales
• Fixed issue with the game not registering that the mouse was moved to the default button
• Made a change that may help with the black boxes
• Fixed loading a unit into the editor
• Tooltips should now remain onscreen
• The editor will no longer crash with a bad OOB, instead it will try to clean it up and give warnings
• Did some more rewriting to make the scenario loading code even more bulletproof
• The mouse now works when clicking on more of the tabs on the button panel instead of the right half
• Hints no longer happen when a popup menu is open
• Supply over railroads when there is a RoadCost other than the default now work correctly
• I also modified the AirBorne cost when there is a RoadCost other than the default but haven't had a chance to test it
• Made a change that might help with the issue of the combat report dialog crashing
• The close dialog on the New Scenario Dialog now returns to the start screen
• Fixed saving JPGs
• To help diagnose an issue some people are having with pauses, if you open the Opart 4.ini file in Documents/My Games/The Operational Art of War IV and add a line labeled smallram=Y it may help
• Added in some updates to the expanded time and distance rules
• Added a Graphics entry under the [Scaling] section fo the Opart 4 Fonts.ini file. This upscales many of the graphics. Values greater than one make things bigger, values less than one make things smaller. This should be used with larger or smaller fonts
• Added a flag to the Opart file called HugeIcon. It will show up once you launch the new version and close it. It changes the icon on the unit panel to be ahuge_2D view
• Updated a number of scenarios to match their updates posted on the forum
• Added Directive 41 scenario
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Great patch.
But i'm still waiting for the one that will make mission editing easier.
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Great patch.
But i'm still waiting for the one that will make mission editing easier.
That would be great :thumbsup
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Agrippa streaming TOAW IV now
https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup
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Agrippa streaming TOAW IV now
https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup
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The Operational Art of War IV, the new generation of operational wargames, will be released on Steam on October 15th!
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/4563585/896573fcf038cf37f9dd482fbef3658ba6d00a2b.jpg)
Players will be pleased to know that the huge number of scenarios and content will be integrated with the Steam Workshop tool.
With an unmatched level of flexibility and with a new array of exciting features, The Operational Art of War IV will make you relive the most iconic battles from the dawn of the 20th Century to modern day, including the ones that never occurred!
To properly celebrate this important achievement, The Operational Art of War IV will have a Steam Twitch Stream on October 15th at 6PM BST on our official Twitch Channel! (https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinegroup)
Check out the Steam Page here (https://store.steampowered.com/app/792660/The_Operational_Art_of_War_IV/)
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The Operational Art of War IV updated to version 4.1
Hi Everybody!
The Operational Art of War IV has been updated to version 4.1 and it is huge!
This update brings tons and tons of changes and improvements, and its 50 pages long Changelog proves it!
If you want to check this gargantuan update in every detail we have prepared a PDF version of that, which you can download by clicking on the picture below.
You can download the update from here (http://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/TheOperationalArtOfWarIV/TheOperationalArtofWar4-UpdateComp-v4.1.0.4.zip) or from the Member Area (https://www.matrixgames.com/members/privateDL.asp?gid=587)
(http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/Art/TheOperationalArtofWarIV/Cover_Update.png) (http://www.matrixgames.com/amazon/PDF/TOAW IV 4.1 Update.pdf)
If you want to go through it quicker, you can check the summary below:
Version 4.1 Summary
STEAM ACCESS:
TOAW IV now is available on Steam and supports Steam operations. Even if purchased on the Matrix site, Steam keys are available.
II. GAME FEATURES:
1. Dismount Feature:
This new feature is intended to allow motorized infantry to shed motorized transport and thus become foot infantry – allowing it to enter and conduct combat into locations barred to motorized units by certain terrain (dunes, badlands, etc.).
The feature is accessed via the Unit Report. After the “Transport” pane, there is a check box to effect the dismount IF the unit contains any motorized transport. Upon clicking, the motorized transport is removed from the unit (sent to the “On Hand” pools). Then the unit may have “Foot Movement”. While it will only have the foot movement allowance, as a foot unit, it could then operate in dunes and etc.
After dismounting, the Inventory Report will reflect the increase in transport numbers according to the amount released from the unit.
The option to dismount remains available even if the unit is unsupplied. But, if you effect that option, you will first be given a warning. But, if you go ahead and effect the dismount, the motorized transport is not sent to the “On Hand” pools. Rather, it is sent to the dead pile.
In order to resume motorized movement, the unit must first be restored to “mounted” status. To do so, click the Dismount check box back to off. Then, the unit will start to receive motorized transport as replacements in subsequent inter-turn phases. If the box is left in “dismounted” status, no such replacements will be received (leaving the unit in foot mode). But, once unchecked, it will receive them.
If the unit contains Static equipment (towed artillery mostly), then if the transport in the unit had been removed while the artillery remained, the unit would have been switched to a MP of 1 – not what was intended. So, this feature also removes any Static equipment as well.
To enable players to keep track of which units have been dismounted or can be dismounted, the “OOB – Units” Report now has a column to reflect that.
Note that there can be instances where a unit consists entirely of motorized transport and/or Static equipment. In that case, dismounting the unit will have the same effect as disbanding it.
If sub-units have been dismounted then recombination will only result in a dismounted parent if all sub-units were dismounted.
While the primary purpose of the feature is to allow motorized infantry to temporarily operate as foot infantry, other uses can be imagined. For example, it might be used to protect trucks from unnecessary losses in combat by dismounting just prior to combat execution.
It could also be used by designers to model a mostly foot army with some, short term, trucking ability. All infantry could have trucks in their TO&E, but then all be dismounted. Then, if there was only a small amount of trucks available in the pools, an occasional unit could mount-up for a swift transfer to another area, then return the trucks back to the pools by dismounting.
2. Density effects for unstacked locations.
Previously, only locations with two or more units suffered combat density penalties. Now, any location can be so penalized, if the advanced rule is optioned (see below). Clearly, this is an improvement in reality.
3. Variable Initiative Advanced Rule Option.
This is a new Advanced Rule Option that allows players to choose whether they want Variable Initiative to be possible in either PO vs. Human or Hot Seat games. It is still not available for PBEM or PO vs. PO games.
4. New Density Rules Advanced Rule Option.
This toggles the above density effects for unstacked locations.
These two options are also added to the Designer Advanced Rules Preferences dialog – allowing designer presetting of these parameters.
III. EDITOR FEATURES:
1. New Mud Rules Scalar.
This is a new Editor Game Parameter that scales the mud drying rate if the New Mud Rules are in use. This allows the Designer to fine-tune this factor for his scenario. The default value of 100 is neutral. A minimum value of 1 divides the default drying by 100. A maximum value of 10000 multiplies the default drying by 100. Values in between those extremes fine tune the feature.
2. Auto Prefix in the Scenario Briefing.
The Editor will now add an auto prefix to any scenario that undergoes a save operation as follows:
Line 1 contains the names of the two sides.
Line 2 contains a complexity estimate and the map dimensions.
Line 3 contains the date range.
Line 4 contains the map scale and the turn interval.
Line 5 contains the unit totals and the event totals.
Complexity is calculated from a scaled product of the Total Units, Total Turns, Total Events, and Total Map Boundaries.
This addition consumes text space in the briefing (so, if your briefing is full, some of it will be deducted from the end).
Only scenarios edited post this feature’s launch will exhibit this prefix, but all scenarios that ship with the game have been so saved.
IV. USER INTERFACE FEATURES:
1. Player choice for first page of Detailed Combat Report.
Players can now choose which page of the Detailed Combat Report they wish to appear first. This choice is made on page one of the Player Options Dialog.
This feature is especially intended to allow the Combat Chart to be the first page shown. Note that, once displayed, any other page can then be launched from any of the other pages.
2. Player Assist objectives are now “Drag and Drop”.
Left-click and drag moves the waypoint. Right-clicking on an empty spot creates a new waypoint between the two nearest ones. Right-clicking on a waypoint and doing an insert inserts a new waypoint half-way to the next one. Right-click on a waypoint and delete deletes a waypoint.
NOTE: While playing, you can't change Waypoint 0 since that controls where reinforcements come in. You can still move it with this version.
V. BUG FIXES:
1. The Equipment Editor DF parameter now correctly switches to Vehicle Weight when the equipment is armored.
2. Subdivided units’ subunits no longer end up in different formations.
3. Unsupplied subunits no longer regain Supplied status from their parent unit upon recombination.
4. Expected Reinforcements Dialog now shows all expected withdrawals.
5. Sea movement now converts deep water hexes again.
6. No more End-of-Turn air interdiction during Cease Fire turns.
7. Formation Report no longer can display an extra slot showing an enemy unit (allowing side changes).
8. Variable Initiative fixed (superseded by the Variable Initiative Advanced Rule above).
9. Distance Hexes now function properly again.
10. TOA.CFG file read/write restored.
11. Fixed the supply drop for unsupplied units – especially for the 3-hour and 1-hour intervals (which are fractional values of ˝ and 1/6 point respectively, effected via chance).
12. Fixed the date incrementing for the Monthly and Seasonal turn intervals.
13. Fixed an issue with the PO waiting for mouse movement.
14. Fixed the info for the Unit Counter Values Options.
15. Fixed crashes caused by strings being too long in language files.
16. The mixed stack bug will now cause one unit’s side to be disintegrated (going back to reinforcements.)
17. Lengthened allowed text in several buttons for Chinese support.
VI. NEW SCENARIOS:
Scenario Designer
1. Shiloh 1862 (Van Dorn Variant) Bob Cross
VII. UPDATED SCENARIOS:
Scenario Designer
1. Shiloh 1862 Bob Cross
2. Leipzig 1813 Bob Cross
3. Waterloo 1815 Bob Cross
4. Killer Angels 1863 Bob Cross
5. Killer Angels 1863 (Jackson Variant) Bob Cross
6. Germany 1945 (Race to Berlin) Bob Cross
7. Germany 1945 (Last Stand) Bob Cross
8. Campaign for North Africa 40-43 Bob Cross
9. Campaign for North Africa 40D-43 Bob Cross
10. Campaign for North Africa 41-43 Bob Cross
11. Campaign for North Africa 41N-43 Bob Cross
12. Campaign for North Africa 42-43 Bob Cross
13. Campaign for North Africa 42O-43 Bob Cross
14. France 1944 D-Day Bob Cross
15. France 1944 Cobra Bob Cross
16. Denmark Strait 1941 Bob Cross
17. Soviet Union 1941 Bob Cross
18. Soviet Union 1941 Mobile Variant Bob Cross
19. Soviet Union 1941 Early Variant Bob Cross
20. Soviet Union 1941 Early and Mobile Variant Bob Cross
21. Kaiserschlacht 1918 Bob Cross
22. Kaiserschlacht 1918 (mini) Bob Cross
23. Cambrai 1917 Bob Cross
24. Jutland 1916 Bob Cross
25. Okinawa 1945 Bob Cross
26. Midway 1942 Bob Cross
27. Pearl Harbor 1941 Bob Cross
28. Savo Island 1942 Bob Cross
29. Cape Esperance 1942 Bob Cross
30. The Next War 1979 Bob Cross
31. Project Kuo-Kuang 1962 Rui Wong
32. Taiwan 2016 Rui Wong
33. Fire in the East 2 Kristian Kristensen
34. Directive 21 1941-1945 Rick Kesler
35. La Grande Armee 1805 Rob Kunz
36. The Guns of August 1914 Rob Kunz
VIII. UPDATES TO CLASSIC SCENARIOS (Updates made by Steve Sill):
1. Attu Island 43
2. Bulge 44
3. Bulge 2000
4. Burma 43-43
5. Desert Storm 91
6. Dragoon 44
7. Fulda 76
8. Germany 84
9. Kiska Island 43
10. Korea 50-51
11. Korea 99
12. Libya-Egypt 2000
13. Middle East 67
14. Middle East 73
15. Nato-Warsaw Pact 62
16. NATO-Warsaw Pact 78
17. Normandy 44
18. NormandyRommel 44
19. Olympic 45
20. Overlord 44
21. Seoul 2000
22. Sicily 43
23. Singapore 42
24. St. Lo 44
25. Tannenberg 14
26. Tet Offensive 68
Most changes involved fixing the issues created by the revision in how recon level increments were effected (ancient TOAW issue). But there were a few cases of supply points added to distant airfields and coastal batteries disabled.