JTCS v2.0 — Likes and Dislikes

[Kool Kat]

We are unlikely to reduce the number of icons in the toolbar. The idea is to have the most commonly used game functions accessible three ways: toolbar, menu, hot keys.

However, we are thinking of giving players the option to toggle between the current small vs. a new larger toolbar, with larger buttons.

Hey Berto.

Having a choice for a larger bottom icon tool bar would be most appreciated by this player! Thank you!

[Outlaw Josey Wales]

Another thing I noticed, at least a couple of times per turn, I glance at the bottom to remind myself what turn it is and it is no longer there and I don't see it anywhere else. I think it is better to put the bottom left like it was in the old version and move those new icons to the right of those where starshells and smoke used to be. Just put their icons in those places and of course, making them larger again. If you do, would it be possible for the icons of starshells, smoke, airstrikes and human wave maybe get a number on them as well as a remider of how many of each a player still has available?

[berto]

Another thing I noticed, at least a couple of times per turn, I glance at the bottom to remind myself what turn it is and it is no longer there and I don't see it anywhere else. I think it is better to put the bottom left like it was in the old version and move those new icons to the right of those where starshells and smoke used to be. Just put their icons in those places and of course, making them larger again...

Here is the lower left of the screen display from 1.04:


And here it is from 2.00:


Other than the proliferation of buttons (yes, smaller and reordered) in 2.00, I don't see any other significant difference. In particular, you will see that in 2.00, the turn indicator and smoke indicator are still there, just as in 1.04.

Maybe the problem is that the Windows Taskbar (at screen bottom) is obscuring the game Status Bar? If so, you can

• resize the window
  
• maximize the window
  
• in the Taskbar Properties, select Auto-hide the taskbar
  

[junk2drive]

The game install defaults to minimized window as OJW says your taskbar covers the bottom of the window. Maximizing fixes that. Default should be max.

[Big Ivan]

Hey Fellow Blitzers,

I decided to do a parallel install and put the 2.0 update over that install, called it Campaign Series 2. I'm running Windows 7 on my laptop.
I'm apprehensive about loading it on my Vista machine. All I can say is Vista is a memory hog and sometimes unpredictable! But one of these days I'll try the water.

After looking at East Front and West front here is may take on the new update and in a nutshell very good, I like it! There is a lot of good stuff in the new update.

PROS:
Very good 2D graphics and these I like a lot.
Very good sound quality and sound changes for some units, unit highlighting colors, game speeds and unit name changes.
I did two random battle scenarios one each in EF and WF and no problems, they play well. However I am still on the fence with the A/I as I want to see how it plays with the new settings. In one random scenario I have the A/I as aggressive and the other as audacious but still too early to tell how the A/I will react.

I'm middle of the road on the new buttons added in the task bar, they are a bit small but I think I can live with them.
I haven't seen the color bleed issue yet that some are talking about but in retrospect its probably not going to be a big deal for me.

CONS:
So far only one...
Bummer lost the random map generators! Oh well, the price of progress I guess.

Finally a big thanks to ALL who worked on this update. The old girl has some new life again and IMHO its wonderful!

Cheers!
Ivan the Big

[Warhorse]

Remember, especially if you have two or more installs, you can make a random map in 1.04, and port over to the new install to touch it up, if so desired!!

Also, now there are 19 levels instead of 12 we had before!!

[Big Ivan]

Thanks Mike, good point and I'll try that.

Ivan the Big

[Crossroads]

Very good 2D graphics and these I like a lot.

I am so glad to hear positive noise about the HUGE effort Mike's done and continues to do to upgrade the 2D side of things! Imagine the task of checking every line of platoon files, ensuring the proper 2D references are there, for both 2D views, adding new graphics, adding new units while at it, touching up on 3D graphics here and there as well.

I wish I could offer Mike a real drink or three (thirty-three?), but have to settle for a virtual one!

I am glad to hear positive comments about sounds as well. Originally there was a hardcoded limit for 16 movement and 26 weapons sound (IIRC), but that has been removed now. What you are seeing in MCS now is a glimpse of things to come with Modern War series: miniguns, rotary cannons, helicopters of one and two rotor variant, ...

[kolc]

My two cents...I just purchased the Matrix versions for JTCS back in November so maybe my opinion is less valid...but, I have been playing the JTCS games since EF was first released in 1997. My only "con" would be the buttons at the bottom of the screen, but it is a qualified "con"...while I initially reacted negatively to them, the more I play and become familiar with their placement...the less of an issue they are for me...in fact, I appreciate the buttons for flares and smoke because I could never remember how to do them without reading the manual, which I am usually too impatient to do....

[Outlaw Josey Wales]

Maximize worked, thanks. But I show three rows, yours shows two.

Top row shows like yours and bottom row shows like yours. I have a row inbetween that shows 7 buttons: two for rotating selected units, two for top and bottom of stack, two for previous and next unit and the one for end turn. If you do something and get that view, I suggest moving end turn all the way to the right under the last icon on the top row, moving the new section of human wave, smoke and starshell to the middle row to the point where smoke button over the available smoke, starshell button over the available starshell and human wave button over available human wave if there is a limit to them. Otherwise, human wave where the end button currently is. That rearrangement would allow all the icons to be larger again. Also, leaves a lot of room in the middle row for more icons if needed.

I also think it would be a good idea to incorporate into the scenarios, if possible, available smoke, starshell and human wave (if it has limits) to be placed at the bottom with the number like it is, even if there are none in the scenario. I'm saying this with the possibility that if you could do that in one place and it would show in all scenarios without having to do it to each individual scenario. Might actually do the same with air strikes, which could also be moved to middle row with number available on the bottom row as well.

If someone can inform me how to do a screenshot, I will try and get one to post so you can see what I am talking about, unless you already can.