Panzer, Modern & First World War Campaigns Version 4.05.2 Preview

Hi everyone,

We would like to share what's coming in the planned Panzer, Modern & First World War Campaigns version 4.05.2 update.

As mentioned in our 2024 End of Year Update, the next title to be released from WDS will be Panzer Campaigns - Poland ’39. This will be the first title to be upgraded to the upcoming version 4.05.2 standard.

We haven’t communicated any information regarding this update, and we thought it worthwhile to share more with you all now.

Below is the latest changelog with a detailed description of each in the following section.

Bug Fixes

• Bug: Update to fix problem description display for out-of-range firing errors.
• Bug: Under the Optional Amphibious Rules, units now make use of existing bridges correctly.
• Bug: The music played on the Victory Screen is now stopped when opening a new scenario or save file.
• Bug: Fixed an intermittent error where the File Save dialog was not showing on application exit.
• Bug: Fixed an intermittent crash in the AI Order Determination logic.
• Bug: If the Night Move disruption probability is 0, don't prevent the AI moving.
• Bug: Convert to Sub-scenario was saving a partial full path for the map file instead of just the filename.
• Bug: Mitigated Jump Map display corruption when switching scenarios.
• Bug: Prevented a crash when showing AI orders.
• Bug: Fixed a drawing error when showing wireless intercepted HQs in a large unit stack.
• Bug: Display or hide unit names based on their FOW setting.
• Bug: Removed the Jump Map Org circle when the Org highlight is toggled off.
• Bug: The Hold Order loss expiry check wasn't adding in eliminated units for the strength calc.
• Bug: If the small File Selection dialog is used don't load the new backgrounds.
• Bug: Fix for game messaging revealing enemy positions under FOW.
• Bug: Fix to get the AI to assault over bridges.
• Bug: Fix to stop the AI taking Op Fire for an assault that is then cancelled.
• Bug: Bridge movement costs were being added to units that moved when deployed. All bridge movement costs have now been removed whether deployed or in travel mode.

Enhancements

• Added the functionality for Objectives to have a Start Turn.
• Let the "Enter" key hide the Jump Map as per other non-modal dialogs.
• All main.ai parameters can now be specified per side.
• Direct Orders will now ignore the Engaged and Frontline checks entirely during March (but not Deploy).
• For deployment, Direct Orders will honor the Engaged and Frontline checks if close to the Order Objective.
• AI fixes to reduce the instances of HQ and Artillery units moving too close to contact.
• AI fixes to reduce the instances of support units moving on their own to order destinations.
• When the AI is activated on a player turn, don't auto advance to the next turn.
• Properly cascade player-initiated AI orders to lower-level formations.
• Reduce the amount of Level 1 logging to speed up scenario/save file reading.
• Reduce the amount of Level 1 AI logging to reduce clutter at the start of an AI turn.
• Added the ability to modify formation releases in the editor.
• Added conditional reinforcements to the editor (based on objective ownership).
• On the Artillery Dialog, you can now use the Shift key to scroll the map when scrolling the list of units. This is an alternative to double clicking the artillery unit.
• Changed the AI assault randomization to ensure assaults are always attempted where possible.
• Ported FOW Strength display from Panzer Battles.
• Replaced instances of MS San Serif to aid with foreign character display.
• Units will now only pay the pontoon cost if they have both a pontoon and an undamaged ferry in the same hex.
• Wireless Intercepts are now an optional rule. They are not a default rule in Panzer Campaigns.
• Immediate AI Orders movement has reverted from the A* pathing to the prior movement code.

Content Changes

• Changed all AI digging-in parameters from a minimum of 0 to 1.

To explain these latest changes, some further details are below.

Bug: Update to fix problem description display for out-of-range firing errors. This is an adjustment to the error messaging on the bottom left-hand side.

Bug: Under the Optional Amphibious Rules, units now make use of existing bridges correctly. When this optional rule was selected, full-hex bridges were being ignored and the unit always moved amphibiously. Now, if a bridge is present and the unit is in travel mode, it will use the bridge to cross.

 

Bug: The music played on the Victory Screen is now stopped when opening a new scenario or save file. This corrects the requirement to close the program to stop the victory music playing after scenario completion.

 

Bug: Fixed an intermittent error where the File Save dialog was not showing on application exit. This was a rare bug, that was preventing file saves, though the auto-save setting was set to on.

 

Bug: Fixed an intermittent crash in the AI Order Determination logic. Yes, we are still working on the AI!

 

Bug: If the Night Move disruption probability is 0, don't prevent the AI moving. The AI currently looks to pause all non-travel mode movement at night. This is not enforced if night move disruption is set at zero.

 

Bug: Convert to Sub-scenario was saving a partial full path for the map file instead of just the filename. As is says, there was an issue with paths when creating sub-scenarios, that caused them to not open.

 

Bug: Mitigated Jump Map display corruption when switching scenarios. This was another one where loading a new scenario created issues. Jump maps should now be consistent when playing multiple scenarios.

 

Bug: Prevented a crash when showing AI orders. Another one for the scenario developers. We uncovered a range of issues while writing scripts and other updates for Poland ‘39.

 

Bug: Fixed a drawing error when showing wireless intercepted HQs in a large unit stack. When an HQ was discovered by Wireless Intercepts, some information about other units in the same hex was also shown. This was unintentional and corrected.

 

Bug: Display or hide unit names based on their FOW setting. There were a range of issues that were created when the 4.05.1 update was applied. Enemy unit names were being shown, under fog of war when that information should not have been available.

 

Bug: Removed the Jump Map Org circle when the Org highlight is toggled off. As is says, the jump map org circle was not being cleared. It now is.

 

Bug: The Hold Order loss expiry check wasn't adding in eliminated units for the strength calc. This was an important fix. One of the changes to bridge the old AI scripting to the new, is to have hold orders ‘cancel’ once a certain strength percentage of a unit is lost. This prevents a unit from holding in place until it is destroyed. This is currently done as a percentage of the unit strength remaining versus the original strength. Unfortunately, an incorrect value was being used and the original strength was never the basis for the calculation. Now corrected.

 

Bug: If the small File Selection dialog is used don't load the new backgrounds. This is the fix for those using very low-resolution screens, who could not access the scenario selection screens with the new selection screen backgrounds.

 

Bug: Fix for game messaging revealing enemy positions under FOW. There were a number of occasions were clicking on hexes would reveal enemy information. Now fixed.

 

Bug: Fix to get the AI to assault over bridges. The AI rarely assaulted across bridges if at all. This is now corrected, but the AI will still be reticent due to the quartering of strength when assaulting in travel mode.

 

Bug: Fix to stop the AI taking Op Fire for an assault that is then cancelled. As we worked on the assault AI, we ran into a timing issue where the AI would commit to an assault, take defensive fire, then calculate the assault odds, and cancel the assault due to it failing various parameters. It now checks the odds before initiating the assault.

 

Bug: Bridge movement costs were being added to units that moved when deployed. All bridge movement costs have now been removed whether deployed or in travel mode. Another important change. It was reported that when moving deployed, bridge costs were being added onto movement, rather when using the bridge in travel mode. This made little sense as this was additive to the cost of the hex side if applicable. Reviewing the concept of bridge costs overall, we decided to remove this as a cost. Movement along the different roads, must be in travel mode and those costs are already included and a bridge would not add significant cost to cross.

 

Enhancement: Added the functionality for Objectives to have a Start Turn. This is another interesting change to go with the current limited objectives that have an end turn. Including a start turn assists both for conditional reinforcements explained below, but also opens ways to use objectives in a range of different ways.

 

You can see below how a timed objective is shown both on map, in the information box, and in the objectives dialog.

 

 

 

Enhancement: Let the "Enter" key hide the Jump Map as per other non-modal dialogs. Please note the Jump map must be active, i.e. selected, for enter to close it. You can also right click the jump map to close it as well, whether it is the active screen or not.

 

Enhancement: All main.ai parameters can now be specified per side. Double the fun, but this allows AI behaviors to become more tailored by side, and scenario if required.

 

Here is the new file format:

 

 

Enhancement: Direct Orders will now ignore the Engaged and Frontline checks entirely during March (but not Deploy). An AI behavior change for direct order scripts.

 

Enhancement: For deployment, Direct Orders will honor the Engaged and Frontline checks if close to the Order Objective. Another AI behavior change for direct order scripts.

 

Enhancement: AI fixes to reduce the instances of HQ and Artillery units moving too close to contact. We continued to have reports of the bravado of commanders and their staff. Now toned down, at least for higher HQs.

 

Enhancement: AI fixes to reduce the instances of support units moving on their own to order destinations. There were a range of instances where AT guns, artillery and other support units were the first to an objective – particularly in infantry divisions. This has also been adjusted to make these units more circumspect.

 

Enhancement: When the AI is activated on a player turn, don't auto advance to the next turn. This has been implemented to allow players to decide when to end the turn rather than have it occur automatically.

 

Enhancement: Properly cascade player-initiated AI orders to lower-level formations. Another important fix. There were occurrences where player orders were not being reflected in lower formation actions.

 

Enhancement: Reduce the amount of Level 1 logging to speed up scenario/save file reading. The default (level 1) logging was bogging down scenario load and save tiles, particularly in large scenarios. This has been adjusted, with several previous logged events removed and only available at higher logging levels.

 

Enhancement: Reduce the amount of Level 1 AI logging to reduce clutter at the start of an AI turn. The default (level 1) logging was bogging down AI game play, particularly in large scenarios. This has been adjusted, with several previous logged events removed and only available at higher logging levels.

 

Enhancement: Added the ability to modify formation releases in the editor. One for the scenario designers. As it says, you can now change formation releases, rather than having to delete and then add them back with the correct information.

 

Enhancement: Added conditional reinforcements to the editor (based on objective ownership). Another important addition and is a good example of ‘event based’ decisions. For Poland ’39, we needed a way to reflect the various local mobilizations. Many towns and cities began raising forces once the German invasion began. The challenge we ran into that if the German player had advanced far enough, some of these reinforcements might appear behind the frontline. To reflect the loss of these urban areas and to prevent the mobilization, reinforcements can now be tied to an objective. If the objective is held by the indicated side (Allied or Axis) then the reinforcement will arrive, if not held it is lost.

 

In the example below, if the objective in Chelm in hex (610, 537) is captured by the Germans before 5am on September 2nd, 1939, then the first two reinforcement will not arrive.

 

Enhancement: On the Artillery Dialog, you can now use the Shift key to scroll the map when scrolling the list of units. This is an alternative to double clicking the artillery unit. As is says; when using the Artillery Dialog, you can hold down the shift key and left click the artillery unit in the dialog and it will select and center on that unit. This allows you to cycle through your artillery more quickly.

 

Enhancement: Changed the AI assault randomization to ensure assaults are always attempted where possible. There was a significant chance the AI would not attempt assaults with a reasonable chance of success. This has now been corrected.

 

Enhancement: Ported FOW Strength display from Panzer Battles. This is another big change compared to prior releases. Now, under fog of war, players can get an idea of the size of enemy units, dependent on the terrain they are in. This is one of the few series that does not show the first digit of a unit’s size. It’s important to understand that the first digit is only shown if the unit is spotted, not in an entrenchment of any type, and the terrain elevation is zero (do not confuse that with the height elevation).  Here are some examples of this change in action:

 

This image shows the details for a stack of enemy units when adjacent to a friendly unit and the terrain is a field. You can see the unit name (44.Infanterie-Division), and the various X's for size:

 

 

 

A second enemy stack that is adjacent, is in a clear hex and we can see both the unit name and the size indicated with the first number shown. Please note, any unit with a single digit value will show its actual size. It gets harder to estimate unit sizes once you get into double digits and beyond.

 

 

 This screen shows some infantry, two hexes away in a clear hex. The formation name is unknown, but the size can be determined.

 

  

This shot shows some enemy vehicles two hexes away in a clear hex. Again, the formation name is unknown, but there is at least 70 vehicles present:

 

 

Enhancement: Replaced instances of MS San Serif to aid with foreign character display. We have continued to try and find ways to reflect special characters across multiple language sets. This becomes a larger issue with several of the characters used for the Polish unit names. Though not a perfect solution, we have solved most issues where corruption was occurring. This has also made some of the on-map combat results more distinctive:

 

 

Enhancement: Units will now only pay the pontoon cost if they have both a pontoon and an undamaged ferry in the same hex. There were rare instances where both ferry crossing and pontoon bridges were crossing the same full-hex river hex. The default movement cost was always the ferry, that has now been changed to the pontoon.

 

Enhancement: Wireless Intercepts are now an optional rule. They are not a default rule in Panzer Campaigns. Probably the most contentious change made in the 4.05.1 update was the inclusion of wireless intercepts and associated values in the PDT files. As these were mandatory, gameplay was changed vs the previous implementation. Though we believed this was a worthwhile change, we also appreciate all the feedback and have made this an optional rule. Currently the only place it will be considered a default rule is in First World War Campaigns: East Prussia ’14 and all of the Modern Campaigns series.

 

Enhancement: Immediate AI Orders movement has reverted from the A* pathing to the prior movement code. There were issues with the way the AI was moving using column or immediate AI orders movement. We have adjusted the code to use the prior method to maximize efficiency.

 

Content Changes: Changed all AI digging-in parameters from a minimum of 0 to 1. This was another change made with unexpected consequences. The value for digging-in was set to zero to allow AI units to dig in while adjacent to enemy units. Though there maybe times that this is required (city fighting for example), it resulted in much more timid AI behavior as it prioritized digging-in over firing or assaulting. We saw the AI missing opportunities and taking casualties while it tried to entrench itself. All titles will have these adjusted values in the 4.05.2 update.

Do look forward to the upcoming Panzer Campaigns – Poland ’39 title, it’s a cracker!

More importantly, we plan to rollout the 4.05.2 update across all series after Poland '39 releases. We don’t have a confirmed release date but will share more as we get closer.

Poland '39 is not the only thing we have been working on. You may remember back in the 2024 Quarter One Update that we shared the mapping work Bill Peters had been working on. To refresh your memories, Bill had created the Donets, Dnepr, Crimea and Kuban region maps.

Bill has not been idle in the meantime and has been working on maps that append to the west of the current Minsk and Kiev maps. This is the overlay map for the area that will be finally mapped.

This Jump map shows the area that is mapped already:

It is important to note, this map does not use the Poland map that is being included in Poland '39. That map was centered on Poland and due to the positions of the existing maps and the curvature of the earth, new maps had to be created.

Here are a few different locales from the new map, all taken at the middle zoom level and shown on 3440 x 1440 screens. Please note the red square in the included jump maps for positioning. All images can be clicked for full-size.

We are excited to add these maps to our map library. We do not know of any other map at 1km per hex, covering Eastern Europe, that is currently available.

If you have any more questions or thoughts, feel free to leave a comment on this blog post or head over to the WDS Forums.

Enjoy!