1.10 pre alpha :)

[Lennartos]

Hi Guys
With the colossal effort of "@Zsar1" and "@gunman_"
We are now close to releasing our first exe update in a while.

Main focus in 1.10 is to take the time it needed to clean up the engine and game code - and bring it to modern standards.
This will ease updates in the future, and also eliminate a lot of the obscure bugs that have haunted the Europa engine over the years.
As you can imagine such in depth changes can cause new issues to appear as well as create some short term feature loss compared to before.
So we now have a pre alpha version ready to test for any regressions compared to 1.08/1.09.
We are very interested in any bugs that have reappeared or features that don' work as intended.

This pre alpha release is intended for tech savvy people, and is to be installed over 1.09 & remember to backup your exe!.
<Link removed>
Please check if a new version is availible - for now this one is the current release:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/patch-1-10-release-candidates.889778/

You might need to update the C++ redistibutable with the current found here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145

Atm work is progressing on solving the incompatibilities with Windows 8/10.. like removing the 16 bit desktop color limitation, and further removing harcoded limits.

Changes:

Spoiler

• Updated dependencies, now requires Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86).
• Any string of letters and numbers may now be used as a valid area name in Province.csv.
  • The corresponding in-game text will be looked up from world_names.csv as the same string capitalised and with underscores in place of whitespaces.
• The button "Remove all" on the leader selection screen now only removes all leaders from the same type of unit (Air, Land or Naval).
  • It currently lacks an "Are you sure" dialog, but that will return in the future.
• The last entry in misc.txt/research now defines the standard deviation of a normal distribution centered on 0. A maximal deviation is not set.
• There is no longer any hardcoded limitation on number of concurrently active tech teams (was 20 per country).
• The program will now produce an error message loading a scenario, if an event contains a "picture" tag but the corresponding file cannot be found.
  • Ignoring this error will have no adverse effects for the end user.
  • Mod maintainers will probably be pestered by end users to fix such errors, if their mod triggers any.
  • The title will in a future version be changed to something less intimidating from "Critical Error!".

Fixes:

Spoiler

• Aging tooltip incorrectly displayed a value modified by MP gain modifiers.
• Event command "type = access_to_alliance" did not work.
• Event command "type = add_team_research_type" did not work for "value = artillery".
• Mission Efficiency of Shore Bombardment was taken from the Sub, should have come from the Dom.
• Naval brigades in the deployment pool would revert to model 0 when the game was saved.
• "Okay"-button in client-side Options menu of pre-scenario lobby was not correctly aligned on the height axis.

----
Softcode effects:

Spoiler

• The new Area system likely requires adjustments from mod maintainers. For reference diff world_names.csv against any earlier version.
• Entry "EE_POP" in Boostertext.csv is now unused and can be removed.

 

[Adolphin]

Really looking forward to this. It's nice to see AoD still receive patches more so at the prospect of even more future updates.

My current questions, or suggestions if you will, however are:

Will the obtainability of combat traits finally be moddable?

Will there be an option to disable nukes from the game, just like there is for historical event outcome, leader deaths and IC takeover?

 

[Endibear]

Great to read, many thanks.

 

[fabfeingold]

Awesome.

 

[Lord Jarski]

Woah, this came as a suprise, well done guys!

 

[Lord Jarski]

Found an issue, when you first load a scenario, all is good, but if you quit to main menu and attempt to load a scenario again, a bunch of ID errors appears.

First it says that {type = 17 id = 1-9} are already used, then it begins to complain that Leader IDs are already used in the leader files, would seem it gives an error for each leader in db\leaders.

 

[Urko]

Any chance to tackle any major bug as the Gameranger freeze after 3 months in multiplayer?

 

[Endibear]

Menu > Game Mangement > Options > Message Settings > default > game crash
Menu > Game Mangement > Options > Message Settings > all pause > game crash

 

[Marshall18]

Awesome. Though I think I'll wait for a less tech savvy requiring version, I appreciate the effort to bring AoD to the 10s

 

[Denniss]

Change request regarding moddir functionality (from memory as of 1.09):
To use AI files in moddir a file of the same name has to exist in corresponding vanilla AI folders (Main AI files, switch AI files, etc)
The same problems still exist for certain images or symbols, AFAIR for ship symbols/silhuettes, it does seem to work as intended for land divisions any may work for air units (can't remember exactly).

 

[Denniss]

Please verify the new version actually works with moddir or try to find what's blocking the current CORE mod from loading.
It'll be nice to enable error logging so if images are missing you have a report on hand and don't need to write-down any missing image

 

[Zsar1]

Feature requests in general: Not for this release. This here is pretty much a "get it to work" patch. The next one will be similar, considering that porting the graphics engine is both necessary and the worst combination of "difficult" and "lots of work".

Will the obtainability of combat traits finally be moddable?

Let me put it this way: I intend to do this eventually. That is very much not a guarantee that it will ever happen, though.

Will there be an option to disable nukes from the game, just like there is for historical event outcome, leader deaths and IC takeover?

Are nukes a problem in the vanilla game? It was my impression that the usual issue is the absence of nukes.
... That written, I can definitely see how nukes in their current implementation can be "not fun" and "ideally unavailable".

Do not expect something like a new option for this in the forseeable future though - this is very easily modded by removing activation of the Nuclear Reactor building from technologies. The other way around, actually adding such an option is surprisingly... well, not hard but convoluted and error prone.

Found an issue, when you first load a scenario, all is good, but if you quit to main menu and attempt to load a scenario again, a bunch of ID errors appears.

First it says that {type = 17 id = 1-9} are already used, then it begins to complain that Leader IDs are already used in the leader files, would seem it gives an error for each leader in db\leaders.

Ah, this is important and I probably should have ensured that something about this can be found in the OP.

The behaviour of 1.07 has not changed at all here. The errors that occur are merely visible now.

In other terms: If you want to be sure that everything is alright, always restart the game after quiting a session.
- But if rejoining a session without restarting the game worked alright for you in the past, then you may feel free to ignore these error messages (which admittedly is difficult, as - you are right - every leader from the former scenario is in there... and some battle plans... and some more AI leftovers from who-knows-where).

I was not able to ascertain from the code side of things that everything displayed here is harmless, so I did not feel comfortable with simply removing these messages. ... That written, I also might have forgotten that I had to do something about them while fixing other things. Expect them not show up in the official release, but during RCs they will probably stay.

Menu > Game Mangement > Options > Message Settings > default > game crash
Menu > Game Mangement > Options > Message Settings > all pause > game crash

Interesting... It does not happen in the debug build, but I did reproduce it in the Deployment build (which is the one you get from the OP).

Investigating now.

- Good find, by the way. I would not have caught this in my own pre-release test setup.

Change request regarding moddir functionality (from memory as of 1.09):
To use AI files in moddir a file of the same name has to exist in corresponding vanilla AI folders (Main AI files, switch AI files, etc)
The same problems still exist for certain images or symbols, AFAIR for ship symbols/silhuettes, it does seem to work as intended for land divisions any may work for air units (can't remember exactly).

Right now there might be additional things that might have worked in 1.08 and do no more. E.g. I had discovered and fixed that event images are not loaded from moddir just three days ago.

Please verify the new version actually works with moddir or try to find what's blocking the current CORE mod from loading.
It'll be nice to enable error logging so if images are missing you have a report on hand and don't need to write-down any missing image

Actually I have tested the game more with CORE than with 1.09 vanilla. All image related errors had been fixed in my local fileset or reported to @Hagar in the CORE release thread days ago.

These are all relevant changelog entries so far:

Spoiler

ai/ger_1936.ai
- removed invalid area key "Marshall Chain" from block admiral

config/world_names.csv
- adjusted area keys to match 1.10 lookup behaviour

db/province.csv
- changed all lake provinces' area to Lake to prevent inclusion in navaldist.tbl

db/events/core_AI/Vanilla_AI/Cored_ai_revolters.txt
- fixed open name tags in event actions

db/events/gameplay/core_Austria.txt
db/events/gameplay/core_Italy.txt
db/events/gameplay/core_Japan.txt
db/events/gameplay/core_UK.txt
db/events/gameplay/core_USA.txt
db/events/gameplay/core_USSR.txt
- fixed typo in picture names

scenarios/CORE_1936/AUS_36.inc
- removed duplicate leader 2701 (Barger) from 7. Infanteriedivision (is leader of 5. Infanteriedivision)

Unless you see different errors, I have to say that this is all issues in the softcode - and other than the world_names.csv adjustment all these are silent but existing errors in previous versions as well.
- That written, expect a fixpack soon. I am prepared for the changes that, well, I did.

 

[Endibear]

model's out of order, I hope you understand me.
0 = Inf ok
1 = Cav ok
2 = Mot ok
3 = Mech ok
4 = LArm ok
5 = Arm ok
6 = Para ok
7 = Mar ok
8 = Berg ok
9 = Garr > HQ
10 = HQ > Militia
11 = Militia > Garrison

 

[Pang Bingxun]

Are nukes a problem in the vanilla game? It was my impression that the usual issue is the absence of nukes.

The likelyhood of nukes being used by AI has been increased in the last 2 patches. It still does require AI to have enough manpower to build the reactor.

 

[Zsar1]

model's out of order, I hope you understand me.
[...]

Sorry but no, I have no idea. What are those numbers and in which file are they used? Could you cite the context in code brackets?

 

[Denniss]

Maybe the division type number (instead of type name) used by add_division event commands

 

[Endibear]

In the building-menu, when you will build an HQ, you get a Militia.
When building a Garrison, you get an HQ, but you can't attach a police-brigade.
Sorry for my bad english, its old and rusty.

 

[Marshall18]

My biggest requests:

- MP not to get "out of sync" so easily.
- That battles don't end automatically when you open a save (with 0 losses).

 

[Mr_B0narpte]

A massive thankyou to Lennartos, Zsar1, and gunman_! I have been dreaming of further hardcoded improvements to AoD for a long time, this is fantastic!

I think you have the right aims, hardcoded improvements are key to AoD. Soft-coded improvements can be done by much of the community, and already have been done greatly by the developers of CORE and the Improved Mod alongside several more.

My requests are:

* muti-player netcode having much room for improvement - it is very unstable. As desev says, even when on very slow/slow, the game desyncs after 3 game months
* paratrooper combat (completely broken, making them extremely OP - I can bring up the several bug reports already reported alongside further problems)
* how the AI handles combat - preferably just allowing more soft-coded edits to be done
* unit trading (when trading ships, they arrive at 100% strength while giving back the seller the manpower too, meaning free manpower - the same is for land units with brigades)
* the over-powered effect the capital has on the ESE of the entire army
* the create supply dump feature (currently it tries to ship directly from the capital to the place you want to create the supply dump - i.e. as the UK, you want to create a supply dump in Singapore but cannot as the feature tries to ship the resources from London -> Singapore, rather then from a sea province, i.e. Plymouth -> Singapore, so it invariably does not work for the UK)
* ships being able to move port-to-port - perhaps justifiable for destroyers, but for carriers/battleships/loaded transports it gets ridiculous - DH has prevented it so should AoD!
* unit stealing (i.e. EXPing a nation's army just before it is to be annexed - if people talk of Free French units and such, that's what events are for!)
* being able to join an alliance that's at war, while you cannot declare war on the nation they're at war with (i.e. primarily for USA, where it can ally with the UK that's at war with Germany, but typically cannot declare war on Germany in the first place)
* bombing at midnight means provinces can't be repaired
* units spontaneously vanishing in various circumstances
* secret weapon techs sometimes taking an age to activate (while the AI gets access to them instantly...)
* splitting armies up at midnight (apparently) leads to the newly divided army vanishing
* units stupidly retreating to the most ridiculous provinces
* tactical bombers not being able to logistical bomb specific problems (this is a sporadic problem that is normally saved by restarting the scenario, but obviously that means all that progress has been lost, and this is especially not a good solution for multi player where we've spent months playing from 1936 to war-time)
* the infra 195/200% bug - where production sometimes can only go upto 195%, rather then 200%
* being able to get pop ups if allied territory is captured

 

[PB-DK]

awesome news indeed! AOD has been the best hearts of iron version for a long time! (even with the bugs, warts and everything else )

most of what bona said is on my wishlist; particularily the infrastructure, bombing of provinces at midnight, naval move port to port overland and the retreats are all very annoying... and some updates to the ESE calculations would be great (cut off areas have their ese reduced to 10% even if they are capable of producing supplies enough to fully supply every unit)

edit, also transports seems to be bugged in naval combat, most times they just start at 200 km, also spotting and distance ships are entered into combat have issues with BB fleets with (to) few screens automatically start at very close range against carriers that has 100%+ screens which is very detrimental to said carriers.