Jason Petho
23 Apr 03, 18:17
For all those Divided Ground fans, Paul Adaway has released his latest unofficial patch - 1.04u
This is available at the Blitz ( http://www.theblitz.org ) FTP site.
Here's a reading of the Text file for furhter information:
"""
Divided Ground Unofficial Patch 1.04u
Unfortunately Talonsoft's Divided Ground was released with numerous errors. Chris Perleberg has done an excellent job of correcting the oobs, however he has only scratched the surface of the problems relating to unit values. This patch is my attempt to correct these problems, I make no claim to have corrected all of them, but I think you will find that the game plays much more realistically in all it's 4 time periods (1948,1956,1967 and 1973). My patch is completely harmonious with Chris's version 2 patch and Talonsoft's official 1.02 patch. In fact, for ease of installation I have included all of Chris' earlier patches and the Jordanian OOB patch (except for the additions to the pictures file, and the corrected Desert Trees files) in this 1.04u update. You now only have to install Talonsoft's 1.02, and then install this 1.04u patch.
Procedure;
First, install Talonsoft's official 1.02 patch. Unzip my Unofficial 1.04u patch, into main Divided Ground Directory and copy over any original files, you may want to back them up first.
Changes in 1.04u;
Corrected errors with certain AA units firing at reduced effect (ZSU 23, ZSU57, Israeli Bofors L/70 etc).
Corrected errors in linked campaign games (IDF73.LCG and J67.LCG).
Infantry platoons armed with automatic rifles (AK47 etc) have had their fire cost reduced to 33 (allowing them to fire up to three times per turn), and their attack factors reduced by one third (to keep overall firepower the same). This brings them into line with the fire cost and attack values of the DG Vietnam Mod.
Israeli 1956 Rifle platoon Hard attack values reduced to 14, to represent that the Super Bazooka was only issued at one per platoon, rather than being a squad level weapon as I originally believed.
Revised company and higher level oobs (mainly Chris Perleberg's work, but with some further corrections by myself).
Revised camo colours for the Israeli, Egyptian, and Syrian 3D unit graphics to better represent actual camo schemes used. (ie; Israel; olive/sand drab, Egypt; sand, Syria; dark green).
New 3D graphics for most of the aircraft types (all the jet aircraft have new accurate graphics, the original DG plane graphics were poor, very few of the aircraft types were recognisable).
More corrections to unit graphics (ie; Jordanian Duster, heavy mortars of various nations)
Many more corrections to unit values.
Included new sound files, to correct errors in the original DG.
I have included all of Chris Perleberg's earlier patches and the Jordanian OOB patch (except for the additions to the pictures file, and the corrected Desert Trees files) in this 1.04u update. You now only have to install Talonsoft's 1.02, and then install this 1.04u patch.
Changes in 1.03u;
More corrections to 3D graphics.
Clarified artillery unit names (which in the original DG files were often unclear), and corrected anachronous use of D-30 howitzer.
New units added to platoon.oobs including;
Israeli:
R35 Light Tank
M4(105mm) Medium Tank
M4(77mm) Sherman
Daimler Armoured Car
M9 6pdr Gun Halftrack
M3 SS11 Halftrack
M3 90mm Gun Halftrack
Soltam L33 155mm SP Howitzer
Makmat 160mm SP Mortar
Mosquito Mk VI Fighter Aircraft
Egyptian:
Humber IV Armoured Car
Staghound I Armoured Car
Mark VI Light Tank
Locust Light Tank
Matilda II Infantry Tank
Valentine VIII Infantry Tank
sIG II 150mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
Loyd Carrier
M4/FL10 Sherman
ASU-57 57mm Airborne SP AT Gun
Walid
SA-6 Gainful
S23 180mm Gun
Fiat G-55
Jordanian:
Staghound I Armoured Car
Syrian:
AM Dodge Scout Car
Panhard 178B Armored Car
Carrier AC 25mm Tank Destroyer
Lorraine 38L 75mm Self-Propelled Gun
Lorraine 38L 65mm Self-Propelled Gun
StuG IIIG 75mm Tank Destroyer
JgdPz IV 75mm Tank Destroyer
PzA III/IV 150mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
T-34/122 Self-Propelled Howitzer
S23 180mm Gun
More corrections to unit values, mainly fixing artillery and helicopter values.
Changes in 1.02u;
1) Unit Values; An examination of the DG Help files (or the weapon.pdt and platoon.oob files) will reveal a number of strange values. Eg; Ben Gurion tanks (an improved Israeli version of the Centurion) with the same defence values and inferior attack strengths than an AMX13 light tank, all infantry type platoons have the same values regardless of nationality or time period (therefore a 1948 Egyptian Rifle platoon with WWII vintage rifles has the same attack strengths as a 1973 platoon armed with AK47s and RPG7s!), all modern vehicles have their speed ratings in mph rather than kph and are therefore extremely slow (if you've played the first scenario in the Syrian 1973 LCG and wondered why your tanks could not get any where near the objectives before the end of the game, now you know why), recoiless guns have the same attack strength at all ranges (are they laser guided? I don't think so!), and none of the modern equipment is more effective than the best WWII units found in earlier Campaign Series games (eg; the best hard attack strength in West Front (discounting the Maus) is the Achilles tank destroyer with 60, no tank in DG approaches that despite better guns, fire control systems and ammunition! I also find it hard to believe that a Stuka is more effective at ground attack than an F4 Phantom, or that a ZSU23 with radar guided fire control is no more effective than a WWII vintage German quad 20mm slapped on the back of a halftrack).
I could go on forever here, but basically I have reviewed every attack strength, range, defence value, assault value, fire cost and movement rate in the game and have had to change most of them. You may disagree with some of the new values I have come up with, but they have been worked out consistently according to my interpretation of how Campaign Series values should be worked out.
One problem was armored personel carriers. In previous Campaign Series games the attack strengths of apcs have been reduced to reflect their primary role as troop carriers, rather than encouraging their use in the game as mobile mgs. In DG, Talonsoft appear to have made a design decision to change this. The reason why I don't think this is just another mistake is that one of the 1948 scenarios specifically mentions the Israelis using their M3 halftracks to provide fire support. I have therefore kept all apc attack strengths at "full" value. This poses a problem with the later OT-62D and BMP1 apcs, which are very heavily armed. A BMP1 with Sagger missiles and a very effective 73mm gun firing HEAT ammo is potentially a very powerful weapon. To prevent players using these units unhistorically and to simulate their small ammo supply, I have set the fire cost of the OT-62D and BMP1 at 55, to effectively limit them to one shot per turn. What do other players think about this?
Graphics;
I have changed some of the incorrect 3d graphics; Israeli 65mm howitzers, 75mm guns, and Avia S-199 fighter. D-30 howitzers, and Zis 2 76mm guns.
There is a mountain of work to be done on the graphics, I have only scratched the surface in this patch.
Sounds;
A number of units had incorrect movement and weapon sounds these have all been corrected, also;
M3 halftracks had the truck sound instead of the halftrack sound (this is an old problem of West Front that has carried on into Rising Sun and now DG).
I have introduced piston engine plane sounds for the appropriate aircraft.
I have given all infantry with automatic weapons the sub machine gun weapon sound.
Night Scenarios;
I have corrected all the night scenarios (including those for the lcgs). Originally they all had visibility of 1. You may think this is correct, but if you look at any Rising Sun night scenario you will see that the base visibility rating is always greater than 1. Otherwise you will not be able to see or shoot at gunflashes at ranges over 1.
Unittext;
I have updated the infantry descriptions with some info on their actual weaponry at various time periods. Again, there is a lot of corrective work to be done on the other unit descriptions, Talonsoft only did a partial job on this one.
Anachronous units;
Some units were not available historically until later than DG supposes, I have changed the following;
Israeli AML90 replaced in 1956 by Staghound a/c. Israeli L33 Sp gun replaced in 1967 by M50 Sp gun. Israeli M51 Sherman replaced in 1956 by M50 Sherman.
Paul Adaway
03/11/01
"""
Hope that helps!
Take care and good luck
Jason Petho
This is available at the Blitz ( http://www.theblitz.org ) FTP site.
Here's a reading of the Text file for furhter information:
"""
Divided Ground Unofficial Patch 1.04u
Unfortunately Talonsoft's Divided Ground was released with numerous errors. Chris Perleberg has done an excellent job of correcting the oobs, however he has only scratched the surface of the problems relating to unit values. This patch is my attempt to correct these problems, I make no claim to have corrected all of them, but I think you will find that the game plays much more realistically in all it's 4 time periods (1948,1956,1967 and 1973). My patch is completely harmonious with Chris's version 2 patch and Talonsoft's official 1.02 patch. In fact, for ease of installation I have included all of Chris' earlier patches and the Jordanian OOB patch (except for the additions to the pictures file, and the corrected Desert Trees files) in this 1.04u update. You now only have to install Talonsoft's 1.02, and then install this 1.04u patch.
Procedure;
First, install Talonsoft's official 1.02 patch. Unzip my Unofficial 1.04u patch, into main Divided Ground Directory and copy over any original files, you may want to back them up first.
Changes in 1.04u;
Corrected errors with certain AA units firing at reduced effect (ZSU 23, ZSU57, Israeli Bofors L/70 etc).
Corrected errors in linked campaign games (IDF73.LCG and J67.LCG).
Infantry platoons armed with automatic rifles (AK47 etc) have had their fire cost reduced to 33 (allowing them to fire up to three times per turn), and their attack factors reduced by one third (to keep overall firepower the same). This brings them into line with the fire cost and attack values of the DG Vietnam Mod.
Israeli 1956 Rifle platoon Hard attack values reduced to 14, to represent that the Super Bazooka was only issued at one per platoon, rather than being a squad level weapon as I originally believed.
Revised company and higher level oobs (mainly Chris Perleberg's work, but with some further corrections by myself).
Revised camo colours for the Israeli, Egyptian, and Syrian 3D unit graphics to better represent actual camo schemes used. (ie; Israel; olive/sand drab, Egypt; sand, Syria; dark green).
New 3D graphics for most of the aircraft types (all the jet aircraft have new accurate graphics, the original DG plane graphics were poor, very few of the aircraft types were recognisable).
More corrections to unit graphics (ie; Jordanian Duster, heavy mortars of various nations)
Many more corrections to unit values.
Included new sound files, to correct errors in the original DG.
I have included all of Chris Perleberg's earlier patches and the Jordanian OOB patch (except for the additions to the pictures file, and the corrected Desert Trees files) in this 1.04u update. You now only have to install Talonsoft's 1.02, and then install this 1.04u patch.
Changes in 1.03u;
More corrections to 3D graphics.
Clarified artillery unit names (which in the original DG files were often unclear), and corrected anachronous use of D-30 howitzer.
New units added to platoon.oobs including;
Israeli:
R35 Light Tank
M4(105mm) Medium Tank
M4(77mm) Sherman
Daimler Armoured Car
M9 6pdr Gun Halftrack
M3 SS11 Halftrack
M3 90mm Gun Halftrack
Soltam L33 155mm SP Howitzer
Makmat 160mm SP Mortar
Mosquito Mk VI Fighter Aircraft
Egyptian:
Humber IV Armoured Car
Staghound I Armoured Car
Mark VI Light Tank
Locust Light Tank
Matilda II Infantry Tank
Valentine VIII Infantry Tank
sIG II 150mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
Loyd Carrier
M4/FL10 Sherman
ASU-57 57mm Airborne SP AT Gun
Walid
SA-6 Gainful
S23 180mm Gun
Fiat G-55
Jordanian:
Staghound I Armoured Car
Syrian:
AM Dodge Scout Car
Panhard 178B Armored Car
Carrier AC 25mm Tank Destroyer
Lorraine 38L 75mm Self-Propelled Gun
Lorraine 38L 65mm Self-Propelled Gun
StuG IIIG 75mm Tank Destroyer
JgdPz IV 75mm Tank Destroyer
PzA III/IV 150mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
T-34/122 Self-Propelled Howitzer
S23 180mm Gun
More corrections to unit values, mainly fixing artillery and helicopter values.
Changes in 1.02u;
1) Unit Values; An examination of the DG Help files (or the weapon.pdt and platoon.oob files) will reveal a number of strange values. Eg; Ben Gurion tanks (an improved Israeli version of the Centurion) with the same defence values and inferior attack strengths than an AMX13 light tank, all infantry type platoons have the same values regardless of nationality or time period (therefore a 1948 Egyptian Rifle platoon with WWII vintage rifles has the same attack strengths as a 1973 platoon armed with AK47s and RPG7s!), all modern vehicles have their speed ratings in mph rather than kph and are therefore extremely slow (if you've played the first scenario in the Syrian 1973 LCG and wondered why your tanks could not get any where near the objectives before the end of the game, now you know why), recoiless guns have the same attack strength at all ranges (are they laser guided? I don't think so!), and none of the modern equipment is more effective than the best WWII units found in earlier Campaign Series games (eg; the best hard attack strength in West Front (discounting the Maus) is the Achilles tank destroyer with 60, no tank in DG approaches that despite better guns, fire control systems and ammunition! I also find it hard to believe that a Stuka is more effective at ground attack than an F4 Phantom, or that a ZSU23 with radar guided fire control is no more effective than a WWII vintage German quad 20mm slapped on the back of a halftrack).
I could go on forever here, but basically I have reviewed every attack strength, range, defence value, assault value, fire cost and movement rate in the game and have had to change most of them. You may disagree with some of the new values I have come up with, but they have been worked out consistently according to my interpretation of how Campaign Series values should be worked out.
One problem was armored personel carriers. In previous Campaign Series games the attack strengths of apcs have been reduced to reflect their primary role as troop carriers, rather than encouraging their use in the game as mobile mgs. In DG, Talonsoft appear to have made a design decision to change this. The reason why I don't think this is just another mistake is that one of the 1948 scenarios specifically mentions the Israelis using their M3 halftracks to provide fire support. I have therefore kept all apc attack strengths at "full" value. This poses a problem with the later OT-62D and BMP1 apcs, which are very heavily armed. A BMP1 with Sagger missiles and a very effective 73mm gun firing HEAT ammo is potentially a very powerful weapon. To prevent players using these units unhistorically and to simulate their small ammo supply, I have set the fire cost of the OT-62D and BMP1 at 55, to effectively limit them to one shot per turn. What do other players think about this?
Graphics;
I have changed some of the incorrect 3d graphics; Israeli 65mm howitzers, 75mm guns, and Avia S-199 fighter. D-30 howitzers, and Zis 2 76mm guns.
There is a mountain of work to be done on the graphics, I have only scratched the surface in this patch.
Sounds;
A number of units had incorrect movement and weapon sounds these have all been corrected, also;
M3 halftracks had the truck sound instead of the halftrack sound (this is an old problem of West Front that has carried on into Rising Sun and now DG).
I have introduced piston engine plane sounds for the appropriate aircraft.
I have given all infantry with automatic weapons the sub machine gun weapon sound.
Night Scenarios;
I have corrected all the night scenarios (including those for the lcgs). Originally they all had visibility of 1. You may think this is correct, but if you look at any Rising Sun night scenario you will see that the base visibility rating is always greater than 1. Otherwise you will not be able to see or shoot at gunflashes at ranges over 1.
Unittext;
I have updated the infantry descriptions with some info on their actual weaponry at various time periods. Again, there is a lot of corrective work to be done on the other unit descriptions, Talonsoft only did a partial job on this one.
Anachronous units;
Some units were not available historically until later than DG supposes, I have changed the following;
Israeli AML90 replaced in 1956 by Staghound a/c. Israeli L33 Sp gun replaced in 1967 by M50 Sp gun. Israeli M51 Sherman replaced in 1956 by M50 Sherman.
Paul Adaway
03/11/01
"""
Hope that helps!
Take care and good luck
Jason Petho