POA 2 - Dead?? What happened?

[meade95]

It sure seems like POA2 has died - no new releases - no new updates - no real comments coming in from HPS -

Though they do still POA2 listed on the front page of their web-site??

I am wondering if severe problems where found within the engine of the game?

 

[switch_back]

It is certainley possible that HPS may be keeping a major problem under wraps, which isnt helping because what we need at the moment is some proper feedback from HPS about the progress of POA2, many of us have purchased this game and are quite optimistic about its capacity to become a great wargame, un-matched by others.

Like you Meade I would like to know exactly what is going on here, im sure we would all like to get this game off the ground here at WFHQ, but HPS are not giving us the ability or motivation to do so.

If your reading this thread Scott please please give us some feedback on POA2's progress, im not sure we can all hold fire on the game forever.

 

[HercMighty]

I have yet to hear from Scott on emails I sent after 2.02 Beta came out. As far as I am concerned POA2 was a can of worms that never should have been released. They obviously don't have the means to do it correctly and seems to be yet another scam for the governments money. They have gotten all they can out of it and now like an ostrich they have put their heads in the ground.

 

[switch_back]

I think its a real shame, if this is the case, many of us here at WFHQ have been let down by this, also if this is true some of my trust will have been lost with HPS which im sure will be the same for most people.

To which I certainley hope none of this is true

 

[meade95]

I am not quite ready to say POA2 is trash - and that HPS (Scott) have got all they can out of it and are now letting it die -

Though, I do find it odd that since the 2.02 beta was released and an OFFICIAL 2.02 was suppose to quickly follow that we haven't heard anything since -

This is what leads be to believe a major flaw must have been uncovered - I trust both HPS and Scott which is the only reason I still hold out hope for POA2 -

 

[RedMike]

Give 'em time, the'll hash it all out in the end. Not like there's a shortage of games to play, eh?

 

[switch_back]

Thats true there no shortage in games for us all to play, but I think this one in particular has invoked alot of intrigue in us all in its capabilities, its possibilities for scenario creation are endless, plus we paid alot of money for it, so it is just getting a bit frustrating now thats all.

But I see what your saying RedMike, in the mean while hmmmm lets choose from
- TacOps
- Decisive Action
- ATF
- Combat Mission - 1 and 2
- Modern Campaigns - Fulda Gap 85
- Steel Panthers 3

I guess I have got a reasonoble choice there.

 

[HercMighty]

My game of choice right now is the Highway to the Reich by Matrix and Panther Games. They have also aluded that when they get done with WW2 battles that a Modern Battles version will be considered. With the way they are going I would say this could happen within 1 to 2 years.

But the system is nice and works really well.

 

[Dr Zaius]

I will see if I can get an upfrom from Scott on what is going on with POA-2. We also need to keep in mind that this sim is being used by the military, so there is no telling what features/fixes they have requested, nor how these would effect the current version. Scott did tell me that he plans to implement nearly every one of the major suggestions we sent to him, and some may be easier to do than others.

I did take a look at the updated patch, but I must admit I was still a little bewildered by the new unit setup. In all fairness, I only spent a short amount of time with it, not enough to make an intelligent evaluation.

 

[Panther77th]

Well I received an email from Rich at HPS. It bascialy said that all errors have been addressed. So I guess whatever you have on your hard drive is what your going to have to live with. Shame really, that will be my last HPS product. I havent really been happy with my last 2 purchases, so its off to Matrix games whom seem to know how to make a war game and satisfy their customer base.

**Correction, Rich stated Most not all problems were addressed. He also stated he was unaware of the problem people are still having. My suggestion, email Rich at HPS with the current problems, when they happen. I cant get through a mission without a C++ error and I am patched and freshly installed with latest files.

Panther

 

[HercMighty]

I have given up. I still cannot believe that the Military hasn't either. Does anyone know of any acting testing be done by the military? I cannot believe that they are not as completely disgusted with this software as I am and I think a lot of others are. HPS has lost me as a customer.

 

[HercMighty]

Well I received an email from Rich at HPS. It bascialy said that all errors have been addressed.

**Correction, Rich stated Most not all problems were addressed. He also stated he was unaware of the problem people are still having. Panther

If they think this game is playable, they are very dellusional. I know some people are getting by playing it the way they want to play it. But this is not how it is supposed to be played nor how they are marketing the game. Therefore the game is broke, it doesn't work, and for all intent and purposes is a waste of hard drive space.

 

[Mike Acid]

Modern wargames have never been my thing, so I was hoping that a new TOP using POA engine would come in the future. Now I dont know what to belive anymore. Seems like I still have to play on DOS.

 

[meade95]

Panther77th - Did Rich say anything about an official 2.02 patch?? Or is the beta version just suppose to be enough? That seems really odd -

And you said Rich got back with you - NOT Scott? - That is odd as well, considering Scott is the main person behind POA2 -

Something is up - that is for sure - either POA2 has a major coding flaw or Scott has moved on to another project -

 

[Panther77th]

Sorry to get back to this soo late, yes Rich was very forthcoming. I believe he was unaware of the existing problems and told me that he would personaly contact Scott. Rich actualy answered my email within an hour of posting it, so he was very considerate in that regard. Regarding the 2.02 beta, nothing was really mention and I didnt actualy ask. I just assumed the developer wouldnt strand the game with a beta patch. This is just my opinion, but the game really is unplayable in its current state. I have a clean installation with the latest patch and I still get C++ errors. I did suggest to him, to avoid any more disgruntled customers, the game in my opinion should be pulled. It was an expensive expenditure for something that clearly does not work. More so for me, because I bought Aide De Camp thinking I would be doing some serious map making with this. I really have not even bothered trying to enjoy it, the frustrations of the C++ errors ruin any gaming experience. This is on two systems, one brand new with a fresh install of WindowsXP Pro. Its just my opinion, but it never should of been released. This really affected my impression of HPS which really is not entirely fair but, expenditures that go this wrong, usualy stay with a person for awhile.

Regards.

 

[Panther77th]

Well looks like I have to eat my words yet again, Scott just emailed me. All is well and he is hard at work on the patch. So looks like there is still hope to what we all can agree, is the most attractive war sim to date. So looks like its time to put frustrations aside, and wait for the patch. :cheeky:

 

[Old&Slow]

Well looks like I have to eat my words yet again, Scott just emailed me. All is well and he is hard at work on the patch. So looks like there is still hope to what we all can agree, is the most attractive war sim to date. So looks like its time to put frustrations aside, and wait for the patch. :cheeky:

Seems as soon as people start posting in public what a unplayable broken game POA2 is there are Emails from Scott and a flurry of " work " on the Game.....

Oh, and it`s now over one month since the last Beta Patch and silence descended from the developer.

 

[HercMighty]

I have no real hope that anything will be fixed. Sure some minor things may get ironed out, but to whose satisfaction. A lot of the talk from Scott is we don't understand the game and it works how he thinks it should. Sure they fix some C++ errors, but some of the gameplay issues still exist in the same form as they did when the game was first released.

 

[RobAPol]

Not all the C++ errors have been fixed as I'm still getting them. :angry: I was in the middle of writing an AAR (got up to the 18th move complete with screenshots), but now I'm getting some C++ errors as well as a few divide by zero errors.
The composite unit code needs more work. Have you ever tried unmounting units that are set up as composites?
I had high hopes for POA2, but if support for it has stopped I will drop it. This was my first HPS game and it will probably be my last.

 

[Panther77th]

Might want to hang it there, I dont want to commit Scott to anything but he stated days not months for the patch. It also adds more features, and obviously takes care of the more pesky issues. I will ask if I can paste his email response here. From what I read, its looking good. Based on how detailed this game really is, I think we would all rather have it work, than not work.

Panther