Hi all. I take it that this forum is the place to lodge technical comments. I posted some gameplay issues and suggestions in the Make WWI Better thread. It is the technical issues that have driven me to surrender.
I have downloaded the demo version, and patches 1.05f and 1.06. I have tested all versions many times, trying to play as far as I can in the Grand Campaign. I never made it past early 1915 before ctd caught me.
Downloaded version 1.06 today, loaded a saved game (September 1914) and it crashed during execution of moves. That was the last straw.
Some technical comments.
1. You must fix the screen saver ctd issue, or provide a warning at least that it must be disabled. I know about this bug (it IS a bug) but I kept forgetting to disable the screen saver. This caused a crash (technically, a freeze) every single time. I have never had this worry with any other game.
2. Scrolling around the map still causes jerkyness and lags. If this is to be the main way of managing your nations, this should work as smoothly as a baby's backside.
3. Why does the cursor (in all versions) freeze for 1-5 seconds, even when it is my "turn" (no AI active). Sometimes I have to wait to move the curser from the map to a menu, around the map, between units. It seems unrelated to any specific action.
4. I have now experienced in-game (non-screen saver) ctd's during the course of every game at least once. I would suspect something about my rig (which is pretty good, and not running Vista) but for the fact that I am far from alone. The MP3s are great, but I really couldn't control the sound using the in-game settings until this last version, which should have tipped me off there were sound issues. I also believe there are graphics card interface issues that crop up sporadically. (for what it is worth, I have a NVidiaGeForce 6600GT). I won't be able to justify buying this game until I see these forums showing me that ctd is at least a rare event and not how a session typically ends.