Better way to find/use newly created units needed

[Harleyfrank]

Hi,
I am quite new to the AGEOD engine and have recently started playing both CWII and AJE, so maybe I'm not doing it right.

It's a complicated system to get to grips with and I suspect I'll be finding out a lot how it works over the next few months, however one of the things that really baffles me is the creation of new units. The creation part is easy, but once the unit has completed it's recruitment etc, it just disappears from the radar and the only way I can find it again is either remembering where it was created or using the F2 screen, which isn't all that useful for this as it shows everything, even when using the filters, it's still just a spreadsheet list and you can't tell what is new and what isn't. Or at least I can't.

Not much of an issue when just creating two or three units, but becomes a real chore tracking down lots of them to create new divisions/corps/etc.

I would like to see a new popup, similar to the unit selection one, with pictures of the units created with maybe following options:
1. Ability to order by state/region
2. Ability to merge together into a division/corps/etc from same popup.

The above is just off the top of my head, not thought through the actual details, just what comes to mind as I type, but either way, something to make the finding and making use of these new units easier as I just find it really frustrating at the moment and end up forgetting/missing them..

This applies to AJE also, so I suspect it's the same on all the games that use this engine.

Anyone else find this too?

Frank

[Jim-NC]

Most of currently use paper and pencil to do this. You get a notice when a unit is finished building (in the messages section). You can cycle through all active land units by using the "R" key, but will need to remember why you built that particular unit where you did.

[ArmChairGeneral]

Not to be all "old school," but this was even more of a problem in the previous version, since purchased units spawned in random locations in the state you were building in and it was impossible to know ahead of time where stuff was going to turn up. Now, since you can pick which region you want them in (mostly) you can concentrate building in certain regions so that you at least know where they are. This helps me to remember why I built them in the first place much better than in AACW, where I would always lose track. I make a practice of trying to build as much stuff in the same spot as I can in order to reduce confusion on later turns.

Here is what I do: I always use the E/R keys and the T/Y keys to cycle through units so I don't miss any of them. I do all my building in a few specific regions, so I know where everything is. I try to plan out my builds so that I do a division all at once or over just few turns. I check the War Production screen (F3) regularly, looking at the timers and the regions they are building in. I read the message log every turn (every button is important except for the boots). And last, I only play as the CSA, so I can hardly ever afford to build more than I can keep track of.

One thing that would also be convenient would be the ability to cancel a unit directly from the War Production screen. If I have spent all my resources and later decide to change all the builds for my turn it is very hard to find where each newly ordered unit is so that I can cancel it. Even a simple icon letting you know that one of the builds was purchased on the current turn would make it easier than it is now (make the clock background red, for example) so you would at least know where to go. Jumping to the region when clicking one of the units would be another good way to address this, and might help those who are not yet able to recognize all the important places by their region names.

[John S. Mosby]

One thing that would also be convenient would be the ability to cancel a unit directly from the War Production screen. If I have spent all my resources and later decide to change all the builds for my turn it is very hard to find where each newly ordered unit is so that I can cancel it. Even a simple icon letting you know that one of the builds was purchased on the current turn would make it easier than it is now (make the clock background red, for example) so you would at least know where to go.

A frustration I also share. Your suggestion would be helpful. Hopefully it can be implemented.

[minipol]

As Jim mentions, I go by the finished building unit message in the message section. No need for pen and paper.
And I always remember why and for what purpose I've built a unit.
I do not find the keys to cycle through the units very helpful as they go over all the units.
You have to put them on sentry (or something like that) in order to not show up in the cycle.

[Harleyfrank]

Sounds like there isn't a solution to this, either have to rely on memory, read the messages or rely on pen and paper, which seems to me a mockery of having a computer game......

I like the format and the way the game develops, but it does seem like the user interface isn't really up to what is should be. I say this as an IT person, albeit, in a commercial world, rather than game world, but even so, the user experience and navigation is of utmost importance and these games strike me as though a few steps have been missed in the development cycle before going to market and the push to get sales in.

Bottom line is that I don't think this area of the game has really been thought out very well. To me the interface is far too simplistic and the army spreadsheet is very limited as to use and scope. A lot more could be achieved with a little effort and thought.

Maybe future updates will remedy and make life easier for all of us with more and easier to access information and unit manipulation.

There are other issues that with a bit of effort would also improve it no end. And pretty much all of the issues I can see are in the user interface, which is rally too basic of games of this complexity.

[GraniteStater]

I'm a tech writer and I'd give it a B. Not bad, could be better - but I played a lot of the preceding game, too. Some sorting was easier in AACW.

[soundoff]

Some sorting was easier in AACW.

That bit I'd certainly agree with. Whilst its a vast improvement to be able to specify where units are to be built it was far far easier in AACW to actually specify builds. This cycling through unit after unit to get to the one I want does not 'float my boat'

[ArmChairGeneral]

That bit I'd certainly agree with. Whilst its a vast improvement to be able to specify where units are to be built it was far far easier in AACW to actually specify builds. This cycling through unit after unit to get to the one I want does not 'float my boat'

At the risk of repeating myself from another post, it would be easier if the gear menu had some sort of organization, whether by state or unit type or whatever, so you could find what you were looking for easier. I heard that they were planning on making the filters in the gear menu persistent, which will also cut down on the clicky-scrolly when building.

[tripax]

As a note, it seems the order of the units comes from the order they are introduced chronologically within the game and the order they are listed in the appropriate file in the events folder (1861 April Campaign.sct for example) and initially in the script folder (ScriptApril61.ini for example). Within the code as it exists, it might be possible to change the order by changing the order within those files – but for CSA, SC units (and its supply and gunboat) will always be first, NC will be a bit off because it succeeded late (and TN and KY even later). It might be possible to at the beginning of a turn set all unitpools to zero then add them back in the order you like.