Przemek Wis - 07:26am Jan 6, 1998 PST (#60 of 62) You happy owners of ADC2! Please give us some kind of a short review. I`m especially interested in what games are included with ADC2. Also, is it possible to play double-blind naval games like Flat Top or Bismarck. Is it possible to simply scan the mapboard and counters or it is neccessary to build mapboard hex by hex like it was with ADC2? sincerely pw Benoit Larose - 09:48pm Jan 15, 1998 PST (#61 of 62) Played 1914: Glory's End, Playing Berlin'45, About to Play Pacific War Przemek, ADC2 comes with Ardennes (The Gamers) and A Bold Stroke, which I do not know of. If you are familiar with ADC1, the basics are similar but there are many new features available, and it looks much better. Double-blind play is now possible to some degree with the help of a third party. You can define hidden units with only 2 players but the search routines of specific games will need to be adjusted. I can imagine Flat Top being played with ADC2 with auto-reveal range properly set, but any search die-roll will need to be handled differently. Have you visited HPS site at hpssims.com? Here is the list of new features which comes on the CD: New Limits: All of the capacities of ADC2 are greatly increased over ADC1: ? Hexes per map/board: 60,000. ? Mapsheets per map: 200. ? Map/board symbols: 30,000. ? Piece symbols: 30,000. ? Piece classes per game: 30,000. ? Pieces per game: 32,000. ? Players per game: 200. ? Force pools per game: 200. ? Pieces per hex: 100. New Features: There are literally hundreds of new features and improvements in ADC2. Some of the more important ones are: Fluffy s picture is included in the About box. Online Help gets answers to questions quickly and easily. ADC2 defaults to a 256 color palette instead of 16. However, you can choose as many custom colors as you like from among the 16.7 million colors defined by the Window true-color palette. Unlimited number of secondary types per hex - the limited hex attributes system has been eliminated. Real hexes instead of offset squares. All map-hex orientations represented (columns, rows, and grids). Hidden units and auto-reveal routines. Line Of Sight (LOS) capabilities. Pieces in a hex can now be sorted in any order. BMP files can be used as a base map (for example, a scanned-in topographic map). Number of class and unit values increased to 8 from 6. Unit and class values can now be Text or Yes/No instead of just numeric. Playing card routines added. Symbols can be transparent (both terrain and unit). You can now name your turns, for example 1pm: 3 July, 1863. You can associate info-pages with a game to hold charts, tables, and other information. Units in pools now actually exist and you can edit their information. Comments can now include sound, video and pictures. Easy Undo capability for last action. More facing display options. Flip definitions for classes. More control of mapsheet orientation and numbering. Use of Windows-style long file names instead of a two-letter designation. You can scan boards and counters although map building is better hex by hex, which is not bad. The new symbol drawing tools is much better and easier. The hardest part of set-building is class definitions. Hope that helps. Benoit From: "A.Guy Eldridge" Subject: Fw: Ardennes/ADC2 I posted this to Gamers-L but thought this might interest some people on here too. >> Just received ADC2 last week. One of the demo games included on the cd >> is none other than the Gamers' Ardennes. Coincidentally I had just >> agreed to pbem the KG Peiper scenario of that game with someone using >> the ADC1 set, but as we both have v 2 we are now trying out the newer >> version. >> >> First impressions are good. It is an enormous leap forward in terms of >> appearance and the interface is a lot more intuitive to an experienced >> Windows user - lots of icons and their functions appear when the mouse >> passes over them rather than having to rely on the old pulldown menus. >> >> It is not necessarily going to be quicker to build game sets despite >> the improved interface, because the number of options has increased >> dizzyingly. The symbol drawing program is much more detailed - many >> more colours, lines, shading methods etc. Also you can import bitmap >> images for unit and terrain symbols or apparently a whole map, which >> adds an extra layer of complexity but as is apparent from the Ardennes >> set allows you to build strikingly photorealistic images. Pieces and >> piece classes can have more values. Values need no longer be >> numerical, they can be text or yes/no flags as well. >> >> A couple of niggles - if you do a full install it goes about 100 meg - >> you can do a minimal install for about 20 meg. There are a lot of >> multimedia images and game sets included which you can access from the >> cd if you do the minimal install I believe. For instance you can >> include sounds, pictures and even avi movies with your comments to >> enhance taunting of your opponent. Lots of pics of famous military >> leaders and warlike sounds are included. >> >> There is virtually no printed manual, it's all in help files which >> seem a little sparser than the usual very complete HPS manual. I can >> live with this and hopefully as the program is updated the help files >> will be too. I don't find it too bad having spent a lot of time >> playing with v 1 but wonder if it would overwhelm someone new to the >> concept. >> >> As far as gameplay is concerned this seems a lot improved. Units can >> now be flipped without endless hunting for their counterparts. Note >> that scrolling/screen redrawing seemed a little slow on my now >> approaching obsolescence (sob sob) Pentium 60 with 16 meg of RAM. The >> Ardennes set uses actual photos of the units for the biggest zoom >> level and I think photos of the map symbols too so it feels much more >> like playing the board game. >> >> The program also has complicated looking systems for determining LOS >> and hidden units which I haven't played with. >> >> The only thing I could really wish for is that it could be played live >> over the internet so you could watch as your opponent moved and >> respond in real time. This would be useful in the more interactive >> games, especially TCS. >> >> I have only scratched the surface of the program but am very hopeful >> for it. >> >> BTW any advice for the Germans in the KG Peiper scenario would be >> appreciated. In my previous solitaire playing they won fairly easily, >> getting across the bridges before the US turn 4 reinforcements could >> block them, using 150th Pz and von Heydte to screen the flanks and >> block US movement. >> >> I think it is a mistake to use the historical tactic of attacking >> initially with only the low grade infantry while keeping the SS >> Panzers in reserve. They are not strong enough to take down the US >> line in one turn and will be repulsed bloodily. It is necessary to use >> those big boys to knock out the American infantry early, leaving the >> American nothing to plug the gaps with until his reinforcements show >> up too late to do anything but wave at the departing Germans as they >> roll to the Meuse. >> >> Best Regards, >> >> Guy Eldridge