Patch 1.2 German file - Silent Storm

Silent Storm

Patch ver. 1.2 for German version

November 28, 2003

Content

Important notes
Bug fixes in update patch version 1.2
Game interface and balance bug fixes
Improvements made according to users\' requests
Changes to game balance
Game sounds are not played correctly
Bugs fixed in the Game Editor
Bug fixes in update patch version 1.1
Game interface and balance bug fixes
Improvements made according to users\' requests
Changes to game balance
Bugs fixed in the Game Editor

Important notes:

This update patch includes all changes to the game introduced by patch version
1.1 as compared with version 1.0, as well as all new bug fixes for the game,
the Editor and MODs, plus some improvements made according to specific requests
by users.

Most of the changes will work correctly with games saved using update patches
versions 1.0 and 1.1, provided the games were saved on global map. Before
installing update patch 1.2 it\'s recommended to save your game on global map,
quit the game, install the update patch, launch the game and load the last
save. Still, we cannot guarantee that all changes and bug fixes will work
correctly with games saved using update patch version 1.0 or 1.1.

If you have updated the game to version 1.2 you\'ll need to update the Editor to
version 1.2 as well, otherwise you won\'t be able to use it.

_________________________________________________________________

Bug fixes in update patch version 1.2

* Fixed the bug causing the game to \"hang\" during ally\'s turn;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to \"hang\" after Interrupt;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to crush during movement of camouflaged
characters;
* Fixed the bug occasionally causing the game to crush after several objects
have been blown up (detonated) one after another;
* Fixed the bug occasionally causing the game to crush when the sound of shot
is played;
* Partially fixed the bug occasionally causing loss of sound in the game;
* Fixed the bug causing game script to \"hang\" on English Town zone in Axis
campaign;
* Fixed the bug causing incorrect functioning of Better Evasion ability;
* Improved functioning of Quick Short Burst ability;
* Fixed the bug occasionally causing characters to have negative VP values;
* Fixed the bug causing incorrect work of the game on systems with ATI Radeon
R6/7200 video cards;
* Fixed the bug occasionally making impossible to select characters using mouse
in real-time mode;
* Fixed the bug making Panzerkleins stored in base hangar unavailable in Allied
campaign;
* Fixed the bug causing dead bodies in Panzerkleins to disappear;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters in Panzerkleins\' movement if
multiple destination points were set in real-time mode;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters carrying dead bodies\' movement if
multiple destination points were set in real-time mode;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters\' movement if they have a grenade
in active slot;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters setting up mines;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters changing positions.

Game interface and balance bug fixes

* Characters can now walk to points where items are located. Now it\'s possible
to set a destination point with a weapon, a dead body or documents lying there,
without the need to pick those items up (Shift + Click);
* Changed balance in Swiss Factory and Organisation\'s Base missions;
* Change Sound Mode in Options screen is no longer available;
* Changed visualisation of End of Turn/Start Combat button;
* Improved the AI logic;
* Added new hot keys: [Ctrl + K] - show/hide leaves.
* Fixed the bug causing incorrect work of Backstab.

Improvements made according to users\' requests

* Look command which does not involve changing direction the character is
looking at, has no AP costs now;
* It\'s now possible to switch visualisation of selected character
(game_selectionmode line in config.cfg);
* It\'s now possible to switch visualisation of weather effects
(game_showweathereffect line in config.cfg)
* Characters now get used to various weapons quicker;
* If characters cannot move due to calculation of route, message to that effect
is now displayed after calculation is completed.

Changes to game balance

* Fixed the bug causing the game to crush during a series of explosions if a
MOD is loaded;
* Various MODs can now work together;
* Made changes to all MODs.

Game sounds are not played correctly

Symptoms

When you play Silent Storm, you may experience the following symptoms with
sounds in the game:
* Sounds may not be played
* Sounds may be played quietly
* Sounds may be distorted

Cause

This behavior can occur if any of the following conditions are true:
* The sound driver for your sound card is outdated.
* Your sound card does not support the necessary hardware features that you
need to play sounds in the game.
* The game is not properly configured to play sounds.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order in which they are
presented. Check Speakers Connections and Volume Make sure that you connect
your speakers correctly to your computer and turn up the volume on the speakers
and in Microsoft Windows.

Configure the Sound Settings in the Game

To configure the sound settings in the game:
1. In the Silent Storm startup screen, click Options.
2. Click Audio.
3. Move each of the following volume sliders to the level that you want:
+ Sound Volume
+ Music Volume

Verify That the ADPCM Codec Is Installed Correctly
For additional information about how to change audio codecs in Microsoft
Windows, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
For Microsoft Windows 95/98: 141801
For Microsoft Windows 2000/XP: 254354

Update the Sound Driver for Your Sound Card
To update your sound driver, contact the manufacturer of your sound card to
inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the sound driver
for your sound card.

Bugs fixed in the Game Editor

* Added new tables to the game database allowing to change and fine-tune a
larger number of game parameters when creating your own MODs;
* Added new opportunities to edit weapons parameters;
* When you create new MODs the Editor now takes into account that they might be
used together;
* Improved the working of ScenarioZones in the Game Editor.

_________________________________________________________________

Bug fixes in update patch version 1.1

* Fixed the bug causing AI to \"hang\" during enemy turn;
* Fixed the bug causing AI to \"hang\" during ally\'s turn;
* Fixed the bug with passing the turn to the opponent while the game is being
saved overwriting an existing save;
* Fixed the bug with losing opportunity to pick up a new ability (before,
character moving up to the next level did not get an opportunity to choose a
new ability);
* Fixed the bug with switching between characters while passing the turn to the
opponent;
* Fixed the bug causing grenades to disappear from character\'s Items panel
after automatically rearranging items;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to crush during the opponent\'s turn if enemy
character tried to use vertical ladder;
* Fixed the bug with incomplete healing of character after mission has been
completed on Normal difficulty level;
* Fixed the bug with animation of characters\' movement if multiple destination
points were set in real-time mode;
* Several characters lying on the ground can no longer occupy the same point;
* Fixed the bug with incorrect working of Second Skin ability;
* Fixed the bug with receiving a Russian medal in German campaign;
* Fixed the bug making it impossible to use vertical ladders in some zones;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to crush at nightfall in English Commandant\'s
Office mission in Allied campaign.
* Fixed the bug with characters\' moving across grille when getting out of
Panzerklein near a grille;
* Fixed the bug with engineer\'s field of vision: now engineer cannot see
through walls or other non-transparent objects any more;
* Fixed the bug with aiming at destroyed object which used to be an exit point:
now such objects are not selected when cursor is placed over them;
* Probability to hit target is now displayed next to the right screen edge;
* Corrected script logic for Russian Commandant\'s Office zone in Allied
campaign: now during the final dialogue the Hero is looking at the commandant;
* Fixed the bug causing high-level enemy characters to appear in minor
skirmishes at the beginning of the game;
* Made changes to interiors of script game zones where it could have a negative
effect on passability calculations (furniture in houses is now positioned
correctly);
* Fixed the bug with characters\' movement in real-time mode (possible problems
with calculation of routes);
* Fixed the bug with picking up items which characters cannot see (before, it
was possible to pick up items we did not see or items located on another
floor);
* Characters under the player\'s control did not get experience after blowing
enemy characters to pieces;
* Fixed the bugs with animation of characters reloading stationary machineguns;
* Fixed the bug causing damage to saved games after the game was played for a
long time;
* Fixed the bug with characters located inside objects;
* Fixed the bug with grille in the second section of Organisation\'s Warehouse
zone: now the grille cannot be destroyed;
* Fixed the bug with Panzerklein hangars at bases: now there are no zones where
characters cannot put on Panzerkleins;
* Fixed the bug causing the camera to \"hang\";
* Fixed the script bug on Organisation\'s Base zone: it\'s now impossible to lose
the game automatically;
* Fixed the bug causing loss of aim during a sniper shot;
* Fixed the bug with route calculation mechanism after character jumps from the
second floor to the ground;
* Fixed the bug causing spontaneous reset of options in Options screen (mouse
inversion);
* Fixed the bug causing the game to \"hang\" after characters pass through
partially destroyed doors in real-time mode;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to \"hang\" after script video clip German
Laboratory in Allied campaign was skipped by pressing a key;
* Fixed the bug causing the game to crush if a large number of dead bodies
piled up in the same place;
* If there is not enough disk space to save game, the game no longer crushes
and \"Cannot Save Game\" message is displayed;
* Fixed the bug causing items to \"hang\" in the thin air;
* Fixed the bug with mismatch between the name of user-created character and
the name in their biography;
* Fixed the bug occasionally causing characters to move to a point in \"vacuum\"
and consequently die on Organization\'s Warehouse zone in northern England, in
both campaigns;
* Fixed the bug causing characters\' lines to be played by the interface even if
this option was switched off.

Game interface and balance bug fixes

* Added new hot keys: [M] - Carry On command, [SCROLL LOCK] - Show FPS
Statistics, Video and Textures Memory;
* Changed upper section of Swiss Factory zone, positioned additional enemy
characters, added script scene when Panzerkleins appear, reduced the number of
civilian characters and changed their behavioural algorithm;
* Added grenades to AI-controlled soldiers\' Inventory;
* Now soldiers can be blown to pieces only by grenades;
* Significantly increased difficulty of Organisation\'s Base mission;
* Added opportunity to block video options which cannot be changed in current
video mode;
* Changed AI-controlled civilian characters\' behaviour during shoot-outs;
* Added route visualisation on the first mouse click on destination point if
\"Move on Double-Click Only\" option is selected;
* Changed AI\'s combat tactics, reduced probability of \"Get out - Shoot - Get
Back In\" action sequence, added characters\' reaction to encountering dead
bodies, added new panicking conditions;
* Changed parameters of Panzerkleins\' grenade launchers and mortars: now they
cause much heavier damage;
* Changed parameters of high-explosive grenades: now they cause much heavier
damage;
* Message informing that character cannot perform action because route is being
calculated is now displayed at appropriate times;
* Made changes to Credits.

Improvements made according to users\' requests

* Added opportunity to save games at Impossible difficulty level in the same
way as at High level.
* Changed colour coding for probability to hit target: red for zero probability
and green for all other cases;
* It\'s now possible to control the camera during the opposition\'s turn;
* It\'s now possible to provide medical help to all friendly characters;
* Your characters can now change places with friendly and neutral characters
(e.g. in doorframe);
* Changed visualisation of camouflage;
* Changed probability of playing various acknowledgements;
* Start Combat/End of Turn button is now blocked for two seconds after it\'s
pressed (to avoid passing the turn to the opponent accidentally).

Changes to game balance

The following MODs have been added:
* AP expenditure in Items Panel (spending APs for picking up items, moving
items from Items Panel to slots and back and giving items to other characters);
* Head shot is terminal (precision shots to various body parts, especially head
shots are much more difficult but hitting the target causes much heavier
damage);
* Always critical damage (hitting various body parts inflicts light temporary
critical damage);
* Backstab is more efficient (stabbing unsuspecting character in the back
causes much heavier damage).

Please refer to User Manual for details on using MODs. The following MODs can
be loaded only individually:
* Head shot is terminal
* Always critical damage
* Backstab is more efficient

If you load two or more of the above MODs simultaneously, only the one loaded
last will actually affect the gameplay (see also note to Bugs Fixed in the Game
Editor section)

Bugs fixed in the Game Editor

* Fixed the bug causing the Editor to crush when it was loaded in 16-bit colour
mode;
* Fixed the bug making it impossible to create a MOD when the Editor has been
launched for the first time;
* Fixed the bug causing the Editor to crush when viewing scenario (Scenario
tab);
* Fixed the bug with texture export (before, if there was a space character
present in the path to converted textures destination directory, exporting
didn\'t work);
* Fixed the bug causing the Editor to crush after switching floors;
* Changed resource tree selection dialogue (View -> Select Resource tabs): now
it\'s configured dynamically based on the data in res\resources.txt file (brief
description can be provided for each resource type, displayed in the dialogue
as tool tips);
* Added several resource tables to the Editor (difficulties, rpgaps);
* Changed the way items are issued to characters (now there\'s DifficultyID
field for each issued item).

Possible problems:

Incompatibility with old MODs due to serious changes made to the database
structure. Most MODs assembled using the old Editor should still work normally
with the new version of the game. The new version of the Editor should work
with old MODs but would probably display error messages when you try to use
some older tables in MOD database (it can also happen when you launch the
Editor). These are not critical errors and you\'ll be able to edit most
resources; however, assembling versions using the new Editor without applying
special tricks might produce a \"bad\" game.db file.

To assemble versions of old MODs please launch the following command from the
game directory for each MOD, before you install the patch:

.\tools\dataimport \"\game_original.db\" -dbserver localhost -database A5GAME

NOTE:

Modifications system does not allow to make two MODs changing the same entry in
the database and working in the game simultaneously. The game will only work
with the entry which was loaded last. For example, HeadshotShouldKill MOD makes
changes to all rows in DifficultyConstants table - and so does ImprovedBackstab
MOD. If you load both these MODs, changes in DifficultyConstants will be made
according to the last loaded MOD. If you want a certain combination of
difficulty MODs to work, you must create one combined MOD containing all the
relevant constants.

Other changes

* Fixed the bug causing loss of sound in some configurations;
* Changed fMod.dll version.

Important notes:

Most of the changes will work correctly with games saved using update patch
version 1.0, provided the games were saved on global map. Before installing
update patch 1.1 it\'s recommended to save your game on global map, quit the
game, install the update patch, launch the game and load the last save. Still,
we cannot guarantee that all changes and bug fixes will work correctly with
games saved using update patch version 1.0.