38 replies to this topic

[Morrigan]

the Battle Cat, on April 7th 2005, 10:19 AM, said:

Please try to show some restraint with these large graphics.  It really does beat up on people's dial up connections.  Please keep 'em few in number and snapshot sized or just link to them.

Is this really a problem? If they're taking too long to load for dialup users do you think said users will click on the links after the first one or two? Not having the images inline takes away from the reports IMNSHO. Doesn't really seem like a mod's job to be tearing up someone's nicely detailed and arranged AAR for the sake of users who a) have not complained that i'm aware of, and b) who if they are interested in the topic are going to be wanting to load the images anyway.

[Rubel]

Maybe a "Large Images" warning in the post title would help.

[dojoboy]

Morrigan, on April 7th 2005, 01:17 PM, said:

Not having the images inline takes away from the reports IMNSHO.

I do agree with Morrigan here.  As my wife always says, when we are getting ready for dinner guests, "Presentation is everything."  This is usually after she puts the toilet paper back on the roller.  I much prefer the TP on the floor next to the pot.

I went looking for something in the FAQ, but was unsuccessful.

[Morrigan]

update please!

[dojoboy]

Morrigan, on April 8th 2005, 10:03 AM, said:

update please!

Soon.  My ISP went down last night and couldn't upload the next few images.  Plus, I'm wanting to get recs from tBC on what resolution IMG wants for inline pics.  

The overall war is going well, but Germany has introduced mech-infantry and are now punching holes in my line.  If I was the German AI, I'd stack those holes and zip on to Moscow.  There is no way I could catch those things with vanilla infantry.  :cringe:

[dojoboy]

NOTE:  tBC and I touched base, and he recommended a great way to post images inline that will still allow people to view them in greater detail if they so choose.  Solution?  Thumbnails!  Three cheers for the Battle Cat!    Now, my thumbnails are actually larger in size than my bigger pictures.  I don't know if that defeats the purpose.  ???  I'm truly ignorant when it comes to editing images, so feel free to advise.

Back to the show:  There was some unexpected consequences to having Japan as an ally.  One of which was being notified that the USA had just bombed me!     I quickly sent a diplomat to America who was successful in securing a peace settlement on May 1, 1942.  :whew:  I truly didn't think it would happen.  As it is, Japan is still at war with the States.  Also, having Japan as an ally brought me into conflict with Communist China, Nationalist China, and Sinkiang.  I chose to fight them.    I was forced to redeploy a few divisions to that region to stop them from picking off provinces every now and then.  I currently have those combatants bottled up, which is the extent of my maneuvers in that theatre.

Image #9 ->I was finally able to encircle about 40 German divisions.  Much less than I had hoped for earlier in the war, but I'll take it.  One thing I'm learning is that the Germans are TOUGH.  They consistently beat me back with far fewer divisions.  A lot of time is spent bringing army corps back up to full strength.  FYI - There is a none bug in HOI regarding enemy troops that are encircled.  Once encirclement is complete, save and reload the game.  Otherwise the enemy forces to do not "realize" they're trapped and continue to draw supply.  After reloading, they cannot hold out very long.



Image #10 ->Here is the new front following the successful encirclement.  This really allowed me to shorten the front, moving more divisions forward for offensive maneuvers.  I have noticed an increase in Italian divisions in this sector.  I hope that means Germany's manpower is at a trickle.

[dojoboy]

Image #11 ->With the German front stabilized, Soviet commanders turn their attention to the south where Hungary continues to be a menace.  A new offensive is planned to quell Hungary and completely liberate the Balkan region.  The initial plan is to drive a spearhead south and southeast in a sweeping arch to remove the Hungarian presence in Romanian lands and to force the remaining Hungarian forces into the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.  There are also a few Italian divisions down there who are still occupying former Albanian lands.  They'll have to go for a swim as well.

[dojoboy]

On November 21, 1942, the Red Army successfully liberated Romania and annexed Hungary.  Fortunately, Hungary only controlled a few provinces with value and these were located closer to my forces.  Once they were caputred, I was able to annex the whole of Hungary, which ran south toward Greece.  I was concerned over German and Italian forces easily capturing these undefended lands, but not overly so.  To do so, they would have to move much needed divisions from other areas.  For me, it's a win-win situation.

Image #12 ->



Image #13 ->

[dojoboy]

Image #14 -> Here is the German front as of December, 1942.  Man, Berlin lokks so close, but every attempt to date to break through has been repelled.  At this point, plans are to move west from the southern flank, then, while defending what would become my southern flank against the Italians, break north for Berlin.  I figure a horseshoe line of some shape will form around Germany's capital.  The only problem with this is the left wing of the horseshoe could get pinched.  Nah, I'd only worry about that if I was playing MP against one of you guys.



Image #15 -> In Jan. of 1943, I get this notification. France has taken complete control over Vichy France!     Holy cow!  This must be something specific to CORE, because I've never seen this happen in stock HOI.  Of course, this is only good news for me.  Even if those provinces are undefended, it's got to trigger some alarm in the German AI.  Plus, if the UK lands forces in Vichy provinces unmolested, then that second front I have been hoping for might become reality.  Italy is still intact, with no Allied invasion of its peninsula.

[dojoboy]

Image #16 -> I couldn't resist lifting the FoW momentarily to see what was going on over in western Europe.  As of this image, it's currently February, 1943.

"Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité"

[the Battle Cat]

That's actually a lot better than you think dojoboy.  You've knocked the file size in half by doing that.  I was able to get the GIF file size down to 1/3 the original size by using an adaptive pallet and 64 colors without it looking noticeably different.  If you can't mess with GIF pallets in your graphics program, then try a JPEG format.  Setting the quality to 80% will get you in that same 1/3 ball park and it will look as sharp.  Lets do this little bit of performance tweaking on your next set of graphics see how that performs.  I won't bother you to change the ones you just did.

If you guys wonder what is going on here, dojoboy and I are trying to strike a compromise between his need to illustrate his strategies and my need to keep bandwidth at a minimum.  This way dojoboy can create a small graphic that is handily recognizable to people browsing for strategies, and when they find the world map they are interested in, they can click it to get all the details. The detailed image can be as big and sharp as he wants it to be.

[dojoboy]

the Battle Cat, on April 8th 2005, 07:11 PM, said:

..., then try a JPEG format.  Setting the quality to 80% will get you in that same 1/3 ball park and it will look as sharp.  Lets do this little bit of performance tweaking on your next set of graphics see how that performs.

Okay, here is the last update before I play another sitting.  These are .jpgs saved at 80%.  I still get confused when I check the size of these.  When I "get info" on them, it reads over 130kb, but when I saved them initially, they were below 40kb.  What gives?

Image #17 ->  This is the situation as of May, 1943 when the German mech. infantry began cutting through my line.  Things are a little hairy atm.  I've just brought my own armour divisions onto the scene but there aren't many at the front yet.  If Germany had the manpower, they could easily encircle the majority of my army.



Image #18 -> Here is the current map of Europe.  A second front appears to be holding in France, which is a real blessing.  I'm still amazed at Germany's ability to fight.

[dojoboy]

Image #19 -> Finally in May of 1943, I was able to capture and hold Berlin.   A few months later, I was successful in  trapping over 50 German divisions east of Berlin, completely annhilating them.  The push from here was to knock the Nazis out of Denmark.  I was hoping to liberate Denmark, but was not given the option since Germany had annexed them.  My dissent level is at 27%, and I wanted to knock it down a bit.  I can liberate Yugoslavia, but it would not be wise with Italy still able to cause trouble.



Image #20 -> This is not a thumbnail.  I mistakenly copied over the larger image while reducing it.    After capturing Denmark from Germany, the Red Army heads south.  I'm anxious to keep the Allies from making too much headway in the west.  They've not been very much help, and I don't want them taking spoils they do not deserve.



I was able to play into Jan. of 1944, but then suffered my only ctd of the game.  My most recent save is from image #20 (Sept. 1943), so I'm not too ruffled.  I did capture Paris from the Germans.  But, a few days later some UK forces passed through and Paris flipped to French control. ???  I'm miffed!      Is this a feature of CORE?  I need to investigate.

The remaining war plans are:

(1) capture as much of western Europe as possible
(2) launch an amphibious assault of Italy across the Adriatic sea
(3) deal with cambatants in the Asian theatre of war.

FYI, the USA is still neutral in the war against Germany, but they are fighting Japan and her local allies.

Unles something truly dramatic happens from here on out, this may be my last update.  The war is in hand, unless I want to declare war on the Allies.  I've usually had my fill though by the time that possibility arises.

[the Battle Cat]

dojoboy, on April 8th 2005, 08:19 PM, said:

These are .jpgs saved at 80%.  I still get confused when I check the size of these.  When I "get info" on them, it reads over 130kb, but when I saved them initially, they were below 40kb.  What gives?

Sounds whacky.  What graphics program are you using?  But the important thing is that it is working OK.  I noticed you went with a smaller WxH than we talked about, they are about 3x2.  You should bump it up to 4x3, I think it will be easier for your readers to recognize your maps without adding an excessive amount of bandwidth.  Give that a try during your next series of maps.  You are paving the way for future users who want to post a lot of graphics.  Thanks for being such a gracious guinea pig.

[dojoboy]

the Battle Cat, on April 9th 2005, 11:36 AM, said:

Sounds whacky.  What graphics program are you using?  But the important thing is that it is working OK.

I use GraphicConverterX v5.5.2 for most image editing.  Otherwise, I crop stuff in Preview or EasyCrop v1.5.8.

the Battle Cat, on April 9th 2005, 11:36 AM, said:

Thanks for being such a gracious guinea pig.

In response, I think a little Tennyson is appropriate here.

"Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
     Rode the six hundred."

-- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

[dojoboy]

Images #21 and #22 -> Europe is quiet.  The remaining action took place in Asia, where Japan and I worked on Communist China, Nationailst China, and Sinkiang.  I enjoyed this theatre of war because of the large distances to travel and low infra provinces.  I got to use transport planes and paratroopers, which I've not done a lot of in past games.  Plus, all the IC I've gained from culling back my military production allowed me to invest a lot into tech.  I've got some pretty good Mountain Infatnry and mech infantry on the ground.  These two images are of the final months of the war w/ the Nationalists, by this point, Sinkiang and Cammunist China had been annexed.






Atm, there are five months left in the scenario.  I'm probably going to play them out and see if I can influence Japan's war with the USA.  America has captured some provinces on Japan's main archipelago.  I've sent some very nice expeditionary forces to Japan.  I'm watching them enter battle now.  Give me a "J!" (Jaayyy)  Give me an "A!" (AAyyy) ....

[the Battle Cat]

dojoboy, on April 9th 2005, 08:40 AM, said:

I use GraphicConverterX v5.5.2 for most image editing.  Otherwise, I crop stuff in Preview or EasyCrop v1.5.8.

I have GC 5.5.2.  Don't pay attention to the file size when you scale the image.  File size only becomes meaningful when you save as a jpeg and in the options are moving the Quality slider.

[Rubel]

the Battle Cat, on April 10th 2005, 01:57 PM, said:

moving the Quality slider.

Also, moving the Quality slider increases your file's morale, but new files cost more ducats to recruit. Wait, sorry, wrong game.

[dojoboy]

Rubel, on April 10th 2005, 05:06 PM, said:

Also, moving the Quality slider increases your file's morale, but new files cost more ducats to recruit. Wait, sorry, wrong game.

Nice.