Release Notes - 2021-03-29

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    • DoctorDR1 wrote:

      Hi guys!

      I know a lot of you miss the old canvas mode. When WebGL first came out, I had a hard time getting used to it as well. But after a while, I found that I actually liked WebGL. If you give it a chance, maybe you’ll like it too. As for those of you who can’t run it properly because of your hardware, you can try the low graphics mode, made especially to counter that problem.
      I have given WebGL many chances. I've been playing it off and on for a while now. I find "canvas" mode to be superior in playability. THERE IS NO DEVIATING FROM THAT TRUTH. However, I am able to use WebGL mode, except that it doesn't run very well. The low-graphics mode is more doable, but there's an age-old problem with Bytro's games (ALL of them) that has NEVER been fixed for years....the memory leak on the webpage for the game.

      Because WebGL is more graphically demanding (even in low-graphics mode), the system gets bogged down as the browser (tested on many browsers) keeps allocating more and more memory to the page. Since Bytro has never taken [full] advantage of "threading" for processor usage, the graphics keep bogging down, especially on systems that have graphics built in on the CPU, and not as a separate processor...this causes the slowdown as the memory allocation rises (there's no longer enough system resources to maintain performance).

      Because Bytro doesn't properly utilize "garbage collection" in their design, the memory allocation for any given page keeps rising, and swallows up RAM to the point that the CPU has to spend more time moving memory blocks back and forth from active memory to virtual (HDD) memory. These allocation switches force the game to wait to run, so it gets harder and harder to do anything in the game without refreshing the page (and by that, I mean close it and then reopen it, not just an ALT+F5 refresh).

      I have to kill the process-tree for my browser, at least once or twice a day, just to be able to play the game (killing it on Chrome makes it easy to bring back all pages (including the game's), upon restarting Chrome…but I shouldn't have to do this workaround).

      Without killing the browser, the memory allocation for each page of the game climbs from around 200MB (initially) to as much memory as is available. On my computer, I typically see the game swallowing memory up to 4 GB and more — per page — while my system struggles and activity slows to a crawl. And THAT is how bad it is while playing only in low-graphics mode. In normal mode, the memory leak swallows allocation so fast as to have to kill the browser several times a day, at least.

      My point is, that low-graphics mode is barely alright for slower systems, but only until the memory gets too full, which ALWAYS happens in ALL of Bytro's (and their sisters') games.

      Please learn how to employ better threading for improved game performance, and…

      * * * PLEASE LEARN HOW TO USE GARBAGE COLLECTION * * *
      * * * TO ELIMINATE OLD, UNUSED, AND DISCARDED MEMORY BLOCKS! * * *

      freezy wrote:

      In regards to the shutdown of the old Canvas view mode, I will quote my own post made in a related thread:



      freezy wrote:

      Hey guys, to be completely honest with you: There is basically a 0% chance that the old Canvas mode will return, sorry.

      But there is a good chance that we will keep improving the new WebGL mode further. Your feedback will help in that regard.


      IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN CAREFULLY READ MY DETAILED RESPONSE BELOW THE QUOTE.


      …one feedback is that players dont like the new map colors and want it like the old version -> we already have a political view mode which colors the map like in the old version,


      THIS DOESN'T APPEAR TO WORK LIKE YOU CLAIM.


      To give you some more reasoning:


      From a usage standpoint Canvas users were a small minority nowadays, the vast majority already plays in WebGL (we tracked this and we wouldnt have done this step if this wasnt the case). I know it might feel different because long time players tend to favor canvas as they are used to it, and those players also tend to be more active in forums/chats and be vocal about their opinion.


      THE PROBLEM WITH THIS^ THINKING IS THAT THE CULTURE OF THE PLAYING COMMUNITY IS ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED BY THE LONG-TERM PLAYERS.

      WE SET THE CULTURE.

      WE MAKE IT POPULAR.

      WE ARE THE ONES THAT WILL COME BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN, PAYING FOR HIGH COMMAND AND OTHER FEATURES BEYOND JUST TRYING OUT A GAME FOR A FEW DAYS, WEEKS, OR MONTHS.

      WE ARE YOUR DEDICATED PLAYERS. IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO RESPECT OUR SIMPLEST OF NEEDS, THEN YOU WILL FACE A MASS EXODUS THAT WILL BOTH DESTROY CoW's CULTURE AS WELL AS DAMAGE YOUR BOTTOM LINE, BOTH CONSEQUENCES OF WHICH WOULD SEE THE EVENTUAL END OF THIS OTHERWISE-GREAT GAME.

      THE REASON THAT NON-LONG-TERM PLAYERS TEND TO NOT BE VOCAL ON THE FORUMS IS BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE GAME.

      WE CARE ABOUT THE GAME, AND WE'D LIKE TO CONTINUE TO DO SO…BUT ONLY SO LONG AS BYTRO DEMONSTRATES THAT IT CARES ABOUT US.



      (This is a bit long, so pay careful attention…especially the game devs.)

      OK, Canvas Mode ain't coming back. So what? That can work out IF you make the following needed changes to the game, for the low graphics mode. (This will appease nearly ALL of your core players who are complaining about this change while not affecting everyone else.)

      1. Rename low-graphics mode as "Classic View" mode.
      2. Create a subset of buttons that ONLY become visible when Classic View is activated (so as not to bother other users with screen clutter).
      3. For the subset of buttons, once Classic View has been turned on (and the page is refreshed), there are these following options visible when the "Show Settings" button is activated:
        1. Activate/Deactivate Dynamic Zooming (use only tiered zooming). This option would make the game "feel" more like the original play style, without having to be maintained as the old "canvas mode" would be. This also reduces the demand on system resources by a small amount.
        2. Show/Hide Resources. This helps with screen clutter for game purists like myself.
        3. Show/Hide Units. This is a must for classic players. There are too many reasons in favor of this, and they're so obvious that I should not even have to state them.
        4. Activate/Deactivate Classic Color mode. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST for almost all players who are complaining about the lack of "Canvas Mode". Once implemented, like with the other options on this subset of button choices, it won't need to be maintained as new updates would almost never affect it. The current low-res version of WebGL does not retain the classic coloration as falsely stated that deactivating the "Display Relations" option would simulate…it does not. WE WANT THE ORIGINAL COLOR SCHEME. It doesn't have to be on a per nation per map basis, just make a simple conversion for every color that is used, in which "Classic View" would automatically translate the WebGL color palette to a simulated Canvas Mode palette (it's a lot easier to implement than it sounds). Once implemented, as a simulation of the Canvas Mode palette, then switching to morale view while in "Classic View" would naturally show the morale color schemes as Canvas Mode without having to add any programming.
      4. Make Classic View playable ONLY on the Desktop version. This would serve to keep both new players and Mobile-only players from getting confused.
      5. Make the subset of buttons appear in a secondary column, to prevent overlap with the province list tab. This should actually be implemented on desktop for all versions of the game since the province list tab sometimes moves south and the expanded set of settings buttons tend to overlap it. Making the buttons form new columns is already a default behavior, so shrinking the height of the <DIV> element should do the trick, just so long as it doesn't overlap with the province list tab.

      CL-55 wrote:

      No one is playing Call of War for the graphics… You need to keep both options open for us. …WebGL can attract mobile players… But, I've tried it…the city font names are so large a unit can hide behind it. Zooming in and out is very difficult. The color scheme is…very annoying.

      WebGLIt works on mobile. But for desktop players, it's just a bad idea. This is a strategy game. None of us are here for graphics. Bytro really needs to listen to it's core players, those of us that get a year of high command and keep the servers on. Please, do not ruin something that was a perfect test of strategy by trying to get more players on mobile. I can evolve to 1.5, but dropping canvas/classic graphics could be the end for me.
      Having the tiered zoom (instead of dynamic) for a "Classic View" mode would solve the zoom difficulty. Since city names already vanish when zoomed in close, perhaps the closest tiered view could turn off names in the same way.

      If they implement my "Classic View" changes as proposed further above, you will likely find this game easier to view and play. Regardless of whether you can enjoy the v.1.5 game rules, implementing the "Canvas Mode" changes would make this strategy game seem more "pure" for folks like you and me.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Stumpy Pete ().

    • GrandEmpire wrote:

      #RestoreCanvas - Suggestions
      the above is a link press
      Everyone unite

      charly160 wrote:

      Yes please we cannot play that is injustice we have been telling you the problems and you don´t listen to us.
      You have a good concept but make you sure that the public like it.

      #Restorecanvas

      michu-65 wrote:

      Welcome,
      I am speaking to all game makers. How did canvas mode bother you? What's wrong with it? Why do you say it's difficult and you brazenly remove it? User @Zoldrax 'rightly said that the game is for gamers, not for the convenience of developers. I understand everything, but you should speaking for it earlier about disabling the mode. Many people use Canvas, especially players who have had an account for many years. I set up my first account many years ago and I'm used to Canvas mode. When you introduced a new mode, I turned it off right away. A lot of people did. Constant changes that I take less and less. The first blow was the introduction of new army textures some time ago. With difficulty, but somehow I managed to take it. Then a new graphic mode, a complete change of the gameplay [THIS SHOULD HAVE BECOME THE OPTIONAL, NOT THE DEFAULT] (a separate production building for each unit, e.g. Tank Factory, and not the industrial complex for everything as it used to be), then a change of the selection menu, courses, upgrading units to higher levels (it used to be done automatically) and now complete disabling of Canvas mode. I understand adjusting to graphical advance and settling for new players, but that's overkill. This is a error for which you will apologize very much in the future.
      On behalf of all the injured Call of War "veterans", both gamers and non-gamers, gamers and anyone else who fels like Canvas, I am officially asking and even demanding that the old mode be restored. For all the above-mentioned players who are used to the old mode, the new one is unreadable and messy. If you continue to insist not to restore it, justify your decision in points so that everyone has to read the reasons for the decision to spoil the game.
      Yours sincerely,
      Michu-65
      #RestoreCANVAS
      FOR ALL OF YOU WHO ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT KEEPING CANVAS MODE, YOU MUST ACCEPT THAT THEY WILL NOT BRING IT BACK.

      HOWEVER, WITH ALL OUR VOICES UNITED, WE CAN CONVINCE BYTRO TO FIX THE "LOW RES" VERSION OF WEBGL TO AT-LEAST PLAY LIKE — AND LOOK LIKE — OUR BELOVED CANVAS MODE.

      CAREFULLY READ MY POST AND EDITED IN-QUOTE RESPONSES TO THE DEVELOPER (AND OTHERS). I AM A DEDICATED PLAYER GOING BACK FOR YEARS LIKE MANY OF YOU. MY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE ARE LAID OUT SUCH AS TO MAKE THE GAME THE WAY WE (THE CORE GAMERS) WANT IT.

      IT IS A COMPROMISE, ONE THAT WE CAN SWALLOW, AND THAT THE DEVELOPERS CAN EASILY IMPLEMENT WITHOUT LOSING THEIR CORE GAMERS NOR ALIENATING THEIR NEWER MOBILE AUDIENCE.

      CLICK HERE TO READ MY SUGGESTIONS AND THEN PLEASE ADD TO THEM IN *CONSTRUCTIVE* WAYS THAT ARE PRACTICAL TO IMPLEMENT (FROM A PROGRAMMER'S PERSPECTIVE), ECONOMICAL TO IMPLEMENT (NOT TOO LABOR INTENSIVE), AND RESPECTFUL OF BYTRO'S TEAM (THEY ARE PEOPLE, TOO).

      Agent47 wrote:

      And please spare me your inflated egos with all this "the game is going to die if you don't return canvas, because I am going to leave the game"- nonsense. The 10 people moaning in this thread don't just not matter, they are literally insignificant in comparison to the vast amount of people that play this game. If you want to leave, please do. But do it quickly and quietly.
      This is both rude and irresponsible. Our opinions matter, and so does yours. So be respectful.

      This is ignorant. Each voice that speaks out represents potentially thousands of users, though there's no specific number that can be represented accurately. Yet, by your argument, it could be said that the lack of representation in favor of "no canvas" means that people who agree with you are far-outnumbered by people who agree with me. Think about it.

      If we are driven out by unsavory practices of the company, so be it. It isn't that we desire to leave, it's that we desire to enjoy the game but need it to be familiar with what we have spent literally years getting comfortable with. You don't just throw out the old easy chair because it clashes with the new couch. You move it to another room where you can retreat to and be comfortable in that familiar old chair.

      From Bytro's perspective, what you said should probably be banned as you are essentially telling paying customers to quit using Bytro's products. Do you think that's wise?



      Akulla3D wrote:

      To your Canvas is gone get over it comment. There was no warning that they were going to remove Canvas, maybe if we knew we would have cared about the crappy replacement map they came up with. I dont know how many times I made the suggestion that the words were messed up and the answer was we are not changing it, if they are only going to develop for one platform then do it right. They really dont care about game play any more they only care about the bottom line.

      Speaking of the bottom line. Where do I get a refund on my High Command account as I contracted to play the game like it was and I am so tired of getting into contracts with companies and they just change the rules when ever they want.
      There was — and was not — warning. They said it was coming, though they barely hinted at it in the recent past, nor did they give any kind of an accurate date. That said, it is like with the return of Jesus Christ. We can't know the day nor hour of His return, but we can know the season of His return (Matthew 24:14, 27, 29–30, [especially] 32–33, 36–39, 42, 50; 25:13). Likewise, we knew it (the death of "canvas mode") was coming, just not the exact timing. THAT is why I was actually trying to use the new mode whenever possible. That does NOT mean that I liked it though.

      michu-65 wrote:

      I am a sentimental man, I had many cool memories with the old mode and they cheekily removed it to me. Just because you don't like Canvas is your problem. Canvas was a lot brighter, and you're just an intolerant person who doesn't know the history of the game. If you had an account for many years, you would also complain, so you reconcile that we want to restore the soul of this game.
      CLICK HERE to read my detailed compromise suggestion on how to make the low-res WebGL version simulate the canvas mode.

      freezy wrote:

      Hey guys, I understand your frustration and I cherish that you are so invested in the game and want to shape it's future. On this particular topic though there is no other outcome possible and no turning back. So I repeat once more: There is no chance that Canvas is coming back, I'm sorry. My previous post in this thread contains more details. Please use your energy in providing us with feedback and examples on how we can improve the WebGL version, because this has a much higher chance of success. We are actively looking into improving the newest version and we will continue to strive for technical and quality improvements.

      freezy wrote:

      some strategic topics are off limits (like changing our business model or returning Canvas) we are very much open to implement changes on a more detailed level based on your feedback,
      While I don't like to hear the "there is no chance" part, I can understand Bytro's need to move on. That said, I do offer a reasonable compromise that should accommodate both the needs of the long-time users as well as the needs of the company. CLICK HERE to read that detailed compromise suggestion.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Stumpy Pete ().

    • WT auf.Pz IV wrote:

      I love how nobody points out the bug that you can do anything with your units sometimes, which is an major bug and honestly myself, I can understand the ruckus over Canvas being removed, but I've thought that Canvas rendering was kinda dull and inconsistent. It's just not as smooth as the new graphic and to see army numbers or whatever? I'd suggest clicking on the unit or zoom in, its really simple so, at least in my opinion, the canvas removal is not the problem, the new major bug of unable to use units is. Also want non "plain" colo(u)rs? just turn off "display relations" and then you get a variety of colo(u)rs to look at. Just my take on addressing and getting used to the new update.
      Simply put, the "variety" of colors isn't the problem. That "dull and inconsistent" rendering was visually easier to look at when trying to focus on the units instead of a glaring backdrop.

      freezy wrote:

      By the way: Did anybody realize that we implemented a setting in the bottom right menu to activate a gold confirmation popup on desktop (it already existed on mobile), that prevents you from accidentally spending gold?

      K.Rokossovski wrote:

      freezy wrote:

      By the way: Did anybody realize that we implemented a setting in the bottom right menu to activate a gold confirmation popup on desktop (it already existed on mobile), that prevents you from accidentally spending gold?
      This feature was requested for as long as I've been playing, which is about five years. If you're going to spend another five years to process #Web<BLANK>ingGL feedback, I don't think you are on the right track; especially since a confirmation is a very simple thing to do, while fixing a completely broken graphic interface seems very hard. So maybe five years is a low estimation?
      Be nice. These are dedicated members of the company you are addressing. Though they are being paid to do their job, we can't know what their exact priorities are, nor the pressure of the corporate side of things…things like budgeting issues, for example. That said, this has been a very very long time coming, and it's a very strange thing that the "new" gold confirmation feature has finally been implemented on the Desktop version, now (more on this, below). Yes, it has often been requested by many — myself included — over the past 5 years. I have practically begged them in the past to implement this change.

      The cynic in me always assumed that the total lack of a confirmation was due to greed. But the partial implementation of it a few years ago was a welcome change, though the tendency to accidentally press a couple gold buttons which did not have a confirmation was still highly annoying, and doubly so for gold that was purchased with hard-earned money.

      However, the fact that they finally chose to fully implement it at the same time that they took away the canvas mode does appear to be a kind of appeasement to the long-term faithful. And that cynic in me worries that it will summarily be removed at a later date, and such removal deemed an "improvement". Hopefully, that will never be the case. The hopeful and idyllic gamer in me assumes that the lack of a confirmation for all this time has not been an act of greed, but an act of low priority and complex development, and that the feature will forever remain.

      Here's hoping.
    • @Stumpy Pete
      Thanks for the feedback. I don't think that the chances are high for us changing the low graphics mode to work exactly like Canvas did, as we also left behind some of the Canvas features for a reason. But we can certainly make improvements and fix problems and try to make Canvas players feel more at home in it (but it will never be the exactly like the old home, basically). We will focus on changes though which are less controversial than stuff like taking away stepless zooming (not being able to zoom smoothly was one of the bigger reasons why we abandoned Canvas, it is just very outdated).

      Mr Selfridge wrote:

      The update, I appreciate we are slowly getting some feedback on the new Webgl and can begin the tedious and slow process of fixing it and improving it so it is player compatible. However most of the players have left COW. A larger majority are not playing as often...................


      The Horribleness:

      1.80% of players cannot access the game.

      2.There was no Beta version: That is why the terrain and roads are hard to see, why units do not work properly and why suddenly players are left with a game thaty doesnt work as normal etc.

      3.There was no warning or announcement that they would do this, so any competitions such as AWC and or the Alliance 100 Map and other events that players have organised thermselves were hit hard. This happened in the middle of 2 very big alliance events.

      4.That is selfish of a game company that is very far out of touch with its main player base.

      5.There had been no follow up or feedback from bytro or News on what actions they are going to take to correct the fact so many players simply cannot get past the load screen of the game

      6.The absolute majority of people are not impressed with the new graphics as basically this is stil in BETA stage and they just flung it at us, and the result is half the players cannot access the game thru pc and the other half do not understand why this could not have been introduced in conjunction with the ' old game version' ( canvas)?. If they had intriduced webgl along with the canvas and had games with gold prizes to get players to experience their webgl and get feedback from players. Then over time they could fix all the terrible bugs and problems with the new webgl ( like if the terrain stood out a bit more) and have it fit and ready for the big day when they make it the new compuslory.

      7.It is that it was just flung at everyone and the old canvas ripped up and thrown away, and the new WEbGL is no where near as good as the old canvas, and while it might in the future become good, by good i mean comparablye to how good the old canvas was.

      8. What we have lost, however it seems is our accounts and player rank, as we cannot access the Browser version on old accounts, the cow community of players that organise events have lost confidence in bytro and the player base has been hurt. It could result in cow community events been suspended as many of the top players from the biggest
      alliances are all considering leaving Bytro.

      9.The worst and most horrible is that Bytro are just ignoring them.
      Hmm to be frank I read alot of hyperbole here. You can criticize this change but please don't spread such misinformation.

      1. Only a tiny fraction of players cannot access their games. We track problems like this and also bug reports. There is of course an issue with this and we are working on it, but the vast majority has no problem playing the game at the moment.
      2. The beta version of WebGL was more than 2 years ago, WebGL has been the default live version for 2 years already. So the timeframe for giving feedback was very big.
      3. We mentioned it here an there in the past that this day will come but we indeed failed to give an exact date due to the reasons I already described earlier in this thread. We are sorry for that.
      5. I made multiple posts in this and other similar topics in the forum and already gave feedback that we will work on improvements.
      6. The absolute majority of people was already playing the WebGL version (we tracked this) and do so without any problems, so it is save to assume that most players are content with it. There was no need to incentivize players to try out the WebGL version as the vast majority was already playing on it. We also had several feedback iterations already in the past, the current version of WebGL is not the same as 2 years ago.
      9. Since I already said we will improve WebGL (some stuff is already being worked on) I can't say that we are ignoring this. But at the same time I can also say that it won't be possible to change everything that players suggest, just saying this to keep expectations in check.
    • freezy wrote:

      6. The absolute majority of people was already playing the WebGL version (we tracked this) and do so without any problems, so it is save to assume that most players are content with it. There was no need to incentivize players to try out the WebGL version as the vast majority was already playing on it. We also had several feedback iterations already in the past, the current version of WebGL is not the same as 2 years ago.
      Why don't you be flexible?!?!
    • One thing that I seriously don't understand is the inability to log into games. Is it a hardware issue or a software/internet issue? As far as I'm concerned I'm playing CoW on a 7y/o+ potato pc yet when running high graphics I only experience minor stuttering on world maps. Can someone who played classic often confirm my suspicions and hypotheise on the performance issue?
      I should probably change what I write in here. -No one ever
    • TomtheBuilder wrote:

      One thing that I seriously don't understand is the inability to log into games. Is it a hardware issue or a software/internet issue? As far as I'm concerned I'm playing CoW on a 7y/o+ potato pc yet when running high graphics I only experience minor stuttering on world maps. Can someone who played classic often confirm my suspicions and hypotheise on the performance issue?
      dude when I use desktop version on any device it absolutely lags so much and the mobile version lags to. That’s why I use low graphics so it doesn’t lag as much for me it does help.
      when being betrayed betray
    • Larry is god lol lol wrote:

      TomtheBuilder wrote:

      One thing that I seriously don't understand is the inability to log into games. Is it a hardware issue or a software/internet issue? As far as I'm concerned I'm playing CoW on a 7y/o+ potato pc yet when running high graphics I only experience minor stuttering on world maps. Can someone who played classic often confirm my suspicions and hypotheise on the performance issue?
      dude when I use desktop version on any device it absolutely lags so much and the mobile version lags to. That’s why I use low graphics so it doesn’t lag as much for me it does help.
      Guess I cannot relate... : (
      I should probably change what I write in here. -No one ever
    • I hate having to use Steam to play the game. But I guess that is my only option. There may be other options but I wouldn't know. Management have not communicated with me about my issues and I get all of my info from the forum. Most of that is defending the canvas and not addressing why so many of us lost more than a week of playing time, lost multiple games, hurt our stats and had to find our own solutions.
      KATHEDLOK
      555 BLACK CATS
    • KATHEDLOK wrote:

      I hate having to use Steam to play the game. But I guess that is my only option. There may be other options but I wouldn't know. Management have not communicated with me about my issues and I get all of my info from the forum. Most of that is defending the canvas and not addressing why so many of us lost more than a week of playing time, lost multiple games, hurt our stats and had to find our own solutions.
      After the update, I found it highly annoying to not be able to use Canvas mode. But I had been practicing on WebGL version, so I've been playing that, while campaigning for a compromise to give players (of desktop version of low-res WebGL) the ability to press a few settings buttons and make the WebGL (low-res) emulate the canvas mode in some ways (like the color palette, tiered (stepped) zooming, and a few other simplistic goodies which could make WebGL much more tolerable for the long-term faithful players, like myself.

      OK, so I said all that to say this: I've had no trouble logging in, since the update. But I think I "might" have been playing in WebGL version during the update rollout. Have you considered deleting all cookies on your browser? That would set the game to it's default mode on desktop (i.e., high-res WebGL). Thus, if there's an issue with the game trying to load a non-existent canvas mode, that cold lead to a perpetual loading screen. So, by removing the cookies, any settings changes would be erased from the game and the default would be loaded....and likely "successfully".

      Hopefully, that will fix your (and others') issue with logging in to a match.
    • Bytro, when defending the abandonment of the old graphics, points to "compatibility with our technological advancements in the engine", or talk about "beta users".

      Bytro, u know what?
      We DONT CARE!
      Do I have to know all that Beta-shmeta?? No. All we care about is that the new look is just unplayable. UN-PLAY-ABLE. Fulstop.
      Got it?

      So, u better fix it for youre losing a plethora of once dedicated players. A lot of my CoW mates are refusing to join new maps just b/c u cant tell whats going on in your country. Quick identification of landforms - gone, too. Even unique colours for countries are gone, not to mention totally unclear trip paths.

      For details of stupidity of the new graphics please see other posts, there are plenty of them (wonder why…), but Im just telling u: this is all cr4p. Only one thing is good which is smooth zooming. Only that. Now, do u call it a positive change when one single thing is better than b4?

      Signed,
      Angry ex-CoW player.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Tajojta X ().

    • Tajojta X wrote:

      Bytro, when defending the abandonment of the old graphics, points to "compatibility with our technological advancements in the engine", or talk about "beta users".

      Bytro, u know what?
      We DONT CARE!
      Do I have to know all that Beta-shmeta?? No. All we care about is that the new look is just unplayable. UN-PLAY-ABLE. Fulstop.
      Got it?

      So, u better fix it for youre losing a plethora of once dedicated players. A lot of my CoW mates are refusing to join new maps just b/c u cant tell whats going on in your country. Quick identification of landforms - gone, too. Even unique colours for countries are gone, not to mention totally unclear trip paths.

      For details of stupidity of the new graphics please see other posts, there are plenty of them (wonder why…), but Im just telling u: this is all cr4p. Only one thing is good which is smooth zooming. Only that. Now, do u call it a positive change when one single thing is better than b4?

      Signed,
      Angry ex-CoW player.
      lol, ironically, I'm no fan of the smooth zooming, since it tends to bog down the system somewhat. That said, my idea is to try to convince them to make a WebGL low-res mode try to emulate the canvas mode in appearance. That would help a great deal. And it doesn't have to be perfect, just create a color palette conversion chart for the game to follow, and maybe make them less "strong" in color (more pale, or more transparent is needed). Also, some of the things you describe should be done in WebGL for all versions (high, mid, or low res), such as making the roads more visible, the control points more visible…especially at sea…and making the unit coloring for friend/foe not so strongly reflective of that.

      The allied green units is too strong, and the opponent red units is exorbitantly strong, as is the same for province morale view. Sure, it's nice to have the distinction between high and low morale, and between friend and foe. But like with the national map colors, they just need toned down…significantly. Make the color palette milder, at least for the low res WebGL "Canvas Mode" emulation (with the extra buttons on desktop mode to activate/deactivate things like stepped zooming, softer color palette, brighter control points, paler friend/foe coloring, etc.)
    • Tajojta X wrote:

      Bytro, when defending the abandonment of the old graphics, points to "compatibility with our technological advancements in the engine", or talk about "beta users".

      Bytro, u know what?
      We DONT CARE!
      Do I have to know all that Beta-shmeta?? No. All we care about is that the new look is just unplayable. UN-PLAY-ABLE. Fulstop.
      Got it?

      So, u better fix it for youre losing a plethora of once dedicated players. A lot of my CoW mates are refusing to join new maps just b/c u cant tell whats going on in your country. Quick identification of landforms - gone, too. Even unique colours for countries are gone, not to mention totally unclear trip paths.

      For details of stupidity of the new graphics please see other posts, there are plenty of them (wonder why…), but Im just telling u: this is all cr4p. Only one thing is good which is smooth zooming. Only that. Now, do u call it a positive change when one single thing is better than b4?

      Signed,
      Angry ex-CoW player.
      Dont worry, we read all the posts and noticed that there are plenty of them. And we also plan to make improvements. But since it is one of your specific critiques I also have to ask if you noticed how I explained in multiple posts already that you are able to activate country colors again in the view settings? Just disable relation view mode in the settings and then each country is colored in their own color again. Maybe this already helps you out a little.
    • Tre wrote:

      Arcorian wrote:

      When you join an event in Call of War you do not have to wait until all available player slots are filled. Event maps now start immediately when they are created by the system.
      Grrr. I liked having time to move units.
      What do you mean? When games were start when full, you couldn't move units until every slot was filled. Now you can move units whenever you join.
      DoctorDR1

      Game Operator
      EN Community Support | Bytro Labs Gmbh


      Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket


      "Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66." -Sheev Palpatine
    • DoctorDR1 wrote:

      Tre wrote:

      Arcorian wrote:

      When you join an event in Call of War you do not have to wait until all available player slots are filled. Event maps now start immediately when they are created by the system.
      Grrr. I liked having time to move units.
      What do you mean? When games were start when full, you couldn't move units until every slot was filled. Now you can move units whenever you join.
      Perhaps "starts when full" maps should have been "start attacking when full"....this would hybridize the starting peace period, instead of a fixed amount of time, but rather that you just can't cross into non-allied territory until all slots are filled. STILL, with the fact that some start-when-full matches seemingly NEVER got full, it would make sense to set a MAXIMUM length of time in which the starting peace period MUST expire (i.e., 5 days). That way, people wouldn't be bogged down just building up their cores while waiting forever to get some gaming action.
    • Stumpy Pete wrote:

      Perhaps "starts when full" maps should have been "start attacking when full"....this would hybridize the starting peace period, instead of a fixed amount of time, but rather that you just can't cross into non-allied territory until all slots are filled. STILL, with the fact that some start-when-full matches seemingly NEVER got full, it would make sense to set a MAXIMUM length of time in which the starting peace period MUST expire (i.e., 5 days). That way, people wouldn't be bogged down just building up their cores while waiting forever to get some gaming action.
      I meant building.
    • DoctorDR1 wrote:

      I've read your canvas compromise, and it seems pretty good (of course, the devs have the final opinion on this). However, a compromise here won't bring it back. Canvas was removed because it was outdated, and bugged. Unit trades were removed because of abuse. Again, it's the few who thought it would be a good idea to have multiple accounts and trade their armies away who ended up ruining it for the rest of us.
      The compromise isn't about bringing back the canvas mode. It's a separate piece of code that isn't coming back. I get that. But my compromise is about emulating it…that is, to make the WebGL "low res" version appear and act "like" canvas mode for those of us who need to be able to play Call of War in canvas mode.
    • Stumpy Pete wrote:

      DoctorDR1 wrote:

      I've read your canvas compromise, and it seems pretty good (of course, the devs have the final opinion on this). However, a compromise here won't bring it back. Canvas was removed because it was outdated, and bugged. Unit trades were removed because of abuse. Again, it's the few who thought it would be a good idea to have multiple accounts and trade their armies away who ended up ruining it for the rest of us.
      The compromise isn't about bringing back the canvas mode. It's a separate piece of code that isn't coming back. I get that. But my compromise is about emulating it…that is, to make the WebGL "low res" version appear and act "like" canvas mode for those of us who need to be able to play Call of War in canvas mode.
      Let me be more clear, this isn't an attempt just to make a way to convince the developers to have to make a whole other thing that is like Canvas but needing to be maintained and hard to implement. My idea isn't like that.

      It's about emulating Canvas with the WebGL "low-res" in relatively minor ways. It's no big deal to add the option of "stepped" (as opposed to dynamic) scrolling in WebGL. The code for it aleady exists for the Canvas mode, just translate it, and stick it in, making it accessible only in the "Classic Mode" version of WebGL's low-res version....and only on desktop (VERY easy to do, trust me).

      Making a color palette translator that simply translates game colors to emulate canvas mode set isn't hard either. It would take a little time to create the color map of numbers but it'd probably be simple enough to come up with a transformation formula that does the job automatically. Then, like with the stepped scroll, just add in the code for low-res "Classic Mode" and let it only be accessed as a settings option via a button....along with the "Stepped Mode" button....and only on Desktop mode.

      There may be some other simple changes like these ^ which can make the look and feel of Canvas for desktop users without actually being Canvas, so that the code doesn't need to be maintained (as apart from WebGL) more than just minor checks once in awhile.

      ....thus, proving that it's both easy to implement AND easy to maintain.