Act of War: Direct Action Patch #4

This patch adds the following features to the retail version:

Functionality Tweaks and Added Features

* Localisation bug fixed in asian version.
* Fixed exploit. During online play, the player could make his unit enter in the other players' units or buildings, making them invincible.
* Fixed aircraft flight level in the map "Highway".
* "Unigenerror #2" for message "server is full" is localized in asian version.
* Longer time-outs for 2v2 War Room games.
* The in game subtitle background now enlarges to match the subtitle text height.
* Use of ABRAMS FSAP ability visible in replays ( not for previously done replays though ).
* Bug fix: sometimes units fighting inside buildings would get stuck instead of killed, effectively taking the building out of play.
* "bigbrother" cheat is now automaticaly activated while watching a game replay.

Editor

* Some dialog boxes in French were translated in English.
* Fixed bug in Minimap generation.
* Fixed bug that prevented users from finalizing the map.
* Loading bar added while êrforming the terrain lighting computation.
* Small editor adjustment.

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Patch #3 adds the following features to the retail version:

FUNCTIONALITY TWEAKS/ADDED FEATURES

* Map Editor, and support for importing custom made maps into the game
* new maps and one old one:
* Highway (1v1)
* Tver Hazard (1v1)
* Four Lakes (2v2)
* Sand Sky (2v2, FFA)
* Fort Fog (3v3)
* Freedom Temple (3v3)
* Increased construction time for Consortium Motor Pool and the Task Force Talon Vehicle Command Center slightly
* Lowered the BTR-80's speed slightly
* Lowered the BTR-80's hit points slightly

FIXES/CORRECTIONS/OPTIMIZATIONS

* Bug fix: Under certain circumstances, AK-74s defending buildings got wrong armor type
* Bug fix: the BTR-80s fired anti-tank shells instead of anti-tank missile
* Bug fix: you got the full amount back when selling your starting Derrick
* Pressing SHIFT to queue building constructions now recognizes the TAB key (to rotate buildings)
* Out-of-synch issue addressed = could occassionally result in invincible units and buildings
* The Message of the Day now has a scroll bar

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Patch #2 adds the following features to the retail version:

FUNCTIONALITY TWEAKS/ADDED FEATURES

* New map: Alcatraz, 1v1 map for War Room and Fort Irwin.
* Game Replay: various user interface improvements
* Game Replay: contents of structures and transports are now displayed
* Game Replay: money and energy are now displayed
* Game Replay: replay save files are smaller
* Engagement Mode: you can now Quit without Surrendering
* Chat: nicknames are now in color
* Chat: "X has joined/left" messages are no longer displayed in the chat lobbies
* Observer mode: chat is now accessible in Observer mode
* Observer mode: messages are now displayed as players get defeated
* Gameplay: rotation of structures (press the TAB key before placing to rotate)

FIXES/CORRECTIONS/OPTIMIZATIONS

* Various anti-cheat measures that disable all cheats we have seen to date. Detected cheaters will be kicked out of the game session with a Loss result.
* Bug correction: when someone lost without Surrendering, occassionally the Observer mode wasn’t accessible
* Bug correction: you are no longer able to see opposing players’ beacons
* Bug correction: under certain circumstances, a mixed selection of SHIELD units in Gatling and Missile Launcher mode failed to return fire if attacked while having a STOP command
* Bug correction: destroying a bank no longer causes a crash
* Bug correction: returning a heavily wounded Mortar Team to the Field Hospital no longer causes a crash
* Bug correction: under certain circumstances, launching two Tactical Weapons simultaneosly on the same spot could cause a crash
* Bug correction: sometimes the connection was lost during a Quick Match hook-up
* Bug correction: under certain circumstances with serious lag in a multiplayer game, the lagging player’s loading screen would freeze at 100%, forcing a hard reset
* Bug correction: replays were sometimes not synchronized correctly before the launch of the game, resulting in blank replay files
* Bug correction: under certain circumstances with severe lag, it was possible to capture a POW several times
* Bug correction: under certain circumstances, a quick Surrender or Disconnect could be recorded as a Win or a Loss in the ladder ranking
* German localization correction: when you can’t build a structure in a certain location, the voice over informs you that you *can’t* build there.
* Clarified error message when an incorrect password is entered + added option to request password to be sent by e-mail
* Optimization: several latency/bandwidth optimizations have been made, especially improving performance in bigger games
* Optimization: faster downloading of players' profiles
* Possible fix for the "38% crash on loading screen" issue (likely caused by a memory allocation failure); as we still however haven't been able to reproduce this bug internally, we also haven't been able to verify this fix.

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Patch #1 adds the following features to the retail version:

1. NAT NEGOTIATION: if you are behind a router that supports NAT negotiation (the majority of all routers, but not all), you will not need to manually forward incoming data traffic to a specific port. (You may still need to configure your firewall; we can't really override that.)
2. REPLAY OPTION: by selecting "Save replay" on the end-game screen of an Engagement, LAN or Online game, you can save a replay of the game for future viewing through the LOAD > LOAD REPLAY menu. (If you accidentally skip the save step, before launching a new game, you can also go into the folder "AOWReplayLast", and copy the three files "AutoMovie.rpl", "AutoMovie.sad" and "AutoMovie.sav" to its parent folder. They will now be available in the LOAD REPLAY menu under the name "AutoMovie"; the files can be renamed in Windows.)

In addition, this patch addresses some issues discovered in the retail build:

1. Fixed issue which caused BlackHawk helicopters not to pick up heavily wounded soldiers if they had a queued command.
2. Fixed crash when you sold a Stealth Armor Lab.
3. Fixed issue where more than 8 Construction units could be queued to be deployed at an HQ.
4. Fixed issue where infantry could get killed from walking into a construction footprint.
5. Fixed issue where upgrade options for Strykers and AK-74 soldiers would sometimes be incorrectly disabled due to lack of funds.
6. Fixed issue where non-combattants wouldn't respond to keyboard shortcut for Repatriation.
7. Fixed issue which allowed you to override normal power limits by queueing construction actions.
8. Fixed issue which would sometimes cause vehicles exiting a Repair Depot to get stuck.
9. Fixed issue where audio would sometime continue to play when game was minimized.
10. Improved stability when the user's PC is locked while game is still running (may still cause problems in certain cases; we advise you to always save your game before locking your PC).
11. Updated Credits with Atari Europe.
12. Disabled Continue Campaign button if you have already finished the Campaign.
13. Added warning that you'll spoil the story if you're skipping ahead in the campaign.
14. Fixed miscellaneous text glitches.
15. Fixed miscellaneous stability issues.

Additional notes:

1. Please note that if you host an online or LAN game with one or more A.I.-controller players, these A.I.-controlled players will not be migrated to a new host if the original host is disconnected or leaves the game.
2. In the Online menu, under certain circumstances your own chat messages will not be displayed correctly. We are working on resolving this issue.