From: rob_hawley@taligent.com (Rob Hawley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Re: *** Harpoon problem ***
Date: 7 Apr 92 19:45:41 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Taligent Inc.

In article <1992Apr7.002102.18079@PDX.MENTORG.COM>, bruceh@apd.mentorg.com
(Bruce Holm) writes:
> 
> 1.  I was playing part way into the game.  I had just picked up a sub
> on sonar.  I sent out 2 helecoptors as 1 group, to go attack.  When
> the helos got there, I let loose the one torpedo from one of the helos.
> It tracked and hit the sub.  I then tried to get the other helo to
> get close enough to attack but it never did.  It stayed a fixed
> distance from the helo that had already fired, which was just out of
> range of the sub.
> 
> I finally had to break up the helo group into two separate groups of
> 1 helo each, send the empty unit back home.  I still could not get
> the helo remaining to close and fire.  I had to direct the helo with
> specific course settings (what a pain using only the large scale map
> even at 8x isn't close enough for detail work).
> 


When you split a group the new units have no orders and they just hover (until
they run out of fuel).  You need to select the second unit and specifically give
it an attack order.  In submarine scenarios you have to do a lot of
micromanagement since the Soviet subs usually travel in pairs and you want the
units to continue searching once the first sub is killed. 

 Note that the same problem occurs on patrolling units.  When the unit reaches
its patrol point you have to give it specific orders to move or it just stays
there until its patrol is finished.


> 2. It was about this time that I noticed that on the large scale map 
> the helo was south of the sub but on the close up map, it was north 
> of the sub.  What gives??  The maps contradicting each other?
> 

This comes from the weird way that harpoon handles groups.  As far as I have
been able to tell, the location on the big map is the average of the locations
of the units.  Thus it is possible that the icon on the large map may have been
right over the units being attacked and only one copters would have been
attacking.  The solution, as you discovered, was to dispatch as individual
units.  An alternative would be to use the formation editor to move the copters
closer together.



> 3. A little later, after I finally got the helo close enough to fire
> and did, suddenly, the Harpoon window went blank and its contents 
> ended up behind it, partially obscured by the now blank window in 
> front of it.  The game still was playable (it didn't freeze or any
> such thing) but because the contents was mostly hidden, I couldn't 
> do much.  I could not even quit out of the game (all the menu commands
> were dimmed).  It was as if the screen coordinates reference point
> got changed so that the upper left corner of the Harpoon window got
> shifted to 0,0 of my monitor but the Harpoon window border frame 
> remained at x,y which causes it to be centered on my monitor.
> 
> I had to reset my machine.  I have a IIci with 14" color monitor but
> am using the b/w version of Harpoon.  I am running Sys 7 and have
> 5 Mb of RAM.
>        


I have also had problems in a similar config (quadra 700 with 8Meg and sys 7). 
The only workaround is to save the scenarios regularly. If you have macsbug an
exit to shell should work.

Hope this helps.