NATO Division Commander v1.5.0 — NATO DIVISION COMMANDER — CHANGELOG

NATO DIVISION COMMANDER — CHANGELOG

VERSION 1.5.0
Release date: 2026-10-04

MOVEMENT PLANNING
- Click a reachable destination to preview its route before moving (enabled by default).
- The preview shows MP cost, remaining movement, destination terrain and command status.
- Observed enemy zones and known minefields are flagged. Unknown contacts remain unknown.
- Move unit / Enter commits; Cancel / Escape keeps the selected unit in place.
- A pending route stays highlighted when the pointer leaves the map.
- Switch off Preview moves before committing to restore immediate movement; the preference is saved.
- Stale previews are rejected or presented for renewed review; loading and changing phases cancel them.
- Known minefields now end plotted paths, matching their mandatory halt during actual movement.

TARGET GUIDES AND COMBAT COSTS
- Target guides list observed ground contacts eligible for the selected artillery, air or assault order.
- Fire guides show step-loss and suppression estimates; assault guides show the selected unit's odds.
- Choosing a target opens its estimate without spending resources or resolving combat.
- Empty guides explain phase, ammunition, command, range or readiness limitations.
- Assault estimates list each attacker's MP and ammunition, supporting ammunition, HQ staff points and sorties.
- Supporting batteries sharing an HQ cannot exceed its available staff-point budget.
- New estimates come into view automatically on desktop and phone layouts.
- Completed estimates cannot be committed twice.

DOCUMENTATION AND COMPATIBILITY
- New guide: docs/order-planning.txt. Tutorial and in-game rules cover the new controls.
- The existing cover, unit roster, mobile tabs, saves and hot-seat protections are retained.
- Save format remains 1.3; a v1.4.0 save was verified in the browser.
- Scenario values and combat tables are unchanged.
- See docs/validation-v1.5.0.txt for checks and environment limits.

VERSION 1.4.0
Release date: 2026-10-04

COMMAND OVERVIEW
- Readiness counts show units with phase options, out of command, low on ammunition, or needing attention.
- Each count opens the matching Order of Battle filter.
- Search the roster by unit name, unit type or parent headquarters.
- Filter by phase availability, command status, ammunition or suppression.
- Read phase-specific options, alerts and arrival status beside each unit; select an active unit to locate it.
- Availability describes remaining capacity. Routes, target visibility and range still apply.

BATTLEFIELD NAVIGATION
- Click an objective to center its town on the map.
- Center the selected unit with C or the new map-view button.
- Next unit in Command includes remaining forced marches and staff-point requests.
- The persistent status strip shows the current phase.

PHONE PLAY
- Map, Orders and Intel tabs keep the battlefield and scrolling panels within the viewport.
- Selected-unit summary gives direct Orders and Details shortcuts.
- Reconnaissance, smoke, air and engineering orders return to the map for targeting.
- New combat estimates open in view automatically.
- Compact landscape controls give more room to the map.

POLISH AND COMPATIBILITY
- Units that cease to be visible are cleared from selection.
- Roster search supports the modal focus trap and Escape; unit buttons support keyboard activation.
- The manual's version 1.3 rules still apply. New interface guide: docs/command-overview.txt.
- Save format remains 1.3, using the same keys and migration paths.
- Existing v1.3.1 and v1.3.2 saves were checked in the browser.
- See docs/validation-v1.4.0.txt for validation results.

VERSION 1.3.2
Release date: 2026-10-04

FIXED
- Starting or loading another game cancels pending computer playback before it can act on the new state.
- Manual Save is disabled during computer playback to avoid saving a partially resolved phase.
- Movement destinations and path hints use friendly and observed enemy positions only.
Hidden enemy units still cause contact and movement stops when encountered.
- Escape and backdrop clicks cannot dismiss a hot-seat handover. Orders are disabled until Take over.
- New and loaded games clear stale handover, animation, confirmation and selection state.

IMPROVED
- Persistent toolbar: Save, Load, New / Menu, Rules, Order of battle and Full screen.
- Phone toolbar remains visible while scrolling; desktop controls stay outside the sidebars.
- Setup, score panel and results show victory targets from the selected commander's perspective.
- Rules and tutorial explain score margins and the scenario handicap.

VALIDATION
- Added dependency-free regression checks in tests/regression-v1.3.2.js.
- See docs/validation-v1.3.2.txt for the release's test results.

SAVE COMPATIBILITY
- Save format remains 1.3. Existing storage keys and save migrations are retained.

VERSION 1.3.1
Release date: 2026-10-03

ADDED
- Original Cold War cover illustration set in the Fulda Gap.
- Responsive illustrated opening page with New operation, Rules of play and First-turn tutorial.
- Resume last saved game appears when a save is present; Return to current game appears during play.
- Back to cover from setup; rules return to the menu from which they were opened.
- Dialog keyboard focus containment and inert background controls.

FIXED
- Manifest patch_notes now points to this version-specific patch file.

SAVE COMPATIBILITY
- Save format remains 1.3. Existing storage keys and rules are unchanged.
- The existing v1.3 manual remains applicable to all game rules.

VERSION 1.3.0
Release Date: 2026-10-03

ADDED
- Electronic warfare: in the Intelligence phase 1 intelligence point jams an enemy headquarters that is
observed or was fixed by direction finding this turn. It loses 2 staff points on its next turn and 1 hex
of command radius until then. The computer jams too, preferring division headquarters.
- Known threat overlay (T): enemy zones of control, reaction-fire hexes and artillery reach, drawn only
from units you have observed or last-known markers; hovering a hex names the threat.
- High-contrast mode: black-and-white panels, heavier hex lines and counter edges; on by default when
the system asks for more contrast.

CHANGED
- Attacking engineers now move to clear known enemy minefields in their path.
- Par re-measured over 200 computer-versus-computer games per scenario (Covering Force 15,
Main Battle -20, Counterstroke 10).

SAVE COMPATIBILITY
- Save format 1.3. Saves from v1.0.x, v1.1.0 and v1.2.0 (formats 1.0 to 1.2) are migrated on load and
continue normally. Keys are unchanged.

KNOWN ISSUES
- The Main Battle is swingy: Fulda's 10 points decide many games.
- Counters are small on phones at the widest zoom.

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VERSION 1.2.0
Release Date: 2026-10-03

ADDED
- Smoke: in the Fires phase an artillery battery may fire smoke at a hex in range (1 ammunition, 1 SP).
Until the end of the enemy's next turn units in it see and are seen only from adjacent hexes, and no
reaction fire passes into or out of it. The computer uses smoke to cover its assaults.
- Succession of command: when the division headquarters is lost, the brigade or regimental headquarters
with the most battalions takes over (marked DIV), with a longer command reach and intelligence points.
- Order of Battle sheet (O): every formation under its headquarters with steps, mode, ammunition and
command state; click a row to find the unit.
- After-action review: the result screen charts the margin against par and each side's losses turn by
turn, with a table view.

CHANGED
- Par re-measured over 200 computer-versus-computer games per scenario (Covering Force 15, Main Battle -20,
Counterstroke 7).
- The defending NATO division in the Main Battle now spends far less of the late game out of command.

SAVE COMPATIBILITY
- Save format 1.2. Saves from v1.0.x (format 1.0) and v1.1.0 (format 1.1) are migrated on load and
continue normally; the turn-by-turn history starts from the turn loaded. Keys are unchanged.

KNOWN ISSUES
- The Main Battle is swingy: Fulda's 10 points decide many games.
- Counters are small on phones at the widest zoom.
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VERSION 1.1.0
Release Date: 2026-10-03

ADDED
- Engineers: a combat engineer battalion on each side lays minefields, bridges rivers and clears known
enemy minefields. Enemy minefields are hidden until found; entering one stops a unit and may cost a step.
- Radio direction finding: every staff point spent is radio traffic; an Intelligence-phase DF sweep fixes
enemy headquarters that spent 3 or more SP on their last turn. A fix is a position, not a sighting.
The Staff Board shows your own traffic.
- Hot seat: two players at one screen, with a hand-over screen that hides the board between sides.
- Situation Report after every enemy turn (losses, objectives, key events).
- Undo (U) for a move that revealed nothing.
- Minimap with click-and-drag navigation.
- Options: automatic next-unit selection and end-of-turn confirmation (both on by default).

CHANGED
- The computer's headquarters now pick the position that keeps the most battalions in command; its
division staffs keep below the direction-finding threshold. Formations out of command fell from about a
third to about a sixth for the attacker.
- Par re-measured over 200 computer-versus-computer games per scenario.

SAVE COMPATIBILITY
- Save format 1.1. Saves from v1.0.x (format 1.0) are migrated on load; they gain empty minefield, bridge
and traffic records and continue normally. Keys are unchanged.

KNOWN ISSUES
- A defending NATO division that loses its headquarters late in the Main Battle fights largely out of command.
- Counters are small on phones at the widest zoom.
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VERSION 1.0.1
Release Date: 2026-10-03

CHANGED
- Packaged to the Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.2; code split into js/rules.js, js/ai.js,
js/sound.js and js/game.js; separate autosave slot; L loads; full screen; effects volume; reduced
motion; labelled dialog; storefront art, screenshots, manual and documentation set.
- Opening headquarters positions fixed so no formation starts out of command; par re-measured.

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VERSION 1.0.0
Release Date: 2026-10-03

ADDED
- Initial Tronsoft Games release as a single self-contained HTML file.
- Battalion-scale Fulda Gap map (44 × 32 one-mile hexes) with fourteen towns, roads, rivers, woods and hills.
- Intelligence, Command, Fires and Maneuver phases; staff points, command radii, four unit modes,
forced marches; reaction fire, zones of control and contact halts; eight-column assault table resolved
on the Staff Estimate slip; supply, ammunition, weather, night, air sorties and counter-battery fire.
- Three scenarios, either side, three enemy doctrines, Controller (fog of war) and Competition games.
- Par for each scenario measured from 200 computer-versus-computer games.