June 22, 1941. Operation Barbarossa began as Axis armies crossed the border and attacked Soviet forces. Total War, the latest (and very late to ship) Europa game to simulate Barbarossa, should be in the mail late next month. We had thought long ago that a June 22 date would be the ideal to begin mailing the game. Several print starts with the new charts and one booklet have shown that we had additional work to do for the printers. While this should not take a lot of additional time, medical issues have delayed the the printing and shipping.<\/p>\n
Arthur has never been very keen about admitting any medical issues and only spoke about problems after he felt they had passed. In this case, the problems where not going to pass without treatment. We have now arranged for medical treatment to begin shortly and are assured that he will be fine once the procedures are complete. Initial examinations have also shown that he put off new glasses for far too many years and he will be sporting two new pair of lenses. Arthur has never had medical insurance and refused all but the most serious treatment. That has changed with the help of many of his friends. We both apologize for this delay and will let you know when he is back on-line.<\/p>\n
One of the issues that the company has had for some years before we purchased it, was the obsolescence of our computer software. A good deal of experience with mainframe software issues led me to believe that we should not try to change horses (necessary systems) in the middle of a game (or stream). After we believed that the printers were set to go with the game, Arthur convinced me we could begin that replacement process. We now have that software (Adobe Creative Suite ) and a modest, but adquate Mac hardware upgrade largely in place. I was correct about its possible impact if we had still been working on game but the upgrade is now almost complete. <\/p>\n
Using the new and sometimes complex software in the future will wait for A Winter War II. At least Arthur will be able to read the screens from farther than 5 inches. While it in no way makes up for the late shipment date, we will start to display samples of the game again. We displayed a new Terrain Effects Chart before. After receiving input from two customers, four of our volunteers and a close review by both Arthur and myself, we ended up with just short of thirty small changes to that chart. You can see the new and final TEC by clicking on the link below. <\/p>\n