Nabla

As a first impression I must say that I'm not too fond of the idea of a proportional split. Let's say we have a scenario with a nasty armor fight and a flag that's really difficult to keep, at least when the other party still has tanks available. Both parties try to maneuver so that they can knock each others tanks out. Now let's say that player A knocks player B's tank out, and that the score is now 15-5 for him. After this all the pressure on making the next move is on B, because the end result after proportional split will be 75-25 if he can't improve the situation. Let's say both parties now have a chance to commit to a fifty-fifty duel with tanks. If A wins the duel, the score will be 25-5. If B wins it, the score will be 15-15. This means that the final end results after split in these two cases would be 83-17 and 50-50, respectively. So A can only improve his score by 8 in that situation, while his score can drop by 25 points. For B the situation is the opposite. So I don't think A would be interested in anything like that, while B certainly would. So a scheme like this can cause heavily asymmetric risk seeking and risk avoiding behaviour in the players. To put it another way, very different types of play styles are rewarded by the scoring system for the two different sides. This is of course just one example. Have you seen any other discussions about this issue on the board? EDIT: I also have to admit that I would need the equation which gives the CM score (the one that includes flags and forces) before I can analyze this further. I just don't remember how the flags, destroyed forces and remaining forces affect the score. I haven't got the manual here (I'm not even sure whether the equation is in the manual), but I've seen it on the board and on some web pages. I'll try to find it, but in case you remember where it is could you please tell me. EDIT2: Ok, found it. Using this notation pa = total points of allied casualties (allies captured count double their casualty value) pg = total points of german casualties (germans captured cout double their casualty value) f = total value of flags fa = point value of flags controlled by allies fg = point value of flags controlled by germans a = allied score g = german score The formulas are </font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> ( pg + fa ) a = --------------- ( pa + pg + f ) ( pa + fg ) g = --------------- (pa + pg + f )</pre>

The Nabla system has become the de facto -standard in solving the non-trivial task of scheduling and scoring tournaments. The system generates schedules which are as optimal as possible, can handle unbalanced games, and also provides solutions to issues such as balancing the importance of different scenarios and determining the relative importance of big vs. small victories. The system itself consists of a set principles and an implementation of these principles in software. Due to the widespread use of the system we (i.e., I and Treeburst155) decided to write a manual describing the principles of the system and the use of the software. The manual can now be downloaded here. I suggest that you print the document rather than try to read it on screen. Have fun! Nabla & Treeburst155

"...no other CMBB play technique offers"? Bzzz! Wrong answer! See my signature. Anyway, it's a nice concept. Salute!

This isn't a statement about the actual issue, but I think that it might help a bit if people ended these messages with: I have the save file/video, which can be requested from me either on this forum or via email at address ... [ November 21, 2002, 08:09 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

This is not what we call memory. Of course the system knows what it is doing now when it makes a new decision. The problem is that once the new decision is made there is no record of what it has done before that. So if a unit is Advancing under fire to a spot of woods, and the unit decides it needs to crawl, the system can easily switch it crawl and maintain its current location.</font>

This would seem to me as a very good explanation of what people have seen. But regarding RAM and file space problems, isn't it still true that the system now already has some sort of short-term memory? Consider a unit which has been ordered, either by the TacAI or by the player, to advance to location X. Obviously during the computation of the action phase there is knowledge in the system (in memory, in PBEM file) that the unit is trying to advance to location X. Otherwise the action phase could not be computed, and the information could not be retained for the next round (for orders which are not completed during that turn). So if during the computation of the action phase the unit receives a strong negative stimulus, which makes it abandon its current order, it already has knowledge of what it was trying to do at that time. If my logic above has been correct, then the TacAI knows its current order when it chooses the evasive action. This first-order short-term memory could be used in making the decision. Well, maybe the main difference in the above is the definition of what memory is. But let me continue. Let's say we add a very small amount of memory, say three bits for each unit, implementing a counter (0-7). This counter would contain the number of times the TacAI has taken evasive action since the last human order. It would be reset whenever the human would give an order to the unit. Together with knowledge of the last order, this counter could be used to implement the idea of "don't tend run around in circles when the sh*t hits the fan". The TacAI could be designed to retain its current order with an increasing probability when the counter is high. Or the direction of sneak or run could be computed as a weighted sum of current direction and suggested new direction, where the weight of the current direction would increase with the counter. Hack? Yes. Side effects? Well, if the counter would be high, and the unit would run into certain death, it would tend to underestimate the seriousness of the new threat. Unless the probability / weighting functions would also include a seriousness factor... Complex, definitely, but what wouldn't already be complex in this fantastic game? But the main point is that there is already some memory, and a teeny weeny bit of additional capacity might improve the situation. We've seen before that Charles is capable of doing small miracles. [ November 20, 2002, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

I don't think the list above is the final, complete one. For example, the Finnish FO radio issue is not in that list. So let me borrow Matt's posts from this page. Have fun! UNIT DATA CHANGES/FIXES/ADDITIONS: * Finns have some radio-equipped forward observers. * Slight corrections to armor ratings of captured Panther A, Panzer IIIJ, and T-34 M42. MODIFICATIONS: * Finnish 75mm AT gun is first available July 1943. * Troops imported into a quick battle have their ammunition replenished. * HQ units, when hiding, are slightly less likely to open fire on enemy units (i.e. "start" an ambush). * ATRs have some minimal capability against infantry. * Smoke from burning vehicles blocks LOS a bit more. * German Sd Kfz 7 Gun Tractor will not be misidentified as a fully-armored halftrack, or vice-versa. MODELS: * Lowered crewman in PSW 222. BUG FIXES: * If a TCP/IP game is saved during setup phase and reloaded as a PBEM, setup will not be skipped for the second player. * Romanian BA-10 shows the correct 'icon' side view. * Hiding units with covered arcs won't be triggered to stop hiding by a dead unit inside the covered arc. * Troops carrying molotovs or magnetic mines are not prohibited from using grenades against pillbox rear doors. * Ordnance and good-order units are less likely to be 'bumped' out of an area that becomes overcrowded. * Soviet pistols don't look like German pistols in the gun rack interface after loading a saved game. * Corrected a problem that caused pillboxes sometimes to cancel their covered arcs. * (French version) Exit-zone graphics are in French text. * (French version) The +/- editor buttons for setting the number of flags in a battle appear normally. [ November 19, 2002, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

What sort of software were you thinking about?

Hey, that's a pretty neat username. Try to hang on to it.

Hello fire-fox! See this thread. [ November 03, 2002, 08:58 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Loistavaa! Excellent! Tässä samat fraasit järjestettynä aakkosten mukaan, mikä nopeuttanee listan käyttöä pelien aikana. And here's the same list, sorted alphabetically, which should speed up the use of the list during games. Olkaatten hyvät. You're welcome. MUUTOS: Linuxin sort sekoitti järjestyksen skandinaavisten merkkien osalta, korjasin. Kaikki mikä viittaa Suomeen ei sittenkään ole überiä. EDIT: Linux sort got confused with umlauts, fixed the problem. Everything related to Finland is not über after all. Aah, liekkejä! Ei! Argh, flames! No! 00041900.wav Aah, mä on tulessa! 00041903.wav Aah, mä on tulessa! Arg, I'm on fire! 00041902.wav Aijaijai, polttaa! Armoa! Argh, it burns! Mercy! 00041901.wav Ammukset vähissä! 00041504.wav Ammukset vähissä! Ammunition low! 00041501.wav Ampuja, pellit auki (basically) Gunner, fire at will! 00040003.wav Ampuja, tuhoa auto! Gunner, target enemy vehicle! Fire! 00040401.wav Ampuja, tuli vapaa Gunner, fire at will! 00040002.wav Ampuja, tulita vihollisen miehiä! 00040204.wav Ampuja, tulita vihollisen miehiä! Gunner, fire at enemy men! 00040203.wav Ampuja, tähtää autoon, tuhoa se! Gunner, target enemy vehicle! Fire! 00040400.wav Ampuja, tähtää noihin miehiin, tulta! Gunner, target those men! Fire! 00040200.wav Ampuja, tähtää tykkiin, tuhoa se 00040101.wav Ampuja, tähtää tykkiin, tuhoa se Gunner, target gun. Destroy it! 00040100.wav Ampuja, uudestaan! Gunner, again! 00041202.wav Ampuja, vihollisen miehiä, tulta! 00040202.wav Ampuja, vihollisen miehiä, tulta! Gunner, enemy men! Fire! 00040201.wav Ampuja, vihollisen vaunu, tulta! Gunner, enemy tank! Fire! 00040300.wav Ampuja, viholliskohde, tuhoa se 00040001.wav Ampuja, viholliskohde, tuhoa se Gunner, enemy target! Destroy it! 00040000.wav Anna kuteja! Give me ammo! 00041500.wav Antaa mennä nyt! Let's go now! 00044101.wav Antaa mennä! Let's go! 00044306.wav Antaa soitta! (essentially) Go get 'em, boys! 00043902.wav Antaudumme! We surrender! 00043006.wav Antautukaa! 00042903.wav Antautukaa! Surrender! 00042902.wav Aseet käteen ja taistelkaa! Weapons in hand and fight! 00042206.wav Asemiin! Nopeaan! Into positions, hurry up! 00043700.wav Auttakaa kaverit, sattuu! Help me buddies, it hurts! 00041804.wav Auttakaa! Help! 00041802.wav Auttakaa, helvetti! Muhun osu! Help me, damnit! I'm hit! 00041803.wav Ei, hyvä Jumala! No, good God! 00041805.wav Ei, mulla ei ole mun jalkaa! No, I haven't got my leg! 00041801.wav Ei, mä en pysty! No, I can't! 00042105.wav Ei, perkele! Mä lähen karkuun! Hell no, I'm outta here! 00042107.wav Ei, perkele, mie en pysty tähän! No, damnit, I can't do this! 00042100.wav En pysty! I can't! 00042104.wav Ensisidettä! First aid! 00041807.wav Eteenpäin! Eteenpäin, miehet! Forwards! Forwards, men! 00044103.wav Eteenpäin! Forwards! 00044100.wav Eteenpäin! Mars! 00044107.wav Eteenpäin! Mars! Forwards! 00044105.wav Hakkaa päälle! Go get 'em 00043500.wav Hakkaa päälle! Go get 'em! 00044004.wav Hakkaa päälle, Suomen poika! Go get 'em, Finland's boys! 00044005.wav Heikosti tehos'! Tulta vaan! Not much effect, just keep firing! 00041205.wav Heittimiä! Mortars! 00041705.wav Helvetin raukat! Bloody cowards! 00042207.wav Helvetin raukat! Bloody cowards! 00043503.wav Helvetti, vihollisen osasto, tuli sinne! Bllody hell, enemy troops, target and fire! 00040702.wav Helvettiin täältä! Let's get the hell out of here! 00042103.wav Heti maihin! Hit the ground, now! 00042004.wav Hienoo, hyvin ammuttu! Excellent, fine shooting! 00041004.wav Hitto vie, ammu vaan niin perkeleesti! Damnit, just shoot like hell! 00041201.wav Hitto, mie osasin! Bloody hell, I got it! 00041001.wav Hitto, ne tulee suoraan päin! Hell,they're coming straight at us! 00042109.wav Hitto, tulevat kohti! Hell,they're coming straight at us! 00042101.wav Huomio miehet, kuunnelkaa! Attention, men! Listen up! 00043300.wav Hypätkää kyydistä! Get out! 00043705.wav Hypätkää kyytiin! Get in! 00043601.wav Hypätkää kyytiin! Get in! 00043604.wav Hyökkäykseen! 00044002.wav Hyökkäykseen! Attack! 00044001.wav Hävittäjä, vihollinen! Fighter, enemy! 00042802.wav Ilmahälytys! Air alarm! 00042800.wav Ilmavaara! Air alarm! ("air danger!") 00042801.wav Jeesus Kristus, perkele! Jesus Christ, damnit! 00041800.wav Johan on perkele! Goddamnit! 00041206.wav Jumalaut', ne motittaa meidät! Goddamn, they're surrounding us! 00042106.wav Jumalauta, motissa ollaan! Damnit, we're surrounded! 00042108.wav Jumissa, perkele! Stuck, damnit! 00043100.wav Juoksevat, lähetään myöki! They're running, let's go too! 00042111.wav Kaikki mukaan! 00043606.wav Kaikki mukaan! Everybody in! 00043605.wav Kaikki ulos! 00043702.wav Kaikki ulos! Everyone out! 00043701.wav Katsokaa, tykki! Tulta sinne! Look, gun! Target and open fire. 00040601.wav Katsokaa, vihollinen! Look, the enemy! 00042309.wav Kiipeä sisään! Get in! 00043600.wav Kimppuun! Go get 'em 00043502.wav Kimppuut, pojjaat! Go get 'em, boys! 00043901.wav Kohde vihollisen vaunu! Ampuja, anna palaa! Target enemy tank! Gunner, fire! 00040301.wav Kohti vihollista! Towards the enemy! 00040502.wav Korjattu on! 00043201.wav Korjattu on! It's repaired! 00043200.wav Kranaatti! 00041601.wav Kranaatti! Grenade 00041600.wav Kranaattikeskitys! Mortar barrage! 00041704.wav Kuolema tulee! We're gonna die ("Death is coming") 00042110.wav Kuonot kii' ja silmät auki! Shut your mouths and open your eyes! 00043315.wav Kuunnelkaa tarkasti! Listen carefully! 00043309.wav Kuunnelkaa! Listen up! 00043308.wav Kyllä, herra kapteeni! Yes, captain! 00043307.wav Kyllä, herra kersantti! Yes, sergeant! 00043304.wav Kyllä, herra luutnantti! Yes, liutenant! 00043305.wav Kyllä, herra! Yes, sir! 00043301.wav Kädet ylös! 00042906.wav Kädet ylös! Ruki vehr! Hands up! ("ruki vehr" meaning the same in Russian) 00042905.wav Lapaan osui! 00041809.wav Lapaan osui! My shoulder's been hit! 00041806.wav Lataa! 00041301.wav Lataa! Load 00041300.wav Liikettä! 00044108.wav Liikettä, liikettä! 00044300.wav Liikettä, liikettä! 00044301.wav Liikettä, pojat! 00044303.wav Liikkeelle siitä! Move it! 00042205.wav Liikkeelle! 00044109.wav Liikkeelle! Move it! 00044106.wav Liikkeelle, miehet! 00044104.wav Liikkeelle, miehet! Move it, men! 00044102.wav Lipas on tyhjä! Magazine empty! 00041506.wav Maahan! Hit the ground! 00042003.wav Maastoutukaa! Take cover! 00042000.wav Maihin! 00042002.wav Maihin! 00042008.wav Maihin! Hit the ground! 00042005.wav Mars, mars! 00044302.wav Mars, mars! 00044307.wav Me antaudutaan! We surrender! 00043001.wav Me kuollaan tänne! We're gonna die here! 00042102.wav Me luovutetaan! We give up! 00043005.wav Meidän ammukset käy vähiin! Our ammunition is running low! 00041502.wav Miinoja! 00043403.wav Miinoja! Mines! 00043400.wav Minuun osui! I'm hit! 00041808.wav Mun ase on tyhjä! My weapon's empty! 00041505.wav Mun käsi! My arm! 00041813.wav Mä osuin siihen! I got it! 00041005.wav Nappiin osui! Kuoli! Bullseye! It died! 00041000.wav No niin, miehet. Lähdetään! All right, men! Let's move! 00043903.wav No nyt mennään! Here we go! 00043906.wav No, johan on perkele! Well, goddamnit! 00041207.wav Nouskaa kädet ylhäällä! Get up with your hands up! 00042904.wav Nyt juostaan, perkele! 00043905.wav Nyt juostaan, perkele! Let's ****ing run! 00043904.wav Nyt pitää olla tappamisen meininki! Now you have to be in the mood for killing! 00041200.wav Nyt ulos, liikettä! Get out! Move it! 00043704.wav Nyt ylös, jumalauta! Now get up, damn you! 00042204.wav Osu! Ammu uudestaan! A hit! Fire again! 00041204.wav Osu, perkele! A hit, bloody hell! 00041003.wav Osuma! A hit! 00041002.wav PST suoraan edessä, tulta! ATG straight ahead! Fire! 00040602.wav Palavat, perkeleet! They're burning, bastards! 00041100.wav Panoksia, saatana! Ammo, damnit! 00041503.wav Panssarintorjunta, ammu sinne! Anti-tank, target and fire! 00040603.wav Pelkurit, perkele! ****ing cowards! 00042200.wav Perkele! Jumissa! ****ing hell! We're stuck! 00043101.wav Perkele, pois täältä! Let's get the **** outta here! 00044201.wav Piiska! ATG! ("piiska" is a nickname for "pst-" or atg-guns) 00042500.wav Pistimet kiinne! Attach bayonets 00043501.wav Pitäkää asemanne! Hold your positions! 00043306.wav Pojat, maahan! Boys, hit the ground! 00042006.wav Porukka, naama turpeeseen! Guys, face to the ground! 00042007.wav Pudota se! Kädet ylös! 00042901.wav Pudota se! Kädet ylös! Drop it! Hands up! 00042900.wav Pysykää liikkessä! Eteenpäin! 00044305.wav Pysykää liikkessä, eteenpäin! Stay on the move, forwards! 00044304.wav Päälle vaan, perkele! Just ****ing get 'em, damnit! 00043900.wav Rynnäkköön! 00044007.wav Rynnäkköön! Assault! 00044006.wav Saakeli, tykkitulta! Oh ****, artillery! 00041701.wav Se jäi siihen! There it stays! 00041006.wav Se siitä! That's it then! 00043312.wav Seis, tuolla on vihollinen! Halt, enemies over there! 00043801.wav Seis, vihollinen edessä! Halt, enemy ahead! 00043800.wav Sekaan vaan! Let's get 'em! 00044000.wav Selvä on, kessu! 00043311.wav Selvä on, kessu! All right, sarge! 00043310.wav Siihen osu! 00041008.wav Siihen osu! Hit it! 00041007.wav Siinäs palat! There you burn! 00041103.wav Sil' palo perskarvat! His asshairs got burned! 00041102.wav Sillon liikkuu! Let's go! 00044308.wav Sisään siitä! Get in! 00043602.wav Suojaan! Take cover! 00042001.wav Säästäkää ammuksia! Save your ammunition! 00041404.wav Säästäkää pateja! Save your ammo! 00041403.wav Taakse, taakse! Fall back, fall back! 00044202.wav Tapelkaa, saatanan paskiaiset! Fight, you ****ing bastards! 00042202.wav Tappakaa ne, tuli vapaa! Kill them! Fire at will! 00040500.wav Tarvitaan lisää ammuksia! We need more ammunition! 00041507.wav Tervemenoa helvettiin! To hell with you! 00041101.wav Tulee kohti, piru vie! Incoming, bloody hell! 00041703.wav Tuli kohti pst-tykkiä! Direct fire at ATG gun! 00040604.wav Tuli seis! 00041401.wav Tuli seis! 00041406.wav Tuli seis! Tuli seis! 00041402.wav Tuli seis! Tuli seis! Hold fire! Hold fire! 00041400.wav Tuli seis, perkele! Hold your fire, damnit! 00041405.wav Tuli sinne! (essentially) Fire! 00040504.wav Tuli vapaa! Fire at will! 00040506.wav Tulta munille! (essentially) Fire at will! (implies aiming at the groin level) 00040507.wav Tulta! 00040505.wav Tulta! Fire! 00040503.wav Tuol' on vihulaisia! Enemies over there! 00042307.wav Tuolla ne menee, vihollinen! The enemy's moving there! 00042300.wav Tuolla on vihollisen miehiä! There's enemy men over there! 00042403.wav Tuolla, piiska! 00042502.wav Tuolla, piiska! There, ATG! 00042501.wav Tuolla, tuolla on viholaisen tankkeja! There, enemy tanks over there! 00042600.wav Tuolla, vihollisen kärry! (essentially) Enemy tank! 00042700.wav Tuolla, vihollisen miehiä! There, enemy men! 00042402.wav Tuolla, vihollisen panssarivaunu! Kimppuun, pojat! There, enemy tank! Attack, boys! 00040802.wav Tykistökeskitys! Artillery barrage! 00041700.wav Tykki, ammu! Gun, fire! 00040600.wav Tähtäys, tulta! Aim! Fire! 00040501.wav Tähtää ajoneuvoon! Tulta! Target vehicle! Fire! 00040902.wav Tähtää vihollisen panssariin! Target enemy tank! 00040806.wav Tää jämähti! This got stuck 'ere! 00043102.wav Täältä pesee, saatana! Come and get it, damnit! 00043504.wav Ulos ja heti! Out! Now! 00043703.wav Ulos, vauhdilla! Get out fast! 00043706.wav Varmistakaa sivustat! 00043314.wav Varmistakaa sivustat! Secure the flanks! 00043313.wav Varmistakaa tuo! Secure that! 00043316.wav Varokaa! Look out! 00042302.wav Varokaa, miinoja! Look out, mines! 00043402.wav Varokaa, täällä on miinotettu! Look out, minefield! 00043401.wav Varokaa, vihollisen ajoneuvo! 00042704.wav Varokaa, vihollisen ajoneuvo! Look out, enemy vehicle! 00042703.wav Varokaa, vihollisen vaunu! Look out, enemy tank! 00042604.wav Varovasti! Be careful! 00043302.wav Varovasti, varovasti! 00043303.wav Vaunu suoraan edessä, tulta! Tank straight ahead! Fire! 00040805.wav Vetäytykää! 00044203.wav Vetäytykää! Fall back! 00044200.wav Viel' on hengissä! Helvetti! It still lives! Damn it! 00041203.wav Vielä kerran, pojjaat! One more time, boys! 00044003.wav Viheltää! Incoming! (actually "whistling") 00041702.wav Vihollinen lähestyy! Enemies approaching! 00042304.wav Vihollinen näkyvissä! Enemy in sight! 00042306.wav Vihollinen! Tulta, perkele! Enemy! Fire, goddamnit! 00040508.wav Vihollisen PST. Enemy ATG! 00042503.wav Vihollisen ajoneuvoja edessä! Enemy vehicles ahead! 00042701.wav Vihollisen ajoneuvoja, edessä! 00042702.wav Vihollisen kulkuneuvo edessä, hyökätään! Enemy vehicle ahead, let's attack! 00040900.wav Vihollisen kärri suoraan edessä! Enemy vehicle straight ahead! 00040901.wav Vihollisen miehiä edessä! Enemy men straight ahead! 00042401.wav Vihollisen miehiä edessä, ampukaa pojat. Enemy men ahead, fire at will boys! 00040700.wav Vihollisen miehiä havaittu! Enemy men sighted! 00042400.wav Vihollisen miehiä, tulta munille! Enemy men ahead, fire at will boys! 00040701.wav Vihollisen panssari edessä! Enemy tank ahead! 00042603.wav Vihollisen panssari edessä! Enemy tank straight ahead! 00042305.wav Vihollisen panssari, tuhotkaa se! Enemy tank, destroy it! 00040800.wav Vihollisen tankki edessä! Enemy tank ahead! 00042605.wav Vihollisen tankki havaittu! Enemy tank sighted! 00042602.wav Vihollisen vaunu edessä, päälle! Enemy tank ahead, attack! 00040801.wav Vihollisia! Enemies! 00042301.wav Vihollista, edessä! Enemy, straight ahead (this one's a bit odd, or I misheard it) 00042303.wav Vihollistankki! Enemy tank! 00042607.wav Vihollisvaunu, tulta, tulta! 00040804.wav Vihollisvaunu, tulta, tulta! Enemy tank! Fire! Fire! 00040803.wav Vihulaisen tankki eessä! Enemy tank ahead! 00042606.wav Vihulaisia nähty! Enemies sighted! 00042308.wav Vihulaisten tankki! Enemy tank! 00042601.wav Ylös siitä, saatana! Get the **** up! 00042203.wav Äiti! 00041811.wav Äiti! 00041812.wav Äiti! Mommy! 00041810.wav Älkää ampuko! 00043002.wav Älkää ampuko! Don't shoot! 00043000.wav Älkää ampuko, tuli seis! Do not shoot, hold fire! 00041407.wav Älkää ampuko, älkää ampuko! 00043003.wav Älkää ampuko, älkää ampuko! 00043004.wav Älä jauha paskaa, ylös! Don't bull**** me, get up! 00042201.wav [ November 02, 2002, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

No, you're not nit picking at all, this is a very important aspect of (possibly) unbalanced scenarios, and yet another thing which complicates their design. I wrestled with this quite a bit when preparing the scenarios for Nordic Championships. What you've described above is the lack of fallback conditions (I hope this term makes sense in English). That is, for an unbalanced scenario to be credible, you have to have some statements which tell you what to do in case of an unbalance (surprise). An example was given by TB - "...unless you feel resistance is too heavy". Without statements like this you really don't know whether you are allowed to change your goal or not. In real life you'd have to contact your superiors, and you can't do that in CM (although I even thought about acting as the superior in the Nordic Championships, but abandoned that idea pretty quickly). Now in Nordic Championships all scenarios which I designed contained fallback conditions, even those that were not intended to be unbalanced. Why? Because if only truly unbalanced scenarios had fallback conditions, they'd spoil the surprise. Therefore, if my logic has been correct, in tournaments with unbalanced scenarios, all scenarios must have fallback conditions. I hope the B&T guys are listening... Well, I can motivate them by noting that fallback conditions are also a very neat way to save the ass of the designer in the case of an unintentional unbalance. We already saw a potential case like this above. There are different types of fallback conditions you can use. Right now I remember two distinct types which I've used. One is that mentioned above already - what to do if enemy forces are too strong. Another is flexibility w.r.t. the goals. For example, you can tell the player that he has flexibility in selecting the objectives (flags) he takes over, or enemy units he tries to destroy (hit and run -type of scenario). Hmm, maybe these are the two types. I'll have to think about this. Thanks for bringing up this important issue. [ October 30, 2002, 04:08 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Damn. Off to do some lobbying again...

Holien, The design of wildly unbalanced games is very difficult, especially because there are some features in the current game engine which fit balanced games perfectly, but complicate successful design of unbalanced games. In the Nordic Championships (and Nordic Wannabe) tournament I had to triple check the logic behind the more unbalanced scenarios. This is because in most real situations, you would be expected to take a hike if your forces are greatly inferior to those of your opponent. The current engine makes the situation worse because exit of a unit off the map can only be bad (normal scenarios) or good (exit conditions), never neutral. Therefore you can't leave it to the player to decide whether he should retreat from the map. This is a really big problem. I've tried to discuss this with BTS, but wasn't able to convince them to add a flag for neutral exit in scenarios. I'll try this again for the engine rewrite. However, I was able to convince them to not show the exit zone to the opponent. This helps things a bit. (BTW, could someone confirm that in the final version the exit zones are no longer visible to the opponent. I still haven't got the final version - my first copy disappeared, and a repost is on its way.) [ October 29, 2002, 05:56 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Hello everyone! The initial motivation for the development of the scoring system was to add another level of suspense into the game. I love the game, even with balanced scenarios, but I felt that knowing that you faced a balanced situation made it a bit boring. You knew too much about what to expect. Especially after knocking out a couple of really important enemy assets, you knew that you could rule the battlefield. With (possibly) unbalanced scenarios this is not the case. First of all, you can have a lot of those 60-40 games, where the balance is "slightly" (difficult to define) in favor of one side. Therefore, at the beginning of a game the default can be that the situation is unbalanced. Second, if you know that there is a real chance that the scenario designers have made an extremely unbalanced game, you have to be constantly on your toes. There's a real chance that you might be hit by a ton of bricks, at any point in a scenario. It is also true that the scoring system facilitates the work of scenario designers. No longer do they have to worship the god of balance, which in a tournament would strike upon them with fury in the form of feedback whenever balance had not been achieved. And hopefully this can be experienced by the players by having more and better scenarios, because time can be invested in other things than achieving a perfect balance. This is of course a very nice thing. However, after some recent discussions with TB155 I was a bit worried that the initial motivation, my mission , might be lost in the process. This is why I urged TB155 to start a discussion with the B&T team about how the suspense would be retained. The solution is here: This is basically all that is needed at this point. The B&T team do not have to state any probabilities, the don't even have to reply to TB155's message. All that is needed is that the players know there is a real chance of a lopsided scenario. There is one more detail. Now the suspense is there, but to keep the threat real, every once in a while that ton of bricks, or half a ton, has to be dropped. This can not be avoided. I'm sure you'll have some nail-biting tournaments in the near future. [ October 29, 2002, 03:53 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Exemplary work. Thumbs up. BTW, didn't they have any underground graffiti groups in the Soviet army? I mean, shouldn't we also see texts like These guys are going all the way to Siberia Stalin sucks! Timoshenko was here, but I'm sure you know where he's gonna be when the sh.t hits the fan [ October 26, 2002, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Excellent! I guess all that's left to do is to sort the entries alphabetically w.r.t. Soviet phrases. This should speed up the lookup procedure quite a bit when playing. Could someone please do this. I've got to get some real work done. Yes, I know, pathetic.

Jim, I think that this post would fit nicely into a current thread whose name is The longest wait. Just kidding, just kidding...

Very entertaining.

Yes, and this is what the tank destruction teams are supposed to represent. I remember something about why there are no satchel charge teams in CMBB for the Finns, but I can't remember why. I will ask Charles about it but do not expect an answser soon (he is away for a while).</font>

But don't worry. If serious problems occur, just turn the measurement scale around, and once again the blessing hand of the überness is upon you. Excellent posts in this thread again. [ October 23, 2002, 03:13 AM: Message edited by: Nabla ]

Did you find Finn troops with stachel charges or somefink?</font>

Ari, we are impressed. As you said yourself, this definitely qualifies as über. You went on a separate field trip to get this photo, didn't you?

Mm... This reminds me of a game where my opponent was attacking, and drove around my defense area with a recon vehicle (the gamey sob ). Anyway, at one point I noticed that I could use this situation to my advantage. I had a Tiger near his probable route - I hid it, and gave it an ambush order away from the estimated route of the recon vehicle. The recon vehicle drove happily just behind the Tiger, and didn't see it. Later on the Tiger was quite a nice surprise asset...