jbertles

Richie - actually your email is NOT in the profile. But mine is, so pop me an email and once I've finished the vs AI stuff we'll crank it up.

Thanks gents - all very useful, and it pretty much answers my question. The scenario is a kind of pygmy-Bastogne. The scenario map is roughly based on the maps I found in "Rendezvous with Destiny - the History of the 101st Airborne" by Leonard Rapport and Arthur Norwood Jr. In addition, contemporary paintings by Tech. Sgt. Olin Dows of the Bulge were useful to get a feeling for the general terrain. Also, I found a couple of aerial photos of Ardennes area towns (including the famous one of heavily cratered Saint Vith after the battle) that helped me get the flavor of a Belgian town in winter - lots and lots of fences, and far more roads (dirt tracks, really) than I had thought. Think of this scenario as a 1/3rd scale Bastogne and surrounding villages. So my map is 2000 x 2000, and shows a central town, with a pseudo-Noville to the NE, pseudo Longchamps to the NW, pseudo-Villeroux to the SW and pseudo-Wardin to the SE. Since I'm not a realism grog, I just wanted to get the flavor of Bastogne without extensive research. The scenario (tentatively titled Bastognette) is currently in vs-AI testing. Once I have fine-tuned it as much as possible vs AI I'll then try to find a PBEM opponent to try it out. It's going to be a big 'un - 60 turns, over 10,000 pts total. Any volunteers? I didn't want to go Operation, so one thing I've had to do is to bump up the German infantry ammo. Anyway, sometime in the next few months it will be posted at the Depot. Once again, thanks for all the help. [ October 29, 2004, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: jbertles ]

I'm putting together a Bulge scenario and have been trying to get some info about US towed tank destroyers. I've seen mention of 57mm (re-chambered British 6 pounders) and 3 inch (76.2s). But most books I have read just say "towed tank destroyers" and that's that. I'm just looking for a sense of proportion, like 'lots of 76.2s, but only a few 57s' or something like that. Anybody have any info, websites, etc.?

I'd buy a mac version

Ok Maud'Dib, I'll send it to your email address. Please let me know how things come out. Doesn't have to be a whole AAR but maybe just some observations for the designer.

Ok, I've had this scenario playtested twice by PBEM friends, and enough has surfaced to lead me to suspect that my pre-knowledge of the scenario has given me an unfair victory. I'm looking for a well-matched PBEM duo who will test this out without knowing anything beforehand other than the briefing and then let me know briefly how it all came out. Bridge Over Troubled Wadi (third in the Wadi Yawant series) From the Briefing: April 1942. After Rommel's January offensive, the British front line has crystallized around the Gazala Line. The Axis forces are still laagered where they finished the campaign, spread out over hundreds of miles to the west. Rommel has begun planning a new attack to be started sometime in May, and has ordered that certain forward defensive points be captured in preparation for the advance. One of these locations is the far northwestern end of Wadi Yawant, which is crossed by the Coast Road just to the west of Gazala. The Wadi is very narrow here, and there are two bridges - one for the Coast Road itself, one for the much-abused narrow gauge railroad originally laid by the Italians. A small town and some old railroad sheds dot the steep lip of the Wadi at the crossing points.

Hmmm. Well, you bring up good points about the title and the hints in the briefing. Clearly I just didn't read enough into it. Grit ma teeth; a tuff lesson learnt; and ready to die agin tomorrow!

Well, this was my first ROW experience, and I got crushed like a cockroach in a mosh-pit in most of my games, although no insect ever enjoyed the process of crush-itation like I did. Thanks to all who make the tournament happen! Here are some observations in no particular order: Bump was an example of a scenario that could and should have been sublime. The premise was sound, the map great, and the forces light and fast enough to really rip around the huge map. However, having both sides going for exit points doomed this scenario for any opponents who basically just circled around each other like two sock-footed brawlers in a dark room. I think that going back to the original premise (at least from the Axis side) of the Allied screening force trying to head off the Axis forces (or vice versa) would improve this game quite a bit. Melon was in my opinion the best overall battle, but disappointing for me on one point. Maybe I'm whining too much, but I was completely unprepared for the American paratrooper encirclement. As far as I was concerned, the moment I lost the near side of the town to the paras it was all over but the dying. The concept of the scenario was brilliant, but even the slightest hint of an encirclement in the Axis briefing would have made me more properly paranoid in my setup. I got crushed in Frontier Firefight, and was amazed to see that some actually managed to do rather well from the Allied side. The MkVI "tanks" (ha!) were spectacularly useless, and the 2in mortars once again proved their worth - none. Compare those against the ammo-rich Italian Brixias. I tried to pull a left-heavy attack, using my ATRs as a skirmish line to hold his defenders in place, but the moment my forces came up over the lip of the escarpment I was mowed down. My opponent did a great set-up which gave him sweeping arcs of fire against my legs. I grew to dread the cough of the deathless Italian 47mm, and then watching that beer can of a shell come bumbling toward my guys... One suggestion - lower the wind a bit so that at least the 2in mortar smoke shells would be useful. Vevi was my second favorite game. My opponent (Allied) and I had a rousing battle that was up for grabs right until the very last turn. While I usually don't enjoy set-piece battles as much as fast-moving ones, this one had an interesting map and enough forces to really make a full-map fight. A couple of quibbles - it could have gone a few turns more - and I felt that the AA guns on the Allied side were a bit excessive considering that the majority of my vehicles had their guns disabled by about 2/3 into the game - a feature that always struck me as being a bit unrealistic. Retreat was an interesting battle that I bumbled during setup by placing too many of my forces too far forward. My supposedly deathless M11 was overwhelmed by a charge of ATR Carriers who circled around to get butt shots - kudos to my opponent SlawReg for this simple but deadly tactic. The endgame was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed running my little tankettes and the flamethrower tank around the map trying to stem the tide. Once again, thanks to all!

Hey, anyone notice the feet sticking out under the vehicle? Yabba Dabba Doo!

The old Harpoon naval game had a great system of percentage-based force appearance. - A certain task force is given an initial % to appear or not - that task force also had a % value of when it might show up (I don't remember quite how that was implemented) - each individual ship in that task group is also given a % to appear or not - That task force is then given a single or multiple number of places (which you plot) where it might appear - for example 10% in one spot; 50% in a different spot: adding up to (of course) 100%. So conceivably you might have up to 100 possible points where the group may appear, at 1% each point The effect is darn close to randomization, but the designer can be very canny about it. For example, translating this system to CM, you could have: a reinforcement force that has a 20% chance of even showing up or not; Just when that force shows up is variable and to a certain extent randomized; If that reinforcment force does show up, the composition of the force is variable, eg, 1 panther at 50%, 2 MkIVs at 70% each, a Maus armed with twin 128mm turrets at 1%, etc.; That force could have a 50% chance of showing up where it should, on a road heading to the German lines, but also a 23% chance of showing up on the west flank, 23% on the east flank, and 4% chance of showing up right in the rear of the allies. Among other things, this variable % setting means that even designers can have fun and surprising games against the AI. Also, replayability is drastically increased.

Rabidbvr: Those pictures of the Brens armed with panzerfausts and panzerschrecks are interesting - shades of the Korean War Ontos? Tactical use is.... questionable...

assanguine - flightless antarctic bird of low intelligence

No Fog of War is the most valuable tool available to a scenario designer working on a vs. AI game. In gameplay, never less than extreme.

originally posted by Kingfish: May I suggest to the allied player that he choose and alternate location from which to cross the river. The one depicted seems so...oh, help me out, What's the word I'm looking for here? ________________ Fubar'ed? You should see the rest of the map.

originally posted by Kingfish: May I suggest to the allied player that he choose and alternate location from which to cross the river. The one depicted seems so...oh, help me out, What's the word I'm looking for here? ________________ Fubar'ed? You should see the rest of the map.

A pillar of fire in the desert (with apologies to TE Lawrence) - although it was in Italy... perhaps even more appropriate, Etna-like....

A pillar of fire in the desert (with apologies to TE Lawrence) - although it was in Italy... perhaps even more appropriate, Etna-like....

sounds like a flaccid, yet cleansing experience

sounds like a flaccid, yet cleansing experience

sounds like a flaccid, yet cleansing experience

...and all nations will join hands, east and west coast rappers unite, dogs and cats living in harmony.... <violins swell>

not to be repetitive, but I'm also on the list but did not get an email: jbertles@earthlink.net Thanks, and crossing fingers...

I too did not receive a "thank you for registering" type of email. Although I'm glad to see I'm on the list!

No surprise to us, the converted. Congrats!

Digital pigs fly like Canada bacon bits why do I read these?