[MyIS] Buffpuff
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Posts posted by [MyIS] Buffpuff
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3 and a half months Michael? Holy cow is all I can say. I've just started wrapping my head around campaign design (going to start off really light and probably do a 3 mission campaign designed for novice players) and I hope it doesn't take me that long!!! LOL! Any suggestions you have for making campaigns? I'm not really into custom maps (at least not yet) but I'm looking forward to digging in to the nuts and bolts of force selection, AI plans, AI triggers, balancing, etc. God bless Mad Mike for ScanCade. Just being able to look at the structure and pulling up scenarios in the editor has helped me tremendously in figuring this stuff out.
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1 hour ago, Aragorn2002 said:
Thank you! This is a brilliant tool.
Brilliant doesn't do it justice in my book. I was trying to wrap my brain around scenario editing/campaign editing and came along this thread. It REALLY helps to see how other designers put a lot of work in to my favorite part of the game (the campaigns!!!). Thank you for the link and to the author for that amazing tool!!!
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I'd say he definitely learned a little something as a 2D/3D graphic artist! Very nice work indeed!
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On 4/14/2016 at 4:55 AM, ChrisND said:
I GET RESULTS (said in my best renegade cop voice)
If results means at least one tank commander 6 feet under then you do an admirable job of same!!! LOL! Quick question Chris (since I'm messing with the scenario editor at the moment): What does giving the AI a force bonus do exactly? Does it mean the AI gets a bigger points pool to purchase units from?
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Missed over half of it but just the highlights from what I witnessed:
- Chaffee recon tanks with Chris in command equal one brewed tank.
- Recon in platoon force. I had a sickening feeling in my gut watching I think the JagTiger put one round that decimated that platoon. And then followed up by enemy artillery. So many bodies.
- Awesome to see a 155mm round hit a JagTiger and still live (not sure how that tank lived through that shot!!!)
- Chris is facing a court martial
LOL! Excellent stream Chris. I look forward to next week!
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Almost looks like he got run over by the tank from that screenshot
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2 minutes ago, JonS said:
Thanks Buff, but I feel I should point out that my mad photoshop skills aren't all that mad. Actually, they totally sux0rz
I usually get someone else to do my mission graphics for me. When that fails I tend to use crops of actual maps, or make something in MilSketch, or use photos instead of maps in some of the slots. But that's definitely my second option - I try and get someone who knows what they're doing to create the images for me.
... and the point of that confession (
) is to note that you don't have to do it alone. Folk will help if you ask nice 
Well what you lack in "mad" skillz in Photoshop you more than make up for enjoyable campaigns/scenarios.
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On 4/10/2016 at 6:44 PM, Battlefront.com said:
Quick note... Chris just ran a couple of small tests, 30 iterations each. Conclusions? "Feelings" are not a good tool to use for making game design decisions
He ran 30 tests at 200m and 300m with a single US Rifle Squad (1x SMG, 11x Garand) up against a single Panther with exposed TC under perfect/ideal conditions for the US. Here's the basics:
300m Test = 2x WIA, 28x Buttoned. About 50% of the US Rifle Squads did not engage at all, despite spotting the tank facing it.
200m Test = 1x WIA, 18x KIA, 11x Buttoned. All US Rifle Squads opened fire.
Overall I don't see anything wrong with these results. 200m should be a slaughter fest under these ideal TC plinking circumstances. If someone is taking massive TC casualties the first thing I'd do is see what the range is and if it's 200m or so then you should adjust your tactics to something that more closely resembles real life (i.e. buttoned!). If you're over 300m and seeing your TCs dropping like flies, then set up a test scenario to replicate the conditions (as best you can) and run the test a whole bunch of times (30 minimum) to see if there's any trend.
To sum this up, here's what we're examining:
1. Reduce the threat level before a TC will button
2. Reduce the chances a TC will unbutton if the player has explicitly instructed it to be buttoned
3. If the crew is under strength it will by default revert to buttoned status
We are not examining anything other than this unless someone puts forward a test, or tests, which indicate there is a problem which needs addressing.
Steve
Interesting thread (I've certainly had fun reading it). But I have to say Steve I find it hilarious that Chris ran a test on button/unbuttoned tank commanders. Have you watched his Twitch/YouTube streams? NO tank commander is safe when Chris is behind the wheel (hey I used a car analogy there!!! LOL!).
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2 minutes ago, Bulletpoint said:
Yes, just jump into it and much about with the editor. Start small and simple, have fun. Nobody has to see the first map you make.
The basic editor is not so difficult actually, and while triggers are more advanced, they are basically just a fancy name for "area that troops can enter that will activate another unit's orders".
And you can make a lot of enjoyable scenarios without any orders or triggers at all. It's just something that is there for when/if you want to do something more advanced.
I might just do that. I'm not really into map making but thank goodness for QB maps (grin). Now if only Chris (HINT HINT!!!) would stream some videos on scenario/campaign editing all would be right in the world!!!
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6 minutes ago, landser said:
I agree, he made KG Engel, correct? That's been my favorite campaign I've played. Innovative missions like Tiger Poaching, Guardian Angel and Hunters in the Mist. I enjoyed it start to finish, even though Deliverance kicked my ass. Which final mission did you get? I know there was a defend mission also, but I got the attack mission and it was too difficult for me. My hat's off to anyone who managed a victory in that one.
A few thoughts on The Outlaws. Your paratroops are crack. This makes the early missions sort of easy really. And quick. I played probably the first 4 battles in a single evening. Not only do crack troops deal devastating fire, I was amazed over and over as they survived situations that would have resulted in casualties with lesser troops. However, things turn more difficult with the mission D+1. A nice change of pace after dealing with troops that get rattled by the sound of their own artillery (like Scottish Corridor)
If memory serves me correctly Jon and Chris made that campaign. I agree in that I extremely enjoyed that campaign. I hate that it took me so long to try it but I loved it and wish there were more like it. I can't recall the mission name that I ended in but I did make it to the Deliverance Mission 8 one. LOL I got my butt handed to me on that one and had a tactical loss but ended up winning a major victory in the campaign overall.
I'm really getting an itch to tackle scenario/campaign design myself. I've dabbled in it before but there's just so much stuff involved that I feel like a lone sheep amongst a pack of wolves. I know what I want to do but I'm not sure if I have the technical knowledge to do it (if that makes sense). Some of these designers (again I'll use JonS) do a REALLY nice job of presentation. Tactical maps, operational maps, briefings. KG Engel is a fine example. I lack any photoshop skills so presentation would be something I would want but would sorely lack the ability to do. And I'm sure the AI plans are pretty in depth but talk about triggers and all those things makes my brain hurt. On the flip side I think the fear of the unknown may be just an excuse on my part to just jump in and give it a row. I passed my FAA private pilots knowledge test with a 93 and THAT stuff was pretty intense to learn (Thinking of learning US airspace and using an E6B manual computer gives me a headache as many nights as I spent studying that stuff).
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1 minute ago, Bulletpoint said:
Blue and Grey actually has not only one, but two opening beach missions. The first is impossible, if I remember right, but you can skip it and go straight to the second, which is really difficult, but it is winnable. I never made it further than that though, as I was put off by the following "scout out the village mission" and never got back to the campaign.
I don't mind "difficult" missions. I consider myself an intermediate-level player in that I think I do a fairly decent job against the AI but find myself always learning more and more with each play through. What I don't enjoy is a meat grinder mission like the first one in Blue and Grey. I'm not a scenario designer (maybe I should really consider trying to learn AI plans as the basic editor stuff I've figured out on my own) but I like JonS' approach to making them. Give the player a reasonable objective and the means to formulate a plan to put that plan into action. I just don't like getting bogged down in a huge gigantic map with a battalion level sized number of forces because it just seems like there is so much to keep up with and you inevitably miss something no matter how many times you replay a turn.
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Thanks for the links Landser! I had tried Blue and Gray and was immediately turned off by the opening beach mission on that one. It was realistic that the Allies had a very tough time on Omaha Beach but I'm not a huge fan of the opening move in to contact (and in this case you are on the receiving end of a LOT of contact).
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Excellent work Slim. I've thoroughly enjoyed watching the videos and feel like I've "improved" my gameplay to an extent from the teaching lessons you've provided! I'm looking forward to more videos in the future!
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Just a suggestion:
- What mission are you playing
- What are the goals of the mission
- How do you plan to achieve the goals of the mission
- For each turn what orders are you giving and why (Ex: 1st platoon is moving to the small forest area to recon)
Many eons ago I did an AAR on a Devils Descent mission and had a blast doing it. Have fun!
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I apologize if this has been brought up before but I'm wondering why there aren't a whole lot of company level type campaigns for CMBN. There are 2 campaigns that I can think of (Devils Descent and Bridge Too Close) that really did, at least in my opinion, an excellent job of keeping the "managing forces" to a good level. I just finished Kampfgruppe Engel and I'll have to admit I had to do some missions over again to get a respectable outcome (or at least an outcome where I didn't get walloped). Maybe I'm in the minority but I haven't been a fan of the big battalion level campaigns. Is it a lack of interest or scenario designers (or maybe a combination of both)?
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After playing CM games for almost 10 years I finally decided to try my hand at scenario design and started fiddling with the editor. I must say it is a ton of fun. It adds another dimension to the game and it gives your creative spirit a lot of freedom. And it is truly exciting to see your ideas come into fruition. Having messed around with the editor also makes me appreciate well-made scenarios in a whole new way.
Up until now I've been intimidated by the editor, but I would like to urge all those who enjoy playing the game to give it a chance. And in the process of having a new fun tool to play with, the community as a whole would benefit from more scenarios to play.
The editor is the same for all CM*2 games, but as it is now scenario design issues are dealt with in the seperate sub-forums. I would like, and I also think it would aid more people who wish to try the editor, that there was a seperate scenario design forum. In it there would be links to video tutorials, guides, discussions how to create realistic maps, villages etc. AI plans and so on. It would also be a place where you can ask for or sign up for play testing. Having everything in one place would IMHO help a lot.
What do you think?
I couldn't agree more. Personally I like the "small" level engagements (platoon size up to one company mixed with combined arms). But tackling scenario design is like me sending an infantry squad in the woods (meaning timid!). I'd love to see smaller campaigns that are more "forgiving" for the novice/intermediate player. I just don't complain about it because I'm sure the response would be "Build it yourself". However I do recall a post several months ago about this very thing. The post was basically about giving "feedback" for what was currently out there. And to be more specific it was the LACK of feedback that caused some authors to not care to build more scenarios because they never got any feedback about their creations. If we, as a community, gave more feedback about what's currently out there then I think you'd see more of it. That's just my 2 cents. But getting back to the OP post I'd love to see a forum specifically for this.
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Fair enough - cant really argue with that. To me the perfect QB system is what we currently have, which is great, but with the COMBINED ARMS setting back and a way to enforce the FIONNs SHORT 75 rules ingame (boy, when was the last time you heard someone bring up Fionn's Short 75 rules? Who even remembers that anymore?).
See now you're just going old school and making me want to dust off CMBO. I'm hoping the Ardennes brings back glorious memories of my pixel soldiers slugging through "deep snow" and winter camo Panthers brewing in their glory. Man those were the good 'ole days right there!!!
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Pre-ordered hardcopy indeed has a printed manual.
As for the PDF version... you can read it when I have finished writing it.
I waited for you last Saturday afternoon for your Twitch episode (first weekend I've truly had off in ages) and you no showed. Tighten up!!!
Looking forward to seeing this one Chris. Don't work too hard!!!
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Your troops sound like a herd of reindeer.
Well it is getting close to Christmas!!!
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I hate to be Mr. Grumpy but, to me, this LOS check method is a cheat/system exploit.
Of course, reasonable people may disagree and, because the system allows it, not using this technique would be according to an honor system in any case. But what justifies a player "looking around" from the perspective of a potential enemy position?
Now look, I know we're all gamey bastages at some point or another and we likely wouldn't enjoy playing a truly realistic game. We each have to find our own way. But I'm just saying that plotting a move (that really isn't a move) halfway across the map for the express purpose of scoping out the enemy's LOS/LOF makes me feel dirty.
It's more fun to wonder if there's LOS from point A to area B just based on camera views and only start to get a better idea as you advance and you (reasonably) can use the Target/LOS tool from the perspective of YOUR units.
Same here. I'll check LOS from my units perspective for their respective "end" turn moves (i.e. Coming up to a hedgerow). Most of my planning time is spent looking at ground level from the troops perspective to see what they can see and what they should be able to see. More often than not you can tell what kind of LOS you have and what the enemy will have.
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Hello,
I have just updated to 3.1.
I have resumed a WEGO campaign I was playing (Road to Montebourg, can't confirm which version) and have just entered in to the battle "The Labyrinth v2" and noticed some multiple cases of obviously bugged out LOS mechanics going on between units that have multiple rows of hedgreows between them.
Here are some saved games:
Whats the issue? I can't really continue the campaign with this craziness going on.
PS: I am also noticing that the movement waypoints seem to float way above the ground surface! Probably related.
Bull
Same thing here. I just got finished with the "Les Licornets" battle and moved to "The Labrynth". I had a funny feeling something was wrong in the beginning when I plotted my first maneuvers and noticed that the waypoints I had set were not at ground level. The waypoints were elevated above the ground. And then I spotted German positions from 700m away through 2 layers of bocage as they were shooting my advancing troops. How were these enemy troops shooting me??? A check of the LOS and sure enough it showed I had LOS even though looking at it through the camera at ground level there's no way you could see through that.
So I thought maybe a corrupt save might be the culprit. Picked up a save point on Les Licornets and went straight to the next mission. Problem remained the same and it seems it's specific to The Labrynth mission (which is just plain weird).
Oh well. I guess it's time to put the Road to Montebourg on hold and go back to Red Thunder or pick another campaign to play in CMBN!
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I've only got v1.01
You should be able to patch to 1.11
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There is nothing wrong with your ears. The sound mod you are hearing is my own personal sound mod. Day of Defeat Sound Mod. I'm trying to upload an updated mod with the latest working sounds, but the repository won't seem to accept my updated file. I might have to delete the mod and repost the whole thing.
Day of Defeat. Now I know why it sounded so familiar!!! Might just have to reinstall that off of Steam just to relive some good times!
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Very entertaining videos. Thanks for posting. Quick question though: Are you using a sound mod? Maybe my ears are acting quirky today but it just sounded "different" to me.
I usually get someone else to do my mission graphics for me. When that fails I tend to use crops of actual maps, or make something in MilSketch, or use photos instead of maps in some of the slots. But that's definitely my second option - I try and get someone who knows what they're doing to create the images for me.
) is to note that you don't have to do it alone. Folk will help if you ask nice 
[PREVIEW] Juju's Blitz UI
in CM Final Blitzkrieg Maps and Mods
Posted
I wonder which one is yours Juju
Extremely nice work as always. How many UI "makeovers" does this make for you? I seem to recall you've been doing this thing since WAY back in the CMBO days. It's a wonder Battlefront doesn't contract you before each release and say "Hey Juju we know you're going to make this better than what we do so have at it!!!"