dugfromthearth

the problem is if I use the name of a place where they really were, someone will point out that it doesn't match what happened there at all. I don't want to give the impression that it will be historic in some way and then disappoint a player.

1st) my name is not capitalized. usually my sentences are not either. it isn't really a name, it is a description I downloaded the scenario, read the briefing (allies) and started the scenario to look at the map. this was at 10:30 at night so I didn't have time to start. Briefing Impressions: The briefing was nicely detailed but lacked "dash". I mean the scenario is intriguing with the "Angel of Sicily" but then you dont really say anything about her. I would like a bit more - opera singer helping out the resistance, caught smuggling a map, etc. And then a bit more to set the stage for the raid itself "the destroyer Westchester sailed from Malta and made its way outside of sight from the coast. The lights of a Meschsagast scout plane passed overhead and everyone held their breath. Luck seemed to be with you as the plane continued on its way, not seeing the blacked out ship in the gathering fog. But the noise of the engines could not be concealed, and the commando's slipped off the side into assault boats to take them silently into the shore. When the coast appeared as a dark specter in the fog, the motors were turned off, paddles were brought out and there was only the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. As you reached land your men slipped into the water and then into the trees that led up the hill, through the fog to the villa. The boats drifted off the coast, they would meet you there again in under an hour. You must have the Angel of Sicily with you, the lives of 10,000 men depended on it." or something like that. Parameters: I question even a breeze on a foggy night. Breeze breaks up fog, but on the coast a breeze is not unlikely. So either way. In the briefing you have "cause all your troops". Which should be "because" of course. For the map: I like it in general. Anything seems to look good in fog, but this looks quite nice. I especially like the dock area with the pavement. Most of the stuff looks just "bad" enough to be realistic but planned enough to be built by people. I also like the fords at the shore for troops to wade to land. A nice touch I shall have to steal. I really like having all of the labels - it helps a lot with the feel. by the pond is a label for "Pump house" but there is nothing there. Could be a building on a slope which makes them not show up. I would think that there should be some sort of pavillion or something by the pond for the people to enjoy. I would also expect there to be a pond in the garden - italian formal gardens typically had water features. And trees in the garden doesn't make much sense to me given that the area is forested. I would think lush grass (perhaps soft ground) or fancy hedge formations. That said the trees look nice, it just seems odd to have a tree garden in a forest. The two roads seem a bit too even for me. From the water the one on the left seems fine as it goes around the pond. I would make the one on the right curve back and forth a bit more as it goes up the hill. Altogether the two roads seem to frame the map a bit too perfectly to seem realistic. The mansion is nice, I think the church works well like that. And the servant's quarters is a good touch. All in all a nice map. Scattered details to add interest and it all goes together and makes sense. It feels like a fancy estate. hopefully I will actually be able to play it soon

I only do fictional scenarios. I looked at a map of Italy and chose a town, then googled to find a river name in Italy. I have submitted it under the name Forlorn Hope to the Scenario Depot. Hopefully it will be put up tomorrow. I have changed the defenses somewhat so it will hopefully be more possible (but only slightly more possible).

"I'm still internally debating whether "griddyness" is a word. hehe." it's a perfectly cromulant word

I am not quite wacky and silly, but I am not historically accurate. I just create a scenario for a tactical situation I think would be interesting: assaulting a fortification, infantry in woods, tanks in hills, etc. sites you can upload scenarios to usually have you mark whether a scenario is historic or fictional.

I just do it by the seat of my pants. which means I suck in NA where the only los blocker really is hills, but is fine for wooded scenarios and such. and I rely heavily on the LOS tool.

okay, I'll have to switch the scenario to Italy. Basically I just have to look up some italian town and river names.

sounds very cool. I am doing "French" scenarios for CMAK but haven't done any mods.

I had something similar in my own scenario. I had a german Tiger approaching my infantry line and was hoping to have to assault it with infantry. A Jumbo Sherman at long range caught site of the Tiger through narrow woods. I had something like a 15% chance of a hit and "rare" kill, and first shot kills the Tiger. That was my first encounter with a Tiger. I wasn't impressed.

okay I have New Zealanders in France, I hope that isn't a problem (history past the invention of the socket bayonet means nothing to me) British Headquarters: "Bit of a sticky wicket I'm afraid. The bridge at Gorhey is guarded by two fortresses, initial reports are that they are too strong to be taken out by any armor or artillery we have available. We may just have to delay until stronger forces can be brought forward." "If I may suggest sir, we could send infantry to assault the place at night." "Don't be mad, man. The forts are surrounded by open ground, then protected by mine fields and barbed wire. It would be a suicide mission." "Yes sir, but we have some New Zealanders we could send." "Colonials? Right, that sounds like just the thing." Briefing of the New Zealanders: "I'm sorry I haven't been able to meet with you before, but I've been hearing good things. Very good things. Reports are your colonials are almost as good as our regulars. I trust you are up to this mission. We've got a situation, not much of a problem really, I'd send my men but I don't have any available right at the moment. Simple thing. Send some engineers up to a couple of hills at night, maybe a few mines, a few strings of barbed wire, take out a pillbox or two for us and the road is clear for our tanks in the morning. Now I certainly don't want to send you New Zealanders against anything too tough for you to handle. So scout it out thoroughly and if you decide it is beyond your abilities, retreat by all means. I should have some British regulars that can take it out in a few days. Although I suppose that means the show won't be over by Christmas."

so how do you handle rescuing her? is there a captured unit you have to rescue?

"You could give the Axis a negative scenario bonus in the editor... thus making an unwinable situation winnable in the game" Wouldn't work. See the trick is you have a ring of pillboxes facing out. If you could penetrate the defenses and take out a pillbox or two, you could hit the rest from behind and take them all out easily. So basically you achieve nothing or take them all out (there are two forts, so you could in theory take out one but not the other). So far I have achieved nothing. I can't take out the first pillbox.

Of course what CMAK really needs is more cowbell.

Thanks but I already knew they got annoyed when people confused them with Australians.

I am writing up a scenario briefing. I always do these "in character". the conceit is a British General is addressing a New Zealand unit to send them into certain death. He knows they are "colonials" but not enough to know they are New Zealanders or where that is. So what sorts of things would he say that annoy New Zealanders (confusing them with Aussies and the like)?

you could play it head to head but I suspect playing pillboxes would lack a certain appeal

I've designed a scenario as a night assault by engineers on a couple of German forts. The forts are walls lined with concrete pillboxes. There is barbed wire and mine fields in front of them. I've tried it several times and can't do it. I have just modified it slightly so that there should be some gaps in the barbed wire (I was hoping engineers could do something to get through it, but apparently they can't) - there was a gap at the road entrance to the fort, but that wasn't enough. Now being an unwinnable scenario, naturally it is New Zealanders assigned to it. Should I just post it to the Scenario Depot saying "unwinnable scenario, do you have what it takes to do the impossible"? Or would people just get annoyed to find that they can't do it? I'm not sure that it can't be done. I'm just not good enough to do it myself. It seems like it should be doable.

just to make sure you know if you click on the scenario at the Scenario Depot it tells how many times it has been downloaded (not under author information, under the scenario information). you will get many more downloads then reviews.

buy all infantry and laugh while the matilda shoots AP ammo at them? or play on a large map and laugh as the matilda can't drive to the flag on Fast before the turns run out? I haven't tried taking out a Matilda yet, just keeping one alive. They are amazingly tough.

devs have said they have no interest in pacific theater there are supposed to be skins so you can make the troops look like Japanese. Set the fantacism up to 50% and go at it.

Right, I didn't find out what that did until later. It did exactly what I had wanted to accomplish with the flag.

yes but they recover from that very quickly usually, and it has to do with being in command and such.

allied tank destroyers doctrine was shoot and scoot, not trade shots with enemy tanks. so it was technically following doctrine if not what you wanted it to do. You might test the situation with different qualities of crew - green, veteran, elite, etc - and see if that makes a difference.

I did a scenario which is intended as a dawn raid. I wanted to include all of the defenders that would be present but make most of them start off asleep. My solution was to make them start "exhausted", figuring they would be useless until they sat around long enough for that to wear off. Rather then not placing them and having them appear as reinforcements when they "woke up". Then I got to thinking that troops might wake up quickly and be active, but tire easily because they had not gotten a full night's sleep (like that ever happened in the war). So that rating those units as "unfit" but not starting them tired might better represent their state when they are woken up by surprise. Opinions, comments, donations of cookies?

yep, I created a scenario "In Media Res" which starts with the Germans dug in for an ambush and the Americans already in the ambush. The Germans quickly decide to abandon their positions and move out of the woods to get shot apart instead of holding ground. My problem was that to balance the victory points in the scenario I had placed a victory flag at the American start to make up for the losses they take in the ambush. The Germans were trying to take that flag. I removed the flag and the problem was solved.