SlapHappy

Blocking is a unit specific setting which can be activated TRUE or FALSE in the editor. Try opening a mission in the editor. Click on a unit in the Mission Tree and look in the properties window under section 2 - Blocking. You will se two option "Blocked" and "Blocked Crew". Each of these can be set to TRUE or FALSE. Hope that is clear.

I downloaded the demo for SFS (Single File System) from the internet. It requires Delphi or C++ builder to operate, however. It's a developer tool.

BTW, just want to give kudos to Drawde79 for the impressive work he did adding mod content for the SHOWWII game. Well done.

I think many developers miss opportunities by moving on to other projects instead of expanding their previous work. Battlefront has definitely not been guilty of this as opposed to say Electronic Arts. Still, I personally would like to see this product (TOW) expanded in a Advanced Squad Leader fashion, with additional modules sold as plug-ins at lower costs from the core game. Perhaps, though, models like the ASL genre may not be portable over to the computer game world. Still, info coming back from Battlefront would indicate that perhaps this is the tack they intend to take for future products. We shall see.

Agreed.

Here's the finished script for the "Exit the map" routine in case anyone wants it: </font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> SetWorkArmy ( ARMY , 1 ) ReinforcementLand ( GROUP , "Group_Truck1" ) \\Spawns your sleeping unit at it's map setting. Usually off-map. RunCommand ( GROUP , "Group_Truck1" , MOVE , POINT , "Map_Exit" ) \\Begin movement toward exit point. LABEL Begin \\Start a loop. SET @dist = Distance ( UNIT , 1 , POINT , "Map_Exit" ) \\Define distance to exit point. if ( @dist < 10 ) Then Delay ( 5000 ) ReinforcementDestroy ( GROUP , "Group_Truck1" ) //Remove unit from map after five seconds if unit is within 10 meters of exit point. Else Delay ( 1000 ) goto Begin //Restart loop. ENDIF Halt </pre>

Thanks for the thread refresh, Oudy. You know, I've been thinking about the lack of "Surrender" capabilities in the game and the tendency for games to become fights to the death seems a little much to me. If a person were to put a scrap of code in to check soldiers PANIC status, you could code a probability that they would surrender. Since there is no "surrender" status, you could have the program change all soldiers who fail the check to become "Neutral" and go prone with hold position. Or if you were really ambitious you could route all enemy POW's back to some "capture point" using a movement script. Potentially lots of possibilities.

Speaking of scripting, the game lends itself well to any number of possible "joke" scenarios you could design for a buddy to play. Like the "hydra-headed" King Tiger scenario where when you kill the tank, it spawns two more directly behind it, and such.......

Some new models I'd like to see: German IG 18 75 mm Infantry Gun 50 and 60 mm mortars for several nations The early A-series British tanks (probably in an Afrika Korps add-on) The 88mm Dual-Purpose, of course. The 20 mm Towed AA gun A serious re-think on the HMG's. The Stuka (omigod, how did they forget the Stuka?) That's a pretty good start.

That did it. Thanks a lot.

Duh. You're right. There is only one army for the test, but I forgot to set the Working Army.

No luck. Delay ( 5000 ) ReinforcementLand ( GROUP , "Group_Truck1" ) Delay ( 10000 ) ReinforcementDestroy ( GROUP , "Group_Truck1" ) Halt The ReinforcementLand call works properly, but after the 10-second delay the GAZ vehicle I created won't go away. Any chance of getting a quick post of your pertinent code, Oudy? It would be much appreciated....BTW, you use it when you unlimber guns....to get rid of the trucks?

The syntax in the manual is not correct. I think thats why I never tried it again... Yeah, I'm just realizing that....what a nutter that is huh?

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

ReinforcementDestroy ( GROUP , 1 , "Group_Truck1" ) Well... that DID get rid of the compiler error. But when I ran the script, it didn't do as I had hoped. I'm not sure this can be used with non-sleeping entities. It seems to be a sister-command to ReinforcementLand.

I'd enjoy some infantry-heavy battles as well. More especially if they make the HMG's more formidable. Without the capability to give them better cover, they die too quickly under fire from a few units. They also need to give it a better targeting method than just the current "fire at one target until destroyed". Right now the snipers are much more effective than an MG-42.

Well, it could be as you described, but the point I was trying to make is that since there were no other units to spot, the reason for the unreasonable spotting capabilities must be because the game treats the crew as if they were just out there on the ground instead of in a tank with the back of the hull blocking their vision. Although I agree it's kind of unfair that you have "omnivision" of everything on the battlefield and the computer does not (at least in theory). Of course, the computer can be scripted to do all sorts of amazing things, like move a tank group towards something it can't actually spot at the beginning of the battle and such.....It's not that the computer doesn't know what's going on outside it's LOS, it simply does not act on it....Unless scripted to do otherwise.

Webwing Wrote this code: {Trigger} Init CallTrigger ( "leavemap" ) {Trigger} leavemap Delay ( 10000 ) ReinforcementDestroy ( 1 , GROUP , "Group_Truck1" ) I was just trying to get the first part of the equation: Wait 10 seconds and then make the Group disappear. I got the following error when I compiled: *** ERROR *** [TRIGGER] leavemap: in getObjTypeCode "1" *** ERROR *** [TRIGGER] leavemap: GROUP is not an integer number === END OF TRIGGER COMPILATION === It's not a syntax error. There is something wrong with the ReinforcementDestroy call, but I can't figure out what. It looks OK next to the example given in the HELP file.

What's the difference between - a tank spotting the inf, turning around and killing the inf - another unit spotting the inf which means you also do, then you pausing the game (or just quickly clicking) and telling the tank to kill the inf. None in effect, but in the case of my test, there were no other units to spot for the tank, ergo, the tank crew would have to have been the spotting party. It's that new one-way transparent tank hull that I blame. Damn this technology.

On the Elephant they did but not on the Ferdinand. Interesting they chose to model two vehicles which are basically the same, but left others out entirely. I want my 20 mm flak gun!

That's a very good point. At this stage, it seems like pure luck in timing the call.

Yeah and that "prodding" with a rifle you speak of I would argue is really just an illusion caused by the soldier standing up. Once the soldier runs out of ammo, the weapon completely disappears from his hands and you cannot reselect it. But they are still capable of killing the enemy by virtue of proximity alone.

Yes...it is in the game...sorta. Made a test mission with two enemy squads, German and Russian and gave them all rifles but no ammo. Ordered "Attack"! My Russians ran over to German squad who remained on their bellies. Suddenly, I noticed a German soldier had a little convulsion and then died. Looked pretty funny, my guys just standing there nonchalantly and the enemy appears to have a stroke or heart attack. I was kind of hoping they would go at each other with rifle butts or entrenching tools, but no dice. I think Battlefront mentioned Close Assault was simulated...sans animations. It would be really cool if these guys could be shown whacking each other with empty weapons. More especially if a struck soldier could get knocked on his butt, then get up and rengage his attacker. Obviously would require some much more advanced animation sets, but still would be very cool. Definitely not the most important thing from a must-need standpoint, but still, you've got to admit, potentially awesome. BTW, no karate kicks thrown, either, heh heh. Perhaps the add-on?

Webwing I have a question. In many board games it is necessary to "exit" units from the field of play to receive points towards victory conditions. Is it possible to simulate this in TOW? Could one possibly create a rect that once a unit entered it, it is removed from the game and some victory condition is updated. So, if say, three trucks are exited this way, it triggers a win for the player? I see that there is a RemoveFromGroup statement, but my suspicion is that this does not remove the unit from the field of play, but rather moves it from some exisiting grouped state. I realize you could definitely do this by just having a set number of units be present in a rect, but then their continued presence would not achieve the desired effect as they can be shot at or shoot at enemy units. What is desired is that they no longer exist in the field of play. Any comments?

True that. An immobilized SP gun is pretty much a non-factor due to it's lack of a turret. I was able to run merrily around disabled Elephants. Just don't get in their firing arc!