Paper Tiger

Well, that was a full day's work. Fortunately, the wife has been busy and hasn't minded me spending 6+ hours doing the artwork and the briefings for all the missions while listening to some early-70s Prog Rock albums and Thin Lizzy (Johnny the Fox is a seriously underappreciated album). All of the new work has just been imported into all the missions and their variants and all that's left to do is rewrite the campaign script and compile it.
Now I COULD upload this later this evening and be able to say that I revised it in 2023 (just) but I'd like to spend a bit more time making sure that everything is as it says on the tin (I did a lot of that today but a second pass is always a good idea.) I like to make sure that all the AI plans are active (I switch them off while testing a new plan) and make sure that the variants have the proper changes implemented.
I expect to have this done tomorrow morning which means it will still be up before the New Year if you live in Hawaii. Or failing that, early on Tuesday (for me)
Edit to add:
I just tested compiling the new version and it all works fine. Yay! There were a few errors but I found them all and corrected them. Now I just have to set those parameters in the script correctly and it's a day!

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

That's both Licornets and Labrynth completed. I wasn't planning to do a complete overhaul of these missions but I just couldn't leave them alone and so both these missions have entirely new AIs. Licornets has been particularly overhauled to create the illusion of an actual intelligent response but as usual, if you do something that goes off the plan, well, there's not much I can do about that. Triggers are a 'do this now or later' condition and can't branch so I have had to anticipate what the player might do and put the hurt on him if he's careless.
I was also a bit concerned that these two missions were samey and so I redid the German OB to give Labrynth its own unique flavour. No spoilers but it's different. But that's more than half way through the campaign now and so far, they've all been reworked quite substantially. That's far more work than I had planned to do but hey, that's just how I roll.
I have no plans to overhaul the chapter 2 finale but we'll see what happens when I test it tomorrow. I might end up re-doing it all as well. But even if I do, it's not going to take much more than a day to do.
I really won't be changing anything much with the chapter 3 missions except for Le Ham which doesn't have any AI. I'm not planning anything special there beyond having two plans and some AI reaction to player moves. And that means there's only the final three to consider.
But I really am getting impatient to get this finished asap now as I'm beginning to feel the itch to do something else.

Well, that was a full day's work. Fortunately, the wife has been busy and hasn't minded me spending 6+ hours doing the artwork and the briefings for all the missions while listening to some early-70s Prog Rock albums and Thin Lizzy (Johnny the Fox is a seriously underappreciated album). All of the new work has just been imported into all the missions and their variants and all that's left to do is rewrite the campaign script and compile it.
Now I COULD upload this later this evening and be able to say that I revised it in 2023 (just) but I'd like to spend a bit more time making sure that everything is as it says on the tin (I did a lot of that today but a second pass is always a good idea.) I like to make sure that all the AI plans are active (I switch them off while testing a new plan) and make sure that the variants have the proper changes implemented.
I expect to have this done tomorrow morning which means it will still be up before the New Year if you live in Hawaii. Or failing that, early on Tuesday (for me)
Edit to add:
I just tested compiling the new version and it all works fine. Yay! There were a few errors but I found them all and corrected them. Now I just have to set those parameters in the script correctly and it's a day!

Well, that was a full day's work. Fortunately, the wife has been busy and hasn't minded me spending 6+ hours doing the artwork and the briefings for all the missions while listening to some early-70s Prog Rock albums and Thin Lizzy (Johnny the Fox is a seriously underappreciated album). All of the new work has just been imported into all the missions and their variants and all that's left to do is rewrite the campaign script and compile it.
Now I COULD upload this later this evening and be able to say that I revised it in 2023 (just) but I'd like to spend a bit more time making sure that everything is as it says on the tin (I did a lot of that today but a second pass is always a good idea.) I like to make sure that all the AI plans are active (I switch them off while testing a new plan) and make sure that the variants have the proper changes implemented.
I expect to have this done tomorrow morning which means it will still be up before the New Year if you live in Hawaii. Or failing that, early on Tuesday (for me)
Edit to add:
I just tested compiling the new version and it all works fine. Yay! There were a few errors but I found them all and corrected them. Now I just have to set those parameters in the script correctly and it's a day!

When I was at uni, I was a D&D dungeon master and devised a brutal world with several large, complex dungeons as well as some small, brutal ones. I was a total bastidge but people seemed to love the adventures I created. Tough but (not very) fair was how I rolled. I blame D&D for my sadistic impulses.
Getting difficulty right is pretty tough - make it too easy and people will ignore your work. Make it too hard and some folks will think it's the best mission ever while most will just give up and avoid your stuff in the future.

Well, that was a full day's work. Fortunately, the wife has been busy and hasn't minded me spending 6+ hours doing the artwork and the briefings for all the missions while listening to some early-70s Prog Rock albums and Thin Lizzy (Johnny the Fox is a seriously underappreciated album). All of the new work has just been imported into all the missions and their variants and all that's left to do is rewrite the campaign script and compile it.
Now I COULD upload this later this evening and be able to say that I revised it in 2023 (just) but I'd like to spend a bit more time making sure that everything is as it says on the tin (I did a lot of that today but a second pass is always a good idea.) I like to make sure that all the AI plans are active (I switch them off while testing a new plan) and make sure that the variants have the proper changes implemented.
I expect to have this done tomorrow morning which means it will still be up before the New Year if you live in Hawaii. Or failing that, early on Tuesday (for me)
Edit to add:
I just tested compiling the new version and it all works fine. Yay! There were a few errors but I found them all and corrected them. Now I just have to set those parameters in the script correctly and it's a day!

And there we are. I finished devising and testing the AI plans for Eroudeville today and it's all working as I'd like it too. I've played through the first 30 minutes of it too and it was tough so I made a few further adjustments that are non-spoiler in nature. The mission is now 1 hour and 50 minutes long with the possibility of 10 minutes of overtime. This extra time has been added at the start so that you have more daylight time.
I've also added some new toys for the US player to play with. Since the new AI plans alone will make things a bit more challenging for the player, I think some extra help is needed. You get a couple of M8 SPA vehicles at the start to help with the bunkers and at around the 30 minute mark, you'll get an M10 Tank Destroyer, a breach team and a flamethrower unit as well as some more air support. You have a few FOO available to keep your artillery and air support on the go as well.
Now, is it balanced? I doubt it. I suspect it will be a very difficult mission for the player especially if he has had a bad result in Ecausseville. Or it could be a cakewalk. Luck always plays some part in such a game, a single lucky hit or miss can decide the entire game and there's not much I can do about. I lost two Shermans to lucky hits in my first play through and that was basically game over for me. True, I wasn't playing smart but rather ensuring that a rash player who just throws his forces ant the enemy and hopes to win by brute force gets this posterior handed back to him but the second hit was entirely unexpected and so we have the M10. 
So, I will spend the rest of the year polishing things up, writing new briefings and making new artwork where necessary and then compile the thing to upload as soon as possible.

An observation after watching Hapless's run at this last mission in preparation for reworking the finale - he seemed to think that I'd doubled up the bocage to prevent the player from making a left swing which is a reasonable assumption to make given that I'm obviously I am a bit of a sadist.  But funnily enough, I only did that because I thought those sunken lanes were cool. I liked his idea though and so I've 'opened' up the map a bit to allow the player more freedom to decide how to approach this mission as a result and so all the doubled bocage lines are now gone. As they are on most maps except for Ecoqueneuville where that seems to be some sort of creek.
But I also corrected an improperly placed bunker which would have prevented him from doing what he did with such a small force. There were a few other misplaced units which I've also corrected. I am just going to devise a better AI counterattack and then call it a day. After all, most folks are going to take a few more casualties this time around because the 2/8 INF are a mix of Green and Normal training and so won't be quite so resilient.
The player also has some air support which was absent in the original version so I think it all balances out. But beware, the alternative if you fail either of the earlier Chapter four missions is not so kind.

And there we are. I finished devising and testing the AI plans for Eroudeville today and it's all working as I'd like it too. I've played through the first 30 minutes of it too and it was tough so I made a few further adjustments that are non-spoiler in nature. The mission is now 1 hour and 50 minutes long with the possibility of 10 minutes of overtime. This extra time has been added at the start so that you have more daylight time.
I've also added some new toys for the US player to play with. Since the new AI plans alone will make things a bit more challenging for the player, I think some extra help is needed. You get a couple of M8 SPA vehicles at the start to help with the bunkers and at around the 30 minute mark, you'll get an M10 Tank Destroyer, a breach team and a flamethrower unit as well as some more air support. You have a few FOO available to keep your artillery and air support on the go as well.
Now, is it balanced? I doubt it. I suspect it will be a very difficult mission for the player especially if he has had a bad result in Ecausseville. Or it could be a cakewalk. Luck always plays some part in such a game, a single lucky hit or miss can decide the entire game and there's not much I can do about. I lost two Shermans to lucky hits in my first play through and that was basically game over for me. True, I wasn't playing smart but rather ensuring that a rash player who just throws his forces ant the enemy and hopes to win by brute force gets this posterior handed back to him but the second hit was entirely unexpected and so we have the M10. 
So, I will spend the rest of the year polishing things up, writing new briefings and making new artwork where necessary and then compile the thing to upload as soon as possible.

And there we are. I finished devising and testing the AI plans for Eroudeville today and it's all working as I'd like it too. I've played through the first 30 minutes of it too and it was tough so I made a few further adjustments that are non-spoiler in nature. The mission is now 1 hour and 50 minutes long with the possibility of 10 minutes of overtime. This extra time has been added at the start so that you have more daylight time.
I've also added some new toys for the US player to play with. Since the new AI plans alone will make things a bit more challenging for the player, I think some extra help is needed. You get a couple of M8 SPA vehicles at the start to help with the bunkers and at around the 30 minute mark, you'll get an M10 Tank Destroyer, a breach team and a flamethrower unit as well as some more air support. You have a few FOO available to keep your artillery and air support on the go as well.
Now, is it balanced? I doubt it. I suspect it will be a very difficult mission for the player especially if he has had a bad result in Ecausseville. Or it could be a cakewalk. Luck always plays some part in such a game, a single lucky hit or miss can decide the entire game and there's not much I can do about. I lost two Shermans to lucky hits in my first play through and that was basically game over for me. True, I wasn't playing smart but rather ensuring that a rash player who just throws his forces ant the enemy and hopes to win by brute force gets this posterior handed back to him but the second hit was entirely unexpected and so we have the M10. 
So, I will spend the rest of the year polishing things up, writing new briefings and making new artwork where necessary and then compile the thing to upload as soon as possible.

When I was at uni, I was a D&D dungeon master and devised a brutal world with several large, complex dungeons as well as some small, brutal ones. I was a total bastidge but people seemed to love the adventures I created. Tough but (not very) fair was how I rolled. I blame D&D for my sadistic impulses.
Getting difficulty right is pretty tough - make it too easy and people will ignore your work. Make it too hard and some folks will think it's the best mission ever while most will just give up and avoid your stuff in the future.

An observation after watching Hapless's run at this last mission in preparation for reworking the finale - he seemed to think that I'd doubled up the bocage to prevent the player from making a left swing which is a reasonable assumption to make given that I'm obviously I am a bit of a sadist.  But funnily enough, I only did that because I thought those sunken lanes were cool. I liked his idea though and so I've 'opened' up the map a bit to allow the player more freedom to decide how to approach this mission as a result and so all the doubled bocage lines are now gone. As they are on most maps except for Ecoqueneuville where that seems to be some sort of creek.
But I also corrected an improperly placed bunker which would have prevented him from doing what he did with such a small force. There were a few other misplaced units which I've also corrected. I am just going to devise a better AI counterattack and then call it a day. After all, most folks are going to take a few more casualties this time around because the 2/8 INF are a mix of Green and Normal training and so won't be quite so resilient.
The player also has some air support which was absent in the original version so I think it all balances out. But beware, the alternative if you fail either of the earlier Chapter four missions is not so kind.

Well, it's funny just how much you can get done if you just focus. I'm just wrapping up work on Farmhouse and will start the final mission later today. I wasn't planning to do very much in the way of revising the chapter 4 missions but the first two are so small that they were begging for an AI rework. There are three AI plans for Ecausseville and you better make sure you win the le Ham chapter as you'll get a much tougher version of this mission if you don't (now ahistorical since the PIR and GIR did the job IRL so I can do what I like with it within reason  )
Le Ham wasn't nearly as much work to get done as I'd anticipated. It was only necessary to make the AI react more to the player's moves as far as the triggers will allow me so it was an afternoon's work only. Ecausseville has three AI plans and I'm just polishing off the attack in Farmhouse this morning and I'll get at least one variant made up.
 
There are some pretty substantial changes made to the campaign structure so I'll give you a heads-up now. As before, losing two consecutive missions ejects you from the campaign, That stays for the most part but the old 'losing two consecutive formation missions and you're out' condition  is now gone. This greatly simplifies the campaign structure with no more than one variant possible for chapter's one and three and two for chapter two.
However, chapter three is where the rules change. This contains one of the most challenging missions of the campaign and I'm sure some of you will find it too hard so instead of being ejected from the campaign for a loss, you will simply skip to chapter 4. But the chapter four opener, Ecausseville, will be much tougher as the failure to capture the le Ham area allows the Germans more time to bolster their positions. So fret not if the new chapter three missions are pigs. Let's just say though that I've given the player added incentive to try and win Hell. The following missions will be much easier if you get the win but the historical missions, especially Stalemate, will be much tougher if you lose. After the initial two missions, any loss results in the player skipping to chapter 4.
So we're nearly finished with this. I'm hoping to have the last of the real work done by tomorrow allowing me some time to revisit Turnbull and make sure the briefings and tac maps explain what the player is expected to do to win. And then I should have this up some time next week.

It's the rainy season out here but the mornings start out with glorious sunshine and it starts to cloud over by lunchtime. I've already got my morning walk in by them. Mid-January and February is when it is gloomy all day, every day with those lovely tropical thunderstorms I love so much. They're even more exciting since we moved to a house atop a hill to the south of the city just over a year ago. Oh the fun! Definitely a 'two pairs of underpants' experience every day.

Well, it's funny just how much you can get done if you just focus. I'm just wrapping up work on Farmhouse and will start the final mission later today. I wasn't planning to do very much in the way of revising the chapter 4 missions but the first two are so small that they were begging for an AI rework. There are three AI plans for Ecausseville and you better make sure you win the le Ham chapter as you'll get a much tougher version of this mission if you don't (now ahistorical since the PIR and GIR did the job IRL so I can do what I like with it within reason  )
Le Ham wasn't nearly as much work to get done as I'd anticipated. It was only necessary to make the AI react more to the player's moves as far as the triggers will allow me so it was an afternoon's work only. Ecausseville has three AI plans and I'm just polishing off the attack in Farmhouse this morning and I'll get at least one variant made up.
 
There are some pretty substantial changes made to the campaign structure so I'll give you a heads-up now. As before, losing two consecutive missions ejects you from the campaign, That stays for the most part but the old 'losing two consecutive formation missions and you're out' condition  is now gone. This greatly simplifies the campaign structure with no more than one variant possible for chapter's one and three and two for chapter two.
However, chapter three is where the rules change. This contains one of the most challenging missions of the campaign and I'm sure some of you will find it too hard so instead of being ejected from the campaign for a loss, you will simply skip to chapter 4. But the chapter four opener, Ecausseville, will be much tougher as the failure to capture the le Ham area allows the Germans more time to bolster their positions. So fret not if the new chapter three missions are pigs. Let's just say though that I've given the player added incentive to try and win Hell. The following missions will be much easier if you get the win but the historical missions, especially Stalemate, will be much tougher if you lose. After the initial two missions, any loss results in the player skipping to chapter 4.
So we're nearly finished with this. I'm hoping to have the last of the real work done by tomorrow allowing me some time to revisit Turnbull and make sure the briefings and tac maps explain what the player is expected to do to win. And then I should have this up some time next week.

Well, it's funny just how much you can get done if you just focus. I'm just wrapping up work on Farmhouse and will start the final mission later today. I wasn't planning to do very much in the way of revising the chapter 4 missions but the first two are so small that they were begging for an AI rework. There are three AI plans for Ecausseville and you better make sure you win the le Ham chapter as you'll get a much tougher version of this mission if you don't (now ahistorical since the PIR and GIR did the job IRL so I can do what I like with it within reason  )
Le Ham wasn't nearly as much work to get done as I'd anticipated. It was only necessary to make the AI react more to the player's moves as far as the triggers will allow me so it was an afternoon's work only. Ecausseville has three AI plans and I'm just polishing off the attack in Farmhouse this morning and I'll get at least one variant made up.
 
There are some pretty substantial changes made to the campaign structure so I'll give you a heads-up now. As before, losing two consecutive missions ejects you from the campaign, That stays for the most part but the old 'losing two consecutive formation missions and you're out' condition  is now gone. This greatly simplifies the campaign structure with no more than one variant possible for chapter's one and three and two for chapter two.
However, chapter three is where the rules change. This contains one of the most challenging missions of the campaign and I'm sure some of you will find it too hard so instead of being ejected from the campaign for a loss, you will simply skip to chapter 4. But the chapter four opener, Ecausseville, will be much tougher as the failure to capture the le Ham area allows the Germans more time to bolster their positions. So fret not if the new chapter three missions are pigs. Let's just say though that I've given the player added incentive to try and win Hell. The following missions will be much easier if you get the win but the historical missions, especially Stalemate, will be much tougher if you lose. After the initial two missions, any loss results in the player skipping to chapter 4.
So we're nearly finished with this. I'm hoping to have the last of the real work done by tomorrow allowing me some time to revisit Turnbull and make sure the briefings and tac maps explain what the player is expected to do to win. And then I should have this up some time next week.

Yes, that's one way that you can trigger an order. But this only tells the unit to go now rather than go later. So execute when an enemy unit triggers the order or at T+20. Either way, it can only perform that order.
Of course, that 'later' can be never which means if the trigger is not activated, it will stay in place. But the trigger can start a whole chain of orders which the player would otherwise not see.
 
I had a day off yesterday, not surprisingly, watching a couple of movies with the wife to relax instead, but I did some work this afternoon. Neuville is now done and I'm currently working on 'Holding Action', a late chapter 3 mission. It's a small action on a small map so it didn't take long to get a working AI plan up and running. After finishing that, tomorrow I suppose, I'll tackle Le Ham and that will complete chapter 3 which leaves the final three missions to do.
I'm not going to change very much with regards to the earlier chapter 3 missions as they are pretty substantial in size and the AI is fairly passive in them anyway so they should be fine. If I change nothing, it doesn't need further testing. 'Hell in the Hedgerows' has been 'improved' though as a loss here puts you on the historical path. Winning it has always meant an easier path to Le Ham so why not make it more historical. I've firmly placed my sadist hat on for this one change.
The chapter 4 missions might take some time to do though  - Ecausseville was another historical 'knee to the groin' for the 2/8 INF so i'd like to use all the tools I have to make that one as challenging as possible too. The Farmhouse is very small, tiny in fact so I don't think that's much more than a day's work. The finale, Eroudeville, is going to take some time to do properly as it has a BIG German counterattack so I'm hoping to get this finished first week of 2024. I could just call it a day now but I want to really polish off those final missions as they'd all benefit from some attention.
I jotted down some notes as well regarding the new structure and the VP awards earned by both sides in each mission so that the player can plan accordingly. I have also clarified the briefings so that the player understands beyond a shadow of a doubt that the friendly casualties BONUS is just that, a reward for an exceptional performance and not a punishment. I feel it is necessary to make that clear although some folks will always see it as a punishment.

Yes, that's one way that you can trigger an order. But this only tells the unit to go now rather than go later. So execute when an enemy unit triggers the order or at T+20. Either way, it can only perform that order.
Of course, that 'later' can be never which means if the trigger is not activated, it will stay in place. But the trigger can start a whole chain of orders which the player would otherwise not see.
 
I had a day off yesterday, not surprisingly, watching a couple of movies with the wife to relax instead, but I did some work this afternoon. Neuville is now done and I'm currently working on 'Holding Action', a late chapter 3 mission. It's a small action on a small map so it didn't take long to get a working AI plan up and running. After finishing that, tomorrow I suppose, I'll tackle Le Ham and that will complete chapter 3 which leaves the final three missions to do.
I'm not going to change very much with regards to the earlier chapter 3 missions as they are pretty substantial in size and the AI is fairly passive in them anyway so they should be fine. If I change nothing, it doesn't need further testing. 'Hell in the Hedgerows' has been 'improved' though as a loss here puts you on the historical path. Winning it has always meant an easier path to Le Ham so why not make it more historical. I've firmly placed my sadist hat on for this one change.
The chapter 4 missions might take some time to do though  - Ecausseville was another historical 'knee to the groin' for the 2/8 INF so i'd like to use all the tools I have to make that one as challenging as possible too. The Farmhouse is very small, tiny in fact so I don't think that's much more than a day's work. The finale, Eroudeville, is going to take some time to do properly as it has a BIG German counterattack so I'm hoping to get this finished first week of 2024. I could just call it a day now but I want to really polish off those final missions as they'd all benefit from some attention.
I jotted down some notes as well regarding the new structure and the VP awards earned by both sides in each mission so that the player can plan accordingly. I have also clarified the briefings so that the player understands beyond a shadow of a doubt that the friendly casualties BONUS is just that, a reward for an exceptional performance and not a punishment. I feel it is necessary to make that clear although some folks will always see it as a punishment.