snake_eye

If in the scenario editor there were indicators to be checked for the sides that can be played against the A.I, If it can also be played H2H or only H2H and if these indicators were shown on the battle scenario choice page, that would prevent all the questions one of us has certainly had at one time or more. However a designer is human and as such prone to forget, that what is for him obvious might not be for someone else. To Mad Mike: If the editor should slate a side depending on A.I plans being present, that would not be good for some battles. I have indeed found some of them having the forces set in such a way that without any A.I plans made, it worked pretty well. It will be too bad not to be able to play such battle. That is why I would rather favor the checking human option in the editor and or in the scenario briefing for the time being. Now, if the designer doesn't use any of them wisely, let him know it by using the scenario comments screen in the Repository;

To Erwin: yeah, you made me make it better !

Hi Erwin, Hope you won't be disappointed by the fight. If you try to follow my intent (I know you don’t like to stick rigidly to it) you should do it without too many losses. I guess that by now you have gotten used to the tactics that have to be deployed in order to get through unscathed. Take your time and don’t rush. Let me know. I wish you a Happy New Year

The road Of All Fears scenario has just been uploaded. It should be available for download in a few hours. I just remind you that it is only playable from the Russian side against the Mujahideen's A.I units. It plays for two hours and a bit more. Testing has demonstrated that such timing was good enough. The change that has been made is the removal of the exit. For the scenario understanding, you must still try to get there on Highway 6. You will get points for occupying the place (Kunar pass). Doing so enables you to see in the AAR the points you get for Mujahideen's destroyed units. You see the same for those that they have destroyed. If the exit had been kept, you will not have had any points for your units exiting. the only thing that would have happen was that all of your units not being removed at the exit would have given points to the enemy. That is all the points set for their destruction even if they are untouched. To prevent that, you had to remove absolutely your unit at the exit. Easier said than done. Cheers

Not yet, I shall upload it as soon as I have finished the actual testing. This evening or tomorrow morning at the latest. In one hour time I only got 4 KIA. The high ground on the other sides of the bridges has been secured with infantry and with the BMP's ( 2 of them) that later rejoigned them. Mortar fire , MI 24 ground straffing and the twin 23 mm tubes helped me a lot. one M-17 just came to be available. I think I am going to push toward the next causeway crossing the river. then and only then I shall have the BRDM's cross the replacement bridge and come to secure the area and so on. The trucks will be brought forward when all the AT threats are cleared or mostly cleared. 2 hours might be possible. Cheers

From the testing already done an idea of support emerged slowly but surely. That is a Kamaz 4310 truck with twin 23mm AA guns, available from the start. In the scenario briefing,its presence has been found necessary by the district commander to protect the 3 trucks and their values!. Rather to let it rust in the district compound, it will be better off with the convoy. :cool: The guns are perfect to seek and get into the ground the AT teams, while infantry is working their way to engage them from a suitable position. The only drawback is that the platform is a soft truck which has no armoured plates to protect the gunners. Needless to say all the Mujahideen’s get a shot at it. To VIN Thanks for your briefing comment. I wish you a happy New Year in return To All of you Have a Happy New year

You will get all the kinds of tricks that can be pulled out of Mujahideen's experience in the scenario . To counter that you will have to play, always trying to think what is coming next or what should come next ! I am doing a last testing today and if the setup points are doing fine, I shall upload it tomorrow at the latest. I have just only one last thing, I am thinking about. That is to get the battle to the 3 hours mark and have reinforcement coming around the 2 hours mark for the Russian. That might be a wise thing to do for some players in order to get them to the exit. BTW, I wrote that all forces should be at the Exit at the end of the game, but since there are no points for that (unless you tell me I am wrong ? ) it won't matter at all as long as you get points against the Mujahideen's forces and don't give that many to them. However you will get points for occupying the Exit area of the KUNAR pass. Since that area will be small to accomodate all vehicles and troops, some of them will have to Exit. Cheers

Here after is a preview of the scenario “The Road of All Fears” I have made for CM-A. It has long been a WIP. The availability of battle of Normandy slowed somehow my work on it, having done a scenario for it. The map size is rather small, considering what I am usually doing for CMSF and BN. That is explained, when one considers the type of battle fought in CM-A. They are mostly hit and run attack and ambushes. Usually that happens in a ground environment suitable for that kind of fight. I hope that this scenario will please you. I have read “The bear in the Mountain” and found valuable advices in the tactics employed by either side. It will be played from the Russian side only for the time being. That because, I have not found a suitable Russian A.I feasibility for the anti ambush drill I wanted them to do. Playing The Russian, I have found that I could do it. The Mujahideen are fighting fiercely and with intelligence. The scenario requires you to deliver 3 trucks carrying values from the district bank to the provincial central bank. Needless to say, these trucks should not be destroyed and or taken. You have to get along the road toward the Exit and get them out safely. The escorting troops and their tracks will allow you to open the road and secure the overwatching ground features if necessary. Within 30 to 75 minutes, air assets comprising, a MI 24 and two M 17 fitter will be on call; You will have some mortars as well. At the moment the battle is 2 hours long. If you want to get to the exit more quickly, without securing the road, you will get into trouble not being able to run through the gauntlet put by the Mujahideen. It will be uploaded in the coming days. Watch the repository Too late, to wish you a Merry Xmas. Too soon, to wish you a happy new year !. I’ll do it anyway. Cheers

A bucket of balls should do it. Don't forget to bring along a golden retriever, it might save your day. Balls are awfully expensive now days. The crisis hits golfer as surely as a 30 cal bullet in an open field ! :D

here is one link with a video showing the ground (panorama) and the monument. I have found others.... http://wn.com/Graignes#

par 5 or par 4 ?

That's it the 17th SS PZ. They fought with Von Der Heyte paratroops, trying to retake Carentan. They almost did it (recalls my father told me about, that they got orders to be ready to fall back from Carentan, if things were getting worse) coming at one moment as far as, for the spear unit, the rail crossing near the railroad station. Then they were unable to exploit that and retreated. Their axis of attack was along the road coming from Periers, Sainteny and for some Stugs along the road, on its right coming from Tribehou (rather a causeway at the time) through swampy and flooded area. When they retreated, step by step, their axis was toward Saint Lo passing by the Champs de Losques. The units involved in the attack were not despite being SS top rated and they fought with less will than the paratroops that had just retreated from Carentan having no more ammos. Once resupply by the 17th SS they assaulted Carentan once more with them. One thing not well known, JU 52’s coming from the Britanny and farther south were re supplying in the first days of the carentan battle the german paratroops. Their drop zone was at Raids, the village just after Sainteny and before Periers. Their drops were unopposed by the allied fighters. If I write that it is to remind to some that thought that the allied had a total air supremacy, that at that time air transports were able to do that at low altitude and close to the beaching areas. That was no more the case in the later days. BTW the small hillock could be Graignes Mesnil Angot village. Us paratroops were engaged in fierce fights around the 6th June and got surrendered there, before some of them escaped in the swamps. Their presence there was that they had to destroy on the first night of the invasion a radar station being not that far. That done, Graignes being on a hillock and offering a perfect view on Carentan was thought to be a good spot to observe and to defend, since the swamps in front provided a good protection; That was not the same for the german attack that took place from the saint Lo direction, on firm grounds. I have pictures about the place and showing the monument at the memory of the 30 or so guys that gave their life defending that place. Not many people are referring to that battle. If someone knows more about it, I take it.

Take your time, I am travelling and due home on wednesday.:cool: Then I'll have ample time to play test your new born scenario Remaining

Want me to give it a try ? send it to my email. You'll present excuses later on and maybe that won't be necessary , if you have a winner scenario. I shall be critic, but honest about the do and don't (if necessary) of your scenario. Look at my first scenario, it was the smaller one I have made, just to make a smaller number of mistakes. We always do some anyway in a scenario. Remaining :cool:

Could be so many places. There are no significant landscape feature to give a hint. No churches, only scattered villages, a flooded area or two, with a small hill between, no roads, just dirt roads. I would tend to give an answer like JonS and why not, say that it might also look like swampy grounds laying on the South East of Carentan. That is on the right of the road while leaving Carentan and driving toward Sainteny toward Periers. Well that is a one million dollars question, what to say about the answer. Nice map for sure. Remaining

About the units within the A.I scope: You must attribute a designation to the units chosen. The F1 to F8 keys giving a A1 to A8 designation A1 is by default for all units not being designated by another suffix. You won’t see it in the board but it appears in the box of the units during their 3D deployment. The R1 to R7 designation for reinforcement, are attributed with the adequate keyboard keys left arrow and a number from the upper keyboard section (do not use the right numbers keyboard) So, F1 to F8 keys (A1 to A8) will permit to know which units you are ordering in the A.I editor. Group 1 is A1, Group 2 is A2 and so on….. When you are in a group the first order is the setup, then it goes up to 16. That is the maximum orders you can give to a group. You can within the 3D deployment screen choose a position where you can dispose the A2 units and all others, as a matter of fact. You can have them face the enemy or look elsewhere, you can deploy or not the HMG and MG , that is up to you. You can then go to the next order, the number 2, into the A.I editor (you must leave the 3D deployment screen)and paint a path on the map, use the good orders and time setting. You have to try it and get the feeling of that A. I editor. It is not that easy and only many mistakes will allow you to find your way toward a good result. The setting are tricky and you better try them on a small map without anything on it but a vehicle and or a squad and see how they react to the A.I commands, you are giving them. Once you are familiar with them, you can duplicate them in your scenario

Assign unit means to designate an ennemy unit with a U1 to U7 number that you have given it in the Units board. Then you can assign different goals like Spot, Destroy........ You can name it and attribute points that will make a difference for the battle result. The same goes with ground objectives with different goals, but that time you have to paint that objective on the map to designate it You can further more have the player, the enemy and or neither know about these objectives. When the gamme AAR comes you can see the units and the objectives if they were set to be seen. That is pretty handy to see what has been really done and up to what point.

[quote=Pak40;1325657 Well, the technical reasons are really just a question of how much coding it would take to do it and if BFC thinks that it's worth the time & resources. It's certainly technically possible. And you're correct, you might not always get what you want but you would still have the ability to go back and change what you don't like. Imagine laying out a 45 degree road that's 200 meters long. As it is now, you have to click on every single 8m square with alternating tiles. That's a total of 50 clicks specifically placed. The automated way would be a simple two clicks.

I have read your post. I think that the proposal to paste one A.I plan and slightly modify it, that is in the same scenario is excellent. That way you could have two, three and more A.I plans for an action with different timing and slight position changes. These could completely change the out coming of the first A.I plan action. A player will be surprised while playing a second time that battle to see that the enemy is not going to be exactly at the same spot and time With that copy-pasting proposal you rejoin what I have written in the post and permit to a designer to gain time when doing the A.I plans: “You still can make another A.I plans but besides playing around with the time schedule and some units, the overall features of the attack and or defence will be about the same.” For the overlay and the road automated positioning, I don’t agree. Firstly for technical reasons and secondly for having in the past used different architect design tools with some automated function. You got something on the screen, but it was not what you wanted.

I agree with the facts that making a scenario A.I for a single battle takes time and more if you are making a campaign. However, I disagree about the number of A.I plans that are sometimes made. When you have a map made for a battle, more or less it is made with a precise idea. That is an attack, an encounter and or a defence. More, are you making it for being played only by one side against the A.I or by either one against the A.I ? From these answers the map will be done to be able to adjust the OOB to the posture being chosen. If you want the scenario to be realistic and playable, you can bet that one side will be having a certain advantage against the other. On my part, I always try to give that advantage at the A.I. At least at the beginning since the behaviour of the A.I for excellent it is, from what we have seen in the past, will not be able to match the player ability at one moment or another. When it comes to the A.I plan, the difficulty is to have it done in a way that the orders in defence and or attack fit in a window of feasibility and normality. If it goes out of it, the player will have a battle that does not seem to be credible. That brings us to the tactics that a designer has to employ into it’s A.I. You don’t have to be a retired military or in activity, to do these. However, you must have a sound knowledge of the ones that could be employed and of the national armies being used in the game. You are trying to make a battle and not a shoot them up. That is why, I have found that in some scenarios, the tactics to be used were rather in favour of one A.I plan. It is quite not necessary to have more of them, since they are not that many ways to make another plan giving you the advantage of the first one made. If you consider the possible movements of the enemy due to the landscape, the ground nature (hard, soft, road…) the weather (wet, muddy…. ), there are not many alternatives. You still can make another A.I plans but besides playing around with the time schedule and some units, the overall features of the attack and or defence will be about the same. That is why, I normally, besides some specific situations, prefer one good A.I plan that few of them far away from a credible fight. One last thing, I am still surprise to see, is the number of units remaining at the end of some attack battle. More than one time, I have thought, that if I had know that they were there, I would not have played the battle, since the principle of an attack are that if you do so with less than 3 against 1, you better not do it. That principle was sound for WWII, KOREA and even Vietnam. With the new technologies, it is not exactly true now days except if these are not present. Another thing that has changed is the 3 units or triangle that ruled for centuries the tactical movement of units. It is becoming now the 4 units (square, rectangle). But that rule is against armies and not irregular forces. When fighting against irregulars other tactics have to be used. Irregulars A.I tactics are the ones that permit more than one A.I plan and in that case and only it, I am making different ones. You don’t make A.I plans for B-N like the ones made for CMSF or reverse, unless you don’t care about the player:D

Mines are used to slow down and or stop an enemy movement done by vehicles, tanks and or infantry. This is so true that fake minefields are positioned, when a possible counter attack should go through them. For what relates to B-N time table, the best experts in the mine laying business were no doubt the Germans engineers. They had at the time, a huge experience gained in the East where quite a lot of them had been at one time or more. They had the experience of ordered retreat and the use of mines to slow down the pursuing Russians in well emplaced bottlenecks with minefields and good killing ground covered around them. When they were leaving at short notice a position, they still managed to booby trap it with mines, shells and bombs if available (in an airfield the bombs were used to crater the runway), then the road along which they retreated had all its trees (if there were some) blown to obstruct it, otherwise mines were scattered along the way (they seemed to favour area rest and or shoulders along a road). Bridges were blown and narrow gap blocked by earth slide made using buried bombs. I won’t even describe the ways they had to confuse their enemy engineers colleague with glass, wooden, bakelite mines, anti lifting device, detonator well with a plug detonating it when trying to unscrew it and so on……. HQ premises were almost always booby trapped. In France and along the way to Germany, they liked doing so to picture frame. The poor sod putting it straight in an orderly fashion was at risk. They did so with doors, toilet cover as well and militaries things left behind (binoculars a pistol….) I remember for instance, that in Colmar in Alsace the military barracks they left, had bombs buried with a time counter of few days. They blew off killing many, unaware that this could happen to them in what seemed a cleared and newly peaceful place. Of all of these, only mines are remaining in B-N and by themselves they are able to break an orderly infantry attack and disrupt the move of a column along a road. A flail British tank and or a US tank with rollers in front could be an asset, but since minefield and or retreating areas are usually well covered, I presume that the tank will be lighted at a short notice, negating its use, besides a short time. Mines are nasty and will remain nasty, that is what they are meant for. Don’t be surprise to find some of them in Take the high ground campaign

If I recall it right, these were mines leftover by the Russians, since their departure. The dam site was at that time heavily defended and fortified. The Medevac helico called to the rescue could not attempt to hoist the guys out of the mine field, as it was a time thought, since the wind draft from the rotor could have triggered other mines scattered around. Without casualties, to get out is not fun at all, with that is the worse thing that could happen. In CMSF and or B-N, to give buddy aid to a casualty means quite often to get other ones injured. The best is to stay foot and wait for engineers if there are some around. Yet, they are not exempted of possible casualties. Otherwise you can try the slow move going back the way you came and or forward if there are no, other way to go , while praying till they get out of that ordeal. Nevertheless, doing all these under fire is not worth the result you will get. Better concentrate on your other squads, have them move, fire and clear the area to eliminate the guys having a good LOS on the minefield

With all these new vehicles and tanks FUSER has some months work forward, for our best pleasure. Great scenarios in the coming with all the battles thought to take and get out of CAEN; The 88's are going to light the Shermans and the superb, but slow, King Tiger will do its share. Fantastic news

US forces against German A.I The testing of the recon phase is nearly done. The last remaining testers should send their copy at the earliest. The probe of the enemy lines start at 06:30 AM for a 30 minutes or so duration. Weather: Mist and rain, gentle wind temperature warm, ground damp. The testing of the assault following the recon probe is underway That assault consists in seizing the hills and the key ground features leading to the town it starts, just after the recon probe at 07:45 AM for a 2 hours and 30 minutes duration. Weather: light fog. Light wind, warm and damp. For that assault the light fog is a bonus for the US forces, the average LOS being around 400 to 500 meters. That prevents somehow the risk of being engaged by AT guns during the approach phase from a longer distance. For the time being, the A.I is reacting quite convincingly and the battle demands to deploy the tactical drills from that period, if one wants to succeed without appealing losses. I have tested few times the battle and stopped between the 1 hour 30 minutes and or 30 minutes time remaining. The town was not taken, since the troops were only starting to find a way to get out of the hills woods and through the left village. I played it safely, avoiding as much as I could to expose my vehicles and troops. It takes some time to move more or less safely, after having destroyed potential threats. Doing otherwise is to commit suicide. That safe approach sounds logic. Since the German are defending the town, all the avenues of approach are mostly covered or at least they try. I have found that the 2 Priest assigned to the attacking Company were fantastic to reduce to rubbles the houses of the left village. If defenders were there, they must be under it, after such a pounding. 2 M8 SP guns equally assigned were perfect to clear the way to the attacking Platoons squads. 2 M10 TD arriving after an hour or so have not been engaged for the time being. They stay at the rear to cover the approach of an eventual German flank or front Counter attack by tanks. That does not mean that it will be incorporated in the A.I of the release battle I have omitted to let you know that a rocket battery was available within 5 minutes of the start of the assault. Unfortunately, I have not been able to use them to effect due to the reduce LOS. The light fog gives advantage to both sides! Here after 2 pictures to illustrate that probe by Cavalry Recon Combat Team and that attack by the D Company and attached forces. If you want to see the WIP previous post and pictures here is the link http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=100895

German reports about the use of the Sd Kfz /251/1 Ausf D have clearly shown that the SPW had difficulties following tanks, specially the Panthers in the battles fought against the Russians on muddy and or snow grounds. Besides the SPW did not offered the degree of protection that was thought to be sufficient to protect its load of Panzer Grenadiers. That’s why the Heereswaffenamt asked, starting in October 1943 a study for a fully tracked replacement. MAN, Auto-Union, CKD and BMM were approached. The objective was to start production for late 1944 The first project shown by Auto-Union gets a pre order.Man is asked to deliver its project. That one looks like a small Panther and becomes known as the Kätzchen (kitten). All projects were made using the PZ 38 frame. The diesel engine was located at the rear and was to give a 600 kilometers range. The forward slope armor was 50mm thick and 30 mm on the sides. The projects, however were retarded and the Kätzchen prototypes were last seen in Tchekoslovakia in May 1945. One example seems to have been seized by the US forces. Here after, are the not so well know pictures of the CKD 2nd design and drawings of the CKD and MAN project. The MAN “Kätzchen” had overlapping wheels like the Panther tank. Exit was done by the rear door located on the left.