Jump to content

WIP - 6 June 01:30 am - On the road to Vierville


Recommended Posts

Its probably old hat by now what with all the CW forces enthusiasm (im also working on a scenario there too) but id started prior to the release - its a small scenario (the map size isnt set in stone yet) simulating the first drops - it follows Fox companys landings near Vierville into marshy, flooded and dark fields and in what i hope might be a deviation away from the norm points will be earned by taking out the AA guns that litter the battlefield.

Im trying to work on a convoy of trucks passing through the map too and points will be awarded for its destruction but im not sure how to implement this yet.

The starting force is only a depleted platoon but ill be dropping in reinforcements to simulate other guys landing and joining up with the main force as the attack rolls on - pics to come when im home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oddly enough, im doing the exact same thing, excluding the convoy (will try patrol or two though in the final version). Battle is quite large though (2.1 x 1.6).

Working on it for a week so far (on and off), while a friend of mine is playtesting it. :P

Sorry for semi hijack, eagerly awaiting your scenario!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oddly enough, im doing the exact same thing, excluding the convoy (will try patrol or two though in the final version). Battle is quite large though (2.1 x 1.6).

Working on it for a week so far (on and off), while a friend of mine is playtesting it. :P

Sorry for semi hijack, eagerly awaiting your scenario!

great minds obviously think alike!

Here are some shots of the first landing spot for the first platoon down (the red x marks the same spot on each map):-

cmnormandy2012032118451.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

cmnormandy2012032118463.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

cmnormandy2012032118482.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im trying to work on a convoy of trucks passing through the map too and points will be awarded for its destruction but im not sure how to implement this yet.

That's a tough ask. There is an AI-controlled convoy in 'CW - Be Evil Unto Him' which you could pick apart for ideas, although it has a very simple setup - a wide straight road, and the convoy split into multiple packets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a tough ask. There is an AI-controlled convoy in 'CW - Be Evil Unto Him' which you could pick apart for ideas, although it has a very simple setup - a wide straight road, and the convoy split into multiple packets.

yeah, im going to have to make the map Allied player only - the German player would simply stop the trucks passing through - im hoping its as simple as bringing them on after a certain amount of time and giving them AI orders to just drive across the map, whether the paratroopers are in the right place at the right time or not is entirely upto the player!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im trying to work on a convoy of trucks passing through the map too and points will be awarded for its destruction but im not sure how to implement this yet.

EXIT - friendly units may leave the map (permanently) after reaching this objective. Any friendly unit may use the exit zone. There are no points awarded for leaving the map! Instead, any unit that is part of a Destroy/Destroy All Unit Objective for the opposing player and does not leave the map, is scored as “destroyed” and the points are awarded to the enemy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exit scenarios

Exit is probably the right tool to use here, but you need to consider how it might distort the rest of your scenario. The key point is that /every/ unit that has a unit objective and which does not exit (either due to casualties or lack of time) scores points for the opposition. What this means is that units which are not meant to exit should not be assigned as a unit objective, but that could muck about with the concept for the rest of your scenario.

You can sort-of get around that by carefully setting the casualty parameter (either friendly or enemy). Assume the units to exit comprise 50% of your forces, and you anticipate the remainder will suffer 50% casualties. Set the casualty parameter to 25%, with whatever points you want to award. But you do need to be careful with this, because of the all-or-nothing nature of the parameter.

You can also give the Germans a parameter bonus to offset the points the US will score for units that you don’t want or expect to exit.

The exit victory location is a neat tool, but it does require care and thought, otherwise the scoring in your scenario will be totally borked.

Convoys and AI movement orders

You could give the trucks a single AI movement order from their start location to the exit point, but that will undoubtedly produce unsatisfactory results. The thing to remember here is that it is assumed by the AI that it’s moving in a tactical situation. So regardless of the movement order you give it, it will move its units in a series of tactical bounds. What changes, between max assault, assault, fast, and whatever the other ones are, is the length and speed of the bounds.

So, IMO, you’ll need to set a series of waypoints between the startpoint and the destination, then play the scenario using AI-Debug mode, don’t do anything with the US forces (except to move them out of the way) and just watch how the AI moves its trucks across the map from waypoint to waypoint using different movement commands. Then adjust the waypoints and – if need be – the map (generally by making routes and openings larger and more porous), and the movement order and the order timings, until your trucks are moving relatively fluidly across the map. But you’ll never get them moving in a nose-to-tail traditional ‘convoy’, because as I said; the AI assumes it is permanently in a tactical situation, and so makes no attempt to execute operational or strategic moves, which is what you’re trying to force it to do with a convoy.

Also, keep each AI-group convoy quite small; 3 or 4 trucks, tops. You can have multiple convoys arriving in sequence and following the same path and orders (with different timings) if you want to have more trucks, but if you have too many trucks in a single packet they’ll turn themselves into a massive furball at each waypoint, and completely screw up the move you’re trying to get them to do.

Good luck! And have fun :)

Jon

P.S. I think you should be able to make the scenario playable H2H even with a convoy that exits. You’ll just need to think about what a German commander would be trying to achieve in these circumstances, and allocate points accordingly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok - if i could i would merge the 'set up zone' thread in here as this is the scenario im referring to there!

Can i get reinforcements to arrive in a building? and if i do can i get them to arrive as hidden? OR (!) how long would a depleted platoon of paratroopers in the 2 barns you can see in the shots be able to hold off a platoon of German troops?

What i want to do is steer the first 2 sets of platoons through the set up area, over the first AA gun, and onwards to the farm where they can come to the relief of a third platoon holed up in the barn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can make them spawn in a building with a delay... wich is reinforcements. If this is what you mean.

Just set them up in the Deploy mode where you want them to appear.

You can make the german platoon spawn in pieces, as in reinforcements, so its an ongoing battle instead of throwing everything at the poor yanks at once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...