Blue and Gray

[Crushingleeek]

Oh how simple it all seemed on paper...

[Crushingleeek]

St. Laurent, between D3 and E1 draw. The 115th 29ers had a heck of a time here

[LongLeftFlank]

Good stuff. A WIP scenario, or close to publication?

[Crushingleeek]

thanks, hopefully close. i feel like that, but then either RL or more ideas prolong it. must be what BF feels a lot

[Crushingleeek]

The blue and gray campaign has been submitted to the BF repository.

This 14 mission campaign, mainly focused on the earlier days of the 29th's June Offensive (6/6-6/19) includes:

- dog green, dog white sectors of the landings;

-skirmishes in and around St. Laurent;

-one of many examples of General Norman "Dutch" Cota's in-the-field-with-the-troops assaults;

-tenacious fighting in Grandcamp;

-Lt. Kermit Miller's (115th reg) famous patrol across the Aure River Valley and ambush on Colombieres;

-the Massacre at Le Carrefour

-ambushed convoy in Bois de Bretel

...among others.

[sburke]

The blue and gray campaign has been submitted to the BF repository.

This 14 mission campaign, mainly focused on the earlier days of the 29th's June Offensive (6/6-6/19) includes:

- dog green, dog white sectors of the landings;

-skirmishes in and around St. Laurent;

-one of many examples of General Norman "Dutch" Cota's in-the-field-with-the-troops assaults;

-tenacious fighting in Grandcamp;

-Lt. Kermit Miller's (115th reg) famous patrol across the Aure River Valley and ambush on Colombieres;

-the Massacre at Le Carrefour

-ambushed convoy in Bois de Bretel

...among others.

Nice looking forward to it when I get back... I'm feeling the need for more wine...

[Fizou]

Nice! Man I look forward to try this one . Thanks CL!

EDIT: Is this base game only or do we need CW module to run?

[Roach]

Excellent. Grabbed it from the repository and the water (and everything else) is already looking decidely choppy!

As a matter of interest, are you planning on releasing individual maps from the campaign? The only (vaguely serious) attempt I've made at making a historical map myself is Le Carrefour and I'd quite like to compare - but somehow, what with my level of expertise or lack thereof, it's going to take me quite a while to get anywhere near those crossroads!

Many thanks.

[Crushingleeek]

I would be glad to release the maps if there is interest. So far, the missions I spent most time trying to capture historic attributes are vierville draw, hamel au pretre, and st. laurent.

I'm working on more historical maps, actually, including Villiers-Fossard, which I hope will become part of a sequel campaign.

[Broadsword56]

@crushingleek:

In that case, consider using the XIX Corps master map that I posted some months ago as a resource -- it covers that entire area and can give you a head start as far as the historical field patterns, town locations, principal roads, elevations, etc.

My La Nicollerie and Hamel Vallee maps from the Repository -- which were cut out from the master map -- are accurate maps of some areas just W and SW of Villiers-Fossard.

[Crushingleeek]

That would be a great resource, something I am definitely in need of.

Where did you post it, in forum or repository?

[Crushingleeek]

I think I see what you are referring to:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=97115&highlight=carillon&page=2

If so, we are already using the same source!

[Broadsword56]

That would be a great resource, something I am definitely in need of.

Where did you post it, in forum or repository?

The Master Map was posted to the Repository.

Discussion thread here:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=99780&highlight=XIX+Corps+master

[Note the posts on that thread mention problems loading the 4km x 4km map -- this is no longer the case, since the patch has given us the ability to load and even play very large maps now]

Here was a post on a different thread that shows you where this Master Map is in real life on Google Earth:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1268726&postcount=17

And here's a post showing where the specific submaps I've made are located within the overall 4km x 4km area (these have been posted on the repository as La Nicollerie, Choisy Crossroads, and Hamel Vallee -- which is the orange area in this image listed as battle 6.11):

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1334806&postcount=204

[Crushingleeek]

got it.

It's funny, my map picks up right where your La Nicollerie map ends. they border each other.

I thought maybe you might have a military topography map in addition to the google maps?

Google earth maps show some topography, but its not that ideal for getting precise relative elevations. I'm also using the google buddy road views to get some extra info, but not all the roads are documented.

[Crushingleeek]

it seems like most of the military topography maps i've come across are too large in scale to capture the detail i'm looking for.

I think google maps will suffice, it'll just take longer to switch in and out of all the views.

[Sgt Joch]

cool!

Having read Balkoski's book "Beyond the Beachhead" on the 29th's campaign, this will be fun to play.

[Broadsword56]

it seems like most of the military topography maps i've come across are too large in scale to capture the detail i'm looking for.

I think google maps will suffice, it'll just take longer to switch in and out of all the views.

I applaud your desire to get such detailed topography elevations for your historical maps. But I'd just say, don't write off Google Earth too quickly. By using the GE polygon technique, you can place contours on your Google Earth jpeg reference images very quickly and easily.

I've found that a contour for every 5m of elevation works beautifully for CMBN and gives a highly realistic variation in terrain within the game. Frankly, at 8m per action square, there's not much point in trying to get much finer-grained with your topography than that. And in this area -- around Villiers-Fossard -- the changes in elevation were so modest that you'd go from, say, a low of 85m to a high of 110m across the entire area.

[Crushingleeek]

cool!

Having read Balkoski's book "Beyond the Beachhead" on the 29th's campaign, this will be fun to play.

Most of the material I chose to highlight came from that book. It is a really well written account.

[Crushingleeek]

I applaud your desire to get such detailed topography elevations for your historical maps. But I'd just say, don't write off Google Earth too quickly. By using the GE polygon technique, you can place contours on your Google Earth jpeg reference images very quickly and easily.

I've found that a contour for every 5m of elevation works beautifully for CMBN and gives a highly realistic variation in terrain within the game. Frankly, at 8m per action square, there's not much point in trying to get much finer-grained with your topography than that. And in this area -- around Villiers-Fossard -- the changes in elevation were so modest that you'd go from, say, a low of 85m to a high of 110m across the entire area.

I'm not sure I know about the GE polygon technique?

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Looks very nice, Crushingleek! What is the scale of the battles in this campaign?

[Broadsword56]

I'm not sure I know about the GE polygon technique?

Download the HTML Mapping Tool from the Repository (StoneAge made this amazing tool, and if you haven't tried it you really should if you're making GE-based maps). In the set of files is a file called help.htm. That help file has detailed, illustrated instructions on tips and tricks for Google Earth, and a complete explanation of the polygon technique for making contour maps that way.

[Crushingleeek]

oh i think i remember looking over that tool, and it seemed so involved, i just began mapping:D

[Broadsword56]

oh i think i remember looking over that tool, and it seemed so involved, i just began mapping:D

StoneAge is very helpful if you get stuck -- just pm him.

His instructions are detailed but very thorough and step by step.

I can also answer questions to a certain extent, since I tested the tool and have used in in maps a bit so far.

[Crushingleeek]

Looks very nice, Crushingleek! What is the scale of the battles in this campaign?

Hello Blucher, I tend toward smaller scale battles. I loved your Devil's Descent campaign, and I found I enjoy it the most while making the Outlaws.

Some of the battles in Blue and Gray are slightly larger, some at the company level, and even Battalion sized in the first two scenarios on the beach. This was out of necessity as the casualty rates were so tremendous, and high KIA's will be unavoidable on the beach.

Then there are two missions for St. Laurent, one is literally squad-sized, with an unorthodox objective (at least for CMBN) , and the other is roughly company sized, but the forces are split (Mission Briefing will describe why, and for more detail, "Beyond the Beachhead" describes it well.)

5). General Cota's Assault - two half-strength platoons

6). La Fraisnaie - securing the inlet passage toward St. Laurent - a platoon

7). Mop-up is a small scale rendition of clearing out the straggling defenses that remained in pillboxes and trench networks - one half-strength platoon

8). Grandcamp - two platoons with a few supporting tanks, with reserves

9). Chateau de Colombieres - about two squads

10). Colombieres - two squads

11). Carrefour - battalion-sized (will not need to manage entire battlion, No spoiler)

12). PTSD - squad sized

13). Bois de Bretel - company-sized, with reserves

[Crushingleeek]

As mentioned in passing, I've implemented a new "reserve" system, where you can decide whether you want to commit additional forces to a battle.

However, committing them means you draw from reserves that could be potentially required elsewhere in the war, and as such, this incurs a penalty for engaging them in your battle!