BTS-Brilliant idea for large battles

[Stephen Smith]

Think the Olympics Flag...

I assume that there is a size limit for battles (currently, at about battalion size) for two reasons: 1) drawing a large map is too much for computers, and 1) drawing more vehicles/squads than a battalion is too much for most computers. However, I also assume there is no real problem to do the calculations to 'execute' larger battles-without displaying them, a typical computer could do the calculations for a Bde or larger (div?) force.

So, imagine a multiplayer game between two bn commanders on one side, and three on the other, on an 8x8 km map. The map is too large to draw, and the units are too numerous to draw. But what if, instead of drawing the whole map, you only draw the portion of the map relevant to your own units (say, 1st Bn on one side)? A subroutine at the beginning of each turn would determine LOS from all of my own units, draw the whole map encompassed by that 'circle' of LOS (like a circle on the olympics map-actually, it would be a circle encompassing LOS and area of influence-movable distance as well as seeable distance), and then give me that smaller portion of the whole map, at the beginning of that turn, on which to plot my moves and move my units. It would draw all of my own units, any enemy units within LOS (or area of potential influence), as well as any other friendly BNs units (which I could see, but not move). In a sense, then, I would only have to call up, at the beginning of each turn, my own 'olympic circle' of the whole map on which my friendly units are able to see or move to. That circle may overlap other friendly players' 'circles', as well as enemy 'circles' (just like the circles on the Olympic flag), -and thus I would see, on my 3D map, overlapped other friendly as well as enemy units. I give my units orders, then pass the file to the next guy. HIS circle is then calculated and displayed, along with other friendly and enemy units which overlap him-and so on, through all the players. After the last player has gone through the order phase, he hits the 'execute' button, and the computer does all the calculations for the entire five bns. It then reverts back to the 'circles' on each individuals' computer and displays in the 3D map only those units within an individual bn's 'circle.' At the next turn, new 'circles' are calculated (presumably, some of the bns have moved on the big map, so their LOS/area of influence 'circle' will have moved as well), and you repeat the process.

You could allow each player the ability to see the whole map in top down 2d (like looking at a topo map) as well-but you would only have to draw the 3D map, and unit polygons, for the smaller, individually controlled units (in this example, bns). In fact, you wouldn't have to even play multiplayer-I could play an entire 3 BN brigade, on an 8x8 km map, by playing individual bns one at a time on a 2x3 km 'circle', or portion of the map.

Admittedly, there are complications: what if I spread my bn out to a preposterous degree (say, across the whole 8km front-maybe the front is a series of thinly held company positions)? I may end up playing a series of 'drops' scattered over the whole larger map-small areas of company or even platoon positions. Or maybe there would simply be a command and control range to the ranking hq unit, outside of which one's units can only be moved on the 2d topo map. You may want the 'circle' to be larger than simply what my units could potentially see or move to-to give the player a bit more perspective when plotting his move (though he could always glance at the whole 2d 'topo map').

But this would really open up possibilities-imagine a team of four with three players as front line bns, and one as the bde commander-in control of bde reserves and artillery-when should he shift artillery bns? When should he commit the bde reserve? Bde scouts suddenly become important-in a perfect world, a division battle would be possible (say between teams of 10-15), but each player is actually only playing on a small battlefield about the size of current CM maps, and controlling a small force about the size of current CM forces.

Steve