SgtMuhammed Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 So how does one become a scenario designer for the disk? I would guess that BFC already has a pool of you guys because someone has to get the early releases so they can start designing. How do you become part of that pool? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by sgtgoody (esq): So how does one become a scenario designer for the disk? I would guess that BFC already has a pool of you guys because someone has to get the early releases so they can start designing. How do you become part of that pool? Hee hee; I already asked! Do you have a body of work you can point to (ie a portfolio?) Not that it will help you anyway. BWAHAHAHA 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Bribery works. I hear rune is especially fond of spam. Send him a case. Come to think of it, better send him two. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by sgtgoody (esq): How do you become part of that pool? You need to be ridiculously handsome, highly intelligent, softly spoken but with a resolve like steel, of fine breeding, imbued with an impeccable taste, and a prime specimen of Designorus Superiorus Eclatanta. Like me, basically. Alternatively, try bribery. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by sgtgoody (esq): How do you become part of that pool? Know what to kiss and when. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Having gotten the blessing to answer this, be prepared for War and Peace. I was the Lead Scenario Designer for CMBB and maybe to the future. [As Matt just emailed me, no one else would be stupid enough to do it. hehehehehe] The BFC crew allowed me to pick who I deemed worthy, and went ahead with my recommendations. I learned from Wild Bill, and kept with his style of management, to the chagrin of a few...but not to me. In the long run, I think we did rather well. What do I look for: 1. Originality. Huh? you say, these are all battles that occurred in history. True. However, is it a fresh new design or a copy of another game? All the CMBB scenarios were made by the authors, none are copies of any game. Necessary to protect the game and BFC. 2. Map Design. A good map design sells the scenario. A billards table map with no tree won't go over well....unless, of course, it is HISTORICAL. 3. Knowledge. A good designer has to know the units. An assault could be 1.6 to 1 odds, but give the defenders Tigers and the attacked light tanks, and you may have to go to a 4 or 5 to 1 odds to be balanced. Which brings us to: 4. Variety. The biggest problem with scenario design is no matter what you do, someone will like and someone will hate a scenario. Von Lauchert is a perfect example. This is a completely HISTORICAL scenario...the point was to show how the Soviets had to adjust their tactics to deal with the new Panther. Most got the idea to play as Soviet...other complained it wasn't balanced. Of course it isn't...it is HISTORY. What does this have to do with variety? Everything! Some people like fictional, some semi-historical, some historical to see if they could do better then what originally occurred. Some like the small Byte Battles, some like HUGE monster battles. Some like this force or that force. I try to get out as many different types of scenarios as I could. You may hate huge scenarios, but you know there will be small ones on the CD and vice versa. 5. Works well with others. THIS IS A BIG ONE. Not only do the people making scenarios have to create them, it does NOT take away from their responsibility of beta testing, research, and testing OTHER scenarios. I look them all over to see which ones I recommend to go on the CD, but I still require feedback from the testers to get a feel of how the game plays. Someone asked me on Matt's chat once why I don't play others there, then laughed when I said I am sure I played more then anyone else. I guarantee I have. Each time a scenario was done or re-done I played it from both sides, scenarios that made it, and ones that didn't. Been doing this since the days of CMBO alpha. It adds up to countless games against the AI...I depend on others for 2 player play, I don't always have the time to play email or ip. So, you have to be able to give feedback POSITIVELY. The name of the game is to help each other on the team make their work ever better. Everyone volunteers their work/time, I have not and will not tolerate negativity. There are always good things on a design, you just have to pull them out sometimes. 6. Works well under pressure. There are time constraints, or the CD would never go out. There is a time to buckle down and get what you can done, and done now. 7. A sense of Humor. Nothing is more demoralizing then someone comming forth and trashing a tutorial cause it doesn't have replayability. You got to keep a sense of humor about it, and with working with others. Kingfish knows how much I hate SPAM....need more be said? 8. Ability to follow directions. The format of the briefings were REQUIRED. There are multiple reasons, but have to do mainly with translating from language to language. Much easier to do if a standard format is followed. Some changes were made from my first draft [great ideas, and name changes], but the format is with us through CMAK. 9. Willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. It takes a lot of time to make a scenario, a lot more to make it great. Members of the team, include wwb, who went and got original maps for me [which I paid for], Warphead who sent me maps from Russia when he visited there, Andreas, Berli, Jeff Weatherspoon, who asked what am I missing, then created scenario on what forces and sizes i requested. The Finnish team for stepping up and making some Finnish scenarios, because I couldn't get good enough information in English. All the scenario designers, who pitched in and did last minute testing. Beta testers who didn't make scenarios, but helped out with the testing. Bullethead, Joel, Wild Bill, Kevin K. and others who all helped out. I have been lucky enough to work with you guys. I appreciate the chance of YOUR work making me look good. If i forgot anyone, please forgive me, but am at work and don't have my notes with me. A bunch of people not even on the beta team helped out, and i certainly appreciate you hard work as well. 10. Spelling. I stink at spelling, and had lots of help correcting grammar and spelling mistakes in the briefing. 11. Versatility. Jaegermesiter was made no less then 27 times before you saw it. It was the first test scenario we used, and everytime there was a build to change things, the scenario had to completely redone. This is NOT typical, but the fact remains, of a bug is found, and squashing it requires a code change, then you may have to re-create all your work. 12. Ability to turn the other cheek when one of the above is broken by someone, We work out problems out internally, without name calling. It stays within the scenario design team, not outside or BFC should be bothered by it. 13. Ability to keep confidential information just that, confidential. Top Secret clearence has nothing on us. This is JUST the starting point of what I look for. I am honored and pleased that the crew I work with worked exceedingly well together. I am honored to have worked with you all. Now, I know I am going to be asked, well, how am I considered? Well, it is too early at this stage first off, and second, the members of the team that are asked to come back get priority as they should. Once we get things rolling, and Matt starts cracking his whip on me, I will go over the list of designers, see who is around for the next round, and then determine IF I need anymore. If I do, then I will send the person I am interested in a message asking if they are interested...I have been turned down before. Not everyong gets on because they are in a certain group, or because they made a top rated scenario. As you see above, a lot more goes into it. If i haven't disuaded you by now, then drop me an email with what scenarios you made, and I guess it is time to open a new trash can [kidding]. I will keep things in mind, but also keep in mind if you aren't picked, it isn't because you don't make good sceanrios..as I stated more then that goes into it. Any mistakes or comments should go to me and not the BFC crew. Rune [ June 09, 2003, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: rune ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 PS... Living in Chicago, bribery works. hehehehe Kidding.... Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 And if you're talking aobut scenarios for CMAK, it'd most probably be mandatory for you actually have a copy of CMAK to work on! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Originally posted by MikeyD: And if you're talking about scenarios for CMAK, it'd most probably be mandatory for you actually have a copy of CMAK to work on! That would mean you have to be in the beta tester pool for CMAK and therefore EVEN more bribary would be required! :eek: (me thinks) -tom w [ June 09, 2003, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Hey Rune I'll volunteer, I'm already in the process of gathering material for my own scenarios for CMAK. In particular for Italians units. Bribery? Not likely! Chicago? No way. For scenarios I would point to in my 'portfolio' Task Force Smith My line of Spanish Civil war scenarios My soon to come out Sino-Japanese scenario (yes the Chinese had tanks). The popular Pevshotraveneve series The conversion of the boardgame Panzerblitz scenarios to CMBB (not quite finished) but the majority are now up. Plus the Small Battles grouping. Oh I think designers of scenarios for CMAK must be able to chant the TOE of all Republic of Salo units... Regards 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Bah! I live in Chicago, and I didn't see a bribe. To answer: Yes, you are on the beta team if you get selected, hence the top secret clearance and the "you have to report bugs". No, BAD HANS! BAD! Send email...not here. Panzerblitz scenarios would be a no no for obvious reason, not original work. Not released stuff won't help me, so list out what you made that I can look at. I don't want to flood this thread with people asking to get on. My email is listed, but will put it here anyway... rune@ameritech.net Will make this the first test, if you can't [not aimed at Hans, I already slapped his hands..heheheheh] read insturctions listed above, then you already failed. Hans, make it CMBB stuff, my CMBO is too tied up with the special edition stuff. Just drop me an email. Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Email sent - I'll ask here in public forum also some of what I originally posted, perhaps others have the same question: Hmm; I emailed Steve about being a beta tester. He replied that there was no room for me, so I assumed that this was a case of the chicken and the egg -ie you have to be a beta tester before being considered for scenario design. Is this in fact not the case? I had really wanted to be able to design a scenario or two using the Canadians in Sicily and Italy. My Ortona Operation in CMBO was well researched, original (not from another game)and benefitted from an actual historical map. It was also well received at the depot, though it needed more playtesting than it got and much more attention from me to the feedback it did receive. Once CMBB came along, and talk of the engine rewrite, it seemed wasteful to expend a lot of energy on CMBO, frankly. I would love to rework this Operation for CMAK. Is it still possible to get in via the "egg" route - ie through you, rune? [ June 09, 2003, 03:54 PM: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Scenario designers are beta testers, it is true. Did I get a few on? yes! Is it possible? Yes, but very very remote at this time. As I stated in the first message, it is too early in the process. Once I sit with Matt, Steve, Charles, Fernado, Moon and KD, I am sure we will discuss this topic. If everyone who made CMBB scenarios comes back, there will not be an opening, if someone hasn't got the time, or has moved on to other things, then I may ask for another scenario designer. Either way, the odds are remote. As I said, returning beta testers and scenario designers get first crack, which is as it should be. Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Hi Rune Not having any luck with that email address, will try again later. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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