Biltong Posted November 15, 2002 Share Posted November 15, 2002 Biltong’s Campaign Rules 41 South – June to December Latest update 23 Nov here: Scooby's Site Including Max BrauHaus' Auto Parameters or here SuperSulo's Site or here Snarker's Site Frustrated with the long delays between PBEM files? Bored with playing against the AI? Biltong’s Campaign Rules will introduce you to a totally different CMBB world: Unique Realism & High Tension. 1. What is Biltong’s Campaign Rules? Summary: You play the AI (as the Axis) in a series of QB generated battles. These battles are generated using a set of easy Rules. The Rules ensure that all historical factors are accurate as you and your troops battle through the months and years. Although you play separate battles, they are linked because you have a Core Force of German troops and armor that move with you from the first battle to the last. 41 South is the set of Rules covering the months June to December in the Army Group “South” Theatre of Operations. Operation Barbarossa erupts on 22 June 1941 and you and your men storm through the Soviet ranks through the long months of summer in the steppe and the mud and rain of October. You take your men all the way to Rostov, Khar’kov and the Crimea before the incredible cold of November halt you in your tracks. Then the Soviet counter attacks start. Background: In the old CMBO days a man called Wreck introduced the first set of rules. Unfortunately he got waylaid by a woman and had to hand them over. I took up the cudgel and because of the wide variety of parameters offered by CMBB the rules underwent a radical change. But Wreck’s introduction to the first set still holds true: “Anyone who remembers Panzer General, Steel Panthers, or Close Combat knows the fun of a campaign game. Carefully nursing along your force, slowly building it up to be something special. The horror of losing a valued unit. The glee when you increase in quality.... “ Overview: You are the commanding officer of a company of German troops and some armor that you take through the whole CMBB time frame from the opening salvo on 22 June 41 till the last shells fall in Berlin four years later. As you lead your company and armor into Russia all the parameters of the battles are dictated by historically accurate data, e.g. on the 4th week of October 41 it suddenly turns bitterly cold and the German advance freezes to a halt. However, there is also a random factor provided by a “Random Number”, to provide a degree of unpredictability, but historical accuracy dominates. Your individual men and armor gain or loose experience throughout the Campaign. They slowly advance through the ranks from Green to, hopefully, Crack. It all depends on how they fare in each battle… how many men did they kill; how many men did they lose; did they break; did they take out a MG pillbox or maybe even a tank? You yourself, as the CO, learn and slowly gain or loose Experience and also Favor with your own commanding officer, depending on battle outcomes and a host of other factors, e.g.: don't lose battles or even armor and especially don't let them burn! Your CO gets highly p'd off and you lose his Favor, which you can use to influence some of his decisions. E.g.: whether you can avoid launching an Immediate Assault straight after your last battle without even getting reinforcements. For most battles you will also get Auxiliary Forces: Infantry, Support, Vehicles, Armor, Arty or Air, depending on factors such as weather, who assaults or attack who and what the date is. Every CMBB parameter possible is used to provide an enormous variety of battles within a strictly historical framework. 2. What makes it different Immediate satisfaction and action versus the long delays between PBEM games combined with immersion and suspense from really getting involved with your men and armor over a long period of time. I used to play 6 or 7 PBEM files every night for many years, but once I started playing the Campaign Rules these faded to zero in a short time. And that is the very real danger of these rules – they can be quite detrimental to your net-social life. Be warned. The other factor is a degree of realism that no other CMBB play technique offers. In QB's, PBEM's and all designer scenarios you always have a “balanced” opponent, but that is near idiotic – on the East Front this hardly ever happened. With the Campaign Rules you have the real thing: Sometimes you know who your opponent is; sometimes you are facing unknown odds. Sometimes you have an easy go of it - hammering low on ammo and decimated green Partisans, but later that night you might face a counter-attack from 3 companies of Guards Mech, before you had chance to get reinforcements... Or Division might promise you a lot of supporting arty, but a fog sets in just before your assault, making them useless. You have to think on your feet and learn to retreat when necessary... no more heroic defenses or assaults till the last man!! Your men's survival becomes of the utmost importance... even to the extent that you'll rather loose a battle than loose too many men! The flags still matter – you still want to win, but not at the cost and risk of decimating your men. Realism rules for the first time. As a learning tool this is unsurpassed.... You learn to think and act like a real commander... If you think you’ve got your tactics down pat, – Think again… You will get into situations that you’ve never encountered before… and never will with normal scenarios and QB’s. That you are playing the AI becomes completely unimportant... all that matters are winning and surviving… for your men and yourself. If you would like a set... (or an update) Post your e-mail address here and I'll send it along. All feed back/errors/ideas/gray or unclear areas very welcome... help to make the Rules better for everyone. Biltong [ November 23, 2002, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Rob Posted November 15, 2002 Share Posted November 15, 2002 Let me be the first to thank you for your hard work putting together these rules. Rob W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zukkov Posted November 15, 2002 Share Posted November 15, 2002 Originally posted by DD_Rob: Let me be the first to thank you for your hard work putting together these rules. Rob Wditto. really appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biltong Posted November 15, 2002 Author Share Posted November 15, 2002 Pleasure Rob/Zukkov Allthough I've found that my own rules are giving me a hard time.. TG - I put in modifiers for Conscript, Green ( < 6 months) and regular players... looks like I'll be using them myself :mad: [ November 15, 2002, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biltong Posted November 15, 2002 Author Share Posted November 15, 2002 Where to from here? The present rules should keep most of you occupied for a couple of months at least. I've already started reading about 42 South and will get to that in due course. However: I've been doing some tests with importing maps into the QB and it looks good I want to use premade maps for city battles and river crossings - both which feature a number of times in 41 South. I'm writing the requirements at the moment and will post in due course... I'm going to be needing help with creating these maps... Tom Reiter just sent me an example of how the parameters can be semi-automated with VBA... That would simplify things enormously.... Any volunteers out there... I don't know VBA... Biltong [ November 15, 2002, 05:19 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biltong Posted November 16, 2002 Author Share Posted November 16, 2002 The QB generator's city maps suck and I’ve been thinking of importing these using the new import feature of CMBB. I did some tests and it looks good. For that matter also a river crossing map. Both city battles and river crossings were important features of Barbarossa (South). So, I'm looking for volunteers with time on their hands and a creative bent. What I need is a single map of the following: 1) City map with some large buildings depicting the center of a large city. This is not Stalingrad so you don’t have to go overboard with the large buildings. A couple of factories will do. (Sewer movement will be enabled for these battles). No river. 2) City map with some large buildings depicting the center of a large city with a river dividing the city. Two or more bridges of various sizes. These maps will be used to depict the battles that took place in Kiev, Khar’kov and Rostov as well as on the outskirts of Sevastopol. If you can get material to make them historically correct – great… if not, no matter, any map is better than no map. 3) A small town map with a large river. A road and railway bridge – a fjord or 2? This one will be used for a river crossing battle. Not too small – otherwise feel free to do what you want – surprise me and the players If you want to contribute – contact me here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krasny Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 where do i find these rules? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smolensk Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Biltong, I would love a set of these rules. You can email me at... Smolensk1941@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I would like a set of the rules, and I may have a map for you coming down the pike in a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juju Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Biltong, can you send me a copy of the rules as well? Email's in my profile. Thanks! Juju Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agua Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Send 'em over please, if you are not going to send them out just as a matter of course as an update to the people who requested the campaign rules previously. If you are, then send em over anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Deadmarsh Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I would like to partake in this. Please send me da rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adg Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Hook me up!!! anash25@cogeco.ca Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Steiner Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Bitlong, I too have been thinking about campaign rules and would love to see what you've come up with. I may also try my hand at a map soon. One suggestion - why not have the end of the campaign be some time after D-Day, when your company is transferred to France. This would have been seen as a kind of victory to most Germans on the eastern front. You could even run another campaign immediately after using CMBO starting in Normandy for the same unit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krm Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Send a copy my way too please. E mail in profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJK Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I'd appreciate a copy as well! Email is in my profile. You might consider zipping and uploading to the CM Mod database as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby2003 Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Thanks Biltong for an exceptional document! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaylord Focker Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Sounds pretty cool, i'd like to check out these rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnersman Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I am interested. Let me see what you have. I was going to play in the Tigers v Bears campaing but it seemed way to involved for someone like me. Send here please, gunnersman99@yahoo.com Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offtaskagain Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I'd like a copy. Emails in the profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajorVictory Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Sounds great. Please send me a copy. Danke Shoene! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Biltong, I have a copy of Wrecks rules for CMBO and that kept me busy for months. I'd love to have your copy for CMBB. Please send a copy at my profile's email address if you can. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaTyR Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Interested as well. Thanks for coming up with a way to transfer one of the main attractions of PG and SP series to CMBB (and thanks to Wreck also who, if I understood correctly, made these rules for CMBO from where you adapted them to CMBB). Been waiting for something like this. Please e-mail me the rules, address in the profile. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straif Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 I would appreciate a copy of your rules. My address: akilim@yahoo.com Thank you in advance Straif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Byte Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 got the beta ....need the full version please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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