Michael Dorosh Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Has this been discussed before - the addition of a line of text, or perhaps a new briefing screen, at the start of any turn in which reinforcements enter play? I like the latter option, actually, if you can access it via the "briefing" button on the main interface later on during play. I think it would be useful to be able to provide a description of who the reinforcements are - or for large scenarios, where they are, especially if they are not mentioned in the main briefing (some designers like to keep these a surprise). You could use this additional "briefing" for several purposes, from a simple "the commander of Number Five Company reports via radio that he has arrived in your sector and is standing by for orders", to even a complete rebrief, or further dissemination of intelligence from the designer to the player, such as - "A cut off infantry company has just entered the map to the west of your company command post; a runner reports to you that a large enemy tank force has ambushed them and has entrenched in force to your front." Other ideas/opinions? I know Steve has mentioned the possibility - in the new engine rewrite - of adding images to briefings, but I haven't seen this mentioned yet. [ October 24, 2002, 08:29 PM: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Porta Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Now that is so good an idea I wonder noone has come up with it before... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 25, 2002 Author Share Posted October 25, 2002 Many is the time I get reinforcements and have to rotate the camera 360 degrees, using the group command tool to figure out where the heck they are! It would also be useful in Operations - ie "Divisional HQ has released their reserves" so that you have some idea of which level of reserves have been added to your force, and which level you still have to rely on in a crunch - if, of course, the scenario designer wants you to have this info. I realize this can be done in the scenario briefing as well, but it would be a neat feature nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Manuel Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Many is the time I get reinforcements and have to rotate the camera 360 degrees, using the group command tool to figure out where the heck they are! Interesting method...I take it you wind up highlighting troops out of thin air, and thus discover their location? The method I use is to click an unoccupied part of the battlefield, then hit (-) until the backwards scroll-thru-units reveals the newcomers...IIRC you might 1st have to go past the crews and POWs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kump Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Many is the time I get reinforcements and have to rotate the camera 360 degrees, using the group command tool to figure out where the heck they are!Michael, I've never had that problem. Anytime reinforcements appear, I make sure no unit is selected and hit the '-' (minus) key. That selects the last unit, which is the reinforcement. You can then scan and spot the colored box, or better, you can hit the 'tab' to jump to the reinforcement entry point. Then continue hitting the '-' key to walk up the reinforcement list to see what you got. My procedure is '-', tab, then '7' to get a map view and better see the reinforcement entry point in relation to my front lines. The colored box will be around one of the reinforcements and with unit bases on, you should get the picture pretty quick. EDIT: Dang it Silvio, you beat me to it once I was typing. Guess we agree:) [ October 24, 2002, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: kump ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Buff Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 My vote is to have the pictures in briefings and the midway through briefings, especially in ops. Can't be that hard to code compared to other stuff. Then again i don't know jack about coding. Any chance of a patch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eden Smallwood Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 The current briefings are being used for two purposes: 1) "Hi! My name is Bob, and I wrote this scenario for my cat Percy, who is a SturmTrupper fan..." 2) "Commander, I have the intel you requested..." I'd like to see the Briefing separated from the "About Box", so that scenario designers can (if they wish) really focus on the esthetic of the briefing without meta-commenting pollution. The "About" info should indicate stuff like how the scenario is best played, (PBEM best, Axis vs AI second), what "semi-historical" means in this case, (pretty good OOB, but no map), et cetera. Then the true Briefing will have access to the 3D rendering engine, so it can walk you through the textual commentary at the same time it shows you on the map what it's talking about. Just like in the briefing room!! Why think small? Eden PS: In _A Deadly Affair_, when the convoy comes, the little window says, "You're reinforcements have arrived", or whatever. Wouldn't it be neat if the scenario designer could just put in his own string into that window, (almost what you're saying above), so it says "The convoy is here". A little thing, but requiring only one single string to be customizable, so maybe this one is even doable in less than two years time...? [ October 25, 2002, 02:12 AM: Message edited by: Eden Smallwood ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Lucke Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Originally posted by Eden Smallwood: The current briefings are being used for two purposes: 1) "Hi! My name is Bob, and I wrote this scenario for my cat Percy, who is a SturmTrupper fan..." Actually, my cat has a preference for the NKVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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