If you haven't played the Devilss Descent Campaign ... DO SO!

[Rocky Balboa]

Yep just started this one myself. Its still too early for me to comment on the scenario design, but I'm really enjoying the way i'ts put together and the narrative approach FMB has taken. I hope BFC will take note of this and give campaign and scenario builders more options to tell a story with their designs in the future.

I will give some feedback on the narrative at least for the first battle. The story is plausible but the dialog needs some work, it should be more natural and less forced. The swearing is fine if that's what your characters do but in some cases it seems as if a character says something for no other reason other than to drop another fbomb as if its just being added to shock the reader.

All and all I applaud and thank you for your effort. For what its worth, I'll provide more feedback as I progress.

[Juju]

when my AT guns came into the game from the Glider unit...

Wait, what? I haven't seen any AT guns! Must be depending on the choices you make. I didn't wait to attack the town at night and afterwards took the whole company. Like the scenario said, eh: no platoon left behind.

Great little campaign. Loved it.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Wait, what? I haven't seen any AT guns!.

Heh. I did say the campaign had meaningful choices. If you guys enjoyed the campaign, you might want to play it again and make a different choice in the second decision mission; it can substantially affect the way the campaign plays out.

To everyone in general, I have some more comments:

First of all, I'm overwhelmed by all of the positive feedback. I put a lot of effort into this, and I am so happy to see that you guys are enjoying the campaign this much.

Second, regarding difficulty (or lack thereof ): I think the campaign came out a little easier than I intended it to be, but I'm going to leave it as is for now. There are a couple of reasons why it's so easy. First, it was always intended to be in the "Medium-Easy" range of difficulty from the start. Second, the vast majority of scenario design and testing took place during the early to mid Alpha testing phase. I'm afraid of going into specifics, but suffice to say that there were some bugs around back then that made the first three missions substantially more difficult than they are now. Not only are those missions easier, but the last few missions were designed with the mindset that the player would have taken heavier casualties in the first few missions than you guys are experiencing. Overall, I'm OK with the result, as it produces an entertaining campaign that's accessible to CM newcomers, but my future CMBN campaigns will be a step up in difficulty.

Third, there are definitely some more projects in the works. At a bare minimum, I hope to continue this specific storyline into Market-Garden when that module comes out. As to more current projects, I'm in the process of designing a campaign with similar decision mechanics (I'm not sure yet if there's going to be a narrative for this one) about the 116th Panzer Division in the Mortain counterattack. I'm also considering a new CMSF campaign using the decision mechanics as well (although there will almost certainly be no narrative due to the inflexibility of the CMSF briefing format). So rest assured, there will definitely be more like this on the way.

-FMB

[Paul]

As for myself, I don't find the campaign that easy. Not if you want to keep the casualties to absolute minimum. There were a couple of places where I had quite a few casualties and had to reload to be able to keep going. Mainly the church, where I thought I was safe and then when a certain vehicle started blowing my guys up. So without reloads, I don't think that I would have been strong enough to finish. I have really enjoyed this campaign and can't wait for more.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

I will give some feedback on the narrative at least for the first battle. The story is plausible but the dialog needs some work, it should be more natural and less forced. The swearing is fine if that's what your characters do but in some cases it seems as if a character says something for no other reason other than to drop another fbomb as if its just being added to shock the reader.

Then you must know classier people than I do.

Seriously, the reason the characters talk like that is that real people that I know talk like that. There's one sequence in particular in a later mission where Evans and Bautz exchange two lines of dialogue that contain a horrific percentage of profanities, but that's based on an actual exchange that I heard between two of my friends.

One thing that you'll note as you get deeper into the narrative is that the characters are distinct. Evans and Bautz are very, very profane, Ford and Johnson less so, Spurgin swears very little, and Blaes does not swear at all.

[MCB]

FMB,

Greetings. The following position is academic in nature, and therefore totally irrelevant. Having said that - I am a retired paratrooper of 21 years service. If I haven't heard it - it has not been said (profanity wise). However, when we consider the cultural identities and zeitgeist of the generation of the soldiers portrayed, I would suggest we at least consider that profanity (even in the uniformed services) was not as common place or pervasive as Hollywood would have us believe. Make no mistake, they cursed in the 40s, but it was not as lasse faire as we find today. I have read a couple of Revolutionary War letters that were sprinkled with language that might surprise, but it was frowned upon then as well. Having said that, it doesn't detract from the excellent work you have produced. Just thinking out loud.

MCB

[thejetset]

First of all, I'm overwhelmed by all of the positive feedback. I put a lot of effort into this, and I am so happy to see that you guys are enjoying the campaign this much.

It's WELL deserved! You've really added a great additional dynamic to this series! ... but my wife is definitely going to hate you for this!

Second, regarding difficulty (or lack thereof ): I think the campaign came out a little easier than I intended it to be, but I'm going to leave it as is for now.

Some of the scenarios do end up like a failed Japanese banzai charge! ... but as some of the other people have mentioned, it is much harder if you try to keep your casualties down to a bare minimum.

I'm in the process of designing a campaign with similar decision mechanics (I'm not sure yet if there's going to be a narrative for this one)

KEEP THE NARRATIVE PLEASE!!!! And let us know if you need any help writing it or editing it!! It makes it so much more cool and personal.

But the bottom line is ... Thanks! Great job!!!

[Field Marshal Blücher]

FMB,

Greetings. The following position is academic in nature, and therefore totally irrelevant. Having said that - I am a retired paratrooper of 21 years service. If I haven't heard it - it has not been said (profanity wise). However, when we consider the cultural identities and zeitgeist of the generation of the soldiers portrayed, I would suggest we at least consider that profanity (even in the uniformed services) was not as common place or pervasive as Hollywood would have us believe. Make no mistake, they cursed in the 40s, but it was not as lasse faire as we find today. I have read a couple of Revolutionary War letters that were sprinkled with language that might surprise, but it was frowned upon then as well. Having said that, it doesn't detract from the excellent work you have produced. Just thinking out loud.

MCB

Yeah, I actually do know that. Basically, I had to make a choice between going for period-accurate dialogue, or dialogue based on real people that I knew. I knew that each one would sound forced to somebody (since the period-accurate dialogue would be harder for me to write convincingly), so I went with my gut and wrote it based on dialogue that I hear every day. Thanks for pointing this out, though. It's an interesting conundrum, and this ties in nicely to my response to thejetset's post below yours:

Basically, the main reason I'm debating writing a narrative for the Germans is that it'll be harder for me to do it convincingly. Not only would it be difficult to accurately capture the mannerisms of 1940s German soldiers, but I'd also need to tread VERY carefully around the ideology of Nazism and how to portray it. I'm not ruling out the dialogue, it's just an issue I'm still debating internally.

[Broadsword56]

Basically, the main reason I'm debating writing a narrative for the Germans is that it'll be harder for me to do it convincingly. Not only would it be difficult to accurately capture the mannerisms of 1940s German soldiers, but I'd also need to tread VERY carefully around the ideology of Nazism and how to portray it. I'm not ruling out the dialogue, it's just an issue I'm still debating internally.

Best bet is not to think of them as ideological Nazis -- at least not the average low-ranking Wehrmacht trigger-puller. Just think of them as generally apolitical young boys trying to survive, doing their duty, and following orders, just like the Americans. A little more motivated because now they're defending European soil, and mad because their parents and girlfriends are getting bombed back home. They're confident that they're the superior soldiers and have better weapons. But they've seen the Allied resources and firepower, they're starting to doubt the official propaganda now, and it's started to dawn on them that they could actually lose the war. The NCOs can be cynical but tactically smart and battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern front. And then maybe a Nazi or two in the officer corps, especially if it's a replacement one who comes fresh from training or a rear HQ and hasn't had time to appreciate the facts on the ground.

[bbaker]

Just wanted to add one more voice of thanks, Field Marshall. I've had a blast with the first two missions. Very involving and very immersive, to the point that when I suffered a few WIA in the second mission, I made sure to leave teams in place until they had finished buddy aid or to send a team to an isolated casualty--I didn't want any KIA! The pixeltruppen have never had it so good.

[Rokko]

If its to easy you might consider lowering the experience from crack to veteran or regular with very high motivation. Haven't actually played it much, so I can't tell, but having a all-out crack company seems a bit unrealistic (especially for troops with no actual combat exp) and might make things to easy.

[Broadsword56]

If its to easy you might consider lowering the experience from crack to veteran or regular with very high motivation. Haven't actually played it much, so I can't tell, but having a all-out crack company seems a bit unrealistic (especially for troops with no actual combat exp) and might make things to easy.

+1 to that, sounds like a better fit.

[Migo441]

...lowering the experience from crack to veteran or regular with very high motivation.

Apologies for my ignorance about constructing or editing campaigns. Is it possible for players to do this themselves?

[Rokko]

Not in campaigns, only in single scenarios.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Apologies for my ignorance about constructing or editing campaigns. Is it possible for players to do this themselves?

As Rokko said, I would have to do this myself to edit the whole campaign. I'm going to leave it as is for now, though. If I was going to edit the campaign, this is exactly what I'd do, though--excellent suggestion.

[thejetset]

Best bet is not to think of them as ideological Nazis -- at least not the average low-ranking Wehrmacht trigger-puller. Just think of them as generally apolitical young boys trying to survive, doing their duty, and following orders, just like the Americans. A little more motivated because now they're defending European soil, and mad because their parents and girlfriends are getting bombed back home. They're confident that they're the superior soldiers and have better weapons. But they've seen the Allied resources and firepower, they're starting to doubt the official propaganda now, and it's started to dawn on them that they could actually lose the war. The NCOs can be cynical but tactically smart and battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern front. And then maybe a Nazi or two in the officer corps, especially if it's a replacement one who comes fresh from training or a rear HQ and hasn't had time to appreciate the facts on the ground.

I agree with Broadsword56 with regard to how the German dialog could be portrayed. ... so long as the German company is not a fanatical Nazi SS corps, I don't think it will be a problem.

One of my family's great friends who only died last year was a former WWII German soldier who lived in my hometown in the USA. He came from a family that made chocolates in a small German town and ended up manning an AA machine-gun on a German patrol boat in the North Sea. ..... Just a draftee following orders and subjected to a lot of propaganda. He always said, "But I never hit anything!" ... anyway, at least he missed the Allied plane that blew his boat out of the water. (he spent the rest of the war at a prison camp in England)

But I think that regardless of how you decide to portray the dialog, you're not going to offend anyone that plays Combat Mission by portraying some Nazi ideals and propaganda. .... after all, that's why we were over there fighting them. ... there's nothing wrong with a little drama every now and again.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Yep, Broadsword's concept is probably what I'm going to do should I decide to go for the narrative angle.

[Hiram Sedai]

no offense to you grognardian type peoples but I don't play to read walls and walls of text. I play to immerse myself in the gameplay. I played this campaign and had a truckload of fun because it reminded me of some of the nice CMBO and CMBB campaigns. So, go ahead and borrow some text from Top Gear: Germany and paste it into a scenario and move along.

Field Marshal Glue, we are hoping that you will continue to put out.

i mean...uh...give up the campaign booty

[goodwood]

G'day all I'm playing and finding this a challenging campaign, however the most challenging issue in this series of battle is ammo management. I am into the scenario of recapturing the town, but it is difficult with no mortar ammo, several of my squads have little or no .45 ammo and there is a shortage of 30 and 30.06 ammo as well. Does anyone have any idea if there is a resupp around the corner?

[goodwood]

oops dopey me a double post

[lookeylou]

You do get renforcments. Spread your teams out so the germans are taking fire from multiple sides. They willl panic and run. put you motar teams on the front lines if you are in a pinch. they come with good weapons

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Does anyone have any idea if there is a resupp around the corner?

How spoiler-y do you want my response to be? I can give you very precise information or just a general sense of how things will turn out.

[goodwood]

He he he just a general response, yes or no will be fine. By the way a nice little collection of battles so far, most enjoyable. I will have to re think my tactics though, I will have to stop filling building full of lead before assaulting.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

He he he just a general response, yes or no will be fine. By the way a nice little collection of battles so far, most enjoyable. I will have to re think my tactics though, I will have to stop filling building full of lead before assaulting.

OK, in that case . . .

There is some resupply at some point.

[finalcut]

OK, in that case . . .

There is some resupply at some point.

I finished the Campaign,Loved it.I was also crazy with the shooting up everything,and let me tell you.when I reached the point of getting resupplied,I was like a Kid at Christmas.Just starting a second run of this awesome Campaign and this time I will make different choices to see what happens.I will also conserve ammo a lot more.