Week-End with the scenario day - 30/05-31/05

New Doodle

http://doodle.com/q4mx82w6zz9n8xsm

My computer died this evening. I hope I can get it fixed by the weekend but I can't say yet.

PC fixed. Amazingly the CPU heatsink and fan had come loose and fallen off! Back on now and all seems to be okay.

Congrats   

Thanks. It was the reason I suddenly left teamspeak last night! At least the heatsink decided to hang on in there until the game finished.

Wow! I just thought you were too embarrassed by the discussion describing your astonishing abilities in the last game to hang around and listen to the compliments! Oh, wait, that wasn't you not seeing the enemy for all those hours. My mistake! Let's see....who was it that had what can only be called a "Hooker Moment!" LOL

Well, it was a good game...and I am glad your PC problems were not more serious!

Best regards,

J

Indeed, General "Blind Pugh" Colton has to go down in SoW history. We should send that replay to Norb and tell him how realistic his game is.

"No battle plan ever survives contact with the most stupid of it's initiating officers".

I was almost as bad; my ENTIRE DIVISION marched almost 270 degrees right around the Union left flank at Catherine's Furnace and must have been within 250 yards of them. Not one of my 7000 men saw a thing.

It was a great game, and with no lag at all.

I've just had a thought.  Could it be that although we turned-down the vegetation for this scenario, the game still treated the area as wooded for LOS?  I'm not aware that this has ever happened before, so it has got me scratching my head.

Still looking for excuses   

Raleigh Colston, CSA

Hell, Diggers, I thought your flanking movement was on purpose! (Wink, wink!)

I do believe that Martin needs to change his moniker to General Hooker. Seems quite appropriate...don't you agree!

Martin, you may be right. Will ask Kevin when I see in an hour. On the other hand, when we were playing prior to our agreement not to toggle foliage off, I would occasionally see enemy troops after I toggled the foliage off.

Jack

Yes, the 2D sprite trees are entirely cosmetic. The areas they occupy are still classed as woods because that's how the greyscale bitmap under the terrain surface is designated. Thinning the trees only helps human eyesight and a sense of less claustrophobia (which in that game was a great help I found). If you hit the T key and remove them all the area is still dense woodland even though it might now look like the surface of the moon.

I'm thinking that if friday we are going to be fews in number, we could try to play adding also Conor occupied map objectives mod (is a graphical file so not conflict is foreseen with courier&map). http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/modifications/54386-occupied-map-objectives . It hides the real occupier of objective on the minimap, but also, I saw, it hides the "eye" icon in the minimap. Fake objectives (no points but they showed only the name of locality occupied) on the 3d map can help to identify the relevant locations reached by the player

For tomorrow I prepared a scenario for 4\5 players on Big Whiskey map ( http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/modifications/59720-texas-johns-big-whiskey#59892 ) . As told I would like to check it with the occupied map objectives mod, where not "eye" icon appeared on the minimap, but at the same time the main locations on the 3d map going to be marked as "fake objectives" (no points) so when you're near to them, you receive in overlay the red name of where you're. I think it will be interesting to see how different and difficult can be, have not reference point on the 2d map and use only the 3d evidence for find the way.

I'm thinking that having no "eye" icon on the map will be very confusing. I feel sure that generals have enough staff and scouts to tell; them where they are most of the time.

Mitra, I realize that I am just an old football coach and have scant knowledge in computer technology....but, why in the hell can't we just play a simple game with limited objectives, no points to worry or tally, no hidden objectives, missing "eyes" so we can tell where we are on the map, etc. Unfortunately my friend, you are about to drive me away from K/S games!

Sorry, but have to tell it the way I see it.

Jack

Great idea not to have "eye" icon on the map.   
Only an initial idea (type west, north-west or close to) and then we orient ourselves by observing the terrain and the map.

No this time Jack, this time the scenario is normal as gameplay, the objectives give no points, they are used as graphical markers for show to the player the name of place when near a houses' complex in the 3d view. This because without eye on the map the reference between 2d and 3d can come only from relevant points identification. Anyway the mod is a local one, like the toolbars, so if you don't want use it, it is not necessary have it active for play. Personally I want to check the feeling

>I feel sure that generals have enough staff and scouts to tell; them where they are most of the time.

This is true but this was a time expending and never sure work, especially off-road or along secondary ways. The idea to try come me after reading a book on the seven day battle, when I read how Magruder took the wrong ways before Malvern Hill because the Quaker Road on Lee's map was different from that known by the locla guides, and how the Army of Potomac could retreat more rapidly the train founding a secondary road not on the maps. Anyway as I told the mod is local so everyone is free to use it or not.

Thanks for reply, Mitra. Still don't really understand 1, 2, and/or 3 maps, but we'll see what happens.

J

DO you mean the draft of last time? In reality you think they are calculations for the players but no, they are all calculations for the scenario makers, the CiCs have to take the decisions on the basis of different options, and the other players only to play, they can ignore the rest. The victory condition is linear, kick out the enemy army from the field, the secondary objectives no relevance on the tactical battle only for the CIC long term planning. They are rules I thought for use Stefan Scenario Generator for a campaign with minimal manual corrections.

The map of scenario: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9HfKiUYoDwzeWVaNTgyakFiMmc/edit?usp=sharing

I've not yet played on the Big Whisky map so I'm looking forward to see what its like.

Mitra - yes, I'm aware there were real problems with map confusion and such. At Balaklava the Light Brigade couldn't even tell one valley from the next - and didn't Sherman in one of his battles infamously attack the wrong mountain completely? But to me there comes a point where more realism and fog of war reaches a point that it detracts from the game enjoyment rather than adds to it. There have been a number of our KS SoW games that I haven't enjoyed, simply because the confusion caused by a ground level POV combined with dense trees or tall crops and an enemy that comes onto you suddenly before you've got organised just makes for a really bewildering and frustrating experience.

I think I need to draw the line between adding in more realistic elements and enjoyable gameplay sooner than most. I'm happy to experiment with new ideas but at some point I will say enough, lets stick with what we have.

No problem Digby, I would not have proposed it if the mods was not local, so at player-decision. I will make a video so the effect I will experience will be visible also without have used the mod. I can suppose the major impact I will experience, will be on the march (the offroad marches should be limited) because on the battlefield I use already the 2d map in limited mode.

Yesterday battle video; I feel no real problem about the missing of the eye on the minimap, sure roads become more importants, but I could bypass the problems easily using the points of destination of my units. At the same time identify the location with the objectives markers simplify the perception of distances on the 3d map.

Do my old eyes deceive me, or was that Diggers in the role of CinC?!!

There's dark work afoot here, Watson. Was it trickery, or blackmail?

Martin (J)

Yesterday battle video; truly difficult coordinate two divisions at the same time, I attacked in a short area so I had the possiblity to have all under my eyes, but I had many difficulties to break Grog strong defence. I doubt I could manage them in a longer line.