

Readme file for "ARDENNES44" scenario

by "Rockin" Harry Zahn (RHZ)

This scenario is made for latest
V7.1 version of SPWAW.
(to be found at http://www.matrixgames.com/)
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The Ardennes44 scenario ZIP file includes the following files
and need to be unzipped into the appropriate folders which are:

scen000.cmt	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Scen" folder
scen000.dat	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Scen" folder
scen000.rec	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Scen" folder
scen000.txt	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Scen" folder

Readme A44.txt	/	anywhere you like...

gamehelp.txt	/	"Steel Panthers World At War" main folder

Ter26z1.shp	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Shp" folder
Ter26z2.shp	/	"
Ter26z3.shp	/	"
Ter26z4.shp	/	"

Ter50z1.shp	/	"Steel Panthers World At WarShp" folder
Ter50z2.shp	/	"
Ter50z3.shp	/	"
Ter50z4.shp	/	"

Icon0240.shp	/	"Steel Panthers World At War/Shp" folder

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Notes:

scen000.* files (x4) = the scenario files, can be renamed to different slot number if needed.

Readme A44.txt = this file

gamehelp.txt =  this is actually the SPWAW help file and formerly contained the "key commands" used in battle window. I used this file to provide the gamer playing the ARDENNES44 scenario, an "ingame" orders screen. Copy this file into the SPWAW main folder, then you can access the file from the battle screen either with "F1" key or the "Help" button at any time you want while playing the scenario.

Ter26z1 - z4 shape files: Go into the SPWAW/Shp folder and are needed to play this scenario properly!! (..otherwise no buildings are shown on the map!)
These shape files contain additional custom made "winter" buildings with sort of snow covered roofs, which IMO fit much better on winter style maps than the standard SPWAW buildings.
Note: The "new" winter shape graphics are attached at the original SPWAW buildings and NOTHING is replaced! No existing scenario is affected with the new files!

Ter50z1 - z4 shape files: Go into SPWAW/Shp folder and are needed to play this scenario properly! (other wise the church dont show up on the map)
These files contain ONE additional church multihex building with snow covered roof. Also these files dont affect any other existing scenarios!

Icon0240.shp file: This file contains a changed "PantherG" shape graphic with winter camo style and unlike the above terrain files its a replacement of the original shape graphic! Means if using this file, you need to backup the original one before. This file is for "eye candy" only and is actually not really needed to play the scenario!

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Some notes on the latest version:

The main path (trail) leading north-south and the one leading to the village in the south western part of map is now a secondary road. Graphics/shapes are still the same though.
Reason: Even to me the breakdown rate of vehicles moving down the main trail was way too high! :D Some testers complained about this as well. None-the-less, the other trails leading through the thick of the forests stay difficult, although I removed several "mud" hexes, to ease things on the right flank a little bit. All in all, the map is meant to be bad going for vehicles. Those who still find it too difficult, may switch off "vehicle breakdown" in SPWAW Preferences menu.

I added few passageways at certain locations in the forests for vehicles to crawl through, but the player has to look where they are himself! (..I dont tell..:D) Remember,..I added the belt of "Boulders" layer on the map only, to make obvious map locations impassable to vehicles, but not foot sloggers. Actually these "Boulder" hexes contain NO boulders! Treat these hexes as terrain simply too steep for vehicles or with woods way too thick for vehicles to break trough!;)
Same with the north-south "stream" showing up as "Boulders". SPWAW does not Allow streams/canals on levels other than -1/-2, so to present them on higher levels, I only put their graphic tiles on the map and gave them "Boulder" terrain attribute. Treat this "Boulder/stream" hexes as streams that cut deeply into the rocky underground of this Ardennes terrain and this way are as impassable to vehicles as an Anti tank Ditch for example!
(Note: trails, roads and bridges in "Boulders" hexes make the hex passable, but prolonged shelling of these hexes, removes the trail/road status sooner or later and this way makes these hexes impassable! So take care what places you bombard, ...I cant tell the AIP! :D )

The stone wall in hex 77,46 actually is meant to be a light sort of road/trail block; usually in reality it would be some logs thrown on the trail and is not a serious obstacle as the usual SPWAW obstacles that are placed in the Editor. Well,..I dont want to say more on this,..its up to the player how to deal with this kind of obstacles (stone wall)! :D

Have problems with "mine fields"? Well, ..I didnt place any!! The AIP does...(Hint hint :D)

I removed an impassable hex at 28,37, that formerly prevented the player to go any further. ( a "Trail" attribute was missing although its graphic was shown on the map!) I missed this one in earlier map versions.

OOB changes: I replaced the german onboard "Nebelwerfers 150" with 120mm mortars. I think they are of better use than the Nebels and fit better within the scope of this battle!  (My original intention was to portray the fact, that the germans were unable to pull most of their medium/heavy artillery forward with their advanced troops at this stage of the operation. They heavily relied on their motorized "NebelWerfer" units and Mortars.)

I replaced the original "SiG33 auf 38t" with the "Grille 38(t)M", which was the last production version of this SP-Gun and more common at this time. Difference is, the "Grille" has its motor at the front of the chassis and the gun compartment laid to the back for balancing issues. BTW: The "Grille" is found in the czech OOB!

Theres a german supply dump and its crew (AH0 + AH50) separated in the scenario. To get it in working order, re-combine the crew with the dump... before the AI interferes! 

Oops...I nearly forgot! German formation "AJ" (reinforcement turn 18) loaded in trucks of formation "AI" and labeled as "10 Repl." (=10 replacement grunts) are in fact "assault boats" with a crew of 10! Whats this!? ..you might say. Well,..at some time in the game youll have some badly depleted infantry squads due to casualties and you can bring them back to full strength (10 men), by combining them with the "assault rafts" (10 Repl.).
How to do? ... Once the "10 Repl." units arrived at turn 18, bring them forward to your depleted infantry (or vice versa), unload them from the trucks and have them loaded with the (depleted) infantry. Use the "load" command as usual. Once the depleted infantry is loaded on the "assault raft", make sure the "assault raft" (10 Repl. AJ0-AJ2) is the active unit and make a left mouse click on any adjacent hex to unload the depleted passenger. The "assault raft" (10. Repl.) disappears and magically the formerly depleted loadee has now a strength of 10 men and this way is back to full strength. (..at least for most german units)
Note: If you cant seem to unload the "10 Repl." unit again, then take care that you "left click" and empty (non building f.e) hex or wait till next turn as you might have expended all movement points to unload in same turn!

You also can make a "MG42 MMG" unit extra strong this way, but I leave it to the player how to (mis-) use the "Replacements". :D

Actually the behaviour of the "assault rafts" is some kind of bug, when you bring them into non-river assault scenarios like this, but I wanted to use this "feature" to simulate generic reinforcement soldiers that can be distributed to depleted infantry units already on the map!
Treat these "reinforcements" as either regular replacement grunts or as some kind of ad hoc troops that are taken from other units on the fly. (Clercs, cooks, lightly wounded ect.)

For the designers: To get the "assault rafts" on the trucks, I had to temporarily edit their load cost in the OOB editor from 255 to 0. (I changed this back, once the "rafts" were loaded)
Other notes: I gave the "10 Repl." units a limited land movement ability, so they can move on their own in a limited fashion for various reasons. ( F.e trucks destroyed..)
Combining them with depleted units dont change the original units stats, only the crew will be absorbed!

If you dont like these special reinforcement units (assault boats), ignore them or move them on the retreat flag, so theyre out of harms way.

Some more general info: All stone buildings have additional layer of (invisible) "rough" and "Fortified hex" applied, to enhance their defense values. This should make house to house fighting more realistic (at least for me..). I added the "Fortified hex" status in Freds Editor and this has the advantage that the ugly looking sand bag graphic is not showing up. Also these "Fortified" positions cant be discovered that easily as before and I think good "camouflaging" of positions can be simulated this way. To get "entrenched" status, you still have to be in the hex for 2 turns and NOT moving!

Last but not least: Thanks to all testers who have helped to "tweak" the scenario to the current version! :)
Namely Alessandro "Adantas" Bismarque, Steve "Warrior/REMF" Avery, JoergL, Brad, JohnG and Brett.

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additional editors used:

Fred Chlandas WaWMap Editor, to be found at:

http://blake.prohosting.com/fchlanda/

and "ectizen"s Mountanizer, part of his "Scenario Designer Quickies" (SDQ) programm:

http://www.ectopia.net/~ectizen/


have questions, complaints ect..??

harizan@web.de

_________
Harry

