Scenarios?

[rjopel]

I plan on being at Matrix Games Orgins booth first thing Thursday morning tapping my toe and asking them where AE is.

[Alikchi2]

I'm guessing that I'll play maybe two turns of the game before diving into the scenario editor, if that. [:)]

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: rjopel

I plan on being at Matrix Games Orgins booth first thing Thursday morning tapping my toe and asking them where AE is.

Well, you may be able to do that, but AE won't be out for Origins. 100% certain.

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: Alikchi

I'm guessing that I'll play maybe two turns of the game before diving into the scenario editor, if that. [:)]

I would recommend a bit more. There's a lot of new stuff to get used to, and you ought to know the game before you mod it.

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: treespider

I think people have a misconception of what an AI mod entails in AE.

You will be able to mod:

- the script used by the AI to determine which and in what order bases will be captured
- which ground and air units units will be used to capture and subsequently defend the bases in the script.

It sounds like the moddable portion of the AI is nothing more than "send units x and y to coordinate z"?

In other words you will be able to craft several list of bases and a list of units to take those bases. The units will then attempt to capture the bases in the approximate order that the bases are listed.

"Several list of bases" implies that perhaps there's at least a conditional statement? In other words, the AI is making it's way down the list of bases when some event occurs that shifts it over to a different list? If so, what sorts of conditionals would we have access to? (Currently praying very hard that conditionals DO exist, and they are more than just on date "x" shift from list "a" to list "b")

You will NOT be able to mod:

-How the AI employs the ground and air units assigned to a script
-AI composition of TF's
-How the AI employs said TF's
-AI movement of resources and supplies.
-What units/ships the AI will target
-When or how the AI will decide to stand or retreat
etc etc.

[treespider]

ORIGINAL: Kull

It sounds like the moddable portion of the AI is nothing more than "send units x and y to coordinate z"?

Pretty much.

"Several list of bases" implies that perhaps there's at least a conditional statement? In other words, the AI is making it's way down the list of bases when some event occurs that shifts it over to a different list? If so, what sorts of conditionals would we have access to? (Currently praying very hard that conditionals DO exist, and they are more than just on date "x" shift from list "a" to list "b")

Just the units and bases...and the order in which they are entered.

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: treespider
Just the units and bases...and the order in which they are entered.

OK, so there's a base list and a units list. Assuming that the same unit grouping wouldn't be used for every Base Operation, it sounds like at least there you do some customization. Presumably it works something like this:

Base List:
1) Guam
2) Wake
3) etc, etc.

Unit List:
For "Guam", get units x, y, z
For "Wake", get units etc, etc.

But it seems likely to be more involved. Presumably one of the lists allows you to specify a gathering point for the various land, air, and sea units? Otherwise it's hard to see how the AI would be able to gather them all together and then bring them to the target in a group. A few related questions:

1) You've indicated that "order in which they are entered" matters. Presumably the AI must "know" when an operation against one base is complete, allowing it to move on to the next. So what does it count as "completion"? Is it LAUNCHING the operation or is it attacking or capturing the base? Based on the WitP Japanese AI's handling of the Wake Invasion, I'm guessing it's the former.

2) Can the AI carry out multiple operations at the same time, or must it wait until one has been completed before initiating the next?

3) If there is no "gathering point" in the script, can you create the equivalent? For example, create a "Base Operation" that gathers Air, Land, and Sea assets at Saipan and then have the NEXT sequential operation be the capture of Wake.

[Vincenzo_Beretta]

ORIGINAL: Terminus
The problem with Midway is that WitP isn't good at simulating luck, which had a HUGE part to play in the real battle. Plus, the IJN player will KNOW that the USN carriers are there, something that Nagumo didn't, and certainly won't bomb Midway until he's taken care of them.

Uhm, shouldn't this be true for any Midway game, then? But I played a lot of them (from "Midway" the boardgame by AH, to "Midway" written in basic for the C64, to the two incarnations of the battle for CAW (1992 and 2007), to the "Midway" scenario in Grisby's "Carrier Strike" - and I always had a blast out of the battle, even if the info we have now is different from those possessed by the Commanders back then (like it happens in many other games, I could point).

What would make a "Midway" scenario for WitP different from all the above examples?

[Terminus]

It's the game engine (as I was trying to indicate earlier). It doesn't do random set-ups, random events and that sort of thing. That means you only get ONE scenario with ONE base in the middle, and so and so many task forces on each side, which the players will know where are.

It's not a very interesting scenario to make within the confines of the AE engine. Like I said, we're not ruling it out for a patch, but it won't be in the initial release.

[mikkey]

hi, I can ask you about my favorite Marianas scenario (in WitP scenario 6). Will be in Admiral's edition? And another new short scenario like battle of Okinawa, Iwojima, Tarawa, Leyte... (something like Guadalcanal Campaign or Marianas scenario)? Thank you!

[Andy Mac]

Not on initial release we are doing
 
1. Main Campaign
2. Alterantive Main Campaign
3. Guadalcanal
4. Aleutians
5. Coral Sea
 
But the new editor is a dream so I doubt it will be to long for someone to do it

[Andy Mac]

My perosnal opinion is the AI does a LOT better in small scenarios it does ok tactically its when you get into the massive strategic type things it gets a bit stuck.
 
So I for one want to do a couple of small scenarios
 
I want to do a Mid 42 Japanese invasion of NZ i.e. post coral sea they go south- totally hypothetical but I want to do it designed to play agaonst the AI but no point until we have 100% stable files and all of my time is on AI now so it wont make release.
 
Andy

[dennishe]

I've been thinking about making a scenario dealing with operation downfall/olympic/coronet and to change the dates, so the game can run for several years (by starting in 1941 and change the arrival date of all planes, etc.). I didn't get far though, but something like this would be really nice...

[Hornblower]

i'd like the DEI from 7/41 till 1/43 to see if a player can hold out

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Not on initial release we are doing

1. Main Campaign
2. Alterantive Main Campaign
3. Guadalcanal
4. Aleutians
5. Coral Sea

But the new editor is a dream so I doubt it will be to long for someone to do it

Adding a Southeast Asia campaign would be great too : those three small scenarios are in the Pac only. Like the Indian Ocean Raid period.

[Terminus]

As noted elsewhere, there won't be any other scenarios in the initial release. Nothing is ruled out for subsequent patches, however (there's at least two more we'd like to do).

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

As noted elsewhere, there won't be any other scenarios in the initial release. Nothing is ruled out for subsequent patches, however (there's at least two more we'd like to do).

Will you be doing a limited war scenario?

[rhohltjr]

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

i'd like the DEI from 7/41 till 1/43 to see if a player can hold out

I was able to do this in Witp already, by pulling lots of troups and aircraft from Borneo into Java. The Japanese AI took so long to capture a couple towns in Java that the entire Japanese AI switched into defense from offence and quit trying. I was supplying Java from Australia, so they had butter and bullets to work with.[:D]

It can be done...in Witp.
rhohltjr

[Hornblower]

ORIGINAL: rhohltjr

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

i'd like the DEI from 7/41 till 1/43 to see if a player can hold out

I was able to do this in Witp already, by pulling lots of troups and aircraft from Borneo into Java. The Japanese AI took so long to capture a couple towns in Java that the entire Japanese AI switched into defense from offence and quit trying. I was supplying Java from Australia, so they had butter and bullets to work with.[:D]

It can be done...in Witp.
rhohltjr

True, very true. i was thinking of expansion in time of the one already in Witp. But your correct. In one game i was able to hold on to Luzon untill the Army and navy came in late 43. Key.. Take the armored units and get behind there line of supply and let malaria eat at the IJA..