[WIP] River Crossing --- Demo Map

[Mraah]

All,

I built a workable River Crossing Map.

I'm going to release a "basic map" which shows how it works. The release date will depend on how much extra stuff I add to the map ... (ie, shoreline docks, roof top access, etc) ---> I'm going to add in some stuff from my ideas you may have read about in the forum. The Roof Access idea is new an workable .... I'll start another thread on that.

Below is a screenshot of a quick Russian Gunboat I built from the truck model. I don't know if they had gunboats but I needed a quick "boat" for the demonstration ... it's includes a turreted 7.62mm DT MG ... I may create some variants like a Twin_DTMG and a 82mm Mortar version. I was going to create a row boat with animating oars but my river is very wide and they won't last but a few turns.

Anyway, the map and scenario will be totally ahistorical and you guys can make your own versions and upload them if you wanted to, no problem.
I used Stridor MapMaker to create it. The longest part was making the heightmap since it requires alot of detail around the river banks.

I'll upload a few more screenshots soon.

Thanks for looking!

Rob

[Mraah]

Another Shot ...

[himmelstoss]

omfg!!! thas so awesome, cant wait to play this one!

-h

[Biffa]

I love it, nice one!

[Mraah]

Progress Report ... Additional Information.

I'm working 100% on this map. The mechanics of a river crossing are done. The only parts left is adding more scenery and masks for the road and woods. So, I estimate a few more days at the most.

Key Features :

1. River - Provides movement across for boats and built to allow infantry (when forced to bail out of vehicle) to be shown with just their head barely sticking out of the water when standing upright. Unfortunately, when kneeling or prone they are under the water (but still visable) but I had to compromise the depth of the river to balance out both the boat and the infantry. Also, land vehicles will not be able to access the river (and visa-versa .. boats can't drive on land). For those of you who know how the terrain map works you probably are getting the idea of how this all works[;)].

2. Rooftop Access / Climbing Walls - Some buildings will have an access point that allows infantry to climb up on the roof or climb a wall or climb onto the peers at the edge of the river ... And, it will prevent vehicles from accessing the roof or climbing unrealistically. Again, I'll explain this technique in a seperate thread that outlines the how-to.

3. SAF_Biffa Real Estate Pack 1 - His rural models will fit nicely in the map.

4. New Building Model - Summer Pillbox - I'm going to borrow his windmill texture to apply a summer variant of the Pillbox --> it would be a wooden bunker type model that has a sandbag roof edge that will have access from the back and provide protection from gunfire similar to a heavy woods. The pillbox will also be modelled as a 1-story building.

5. Boat Models -
a. Russian Gunboat - as previously explained. Variants ... TwinMG and 82mm mortar.
b. Row Boat - A small boat with animating oars (good luck crossing the river!)
c. US LCM Mk3 Landing Craft - This is new idea. I have a rough blueprint and I can model a miniature version with an animating loading ramp. The Ramp will be tied into the hatch animation so it will be UP when buttoned, DOWN when unbuttoned ... to give you that feeling. Also, I can't seem to get the infantry to unmount in the front of the vehicle despite hints on mounting position relative to the vehicle. However, I have a theory to force the unmounting location but i doubt it would work. At any rate, I'll still release the model .... It will have a DT MG for protection and provide slighty better armor (value 2 - 3) than the River Gunboat (halftrack, value 1).

That is all for now ....

Rob

[Mobius]

There is a Russian gunboat type that has a T-34 turret on it.  I don't know the name offhand.

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: Mobius

There is a Russian gunboat type that has a T-34 turret on it.  I don't know the name offhand.

Mobius,

Thanks for the info!! I found it over at theblueprints.com .... see screen shot, two variants ... I'll model the BKA 241,Type 1125 and make it available in 1942 as well since it has one turret.

Perfect !!!!
This changes some ideas for models ....

1. Type 1125 BKA 1944.
2. LCM - mini version.
3. Row boat.

This will also change my scenario plan ...

1. Gunship provides cover for 1st wave of LCM's.
2. Reinforcements consist of row boat's brought up from rear.

With any luck, the 1st wave should be able to secure a BridgeHead and provide cover for the helpless rowboats!!

Very interesting ideas ....

Thanks,

Rob

[Redleg]

Maybe the Russian T40 Amphib light tank would fit in this picture for '42?  Also the Amphib PzIII?  Not historical but could be fun.

Historically, it would seem that small battalion(-) size operations mainly by Soviets who were setting up night time incursions which had to be cleared by the Grenadiers the next morning could fit the scale of the map.  On occasion, the Soviets built submerged bridges over a period of time and at night.  Then these bridges were used to facilitate river crossings under cover of darkness.  If I remember correctly, the Germans would use combat patrols to locate the incursions and then bring in the troops necessary to clear these company to battalion sized forces.

The Russians attempted a large amphib operation using a bunch of lend-lease Stuarts. I don't remember the exact date, though.

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: Redleg

Maybe the Russian T40 Amphib light tank would fit in this picture for '42?  Also the Amphib PzIII?  Not historical but could be fun.

Now that would be interesting too!

Historically, it would seem that small battalion(-) size operations mainly by Soviets who were setting up night time incursions which had to be cleared by the Grenadiers the next morning could fit the scale of the map. On occasion, the Soviets built submerged bridges over a period of time and at night. Then these bridges were used to facilitate river crossings under cover of darkness. If I remember correctly, the Germans would use combat patrols to locate the incursions and then bring in the troops necessary to clear these company to battalion sized forces.

Hmmm , yeah .... For this to work you you would need to alter the terrain map for the underwater bridge. Currently, my design supports either "land-locked" or "water-locked" movement ... This was neccessary since they don't have an "Amphibious" attribute that would deny access to land.

What I'm going to do right now is write up a quick explanation on what I built and upload this demo NOW ... as is, with a test scenario and my Truck Gunboat. I think this would be a better idea and allow anyone interested in river crossing's to have something basic to play with. I found that my crazy ideas can be played out better when there's a playground to experiment on.

Give me an hour to finalize the project as is ... Look for a [REL] River Crossing DEMO MAP thread soon!

In the meantime I'll work on the BKA models ... I have some images of the variants that I'm going to reference for my models ... I'll post in a moment

Thanks for your interest.

Rob

[Mraah]

I've been browsing the web for photo's and statistic ... here are some images of the BKA that I'm going to reference for some workable model variants ...

[Mraah]

Here's a model image I found over at the HENK OF HOLLAND website http://henk.fox3000.com/Aer2.htm

It would be great to get the "Katiusha" volley fire system to work properly!
It may require the T-34 turret to be disabled.
Cool variant none-the-less.

[Mobius]

I found these while I was looking into building an armoured train car. I got no further when I found I could not override the animation that causes the model to try to turn its front hull toward the target of the gun. Not so bad if it is a boat but no so good if it is a RR car.

[Biffa]

Don't forget that guy at the back in the sailors outfit.
 
Gr8 work btw, will be a lot of fun.