Autumn Fog Playtesters Thread

[larryfulkerson]

My lines are holding pretty good in the middle.  But the rest of the map is a disaster.  Patrick is blowing
holes in my lines and advancing lickty split.  The south is wide open and German units are advancing
unapposed.  Allied units are being surrounded and destroyed faster than I can report it.  Quick, somebody call
Eisenhower at SHAFE.  Turn 7's AAR can be found here:  http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn7


Here's the minimap moves movie from turns 1 throu 6:

[Josh]

That's "SHAEF" Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. [;)]
Yeah I called Ike, he said you're no longer a FIVE star general but a FOUR star general, that one star goes to me. [:D]
(how many stars can a general have anyways...?)

Thanks for the AAR mr. Fulkerson.

[larryfulkerson]

Are the AARs I publish better than posting pictures here on the forum?  I can't decide.  Pictures on the forum are cool but you can't post big ones and I LOVE big pictures, especially those in motion.  And I'm guessing that it doesn't take all that long to download them and view them at your leisure.   I'm guessing that there's only two people viewing those things but Steve likes them so I'll keep doing it.  Hey turn 8 of August Fog IV is finished and the AAR  can be found here:

http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn8

[Karri]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Are the AARs I publish better than posting pictures here on the forum?  I can't decide.  Pictures on the forum are cool but you can't post big ones and I LOVE big pictures, especially those in motion.  And I'm guessing that it doesn't take all that long to download them and view them at your leisure.   I'm guessing that there's only two people viewing those things but Steve likes them so I'll keep doing it.  Hey turn 8 of August Fog IV is finished and the AAR  can be found here:

http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn8

I read forums AARs but don't download the stuff...

[Josh]

Concerning your question, which is better, in my opinion both ways are great. Yes the files are big, so you can download and view them at your leisure, outstanding to gaze at a large map... but I have my doubts as to how many AAR readers actually will do that. If you post them here I think it'll create more hits on the AAR. Check out this outstanding German TOAW III AAR for instance: http://www.si-games.com/forums/showthre ... 84&page=50 (it *is* stickied for a reason, the AAR is so good it is selling the game to the German readers there [:D] they want to play the game they're reading about). Matter of fact, yours is so good I'm getting the game too. Played TOAW I .... a decade ago or so, never got much into it. But reading your AAR is .. compelling. And since War in the East and World in Flames won't be out for a while I think I just might pick up this one once again.

[parmenio]

I'm guessing that there's only two people viewing those things but Steve likes them so I'll keep doing it. 

Well, you can include me in the group, so maybe that's three of us.... [:)]

[Qbec]

I'm the fourth....[;)]

[parmenio]

ORIGINAL: Qbec

I'm the fourth....[;)]

one more and we'll be a crowd

[Curtis Lemay]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Open letter to Ralph:

Hey Ralph:
First of all, thanks for all your hard work. We DO appreciate it. Really. I'm wondering if it would be a hard change to get TOAW to display in a new panel how many of each type was lost during what turn. Take a peek at the picture to surmise what I'm saying. Maybe in some future version? The picture is the Allied losses as of turn 6.

For 1,000 turns? I guess there could be a scroll bar. But sounds to me like it would be a hard change.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Josh
Concerning your question, which is better, in my opinion both ways are great.

Works for me.

ORIGINAL: Josh
...outstanding to gaze at a large map...

I think so too.

ORIGINAL: Josh
If you post them here I think it'll create more hits on the AAR.

Good idea. D21's AAR files:
turn 1:http://www.filedropper.com/d2122dec2009turn1
turn 2:http://www.filedropper.com/d2122dec2009turn2
turn 3:http://www.filedropper.com/d2122dec2009turn3
turn 4:http://www.mediafire.com/?nmgudmamzdi
turn 5:http://www.filedropper.com/d2122dec2009turn5

August Fog's AAR is found in this thread.

ORIGINAL: Josh
Matter of fact, yours [AAR] is so good I'm getting the game too. ...reading your AAR is .. compelling.

Good for you. TOAW is all I play any more. I take a month off after a monster scenaro PBEM game but I always come back.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Curtis Lemay
For 1,000 turns? I guess there could be a scroll bar. But sounds to me like it would be a hard change.

I'm a retired computer programmer and I have several ideas that might make it work. Yes the data would have to be kept from turn to turn but it could be stored in a file, for instance. I've been moving the individual values by hand using MSpaint and it's sorta labor intensive but can be done. I'm thinking that TOAW can just read the external file and display the data in a new panel....would take about 1/20th of a second to do that.

The coding to do that would have to read the file and decide when to start a new row, discriminating on the type of equipment ( if it's the same type of equipment as the last value just stay on 'this' row, different type of equipment: start a new row ). At the end of the file you're done, close the external file. The external file would be updated from turn to turn as new data is available to do so. I would write the program myself ( an external program, different from TOAW ) if only I knew where the data is kept in the sal / pbl files. It's probably zipped up but that's just another step to unzip it.

Thanks for your input and your hard work and keep those good ideas coming.

[larryfulkerson]

So um......turn 9 is finished.  Patrick is winning all over the map.  I can't seem to be able to stop him anywhere except for maybe the middle of the map.  And even that is ify.  It looks like he's headed for my supply points and if he gets those....well ??  Turn 9's AAR is found here:

http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn9

[larryfulkerson]

Well, turn 10 is finished.  Patrick is breaking through my lines near Bastogne, he's headed for my supply points, and has surrounded huge pockets of my troops.  There's just no stopping this guy.  He's doing a great job.  Turn 10's AAR can be found here:  http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn10

[Abnormalmind]

[Abnormalmind]

[Abnormalmind]

Turns 9 through 11: AXIS

"The Gamble" is paying off. Although, there are only four turns left until the weather clears when the Allied airforces arrive. On turn 1, the Axis panzer and SS divisions headed south towards Luxembourg and the southern armies were released for turn 2. Turn 2 the southern armies attacked the US positions in the south, albeit slowly, as the 21st Panzer KG was the only armor formation in the area. It wouldn't be until turn 9 that armor reinforcements arrived in the area via the long and painfully slow drive southwards. The 21st KG was taken out of the line around turn 8 to recuperate and resupply, leaving all the volksgrenadier divisions in contact with the US forces. Finally, after 7+ turns of driving the panzers through the insane terrain, along roads with hq's, police squads, and whatever else I could use to reduce movement, the panzer arrived at the hole in the US lines.

After a quick loop, three panzer divisions hit the US forces in the rear at pockets 2 and 3. Pocket 1 was simply overrun by portions of GDK, a forcible beast of an korp.

During this time period, three US supply dumps were captured. One way up by Malmedy, and the other two around Luxembourg. This has greatly increased Axis supply and, hopefully, crimped Allied supply for a few turns. On Turn 11, Axis forces met the US forces southwest of Luxembourg, but there was little fighting as the US forces were already fortified. The US artillery is being ranged by the long range German guns to determine which US batteries to neutralize before the forthcoming assault. I expect US forces to start pulling back, as bridging crews are now on the Moselle River with a large GDK Division waiting to press the crossing. Time is on the Allied side, and I can't foresee Larry keeping the bulk of his remaining forces in the south in a collapsing pocket.

BTW, Axis victory is still at a DRAW.

We still have 90+ turns left to play. It's only a matter of time before Allied forces re-group and start to smash my units with its huge airforces.

Edit: the mud froze on turn 11 as the weather turned colder.

[Abnormalmind]

A little history lesson.

The US 40th Infantry Division that was engulfed during turns 9 thru 11 was commanded by James Alward Van Fleet, quite the hero. He served in WW1 under Pershing, WW2, post-war Greece, and later became the commander of the U.S. Eighth Army and United Nations forces in Korea. This snippet does not give the man the full credit he deserves. To read more about General Van Fleet, here's a link to a wiki.
General Van Fleet Wiki Information

[larryfulkerson]

Turn 11 is finished.  Patrick is continuing to press his advantage and making hay while the sun shines.  He's engulfing and destroying units all over the map except for the middle where we seem to be in a standoff of some kind.  The AAR for turn 11 is found here: 

http://www.filedropper.com/augustfogivturn11

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: parmenio
Does any of that information appear in the logfiles that TOAW can be set to generate?

Here's the contents of a sitrep_log01.txt file:

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,32
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 1%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 9%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 54,10
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 3%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 6%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 46,9
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 0%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 9%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,33
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 1%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 7%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 60,35
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 3%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,30
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 16%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 55,11
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 22%


So I guess the answer is no for this particular file. There must be a file that has those numbers in it however since the numbers are carried forward from turn to turn in our PBEM files we send to each other.
Note to Patrick: I'd be curious to know what the Axis losses are right about now. Must be pretty high.

You mean a CSV file that contains something like this with the turn number, Force, Hex, Lost, Remaining, Equipment similar to the information that's in the current screens? It gives a lot of information, but it can currently be got at by scraping the individual screens.

1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 3, 27,"Rifle AT- Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"SMG Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"Medium MG", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 3,"Heavy MG", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"60mm Mortar", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 4,"81mm Mortar", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 5,"Truck", "Replacements are available."
1,"German Army", 30, 23, 2, 4,"Rifle AT Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"German Army", 30, 23, 1, 2,"SMG AT Squad", "Replacements are available."

[Abnormalmind]

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: parmenio
Does any of that information appear in the logfiles that TOAW can be set to generate?

Here's the contents of a sitrep_log01.txt file:

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,32
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 1%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 9%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 54,10
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 3%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 6%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 46,9
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 0%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 9%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,33
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 1%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 7%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 60,35
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 3%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 61,30
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 16%

Allies Turn 15 Battle at 55,11
Allies approximate equipment and personnel losses - 2%
Germans approximate equipment and personnel losses - 22%


So I guess the answer is no for this particular file. There must be a file that has those numbers in it however since the numbers are carried forward from turn to turn in our PBEM files we send to each other.
Note to Patrick: I'd be curious to know what the Axis losses are right about now. Must be pretty high.

You mean a CSV file that contains something like this with the turn number, Force, Hex, Lost, Remaining, Equipment similar to the information that's in the current screens? It gives a lot of information, but it can currently be got at by scraping the individual screens.

1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 3, 27,"Rifle AT- Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"SMG Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"Medium MG", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 3,"Heavy MG", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 9,"60mm Mortar", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 4,"81mm Mortar", "Replacements are available."
1,"Allied Army", 30, 23, 0, 5,"Truck", "Replacements are available."
1,"German Army", 30, 23, 2, 4,"Rifle AT Squad", "Replacements are available."
1,"German Army", 30, 23, 1, 2,"SMG AT Squad", "Replacements are available."

A quick question: are the reported losses factual and concrete or does it modify enemy losses? I hoped that the fog of war screwed with enemy loss reports, but that's just me, and I'm like that.

Thanks,
-Patrick