2013 Info Thread

Matrix Games and Simulations Canada combine and completely remake two classic NATO vs. Warsaw Pact wargames into a new classic. Based on the original wargames “Main Battle Tank: North Germany” and “Main Battle Tank: Central Germany”, Flashpoint Germany is a new grand tactical wargame of modern combat. Every aspect of modern grand tactical warfare is included, from advanced armor, air and helicopters to chemical and tactical nuclear weapons. Step into the most dangerous war.. . that never was.

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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

Again Hex I'm sure they've thought of it and you'll see the corner stripe no matter what.
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CapnDarwin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

For Wodin:
1. Little Red and Blue crosses represent kills of vehicles and squads.
2. Brown craters are craters made by arty barrages.
3. Smoke (not shown) is a large semi transparent cloud with the word SMOKE on it. Gas is a greenish cloud with skull and crossbones on it.
4. Map colors are a bit odd for rural and urban terrain in order for the auto mapping values to work right. A bit of a concession to have a functioning system. You can of course edit pretty much anything in the game.

More later.
OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

Cap'n Darwin aka Jim Snyder
On Target Simulations LTD
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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

OK cool..I think though at the moment the craters appear to hover over the map..maybe the crosses should be on top of them rather than underneath.

Also not sure what the pink ribbon is but again I think craters should appear beneath it as it isn't a terrain feature. This again at the moment makes it look like the craters are hovering.
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by junk2drive »

The ribbons are victory point markers.
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Mad Russian
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by Mad Russian »

Yes, and the Victory Point markers can be turned off.

Good Hunting.

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Mad Russian
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by Mad Russian »

You know...things have a habit of showing up.

Good Hunting.

MR

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The most expensive thing in the world is free time.

Founder of HSG scenario design group for Combat Mission.
Panzer Command Ostfront Development Team.
Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm Development Team.
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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

Yes, and the Victory Point markers can be turned off.

Good Hunting.

MR

Then maybe the craters should be beneath them. Great screenshot above!
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CapnDarwin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

Wodin,

I'll check with Rob and see what layer the craters are on wrt other items and se if we can get them below the VPs and crosses.
OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

Cool. I'd also see if it's possible and rivers are a layer to have rivers on top of craters..so you wont get craters showing on top of a river.
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by Plodder »

Looking at the screenshots, a couple of things come to mind:

You have the movement direction symbol at the bottom of the counter but in the last screenie, most of then are hard to read as they're covered by the movement class letter. I'd prefer it be outside the counter like my example below.

The information counters seem to have differing styles, you have pseudo-3D counters for mines and barbed wire and then using a ribbon for a victory location. They seem disjointed somehow, maybe place the victory location on a 3D counter as well.

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Hexagon
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by Hexagon »

Nice screen, and as The Plodder i think that the direction triangle is hard to see... maybe made it bigger... and same for the unit colour... maybe these 2 things are modable but add the option to see these info bigger is interesting (maybe in options you can select big or small as you prefer).

The 3D icons are a good idea but maybe as with the other things add the option to have a pure 2D is good.

A little question, the bridge symbols represent a special type of bridge or is generic??? i refer if you see allways this symbol where is a bridge (any type of them, a tipical 2 ways bridge small or a big bridge like in a highway) or only is present when is a big bridge.

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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

Bridge symbol is generic and shows that the road goes over the water.

Move arrows and command colors size is fixed. It needs to be on the counter, but I will see about having a setting for sizing them both a few pixels. May end up on our list of things for follow on updates.

The map markers are more or less set. The VP markers may get a revamp. Once you have the game you will be able to mod/edit the art to fit your needs.

Great questions. Keep them coming!
OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

Cap'n Darwin aka Jim Snyder
On Target Simulations LTD
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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

Are individual solider kills tracked in a counter? Or is it more like a boardgame where you have half counter when it takes a hit.

By the way I'm keeping my FB page updated..your game is generating interest.
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BAL
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by BAL »

I like everything I've seen so far. As long as the graphics and map get the infromation across clearly - which I think they do now - I'm fine with it.

Looking forward to the release.

BAL
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by danlongman »

Little western style crucifixes for expired commies? That is red baiting at its worst.
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

Fast and furious time...

1. @ Wodin - Kills are for squads and teams. We did not go down to individuals. We may be able to add a post mortum result listing dead and wounded down the road.

2. @ Wodin - I like the Facebook page and added it to my rotation.

3. @ BAL - Welcome aboard! We should see more info flowing for very soon.

4. @ Dan - Needed something small, more or less universally recognizable, work. It is one of the art assets you can change however. [;)]

OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

Cap'n Darwin aka Jim Snyder
On Target Simulations LTD
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wodin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by wodin »

Capt what I mean is when a Inf Platoon Counter takes a hit does it mean one soldier is killed (And the attributes drop a touch)..or is it morwe abstracted the unit flips to half values and the next hit it's removed?

Same with Tank Platoons does a hit loose one tank from the unit or again is the counter flipped to wounded status and half attributes?

Jim there are two other posts I believe on FP2 on the page further down to the one you liked;)..all three have got a great response. Good to see you there..I will keep the page upto date on your progress.
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CapnDarwin
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

Wodin et al.,

Losses are by individual vehicles and then squads and teams for infantry...see pic below.



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OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

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Hexagon
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by Hexagon »

Ummm but in infantry units lose a squad is harder than lose a vehicle??? is not the same kill a vehicle than an infatry squad in open order using terrain to cover, maybe this is why i prefer at this scale see soldiers not squads because is to abstract lose a squad... this is why i never like a lot Tiller Campaigns... other thing is if you have squads with a status % (you know you have a counter with 3 squads where 1 is at 50% other is at 80%).

Oooo something i dont remember ask, is possible join units to create a new unit??? i think in have a company heavy damage and join all his units to have a single counter.

Thanks.
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RE: Better Get to Know Red Storm...

Post by CapnDarwin »

@Hex,

1. The game is a step above tactical and the grand tactical level. Going down to single people is beyond the scope range of the game. That being said the combat engine does know who shot what at whom and the bonuses and abilities of the individual units are taken into account. Your losses are shown both in total number of runners in the units and also as seen in the pic above. As I said to Woding some posts back, we may be able to add a feature down the road to list out losses down to the man in the post mortum of a battle.

2. We had tried merge and split with units in the Mid-East version of the game that got shelved. It was a function that worked okay for a player but was almost impossible to code for the AI. You can basically stack the units together to simulate this function and units get a bonus to readiness and morale recovery if they are near other units and/or HQ unit. With the game having a campaign model, it was important to retain each unit and its stats (runners/losses and kills) to be able to refit for follow on missions. If you think split and merge is a good feature, be sure to bring it up in the official forums when they go online in a few weeks.

Thanks for your interest in the game!

OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!

Cap'n Darwin aka Jim Snyder
On Target Simulations LTD
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