optional rules

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: composer99

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

[...]

The maximum number of partisans permitted in a country is a function of the country’s partisan number and the probability of the country checking for partisans. The second factor is the number of times the country appears on the partisan table (13.1).

The maximum = (Partisan #) * (table occurrences) / 5, with a minimum of 2 if the partisan # is 4 or more.

[...]

I rather like this solution - it is simple and elegant. I might add that you will need to double the limit for China that you originally listed, because their partisan number is 20.

Thanks.

Oops, I was looking at an old map for China's partisan #. I'll check what the program is using.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

The program has both the partisan number and probability as data in the CSV file. They appear to be correct as far as I checked.

There is a weirdness for South and Central America though with the probabiliites for individual countries in those areas at 4% instead of the 20% that the table uses.

[Froonp]

South America should be 30%, Central American should be 20%.
I do not remember why those numbers were reduced. Maybe you should ask Chris.
Also, I have a couple of document from the CWiF time about partisans, written by people who worked on the subject for Chris. I can send them to you if you're interested.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

South America should be 30%, Central American should be 20%.
I do not remember why those numbers were reduced. Maybe you should ask Chris.
Also, I have a couple of document from the CWiF time about partisans, written by people who worked on the subject for Chris. I can send them to you if you're interested.

Yes.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

These screen shots fall somewhere between optional rules, player interface, and help screens. I placed them here, more or less arbitrarily.

What is new is the formatted contextual help for the optional rules. I have created a little formatting language for displaying long text messages. As you can tell, I am inserting a blank line before each new paragraph and indenting 4 spaces. I also have a header format, which is used for the Stacking and Repairs headers.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is another screen shot for the Partisans optional rule. These show the bullet format. I am getting a spurious blank line at times, which I may or may not bother to track down and correct.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

This shows the use of numbered lists. Actually the formatting knows nothing about the numbers, it is just indenting. I have automated the removal of extraneous blanks from the original text and placement of 2 blanks after each period. That is probably causing the problem with the extra blank lines.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here are the headers and bullets used in combination. The insertion of the format controls/symbols is very easy. I formatted all 81 optional rules is about a half hour.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Though I have been showing long-winded text descriptions, most of the optional rules have short descriptions, like this one. I messed around with trying to figure out whether a scroll bar was needed or not but it become too complex and not worth the effort. So, every text message has a vertical scroll bar whether it needs it or not.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Last in the series. This is one of the more complex optional rules in WIF, and only part of the text description is shown here. there's one extra blank line, but otherwise I am pretty happy with it.

I'll take a crack at formatting some of the units description next (air, naval, and HQ), then on to formatting some of the tutorial text.

[Froonp]

These screens are good to me.
An improvement could be to have the white place where the text is appearing be written as if on a WWII paper.
Maybe some kind of paper with blue 5 mm square grid (as if from a notepad), with 2 rounds holes on the side as if extracted from a binder.
Could have a stamp somewhere from a WWII military organisation related to command (because it explains how some "military" things are working.
This is only a suggestion out of the blue.

For the scroll bars, you are right not to bother with making them present or not.

I suppose / hope however that the size of the scrolling rectangle (inside the bar) has a size proportionnal to the displayed text reported to the whole text, as in modern programs.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp
These screens are good to me.
An improvement could be to have the white place where the text is appearing be written as if on a WWII paper.
Maybe some kind of paper with blue 5 mm square grid (as if from a notepad), with 2 rounds holes on the side as if extracted from a binder.
Could have a stamp somewhere from a WWII military organisation related to command (because it explains how some "military" things are working.
This is only a suggestion out of the blue.

For the scroll bars, you are right not to bother with making them present or not.

I suppose / hope however that the size of the scrolling rectangle (inside the bar) has a size proportionnal to the displayed text reported to the whole text, as in modern programs.

Standard scrolling stuff - I avoid reinventing wheels whenever possible.

I have literally billions of colors to choose from but have decided to go with black text on a white background. These text message are purely informative and I prefer having as high a contrast between the background color and the text color for best legibility.

Using different colors or a patterned background is easy to do (a few minutes) , so it is merely a question of the trade-off between functionality and prettiness.

[Neilster]

These are very legible.

Perhaps it would look better for the bullets to be next to text they refer to.

Cheers, Neilster

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

These are very legible.

Perhaps it would look better for the bullets to be next to text they refer to.

Cheers, Neilster

Ok.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Like this.

[amwild]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

These screens are good to me.
An improvement could be to have the white place where the text is appearing be written as if on a WWII paper.
Maybe some kind of paper with blue 5 mm square grid (as if from a notepad), with 2 rounds holes on the side as if extracted from a binder.
Could have a stamp somewhere from a WWII military organisation related to command (because it explains how some "military" things are working.
This is only a suggestion out of the blue.

For the scroll bars, you are right not to bother with making them present or not.

I suppose / hope however that the size of the scrolling rectangle (inside the bar) has a size proportionnal to the displayed text reported to the whole text, as in modern programs.

If nothing else, the font used here could be replaced with a font like "Secret Service Typewriter" or some other typewriter-like font, since WWII documents would have been produced in fonts like these that lacked the sharp-edged quality of modern digital fonts. Since this font is licensed, perhaps a freeware font could be substituted. Here is a link to some that I found: http://simplythebest.net/fonts/typewriter_fonts.html Some wouldn't be suitable, but (on the page I have included the link for) Mom's Typewriter, Teletype, The Quest, or (on the next page) Typical Writer may work. There are a lot of other free typewriter-like fonts floating around the net too.

Players could also be given a choice of Arial/Tahoma or a typewriter font.

[Neilster]

Re bullets. Yes, IMHO it looks better.

Cheers, Neilster

[hakon]

Just a couple comments:
 
CVP cost: When playing with pilots, some late war planes cost 2bp. When playing without pilots, i believed the cost was printed cost minus 2, but i may be wrong here.
 
Partisans: Instead of listing paradrop as a posiblity into a partisan held hex, it should be listed as a possibility to do air rebase into the hex. Air rebase has the following advantages:
- Mountain corps and inf divs can be air rebased (but not paradropped)
- When rebased into a hex, a para/mtn corps wil excert ZOC into nearby hexes, making it much easier to put enemy corps out of supply
- An air rebased unit can participate in a land attack just after landing, if they are in supply
 
Such use of partisan/air rebase can potentially create huge out of supply pockets of axis units during a 1943/1944 russian reconquest of her motherland.
 
Partisans: The disadvantages section should be renamed into restrictions section. Having partisans has no real disadvantages, unless you should face something really odd, like stacking problems, or making easy training targets for building soviet GBA's
 
Air offensives: I think that the ability that the HQ's will have to MOVE when playing an air offensive is rather restricted. Even air rebase, requires a land move, IIRC.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: hakon
Just a couple comments:

CVP cost: When playing with pilots, some late war planes cost 2bp. When playing without pilots, i believed the cost was printed cost minus 2, but i may be wrong here.

Partisans: Instead of listing paradrop as a posiblity into a partisan held hex, it should be listed as a possibility to do air rebase into the hex. Air rebase has the following advantages:
- Mountain corps and inf divs can be air rebased (but not paradropped)
- When rebased into a hex, a para/mtn corps wil excert ZOC into nearby hexes, making it much easier to put enemy corps out of supply
- An air rebased unit can participate in a land attack just after landing, if they are in supply

Such use of partisan/air rebase can potentially create huge out of supply pockets of axis units during a 1943/1944 russian reconquest of her motherland.

Partisans: The disadvantages section should be renamed into restrictions section. Having partisans has no real disadvantages, unless you should face something really odd, like stacking problems, or making easy training targets for building soviet GBA's

Air offensives: I think that the ability that the HQ's will have to MOVE when playing an air offensive is rather restricted. Even air rebase, requires a land move, IIRC.

CVP costs when playing with pilots are either 0 or 1.

I believe you mean air transported, not air rebased. Your point is a good one, nonetheless. I'll add something about this 'trick' so newbies aren't completely surprised when they first encounter it.

I meant the disadvantages of depending on partisans to accomplish tasks. I'll look at that wording again (but 'restrictions' doesn't seem right to me either).

Patrice had some comments about an HQ being designated for an Offensive Chit, but the chit not actually being applied until after the impulse is underway. Personally, I am a little fuzzy on all that.

[Froonp]

Air offensives: I think that the ability that the HQ's will have to MOVE when playing an air offensive is rather restricted. Even air rebase, requires a land move, IIRC.

If you are in an Air Offensive, basicaly you're in an Air Action, and no HQ can move during Air Actions.
Air Rebases require an Air Mission, no Land Move.