Future Directions - Features

[wodin]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

Some of these AAR requests go against the principle of not providing perfect intel. In real life commanders would never know the answers to some of these questions.

For me anyway at the end of the game I don't mind that FOW is lifted..now if it was linked scenarios in a campaign setting of course it wouldn't be good..but as the game is finished at that point I see no harm.

[RockinHarry]

Some more detailed end game statistics, would be cool indeed. [8D]

[Alchenar]

ORIGINAL: wodin

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

Some of these AAR requests go against the principle of not providing perfect intel. In real life commanders would never know the answers to some of these questions.

For me anyway at the end of the game I don't mind that FOW is lifted..now if it was linked scenarios in a campaign setting of course it wouldn't be good..but as the game is finished at that point I see no harm.

Exactly. It isn't real life it's a game. Amongst the many differences (such as everyone stopping fighting when the final whistle blows) are the fact that when the scenario is over I can load up it up again and have another go, trying to apply the lessons I learnt the first time around. But if the game never shows me information that lets me work out what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong then it's impossible for me to learn and impossible for me to get better.


FOW during play is an important (perhaps crucial) part of the game. But when it's all over I'd like to know what the score was, and then to continue the sports analogy I'd like to know what the statistics on possession, passing, saves, shots-on-target were. Because that's what I actually need to know to make my strategy better the next time.

[kwajfluff]

I think the capability to designate/draw and use phase lines and unit boundaries would be splendid. Ideally, one could use the PL as a control measure (move to, attack to, withdraw to, et al) to coordinate movement of units under separate HQs. Ideally, use of unit boundaries would somewhat constrain (not prevent) units from transgressing their boundaries for fear of fratricide (based on weather/visibility/terrain/proximity to ongoing or anticipated enemy contact/quality of commander or unit et al). Deliberately planning to transgress set boundaries (by use of waypoints, for example) would incur some delay, confusion, or cohesion penalty based on quality of controlling HQs on both sides of the boundary.

cheers

[wodin]

Would like it if you check a weapon on the side bar the AARm and APer circles on the map corresponded to the said weapon your looking at.

[Arjuna]

ORIGINAL: wodin

Would like it if you check a weapon on the side bar the AARm and APer circles on the map corresponded to the said weapon your looking at.

What a neat idea. Thanks. [:)]

[wodin]

Going a step further with this idea..I'd like to have an option that instead of showing rings it shows exactaly the range the weapon sees taking into account LOS..so it moves dynamically as the unit moves..again just as a line following the LOS rather than a line circle...not sure if thas possible or will be a big CPU drain..but it would give a very quick look at roughly how far the weapon will fire all around the unit as I said taking into account terrain..then you could have a version of both ring and LOS line distance that grow and retracts due to time of day or weather.

[Arjuna]

It could be do-able but there would be a load caused by the LOS checks. It would be fine for a static unit but I wouldn't recommend, it for a moving unit.

[wodin]

OK..that really wouldn't be too much difference from the area LOS check then. I do always wish for a quick an easy way to see LOS from a units view and find area LOS OK but with the different shades etc it's sometimes abit tricky still to work out. Not sure how you could do it..I think shading the area the unit Can't see is abit more intuitive even if it maybe abit more abstract.

What about just taking into account weather and daylight? The ring grows or shrinks? Actually not sure if daylight is already taken into account.

The "by weapon" idea would be a good one anyway..when I'm checking weapons I want to see how far that weapon extends from the unit.

[wodin]

I would also like to see where the symbol of the size of the counter is maybe have that syymbol with a colour background the colour would be colour coded to match the regiment\brigade it belonged to. That way you can quickly asses what units belong to what. Maybe you could have a filter to change it depending on whether you want to see battalion or regiment\brigade or division or even corps if we get games with two or more Corps involved. Make the colour more pastel shade so not to gaudy. It would give a quick visual to the player so he knows who each unit belongs to quickly could be esp useful for Arty units etc etc.

[jimcarravall]

ORIGINAL: wodin

I would also like to see where the symbol of the size of the counter is maybe have that syymbol with a colour background the colour would be colour coded to match the regiment\brigade it belonged to. That way you can quickly asses what units belong to what. Maybe you could have a filter to change it depending on whether you want to see battalion or regiment\brigade or division or even corps if we get games with two or more Corps involved. Make the colour more pastel shade so not to gaudy. It would give a quick visual to the player so he knows who each unit belongs to quickly could be esp useful for Arty units etc etc.

I think the utility is embedded in the arrow key navigation through the order of battle. Hitting the up arrow from a subordinate unit shows that's unit's higher echelon headquarters.

Hitting a right or left click shows peer organizations within the structure. Hitting the down arrows shows units subordinate to the one selected.

Hope this helps.

[Phoenix100]

Helps me, Jim. Never did bother to read the manual on that......Now I don't need to. Ta.

[wodin]

Jim yeah but I also could use a visual method thorugh colour code so you can look at the map and see exactly who belongs to who across the board..similar to PZC system. Without the need to press keys..also you could filter it depending in the scale you want to see..

ORIGINAL: jimcarravallah

ORIGINAL: wodin

I would also like to see where the symbol of the size of the counter is maybe have that syymbol with a colour background the colour would be colour coded to match the regiment\brigade it belonged to. That way you can quickly asses what units belong to what. Maybe you could have a filter to change it depending on whether you want to see battalion or regiment\brigade or division or even corps if we get games with two or more Corps involved. Make the colour more pastel shade so not to gaudy. It would give a quick visual to the player so he knows who each unit belongs to quickly could be esp useful for Arty units etc etc.

I think the utility is embedded in the arrow key navigation through the order of battle. Hitting the up arrow from a subordinate unit shows that's unit's higher echelon headquarters.

Hitting a right or left click shows peer organizations within the structure. Hitting the down arrows shows units subordinate to the one selected.

Hope this helps.

[RockinHarry]

..and I want blinking intel update movements.[:)] I can well remember, when I started playing BFTB that times, when I saw these units racing over the map and I thought... WTF! [:D]

[wodin]

new larger counter size option..This is something I mentioned in another thread but so it doesn't get lost I will post it here aswell.


I'd like to see another counter size option one which is bigger so you could see an AArm and an Apr combat power number for the unit always showing on the unit along the bottom underneath the unit symbol..that way you see all the time what the units is like against Inf and against tanks and you can still have the orders or what the unit is doing in the box upper right. Also room to have a spot or light light up if the unit is spotted. The size of the units in game limits the amount of quick available info that many wargames show on their counters. Maybe if we had another size counter that showed this info? SO we then have three different sizes?

[wodin]

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3283346

See Daz's post further down link ..THIS...

[wodin]

Pause on options..like a pause on red warning message..pause on unit retreat..pause on unit out of ammo..etc etc.

[Phoenix100]

I would like to see a feature allowing individual SEPs to be at the very least switched off during the scenario - so that when they become untenable (in airborne ops, especially) trucks aren't wasted from the bases trying to get through to them. Preferably, I think it would be nice to be able to change the SEP during a scenario (you could build time and location constraints in), as this was what would have happened in real life when one supply entry point was cut-off, assuming others were available. During Market-Garden they did airdrops into Oosterbeek once the heath drop zones fell. It would be good to have the option of dragging the SEP to a new location (in game), even if, say, it took 24 hours for this to become effective and the result was, say, a reduced effectiveness.

[Arjuna]

phoenix,

That is totally not realistic. just read the history of the British Airborne at Arnhem and how they watched plane after plane attempt to deliver supplies to supply points that had been overrun by the enemy. You assume that the commanders had far more control over these things than they actually did. I understand you don't like it and neither did the historical RL commanders but that's just how it was. The comms for the 1st Airborne were atrocious. they knew this before they went in and agreed that the resupply schedule should be adhered to regardless. The only changes that were affected were after the link up with 30th Corps.

[Phoenix100]

They did emergency drops into Oosterbeek. They were largely unsuccessful - supplies landing just beyond the perimetre - but they did try to do it.

And as far as road supplies go, if a column was interdicted up a road they were using for supply, are you saying that if there was a healthy diversion available, just 10kms to the flank, they wouldn't have simply re-routed the column to there?

So, for example - the pic below. Supply down main road interdicted at 1. How long would they p[ut up with that when, off map, there are possible re-routes to the new position marked 2?