Babes Medium

[JWE]

Tried to figure out how to keep this out of the hands of the $^@ll pe!$*$ on the main forum, but just can't find a way. So here it is. Please understand if we only respond to a certain few posters.

This is a relatively complete beta of Da Babes Medium. MO outdid himself and it's maybe 80% of DBB. It "should" be playable with the stock AI, all the LCU HQ units are verified as being in the same slots, but if the AI script is looking for individual divisions, regiments, battalions, etc .. we are all out of luck. Besides, we don't really like the whole AI cheat thing anyway, so what the hey.

So here it be. Check it out. No explanations for weenuses. Right folks can ask here or in a pm.

[chesmart]

Thanks Jwe Downloading now

[eloso]

Thanks JWE.

It looks like the Boeing factories were duplicated in Bremerton.

[vettim89]

Ah man, got a date with the GF tonight. You kill me with your timing JWE.


Still: WOOF WOOF SLOBBER SLOBBER

Thanks so much to you, MO and the rest of your team for the great work

[Kitakami]

Domou arigatou gozaimashita, JWE-sama!

[Buck Beach]

ORIGINAL: JWE

Tried to figure out how to keep this out of the hands of the $^@ll pe!$*$ on the main forum, but just can't find a way. So here it is. Please understand if we only respond to a certain few posters.

This is a relatively complete beta of Da Babes Medium. MO outdid himself and it's maybe 80% of DBB. It "should" be playable with the stock AI, all the LCU HQ units are verified as being in the same slots, but if the AI script is looking for individual divisions, regiments, battalions, etc .. we are all out of luck. Besides, we don't really like the whole AI cheat thing anyway, so what the hey.

So here it be. Check it out. No explanations for weenuses. Right folks can ask here or in a pm.

Thank's for getting this ready for a full blown try out.

[oldman45]

Are there any special instructions for installing this or should it be done like babes lite?

[drw61]

Thanks!

[JWE]

Thanks much ya’ll. Appreciate it. Thanks OSO for the find; I found a couple more, Don found some, MO and Jeremy found some others. Keep it up, would like release to be as perfect as possible.

By now ya’ll have found that many of the traditional Base Forces are no more; they have been replaced by their composite units (Bns, Kutai, Stations, etc..). Biggest difference is in AvSup – it’s been cut substantially in half for everybody. Unit count remains similar. Works out to (and no, haven’t included Dutch yet):

139 AAF/USN units with 6795 AvSup
95 RAF/RN units with 2480 AvSup
30 RAAF/RAN units with 820 AvSup
9 RNZAF/RNZN units with 288 AvSup
and:
260 IJA/IJN units with 5536 AvSup

We are still doing some internal negotiating on ‘tags’. If a unit is tagged as a Base Force (suffix 109) the AI will grow the AvSup to a proportion of AF size. If tag is ‘none’, then it shouldn’t. We’re still looking at units tagged BFs and may just retag as ‘none’. Also looking at differentiating some of the “named” base units (Truk, Kasumigaura, Ominato, Shanghai, etc..) making the majority forever immobile and static. The out-deployed major bases (Truk, etc..) will get broken into component parts so that perhaps something can get evacuated in case of a big doo doo.

Biggest problem with Babes Med is that the Japanese OOB takes up all the slot room. We recovered about 300 or so for the Allies, but couldn’t get squat for Japan without consolidating a bunch of stuff and that would disturb the AI. We’re looking at what can be done here, so that we get enough slots for ‘specialist’ units like more Shipping Eng Kutai, Ports and Dock Kutai, etc..

[Mifune]

Once again our mantra is "we need more slots" [:D] Thanks to the team, looks like excellent work from what I have played so far.

[JWE]

We did find a woops. A group of Air HQs got lost - unfortunately it's the ones that run the USN/USMC LBA, so ya'll might want to put them in. Will be taken care of in the release, but here's how to do it in the interim.

Slots 6776 - 6780, add
ComAirSoPac, US Navy, HQ-103, Leader Random (0), Near-584 (PH), Delay-420520, HQ Type-55, TOE ID-2511 :
ComAirCenPac, US Navy, HQ-102, Leader Random (0), Near-584 (PH), Delay-420520, HQ Type-55, TOE ID-2511 :
ForwdAirCenPac, US Navy, HQ-102, Leader Random (0), Near-584 (PH), Delay-420520, HQ Type-55, TOE ID-2511 :
ComAirFMFPac, US Navy, HQ-103, Leader Random (0), Near-518 (San Diego), Delay-420807, HQ Type-55, TOE ID-2511 :
ComFleetAirWest, US Navy, HQ-100, Leader Random (0), Near-518 (San Diego), Delay-0, HQ Type-55, TOE ID-2511 :

should look like this;

[Mac Linehan]

JWE -

After a long week, went to bed early Friday Nite; 12 hours later feel rested and like a new man. Have just turned on the computer for the weekend; knowing that there is always the possibility of a surprise or two, .... and YES!!!! Da Babes Medium!

My sincere gratitude, appreciation and thanks to the Da Babes Team!!! Life is Good.

Loyalist Mac

[Mifune]

Thanks for the fast response. Corrections added to to reload[:)]

[vettim89]

Have the few issues that were brought up so far been corrected in the linked file or do I still need to go in and manually correct?

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: vettim89
Have the few issues that were brought up so far been corrected in the linked file or do I still need to go in and manually correct?

Please go in manually. We are still collecting issues and tweaking the db. Want to have all issues addressed in the release version, and not do a rev-a-day thing.

Ciao. John

[JWE]

Many pm's asking just what is Babes Medium about. Well,, thanks to MO (bless you bro), Babes Medium is looking very much like DaBigBabes. So much so, that Babes Med will become DBB. No intermediate, Babes Lite for the stock alternative, and DaBabes for the brutes. Well .. for all the Qs, here's the best answer I got:

Support - way cut. Idea is to force periodic withdrawal of units to rear area bases for I&I, slowing tempo and further straining shipping resources.

AvSup - way cut. Defined in Kut/Bn/Kok/Wing/Group sized units (depending on nationality). Same idea, require stacking of AvSup units to support major airfields, thereby reducing the number of forward deployed major operational air bases.

NavSup - way cut. Replaced by Bn sized units. Number of units with sufficient NavSup to promote efficient repair/rearm substantially reduced, Number of units with sufficient NavSup to assist in loading/unloading substantially increased. Same idea, require stacking of NavSup units to support major naval bases, thereby reducing the number of forward deployed major naval operating bases. Sufficient numbers of actual, deployable, Naval Base Forces with significant NavSup capability have been provided.

Base Forces – way cut. Replaced by their actual, component, Bn sized units. Many BFs remain, but are either permanent/restricted to their location, or are stripped to their skeleton components and require fleshing out with their assigned operational Bns. Actually gives Japan a skoosh more flexibility than stock, but puts limits on the number of large BFs that can be created.

AI Cheats – way cut. All hidden Sup/AvSup/NavSup AI assistance device slots have been removed from all inappropriate LCUs wherever found.

Engineers – way modified. Engineer units are defined in terms of categories: some may Build, help reduce Forts, add to Assault Value; others may Build, no Fort, yes AV; others may Build, No Fort, no AV. The latter category is similar to 251 Engineers, but may have significantly higher (or lower) load cost (troop count). Thus Japan may have a Naval Construction Bn with 1000 troops (for transport and base population purposes), but with a relatively puny Build value (and no AV and no Fort capability).

LCUs – modified. Extraneous and irrelevant devices that artificially impact load cost have been removed. Adjustments made to combat-type devices (Device files and TO&E definitions) to ensure appropriate, relative, AV and firepower values. Unit placement within the OOB listing has been redone in order to better conform to the game engine’s priority selection rules for ground combat phasing. Other unit placement within the OOB listing has been redone in order to group certain types of units together, such that they may be easily found and edited in response to playability concerns.

Ships/Classes – woof. Everything from Harald Velemans, to Don’s Downfall. Includes a modification of the Airgroup file to add the USMC CAS CAGs on the Commencement Bays, the a/g on Midway, Roosevelt, and such like. Has everything from the CW that was definitively identifiable as “nominated for Eastern service”.

So – that’s DaBabes in a nutshell. Think ya’ll can see why (although it will now nominally function with the stock AI) the scenario is more adapted to PBEM (or H2H, or CPX) play. This is the kind of scenario that would frustrate and discourage your basic wargamer; this is a scenario where prior planning and logistics is paramount. We have tried our best to do the right things in the right way and make it as historical as possible. I hope ya’ll will accept some of the abstractions that are necessary, given the engine, and think more of the “feel” that this scenario provides.

Thank you, John and (if I may speak for him in this) Don.

[eloso]

Thanks for the update JWE.

This is starting to sound like War in the Pacific Secretary of the Navy version! [8D]

[rockmedic109]

"DBB for brutes"???

Does this mean for PBEM? Or will the stock AI work with it?

Thank You

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: rockmedic109
"DBB for brutes"???

Does this mean for PBEM? Or will the stock AI work with it?

Thank You

Last paragraph of the post, Rocky. Think ya’ll can see why (although it will now nominally function with the stock AI) the scenario is more adapted to PBEM (or H2H, or CPX) play.

So yes, it will now work with the AI. It will 'feel' different because a lot of the AI assist stuff is gone, and the AI won't know how to aggregate support units very well, but it will still make moves as scripted.

Edit - Whoops, I was a bit too terse there. We did not disturb the Japanese OOB positions much (just filled in some of the gaps), so DaBabes is playable against a Japanese AI. Sorry for the confusion - I just assumed that most people play the Allies against a Japanese computer opponent.

We had to move US/Sov/Chinese troops around a lot to make suficient space for our additions, so these Nationalities will not have their units (except for HQs) in the slots the AI will be looking for. So the AI scripts won't work for the Allies, but will be ok for Japan.

Should have been more clear. Again, sorry for the confusion.

[JWE]

Pm’s are already starting about the AI, so let me try to explain it all, here.

The AI scripts work by looking for specific HQs, Assault Units, Defense Units, and Airgroups, by slot number. The AI looks for ‘numbers’, not ‘names. If the script wants the US 27th Div, it grabs slot 5071. If slot 5071 holds something else, the AI will grab that just as happily.

The OOB and AI designers set it up so that the OOB spans all available slots in the database. Only holes remain here and there. Thus, it is virtually impossible to add, move, aggregate, consolidate, without trashing the AI for that Nation.

Given the extensive additions and modifications we wished to make, we accepted the demise of the Allied AI, and moved things around wholesale. However, MO did his best in maintaining the Japanese OOB in its original slot locations, such that Japan, at least, will give appropriate units when the AI calls for a slot number.

It took weeks to do just this, and he threw up his hands in frustration when it came to the Allies. So the choice was an accessible mod with only a Japanese AI, or blowing it all off and saying this is PBEM only. We wished to keep it as accessible as possible for players that have neither the time nor inclination for PBEM or CPX play, but who understood the concept and wished to experience a new operational ‘feel’ as we perceived it.

We will do our best to maintain the Japanese OOB slot listing as pristine as possible in order to accommodate a Japanese AI.