Experimental Estab & Scn
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:15 pm
Played about a bit with the Estab editor:
Armour:
UK Armd Regts - no 17pdr at HQ. only 4 17pdr in each Sdn. (not used in the scn)
Armour values (heavy armour and T/D) all adjusted to be average of thick*(cos(30)/cos(slope))^1.45
Armour penetration (all guns) all adjusted to be the nominal 30 degree penetration.
Cromwell equipped with Applique armour.
Most missing MG34 added to SPW - let me know if I missed any.
Artillery:
Effective radius re-calculated based on area of 50% ECR of 25lbr, modified for shaping factor. The relative effectiveness of each shell given in 'weight of fire' website plotted against calibre and shell weight gave a closer fit for calibre based estimate. New radius ~ 0.1467 Cal^0.8726
Most weapons have a revised radius which is around 50% of the original value - some mid calibre weapons are reduced less (note this must be an integer - I missed this the first time around, and had to re-edit the file correcting it). Artillery effectiveness is 'about' 1/3 to 1/4 of original values (I think??), but it can be fired closer to defending/assaulting troops due to smaller units and reduced ECR.
Firing Battalions broken down into 3 bty, plus HQ and base - can be moved en-bloc using HQ and no-basing, or individually arranged. HQ can also act as spotter for Bn if Basing is used.
Nebelwerfer:
ECR calculated as above, plus 2m for 'vertical' descent and tail mounted warhead/thin case. Might need reducing to standard value - thoughts on effectiveness welcome..
Firing batteries arranged as for FH Bn.
Reload reduced from 10 minutes to 1 minute for 15cm NW (NW41) or 3 minutes (IIRC) for 21cm NW.
Rates of fire 1rpm in slow, 6rpm for both normal and rapid fire.
Although you can fire close to friendly units, be aware that the pattern scatters outside of the 'safe' box a bit, and you can inadvertently drop fire on assaulting troops even without ignoring their presence.
Infantry:
The infantry battalion also receives a base unit, of small capacity. Often (partially) deprecated in favour of Regt base, particularly when the latter is forward positioned, but retains small reserve that can you can afford to push forward into a Kessel.
Armour:
UK Armd Regts - no 17pdr at HQ. only 4 17pdr in each Sdn. (not used in the scn)
Other minor additions - some more wildly experimental than others.
The scenario test file grew from a test of the new ROF of the NebelWerfer & it's battalion base, into a small river-assault crossing:
(Most of an) Infantry division seizing two bridges across the Our, each defended by a US infantry battalion force, with a third Bn, plus an artillery Bn and light armour Bn in reserve.
Decidedly unbalanced - the US heavy equipment is off map at start, and NW barrages - although scarce - are potent. There are no dedicated A/T guns or T/D in the German orbat as given. German Artillery is mostly motorised, where it should be mostly horse drawn.
Reduced artillery effectiveness overall means that total routing/destruction/surrender purely from artillery is rare, but an assault by a battalion supported by regimental artillery or NW barrages will usually force a retreat or the surrender of an unsupported deployed company. Artillery is still effective at forcing an attack to go to ground, but fll-blown retreats and routs are rarer (except where caused by combination of suppression and direct fire). Light artillery/tanks are less capable of holding ground on their own - a determined infantry attack is more likely to get close, due to reduced routing from their heavy weapons - offensive artillery again helps with the necessary suppression to protect assaulting infantry, but cannot destroy armour alone (though a few vehicles seemed to be lost after heavy barrages).
Scenario length is too long - the US force seldom survives much beyond mid-day on day 2.
Comments & thoughts welcome. Adding more 'subunit' artillery and other support units is planned, but it would be good to have feedback on usability and whether the AI can use it too.
If you need to edit & re-compile the Estab it uses a suitably renamed 'stock' images folder (left out of download for size reasons).
The Zipfile has scenario and estab paths, unzip into BFTB root directory, or manually drag files into relevant folder.
Armour:
UK Armd Regts - no 17pdr at HQ. only 4 17pdr in each Sdn. (not used in the scn)
Armour values (heavy armour and T/D) all adjusted to be average of thick*(cos(30)/cos(slope))^1.45
Armour penetration (all guns) all adjusted to be the nominal 30 degree penetration.
Cromwell equipped with Applique armour.
Most missing MG34 added to SPW - let me know if I missed any.
Artillery:
Effective radius re-calculated based on area of 50% ECR of 25lbr, modified for shaping factor. The relative effectiveness of each shell given in 'weight of fire' website plotted against calibre and shell weight gave a closer fit for calibre based estimate. New radius ~ 0.1467 Cal^0.8726
Most weapons have a revised radius which is around 50% of the original value - some mid calibre weapons are reduced less (note this must be an integer - I missed this the first time around, and had to re-edit the file correcting it). Artillery effectiveness is 'about' 1/3 to 1/4 of original values (I think??), but it can be fired closer to defending/assaulting troops due to smaller units and reduced ECR.
Firing Battalions broken down into 3 bty, plus HQ and base - can be moved en-bloc using HQ and no-basing, or individually arranged. HQ can also act as spotter for Bn if Basing is used.
Nebelwerfer:
ECR calculated as above, plus 2m for 'vertical' descent and tail mounted warhead/thin case. Might need reducing to standard value - thoughts on effectiveness welcome..
Firing batteries arranged as for FH Bn.
Reload reduced from 10 minutes to 1 minute for 15cm NW (NW41) or 3 minutes (IIRC) for 21cm NW.
Rates of fire 1rpm in slow, 6rpm for both normal and rapid fire.
Although you can fire close to friendly units, be aware that the pattern scatters outside of the 'safe' box a bit, and you can inadvertently drop fire on assaulting troops even without ignoring their presence.
Infantry:
The infantry battalion also receives a base unit, of small capacity. Often (partially) deprecated in favour of Regt base, particularly when the latter is forward positioned, but retains small reserve that can you can afford to push forward into a Kessel.
Armour:
UK Armd Regts - no 17pdr at HQ. only 4 17pdr in each Sdn. (not used in the scn)
Other minor additions - some more wildly experimental than others.
The scenario test file grew from a test of the new ROF of the NebelWerfer & it's battalion base, into a small river-assault crossing:
(Most of an) Infantry division seizing two bridges across the Our, each defended by a US infantry battalion force, with a third Bn, plus an artillery Bn and light armour Bn in reserve.
Decidedly unbalanced - the US heavy equipment is off map at start, and NW barrages - although scarce - are potent. There are no dedicated A/T guns or T/D in the German orbat as given. German Artillery is mostly motorised, where it should be mostly horse drawn.
Reduced artillery effectiveness overall means that total routing/destruction/surrender purely from artillery is rare, but an assault by a battalion supported by regimental artillery or NW barrages will usually force a retreat or the surrender of an unsupported deployed company. Artillery is still effective at forcing an attack to go to ground, but fll-blown retreats and routs are rarer (except where caused by combination of suppression and direct fire). Light artillery/tanks are less capable of holding ground on their own - a determined infantry attack is more likely to get close, due to reduced routing from their heavy weapons - offensive artillery again helps with the necessary suppression to protect assaulting infantry, but cannot destroy armour alone (though a few vehicles seemed to be lost after heavy barrages).
Scenario length is too long - the US force seldom survives much beyond mid-day on day 2.
Comments & thoughts welcome. Adding more 'subunit' artillery and other support units is planned, but it would be good to have feedback on usability and whether the AI can use it too.
If you need to edit & re-compile the Estab it uses a suitably renamed 'stock' images folder (left out of download for size reasons).
The Zipfile has scenario and estab paths, unzip into BFTB root directory, or manually drag files into relevant folder.