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Hey guys, I just started making a scenario, so I thought I'd create this thread to get some feedback.

The map I'm making is a smaller scale scenario, based on Operation Konrad / Siege of Budapest.

The idea is basically for the Germans to try to relieve the German and Hungarian troops trapped in Budapest, and the Soviets should of course try to keep the pocket closed and stop the German offensive.

Some questions I have:
1.There will probably not be any available units for either side to purchase, but if there are, is it possible to limit the areas that reinforcements can be placed? (Basically don't want Germany to be able to place new units inside the pocket).

2. Do you see any obvious problems with a scenario like this?
I have no idea if a scenario like this can be made in a good way for this game, so I would really like to hear your opinions and ideas.

ORIGINAL: Mrslobodan

Hey guys, I just started making a scenario, so I thought I'd create this thread to get some feedback.

The map I'm making is a smaller scale scenario, based on Operation Konrad / Siege of Budapest.

The idea is basically for the Germans to try to relieve the German and Hungarian troops trapped in Budapest, and the Soviets should of course try to keep the pocket closed and stop the German offensive.

Some questions I have:
1.There will probably not be any available units for either side to purchase, but if there are, is it possible to limit the areas that reinforcements can be placed? (Basically don't want Germany to be able to place new units inside the pocket).
Maybe the best way could be to completely disable purchase option and to deploy new units by script (same as vanilla 1939 campaign, Italian troops deploy in North Africa), in such case you can choose deployement hexes (I think must be close to a friendly ressource).
I dont know how to handle script, but I think its possible.

2. Do you see any obvious problems with a scenario like this?
I have no idea if a scenario like this can be made in a good way for this game, so I would really like to hear your opinions and ideas.

I think there will be some "problems" to solve (eg: the MPP collection will be huge due to number of city hexes you use), but Editor is really flexible, most of parameters can be changed (Units, terrain, research ect....)
So I think the game need to be rethink as Operationnal vs strategic via the Editor


Here is a picture of how big Budapest is going to be(really early wip, just to give you an idea of the size)

Basically don't want Germany to be able to place new units inside the pocket

If you have separate countries for Germany and Hungary, ti seems that you can do it by going to Campaign > Edit Country Data, and see below.

This is a great idea and I see no reason why it can't work. I would add some units for playtesting purposes early on, i.e. before you finish drawing the map, so that you can get a feel of whether or not the map scale is right.

Setting the resource MPP values to low figures, e.g. 0.25 per strength point, will help stop income being too high.

Then just tweak units costs accordingly if income is still too high.

Good luck! [:)]

Thanks guys! MPP collection seems to be easy to balance. However I've run into some problems.

I have Hungary as a minor atm (I think setting up a whole new major is too difficult for me). Anyway, when I right click on the hungarian units I get a soviet counter on the picture, it happens both in the editor and ingame, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with that, but I can't set any upgrades on the hungarian units...It works fine on the germans (I've setup their research points and Hungary is Axis with Germany as major) Any ideas?

Hi

I'm not too sure on the first question, assuming no Bitmaps have been moved or modified from the original files and folders in your game installation?


In terms of the scripts, it suggests one may have an error. If you open up the Edit dialog, if any have an asterisk next to their name then they likely contain an error.

Run Update on that one and it should tell you the line number where the error occurs within the script, enabling you to fix it.

I didn't move any bitmaps or anything, any ideas why i cant set upgrades on the hungarian units, cant set them on the romanian units either, so all minors I guess.

I solved 2nd problem by deleting all scripts, now it works fine, thanks!

I don't know, do you want to email me the campaign and I'll take a look at these issues?

Send it, preferably zipped, to: bill.runacre@furysoftware.com

I probably won't be able to look at it and reply until tomorrow now as it's getting late.

Thanks

Bill

Thanks Bill, sent email[:)]

How can I set how many strikes mechanized and tank units have? In combat target section they all have it set to 1, but ingame they all have 4 strikes.. I guess there is some research or something else that also controls it?

It is probably 'Automatic Upgrades' in one of the Advanced Research sections. If you can't find it I'll post a picture later.

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

It is probably 'Automatic Upgrades' in one of the Advanced Research sections. If you can't find it I'll post a picture later.

Thanks sPz, I found it. Each armored warfare point increases strikes by 1 and I have Armored warfare on 3, so I guess that explains it:)

Is it possible to include sound files and play them with events? I would like to have a normal event(?)(screen with text) and a song playing while the player reads the message, is this possible?

Yes, if you look at the various events in the default campaigns, many of them will have sound files associated with them, so it's just a question of typing the relevant name as in the example below:

#SOUND= teletype_1.ogg, teletype_2.ogg

In this example, the engine will randomly choose one of these files to play when the event fires.

If you use customized sound files then you'll need to go to the campaign.ini file associated with your campaign and set this line to the following:

#CUSTOM_SOUND= 1

Create a Sound folder in the same place and insert .ogg files into it, and they'll play when their associated scripts fire!

As an example, this is where the Budapest campaign is on my system:

C:\Users\Bill\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - War In Europe\Campaigns\_Budapest3

Currently it just holds a Scripts folder and the campaign.ini file, but you can add a Sound one there too.

That's great! Thanks! I'm trying to learn event scripts but there are alot of things I don't understand, like for example "global variable value", I have no idea what that means, I just want an image to popup at the start of Axis turn at date X:(

Anyway I'm trying to make a simple popup event ( not sure if that's even the right one, but I want an image to show at the first turn, at the start of Axis turn. so I copied the "Axis start message" from default 1939 campaign and edited it to suit my scenario.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; SURRENDERED FLAG REFERENCE VALUES
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;
; NOT_SURRENDERED= 0
; SURRENDERED= 1
;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

{
#NAME= ALLIED AI: Axis 1st january popup
#POPUP= Report
#IMAGE= 1st january memoir.png - is it bad if my image has spaces in the name?
#SOUND= teletype_1.ogg, teletype_2.ogg
#FLAG= 1
#TYPE= 3
#AI= 4 "#AI= Values range [0, 4]; 0 = Event fires whenever all fields are satisfied", what fields? I just want the event to fire on date X... :'(
#LEVEL= 0
#GV= 1[1,100] - I havent changed this, do I have to ?
#LINK= 0[0]
#COUNTRY_ID= 45
#TRIGGER= 100
#PRIVATE= 1
#DISPLAY_ORDER= 1
#DISPLAY_TURN= 1
#DISPLAY_STYLE= 0
#DATE= 1944/12/31 -This is the start date in my campaign
; Berlin is in Axis hands - does this do anything or does it just desribe the lines beneath?
#ALIGNMENT_POSITION= 0,1 [1] - I edited this to match the german capital in my scenario
; 1st Line - Germany politically aligned with Axis and not surrendered - Also not sure if this does anything...
#VARIABLE_CONDITION= 45 [1] [100] [0] - I havent changed this... do I have to?
#CONDITION_POSITION= 0,0 [0,0] [0,0] [0] [0] - does all zeroes mean the camera position doesnt matter?
}


But nothing happens when I start my campaign... I have made a "Media" folder in the campaign folder and put my .png image there, and I have set all the option in the campaign.ini to 1 (Bitmaps, Sounds etc, all are on 1)

I'm not sure if there are any tutorials about this, if there are please point me to them, or better yet, help me understand this xd

(Also, it would be great if we could have a section in design and modding where we gather tutorials and stuff)

I can probably only help a little. There are a lot of explanations and Notes at the top of each script category. Initially I do not see what is wrong with this script, but I might suggest changing the Type and AI settings. Luckily, this one is easy to test as you can see if it works right away on turn 1. If it doesn't, you can close it out, make a change, and then run it again. Here are some thoughts in italics:

{
#NAME= ALLIED AI: Axis 1st january popup
#POPUP= Report
#IMAGE= 1st january memoir.png - is it bad if my image has spaces in the name?
I don't think it makes a difference, I would guess that the program will search your custom media folder for the matching file.
#SOUND= teletype_1.ogg, teletype_2.ogg
#FLAG= 1
#TYPE= 3
Suggest changing this to '1' to see if it works that way, if not then there is something else wrong.
#AI= 4 "#AI= Values range [0, 4]; 0 = Event fires whenever all fields are satisfied", what fields? I just want the event to fire on date X... :'(
Fields are each of these parameters, I assume. Suggest changing this to '0' to see if it works.
#LEVEL= 0
#GV= 1[1,100] - I havent changed this, do I have to ?
I'm still a little fuzzy on this one, but it has to with a percentage chance for this event to work. In this case it is set to occur 100% of the time, so no need to change it.
#LINK= 0[0]
#COUNTRY_ID= 45
#TRIGGER= 100
#PRIVATE= 1
#DISPLAY_ORDER= 1
#DISPLAY_TURN= 1
#DISPLAY_STYLE= 0
#DATE= 1944/12/31 -This is the start date in my campaign
; Berlin is in Axis hands - does this do anything or does it just desribe the lines beneath?
Any line that starts with a ';' is for us humans, the computer will ignore it.
#ALIGNMENT_POSITION= 0,1 [1] - I edited this to match the german capital in my scenario
; 1st Line - Germany politically aligned with Axis and not surrendered - Also not sure if this does anything...
#VARIABLE_CONDITION= 45 [1] [100] [0] - I havent changed this... do I have to?
This means that the event will not happen unless Germany is Axis 100%, and not surrendered.
#CONDITION_POSITION= 0,0 [0,0] [0,0] [0] [0] - does all zeroes mean the camera position doesnt matter?
It's a Dummy Position so yes, it doesn't matter.
}

Thanks sPz, I tried to change AI to 0 and TYPE to 1, and also remove spaces in the name of the image, but still nothing happens :/

I also changed #DISPLAY_ORDER= to 2, since I guess first turn is the "deployment phase", but still nothing

Do I need to do anything in the editor? I just did everything in text editor so far, but not sure if I have to go in editor and update anything..

Well there you go, you have to make sure the toaster is plugged in before it will work ! So yes, open in the Editor and Update Scripts, then save it and start again [:)]

Finally! Thanks for the help! Now I just need to figure out why the top looks so ugly even though #DISPLAY_STYLE is set to 0

That might be this one: #POPUP= Report

Try changing it to Strategic Report, or nothing. I think these headings might be hard coded and maybe it doesn't quite know what to do with 'Report'.