Matrix Games Forums

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 3:24 pm**

Hi.

I have read the detailed explanation of this and Time Stamps on this forum but I'm still not sure I understand what is going on.

Can someone explain in very simple terms what issues the time stamp system is supposed to address?

Thanks.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 4:38 pm**

I'll try.

A TOAW turn consists of 10 combat rounds. Ideally, a player would want to enjoy 10 combat phases of one round each, with exploitation of each round in-between. (Actually, 9 is the max, but that's another issue).

However, a number of arcane player errors/factors can cause many of those 10 rounds to be skipped. Novice players often ignorantly use LATE units in combats. Those units cause the combat to be delayed - wasting rounds. But combats can also waste rounds by taking multiple rounds to finish once started. That issue is mostly out of the control of the player, too.

The Time Stamp system addresses these issues by advancing the rounds expended not to the round of the LONGEST combat (old way) but to the round of the MEDIAN length combat. So...one bad combat can't ruin the entire turn for the player.

Since the round only advances to the MEDIAN, that means that there can be some combats that lasted longer than the round the turn arrives at. Those combats get a Time Stamp placed in them to account for that.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:09 pm**

As a corollary, don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about their movement points.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:20 pm**

Graymane wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:09 pm As a corollary, don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about their movement points.

Interesting. Does the pathfinding not automatically route the aircraft around such hexes?

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:33 pm**

Curtis Lemay wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 4:38 pm I'll try.

A TOAW turn consists of 10 combat rounds. Ideally, a player would want to enjoy 10 combat phases of one round each, with exploitation of each round in-between. (Actually, 9 is the max, but that's another issue).

However, a number of arcane player errors/factors can cause many of those 10 rounds to be skipped. Novice players often ignorantly use LATE units in combats. Those units cause the combat to be delayed - wasting rounds. But combats can also waste rounds by taking multiple rounds to finish once started. That issue is mostly out of the control of the player, too.

The Time Stamp system addresses these issues by advancing the rounds expended not to the round of the LONGEST combat (old way) but to the round of the MEDIAN length combat. So...one bad combat can't ruin the entire turn for the player.

Since the round only advances to the MEDIAN, that means that there can be some combats that lasted longer than the round the turn arrives at. Those combats get a Time Stamp placed in them to account for that.

Thanks for this.

But my question is more fundamental. I understand that a unit that has to move before combat has less time to fight. But why does that affect the other units? Are they waiting for the late unit before they attack?

What i'm not understanding is why the rule is there? I've played lots of board wargames and this sort of turn management is foreign to me. Why is it an issue in this game but not so many others?

Thanks.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:02 pm**

EdmondDantes wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 8:33 pm
But my question is more fundamental. I understand that a unit that has to move before combat has less time to fight. But why does that affect the other units? Are they waiting for the late unit before they attack?

Exactly. Because that's what you've ordered them to do. If you didn't want them to wait, you wouldn't have included the late unit in the attack. And that is what veteran players know to do, so that issue is fully avoidable. It is strictly an issue for novice players. The other issue - of the combat lasting multiple rounds - is not avoidable, and is worse the bigger the scenario gets. The BTS system addresses that.

What i'm not understanding is why the rule is there? I've played lots of board wargames and this sort of turn management is foreign to me. Why is it an issue in this game but not so many others?

Because TOAW divides the turn up into 10 combat rounds. They occur sequentially. TOAW takes the effort to get the impact of that sequence right, for the realism benefits.

Posted: **Wed Mar 30, 2022 11:25 pm**

Just think of the combat rounds as potential phases in a turn. Each turn can have 10 of these phases where you can potentially move some, none or all of your units and plan one, none or all your attacks. If you time everything you could use one combat round to attack, second to move some and attack some and so forth.

They are like phases within a turn, potentially. If you burn too much of a round you’ll lose it. So time management.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2022 1:30 am**

Consider wasting 6 minutes of your life watching this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA5kbyT_9SM

I just noticed there are adds attached to my videos now. Wtf? I did not authorize that. I Curse the World to Damnation!

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:12 pm**

sPzAbt653 wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 1:30 am Consider wasting 6 minutes of your life watching this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA5kbyT_9SM

I just noticed there are adds attached to my videos now. Wtf? I did not authorize that. I Curse the World to Damnation!

7K views on your top video!! Clearly I need to do better engaging with my audience.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2022 3:39 pm**

7K views on your top video!!

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2022 7:38 pm**

golden delicious wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:20 pm
Graymane wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:09 pm As a corollary, don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about their movement points.
Interesting. Does the pathfinding not automatically route the aircraft around such hexes?

Aircraft? I was thinking more ground units. I notice I'll have 2, 2, 18 or something like that at times.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2022 8:18 am**

Graymane wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 7:38 pm Aircraft? I was thinking more ground units. I notice I'll have 2, 2, 18 or something like that at times.

Wow I don't know where I got aircraft from. I must be losing my marbles.

Anyway, for ground units the game will always try to pathfind around the hex with high movement costs if possible and this includes battlefield timestamps.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:53 pm**

Graymane wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:09 pm As a corollary, don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about their movement points.

This should be worded as:
...don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about the movement points of units way over on the other side of the map that never passed through a hex with a time stamp

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:13 am**

Fred98 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:53 pm
Graymane wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:09 pm As a corollary, don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about their movement points.
This should be worded as:
...don't move your units through a hex with a timestamp either if you care about the movement points of units way over on the other side of the map that never passed through a hex with a time stamp

Why?

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:45 am**

Because that is my experience.

There is a battle and a time stamp placed.
All units across the map have their movement points reduced.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:29 am**

Fred98 wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:45 am Because that is my experience.

There is a battle and a time stamp placed.
All units across the map have their movement points reduced.

You just described a combat phase. Yes, executing combat can have that effect. But the quoted post was about movement, not combat. A unit moving through a timestamp will not cause any impact on other units on the other side of the map.

Posted: **Tue Oct 18, 2022 7:54 pm**

sPzAbt653 wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 1:30 am Consider wasting 6 minutes of your life watching this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA5kbyT_9SM

I just noticed there are adds attached to my videos now. Wtf? I did not authorize that. I Curse the World to Damnation!

Great series of videos ! VERY useful. Thanks !

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