Version 3.06 under way

[Rasputitsa]

I think that I am overthinking the supply issue, which should not be over complicated.

There is a difference between supply convoys in motion and supply held in town depots, either LOC, or not.

A supply convoy can be intercepted by opposing units and redirected into the enemy supply system, as now. The supply is already mobile and all that is being changed is the ownership and destination.

However, supply depots in towns are not mobile and are most likely dispersed, as 19th century supply is potentially perishable and cannot be merely heaped up in supply dumps, as can be modern practice.

Captured depot supply cannot easily assembled and moved, there just isn't the transport instantly available.

In v3.05 there is no orders delay in the supply system, as supply moves and/or is burnt in the same turn as ordered.

Captured depot supply should be set to stay were it is, only the ownership changes, units can be set to draw supply from the captured depot, whilst normal supply rules for v3.06 should restrict the size of convoys and, with orders delay, how fast the captured depot supply can be re-positioned.

Whilst 'burn' orders from the army commander would be subject to orders delay, the random burning of captured depot supplies either in part, or totally, could be exempt from orders delay, as this is something that would happen under local initiative on the approach of enemy forces.

The instant movement of huge quantities of supply from a captured LOC, like the 3400+ convoy of captured supply, should not happen in v3,06.

There is still the question of whether the AI needs some help to avoid losing the total contents on its LOC, to stay in the game, but that is another issue.

[Rasputitsa]

I think that I read there was a limit to the number of messages/orders you could send each turn. If this is correct, can there be an indication somewhere of how many messages you have available to send orders.

[Rasputitsa]

During the turn resolution the player sees info panels when orders are received by commanders, see example below :





Can text be added to the message to help show which order has been received, like :

'Objective hex 39,18', or 'Objective PASSAU'.

In some cases orders delay can be 1 or 2 hrs, sometimes more than 24 hrs in game time, so the sequence these 'orders received' messages come in is jumbled.

I think that the objective is the most important issue and would help to keep a check on commander intentions.

I realise that some orders do no contain objectives and are based on different issues, like 'Contact stance', 'To the guns', 'Retreat point', etc., so it would be excessive to repeat the whole order content in the order received panel. However the consequences of a corps having the wrong objective are great and need to be highlighted to the player.

I don't know how much can reasonably be added to the 'order received' confirmation, but would be grateful for anything which would help identify which order had been received.

[Rasputitsa]

Thinking more on this :

Could the 'order received' notification just be adapted from the original order sequence, looking like this :








Remembering that the player may be seeing this some time after issuing the original order and it would act as a reminder and help indicate if mistakes have been made in that order.

[Tejszd]

Some great suggestions to help the player Rasputitsa!

[altipueri]

More scenarios or a set of instructions on how to vary the existing ones?

I am sure one of the keys to the success of the first Combat Mission and Civilization games was the ability for players to make scenarios without needing deep programming skills.


The game system should be usable for almost any pre railway and telegraph/telephone campaign.

It is nearly like this bit I read by Jomini on Napoleon working out where and how he should send his armies:

"The emperor was his own chief staff officer. Provided with a pair of dividers opened to a distance by the scale of from seventeen to twenty miles (which made from twenty-two to twenty-five miles, taking into account the windings of the roads,) bending over and at sometimes stretched at full length upon his map, where the positions of his corps and the supposed positions of the enemy were marked by pins of different colors, he was able to give orders for extensive movements with a certainty and precision which were astonishing."


I imagine a full editor will be a mammoth task, but even some instructions on how to make minor amendments to start locations, victory points and times would enable a crop of player made scenarios to grow.


PS - I've just re-read my Jomini quote -and the key word, I think, is "supposed" - but it applies not only to enemy but sometimes his own corps.

[Rasputitsa]

Can we have a weather reminder, which stays available on the game screen, maybe in the army commanders info panel.

[Rasputitsa]

I think this has been mentioned before, but for consideration in v3.06.

If you transfer all the units from a corps commander to other commanders and the original commander is left with no units, then that commander's unit icon disappears from the map and he is removed from the list of corps commanders in 'Find'.

It is unlikely that anyone would want to do this, but in the heat of battle if you inadvertently go too far with transfers, then you have lost a commander.

Perhaps when there is only one unit left in any commander's list, then it should be 'locked' and transfer denied. Better still, even without any attached units, the corps commander icon should stay on the map and the name stay in the commanders list, so that units can be transferred back into that corps.

This does not apply to the army commander who, although accepting transferred units, has no 'view units' list.

Note: You can still see which units are attached to the army commander even without a 'view units' feature, by using 'Find' button and looking at divisions, where it shows which commander the divisions are attached to, including the army commander, NAPOLEON, or CHARLES.

[Rasputitsa]

Any news on how it's going ?

[CaptBeefheart]

Now that this is on sale for $10, I'm considering buying it and Piercing Fortress Europa. Just checking in as to the future of these titles before I pull the trigger.

EDIT: Rasputitsa: Excellent work, by the way, with your feedback on this and the other game. Kudos for keeping interest up.

Cheers,
CB

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: CaptBeefheart

Now that this is on sale for $10, I'm considering buying it and Piercing Fortress Europa. Just checking in as to the future of these titles before I pull the trigger.

EDIT: Rasputitsa: Excellent work, by the way, with your feedback on this and the other game. Kudos for keeping interest up.

Cheers,
CB

Thanks for the kind comments, I can't comment on the future of the games, although hoping that CotD v3.06 will appear.

However, even in the current versions, both CotD and PFE are worth considering, as they are both very distinctive games, with a spice of realistic uncertainty in the game system.

CotD is not perfect in that the manual is out of date and there are still some problems which have not been resolved, but the game is still playable and there are workarounds and house rules which can increase the challenge against the AI.

PFE is a newer game, with a more up-to-date manual, also has some issues, which can be off-set with house rules and careful play.

Both games are improved immensely by using the CHEMKID map and counter mods, which although only providing eyecandy, do add to the immersion and 'feel' of the games.

The games are deceptively simple to play, but have potential for great depth and the deeper you go, the deeper the reward.

[CaptBeefheart]

Thanks for the feedback, Rasputitsa. I will think about this for a while before buying, since this sale goes until January 12 and I'm plenty busy with other games. I see you have Chemkid's great work on file somewhere. I may ask you for that at some point if that's cool. I don't know what happened to him, but he did some great work on a lot of games.

Cheers,
CB

[Rasputitsa]

CHEMKID left the forum and closed the links, which is a great shame as it is very good quality work. I have the files which I use in my game and can send a 'OneDrive' link to an email address.

Meanwhile we wait to see if CotD v3.06 will appear.

[Rasputitsa]

Any progress on the update [&:]

[Tejszd]

Any update FrankHunter?

Looking forward to it.....

[Rasputitsa]

Even if the full v3.06 update is not available, is it possible to issue the fixes achieved so far, so that we can at least have some of the expected improvements.

[AP514]

WoW Frank Hunter is in the House...............Woot ! !

Been away for awhile and was about to do a Post on the new DEV's that just abandon their game after the 1st day it is out.

I was going to Reference Frank Hunters Support for his Games as a how to do it right.....

Wow now I am all jazzed up for the NEW UPDATE...


Way to go....

[Rasputitsa]

Well, it was active for a while, but now gone quite again and the v3.06 update has not appeared, but we can hope.

[altipueri]

Grognards! Despair not.
The Creator will return.
You have not been forgotten or forsaken, merely temporarily outranked in the Greater Scheme of Life.

In the meantime I have been reading Alistair Horne's "How Far From Austerlitz?" It is interesting how such things as an intercepted courier and a mis-understood order affected the strategy and the outcome. It has made me realise again how Frank's game reflects these life chances.

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: altipueri

Grognards! Despair not.
The Creator will return.
You have not been forgotten or forsaken, merely temporarily outranked in the Greater Scheme of Life.

In the meantime I have been reading Alistair Horne's "How Far From Austerlitz?" It is interesting how such things as an intercepted courier and a mis-understood order affected the strategy and the outcome. It has made me realise again how Frank's game reflects these life chances.

Very true, the strangest things have happened during historical events and the game has the same ability to surprise.