Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

I've been tinkering around with the forification class recently to create a unit that isn't a unit as such but a clear "overlay" that can be placed over buildings or map features which enables them to be destroyed and have a points value allocated to them.

Basically, if you're creating a geurilla/specials forces raid type scenario, you can asign a points value to destroying a certain building, allowing you to make a scenario where you win by destroying an objective rather than holding v-hexes.

I've created 4 units:-

hut, wooden building and stone building that can be placed over buildings on the map.

railway points, which can be placed over a section of rail on the map for sabotage missions.

I've tried to create these units so that they have different properties in terms of what destroys them:-
hut can be blown up with hand grenades, wooden and stone building need something a bit bigger and railway points need at least a satchel charge.

The buildings each have a carry capacity asigned to them, so you can put infantry units in them as well. I've put them in the oob93 R&D oob so you can paste them into any oob where you want to use them. Name and points value should be changed to fit the flavour of your scenario. Maybe railway points could be renamed and used to represent blowing a bridge.

Hope these are of use to anyone who's looking to do this sort of thing.

Just thought...

If anyone could create icons for these units, you could have stand alone bits of kit like a radar installation with vision rating to boot, guard towers or GSRs for those who like Vietnam scenarios....

Also if icons could be created, you wouldn't have to overlay them over terrain features which will give them an unaturally high defence value anyway (anyone ever heard of a building dug in inside another building ;-)

If I had the brains, I could get the building icons from the terrain shape files.... anyone got any ideas?

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Drop me a line Bernard and I can point you to someone who I am sure can help you.

bwilder@bellsouth.net

WB

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Great, Bernard, that should be something to consider!
It will definitely be a big help on some scenarios, though of course one will have to handle them carefully.

Now about icons and dedicated target units like the radar stations you mentionned, I and others have been giving it some thoughts, so possibly that would be something to consider too.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Cheers for the support guys.

I will have to make sure anything we put together along these lines comes with a warning for users to check the integrity of their oob files to prevent snarl ups.

If anyone uses these units in a scenario, please post it in this thread along with whatever oob you've used it in so we can evaluate the results.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

You've saved me a headache! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

I've been working on a scenario of the PAVN raid on the USAF/Mhong TACAN site 'Lima 85' (Pha-thi, Laos, 11th March 1968). I was having problems assigning victory hexes etc and I think your extra 'toys' could be the answer.

This, the largest ground combat loss by the USAF in the Vietnam War, is unusual in that the PAVN OOB is more complete than the USAF/Mhong one - due to the site being overrun.

Cheers

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

TACAN as in a air navigation beacon? Sounds like an interesting scenario. Post it here when done so we can try it.

To offset not using any v-hexes, you could increase the points value of each attacking unit, so that the attacker (PAVN) would have to destroy the TACAN site and handle their force wisely to prevent prohibitive losses.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Yes, TACAN as in air navigation beacon, plus radar, EW, ELINT, comms, helipad and local defence on top of a steep-sided mountain.

'Lima 85' guided airstrikes in North Vietnam to such effect that a small (3 officers & 31 men plus 9 man reserve plus comms/crypto unit)PAVN sapper force underwent 9 months training to assault it.

See:

http://limasite85.us/index.html

Exhaustive PAVN AAR/OOB & Map in the above at:

http://limasite85.us/do_chi_ben.htm#_ftn8

It is very rare to get an After Action Report broken down to individual weaponry, especially for North Vietnam!

I think I can 'tweak' things without making it impossible. I will post/link it here when finished.

I know 'Steel Panthers' should be all about AFVs, but the ability to customise allows these small, intense actions to be replicated with at least some degree of accuracy.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

These extra goodies sound like a great idea. These sort of things can add all sorts of depth and open up the possibilities in scenario design.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Just thought....

could place these extras in UN oob and then use set captured to buy them for any other force.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Yep, that would be a thought, provided enoug people agree on swarming that poor ole UN oob with such strange gimmicks and odd utilities (there are already some around), but if that's meant to be the goal of the OOB, well, all the better.

If I get to gather enough time I'll try to get some of these things done, including adding the last touches to the "workable/historical" UN OOB which has been running along for some time now. Laurent is also up to a last data batch for this one.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

I put them in the UN, along with the 'suicide bombers' etc as (currently) that is a convenient place for such items without impinging on other slots in the OOB, and is available over the whole time-range.

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

I have been trying to make similar units into my OOB, incl. also aircrafts hangars (light, heavy, underground) or protected A/C dispersals (open-top), radio and radar antennaes, fuel dumps (class "Ammo dump" to provide great explosions), perhaps I'd try to elaborate.

Btw what about giving radio and radar masts FC of 100 ratehr than vision? And then they'd be able to be targeted by SEAD aircrafts (say a scen in which the failure of SEAD strike to elliminate one of mission critical targets, say AAA radar, leads to changes in player plan under fire etc...).

Re: Extra toys for scenario designers...
 

Good point, what good is there to have a radar tower stading still if you cannot shower it with ARMs first place? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif If nothing else that would be a good start for such a scenario, having a pre-planned SEAD strike (successful or not) rushing at the target radar (or radar to defend?...).

Now if anything else, you could use such a fixed radar unit as the commanding unit of a SAM battery, each SAM launcher with lower EW and no radio, so once the target unit/search radar/battery HQ destroyed they would be at a loss doing any harm to enemy planes...