Scenario designers- how much research do you do?

[Mustang]

I was wondering how much research that the scenario designers do and put into their battle. I can't find any topographic maps on the net to make a battle map, and it's extremely rare to find details of a small tactical engagment like the ones depicted in WinSPMBT. Does a lot of guesswork go into your scenario design, or can you really find sources to give you details on these battles?

[Pyros]

Hi,

It depends on the battle... If you wish to design a battle with historical accuracy then you must choose one with a lot of coverage.

Usually in a period of 30 work-days, I would spent 15 days for historical research, 7 days for a topographic huge map, 5 days for tactical analysis and the rest (3 days) for pure scenario construction.

The hardest thing to find is the tactics and evolution of the battle that historically happened.
Next is the amount and availability of support assets.

Anyway, I would suggest you to search in various TO&Es forums for the details concerning the composition of historical opponents and then try to find some aero photographs of the region (or a similar region).
Also try to study various topographic maps (find ones that resemble with the region) in order to understand basic topographic principles.

cheers,
Pyros

[Mustang]

Thanks, Pyros. It's just that I'm into really obscure battles in general, and it's almost impossible to find coverage for them. But I'm satisfied with making random maps and hypothetical battles. It's the fun of the game that counts IMO, not the accuracy.

[Double_Deuce]

I would research and get as much information on the battle as you can, then make the rest of the stuff up so it fits into the storyline in a believable manner. As long as you explain that in your briefing/text files most players will have no issues with it since they know up front why you made the design decisions you did.

[Pyros]

Mustang said:
Thanks, Pyros. It's just that I'm into really obscure battles in general, and it's almost impossible to find coverage for them. But I'm satisfied with making random maps and hypothetical battles. It's the fun of the game that counts IMO, not the accuracy.

Making a historically accurate battle doesn't mean that you will make a balanced or even enjoyable battle!!

But even with random maps it would help a lot if you could find some military archives and basic topographic maps.

Concerning resources, the best place to look is the military department of history and the geographical military department. With a small fee you will be able to gather all the resources you need.
For instance, for one of my new projects I will have to spend 20 Euro for 6 official journals and something like 30 Euro for 3-4 topographical maps.
The above is the not the rule, but it will save you more than 50 hours of historical research in the NET.
Another way to design a nice historically accurate battle is to look for a good book in a specialized bookstore.
There are some very detailed books that will provide you with all the required details, plus topo maps and movements of the involved forces according to the time of events.

On-line research
Something interesting, concerning a historically accurate battle is that in order to achieve 50% accuracy you may need 4-5 hours of research, while in order to achieve 70% accuracy you may need 15-20 hours of research.
Finally, if you are crazy enough to aim for a 90% accuracy you may need up to 50 hours of historical research.

Official (military) printed archives
With 4-5 hours of research you will achieve 90% accuracy.

cheers,
Pyros

[hoplitis]

Important: Seek and cross check information from sources belonging to both sides of the battle and from third parties (neutral)if possible.

[Mustang]

Hoplitis, I heard that's especially an issue with the Arab-Isreali wars. It can get ridiculous. I've heard that they often understate their losses in certain battles by 9/10!

I wish I had acess to the military archives, Pyros, but I'm 14 years old and my parents won't really buy any of that stuff. As for the web, is there any specific things you can do to speed your research? Or do you just type in "Soviet offensives into Panjshir Valley" or something and hope to find a good site? Are there any sites out there that consistently produce a lot of good battle info?

[Double_Deuce]

Mustang said:
I wish I had acess to the military archives, Pyros, but I'm 14 years old and my parents won't really buy any of that stuff.

If you need information about something for a project your best bet is to ask here and/or at some of the other military related forums. Chances are they might not be able to give you the answers you want BUT can point you in the right direction. These forums are visitd by people from all over the world and you wouldn't believe the amount of information they or their friends have access to.

[halstein]

If you want to make a historical scenario, you need some decent history-books, reports or such. I have not made any real SPMBT scenarios, just "fooling-around" scenarios to see how the games handles things. I have however made a SPWW2 scenario. This is easier, because the aboundance of works dealing with WW2.
If you are to make hypotetical battles, you should get a look at some OOB and ToE&O of the nations to use, and trie to find some maps of the area you want to sett the battle. This way you can make a playable battle, even if not historical accurate.

Halstein.

[Mustang]

Has anyone heard of Google Earth? It's a program that's supposed to give anyone satellite photos of anywhere on the planet totally free. Has anyone tried it? Is it any good? It'd really simplify finding a map.

As for the "other forums" Double Deuce mentioned, has anyone been to Strategypage.com? If you ever need military info they have huge forums. Just FYI for anyone else trying to find info.