2018 SPMBT Upgrade Patch

[RightDeve]

Very excited, but haven't got time to install & test it right now.

After this patch, I'm planning to do an extended-combat campaign, with story-like AARs (complete with screenshots, diagrams, and digital painting of battle scenes to help tell the story).

The idea is to command a platoon mech infantry, and as the war goes on he will command subsequently larger formation, company, and then battalion, regiment even. A single day is divided into 4 or 6 battles, with sunshine and weather changing. A single battle could either be very long, thus no time in-between battles (for abstracted non-combat activities like patrols, stand-off shooting, rest in rear, digging in, etc etc). Or battle could be very short, for example to reflect the higher command's intent to capture objective quickly, thus there is in-between time. Supply status will be manually calculated each turn, for example if the random-number-generator (RNG) says NO SUPPLY, weapons have half the normal ammunition count or even lower to none if NO SUPPLY continues for a long time. Vehicles will get lower movements to reflect fuel conservation, etc etc. Isolated/pocketed status will be determined from either RNG or if the rear victory hex is taken by enemy. If the RNG says the troops must fight continually for many days without rest in rear, morale and troop quality will break down; ditto if the troops are isolated, morale suddenly goes lower. Men and equipment might become non-combat casualties due to extreme weather (for example some tanks might be immobilized due to the gasoline fuel being frozen, or some random damage to the Optics or EW, ERA, CIWS equipments). Combat casualties, damage, and experience will carry over and improve, etc. Radio & signal jamming can be simulated at the beginning of each battle, by removing units radios or lower their Rout/Rally rating. And all other things I haven't thought of.

All this is possible by using the D-key while doing Scenario Editing, also the trick of saved-game-turned-scenario, and the Preferences screen, and the User-Campaign string mechanism. Random AI force-pick and deployment could be done using Battle Generator which is then turned into a Scenario. Some automated calculation off-game can be done with my meagre programming skill. But all this will for sure take a huge amount of patience and perseverance, but I hope it'll be very much worth it for anybody visiting the forum and reading the stories.

But for now, it's just in my head, still formulating the abstract operational-rules.

Cheers!