Armoured trains

[PatG]

Here's the latest release. I chose to finish off the German Scout cars because they were the easiest to do. In the zip are the Icons, the TO&E and the stats to plug into the scenario editor. Note to designers: The light trains were used in the Balkans. A train of 10 icons had an actual length of 2 hexes - adjust your maps and setup accordingly.

I put the stats in a text list rather than a spread sheet to keep file size down and to ensure readability regardless of OS or installed applications.

Next up Polish Armoured Train 11 "Danuta" and Train 15 "Smierc". Many cars were re-used by the Germans so more bang for the buck.

ReadMe text:
In this package:
Icon0110.shp - includes all icons up to July 09 2006
UNITS.txt - Armoured Train units expressed in terms of SPWW2 units.
German_Armoured_Trains_Stats.txt - a text list of the scen edit values for the German Light and Heavy Scout Car units.

EDIT:
In German armoured trains stats under the PzKw 38-T Carrier car, 0=Passengers are riders else APC: should read 1

Edit:
I misunderstood how heat armour works - Add the value in the HEAT column to the regular armour column and use this sum for the HEAT value.

[PatG]

Ok all you need to make Danuta including Ti3 locomotive and a TK-R-TK drezyna set with rotating Renault turret. The assault car is under scale for Danuta but OK for Smierc.

Enjoy.

[Beeg]

Hi. Love the train concept. I should know this, but how do I access the icons once I've d/l them to my graphics subdirectory? What icon number(s) are they in MobHack?

Beeg

[PatG]

The icon numbers are in the README but see below.

To make an armoured train:

• Open the Editor and load or create your terrain - be sure to add train tracks .
• Buy your forces. I prefer to structure the train as one unit - sometimes two if it historicly operated in two sections so for a base unit, I will select a armour platoon with the right vehicle count. Note that if you want your train units to be able to fire indirect, you must select a base unit of the right class like SP Artillery. You can use the switch unit type button to change one PZ IV of a platoon to a Wespe then modify the Wespe to get an indirect capable unit.
• Deploy forces and build your train. Go to the deloy menu and set out your base unit some where convenient. Click on a vehicle and select the "change unit" button (sorry I don't have a copy of the game with me to give the right name) and change the values to represent the unit you are creating. The move must be "0". In the "Miscellaneous" section, you will be able to set the summer, winter and desert icons - at the moment I have only made Summer ones. Plug in the numbers below. Close the editor when you are done and voila - your new armoured train unit is on the map.
  Adjust placement and heading as required.

Notes

• Some unit stats were included in the previous release. I will be working on more but always appreciate player input.
• Most armoured trains only had 1-2 cm of armour so with sloping rating will usually be no more than 3. However some strange things do show up. The Polish Ti3 locomotive has about a 2 foot gap between the plating and the boiler - I estimate probably 2 points of steel armour plus 3+ points of additional heat for a rating of 2/5.
• Many armoured trains had a vast array of weapons - The Type II artillery car had 2 gun turrets 8 MG in the sides and ends and an AAMG in the top turret. However, most of these were casement mounted and could only fire to one side so one hack is to halve the numbers. The second turret weapon can be represented by using a no icon unit. In the current release use 3975. Position the unit under the non-rotating turret and change stats as before. You may want to split the total crew between the two to make each "half" a little less robust. Remember that Weapon slot 4 is for weapons with limited traverse like BMGs and main weapons like StuG guns. An AAMG in slot 4 will still fire 360 degrees.

Icon Unit
3948 Locomotive
3949 Pursuit car Pzkw IV
3950 Gondola with 20mm flak
3951 Wooden flat car
3952 Gondola
3953 Passenger car
3954 Wooden Flat car with sand bags
3955 Captured Artillery car
3956 Gondola with 4x20mm flak (Whirblewind turret)
3957 T-38 tank carrying car
3958 Somua S-35 tank carrying car 30/06/06
3959 Panhard 38 (f) mit Funk 30/06/06
3960 Wooden flat with sandbags and infantry 30/06/06
3961 Gondola with infantry 30/06/06
3962 Heavy Scout car Infantry 04/07/06
3963 Heavy Scout car with PzkwIV turret 04/07/06
3964 Flat car with repair supplies 05/07/06
3965 Polish Type II artillery 100px 06/07/06 revised 16/07/06
3966 Polish Tatra armoured drezya 07/07/06
3967 Light Scout car 09/07/06
3968 Heavy Scout car with Flak 09/07/06
3969 Polish Ti3 locomotive 100px
3970 Polish R drezyna Non-rotating turret
3971 Polish Tk drezyna
3972 Polish Tk-R-Tk drezyna set rotating turret
3973 Large flat (100px)
3974 Polish Assault car - Compromise Smierc size, Danuta profile.

[PatG]

I found my Type II a little too lightly coloured so I'm re-working the paint scheme.

Second - and very cool - I discovered thar units stack in in the same order they appear in the list. For example, B1 will appear on top of B0 if they are stacked in the same hex. What this means for trains is that if you make the icon for B0 the 100px main body of the artillery car with its turret, then make B1 a stand alone turret and place it in the same hex as the "end" of B0, the B1 turret will "float" over the B0 car and you now have one unit with two turrets - both of which rotate.

So a repaint of Danuta and hopefully a demo scenario then onto either the Russian Monsters or the German twin-turret jobs with long 75mms.

I love the smell of anthracite in the morning.... it smells like - well you know

[PatG]

Off for a weeks holiday so thought I should throw something out for you to play with.

Three things in the zip - the latest Icon0110.shp with recoloured two turret Type II arty wagons, 363 Eisen Bahn - another proof of concept scenario not balanced at all but gives you a heavy scout car train to play with and 364 Danuta! a Polish defend against German advance - much better balanced but I'm still no scenario designing genius.

Enjoy!

[PatG]

Just a quick update.

I have been mucking around with Pyros' waypoint ideas and have had some success with getting trains to move along the tracks. Retreats and routs cause problems and road crossings can lead to some unusual effects when the AI decides the road looks better than the rails.

Since I suck at scenario design, I'm working on a modified OOB for Blue to hold all the trains to make it easier for better skilled scenario designers to get stuck in. Yes that's a hint.

Big advantages will be:

• one click will get you a prototypical train like Danuta, BP42/44 or the German Light and Heavy Scout Car trains with all the appropriate squaddies etc. - no more hacking armoured platoons and poking in values.
• Selectable individual units to "build your own".
• Generic track guarding trains with mixed and captured kit.
• New shps for captured Polish and Russian kit in German colours.
• Proper LBMs (I hope).
• New sounds should you chose to make mobile trains.

It may be a while but stay tuned.

[Helm]

Sounds like you are doing a great job mate.Hope somebody does pick this up and build some scenarios around it after all your work

[Pyros]

Hi PatG,

I am currently on Summer vacations, but sometime after September I will try to find a way to simulate the train effect with the existing game mechanism.

cheers,
Pyros

[PatG]

Helm - Thanks for the support.
Pyros - Efharisto poli.

The first pass on a modified Blue OOB should be ready for posting in the OOB section in a day or two. Nothing new in terms of the shp files but the units are looking good.