Scenario designers- how much research do you do?

[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