Non-graphics mods for TOT Red Front Redux

[fairline]

Case: that's a great idea for forestalling the Russian advance

[klesh]

Originally posted by AGRICOLA

Using 1.5 would save you a lot of work. Also, as fairline has asked for and been offered Colwyn's go ahead, it might be the best way to proceed.

Okay.

The bugs that I reported to him were very minor so that I'll stick my neck out and suggest that you can safely use the version available for downloading on his RF 1.5 thread.

Righto.

I see the change as giving players a slight break, moreso in 1.5 than in 1.4. I just tried starting both scens to see what the Germans do during their partial turn. As relatively few German units are active in 1.4, the damage to the Soviets is moderate. However, the modifications to 1.5 have activated many more German units with the result that the Soviets take a heavy beating. It's as if the Germans have 2 full turns before the Soviets can do anything.


Do eliminate the ghost turn. The only downside would be that the Soviets might be able to save a few more units, thereby decreasing the number of spawned German units.

Since the 'ghost' turn is more an effect of using MGE for the design, I do thin it should be eliminated. Any concurrent loss of German strength can be adjusted with ease if it ends up presenting a problem.

Originally posted by N35t0r
AFAIK, the ghost turn is created because the Soviets go before the Germans in the turn order, and new Sovier troops (Read: Partisans in the Pripet) are created, which still have to move.

Fixing it would either mean removing those partisan-creating events (easy, but affects gameplay), or reversing the turn order (impossible AFAIK without re-doing the scen.)

Yes sir, you are correct about the former, but with regards to the latter I believe you must shed the constraints of MGE and think in the freeing format of ToT. Removing the ghost turn then becomes easy as pie!


I have continued working on developing out a few more majour events. I have completed the encirclement & seige of Leningrad, as well as early events for the Finns.

I still need people to come up with various historical majour events that would need scripting. Just start brainstorming a list and we'll hash out whats worth it and save discussion for later. We just need ideas for now.

One thing I realized. If you look at a detailed map of the ostfront in the late war, many many cities were declared Festung or fortress cities. I thought this would be a great little thing to pop up:

"Hitler decides to fight to the last man in cities that he declares Festungs or "Fortresses"...

Or somesuch and then as the player advances, cities before his armies suddenly beef up their resistance after receiving supplies following Festung designation.

Seems like a really fun way to hep up the lategame and give you something to occupy your mind, right? Well, the thing is they declared even smaller towns than we have on the map Festungs, so pretty much every city you see would've been 'lucky' enough to be declared a Festung.

I think the idea still works, but I dont think we need to Festung-asize every German city. Thoughts?

Thats all for now.

[klesh]

Originally posted by fairline
More geeky facts: the Alaska-Siberia route was the main aircraft delivery route from Sept. 42 onwards, surplanting Murmansk and Iran (which continued to supply Brit aircraft types). If we do include lend-lease a/c then this needs to be reflected.

Ahem, I've got that covered.

[fairline]

Regarding the Kursk event - I think Agricola had already ststed this, but I don't see why there can't be a trigger on a number of cities across the front which when liberated by the Russians in '43 cause a 'Kursk' event. Just needs to be renamed Citadel to make it generic, I guess. No doubt FMK has got something special up his sleeve for this!

Forcing the player to deal with events-generated LAH and Das Reich units, Elefants and Panthers would reduce the speed with which the Soviets advance to Poland, no matter where on the Front this occurs.

Rob: another couple for your list of major battles: the Kharkov pocket and the defence of the Seelow Heights in front of Berlin may be worthy of inclusion.

[klesh]

No doubt, its actually even better!

[fairline]

If we use v.1.5 as the basis, somebody needs to make a ToT conversion of it BTW

[fairline]

Originally posted by Field Marshal Klesh
No doubt, its actually even better!

[klesh]

Forcing the player to deal with events-generated LAH and Das Reich units, Elefants and Panthers would reduce the speed with which the Soviets advance to Poland, no matter where on the Front this occurs.

Rob: another couple for your list of major battles: the Kharkov pocket and the defence of the Seelow Heights in front of Berlin may be worthy of inclusion.

I would prefer to keep the Citadel event in the Kursk area. I believe I have covered the possibilities and created a very gameplay friendly version of the event.


Seelow heights being a very very tasty one indeed... but that presents problems (I have already given this one some thought). The heights would be merely a hill terrain one or so tiles to the east of Berlin. I could changeterrain (wouldn't that kill any Yugoslav units?) a hill outside Berlin and place a few 88's, but in open terrain fighting with the Red Army (who will be massive, and right next door at Poznan) will be a futile excercise... I think.


Kharkov had something in the order of 5 majour battles for it. Changed hands left and right. I think something could be figured out that would simulate the seesaw battles that took place over this area. This one too is on my list.



Oh, and get on AIM. plz.

[CapTVK]

Originally posted by Field Marshal Klesh



Seelow heights being a very very tasty one indeed... but that presents problems (I have already given this one some thought). The heights would be merely a hill terrain one or so tiles to the east of Berlin. I could changeterrain (wouldn't that kill any Yugoslav units?) a hill outside Berlin and place a few 88's, but in open terrain fighting with the Red Army (who will be massive, and right next door at Poznan) will be a futile excercise... I think.

Couldn't you create a special hedgehog-type unit that looks like a hill and place them there?



At this rate those extra units will be gone before we know it


Generic ToT question.

I'm reading the ToT manual right now (had forgotten it was a real manual, 240 pages!) but I would like to know the additions to the event language. Does anyone have a table listing the new event types added in ToT?

[curtsibling]

Check the Macro.txt (in the ToT folder) or the SLeague Design Tips - Civilization II page!

http://sleague.apolyton.net/Guides/0civilisation2.php#tipsciv2testoftime

[klesh]

Originally posted by CapTVK
Couldn't you create a special hedgehog-type unit that looks like a hill and place them there?
At this rate those extra units will be gone before we know it

What I want to do is complete the list of new events and then go over that list deeming which deserve to have specific unitsdevoted to them. I like the idea of the Seelow Heights unit, but if it is to be placed historcally, it may be too easy to avoid/LOC around. I could destroy some of the roads, funneling the Soviet advance directly through Seelow, but there should be a road left open to the south for what was Koniev's 1st Ukrainian Front to attack (as Seelow Heights was assaulted by the other Front participating in the Berlin assault: 1st Belorussian, from a more directly western approach).

Generic ToT question.
I'm reading the ToT manual right now (had forgotten it was a real manual, 240 pages!) but I would like to know the additions to the event language. Does anyone have a table listing the new event types added in ToT?

The Macro.txt has a list of the events language.

Edit: curt beat me to it.

[CapTVK]

Originally posted by curtsibling
Check the Macro.txt (in the ToT folder) or the SLeague Design Tips - Civilization II page!

http://sleague.apolyton.net/Guides/0...civ2testoftime

Ah! I see there's a guide to using flags and masks as well.

Thanks CS

[klesh]

I assume we want to have terrain and unit animation lockout turned on as well as .spr override (scenario parameters menu)?

[Harry Tuttle]

Originally posted by Field Marshal Klesh
I assume we want to have terrain and unit animation lockout turned on as well as .spr override (scenario parameters menu)?

Oh yeah, no blurry units here.

[techumseh]

What? You don't want your T-34 to suddenly turn into a War Dog or an Eight Ball?