Spanish Civil War Mod & Campaign (v0.90)

[LNDavoust]

1) The freezing happened after the loading of the campaign. It worked the first time I loaded it, but it was in windowed mode, so I changed to full screen. When I restarted the game, the campaign screen froze completely when loaded. It froze so bad I had to force shutdown.
2) It went to black screen after loading any mod or the base game. It wasn’t exclusively your mod.
3) I’m certain. I went through and double checked what I deleted. I went and verified the game files. Those files were good. So it was clearly the mods. I deleted both Spanish Prelude mods, I had both 0.15 and 0.45, and it still died anytime I loaded anything.
I won’t be able to fix it Sunday, I’m going to an airshow, so I’ll do one last attempt tonight.

Ok, that was... strange After my (limited) understanding, the mods (even a non-functional one) shoudn't prevent launching other mods or the vanilla version of the game. I have read in other thread that you suffered a similar problem with other old mod, but i dunno, maybe this is not the same...

Since i began modding, i always play OoB in windowed mode (its easier to check and change things in the files this way). I will make a couple of tries using full screen, although i doubt that's related with your problem. Anyway, I will think about all this. Let's hope you can bypass this problem somehow.

Also, an airshow? Wow, sounds fun, have a great time, mate

[Zekedia222]

That last problem was fixed when I deleted that mod. Long story short, that guys mods had a history of causing game freezes and stuff. I deleted it and it worked. I must’ve done something wrong, because this time the game croaked. I’m going to check if any other games were affected, to see how deep the cut runs. I doubt any of them will suffer the same fate, but I don’t know.

[LNDavoust]

Good luck, Zeke, i will keep my fingers crossed.

I made a couple of tests with full screen and didn't see anything different in my computer's performance.

Also, what i have observed is that like half of times i launch the game for first time in a session, the game crashes within the first couple of minutes. That happens with my mod and as well with the vanilla game. But the second time i launch the game, it neves crashes (and after that first or second minute, the game is also stable if it didn't crashed at first). I have no idea what the problem is but i guess is something related to my rig, and not OoB or my mod

[GabeKnight]

The maps are great. Small, with very fast gameplay, exactly the way I like it. Nice objectives, I loved playing it so far (the first four scens, until the campaign splits).

Everything seems to be in order so far. I think you should add 1-2 turns in the "TSP-4-Western-Mediterranean" scen, as the last transport could be coming in late if there's any kind of disturbance in the pathing (like a battle )

I think all objectives worked and all AI teams did their job as far as I could tell.

If you could do me a favour, DON'T SPAWN the new units in "TSP-3-Extremadura", but leave them predeployed in the south-western pocket. I just hate new units spawns in the vicinity of my units. No way to plan an approach if the are new units "appearing" in the middle of the battle. (And BTW, I think I could've accomplished the initial objectives, if given about 3-4 more turns - still, I liked the changes in the objectives).

Here's my first piece of advice. With the .tga files in the campaign folder, it took a long, long, loooong time for the campaign to load. It finally gets there:

Same with me. As said, I'm not at home and have to "cope" with something similar to a computer. No comparison to the lightning fast rig I usually use.
The campaign started alright, but I had to wait like 30s or so and the camapign pic mask was somewhat "distorted".

So, that said, do you want me to sweep this thing? Remember, it's soup to nuts or, to use another metaphor, the whole enchilada. I already see typos that I'd like to advise you about - it all comes with the package and I can be annoying, I suppose.

Gabe, if you want to do sweeping in addition to beta play testing, just drop a post here and I'll disappear.

I gladly help out with some internal "mod" problems - I really like this project so far / besides he's the only other user having a mod - but please, Bruce, this campaign NEEDS some native-english-speaker's "touch":

For god's sake, LNDavoust: it's objeCtive!!

1) I'm quite stubborn and not specially bright :/

Whatever you might or might not think of yourself, you're quite good at this. The plane's textures look great, the mod works, the scens work, the scen balance is great, even with a very low unit count. That's about the only "negative" thing about all this: I have to deal with a very few, select units in my "core force" - actually, I'm not sure if I'd even call it that. Militia... is that even real infantry?

Sure, there might be "quirks" to be polished out in the mod, maybe some unit/balance issues corrected (e.g. I think the "Artesanal Tiznaos" needs some stat reducing) and some fine-tuning stuff overall. But that's what play-testing is for...

PS: I hope you'll consider "cropping" the units.csv file with your v1.x of the mod, deleting all the unused vanilla units.

[Zekedia222]

My game is fixed!
For the second time in less than a month...

[LNDavoust]

My game is fixed!
For the second time in less than a month...

Great Hope you can try again the mod and let me know what do you think about it

The maps are great. Small, with very fast gameplay, exactly the way I like it. Nice objectives, I loved playing it so far (the first four scens, until the campaign splits).

Everything seems to be in order so far. I think you should add 1-2 turns in the "TSP-4-Western-Mediterranean" scen, as the last transport could be coming in late if there's any kind of disturbance in the pathing (like a battle )

I think all objectives worked and all AI teams did their job as far as I could tell.

If you could do me a favour, DON'T SPAWN the new units in "TSP-3-Extremadura", but leave them predeployed in the south-western pocket. I just hate new units spawns in the vicinity of my units. No way to plan an approach if the are new units "appearing" in the middle of the battle. (And BTW, I think I could've accomplished the initial objectives, if given about 3-4 more turns - still, I liked the changes in the objectives).

Noted. I tend to spawn units a lot, so... yeah, that could be problematic

Here's my first piece of advice. With the .tga files in the campaign folder, it took a long, long, loooong time for the campaign to load. It finally gets there:

Same with me. As said, I'm not at home and have to "cope" with something similar to a computer. No comparison to the lightning fast rig I usually use.
The campaign started alright, but I had to wait like 30s or so and the camapign pic mask was somewhat "distorted".

Ok, very useful info, i'd love to hear about the mod performance in your main computer. Also, i dunno what "distorted" means in this context... could you share a pic if the problem happens again?.

I gladly help out with some internal "mod" problems - I really like this project so far / besides he's the only other user having a mod - but please, Bruce, this campaign NEEDS some native-english-speaker's "touch":

For god's sake, LNDavoust: it's objeCtive!!

I need a grammar/typo corrector asap

That's about the only "negative" thing about all this: I have to deal with a very few, select units in my "core force" - actually, I'm not sure if I'd even call it that. Militia... is that even real infantry?

PS: I hope you'll consider "cropping" the units.csv file with your v1.x of the mod, deleting all the unused vanilla units.

Mmm, here's the thing: the republican infantry was awful at the beginning of the war. I wanted to reflect that in the development of the core, starting with really lousy infantry units. That should change later in the game... and if i did my work well, you should starting noting those changes in the seconda half of the scenarios. So, very interested if you still feel the same when u play those... so, yeah, let me know and we will talk then

Regarding the csv file, i planned to crop it after the mod was finished. It's easier for me to delete the units i know i won't use (once finished) than add the ones i will need. Is there any problem with a "complete" cvs file that i'm not aware of?

[Zekedia222]

I’m gonna try the campaign again. Hope it works out this time, I’m really curious as to how it will play!

[Zekedia222]

Regarding the csv file, i planned to crop it after the mod was finished. It's easier for me to delete the units i know i won't use (once finished) than add the ones i will need. Is there any problem with a "complete" cvs file that i'm not aware of?

No, but it will be easier to sort through you units and stuff, when dealing with the Unit.csv. There isn’t a problem, per say, but it is easier to sort through units. I don’t, because it makes it more annoying to find original models for the units, and I do a lot of that stuff with my [WIP] Pacific War mod. Ultimately, its up to you.

[GabeKnight]

Kudos for the scen/turn/unit/RP balance. I'm playing at middle difficulty and it's just about right and I'm actually quite impressed. I've never felt bored -or- too pressured/frustrated. Most turns were really needed - up 'till the end, so to say.
Your objeCtives (sorry, couldn't resist ), are fabulous, too. Finally they make sense as secondaries - some with real consequences inside the scens (like getting the naval CP in Palma after the Italian marina is no more...). Not just "capture this" or "capture that". Really nice. Good work.
This campaign has super replayability value and I'm already looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing!!!

Two more scens today:

"TSP-5A-Palma"

- I'm not sure if the "protect bomber runs" counter works correctly. It was okay during the first bomber run, but then it kinda stopped counting, I think
- the "flanking attack" idea on turn 20 would probably be a neat idea, if it didn't happen inside my own territory on a supply hex that I did already capture. Wasn't paying much attention to my rear areas when suddenly some enemy supply pocket appeared and began moving towards my main supply hub and primary VP. As I don't tend to guard already occupied areas, those two enemy units were too fast and got me a defeat. Thank god for the auto-every-turn-save function.
- the "Solo guerrilero" trigger undeploys ANY of my core units entering that hex in the later game. I've "lost" my cavalry that way...

"TSP-5B-North"

- most of the location names are missing
- last of the transport ships (the Soviet one) wasn't counted into the sec. objectives. Maybe this happened (again) because the ship arrived at the port on the very last turn.
- you should remove the AT switch from the armoured train (or rebalance the unit). Too powerful IMO - although I've abused it to the fullest...and enjoyed it...
- I thought the two Italian SM-something bombers were laying the mines (sec. obj.)...after I shot them down nothing happened...I suspected an error and checked with the editor... no error, I just didn't know what to do... then...

One more suggestion: you should recheck some of your objective markers (not just in this scen). You know, the red arrows when you click on the "?". It's really important for the player to know which hex to guard, capture or guide your merchant ships to.

If you could do me a favour, DON'T SPAWN the new units in "TSP-3-Extremadura" [...]

Noted. I tend to spawn units a lot, so... yeah, that could be problematic

Sometimes there's no other choice, I get it. How else to get some air reinforcements, for example. And it wasn't an issue in "TSP-5B-North" either. I was informed about incoming enemy reinforcements. It happened on the map's edges. All's good like this.
It gets annoying when my troops are advancing into enemy territory and some enemy units spawn right next to them or if a spawn happens inside already captured areas...like the flanking group on turn 20 in "TSP-5A-Palma"

Ok, very useful info, i'd love to hear about the mod performance in your main computer. Also, i dunno what "distorted" means in this context... could you share a pic if the problem happens again?.

I'll be back beginning next week, I'll tell you then. I don't know what this PC's problem is, maybe just some missing plugin or codec.
Here's how it looks now:

Screenshot 35.jpg (829.42 KiB) Viewed 3352 times

Mmm, here's the thing: the republican infantry was awful at the beginning of the war. I wanted to reflect that in the development of the core, starting with really lousy infantry units. That should change later in the game... and if i did my work well, you should starting noting those changes in the seconda half of the scenarios. So, very interested if you still feel the same when u play those... so, yeah, let me know and we will talk then

OK.
...aaaaand.... you've succeeded so far. My units ARE lousy (and still getting the work done somehow...)

Regarding the csv file, i planned to crop it after the mod was finished. It's easier for me to delete the units i know i won't use (once finished) than add the ones i will need. Is there any problem with a "complete" cvs file that i'm not aware of?

Nope. And if you decide to do it, do it last. Basically it's about what Zeke said:

[...] it will be easier to sort through you units and stuff, when dealing with the Unit.csv. There isn’t a problem, per say, but it is easier to sort through units.

[Zekedia222]

Glad to say this time, the campaign worked. I’ve only gone through the first scenario, and it has been amazing! The objectives make sense, for all the reasons Gabe stated. The specializations are all pretty good! I’ll add more once I finish the second scenario.

[LNDavoust]

Glad to say this time, the campaign worked. I’ve only gone through the first scenario, and it has been amazing! The objectives make sense, for all the reasons Gabe stated. The specializations are all pretty good! I’ll add more once I finish the second scenario.

Hey, good news at last from your front, commander. Have a good and fun (half) campaign and let me know whatever you think at the end

[LNDavoust]

Kudos for the scen/turn/unit/RP balance. I'm playing at middle difficulty and it's just about right and I'm actually quite impressed. I've never felt bored -or- too pressured/frustrated. Most turns were really needed - up 'till the end, so to say.
Your objeCtives (sorry, couldn't resist ), are fabulous, too. Finally they make sense as secondaries - some with real consequences inside the scens (like getting the naval CP in Palma after the Italian marina is no more...). Not just "capture this" or "capture that". Really nice. Good work.
This campaign has super replayability value and I'm already looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing!!!

And thanks to you for playing it and commenting

"TSP-5A-Palma"

- I'm not sure if the "protect bomber runs" counter works correctly. It was okay during the first bomber run, but then it kinda stopped counting, I think
- the "flanking attack" idea on turn 20 would probably be a neat idea, if it didn't happen inside my own territory on a supply hex that I did already capture. Wasn't paying much attention to my rear areas when suddenly some enemy supply pocket appeared and began moving towards my main supply hub and primary VP. As I don't tend to guard already occupied areas, those two enemy units were too fast and got me a defeat. Thank god for the auto-every-turn-save function.
- the "Solo guerrilero" trigger undeploys ANY of my core units entering that hex in the later game. I've "lost" my cavalry that way...

Both the "solo guerrillero" and the bomber counter are old problems that shold be no more at the moment... sight ... ok, thanks I'll take a look at both of them.

I'm glad you found the secondary objeCtives interesting in this scen. Sometimes I feel i make thing unnecessary difficult, but i guess it was worth it this time

Regarding the flanking attack... how would you feel if the units only spawn IF the suppy hex werent under your control? In case you control it, they just reinforce Palma from the north... Maybe that would be a reasonable compromise between fun and surprise... mmmh

"TSP-5B-North"

- most of the location names are missing
- last of the transport ships (the Soviet one) wasn't counted into the sec. objectives. Maybe this happened (again) because the ship arrived at the port on the very last turn.
- you should remove the AT switch from the armoured train (or rebalance the unit). Too powerful IMO - although I've abused it to the fullest...and enjoyed it...
- I thought the two Italian SM-something bombers were laying the mines (sec. obj.)...after I shot them down nothing happened...I suspected an error and checked with the editor... no error, I just didn't know what to do... then...

Yeah, i suspected the trains could feel a bit overpowered... maybe i will only let the arty mode, maybe i will reduce their defense to force the player spend rp to repair it. Thanks for the input

Regarding the ships and the port locations, I tried a new thing in this scen. You should note the destination (even noting it down in a paper, like physically even) when the corresponging event pops out in order to direct correctly the merchant. It is not easy to use the ? in the objective pannel, since each ship has its destination, and i only have 1 objective. But I dunno if it worked... (not just mechanically, but from the point of view of the player and the feeling you get). Noting down the destination is also useful to direct the escorts to rendez-vous with each ship. So... yeah, those were my intentions.

I'll be back beginning next week, I'll tell you then. I don't know what this PC's problem is, maybe just some missing plugin or codec.
Here's how it looks now:

Ok, thanks for the capture, veru useful. I will wait to get feedback for more computers (your main rig will among them) to take a decission about the TGAs.

[Bobster66]

I've really enjoyed this campaign so far. And I appreciate the pop-up events as they add a lot of flavour to the scenario, I don't think you over use them.

The first few scenarios don't seem to have any issues and were lots of fun. Just finished the Western Mediterranean and missed a Major because of the slow moving Russian transport that appears to only have 2 movement instead of 3. I don't think there needs to be more turns, could it be changed to a faster unit?

My only concern is that after I finished Western Mediterranean and went to the defense of Madrid all my RPs disappeared. I finished that scenario with about 100 RPs but then had zero to start the defense of Madrid and can not reinforce my units.

[Zekedia222]

I have a note about one of your aircraft. You have the Vildebeest in the game. I’m not sure if you know this, or chose not to use that unit as a base for retexturing because it didn’t have floats. However, it seems to me that the Vildebeest was not a fighter, but a torpedo bomber. You have it down as a fighter.
Another note about your aircraft, they seem to have a high movement rate [One of them has 10 movement points]. Biplanes were much slower, and their speed in the base game reflects that. Most biplanes have 6 or 8 movement points. Also, bombers were typically slower than fighters. They were weighed down by bombs and/or torpedos. However, it seems that your tactical bombers are faster than all other aircraft available.
However, I am incredibly impressed with the textures! They are amazing!

[LNDavoust]

I've really enjoyed this campaign so far. And I appreciate the pop-up events as they add a lot of flavour to the scenario, I don't think you over use them.

Thanks for commenting, Bobster! I was (am?) very unsecure about the pop-up events since i tend to use them more than in the oficial DLCs... but so far no one has complained so... thanks for letting me know, I am relieved

The first few scenarios don't seem to have any issues and were lots of fun. Just finished the Western Mediterranean and missed a Major because of the slow moving Russian transport that appears to only have 2 movement instead of 3. I don't think there needs to be more turns, could it be changed to a faster unit?

Yep, again your are not the first one who raises that particular concern, so probably i will adjust that in the next version. The reason to use different units for the merchants is purely visual: i wanted to have some variety in the "ship parade" to make it a bit less boring. But yeah, that probably doesn't justify frustrating speeds like that, so...

My only concern is that after I finished Western Mediterranean and went to the defense of Madrid all my RPs disappeared. I finished that scenario with about 100 RPs but then had zero to start the defense of Madrid and can not reinforce my units.

Yep, that one is one me. I have no idea why, but in my last two test playthroughs i began the scen with something like 150 RP more that what should be. I guess it was some trigger acting funny, but i couldn't find the problem, so i just added other trigger to quit 150 RPs... seems like your don't suffer from the first bug, and therefore the second trigger is trolling you. If you haven't played University City yet, you can use the cheat menu to add 150 RP at the beginning of the scen with the clean conscience that the author of the mod approves it

Again, thanks a lot for playing and commenting, glad you're having fun with the creature

[LNDavoust]

I have a note about one of your aircraft. You have the Vildebeest in the game. I’m not sure if you know this, or chose not to use that unit as a base for retexturing because it didn’t have floats. However, it seems to me that the Vildebeest was not a fighter, but a torpedo bomber. You have it down as a fighter.
Another note about your aircraft, they seem to have a high movement rate [One of them has 10 movement points]. Biplanes were much slower, and their speed in the base game reflects that. Most biplanes have 6 or 8 movement points. Also, bombers were typically slower than fighters. They were weighed down by bombs and/or torpedos. However, it seems that your tactical bombers are faster than all other aircraft available.
However, I am incredibly impressed with the textures! They are amazing!

Thanks Zekedia, editing the textures is usually quite fun to me, glad you liked them

About the Vildebeest, you are absolutely right. You know, my objective is that in the final version of the mod the republican army has 2 different navy planes: a fighter and a bomber, the second one purchasable through a Specialization. My problem is that i have to make a plausible choices from the historical point of view (the republican navy didnt have modern planes at the moment, but they were near to put some into service), fun to play, and also compatible with the 3d models that are already in the game. The vildebeest will be quite sure the bomber (already in the game, as you said, and the spaniards almost bought them in the real war) but regarding the fighter i have more doubts, and i have made some testing with several candidates... finally messing up with the vildebeest, as you discovered, but merely as a place holder until i get the definitive one. So yeah, good catch, that's one thing that will change in future versions

Regarding the movements points of the bombers, you made also a good point, but i am less convienced. The breguet xix was a light bomber also used as a recon unit, so maybe it wasn't that slow. It it true, though, that with the data i have the breguet is slower than the dewoitine (the first fighter in the mod): 230 vs 400 km/h. I dunno, however, if game-wise the movement points are just related with the maximum speed, or should consider other parameters (like cruiser speed, range, fuel consumption, etc...). Also, the breguet is already a lousy bomber, so making it slower, in terms of balance in the mod, is delicate. I will think about it, thanks, Zeke

[rafdobrowolski]

Eagerly awaiting this mod!!! I was wondering, since you mention in an earlier post on this thread that the Thalmann Brigade is included, do you also include the Abraham Lincoln brigade in your mod? I have a personal connection to a person who actually fought in the ALB!

Yeah, several international brigades appear already in the mod, and most certainly Lincoln's (terrific guys) will also make its stand at some point (maybe in Jarama, maybe in Beltiche).

Wow, i would love to hear some stories from that person, your're very fortunate. Do your know where and when did he/she was in Spain?

Thanks for your interest, rafdobrowolski

Hey there! Loving this mod! good play balance, and I love all the attention to historical details and accuracy. I too had the long load time problem, and had to delete those pesky files.

Unfortunately, the ALB veteran passed away a while ago (he was my ex-girlfriends grandfather, Leonard Evan Olson, very interesting guy, and was involved in all sorts of left movements from the 1910's until the 1950's, including the Industrial Workers of the World union in the upper Midwest of the US, mostly in Minnesota, the founding of the National Maritime Union on the Great Lakes, joining the Communist Part of the USA in the 1930's and then volunteering in the ALB to fight in Spain, where he fought in the battle of the Ebro, and then serving in the US Merchant Marine in the 1940's, and finally becoming a union carpenter in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1950's, where he was persecuted by various entities for his former communist affiliations). I did attend a few ALB veterans events over the last 20 years, but sadly, most if not all of the veterans have now passed away. This ex-girlfriend's mother, the daughter of Leonard (http://www.alba-valb.org/volunteers/leonard-evan-olson) was quite active in the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade when we were dating years ago. My ex and her family did visit the region in Spain where he fought, and they were joined by a Spanish history professor who documented some of the oral history about the Battle of the Ebro from Leonard, in the 1990's.

[McLeoudX]

Hi, this is Test-Subject 08/15 .
I tried the new Version of this Mod, but the game crashed two times after launching it.
I have got a error.log, but don't know if it will be helpful!

[rafdobrowolski]

In the North Blockade Scenario, it is near impossible to get 40 hit points with fighters, and the objective of 35 hit points does not mach the number in the description of 40 hit points. The same issue (difficulty of reaching the fighter damage objective) occurs in an earlier scenario (I think it is Extremadura...). Also, in the North Blockade scenario, once the last Russian ship reaches the port of Gijon on turn 33, the objective trigger is not met, and the player loses the scenario, and hence the game, since the fighter damage objective cannot be met either (you need to accomplish three of the secondary objectives to get a win, since that is one of your primary objectives). My other suggestion is having a native English speaker edit the prompts and intros... there are a few typos and translation errors between Spanish and English (I speak both languages, and Polish as well). If you want someone to review them, I would be willing (you would just have to tell me how to do that).

Time to keep moving forward (through a nuke in the North Blockade on the last turn however...)!

[rafdobrowolski]

In the Palma Scenario, when I destroyed the coastal battery, with Guerrilleros, the secondary objectives box never changes from a question mark to a check mark indicating that this objective has been completed. The arrow indicating the location of the battery if also off by one hex (it is to the upper right of the actual location of the battery on the map), when you click on the secondary objective "Disable Coastal Battery" in the objectives dialogue box. Also, when the third wave of bombers comes (turn 25), the dialogue box says that it is the first wave (not the warning-that-they-are-coming dialogue box, but the one announcing their actual arrival on-screen).