My hobby – Scripting Pz Corps?

[Loamshire]

I’m starting to realise that I spend more time tinkering with the game than playing it. I just counted the number of scripts in the scenario I’m putting together at the moment (version sixteen), there’s 228 scripts and I’m not finished but am nearing its completion and it’s not a mega-battle or anything. Many of the scripts have multiple actions, the biggest has sixteen. I like the mental challenges it provides which to me are way better than sudoku etc. The challenge, complexity, creativity plus sometimes there isn’t even a solution – or is there? A few times I’ve woken up in the morning and – I think I’ve got the answer. I even enjoy hunting for my mistakes.

The down side to scripts is only being able to put new scripts at the end, plus there’s no script line numbers which would really help with hand written notes.

[cw58]

Lol, I too spend more time modifying rather than playing the game. It's always, "How can I do....." or "What would happen if....." then a flurry of modding and then fire up the game and see the results. It's a fun hobby.

[Yrfin]

I’m starting to realise that I spend more time tinkering with the game than playing it.

Same like me

I just counted the number of scripts in the scenario I’m putting together at the moment (version sixteen), there’s 228 scripts and I’m not finished but am nearing its completion
The down side to scripts is only being able to put new scripts at the end, plus there’s no script line numbers which would really help with hand written notes.

Very interesting idea about sharing a Scripts, coz AI Scripts play a crucial role in PzC.
Thanks you.
Its looking realy interesing !

PS. I hate Scenario Editor, coz it don't have Undo
Cursing for you, Rudanko.

[Loamshire]

Soviet Surrender 7.png (15.05 KiB) Viewed 3037 times

[Loamshire]

The mass surrender of troops, a way of incorporating this into the game. 1941 Eastern Front Example.

This creates difficulties for the advancing Axis side.

How it plays – When an Axis unit ends its move next to the Soviet surrender unit the Axis and Soviet units disappear with the following message.

“Troops at map ref 12,10 have taken a large amount of prisoners and are now escorting them to the rear. The unit will return to muster tomorrow.”

The Axis player gains 50xp and their unit goes back into the reserves list for redeployment in the game straight away (to be placed in the Axis deployment hexes).

A new unit needs to be created showing Soviet soldiers surrendering with white flags and raised hands etc. This infantry unit has zero movement and armaments, but high strength and defence to prevent Axis units accidentally bumping into it and wiping it out. The new unit needs assigning a name identifier in Unit Parameters. These units can also be given Camo trait so they are harder to avoid. The surrendering units can be assigned a random chance of appearing and if so their Unit Parameter Triggers need - the number of Axis units in Z1 equals zero, plus the percentage chance of arrival.

The Flag file (in Graphics, Overlays) needs a slight change to an in-game flag. What’s needed is a flag that has no graphics (however just an overlay flag is not satisfactory as it will change from invisible to a Soviet flag if Russian forces move onto it). I decided to delete the Turkish flag graphic, as I have Christmas and turkey on my mind. The available Nations in Scenario Parameters need to be set to include Turkey (if it’s the chosen flag for deletion) on the allied side.

Map and code – The surrendering unit needs to be in the middle hex in a zone of seven.
Line 1 – Trigger, Number of Allied units in Z1 equals 1 (the special identifier name). Hex Action at end of turn is, Flag 28(Turkey) and the Axis Exit Zone switched on.
Line 2 – Trigger, Number of Axis flags in Z1 is more than zero. Actions instantly, Display Message. Plus surrendering unit in Z1 with special identifier is set to Strength zero via Unit Action.
Line 3 – Trigger, Number of Axis flags in Z1 is more than zero. Actions instantly, Hex Action Z1 set to Flag -28 (minus twenty eight), Axis Exit Zone taken off.

[PeteMitchell]

McGuba has some sort of troop surrenders in his Battlefield Europe mod as well, i.e. you need to encircle them and/or reach certain hexes and hold these hexes until the end of the turn and in the next turn the SU troops disappear, e.g. for Białystok–Minsk and Kiev encirclements.

If you download his mod and want to check it, it's around turn 2 and turns 8 to 10 respectively, I think.

[Loamshire]

Another thing I like to use are buildings as units which is really just another expression of bunkers. My favourite is a fortified grain silo (no it’s not the famous one) which I use in a Ukraine scenario. The silo changes hands several times, so Soviet and Axis unit version of the fortified silo are required. In game, eventually the building can only take so much fighting and it is reduced to rubble. At its destruction there is the usual explosion animation and the upright silo image fades away to reveal – ruins! Quite a lot of tinkering goes into that. Not least having two images in the LayerBaseFrozen.png file. It’s quite important to have the silo in the unit graphic exactly matching, the silo in the base layer graphic, pixel perfect, otherwise it can jump a little when attacked from different sides.

The silo unit image

Fortified_Silo_Bld2.png (15.01 KiB) Viewed 3003 times

The winter silo unit image

Fortified_Silo_Bld_Winter.png (13.65 KiB) Viewed 3001 times

[Loamshire]

The winter silo base layer

Silo Tile.png (34.38 KiB) Viewed 3002 times

The winter silo destroyed, base layer (only images for the winter base layer were needed so there’s no graphics for the other base layers)

Silo Ruins Tile.png (38.16 KiB) Viewed 3000 times

Of course those factory images in the modded LayerSations.png are excellent for having as units.

[lennis29]

excellent project

[lennis29]

@Loamshire Do you know how to modify this file strings.pzdat , such as creating a new one (traits)?

[dalfrede]

@Loamshire Do you know how to modify this file strings.pzdat , such as creating a new one (traits)?

You use a text editor, [Word Pad].
Make a safety copy, you will likely screw something up.

[Loamshire]

From a Christmas past.

Emplacement_1.png (59.44 KiB) Viewed 2831 times

I got the set that included British and German infantry. My friend also got one and invited me to play a wargame at his house, telling me to bring some of my tanks along. He’d made a modest sized board of terrain which included an out- of- scale railway tunnel that had a river/canal going through it. It was my first wargame and had easy rules – roll a six and one of your tanks can destroy an enemy tank that’s in range. We were about 10 or 11 years old.

To assign the firing animation/sound - in the efx.pzdat file copy and paste an existing artillery entry (I chose Axis_Fort.png ) rename to Emplacement_1.png , and set the co-ordinates to "(60,-20)" "(-6,-20)". It’ll also obviously need an entry in the equipment.pzeqp file.

Merry Christmas everyone

[Loamshire]

@Loamshire Do you know how to modify this file strings.pzdat , such as creating a new one (traits)?

Apologies for the delay in reply. That's a negatory, it's something I haven't worked on.

[Loamshire]

Now a Graphic for the Kfz 69 Protze

I was unable to find a graphic for the Krupp Kfz 69, the towing partner for the Pak 35/36, which has the ammunition lockers.
So a minor contribution…

Kfz69_Protze.png (25.75 KiB) Viewed 2419 times

[Loamshire]

What it looks like in-game with other units.

Kfz69 ingame.png (386 KiB) Viewed 2418 times

[Loamshire]

The main inspiration though one of many images.

Krupp Kfz.jpg (76.36 KiB) Viewed 2417 times

A vehicle with crew seating perhaps inspired by that on horse drawn gun limbers (the word Protze might be a clue), no cab, and has the crew sitting as if on a cart and exposed to the weather. That said in the photograph I think metal semi-circular bows for supporting a canvas roof are on the hood and are arranged in a circle? If so it’d look like a covered wagon without a horse when it was raining.

BTW also in the photo, I hoped the name on the building in the background was a 1930’s jazz-band - Piston BHB! A bit like Carter USM. But I see now from a web search it’s just a maker of pistons.

[lennis29]

What it looks like in-game with other units.
Kfz69 ingame.png

very good

[faos333]

Now a Graphic for the Kfz 69 Protze

I was unable to find a graphic for the Krupp Kfz 69, the towing partner for the Pak 35/36, which has the ammunition lockers.
So a minor contribution…
Kfz69_Protze.png

very nice graphic!!!

[Loamshire]

Thank you for your kind feedback.

[Loamshire]

My highlight of today was working out how to use scripts with the Terrain Features, which has the two waterways, rail and road features. I wanted to set a task for an engineer unit to repair a gap in a railway line caused by sabotage. I didn’t need to check anywhere on how to do it because I thought it’d be easy. Wow, it took me ages to work out that scripting changes in Terrain Features is actually the opposite of scripting the various background tiles etc. Terrain Features use negative numbers for placement and positive for removal! But hey, at least the designers didn’t have a bit of a joke on this bit and make us use Roman numerals or something.

I also got to thinking how many people must be being helped, especially at the moment, by playing computer games. A lovely distraction. I know Panzer Corps totally does it for me and I'm really appreciating it.