"Kaiserschlacht" WWI Mod v3.3 (Mar 5, 2016)

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Hey, hows the Grand Campaign going? I am gonna be honest and say i am not that fan of big maps that encompass all the war period, so i am eager for other news regarding the Ottoman path for the normal campaign or the Grand Campaign project

Fair enough that you don't like Grand Strategy. That's why I leave options for everyone!
However, I think that even people who don't particularly like the larger maps would enjoy this one. There is not 20 units on each front, so it won't take forever to complete a turn. I actually think that each front would be considered large to have more than 10 in the important ones, and 6 in the lesser ones. Try it out, and see what you think!

In terms of the GC, I have a nearly complete '14 campaign of 11 scenarios. However, LandMarine, who was writing my briefings, disappeared earlier this year, and I have terrible ideas for those (I tried writing one for the USA '20 map but gave up as it sounded too awful for this mod!). If I can get someone to write the briefings for 8 of the scenarios, I should be able to release the GC 14 this month. '15 - '18 have basically been ignored as I can't be bothered starting them considering I see that '14 won't ever be finished.

In terms of the main campaign updates (including the Ottomans and some new 'what-if's), I have kind of put them to the end of my priority list, and have been focussing on the large European map since mid-August. They are certainly not going to be shelved though!

At this point I plan to release the next update (Grand Europe and the add-on scenarios) in v2.0, towards the end of the year. Would 11 November not be a fitting day? (17 Aug actually had some meaning, but not anything major. I think some battle in the Russian invasion of East Prussia started then, possibly Gumbinnen - I didn't actually do this intentionally. Rather I just wanted to get the update out of the way so I could play Europa Universalis 4)

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Do people have an anti-posting disorder or something? I want something to talk about

Anyway, I haven't been sitting idly for the past week since the [large] map was finished. The turn 1 armies are done now, and are tested.

The Schlieffen Plan is ready to be executed:

Belgium Invasion.JPG (185.64 KiB) Viewed 7140 times

Revenge for Sarajevo. PREPARE TO DIE, PRINCIP!

Serbia Invasion.JPG (193.12 KiB) Viewed 7140 times

Also, these are the likely victory conditions. I want to know if any should be changed:

Victory Conditions.JPG (18.01 KiB) Viewed 7140 times

In addition, I will have 'attrition' hexes in some parts of the map. These are to put an end to a strategy in War of the World that the AI used to use on me a lot = hide a Panzer in a desert somewhere and wait 'til turn 80 to capture half of Africa from me. Now, in desert hexes that are at least 2 hexes from the coast or a river, units take severe damage each turn to represent lack of supply. (That'll kill off any annoying bugs hiding in the desert in a matter of weeks!)

- BNC

[McGuba]

In addition, I will have 'attrition' hexes in some parts of the map. These are to put an end to a strategy in War of the World that the AI used to use on me a lot = hide a Panzer in a desert somewhere and wait 'til turn 80 to capture half of Africa from me. Now, in desert hexes that are at least 2 hexes from the coast or a river, units take severe damage each turn to represent lack of supply. (That'll kill off any annoying bugs hiding in the desert in a matter of weeks!)

This sounds like a very good idea, too bad that I do not have more free AI zones to implement it in the Battlefield mod. However, I am afraid that the AI would just simply give some replacements to those tanks in the above example, once their strength goes down to a certain level.

As for the screenshots, sorry for saying this, but for me those A-H infantry units look like some kind of spirits or ghosts especially when I see them close to the other 'normal' PzC style units. No promises here, but if no else does so I might try to make some more unit icons in PzC style for WWI by the planned November release. Also it would be nice to have proper Serbian units, too.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

In addition, I will have 'attrition' hexes in some parts of the map. These are to put an end to a strategy in War of the World that the AI used to use on me a lot = hide a Panzer in a desert somewhere and wait 'til turn 80 to capture half of Africa from me. Now, in desert hexes that are at least 2 hexes from the coast or a river, units take severe damage each turn to represent lack of supply. (That'll kill off any annoying bugs hiding in the desert in a matter of weeks!)

This sounds like a very good idea, too bad that I do not have more free AI zones to implement it in the Battlefield mod. However, I am afraid that the AI would just simply give some replacements to those tanks in the above example, once their strength goes down to a certain level.

That reinforcement costs cash. Something the AI won't have much of when I'm stacking 20 King Tigers outside Vancouver, eager to complete global domination! Also, I can't see much need for attrition in WW2, aside from the Russian Winter. My one focusses on primarily the Mesopotamian/Palestine Fronts where supply was constantly a problem.

As for the screenshots, sorry for saying this, but for me those A-H infantry units look like some kind of spirits or ghosts especially when I see them close to the other 'normal' PzC style units. No promises here, but if no else does so I might try to make some more unit icons in PzC style for WWI by the planned November release. Also it would be nice to have proper Serbian units, too.

GHOST UNITS!

Nothing to be sorry about there, it's a fair point. Go ahead with the units if you feel like it - November won't be the final release for the mod (I can't see that happening until PzC 2 or something else comes out!). Rather, I will be releasing the large scenario in Nov, and then the add-on scenarios to the standard campaign probably a month later.

Also, I've noticed through screenshots of Battlefield that some parts of the map don't turn white in the winter turns. Care to tell me how you did that? [other than desert]

- BNC

[McGuba]

Yeah, sure I just modified some winter tiles to normal ones. Then I placed the modified tiles to over the standard ones to mask them. These modified tiles do not change with the seasons. Check the LayerTerrainFrozen.png file in the Graphics\Tiles folder of the Battlefiled mod. You can use the modified tile file for your mod if you would like to. In that case you will need to use the LayerTerrain.png and LayerTerrainMuddy.png files as well so that those modified tiles would be the same in any season.

[BR4ZIL]

Hey there! Can you like... make dud Briefings and then release the first part of the Grand Campaign?

But really, you said you made a briefing and didint liked it, there is no need to be a perfectcionist! Even if you made something very silly as briefings descriptions, i would still love to play and would enjoy the maps!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Hey there! Can you like... make dud Briefings and then release the first part of the Grand Campaign?

But really, you said you made a briefing and didint liked it, there is no need to be a perfectcionist! Even if you made something very silly as briefings descriptions, i would still love to play and would enjoy the maps!

If I wasn't a perfectionist, this mod would still have those terrible graphics from v1.0, and would be in the terrible state of Nov 2013. And my briefing was so bad that I kind of wanted to burn it!

However, I will do whatever I can to get a form of GC14 out very soon. The briefings will be "High Command is too lazy to bother giving you a briefing" until I get better stuff. But otherwise, the '14 campaign is finished. '15 and onwards won't be done until v2.0 is released around November. {And then I still want proper briefs for those}

Yeah, sure I just modified some winter tiles to normal ones. Then I placed the modified tiles to over the standard ones to mask them. These modified tiles do not change with the seasons. Check the LayerTerrainFrozen.png file in the Graphics\Tiles folder of the Battlefiled mod. You can use the modified tile file for your mod if you would like to. In that case you will need to use the LayerTerrain.png and LayerTerrainMuddy.png files as well so that those modified tiles would be the same in any season.

Somehow I guessed that. I'll have to give that a go once the map is somewhat more complete (eg. the Quests).

By the way, these are the 12 quests that can be given to you in the campaign:

'Capture of Belgium' - capture Brussels and Antwerp
'Revenge for the Osman' - send Goeben and Breslau to Constantinople
'Blockade' - destroy the British Blockade
'Relieve Przemysl' - throw the Russians out of Austria-Hungary
'Chemical Wapons' - purchase a Poison Gas Artillery
'Polish Independence' - remove Russia from Polish territory
'The Serbian Question' - conquer Serbia
'A New Russia' - begin the Russian Revolution to create the USSR
'Rush to the West' - launch the Kaiserschlacht
'Restoration of the Ottoman Empire' - capture Egypt
'Irish Revolutions' - support the Easter Rising
'Gericht' - destroy Verdun.

All of the quests, when complete, will trigger a reward, such as prestige, units or even a country on your side

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Just been through hell to get GC14 into a playable state. However, the choice event that comes at the end of scenario 2 seems to like coming up with this glitch:

untitled.JPG (64.22 KiB) Viewed 7090 times

Whatever you press sends it back to the main menu.

Also, 3 "Grand Campaign '14" boxes come up in the scenario selection menu where GC 14-18 will eventually be located.

If someone can fix these up [there's a reason why I tend to prefer making single-scenario mods], then I can release the campaign.

- BNC

[McGuba]

By the way, these are the 12 quests that can be given to you in the campaign:

I really like that quest idea and the rewards. But how about and extra one:

'Capture BNC and annoy him with stormtroopers' - until he gives in and agrees to write all those missing briefings for the Grand Campaign?

[BiteNibbleChomp]

By the way, these are the 12 quests that can be given to you in the campaign:

I really like that quest idea and the rewards. But how about and extra one:

'Capture BNC and annoy him with stormtroopers' - until he gives in and agrees to write all those missing briefings for the Grand Campaign?

Haha! I'm not on the map! I can send them (possibly disguised as goats or something else that is very random) to hunt you down, considering there aren't many hexes I would have to search before a McGuba unit appeared as a SE Pz III (though I think I may have deleted all of the ww2 units in the mod). And don't forget, I have that nuke unit in my pile of icons.

Those briefings have been a living hell - I don't want to have anything to do with them ever again!

If you would like, I would be able to add a few quests for Battlefield, provided you gave me the available zones.

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

And anyway, the briefings aren't the problem now anyway - I told you that High Command got lazy. It is that stupid choice event glitch. Once that's covered, GC14 can be released.

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I'm now calling for beta testers to test the first 5 turns of my large map (Aug - Oct 1914), to test the following things:

*BETA WILL BE READY IN A FEW DAYS*

- Tannenberg Offensive works
- Marne Offensive works
- Trenches are dug on Western Front, turn 4
- Galician Offensive works
- Quests 'Capture of Belgium' and 'Revenge for the Osman' appear as expected.
- 'Mobilization' reinforcements appear for Germany, AHE, France, Russia
- BEF appears in France around T3-4

Also, what turn (date as well if possible) are these cities/forts captured/destroyed.

- Brussels
- Liege
- Antwerp
- Belgrade
- Lodz
- Warsaw
- (Lemberg)

Anyone willing to spare 15-30 mins of their life to do this? [I would prefer an AAR to be posted up, but this isn't fully necessary].
Please keep in mind that I will only have programmed the first 5 Turns, so don't play any further as it won't work properly after that point. (Maybe let the AI have turn 5 as well, but Turn 6 and the entry of Turkey won't be set up)

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I seriously wonder if anyone even checks this page any more! Does seriously no-one want to 'alpha' test the map? If no-one does, I will do it, but I find it more interesting to get the community's response to things (I play with knowledge of how every last thing works, and what triggers it. You guys don't, and so I like to see how you approach things)

Anyway, I'll try to persuade you with this:

Telegram.JPG (166.3 KiB) Viewed 7002 times

Even though the last telegram was officially sent in India in 2013, I'm keeping the 'industry' alive by sending them in-game now! (Mostly it is an idea steal from Victoria 2 which I recently bought - only, instead of newspapers, it's telegrams)

- BNC

[Cataphract88]

It's a nice idea, BNC.

[Akkula]

I would really love to test it, but before that I am willing to play your campaign. Unfortunately I am not able by now because my project is consuming me all my time, but I will soon!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I would really love to test it, but before that I am willing to play your campaign. Unfortunately I am not able by now because my project is consuming me all my time, but I will soon!

This huge map is taking me away from all the stuff I bought during the Gamersgate Sale. Also, the campaign will undergo a huge renovation soon when I add the Ottoman branch, so I'd be trying to get this large map done first (by testing it), so that I have some time to add the extra scenarios.

Large Map progress report:

Quests: 2/12
AI Commands: 4/34+
Telegrams and other graphics: Done
Weather: 0/1
Prestige: 0/2
Countries: 32/~44
Armies and Navies: Approx. 1/4
Playable until: Turn 6 (inclusive)

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

More updates have been done. Apart from weather, I think it can go as far as Feb 1915 realistically now.

Some notes:

- During my tests, France has gained a reputation for not being able to hold a proper trench line. Therefore, I AM GOING TO IMMOBILISE ALL OF ITS UNITS just so that it will sit in those trenches like it did in the real war. (Geez the AI is stupid! I program it to 'hold position'. What does it do? Try to recapture Brussels and Strasbourg!)
- AFAIK, It is impossible to capture Antwerp by the histoircal Sept 28th. (Maybe my 0-move France will fix this - time for test # 117627847237 [or at least it feels like that many])
- Tannenberg is much harder to do - I still have never managaed to do it by even Oct 1914
- For some reason, Entente ship range is twice that of the Germans. Maybe a bug in my coding somewhere?
- While Tannenberg is harder, Serbia '14 seems to be easier.
- The loss of Lemberg is inevitable, though usually quite late in 1914 (hist. the Russians were at the gates of Przemysl by October)
- The Ottoman Army does surprisingly well against the Russians.

Anyway, this is the rough state of the scenario if you choose to be accepted into my beta-test crew!

- BNC

[Wellingham]

Is this a sign up for beta testing?
because if it is, im in.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Is this a sign up for beta testing?
because if it is, im in.

Essentially yes, it is a sign up page at the moment. I'll PM you a link once I've set up a zip file and done a few small edits

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Ok, Beta 1 is up.

https://www.mediafire.com/?f1qe1mvo4yyzrr6

When downloading this, I ask that you do it to be useful for the mod, not just so you can play a 'demo' version of the map or some other silly reason. I am able to track download numbers, and if a rather absurdly large number ever appears, I will go back to closed testing.

When testing, I kindly ask that you upload a replay of your progress and/or a report/AAR (these can be uploaded here or on the AAR forum).

Anyway, I have got a (hopefully) fully-functional 10-turn scenario ready that can be tested. (ending at the start of March, 1915).

At this point, 2 of the quests have been set up (there are a few others that in the full version will be presented before turn 10, but their effects are only felt after the demo ends OR are so unlikely to be completed that there is no point in adding them at this point). In addition, a number of offensives have been programmed that occured during 1914, and weather has been set up as well.

As always, feedback is always appreciated,

- BNC