Slitherine

GabeKnight wrote: ↑Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:24 pm And I mentioned this like a thousand times before: please, please, please, STOP providing supply EXACTLY to unit count

I agree with you about supply. It should be ample for all units for most of the time unless a significant number of units are cut off from supply by a tactical move by the enemy. That's easier said than designed, though. As I continue to develop as a designer, I am keeping this in mind. In general, I don't want supply to be an impediment for either side unless, like I said, one side does a smart enveloping move. But even that move cannot be too easy, as you pointed out earlier!

Sorry about the previous post, guys, I was in an emotional state. I mean my statement still stands, but the "tone" was uncalled for. Sorry again.

GabeKnight wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:19 am Sorry about the previous post, guys, I was in an emotional state. I mean my statement still stands, but the "tone" was uncalled for. Sorry again.

No offense taken. You have built up a bankroll of good will with your contributions and suggestions so the thought of negativity never occurred.

New Britain 1943-45 status: Three scenarios down, one to go. Actually, one-half to go since the map for Jacquinot Bay is already completed. Just need something for the Aussies to accomplish so that it doesn't seem anti-climactic. Also need to Google "How to speak like an Australian" because "mate" and "crikey" only go so far. A few more days; then release New Britain in beta; then forge ahead with Gabon for Free France.

Erik, please prepare an outline of what you see as the components of Free France at this time. There is a "Free French scenarios.xls" file in the folder but that looks like the universe of possibilities, not what you are currently proposing for the campaign.

Bru, there's a Scenarios sub-folder in our Free French Fries- dropbox.
Currently there are 11 semi-finished scenarios in the folder. I hope to add a few more.
The scenarios-spreadsheet is simply a collection of all of ColonelY scenario suggestions.

Remember when you see this special mission in Jacquinot Bay, it does have a basis in reality. Everything I do has a basis in reality!

A Type 2 Ka-Mi being tested by Australian soldiers in 1945

Australian soldiers fight their way to the north coast of New Britain, embark at one of the port villages there, and accompanied by a "liberated" Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank, are tasked with cleaning out Lolobau Island. No destroyers, no tactical bombers, no Americans who have taken their naval and air support elsewhere. No opportunities for shortcuts.* Just audacious Aussie grunts.

*This includes ridiculous artillery battles across the strait. Same concept, come to think of it, of why I am not allowing Australian destroyers (something about higher priorities elsewhere). If it were that easy to conquer an island by leveling it with artillery gunfire, then why bother landing any troops? Just sail along the coasts and blow everything in sight away. So the anticipated player's gambit of having a massive land artillery duel is also out. I will design this so Lolobau Island must be taken BEFORE the seaside villages that it dominates.

bru888 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:30 pm I will design this so Lolobau Island must be taken BEFORE the seaside villages that it dominates.

And this is how I did it. Completing the first two objectives will enable the last three, at which time the Lolobau Island mission will be detailed, but the inaccessible area is explained at Scenario Start thusly:


I thought about a follow-up along these lines but left it out for brevity: General Ramsay (the misspelling above is corrected) was taken aback when his right hand man, the highly competent but overly ambitious Colonel Gabriel Knight, abruptly left the command tent mumbling something about "hashtag warbonds," "air CPs," and "nuclear bomber." The general assigned an aide to follow Colonel Knight to assure that no harm came to him.

So, anything else interesting about Lolobau Island? Yeah, it's volcanic! (Fortunately, for my purposes, it's been dormant since the early 20th Century).

So a patch of jungle in the middle of the island didn't cut it anymore. Mountain! (Singular, although there appears to be two volcanic cones on the island; with two mountains, not enough room for battle!)


Behold the new and improved Lolobau Island!


And, to save the player time, the objective and module is activated when he takes the nearby village of Gulagula, the closest port that is outside the range of the guns on Lolobau Island. The player can get started on this objective while he is still mopping up the western half of the map.

A certain Colonel, now being followed for "security" reasons, would like to point out that you need to have at least one free hex on that island to start an invasion...

Sure, but it depends a little: indeed, if there is enough naval support at disposal, concentrated bombardment by naval guns may give us such an oppening, thus make some hex free for our very first landing troops.

Do the new finnish campaigns (40, 41 and continuation) allow carry-over og are they separate?

WarHomer wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 12:27 pm Do the new finnish campaigns (40, 41 and continuation) allow carry-over og are they separate?

Yeah, you can import/export your cores.

GabeKnight wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:52 am A certain Colonel, now being followed for "security" reasons, would like to point out that you need to have at least one free hex on that island to start an invasion...

That's why I picked out the Type 2 Ka-Mi, which can fight from the surf (and is rather prolific about it) to, as I say in the objective, "get a foothold" on the island. The story will be, when the player takes Gulagula, the village just to the left of the exclusion zone, the Aussies will capture a Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank and that is what they will use to begin invading the island. I could leave the player to figure that out but, just in case, I will spell it out instead.

There are four mountain redoubts (bunkers and tunnels) that the Aussies need to destroy for a Major Victory. The enemy has facetiously named the redoubts after famous Japanese castles. This is one of them. 12 bunkers and tunnels in all; 100 resource points reward.

bru888 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:58 pm There are four mountain redoubts (bunkers and tunnels) that the Aussies need to destroy for a Major Victory. The enemy has facetiously named the redoubts after famous Japanese castles. [...]

'Looks awesome!

By the way, do you intend to explicitly mention this information about the names and some of their famous castles in the briefing for example?


I'm looking forward to test for my very first time (at least I think so) these Type 2 Ka-Mi.

Why do I have to evacuate 10 units instead of 7 as in the briefing?
Scenario 15 Petsamo, Winter War1939.

ColonelY wrote: ↑Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:52 am By the way, do you intend to explicitly mention this information about the names and some of their famous castles in the briefing for example?

I thought about it but the difficulty is introducing the topic from the Australian perspective. It's not as though they would find a sign on a bunker and ask "what does this mean"? Perhaps from interrogating a captured Japanese soldier, though . . .

Anduril wrote: ↑Sat Jun 13, 2020 11:07 am Why do I have to evacuate 10 units instead of 7 as in the briefing?
Scenario 15 Petsamo, Winter War1939.

Erik raised the bar in the official version of the campaign/scenario from 7 exits to 10. He needs to revise the briefing and the objective text to match.

Yes, good idea, some "talkative prisoner(s)" for once... Otherwise, most players risk "missing" this info (not existential, it's true, but immersive, so worth noticing).

ColonelY wrote: ↑Sat Jun 13, 2020 2:30 pm Yes, good idea, some "talkative prisoner(s)" for once... Otherwise, most players risk "missing" this info (not existential, it's true, but immersive, so worth noticing).

Yes, that is what I will do. When that redoubt falls, I'll have a popup message in which the captured soldier mentions the name of the redoubt and the army translator, who knows a bit about Japanese history as well as the language, realizes that it refers to a Japanese castle. Thanks for the suggestion.

You're welcome!