New Units --- Sniper / HQ / Medic --- Suggestion?

[Merr]

I'm going to introduce some new units in my upcoming SNIPER! scenario.

I would like to get some feedback on them now by describing them to you.
Some abilities work, while others are WIP (work in progress).
Currently, the AI is only programmed to use the SNIPERSHOT.
I haven't gotten around to programming the AI to use the HQ or Medic.

First of all, I'd like to thank Pomakli for suggesting that a Sniper unit be created !!!
Next, I'd like to thank those members who suggested a Command Unit !!!

NEW UNITS ; for British, US and German.

1. Sniper
2. HQ
3. Medic

Note about HQ and Medic :
Since promotion's are based on kills, these units will have difficulty leveling up.
I've added a small random chance (15% ??) that each time RALLY or REVIVE is used the unit will level up (promoted).

SNIPER UNIT Abilities ; ... 1 man team, ScoutRange=3, Cost=100??

1. SniperShot - basic snipershot with level restrictions.

a. Green[0] - full AP/shot cost, can't use if moved.
b. Veteran[1] - full AP/shot cost, however can move and snipe in same turn.
c. Elite[2] - halve shot cost, can HEfire once then move and snipe in same turn.

2. GutFeeling - same as Scout ability, can reveal hidden units (out of los/in cover) within a certain radius from sniper unit.

a. Green[0] - full AP/Shot cost, radius 3 tiles.
b. Veteren[1] - full AP/Shot cost, radius 4 tiles.
c. Elite[2] - full AP/Shot cost, radius 5 tiles.


HQ UNIT Abilities ; ... 2 man team,Cost=??? ... Can rally self.

1. Rally - Boost a friendly unit morale by a flat point cost within a certain radius.

a. Green[0] - full AP/Shot cost, radius 3 tiles, boost 40 points.
b. Veteran[1] - halve AP/Shot cost, radius 4 tiles, boost 50 points.
c. Elite[2] - quarter AP/Shot cost, radius 5 tiles, boost 60 points.


2. MoveOut "WIP"
- All units begin turn with halve AP/Shots.
- Using MoveOut will allow your HQ to boost a selected unit's AP/Shots to normal game values.
- Uses only AP cost.


Medic Unit Alilities ; ... 1 Man team,Cost=???

1. Revive - Revive 1 man from adjacent friendly unit.

a. Green[0] - full AP/Shot cost, can't use if moved.
b. Veteran[1] - full AP/Shot cost, however can move and revive in same turn.
c. Elite[2] - halve Shot cost, can fire once then move and revive in same turn.



Any thoughts/comments?

Thankyou.

[pipfromslitherine]

Wow - cool stuff for sure.

You can promote units using any criteria you like, so that shouldn't be an issue. Would add an element to the game for sure having units which aren't really offensive.

Cheers

Pip

[IainMcNeil]

Looks great. I would limit the scout range to 2 for sniper. Making 3,4,5 will totally blow the balance for attack/defence as he'll see everything and spoil the game I fear.

I dont understand move out?

[Merr]

Looks great. I would limit the scout range to 2 for sniper.

Originally I had the scout range at 2 but it was one tile shy of what a Scout unit could see ... perhaps that is good (for the scout).

Making 3,4,5 will totally blow the balance for attack/defence as he'll see everything and spoil the game I fear.

The 3,4,5 won't effect scout range (remaining at new value 2), only the GutFeeling .... remember, GutFeeling costs full AP/Shots meaning he can't move and activate, he sacrifices mobility that turn to "sense" units around him.
If Scout range is reduced to 2 then subsequently the new GutFeeling values drop to 2,3,4 .... If this still blows the balance then perhaps adding a condition where the sniper unit can only reveal units <= his experience level?
Basically, an Elite sniper will still have the upper hand over a Veteren and Green sniper .... Veteren over Green ... Green only Green.

I dont understand move out?

MoveOut is a mild form of Command and Control .... The HQ would spend AP's (say 1 or 2 points) on activating his subordinates (giving them full AP/Shots that turn).
If the unit is Out of Command it will have to move/fire on it's own intiative (half AP/Shots) that turn.

Now, I could forget about having the HQ unit spend precious AP's and create Command Points ... The idea would be based on Ben Hull's solitaire game called "Fields of Fire".
Command points would be dealt to the player every turn (random or fixed amount) via a Command Card (bonus card).
These Command points are used to first activate the HQ (giving him some random command points) which in-turn he can use to activate his subordinates (giving them full AP/Shots).

ANy thoughts?

Thanks for the reply guys!!

[pomakli]

[quote="Merr"]First of all, I'd like to thank Pomakli for suggesting that a Sniper unit be created !!!
SNIPER UNIT Abilities ; ... 1 man team, ScoutRange=3, Cost=100??

[a. Green[0] - full AP/shot cost, can't use if moved.
b. Veteran[1] - full AP/shot cost, however can move and snipe in same turn.
c. Elite[2] - halve shot cost, can HEfire once then move and snipe in same turn.[quote="Merr"]
Hi Merr,

Sorry for the delay; but the last days I was out of order (ill/hospital..) so had little time!

At first, I should say, it's very kindly, that you mention me, but I was the first one, who wrote it here in the forum; you made it real! Thanks for your work!

I had the same ideas for the sniper in my mind, only small chances!
More scout range, with his binocular on his rifle!
Don't let him to be "veteran", only with 1 kill or "elite" with 2 kills, make it harder!
No HE fire!

Just suggestions!

[LOGAN5]

How about an infantry based scenario with 1 sniper on each team, and if he dies you lose the match.. kinda like a sniper showdown,.. the idea sounds cool i dont know how fun that would be actually playing it. Maybe if the sniper reaches the checkpoint the other team wins.

[pipfromslitherine]

I think that would work - perhaps the sniper can only be killed if not in cover- so you'd need to flush him out - assaults only force him to retreat. Or something like that. Just brainstorming

Cheers

Pip

[Merr]

I had the same ideas for the sniper in my mind, only small chances!
More scout range, with his binocular on his rifle!
Don't let him to be "veteran", only with 1 kill or "elite" with 2 kills, make it harder!
No HE fire!

- More Scout Range ..... perhaps 6 ?
- Currently, promotions seem to be random (50%) to gain experience. If I can do it, new % change to 25% for sniper unit ???
- No HE fire! .... I'm using HE fire for reaction using ambush skill 85 (15% chance to be spotted). Also, HE fire can be used as an "unaimed snap-shot". Having "no HE fire" is not good since snipershot consumes all AP/Shots.

How about an infantry based scenario with 1 sniper on each team, and if he dies you lose the match.. kinda like a sniper showdown,.. the idea sounds cool i dont know how fun that would be actually playing it. Maybe if the sniper reaches the checkpoint the other team wins.

Would make a cool MP scenario ... call it "Sniper Escort" perhaps.

My single player scenario will be called "Sniper Sweep" ;
1. Sweep the map of enemy Snipers ... conditions
- kill at least 5 snipers.
- Secure three VP's
2. Forces ...
- US Platoon (30 men + HQ + Medic + .30cal + Sniper) ... 30 men = 6 rifle units
- German Snipers (randomly generated each turn)

perhaps the sniper can only be killed if not in cover- so you'd need to flush him out - assaults only force him to retreat. Or something like that. Just brainstorming

Pip ... You're a mad dog!
Right now, assaulting a sniper is very difficult indeed ... Once you locate him, it's bad enough he's draining 40 morale each pop, but to get next to him for assaulting is tricky ... otherwise your rifle squad will either surrender or get routed (without HQ help that is).

Keep the ideas coming guys!

Thanks.

[Dita0]

When I seen the original post from Pomakli I too also got thinking about a sniper unit. Interestingly, I started messing around with a mini campaign of two scenarios (until holidays arrived!) based around a sniper unit, called sniper! (great minds...)

Anyway, the sniper unit I was messing around with had a scout range of 5, with only a cost of 45 (slightly more than a scout unit), I assumed this as only armour units seem to warrant a 100+ point cost. However, in retrospect, much higher point cost would perhaps make more sense, as there is the risk of losts of snipers on the battlefield!

I would also make the sniper "elite status" from the start (enhanced training ?)

The sniper unit you are working sounds far more exiting than the one I have started with !!

[junk2drive]

Any progress Merr? I need one man snipers or two man teams for the Pacific.

[Merr]

Any progress Merr? I need one man snipers or two man teams for the Pacific.

Yes .... I'm done testing ... Final step is to get it up to date with v1.3.10 .

I can easily incorporate the Leaders and Sniper's into your latest Japan Build. I'll use your Japanese Infantry as the asset.
I can make a 1-MAN team and a 2-MAN team for both sides in case you need both.

EDIT : US Leaders ONLY ... and AI not coded for Leader usage.
The AI is coded for only the SNIPER.

I have Minefields too ... if you don't mind the sign saying "Actung Minen!"
One problem with minefields ... To get them to work properly, I have to "destroy" the minefield's because they are "units" and I don't want them to be "alive". This causes the End-Of-Battle Casualty Reports to be inflated with extra fake kills. So, if your Victory Conditions don't require a "body-count" it will work just fine. If your scenario requires a body count then you would have to adjust the "kill number trigger" by adding in the number of minefields...ie, if 10 kills needed to win game, and you had 10 minefields, you would have to adjust the Victory Conditon in the code to read 20 kills. The proper # of kills will show correctly in the turn "kill counter", it's just the battle report that contains the inflated body count. I can throw them in anyway, all you need to do is place them like "fixed units" in the Editor to make them work ... it's that easy. I don't have "Hidden Minefields" yet ... I need to write code for that. Also, the AI isn't coded yet to understand Minefields ... they won't (or shall I say might-not) remove them. It blocks movement anyway so at least they will go around them. Coding the AI to remove minefields looks pretty "easy" but I just haven't sat down yet to work out the details. It will take lots of testing to make sure the AI doesn't remove a minefield instead of attacking a nearby enemy .

Also ... FYI ....I've got two scenarios finished ....

1. Leader/HQ/Sniper Template Scenario - Just a basic empty scenario with units on a blank map to show off the functionality.

2. Rescue Prisoner Scenario - A small scenario ; has Leaders, Snipers, and Minefields.
- A small group of US Rangers has to penetrate the minefields and rescue a British Pilot. Has new "action_capture" button for unit to capture the prisoner (make him change side to US) and another "action_Load" where your Infantry Units can pickup (carry) the prisoner back to the Command Post.

Release Date - Hopefully before October 1st.

merr

[junk2drive]

I did a lot of copy paste and copy files and folders but I got all of this in my campaign. I'm only using the sniper at the moment.

Thanks for sharing.

[Merr]

I did a lot of copy paste and copy files and folders but I got all of this in my campaign. I'm only using the sniper at the moment.

Thanks for sharing.

Cool ... thanks for adding them in!

Please feel free to tweak them around a bit ... If you need help, holler!

[junk2drive]

I made the AI sniper regular and he seemed to just sit there and not shoot. I have him on a team with agg 64 dig in. I changed him to elite and he fired when my unit was around 2 squares away. Does this seem correct?

[Merr]

I made the AI sniper regular and he seemed to just sit there and not shoot. I have him on a team with agg 64 dig in. I changed him to elite and he fired when my unit was around 2 squares away. Does this seem correct?

Not correct. If he only fires at Range 2 that means he's only ReactingFire (HeReactionRange) ...

Do you have the AI FOLDER ? You need the AI Folder which includes the AI.bsf and the AITools.bsf ...
Also, did you put ALL the Battle/Scripts folder and contents in your campaign correctly?

The agg setting won't matter at all ... Using 64 is good, he won't budge ... But, if he retreats out in the open he might not go back to cover, the downside of using scripts (to cover all the bases you have to write more scripts, then more scripts, etc).

Now, for a final check ... The Sniper has a new Attribute ... "Sharpshooter" .
If you copy/pasted the sniper row from my CSV to your CSV you probably were unaware that the column info extended by four more values.
Open my CSV ... scroll to far right, after TurnRate you'll see 4 new attributes ... RallySkill, Rallyrange, Sharpshooter, and MineSkill.
All you need to do is add a new column to your CSV, called SharpShooter, set everyone to a value of 0, set the Sniper to 1.


That should do it .... holler if it's still broke on your end.

[junk2drive]

Last first, I did c&p the 4 columns to the csv and edit the numbers for my additional units.
Second I c&p the AI folder to my main folder.
Third I c&p the scripts folder to my Data\Battles folder

However I do not have a bsf for this battle. I wasn't going to mess with turns, kills, flags, until I had things working. Maybe I need that too.

[Merr]

However I do not have a bsf for this battle. I wasn't going to mess with turns, kills, flags, until I had things working. Maybe I need that too.

Nothing the scenario BSF controls the sniper.

If you don't have any luck then just post it and I'll check.

[junk2drive]

Here is the latest.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6754176/1007Japan.zip

I had him in a blocking tree and moved him one sq. My troops sneak within two sq and suppress fire to get him to ambush.

[Merr]

I had him in a blocking tree and moved him one sq. My troops sneak within two sq and suppress fire to get him to ambush.

The SCRIPTS folder is in the wrong directory .... Should be DATA\BATTLE\SCRIPTS ... Not DATA\SCRIPTS

[junk2drive]

Dooh! I hate it when I do stuff like that. Thanks