Partner? "Defense of Caen"

[dawks]

I've never done any modding ... at all ... for any game. But PC is totally what I'm into. (Not just spent years with PG in the 90s. Played tons of Avalon Hill's "Panzer Blitz" boardgame in the 70s!)

This afternoon, giving Allied Beta a spin, I ran through D-Day but did it differently: I focused entirely on the East, totally ignored Utah and West.

Geographically, I imagined drawing a line SW from the coast, at the western edge of Omaha.
From Wikipedia: "Utah Beach and Omaha Beach are separated by the Douve River, whose mouth is clear in the coastline notch (or "corner") of the map."
see
[center]Click NOTHING AT ALL BECAUSE I JUST WASTED A WHOLE BUNCH OF TIME ...for larger image[/center]

There's a lot of material to slice and dice there!

What I imagined was the far east ... maybe Gold, Juno, and Sword if we wanted the map to extend further west to Bayeux and south ... or maybe just Juno and Sword in order to focus on the Caen ... but that's so much deeper N/S than it is E/W ... so I'd guess those 3 landings.

I'd love to work on details / data. (Tech_docs is what I do, and I don't mean advertising!) But have 0 experience in modding, and only a bit more working on graphics.

Someone can walk me through the drill?
TIA
^5

ben aka Dawks

p.s. oh wow, a total of 2 links ... to the images that I found, edited, and uploaded to my site ... and it's not allowed. Wow, such a drag.
I can't add a link, I can't even add an image!

I've been doing web work since 1994. Let me tell you: this //really// puts me off. (And yes, I'm sure you have very, very good reasons. But still ...)

[Tarrak]

You can't add links and images until you have a certain amount of messages on the board and/or are registered for a few days. Sadly i don't know exactly how many posts/days you need and can't find exact data just now. Just try again in a few days, edit your post and add the links.

Sorry for inconvenience but this is sadly needed to stop spammers. They are a real plague.

[VPaulus]

I think it's 10 posts and a couple of days.

[dawks]

Sihly me, I just skuttled around finding data like my ICQ number and AOL chat nick.
All for naught. "Not allowed to have profile until ... " /me breaks a tooth biting down hard
But of course that doesn't bother me a bit. I'm patient as the days is long. [NOT!!]


cheers

And for emphasis: oooooh thank you thank you thank you huh huh

p.s. @VPaulus - I just PMed Razz1 and there expanded on this thought: "Has anybody released Normandy mods? Or: Who worked on the new Rommel in Normandy DLC?" (Rommel in Normandy is my #1 interest. Followed by Kursk. Then N Africa.)
How are DLC developed?

[dawks]

Notes to self:
* "after midday, elements of the 21st Panzer Division drove into the gap between the British 3rd and Canadian 3rd divisions at Sword Beach and Juno Beach and almost reached the sea. Had they done so, the landings might have failed. Fierce resistance by British antitank gunners at Périers-sur-le-Dan turned the tide in late evening."

* "Battle of Villers-Bocage" (I can't link. meh) might make a very sensible / interesting corner on the map. It's SE of Caen.
p.s. "Battle for Caen" in Wikipedia is really good. Lots of Operations.

* Operation GoodWood[/b} - Although tactically Charlie Foxtrot, the operation achieved strategic value, e.g. "The battle for Caen was over, as the whole of the city was now in British and Canadian hands. (Now 4-5 kilometres behind Allied lines.)" This could mark success for the scenario.

[ThvN]

bentrem, have you tried the GC'44 West campaign? There are scenarios in there depicting D-Day and Villers-Bocage in more detail. Of course, its all from the German perspective. And yes, Caen gets its own map as well.

Just keep steadily replying to up your post count, we can't keep you from posting links forever.

[dawks]

HeyYa Thvn - We're suffering from DeSync here. Wish I could customize my Profile. I played PG tons and tons for years in the 90s, but only 2 days ago discovered PC. So heh no, I haven't tried that. (Truth be told, I've played Ardennes a number of times, and D-Day a couple of times. That over the past 48hrs.)
Will certainly look that up, thanks.

I called this "Defense of Caen" because that was such an objective for German resources. (I came across this in Neptune planning docs: ""The British Second Army will attack on the left of the First U.S. Army. The initial assault will be made by three (3) divisions.... These divisions will capture Bayeux and Caen on D Day." Ummmm ... no? heh)

What got me thinking about this: in the scenario I know so well, a ton of time is spent landing troops. Valid. Totally.
But (Dang! I created an image put can't post it!) what occurred to me is that by boxing the map neatly enough, the initial action would be landing troops from Sword. (And, of course, airborne to the east.) Period. Then, eventually, resources would leak in / become available from Juno and Gold to the west. Recalling the counter-offensive by 21PZ that nearly reached the beach-head.

Fact is there are a whole lot of scenarios I look forward to playing. And I do play the good ones repeatedly.

What intrigues me here (As I'm sure you appreciate, there are only so many hours in the day.) is the recreation of one aspect of that unfolding, all leading to the Falaise Gap.

BTW looking at the area using Google Maps a shiver ran through me. Allies were green, and sea-sick, clambering off the beaches. Axis were battle-hardened, and had home-court advantage. What came to mind is rubbing one's face against a brick wall. Amazing stuff.

p.s. ayep. don't need to have a hammer to drive a nail.

[dawks]

Addendum:

after midday, elements of the 21st Panzer Division drove into the gap between the British 3rd and Canadian 3rd divisions at Sword Beach and Juno Beach and almost reached the sea. Had they done so, the landings might have failed. Fierce resistance by British antitank gunners at Périers-sur-le-Dan turned the tide in late evening.

Pure drama. Like at Omaha, where ... how's it go? The landing was on the brink of failure when "local command" held? or maybe it was "local initiative"? Lordie, I'm so proud of being a grunt. And that's what I want to magnify.
Glorious.

[ThvN]

HeyYa Thvn - We're suffering from DeSync here. Wish I could customize my Profile.

There's not much to edit here, the avatars are linked to your post count, only signatures can be customized. Oh, and BTW, my name is Thomas, easier to remember (well, for me at least...).

I played PG tons and tons for years in the 90s, but only 2 days ago discovered PC. So heh no, I haven't tried that. (Truth be told, I've played Ardennes a number of times, and D-Day a couple of times. That over the past 48hrs.)

Well, you certainly don't waste time... I started on PG less than a year after it came out, 3.5in disks and all. The Panzer Corps base game is a bit more frugal on the scenario side, but this is overcompensated by the GC (Grand Campaign) DLC's. Recently, a package with all the DLC content so far (10 campaigns) was released, and there is the AK (Afrika Korps) expansion, which brought me in, as I was always a big fan of desert warfare.

I called this "Defense of Caen" because that was such an objective for German resources. (I came across this in Neptune planning docs: ""The British Second Army will attack on the left of the First U.S. Army. The initial assault will be made by three (3) divisions.... These divisions will capture Bayeux and Caen on D Day." Ummmm ... no? heh)

Yes, they were a bit optimistic about that one... The first taste of the Bocage didn't go down very well. If only the French could have exploited the same terrain in 1940...

Fact is there are a whole lot of scenarios I look forward to playing. And I do play the good ones repeatedly.

Which ones do you think are the best?

What intrigues me here (As I'm sure you appreciate, there are only so many hours in the day.) is the recreation of one aspect of that unfolding, all leading to the Falaise Gap.

Well, those were very hectic days for both sides, and don't forget the Allies had to learn a lot in very short time.

BTW looking at the area using Google Maps a shiver ran through me. Allies were green, and sea-sick, clambering off the beaches. Axis were battle-hardened, and had home-court advantage. What came to mind is rubbing one's face against a brick wall. Amazing stuff.

I still think the logistical operations behind D-Day (Pluto, Mulberry, the amphibious nature) are the most impressive aspect. And the Allies even had setbacks when practicing for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger I'm amazed they still went through despite all the doubts. But later on, Market-Garden proved that it could have gone sour very quickly indeed.

[dawks]

Thomas - I'd say there's a better place to discuss this. Or heh there bloody well should be! (I'm a technical communicator by trade. The software we have at our disposal is ... to my way of thinking ... a crime against humanity. FWIW been working on "discourse" [i.e. "decision support system"] for 35yrs. Nobody much cares.)
I have to say, I'm pleased as punch to encounter someone who's as inclined as I to quote and reply! Seems tedious to folk who only want to blather, but suits me to a T!

Can we shift this away from "Partnership for Caen"?
I'm on Google Plus, but that's far too flowing/transient. And it doesn't support threaded comments. And it's all inline. ("Google does machines. Google does not do social.") And none of my WordPress blogs is this way oriented.
Oh say, are you on LifeJournal? threaded comments, and right quiet.
Even another sub-forum here ... or in Matrix (which I have not yet explored.) Would love to chat. And your reply deserves response.

Parting shot (I'd link to it, but I can't. So I shan't. meh), logistics for D-Day and the European theatre were simply mind boggling. Here's something I just wrote on G+:

Ever wonder why it's hard to get things done? Prolly cuz you've never had to get things done.
Reading into Army logistics, this from WWII:

"For the North African campaign, 50,000 tons of cargo was needed in November 1942. The Service of Supply organization was responsible to ship between 700K and 1M separate categories of supplies for the advancing armies into France. For example, one regiment of troops could need up to 50 different types of ammunition. According to the Center of Military History, the stockpile for invasion—over and above basic loads and equipment—was 2,500,000 tons. All told, 37,000,000 tons of materiel was transferred from the US and Canada to the UK prior to the Normandy invasion, all of which was organized and staged by Lee's SOS. Once beach-harbors, and then hard ports, were established in France, a total of 41,000,000 tons were delivered from the UK or directly from North America to feed, clothe, house, and arm the Allied armies."

Preparations for medical were ... well, it's all mind boggling. (Found a primary doc on such as "using type 0 so that typing wouldn't have to be done in field hospitals".) Logistics / procedures.

[ThvN]

Thomas - I'd say there's a better place to discuss this. Or heh there bloody well should be! (I'm a technical communicator by trade. The software we have at our disposal is ... to my way of thinking ... a crime against humanity. FWIW been working on "discourse" [i.e. "decision support system"] for 35yrs. Nobody much cares.)
I have to say, I'm pleased as punch to encounter someone who's as inclined as I to quote and reply! Seems tedious to folk who only want to blather, but suits me to a T!

You're welcome, I'm still stuck in ancient times. In my line of work, the 'digital age' has hardly entered the conscious minds, so I adapted. It's easy, just ignore anything that isn't on a piece of paper. But the IT sector has responded by making printers that actually work most of the time. In response, governments have initiated their own IT departments & projects, to keep any kind of efficiency at bay. And also to prevent embarrassing meetings where government officials have to demonstrate any competence in dealing with anything more complicated to operate than an elevator.

I'm on Google Plus, but that's far too flowing/transient. And it doesn't support threaded comments. And it's all inline. ("Google does machines. Google does not do social.") And none of my WordPress blogs is this way oriented.
Oh say, are you on LifeJournal? threaded comments, and right quiet.
Even another sub-forum here ... or in Matrix (which I have not yet explored.) Would love to chat. And your reply deserves response.

Well, I've got an email adress... Seriously, I've managed to stay away from most modern communication methods/social media thingies, but PM works for me. And Panzer Corps is not very 'big' on the Matrix forums, so stick around, there's plenty to explore here.

logistics for D-Day and the European theatre were simply mind boggling.

True, that.

[Razz1]

I already sent him a PM as I have a well tested MP /SP map of Caen.

[dawks]

I already sent him a PM as I have a well tested MP /SP map of Caen.

And sure do look forward to playing that with you some time.

But, again, I'm real rusty. Have played 3 scenarios since I bought the game last week ... maybe 10 sessions total. And nothing before that since OMG 2000? I think my last multiplayer was 1999.

Right now I'm just trolling for someone to partner with. I want to go through all the steps involved in creating a scenario.