Stadtlohn 1623 (WiP) ... and some questions

[Adebar]

ATM I'm working on a scenario about the Battle of Stadtlohn; the Protestant army of Christian von Braunschweig against the army of the Catholic League commanded by Tilly.

The map is done except maybe some finishing touches. The Berkel River in Christian's back, the moor to his left and the small stream and forest to his right made the battlefield a death trap for his (in the most part) unexperienced army. To increase the disaster, the two bridges over the Berkel were blocked by Christian's valuable baggage train. Don't know how to represent that detail, a baggage train unit would be really helpful.



A big thanks goes to Warlord156. By studying the beautiful maps he has done so far I surely learned a lot. (I still suck regarding the agricultural beautification, but oh well ... )

A maybe not so well known detail is the 'Landwehr' that can be seen in the picture above. A Landwehr is a medieval linear earthwork, a kind of 'frontier dyke' if such a term does exist in the English language. It didn't serve for military purposes but rather marked the borderline between two municipalities. The earthwork was often covered by thick hedges and trees: an effective obstacle against rustlers and other ragtag. Passways were carefully guarded by the villagers. Landwehren can still be seen today in the Westphalian landscape.

I tried to represent the 'Wüllener Landwehr' by using the "Light Wall" elements in the editor. Then I covered the wall with shrubs and trees as can be seen below.



Next thing to do is the OOB. As always, sources are inconsistent. I surely need the expertise of some of you when it comes to certain details.

Then setting up the AI. Then playtesting.

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One question to start with: Can the number of men of a unit be edited? If so, how? Couldn't find a way to do this with the editor.

[Warlord156]

Hi Adebar
I believe that the number of men in a unit can be edited. In the scenario Monkton Farleigh I lowered the men total for all units. However, I think it can be done separately to individual units with the use of their id numbers. I will experiment and see what I can discover. On the other hand I may be completely wrong, it would not be the first time. . I will inform you if I learn how to do this. You have to add a BSF file to the scenario folder. Or you could just ask Richard.


One question to start with: Can the number of men of a unit be edited? If so, how? Couldn't find a way to do this with the editor.[/quote]

[rbodleyscott]

Do you want to change the overall representational scale or just the number of men in some of the unit types (easy) or the number of men in some of the specific individual units but not others of the same type (hard)?

If you can be a bit more specific about what you have in mind I can advise you.

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The only problem with using the light fortification walls for the Landwehr is that they are only defensible from one side - but maybe that is what you want.

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Do you want the baggage to be movable at all? If not I suggest you do this:

1) Make a copy of Squads.xlsx and Squads.csv in your custom campaign folder.
2) Then just clone the current Limber units as extra lines in the Squads file, call them something different and unique in the name column (no spaces!), give them unique ID numbers in the ID column, then change the AP to 0 and increase the UnitSize to whatever you like. That will give you a unit that has significant effect on the victory level, but has no movement and is captured on contact.
3) You will also need to add appropriate IDS_UNITNAME and IDS_UNITINFO strings matching the units' ID numbers to the text1.txt or Text9.txt file in your custom campaign. (If there isn't one you need to copy one of the existing Textn.txt files and strip out the unwanted text. This is because these files are not in fact ordinary .txt files, they are Unicode files which are hard to create from scratch, and they won't work if you just create a .txt file from scratch).

Note that the program uses Squads.csv, but it is easier to edit Squads.xlsx because it is formatted. Then you can save a copy in .CSV format by using Save As and picking Save As Type .CSV (Comma delimited) from the drop down list.

[Adebar]

Do you want to change the overall representational scale or just the number of men in some of the unit types (easy) or the number of men in some of the specific individual units but not others of the same type (hard)?

I would try the latter, but could you please describe both ways?

The only problem with using the light fortification walls for the Landwehr is that they are only defensible from one side - but maybe that is what you want.

Should work as intended, for the Protestant side only.

Do you want the baggage to be movable at all? If not I suggest you do this:

1) Make a copy of Squads.xlsx and Squads.csv in your custom campaign folder.
2) Then just clone the current Limber units as extra lines in the Squads file, call them something different and unique in the name column (no spaces!), give them unique ID numbers in the ID column, then change the AP to 0 and increase the UnitSize to whatever you like. That will give you a unit that has significant effect on the victory level, but has no movement and is captured on contact.
3) You will also need to add appropriate IDS_UNITNAME and IDS_UNITINFO strings matching the units' ID numbers to the text1.txt or Text9.txt file in your custom campaign. (If there isn't one you need to copy one of the existing Textn.txt files and strip out the unwanted text. This is because these files are not in fact ordinary .txt files, they are Unicode files which are hard to create from scratch, and they won't work if you just create a .txt file from scratch).

Note that the program uses Squads.csv, but it is easier to edit Squads.xlsx because it is formatted. Then you can save a copy in .CSV format by using Save As and picking Save As Type .CSV (Comma delimited) from the drop down list.

This could be a very good solution. Although the baggage train was very important for Christian I don't want to include them in the victory conditions, because for this kind of scenario with the whole Protestant army between the Catholics and the train, Tilly's main objective cleary is to destroy Christian's force first and the VC should reflect this. IIRC there is no 'Exit Point' function in this game; without such a function VCs including the baggage train would make no sense IMO.

I've never been so deep into scripting before but I'll try to follow your detailed instructions. Thanks!

[rbodleyscott]

Do you want to change the overall representational scale or just the number of men in some of the unit types (easy) or the number of men in some of the specific individual units but not others of the same type (hard)?

I would try the latter, but could you please describe both ways?

If you look in the example SCENARIOTEMPLATE.BSF script (in the main game directory) you will see that there is a function called CustomizeUnits(). The level of customization is only limited by your ingenuity.

As I say, if you tell me which units you plan to modify it will be easier for me to advise you how to do it. For example it would be very easy if you wanted to customise all Light_Foot in one army the same way, a little more complicated to customise specific unit types, and more complicated again to customize specific individual units.

Give me a clue what, specifically, you want to do.

Do you want the baggage to be movable at all? If not I suggest you do this:

1) Make a copy of Squads.xlsx and Squads.csv in your custom campaign folder.
2) Then just clone the current Limber units as extra lines in the Squads file, call them something different and unique in the name column (no spaces!), give them unique ID numbers in the ID column, then change the AP to 0 and increase the UnitSize to whatever you like. That will give you a unit that has significant effect on the victory level, but has no movement and is captured on contact.
3) You will also need to add appropriate IDS_UNITNAME and IDS_UNITINFO strings matching the units' ID numbers to the text1.txt or Text9.txt file in your custom campaign. (If there isn't one you need to copy one of the existing Textn.txt files and strip out the unwanted text. This is because these files are not in fact ordinary .txt files, they are Unicode files which are hard to create from scratch, and they won't work if you just create a .txt file from scratch).

Note that the program uses Squads.csv, but it is easier to edit Squads.xlsx because it is formatted. Then you can save a copy in .CSV format by using Save As and picking Save As Type .CSV (Comma delimited) from the drop down list.

This could be a very good solution. Although the baggage train was very important for Christian I don't want to include them in the victory conditions, because for this kind of scenario with the whole Protestant army between the Catholics and the train, Tilly's main objective cleary is to destroy Christian's force first and the VC should reflect this. IIRC there is no 'Exit Point' function in this game; without such a function VCs including the baggage train would make no sense IMO.

If you don't want the baggage to affect the victory conditions much, make the UnitSize small. TBH you could just clone Limbers and give them 0 AP.

[Adebar]

It worked!



Still have to change the unit size though.

BTW: Can the unit picture be changed? I don't know if I'm able to do that (and match the style) but I coud try.

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If you look in the example SCENARIOTEMPLATE.BSF script (in the main game directory) you will see that there is a function called CustomizeUnits(). The level of customization is only limited by your ingenuity.

As I say, if you tell me which units you plan to modify it will be easier for me to advise you how to do it. For example it would be very easy if you wanted to customise all Light_Foot in one army the same way, a little more complicated to customise specific unit types, and more complicated again to customize specific individual units.

Give me a clue what, specifically, you want to do.

Thanks for the info, Richard. I'll let you know the details soon, need some time to reconsider.

[rbodleyscott]

BTW: Can the unit picture be changed? I don't know if I'm able to do that (and match the style) but I coud try.

Easily, if you have a suitable replacement. You just put the new picture - which must be in .dds format - in PikeandShot/Campaigns/MyCampaignName/Data/UI/Icons

and change the IconID in the squads file to match the file name. You will need to mock up the Slot Icon too for the Force Selection page (if the scenario displays one).

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I am not quite sure why the German translation translates "Train" as "Artillerie".

If you could think of a more general term that would encompass both Limbers and Baggage you could change

IDS_SQUADTYPE20,"Artillerie",

to something else.

IIRC Limbers with guns loaded won't show that anyway, so you might as well change it to German for "Baggage" in Text1_GER.txt.

[Adebar]

Easily, if you have a suitable replacement. You just put the new picture - which must be in .dds format - in PikeandShot/Campaigns/MyCampaignName/Data/UI/Icons

and change the IconID in the squads file to match the file name. You will need to mock up the Slot Icon too for the Force Selection page (if the scenario displays one).

Unfortunately not that easy.

I've made a makeshift icon and saved is as .png:



Then I tried to convert it into a .dds via Paint.net, but hell knows why, the game won't accept it. Maybe I've made an error during the conversion, maybe the file is corrupted, I don't know; I've just not much experience with .dds files. Any ideas or hints?

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I am not quite sure why the German translation translates "Train" as "Artillerie".

If you could think of a more general term that would encompass both Limbers and Baggage you could change

IDS_SQUADTYPE20,"Artillerie",

to something else.

I'd say "Fuhrwerk" would be a good term for both limbers and baggage.

(BTW, 'limbers' is translated in the game with 'Kanonenwagen'. That sounds quite awful, seems they didn't choose 'Protze' because they simply had no clue. Also "angehängt"/"abgehängt" should be replaced with "aufgeprotzt"/"abgeprotzt".)

[rbodleyscott]

.dds files have to be square - equal number of pixels in each direction. Could that be it?

And what exactly do you mean by "the game won't accept it"? What error message did you get?

Normally if a texture is missing you will just see a cyan/blue mess where the texture should be.

[Adebar]

Normally if a texture is missing you will just see a cyan/blue mess where the texture should be.

Yes, exactly this. I'll try to solve this rather insignificant problem further along the line and want to concentrate on the OOB during the next days.

Thanks so far, work will continue tomorrow.

[Adebar]

Worked on the OOB yesterday and did a first playtest. Works quite well but I have to adjust the number of men in several units. I think I will do that by editing the squads files.

- Richard, have just disovered your PM. Will send you the files this afternoon.

[rbodleyscott]

..

[rbodleyscott]

Worked on the OOB yesterday and did a first playtest. Works quite well but I have to adjust the number of men in several units. I think I will do that by editing the squads files.

Important: That makes sense, but if you do, you need to alter "UnitSize" as well as "TotalMen".

This is because "TotalMen" is only used for display purposes and to keep track of the proportion of the original unit strength that has been lost. The actual unit strength for internal purposes is the "UnitSize". So if you reduce the "TotalMen" value without reducing the "UnitSize" value, the unit will still fight exactly the same as if you had not changed the "TotalMen" column, albeit the number of men and casualties will be reported differently.

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Alternatively you could do it in the scenario script.

Here is how it is done in CustomiseUnits() in Nordlingen.BSF (To increase the size of the Imperialist non-tercio pike and shot units above the standard strength).

Code: Select all

	for (i = 0; i < GetUnitCount(1); i++)
	{
		id = GetUnitID(1,i);
		if (id != -1)
			{
				starting_strength = 100;

				// CUSTOM
				// Upsize Imperial and Bavarian non-tercio pike and shot units to UnitSize 1000. (Actually UnitSize 996. Average men = 830).
				// Should perform similarly to Later Tercios except with slightly better firepower and no immunity to flank attack.
				if ((IsUnitSquadType(id, "Mixed_Foot") == 1) && (GetAttrib(id, "EarlyTercio") == 0) && (GetAttrib(id, "LaterTercio") == 0))
					{
						starting_strength = 166;
					}
				// END CUSTOM

				RandomiseStartingStrength(id, starting_strength);

			}
	}

Doing it this way will adjust both "TotalMen" and "UnitSize" proportionately. (See RandomiseStartingStrength() in Tools.BSF - this function is what actually sets the customised strength - with a minor +- random adjustment so that all units of the same type aren't exactly the same).

If you wanted to do it for an individual unit type, you could find that unit type's name in the squads file and change the above condition along the following lines. For example, if the unit name was "Polish_Hussars":

Code: Select all

GetUnitTypeString(GetUnitTypeIndex(id));
if (StringCompare(GetWorkString(0), "Polish_Hussars) == 1)

Hmm, maybe it is easier to edit the squads file, as long as you remember to adjust both "TotalMen" and "UnitSize".

The advantage of doing it in the scenario script, however, is that you don't have to have a custom Squads file for each scenario - which is obviously important if you want to put more than one scenario in a "Campaign".

[Adebar]

That makes sense, but if you do, you need to alter "UnitSize" as well as "TotalMen".

This is because "TotalMen" is only used for display purposes and to keep track of the proportion of of the original unit strength that has been lost. The actual unit strength is the "UnitSize". So if you reduce the "TotalMen" value without reducing the "UnitSize" value, the unit will still fight as if you had not changed the "TotalMen" column, albeit the numbers will be reported differently.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info!

Regarding the extensive scripting, I think I'll avoid that for I'm getting dizzy just by looking at it. Seriously, IMO doing single scenarios is a realistic approach for a beginner like me, so I'm going to be fine with the squads files.

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One question about the OOB is which kind of units to choose. The Catholics for example seemed to have combined 4 regiments into 2 larger formations (so-called "bataillons") which could be represented as (early) tercios - with up to 3000 men each. That would make them almost invincible monsters. (Most other heavy infantry units of both sides could be represented as late tercios.) - I'm undecided about those two; should I divide then into 4 early tercios or really show them as 2 giant freak units?

[rbodleyscott]

That makes sense, but if you do, you need to alter "UnitSize" as well as "TotalMen".

This is because "TotalMen" is only used for display purposes and to keep track of the proportion of of the original unit strength that has been lost. The actual unit strength is the "UnitSize". So if you reduce the "TotalMen" value without reducing the "UnitSize" value, the unit will still fight as if you had not changed the "TotalMen" column, albeit the numbers will be reported differently.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info!

Regarding the extensive scripting, I think I'll avoid that for I'm getting dizzy just by looking at it. Seriously, IMO doing single scenarios is a realistic approach for a beginner like me, so I'm going to be fine with the squads files.

---

One question about the OOB is which kind of units to choose. The Catholics for example seemed to have combined 4 regiments into 2 larger formations (so-called "bataillons") which could be represented as (early) tercios - with up to 3000 men each. That would make them almost invincible monsters. (Most other heavy infantry units of both sides could be represented as late tercios.) - I'm undecided about those two; should I divide then into 4 early tercios or really show them as 2 giant freak units?

I think Early Tercios are giant and freaky enough with 2000 men in a very deep formation. Making them more gigantic won't represent them correctly, because they will still occupy only one square and only fight with the front 600 UnitSize. One must consider that concatenated units were in reality wider and not just deeper, so representing them as two units side by side is probably more accurate than representing them as one massively deep unit.

One has to make some allowance for this being a computer game, and not get too hung up on trying to force atypical units into a system that was not intended to support them - which may have unexpected results.

[Adebar]

Ok, I understand. So I would show them as 4 early tercios a 1500 men. I'll test that and see what happens.

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Another question: Is it possible to have fixed units (as 'reserve') placed on the map which can be released at a certain game turn?

[rbodleyscott]

Ok, I understand. So I would show them as 4 early tercios a 1500 men. I'll test that and see what happens.

Or 3 at the normal 2000 men.

Another question: Is it possible to have fixed units (as 'reserve') placed on the map which can be released at a certain game turn?

Yes, you can do that easily in the editor. There is a reinforcements mode button. (Just remember that when setting the Group for Side0 reinforcements you have to hold the CTRL key down when clicking on the unit)

The units won't be visible until they "arrive" - one can assume they were just off the map prior to arrival.

If you want them to be visible on the map throughout, but not controllable by the player, as in some of the vanilla scenarios, that would need to be scripted.

[Adebar]

Yes, you can do that easily in the editor. There is a reinforcements mode button. (Just remember that when setting the Group for Side0 reinforcements you have to hold the CTRL key down when clicking on the unit)

The units won't be visible until they "arrive" - one can assume they were just off the map prior to arrival..

Yes, I did that with the Catholic army. They arrive in three "waves".

If you want them to be visible on the map throughout, but not controllable by the player, as in some of the vanilla scenarios, that would need to be scripted.

Ok, I'll do some further playtesting, perhaps this is not nessessary at all. (I intended it for parts of Christian's army.)

[rbodleyscott]

If you want them to be visible on the map throughout, but not controllable by the player, as in some of the vanilla scenarios, that would need to be scripted.

Ok, I'll do some further playtesting, perhaps this is not nessessary at all. (I intended it for parts of Christian's army.)

Check out the Muhlberg scenario. That adds on-map units turn by turn as reinforcements - but the idea is that they are just forming up, which gives an excuse for them not to be visible until they appear.

[Adebar]

Check out the Muhlberg scenario. That adds on-map units turn by turn as reinforcements - but the idea is that they are just forming up, which gives an excuse for them not to be visible until they appear.

Yes, it's a cool idea for the Mühlberg scenario but for Stadtlohn I could need fixed units that are released at certain game turns. The intention is to force the player to fight the approaching enemy army with the avantgarde first (which is placed at the Landwehr) and get further units later when Christian 'reacts' to Tilly's moves. Don't know if that's possible.

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Is it possible to add pop-up messages that appear at certain turns?

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ATM I'm naming units by adding single units to the squads file. Works well with nice results but isn't there a number limitation?