Hi Marquo,
Got inspired by your post about a mobile battle to download your K42 Flashing Sword of Retribution scenario.
The issue is that my graphics are really strange (see attached picture). It seems to be a problem with SS divisions. Any thoughts? In all my years playing PzC I have not run across this.
Marty
This one is easy Marty.
The original K42 Game didn't have have any SS units so the game has no German-SS folder. You could copy that folder from another game if you like - make sure you bring the files such as
2DSymbolsLg.bmp and
Unitbox.bmp
But your also need the others like 2DSymbolsSm.bmp, 3DSymbolsLg.bmp and 3DSymbolsSm.bmp.
You'll still need images for the SS components - not sure where Marquo was getting these - likely Volcano's art.
FWIW, people will see the same thing in some FG85, NGP mods where some mod makers used Russia-Guards as a Nation where the default game doesn't distingish between Russian and RUssian Guards troops as there was really no difference with these units on the ground - by 1985 the "Guards" title was pretty much a name and ceremonial.
Glenn
Thanks Glenn.
I ended up copying from the Budapest and Kursk games SS files and renaming the images so everything now works.
Hi Von Nev -
When I was creating this many people helped out including Volcano who let me use his images; also Glenn taught me how to copy folders over from other games - I used the Bulge folder for the ss units back then.
Be careful to use the weather folder I included for the game; it is crucial so that the campaign eventually ends in muck and mire. I think it will open in the Kharkov folder when you unzip;
I think most of the OOB errors (unit values) have been corrected; if you notice anything please let me know.
Marquo
I'd been playing around with this for the past weeks, and it is sort of turning into a test as the OOB editor still works under Vista but since K42 has not been updated its scenario editor doesn't work (at least it doesn't for me).
It even got me making a few of my own modifications to VolcanoMan's art ( well like adding a motorized SS bridging engineer or maybe it was Soviet... things like that. Am learning a lot about just editing the OOBs. More later. I appreciate how much work you must have done to get it to the point that it is.
What I am battling with is that there are a couple of early 43 scenarios out there and the unit values don't always correspond to each other.
Edited to add - it turns out I have been messing around with the original FSR files I guess ( or older ones).
Edited again: I am thinking of changing the name Mot 76mm to 76mm AT (mot)- as there seems to be an image of VM's that comes up that looks like a heavy AA gun, and not an AT gun.
Another question regarding the SS Pioneer Co units-in the OOB files they are listed as motorized, but the unit attribute reads something like SS Pioneer Co (HT) A. I just went with that they were supposed to have been motorized (as that corresponded with another person's OOB for iirc just the German offensive)- but was wondering if they are supposed to have been motorized or HT? I have no problem editing in the attributes myself - I just want to get them the way they were intended.
As a followup to Glenn's post- and iirc one of the products (think it was Moscow 41 or Stalingrad)- the disk shipped with this problem, so you as the consumer learn to recognize it pretty quickly, and the thing I really like about the graphics in these games, is that they are as good as the user is at image editing. Not a criticism- it is really a blast to play around with the graphics.
I made a file using red secondary roads for the FSR one since I was having a tough time picking out the yellow on the mod I had been using.
Hi trauth116,
Please make sure you are using the FSRGold files. This project was an obsessive compulsion for 12 months. I read everything I could about this campaign; I scanned every map in "From the Don to the Dnepr" and blew them up so I could make out disposition of all the units. I read and reread, "The Last Victory in Russia" to make sure I did not miss anything. The author's account of the TotenKopf as a band of untrained thugs who boarded trains in Paris and derailed west of Kharkov, still in need of training with their new weapons is why the morale of this unit is "B" compared to the 2 other ss PzDs. I tore my hair out reading how many friggin' tigers and Stgs were available and when to each major formation; how the Luftewaffe effectively filled in the gaps in the Axis lines, and virtually decimated the 3rd Tank Army (so no whinning if you are the Soviet player and the Luftwaffe butchers your proud T-34s...this what happened); I have detailed notes as to how few tanks were available when the Wiking entered the fray; I could go on and on, but you get the point.
1. Unit Values. I created this scenario several years ago, and found that I had to create new units that were not in other games. Not really having an educated opinion, I went to the parameters offered with the Talonsoft EastFront series and The Operational Art of War and tried to balance out values for the new units I wanted to include. This did include new Soviet AT guns, Katyuskas, motorized infantry, ski units, Heavy Weapon Inf units, etc; also Axis Marders, PF2 tanks, tigers, and period air units. The values were balanced between the earlier stock Kharkov campaign and the Bulge campaign (the Kursk disk was not out when I did FSRGold) values. At some point I took the smaller AT units (there were many of them) out of the OOB and gave the Axis infantry "organic" AT values because otherwise they were getting slaughtered.
I struggled for hours with all sorts of image editing programs to the point of exhaustion to no avail. Finally I simply asked John Tiller's permission to import the images from the Bulge into the FSRGold package and he was gracious enough to allow me; also Volcano Man answered countless questions and let me use some of his images.
2. Another point: I wrestled with the HQ values range values. This was the first campaign where the Soviets actually used radio communication between tank units (especially Popov), and that is why the Soviets have some decent HQ ranges. And given the highly coordinated fluid mobile defense demonstrated by the Axis, it's HQs have exceptional ranges.
3. "SS Pioneer Co units-in the OOB files they are listed as motorized, but the unit attribute reads something like SS Pioneer Co (HT) A." This is because I wanted to motorize the engineer units which accompagnied the Panzer Divisions and simply imported the name from the Bulge OOB. I really can't say which is correct for the time period; if you find out please let me know. I am sure that there are probably other similar issues - let me know.
4. If you go to Glenn's website you will find several really good files which will recolor roads, railroads, bridges and rivers - IMHO these files are mandatory for all of the PzC games; they really help to understand the map.
5. This campaign is very fluid and not for the faint hearted. Unlike many other PzC campaigns, there is no way to stretch a line across the entire map. Each player must reconnoiter effectively, and find out where the opponent is. Your flanks will be hanging in the breeze, and there will be very nasty surprises. It is like 2 ships bumping and colliding on a misty ocean.
I interested in your feedback, and improvements.
Thanks,
Marquo :)
Hi Marquo:
I appreciate your reply. (As well as your efforts- that is definitely one BIG scenario- especially considering when you were working on it.
~For some reason I always get into posting whenever I have the least time to actually post...
I don't post here all that often ( I am not so new here as to be a 3 or 4 post wonder - but rather I don't post all that often so I tend to get archived...) - at any rate, the point is that I am not new to the series, just sorta new at this message board. I have been a big fan of Glenn's site, and it was one of the mods from his site that I had changed the 2d secondary roads color from yellow to red -it was sort of an expediency thing, in that for me it was fairly tough to pick out yellow roads on the Winter terrain backgrounds. VM is my inspiration for graphics- and I wish I had access to his sources (maybe in time... )
"Improvements" -well I don't know if I'd go that far - modifications maybe, but in fact I never got into this with the intention of doing this other than for myself. (I am trying to say I am playing around with the files, but mainly to see what happens- nothing more.)
Strengths: This is a tricky one, in that at this point there are OOBs out for a Dec '42 OOB for Stalingrad (with the II SS Pz Korps as a what if), Kursk, another one is out there for the Manstein attack only (for Kharkov), and then other '43 titles. Take anything with an 88 as an example. The hard attack value has gone up in recent games - from a hard attack value of 28 with a range of 2 to a hard attack value of 52 with a range of 2 ( I think I may also have spotted one with a range of 3 in one game as well). I figure that some of this is due to abstracting certain environmental aspects from one title to the next; but it doesn't always appear to be that way.
OOB: At least as far as the Germans are concerned I have a set of George Nafziger's OOB books -but won't have access to them for the foreseeable future ( I don't even know that it will help necessarily). I will probably change some unit titles to make their portraits a little more representative, and sort of give the OOB the fine tooth comb treatment. I think the S42 Dec 42 OOB came with the game - so that would be probably the nearest official OOB available *but* there are some differences in unit designations and compositions that I don't know how to deal with right now (and have not necessarily resolved to deal with in any event). It seems as if they found some of the SS Korps' divisions' infantry units were mounted in armored HTs (not a lot- like 1 battalion in each respective division) so that might be worth chasing up some time. Also that a large number of the German bridging engineers don't have the bridge capability (which considering the terrain might be a moot point - I guess it depends upon when they arrive and what the situation might be like when they enter play). There were some other things that I noticed but won't bore anyone with right yet. I might follow this up with you via email if that is ok. :)