Turn Phase Question....

[SLudwig]

I noticed this from the other Tiller/HPS games...I played turn 1 and go to PBEM it to my opponent and it shows up as turn 2? Is that a design in Ren?

[KG_RangerBooBoo]

I believe that is deliberate so the 2nd player actually moves first on the first turn.

[SLudwig]

THanks Mark! :)

[-72-]

Generally I think that is the case, what Mark listed -however I noticed when having a fairly long look at the Scenario Editor that you are allowed to choose which side moves first - but also what phase of the turn that the scenario starts with.

It looks like you could (technically) set things up to start with a defenders' or offensive fire phase, or a melee phase as well -in addition to choosing which side starts the game - in other words, it doesn't necessarily have to be with a movement phase or even a full turn. I don't know what usefulness that might be in scenario design, but who knows- maybe there might be a use for it.

[Sgt_Rock]

Guys - here is the REAL answer.

MOST of John's games have a PDT file. In that file is a value near the top that is for the FIRST player in a scenario. NOT the first player to start the scenario.

Example:

In the Nap series the value of "0" in the PDT file for the First Player Side is for the French and a value of "1" is for the Allies.

So lets say that the value is "1" - this means that if you have the French go FIRST in a scenario then the SECOND part of turn 1 will be when the French player moves his units. The main program will SKIP First Player Phase - Turn 1 for the Allies. The first time that the "First Player" (that is, the Allies) will go is in turn 2, First Player Turn.

So for review:

Scenario setting for First player means the player that plays FIRST in the scenario.

PDT file value setting is for the FIRST PLAYER in a scenario.

If the value in the PDT file were "0" then you would have the French moving first AND they would play the FIRST PLAYER Phase of turn 1. The Allies would go second and would play the SECOND PLAYER Phase of turn 1.

As there are a TON of nationalities in the REN game John Tiller chose to use a "SIDE 1" and "SIDE 2" format. Thus I believe that the PDT files for this game are similar. Substitute "French" for "Side 1" as far as the value of "0" on the appropriate PDT file line. And "Allies" for "Side 2" for a value of "1."

I use the value of "1" a lot in Campaign Eckmuhl as the Austrians initially were the aggressor army. Later on I reverted to using a PDT file known as "French First" or something like that. (My work PC is down so I cannot verify this)

For info on which line to look for the "FIRST PLAYER" value in the PDT file check out one of the newer JTS Nap titles (Leipzig, 1814, Bautzen) for the line number where you will find this value. I am not sure that it is different in REN. The line has a single numerical value of 0 or 1 so it is pretty easy to spot.

Here is something that is VERY important: the Scenario Editor setting for First Player has a direct corollary to the Victory Conditions. Thus if you have Side 1 be the First Player in the Scenario Editor then you will read the Victory Dialog in relation to Side 1. Thus a Minor Defeat means that Side 1 suffered a loss.

So if you design a scenario for REN keep this in mind. If you want the weaker player to MOVE FIRST, then you must keep in mind that the victory levels are for the first moving side - NOT directly related to the FIRST PLAYER setting in the PDT file.

Thus if Side 2 has the larger army you probably would NOT want Side 1 to move first. Either that or you must assign values for Side 1 that compensate for their lack of numbers. (usually most designers relate the victory levels to the player that has the larger army so it is wise to stick to that standard)

[-72-]

Bill is right -that there are a lot of nationalities in REN -the MP engine allows for 15 nationalities (although with some graphic work, it is possible to use generic slots if you keep your labeling straight).

Fwiw, the Side A, Side B is something that is specific to REN; and it is probable that other titles may use a more descriptive breakdown.

In a scenario the most that you can have is a combination of 5 armies- but the primary consideration is- do you need 5 distinct armies? Meaning, that in game terms the cooperation between armies is very limited- I don't believe different armies can stack together, they cannot provide resupply to each other, etc - so if you have a battle where there were distinct armies but they cooperated more than -well, say that... you might want to use less slots in a design.

More later ...

Bill gives some great tips.