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The Art of Scenario Design


mapman

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I tried and vba code does not execute when xl is converted to html.

I also tried the "xl viewer" which is free provided by m$, but vba does not work.

And I have no idea about html.......

Maybe I'll give a try and keep intouch.

But is better than the previous one?

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Quick update from Rat: I sent the unit symbology stuff to Shot, and added some more links to the link page. I found a great OPFOR resource in the form of the online archived journals of the RED THRUST (gotta love the pre-Pat Shroeder naming convention), which is the OPFOR battalion at NTC.

Great stuff.

I am delinquent on the draft of Chapter 2.

Poke, are you in for helping out?

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DD,

And anyone else, if you have a good idea, write it down and send it to me and Map. I mentioned this in another thread, but it should be repeated here. There's going to be a catch-all chapter, or something, incorporating as much accumulated wisdom as we can get regarding important design details.

DD had one about deployment zones, so did HH, Rat and Ydnarb and I learned one in a PT.

Anyone who reads this thread should feel free to contribute as well. Anyone who knows someone who has a good scenario design tip/observation/bit of experiential (I think I just invented a word) wisdom should also feel free to pass it on. The more stuff like this we get, the better our collective effort will be.

Rat, you mentioned earlier something about ways to monitor submission flow. PM or e-mail please, with details?

Shot

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  • 2 weeks later...
I tried and vba code does not execute when xl is converted to html.

I also tried the "xl viewer" which is free provided by m$, but vba does not work.

And I have no idea about html.......

Maybe I'll give a try and keep intouch.

But is better than the previous one?

I had an idea Jayman. I don't know how well you know HTML, but I believe this could be fairly easily created (with a bit of time) by using regular HTML and layers.

Place each image in a layer in the correct location on the page. Keep it hidden until the appropriate "button" is pressed. It should would just like your spread sheet.

If you don't know how, I will be able to get around to it sometime in the next few months for those who do not have excel.

Thanks again...a great tool!

mm

PS Poker, I sent you an email requesting the scr for your chapter. I will have it up this weekend (almost done converting and formating it for html now) and would like to make the scr availble for people to reference.

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Ok...finally added some more stuff to the site. :D

1) Jayman's Logic Flow Program in excel is now available to download and includes the jpg images for those who do not have excel. I think I know how to make a webpage do the same thing (with layers) but don't have the time right now. Thanks Jayman!!!

2) Poker's excellent chapter called "A Simple Scenario ~ From Concept to Completion". This covers everything and is complete with lots of screen shots and the Scenario File to download and play with. This is excellent! Great job Poker!!!

3) On the home page ( http://scenariodesign.steelbeasts.com ) I added a "Last Updated" date at the bottom for quick reference if you want to know if anything has changed since your last visit.

I understand that Rat and Shot almost have Chapter 2 done. Again, all contributions are welcome! Please keep them coming. :!:

~mm 8)

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Scenario Design Project Update!

Be sure to visit this work in progress at:

http://www.steelbeasts.com/scenariodesign/

Chapter 2, Making the Map has just been added!

Here is a brief summary of what we have so far:

:arrow: Steel Beasts Scenario Design Check List by Poker

:arrow: List of recommended Design Links by Ratseal

:arrow: SB Briefing Checklist by Dr. Device

:arrow: Introduction by ShotMagnet

:arrow: What is a Scenario? by ShotMagnet

:arrow: Making the Map: The Map Editor by ShotMagnet

:arrow: PLACING THE PIECES: THE MISSION EDITOR by ShotMagnet

:arrow: Events, Triggers, Conditions and how to use them by GaryOwen

:arrow: Included in that Chapter is a link to download a great little excel program by Jayman for making and viewing Logic Flow Charts

:arrow: A Simple Scenario - From Concept to Completion by Poker

Included is a link to download the scr that poker made for this chapter.

Lots and Lots of good stuff and more to come.

All comments, suggestions and contributions are welcome.

Also on the site is the general planned outline and table of contents. If you have something to share, please let me, ShotMagnet or Ratseal know!

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This is a scenario design question for all you designers out there:

Is it possible to reset a condition or an event so that it can be true, then untrue, then true again?

For example:

If I have a condition that says, "If enemy AFVs in Region One > 3, then Condition One is True." and later 4 enemy AFVs drive into Region One (making Condition One true) and then they exit Region One (making Condition One false) and five minutes later 5 enemy AFVs travel through the same Region One, can Condition One be True again?

I am working on adding a completly new and different aspect to SB for a future FG scenario (no, I am not telling yet), and it would be MUCH easier if there was a way to acomplish this.

Thank you in advance,

~mm 8) :?: :idea:

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The game uses the truth value of a CONDITION at the time it is evaluated.

An EVENT will have a positive truth value for the duration of the game after it occurs.

The answer to your hypothetical question is yes.

So then, If I have an event that reports the passing of 3 or more AFVs in said region, and over the course of a scenario 3 or more AFVs pass through said region on 4 different occasions, I can expect to see the same message appear each and every time this occurs?

(If this is the case, please tell me how. I have tried to test this without success.)

Thanks,

mm

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The message will only appear when the EVENT becomes true.

You might be able to do what you are trying by stacking EVENTS on top of each other.

E.g., EVENT 1 = 3 or more vehicles in Region One

CONDITION 1 = EVENT 1 is true & less than one vehicle in Region One

EVENT 2 = CONDITION 1 is true & more than zero vehicles in Region One

CONDITION 2 = EVENT 2 is true & less than one vehicle in Region One

EVENT 3 = CONDITION 2 is true & more than zero vehicles in Region One

et cetera.

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MM,

A good summary (and the way I remember the rule) from Ssnake:

Events provide backwards-oriented information: Has something ever happened?

Conditions (and triggers, which essentially are conditions, too) provide presence-oriented information: What is right now?

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At one point I had hoped and then experimented with incremental time as the means for resetting a condition or even a check point, but it did not work.

In the Siege I built a route for some of the AI Red units to rush one of the bridges to get the human blue player to drop the Triggered Arty on that bridge pre-maturely before the main force attempted to cross.

In the route from the assembly area behind a forest to the BPs before and after the bridge crossing I specified and incremental time in the embark condition so that, after a unit had reached said check point, it waited for 2 minutes and then headed for the bridge.

Also, on that same route I had a retreat condition, so if the unit(s) were fired upon they would retreat. I had thought that once, upon retreating to the original check point, these same units would re-embark upon the same route after the specified incremental time of two minutes, but they just sat there and I ended up doing away with the retreat condition on that route.

Like wise it would be nice (and I hope it is added to SB2) if a single condiiton can reset itself after it has been fulfilled so it can be fulfilled again at a future date. Perhaps even have the choice to specifiy how many times it will reset before it is through for that scenario.

The only other option is the much more involved scripting that GaryOwnen propossed above.

As a side note to Snake and Al, it would be nice to be able to copy Artillary pre-plotting along with their conditions for deployment and regions too like we are able to copy routes and route changes now.

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mapman - try this - set the route towards the bridge with an embark condition of:

"Embark if NEW RANDOM variable is =< 100"

the random variable will tell the unit to take that route, and might fool the computer into resetting the random variable when the retreating unit reaches the CP again, thereby inducing it to depart again.

Hope this makes sense - test it and let me know.

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Hey I'd like to contribute to a sce manual...

Elf, go to the site Mapman has set up. Look it over, see what you think, then put something suitable together. If you want to write a chapter, send me a PM or e-mail so we can talk about what's needed.

Shot

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