How to play single player scenarios?

[herr_brunete]

I’m new to the game and after finishing the tutorials I wanted to play some single player, since there aren’t any scenarios I decided to download some plus a few maps. None of the scenarios worked and I messed around a bit with the maps in the scenario editor trying to apply them somehow but nothing. I found out Steel Beasts already comes with missions but they all seem to require a map or something. So how do I properly install maps/scenarios? It’s very confusing 

[Gibsonm]

Happy to talk you through it, if you like -instead of a mass of posts.

 

Do you have Teamspeak installed?

[Gibsonm]

Lurking in Teamspeak now.

[Ssnake]

When you click on Solitaire Training (aka Single Player), Steel Beasts defaults to the folder "My Scenarios". Click on the little downward pointing triangle on its right to open a drop-down menu. In it, you'll find a second folder, ingeniusly named "Scenarios". That's where all the scenarios are located that will work "out of the box" because we converted them and tested them before release.

 

Since you are new to Steel Beasts, the fact that old maps and scenarios that you can download here won't work without some tinkering must be confusing. Unfortunately, we found it to be an inevitable consequence of the technical requirements of the new terrain engine, which simply demands that old content be converted under human guidance.

There's help threads for that and chapters in the user's manual, but at the end of the day I think you'll have more fun discovering the scenarios that actually work first, and then to look into the exciting world of legacy content conversion later.

[herr_brunete]

14 hours ago, Ssnake said:

When you click on Solitaire Training (aka Single Player), Steel Beasts defaults to the folder "My Scenarios". Click on the little downward pointing triangle on its right to open a drop-down menu. In it, you'll find a second folder, ingeniusly named "Scenarios". That's where all the scenarios are located that will work "out of the box" because we converted them and tested them before release.

 

Since you are new to Steel Beasts, the fact that old maps and scenarios that you can download here won't work without some tinkering must be confusing. Unfortunately, we found it to be an inevitable consequence of the technical requirements of the new terrain engine, which simply demands that old content be converted under human guidance.

There's help threads for that and chapters in the user's manual, but at the end of the day I think you'll have more fun discovering the scenarios that actually work first, and then to look into the exciting world of legacy content conversion later.

The classic scenarios don’t work because it says the map can’t be found :[

[Abraxas]

Hi,

 You have to download and to install all parts of  Maps Installer Part !

You can find these under "BUY NOW" / Download.

Then it should work.

[Ssnake]

3 hours ago, herr_brunete said:

The classic scenarios don’t work because it says the map can’t be found :[

Dammit, why didn't anyone tell me (and why didn't I test it myself).

[herr_brunete]

1 hour ago, Abraxas said:

Hi,

 You have to download and to install all parts of  Maps Installer Part !

You can find these under "BUY NOW" / Download.

Then it should work.

Thanks! It works now. Sorry for bothering you all with this stupid question, I feel embarrassed now 😞

[Ssnake]

Meh. Current installer depends too much on people actually studying the Release Notes. Maybe it shouldn't require that in the first place.

[thewood]

People should read the release notes.  But to be a little more fair, the install process to play scenarios that come with the game is a little unusual. 

 

On the download page  you encounter a relatively lengthy list of downloads:

 

1 release note file that is mandatory to know how to install everything.

1 Map transfer manager

10 Map installer files

1 Legacy Map installer

6 4.167 game files

 

That's not even including mentions of renamed packages, references to torrents, the long list of error-checking codes, etc.  Again, if you know your way around the internet and PCs, a manageable task.  But, IIRC, the devs were asking about simplification for newer and more inexperienced players.  I think this fits nicely into that category.

[Ssnake]

The installers were broken into smaller parts so they fit DVDs that you might want to burn, and the Legacy Map installer is highly optional. That being said, we'll offer a unified installer in addition to the individual installers with version 4.2

[stormrider_sp]

51 minutes ago, Ssnake said:

The installers were broken into smaller parts so they fit DVDs that you might want to burn, and the Legacy Map installer is highly optional. That being said, we'll offer a unified installer in addition to the individual installers with version 4.2

I know that there must be still a need for DVDs somewhere, but it doesn't prevent me from grinning.

[thewood]

6 hours ago, Ssnake said:

The installers were broken into smaller parts so they fit DVDs that you might want to burn, and the Legacy Map installer is highly optional. That being said, we'll offer a unified installer in addition to the individual installers with version 4.2

I was pretty much able to guess that.  And to a developer with years of experience in building installers, that makes sense.  But my point comes back to that is an incredibly confusing download page.  And, yes, people should be reading the release notes.  But instead of the constant refrains to new players to get on teamspeak to help them, maybe a few simple re-thinks on how new players learn and approach the game. 

[Gibsonm]

5 hours ago, thewood said:

But instead of the constant refrains to new players to get on teamspeak to help them, maybe a few simple re-thinks on how new players learn and approach the game. 

 

Well as I have no control over the web page that's the only way I can offer to help.

 

I don't enjoy sitting on Teamspeak for 2 hours waiting for someone not to turn up.

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Gibsonm

[thewood]

My only thought on that comment is that you are in no way obligated to sit on Teamspeak waiting for someone that you gave with a generous , yet unsolicited offer of help to.  If you sat on Teamspeak for two hours waiting for someone with an unsolicited offer of help, that's an issue with your time management.  You sound upset at that and if you are continuing to head into a dark place over the unappreciative responses you are getting to those offers, you might want to reconsider not making those offers.

 

Even outside that, continuing to offer that kind of help is letting the devs off of the hook in being responsible for onboarding of new players.  The other path is for the devs to go the Command Modern Operations route and just tell new players that this game is hard, the topic is hard, the documentation is going to be extensive, but the expectation is that you'll have to do a little work to get proficient and find the help.  But be up front about it and don't come into the forums to tell players that you want to simplify the game for new players, while at the same time, expecting the community to lift those players.

 

btw, it appears the ignore button no longer functions, or am I missing something.

[Mirzayev]

8 hours ago, thewood said:

I was pretty much able to guess that.  And to a developer with years of experience in building installers, that makes sense.  But my point comes back to that is an incredibly confusing download page.  And, yes, people should be reading the release notes.  But instead of the constant refrains to new players to get on teamspeak to help them, maybe a few simple re-thinks on how new players learn and approach the game. 

This is the fourth line on the eSim download page:

 

The install process for Pro PE has changed since the last release.  Please read page 3 of the release notes for details!

 

The release notes are posted immediately below it for download. All you have to do is read... 

[Ssnake]

1 hour ago, thewood said:

My only thought on that comment is that you are in no way obligated to sit on Teamspeak waiting for someone that you gave with a generous , yet unsolicited offer of help to.

While everything that we say should be true, not everything that is true needs to be said. What you wrote isn't wrong but it's guaranteed to rub most people the wrong way. Is that what you want to accomplish?