CO/XO units in mission design

[Fighting Irish]

Hi fellow tankers,

I`m a new player to SB. I`m interested in mission building and like the way SB is set up. I have a question about CO and XO units in game.

 

• Do CO or XO units bring any extra benefits to the units under them. i.e. increase reaction time, increase unit quality, increase arty response, etc.
• If the CO or XO was assigned as a HVT would destroying these units have any effect on the units under them?

 

I`m working my way through the tutorials and the camp Hornfelt missions. Someday I`d like to try MP but I`d like to get more proficient first.

Thx

[Gibsonm]

Welcome to the forum.

 

In terms of RL they provide a bunch of input in terms of C2 and controlling Logistic support, but that isn't directly linked in the sim.

 

The designer can for example limit artillery call to to the "CO" unit (although CO at Squadron / Company is a US ism. Brits and Commonwealth people would understand an "OC") and if that unit is destroyed then you can not longer access indirect fire. That isn't hard wired though.

 

The designer can script the scenario to say X side surrenders if unit Y is destroyed, but again not hard wired.

 

Losing either doesn't impact morale, since training levels are set globally during the scenario design process.

 

Ideally both units should be somewhere behind the fighting units, but if you want one vehicle to control, as opposed to a Troop / Platoon then its a good solution.

 

Again depends where you sit on the arcade / realism spectrum.

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Gibsonm

[Mirzayev]

As far as just the units itself, no. There is no actual difference to gameplay in terms of Steel Beasts, other than having 1x more vehicle.

 

Scripting for scenarios is another matter. 

[Fighting Irish]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. I’m mostly interested in scripting in the mission editor. Tying the CO to arty strikes is good idea. Is it possible to script the logistics to CO or XO units?

 

Can you set up automatic resupply and repair in the mission editor? I.e have resupply/repair units staged behind the lines and automatically come forward when units need resupply or a unit is damaged and needs to be towed.

 

I suppose you can set up movement orders for the units under their respective CO/XO with different delays or different routes based on if their CO or XO unit is still alive or dead, it might require a bit more scripting to do this though. 

[Mirzayev]

12 minutes ago, Fighting Irish said:

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. I’m mostly interested in scripting in the mission editor. Tying the CO to arty strikes is good idea. Is it possible to script the logistics to CO or XO units?

 

Can you set up automatic resupply and repair in the mission editor? I.e have resupply/repair units staged behind the lines and automatically come forward when units need resupply or a unit is damaged and needs to be towed.

 

I suppose you can set up movement orders for the units under their respective CO/XO with different delays or different routes based on if their CO or XO unit is still alive or dead, it might require a bit more scripting to do this though. 

 

So while you can do these things, unless you are making a scenario designed around multiplayer I wouldn't.

 

You can tie artillery to fire support units only, which is who normally processes them at the Company+ level. This means you must have the FSO selected to call indirect fire. You can argue doctrinal realism depending on the side you are emulating, but in a single-player scenario it ends up being a huge annoyance. There is nothing worse than controlling multiple platoons, but having to stop everything to go back to the FSO sitting an an M113 somewhere to call in a mortar target. It is a real drag for gameplay. 

 

You can set logistics units to be computer controlled, and to have a trigger to "Embark If..." on a route to a specified location. The issue is that you now remove flexibility from the player on how they want to manage their logistics elements. Again, I'd advise against it, unless you have a really specific reason for doing so. Letting the player directly control their "toys" is usually the safest option.

 

As far as having only certain units able to control other units, this is automatically done in multiplayer with how scenarios are designed. The CO, by default, has control of every element that isn't manned. 

 

You can limit triggers to only the CO or the XO if you want. 

[Ssnake]

...and as always, the user's manual contains the answers to most of these questions. That's not meant to say you can't/shouldn't ask here. But the PDF supports full-text search, so it should be pretty easy to pull relevant information quickly, and without reliance on the accuracy of memory of the people who probably read (or wrote, ahem) the manual a while ago.

Of course, as Mirzayev's reply demonstrates, there's always a little bit more than can be said than the basic info in the manual, like what the actually effect is on the user experience, depending on the play style. Nevertheless, I hope you'll find the manual rather comprehensive. An updated version will be released next year.