Toyguy Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) Based on some recent questions here on the forum, I've decided to start on a series of tutorials on using the Mission Editor to design a simple scenario. I'm not claiming that this will be a great scenario, nor that I am an any kind of expert editor, but I think I have a reasonable grasp on it, at least for this purpose. I've finished the first part and would love some feedback on whether it is too simple, too slow-paced, etc. Part 1 can be found on YouTube here: Part 2 is now up at Part 3 online now at Part 4 is ready at Part 5 is up at Part 6 at Comments welcome and appreciated. Dave Edited August 28, 2011 by Toyguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacbat Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Nice initiative! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngel Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Nice idea and well carried out!.A few notes:-The first set of numbers in the bottom right are truncated UTM coordinates. If you check the map info window from the menu you can also glean what UTM region the coordinates correspond to. It may also be worth mentioning that the grid squares are 1km. (BTW UTM = Universal Transverse Mercator).The maps are derived from GIS data not GPS data.When quoting the map coordinates they are Degrees, Minutes and seconds (° degrees, ' Minutes , " seconds).It may be worth mentioning that a Pro PE mission is restricted to 22km per side.Overall though a nice job. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyguy Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Thanks guys! Good info there DarkAngel, certainly things I did not know! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scowlmovement Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Nice idea and well carried out!.A few notes:-The first set of numbers in the bottom right are truncated UTM coordinates. If you check the map info window from the menu you can also glean what UTM region the coordinates correspond to. It may also be worth mentioning that the grid squares are 1km. (BTW UTM = Universal Transverse Mercator).The maps are derived from GIS data not GPS data.When quoting the map coordinates they are Degrees, Minutes and seconds (° degrees, ' Minutes , " seconds).It may be worth mentioning that a Pro PE mission is restricted to 22km per side.Overall though a nice job.22km per side? Does that mean the largest map for any given scenario can only be as large as 22km x 22km? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngel Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 yes 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 "Only" 484km² ...?Given that SB Pro PE is supposed to be used for scenarios at company team level and below I think you'd be hard pressed to find a realistic mission that would not fit into that amount of space. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scowlmovement Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Yes, now that you've put that in perspective, that it is quite impressive. I guess I just wasn't aware of that "restriction." That is a LOT of real estate to play with. That's nice to know, actually. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splunkjamma Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Part 2 is now up at Comments welcome and appreciated. Dave Looking forward to watching part two when I get home from work. Nice job mate 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngel Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Nice job again on part 2.Some notes on it:-In the beginning to say that unless there is a deployment zone red can deploy anywhere. You correct this later when talking about blue. The colour of the region in a deployment does matter if you have multiple deployment zones on one side. If more than one deployment zone is the same colour units can be dragged between them. If they are different colours units cannot be dragged between them.It may be worth mentioning that by default units will be in line formation (or is it wedge formation) and facing east. That is unless you specify a formation and a heading using a tactic.Also you can use the copy to other side function to duplicate a region on one side. Say for example once you have set up the blue deployment zone. Use the copy to other side, then swap to red, move the copied deployment to a different location and use the copy to other side again then delete it. When you go back to blue you now have 2 deployment zones. You can also use this to make sure both sides deployment zones are the same size. For example once you have created the red deployment zone use the copy to other side. When you then swap to blue you can change its colour and position without changing its size (note the deployment attribute is copied with it).I hope you don't mind me making these notes. You are doing a fine job and I don't want to seem like I am trying to rain on your parade. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 Without any deployment zone defined, forces cannot be moved at all.Hold the Shift key while dragging the handle points of a map graphic to scale it (so you don't have to stretch it twice to retain the proportions of it). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Hold the Shift key while dragging the handle points of a map graphic to scale it (so you don't have to stretch it twice to retain the proportions of it).Awesome, I didn't know that.Does this work for Arty calls as well? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 Don't think so. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyguy Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Excellent feedback - thanks guys.No DarkAngel, I don't mind your notes at all - I welcome them. I'm learning new things and it's making the tutorial a lot better in the end. I had no idea about the coloring of the deployment zones - that's very handy!I'm really liking the format of providing a review/addendum of the previous episode before each new one, incorporating all the feedback. I'll be sticking with that format. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marko Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hi Just viewed your video.Excellent work i was going to try a simular project my self.I think alot of people are put off by what they think will be the high learning curve.I think more videos like this will help to bring new blood to are forum.Great work keep it up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngel Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Good work again Toyguy. Nothing to add on this one 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyguy Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 Part 4 is up - link is in the first message of the thread. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAngel Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Part 4 is nice and clear. Only one thing to note, the UTC time which you talk about is initially set by the UTM zone of the map. This can be found in the map info screen from the menu. One thing that could have also been mentioned is setting the contour line interval. Although it isn't saved with the mission file it could be useful for the mission designer to get a better idea of the map.Are you going to be touching on logic in this set of tutorials?. If so I have a useful snippet for you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 Part 3, about 4:10: You actually can see the orientation of the vehicles on the map if you select "vehicles" instead of "unit icons" in the Show menu (...which is only available in the Planning and in the AAR phase, not the mission editor). Also worth mentioning may be the option to preview stuff in 3D.When talking about Penalty Zones, a lot can be said about them. Worth mentioning is that they need not be used to box the player in. If you want to reward aggressiveness in players/young leaders my recommendation is to use low likelihoods. You could still use Destruction to simulate the effect of Blue on Blue after violating a unit boundary. Still, it allows the player to think in trade-offs. S short-time boundary violation may pose a certain risk, but it could also offer a very big advantage (e.g. by navigating around a minefield and therefore avoiding the boondoggle of a breach, and making a lot more progress in a much shorter time (or to avoid having to drive right into the enemy's prepared kill zone)).I have had customers who were staring at me with big eyes saying that "a border is a border is a border" - that's fine, if that's your national doctrine. Use 100% likelihood for penalties then (still, staggered penaltry zones may still be useful for a bit more grace towards the player, e.g. first exposing him to the enemy, and beyond that the next zone with destruction). But if you want the player to seek initiative and to exploit fleeting opportunities with aggressive maneuver, be less harsh. This is a value judgment issue, so there is no definite answer here.With respect to the off-map topic discussed before - again, this was a very important point for me not to have the "end of the world" at map edges. In real life, the map may have a border, the world has not. If in a game/simulation the map border equals the world's edge, it creates a safe flank, and players are always rewarded - substantially rewarded! - by maneuvering along the map edges. No. Place some enemy units (and friendly neighbors under computer control) in these "off-map" areas. The player should not feel safe at the edges of his playground. Likewise I think that this multiplayer habit to consider off-map maneuver as "cheating" is an artificial restriction that may have some sense with respect to creating interesting battles, but I would never consider it a "cheat". It's an option that we deliberately built into Steel Beasts. The edge of the map should never be seen as the edge of the world. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 Part 4, around 7:00 - what's important to mention is that High Noon not only is the default time (with obviously maximum daylight brightness) - not changing it will also disable the dynamic daylight changes (!) - the entire scenario, no matter how long, will keep the maximum brightness. Change it to 12:01 or 11:59, and after six hours or so you will have the sunset. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ssnake Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 My recommended method to browse the sky textures is from the 3D view, then hitting Alt+S to bring up the sky texture selection dialog box. That way you can immediately see the visual effect. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koen Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Part 4, around 7:00 - what's important to mention is that High Noon not only is the default time (with obviously maximum daylight brightness) - not changing it will also disable the dynamic daylight changes (!) - the entire scenario, no matter how long, will keep the maximum brightness. Change it to 12:01 or 11:59, and after six hours or so you will have the sunset.Well, you always discover something new here - which is fun & shows how complex SB is. Great.THX for your initiative, Toyguy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murkz Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Thank you Toyguy for the youtubes. This would make a great news item for the front page, as the front page has been a little static. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koen Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Hello Toyguy,You mentioned in part 3 or 4 that you were not fully aware about the meaning of H-hour:* Found this somewhere on the forum: It is simply a NATO A-Z designation given for days and hours that have a certain meaning. H-hour just happens to be the specific letter given for the hour at which an operation begins.* And in release notes 2.460:Added an H-hour display to the map screen to facilitate artillery fire plan development training. You set the H-hour in the mission editor, options menu. H-hour can also be referenced in conditionals, like mission time and incremental time.So should give you more flexibility in designing mission, but I've never used it myself yet.Rgds, K 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyguy Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 I'll try to comment on and acknowledge everyone's excellent input - apologies if I miss anyone.Thanks very much Ssnake for your insights. That Alt-S command is very helpful for handling sky textures. Also the discussion around Penalty Zones and the softness of the SB map edge, plus the ability to deploy off-map enemy units, is very thought-provoking and I can see real possibilities there for more "natural" mission design.As always, DarkAngel, thanks for the feedback on time zones and Contour Line spacing. I am intending to at least introduce the basics of logic design, so anything you have for me there would be greatly appreciated.Thanks Koen for the additional information on H-Hour. I have to confess it still doesn't mean much to me beyond the fact that the game could start some amount of time before the mission actually does. Is that all there is to it? Is it simply to allow for things like artillery barrages to soften up enemy positions before the main effort goes in? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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