Steel Beasts: Content Wish List

[delta6]

Napalm we need napalm...I like my enemies extra crispy...Concertina laid out as roads are...In one of my scenarios I have over 600 rolls of single and double strand concertina....Talk about a pain in the buttocks..It takes over and hour to place them...

[stormrider_sp]

VR

[Maj.Hans]

On 6/23/2019 at 10:47 PM, delta6 said:

Napalm we need napalm...I like my enemies extra crispy...Concertina laid out as roads are...In one of my scenarios I have over 600 rolls of single and double strand concertina....Talk about a pain in the buttocks..It takes over and hour to place them...

I'll second that.

 

 

In addition to the ability to lay down concertina wire like we can with roads, I'd like to request some similar Gulf War era objects...
A "berm" that can have gaps knocked in it with mine plows and dozer blades, and an "anti tank ditch" that AI bridging units can be used to cross.

[Scrapper_511]

With 4.1 imminent, I’m getting back into my map-editing project. An idea popped up:

 

Civilian vehicles as map objects available at design time. Simply as stationary objects for parking lots (especially large ones that look odd being completely empty). Also to represent traffic jams with abandoned vehicles because, surprise, it wasn’t a Russian exercise.

 

 

[Hoover]

Here comes my first wish...

 

I saw indirect illumination the first time in Apache Longbow 2 from Janes (about 1997). What a great sim. The effect demanded a brand new 3dfx voodoo “high speed” graphics card. I already hear some guys hacking into their computer “eye candy” not necessary for the a simulation. However indirect illumination adds incredibly to one’s immersion.

 

Admin: Please delete the link to the backcover of Apache Longbow if linking to a webshop is against the rules.

[Apocalypse 31]

2 hours ago, Scrapper_511 said:

With 4.1 imminent, I’m getting back into my map-editing project. An idea popped up:

 

Civilian vehicles as map objects available at design time. Simply as stationary objects for parking lots (especially large ones that look odd being completely empty). Also to represent traffic jams with abandoned vehicles because, surprise, it wasn’t a Russian exercise.

 

 

You can already do this.

 

Create a neutral third party and add civilian vehicles, then set their damage state to destroyed.

[Ssnake]

IMO vehicles should never be part of a MAP, even if without drivers/without function. Conceptually they need to be handled through the Mission Editor. That said, I'm all for making it easier to handle a larger number of unoccupied cars.

[Scrapper_511]

1 hour ago, Apocalypse 31 said:

You can already do this.

 

Create a neutral third party and add civilian vehicles, then set their damage state to destroyed.

Yes, for the traffic jams (edit: and parking lots of course) I can use disabled neutrals. But since my experience lies in map editing I want to share my creation via ter, not scn.

Edited June 27, 2019 by Scrapper_511

[Grenny]

20 hours ago, Scrapper_511 said:

Yes, for the traffic jams (edit: and parking lots of course) I can use disabled neutrals. But since my experience lies in map editing I want to share my creation via ter, not scn.

From a sce design standpoint I'd totaly dislike that. Having load of cars on map as fixed objects would hamper sce making quiete a bit.

[stormrider_sp]

Id like to have tools in the mission editor to be able to simplify the coordination of company+ up to battalion or regiment size units. My first idea is something taken from Harpoon series or Command Modern Air Naval Ops, something like a formation editor, where you place subordinate units around a central unit in a map and these subordinate units will try to maintain their positions relative to the central unit. I remember back when I was trying to make Desert Storm inspired missions and I came across the problem of coordination. The map became so clustered with waypoints and conditions and triggers that it became nearly impossible to properly continue editing. Also, just for a set of waypoints it took me weeks of testing just to get the coordination of units right, or close to it. Other way of doing it, would be a follow command give to each subordinate unit and just like the formation editor, it will try to maintain its position relative to the reference unit without human input.

 

[Gibsonm]

4 minutes ago, stormrider_sp said:

Id like to have tools in the mission editor to be able to simplify the coordination of company+ up to battalion or regiment size units. My first idea is something taken from Harpoon series or Command Modern Air Naval Ops, something like a formation editor, where you place subordinate units around a central unit in a map and these subordinate units will try to maintain their positions relative to the central unit. I remember back when I was trying to make Desert Storm inspired missions and I came across the problem of coordination. The map became so clustered with waypoints and conditions and triggers that it became nearly impossible to properly continue editing. Also, just for a set of waypoints it took me weeks of testing just to get the coordination of units right, or close to it. Other way of doing it, would be a follow command give to each subordinate unit and just like the formation editor, it will try to maintain its position relative to the reference unit without human input.

 

 

It may not be what you are after, but are you aware that you can copy routes and route chains (a collection of routes and waypoints) from one unit to another without redoing it?

 

e.g. Sort out the route for the centre unit and copy / paste to the left and right ones respectively.

 

Or you can create routes that are not tied to a unit - so that they remain on the map and several units can use them (e.g. for a convoy, etc.).

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Gibsonm

[DarkAngel]

You can also create preset groups and give them group routes

[Ssnake]

However, all our work on rewriting the driving code to apply pathfindig also to vehicles are preparatory steps towards the end goal of being able to give movement orders to company sized formations without having to use the kludges like group routes, or the route copy and paste function. It is however something that requires a lot of work to introduce it into a 20 year-old code base (without creating a lot of critical bugs, that is).

[stormrider_sp]

1 hour ago, Gibsonm said:

 

It may not be what you are after, but are you aware that you can copy routes and route chains (a collection of routes and waypoints) from one unit to another without redoing it?

 

e.g. Sort out the route for the centre unit and copy / paste to the left and right ones respectively.

 

Or you can create routes that are not tied to a unit - so that they remain on the map and several units can use them (e.g. for a convoy, etc.).

 

 

Yes I do, but that still doesn't mean necessarily coordination. Try the following: Make a mission in our 73 easting map where a Cavalry Troop composed by 2x M1A1HA platoons move in a company wedge formation along with 2x M2A2 platoons plus 1x M1A1HA Co, 1x M2A2 Xo, 1x FISTV. Create a 5km+ route chain for the Co and copy that to all other units. At some point, even before contact, the coordination will be lost with some units lagging behind. Now add another 2 Troops running in parallel in the northern and southern boundaries of the first Troop and try to coordinate the whole business. 😲

 

If every platoon, or at least every other platoon was managed by a human player, that'd be easy, but when everybody is AI except you, the Squadron commander, things get dirty real quick!

 

The approach I was trying follow was based in the real deal. I was trying to coordinate units by visual. 1x Scout platoon from the Southern troop would maintain visual contact with 1x Scout platoon of the leading (center) Troop, and all other units of the southern troop would coordinate in reference to this Scout platoon. Same in the northern boundary.

 

The result was that I drown in a trigger/conditions/events/route chains sea of madness!

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by stormrider_sp

[Gibsonm]

54 minutes ago, stormrider_sp said:

 

Yes I do, but that still doesn't mean necessarily coordination. Try the following: Make a mission in our 73 easting map where a Cavalry Troop composed by 2x M1A1HA platoons move in a company wedge formation along with 2x M2A2 platoons plus 1x M1A1HA Co, 1x M2A2 Xo, 1x FISTV. Create a 5km+ route chain for the Co and copy that to all other units. At some point, even before contact, the coordination will be lost with some units lagging behind. Now add another 2 Troops running in parallel in the northern and southern boundaries of the first Troop and try to coordinate the whole business. 😲

 

If every platoon, or at least every other platoon was managed by a human player, that'd be easy, but when everybody is AI except you, the Squadron commander, things get dirty real quick!

 

The approach I was trying follow was based in the real deal. I was trying to coordinate units by visual. 1x Scout platoon from the Southern troop would maintain visual contact with 1x Scout platoon of the leading (center) Troop, and all other units of the southern troop would coordinate in reference to this Scout platoon. Same in the northern boundary.

 

The result was that I drown in a trigger/conditions/events/route chains sea of madness!

 

 

Oh I think I have some idea:

 

 

and

 

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Gibsonm

[stormrider_sp]

16 minutes ago, Gibsonm said:

 

Oh I think I have some idea:

 

 

and

 

 

x 1000!!!

[Koen]

6 hours ago, Ssnake said:

However, all our work on rewriting the driving code to apply pathfindig also to vehicles are preparatory steps towards the end goal of being able to give movement orders to company sized formations without having to use the kludges like group routes, or the route copy and paste function. It is however something that requires a lot of work to introduce it into a 20 year-old code base (without creating a lot of critical bugs, that is).

Wow

WoW

WOW !

(these are future wow’s, see comment Ssnake below)

Edited July 1, 2019 by Koen

[Ssnake]

We're not there yet.

[stormrider_sp]

44 minutes ago, Ssnake said:

We're not there yet.

As Neil Peart once said, we have all the time in the world.

[BlackDeath]

What I'd like to see crewable are these guys, already in game :

 

Because sights already exist on other system and with that small size it must be quite effective 

 

Because it is just awesome

 

Because sights on those two must be quite crude but still fun to use :

 

 

With BMP1, T80 and T90 as well, i would be the happiest man on earth!

Edited July 1, 2019 by BlackDeath

[Apocalypse 31]

1 minute ago, BlackDeath said:

What I'd like to see crewable are these guys, already in game

Even placeholder sights would be great. Anything to make them crewable and not at the whim of the AI.

[Bond_Villian]

 OPFOR skins for every vehicle in the game would be nice

[stormrider_sp]

On 7/1/2019 at 9:28 AM, DarkAngel said:

You can also create preset groups and give them group routes

How does it work?

[Gibsonm]

On 7/1/2019 at 6:28 PM, DarkAngel said:

You can also create preset groups and give them group routes

 

47 minutes ago, stormrider_sp said:

How does it work?

 

Once the mission starts you select the option from the menu:

 

 

then pick the members of a given group, you can have 6:

 

 

then you'll get additional choices in the right click menu:

 

 

I find it useful if you are moving say an echelon and the designer hasn't created a dedicated Platoon.

 

You can group say a Supply Truck, ARV, AMB and Refueller as one composite group, issue one set of orders and they'll all react to it.

 

Once you have selected the group route, the individual unit routes will be plotted and you can then fine tune them to avoid any issues.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Gibsonm

[Ssnake]

1 hour ago, stormrider_sp said:

How does it work?

In addition to Mark's illustrated example, page 57 of the new manual (although it may already be covered in the 4.0 PDF manual, presumably at the end of chapter 6).

 

With version 4.1, if you connect a preset group to a common waypoint from which a (road) March route starts, they will now start a more or less orderly convoy movement. Then, at the end of the March route (if no other route follows and no tactic has been set, the group will restore the formation (relative positioning to each other) that they had when they started the convoy movement.