Revisiting Order of Battle

[richfed]

I bought OOB when it was first released. I played the Pacific campaigns to death. Loved everything about the game. Played the first 2 German campaigns, and then I got hooked on Hearts of Iron 4. Hadn't played any OOB since I purchased that game back, I guess it'll be 2 years in June? I think it's been that long. Well, they have kind of messed up the game a bit over there at Paradox with their latest DLC, so, while they are sorting things out, I fired up OOB for the first time in a long while. I have been keeping up with the game by visiting this forum daily, have bought all the DLCs to date, and keep my game up-to-date.

Today I played the Tutorial [Boot Camp] campaign. I can't tell you how much fun I had playing that. It was a much better campaign than I remember Boot Camp being when I first purchased the game. Noticed a lot of new things and the game appears to be very stable. I had forgotten just how much fun this game can be. Going to have to explore the game some more and get back in the full swing of it. So much of it I have never played. Played lots of Pacific - Allies & US Marines - one time through Blitzkrieg, and most of Panzerkrieg. I may have briefly started the Winter War campaign, but didn't get very far.

After today, and how much pure enjoyment it was playing the darn tutorial, I look forward to spending many hours thoroughly enjoying all the campaigns and nice features this game is built upon.

Great job, guys. Glad to know that there are still some more surprises to come in the way of new DLCs. Money well spent, I'd say!

[Andy2012]

I bought OOB when it was first released. I played the Pacific campaigns to death. Loved everything about the game. Played the first 2 German campaigns, and then I got hooked on Hearts of Iron 4. Hadn't played any OOB since I purchased that game back, I guess it'll be 2 years in June? I think it's been that long. Well, they have kind of messed up the game a bit over there at Paradox with their latest DLC, so, while they are sorting things out, I fired up OOB for the first time in a long while. I have been keeping up with the game by visiting this forum daily, have bought all the DLCs to date, and keep my game up-to-date.

Today I played the Tutorial [Boot Camp] campaign. I can't tell you how much fun I had playing that. It was a much better campaign than I remember Boot Camp being when I first purchased the game. Noticed a lot of new things and the game appears to be very stable. I had forgotten just how much fun this game can be. Going to have to explore the game some more and get back in the full swing of it. So much of it I have never played. Played lots of Pacific - Allies & US Marines - one time through Blitzkrieg, and most of Panzerkrieg. I may have briefly started the Winter War campaign, but didn't get very far.

After today, and how much pure enjoyment it was playing the darn tutorial, I look forward to spending many hours thoroughly enjoying all the campaigns and nice features this game is built upon.

Great job, guys. Glad to know that there are still some more surprises to come in the way of new DLCs. Money well spent, I'd say!

Welcome back. I think that is one comment the devs will print out and tape on their desks for those really desperate hours.

[kondi754]

Don't forget about the members of this forum, who spent a lot of time on beta testing, searching and fixing errors, and suggesting new ideas and solutions to developers.

[GabeKnight]

Don't forget about the members of this forum, who spent a lot of time on beta testing, searching and fixing errors, and suggesting new ideas and solutions to developers.

Yeah, like this for example

HoI4_Options.jpg (363.59 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

[PoorOldSpike]

..Hadn't played any OOB since I purchased that game back, I guess it'll be 2 years in June?....Today I played the Tutorial [Boot Camp] campaign. I can't tell you how much fun I had playing that. I had forgotten just how much fun this game can be...

Me too...
I bought OOB and a few DLC's over a year ago but it didn't exactly blow my socks off so I drifted away into Panzer Corps.
But recently I came back to OOB after an absence of many months and played the Boot Camp again, and this time got completely hooked and bought all the remaining DLC's...

[bru888]

..Hadn't played any OOB since I purchased that game back, I guess it'll be 2 years in June?....Today I played the Tutorial [Boot Camp] campaign. I can't tell you how much fun I had playing that. I had forgotten just how much fun this game can be...

Me too...
I bought OOB and a few DLC's over a year ago but it didn't exactly blow my socks off so I drifted away into Panzer Corps.
But recently I came back to OOB after an absence of many months and played the Boot Camp again, and this time got completely hooked and bought all the remaining DLC's...

Plus you downloaded and played Erik's campaigns that we are working like bustards on to perfect. Right?

[PoorOldSpike]

..you downloaded and played Erik's campaigns that we are working like bustards on to perfect. Right?

Er...no mate, you'll want to lynch me for saying so, but I never play campaigns in OOB or any other game because I prefer short sharp standalone scenarios that can be played in just an hour or two between TV shows such as 'Destroyed in Seconds' and 'The Waltons'.
Hey that reminds me, the Waltons is on later- "Granma feels she is being edged out of her role as church organist, so the family rally round to offer support".
Hmm sounds good.

[Erik2]

Not trying to force you play OOB campaigns, but:
You know you can play them as a string of linked single scenarios? (Just think of them as selected by OOB )
And if you need extra resources to repair or purchase units at the start of a scenario, cheat

[PoorOldSpike]

Not trying to force you play OOB campaigns, but:
You know you can play them as a string of linked single scenarios? (Just think of them as selected by OOB )
And if you need extra resources to repair or purchase units at the start of a scenario, cheat

Yes there are a zillion ways to play OOB; at the moment I like creating my own simple quick scenarios in the editor, for example here's a sensational France 1940 one I made this week, the full weight of the AI Wehrmacht (Seek and Destroy orders, Aggression 100, Experience 1 star) is about to be unleashed against my French river line, they usually break through it on about turn 4 and begin pouring south.
Meanwhile my French reinfs are beginning to trickle onto the map 30 hexes to the south and I have to patch together some sort of a defence line-



Renault R.35's

[koopanique]

Not trying to force you play OOB campaigns, but:
You know you can play them as a string of linked single scenarios? (Just think of them as selected by OOB )
And if you need extra resources to repair or purchase units at the start of a scenario, cheat

Yes there are a zillion ways to play OOB; at the moment I like creating my own simple quick scenarios in the editor

That's also my preferred way to play OoB, and any game that has a well-made and easy to use editor really. Although I enjoy the official campaigns as well.

I'm often thinking about what could make interesting scenarios by mixing up the geography of the terrain and the various game mechanics. It'd be great if you could post other screenshots of maps you made like you did for your France 1940 scenario

[PoorOldSpike]

I'm often thinking about what could make interesting scenarios by mixing up the geography of the terrain and the various game mechanics. It'd be great if you could post other screenshots of maps you made like you did for your France 1940 scenario

I'm still a relative newcomer to the mystical art of scenario building and am only creating semi-fictional maps and forces at the moment; for example here's a British Paradrop scenario I'm working on, they drop around that bridge in the centre and must hold it against the AI Germans coming down from the north, to buy time for the main Brit force at the bottom to punch through the AI German defence line and race up the map along the red arrows and be in the town at the top in time for tea..



PS- I've been meaning to ask the forum experts if its possible for members to send their creations to each other attached to e-mails?

[koopanique]

I'm still a relative newcomer to the mystical art of scenario building and am only creating semi-fictional maps and forces at the moment

I'm always going for semi or completely fictional scenario... Allows more creative freedom (when it comes to the geography mostly)

for example here's a British Paradrop scenario I'm working on, they drop around that bridge in the centre and must hold it against the Germans coming down from the north, to buy time for the main Brit force at the bottom to punch through the German defence line and race up the map along the red arrows and be in the town at the top in time for tea..

Interesting idea! That's the kind of ideas I like for scenarios. It's a single map but with several fighting zones and groups of units for each faction, and when playing it could go several ways: it could go as planned, or one of the player unit groups may lose its battle and the player must do with what he has left (for example if the British paradrop loses, it's up to the British to the South to go up all the way North and capture the town all by themselves...)

I like scenarios which allow for several possible ways it could unfold, or with several "fronts".

Feel free to keep posting screenshots or map preview if you are alright with it, I'm always craving for ideas like that for when I make my own scenarios

[PoorOldSpike]

..Feel free to keep posting screenshots or map preview if you are alright with it, I'm always craving for ideas like that for when I make my own scenarios

Thanks mate, here's another I'm working on which I provisionally call Russian Attack 1945, the AI Russkis are about to put their full awesome weight against my German river line-




And I've made liberal use of the Editor's 'Random Trigger' routines to ensure that a large proportion of each sides forces will be refreshingly different each time I play; for example some of my AT guns might randomly be 75mm or 50mm, and some of my artillery might be 105mm field guns or Nebelwerfers etc.
Here's a shot of just part of the Random Trigger screen in which I've randomised which types of Russian tank destroyers and German infantry will be in the game-




My main force at the top of the map usually holds out til turn 5 or 6, then begins to rapidly crumble.
Meanwhile I'm frantically buying German reinfs which will enter the bottom of the map here -




BUT I've set the incoming purchase points quite low so that I'll only be able to afford 1 or 2 reinf units per turn, tanks are especially expensive (below) so I might have to "save up" my purchase points for a couple of turns before being able to afford one, or plump for cheaper AT guns instead, decisions, decisions...
There's also flak units I need to buy, and artillery and planes etc, plus of course I've got the expense of having to buy replacements for units already in combat, so the main excitement of the scenario lies in being able to patch together a decent defence line to stem the Russki tide as it sweeps down the map..


Things could get rough out there...





http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... orum&f=134

[koopanique]

And I've made liberal use of the Editor's 'Random Trigger' routines to ensure that a large proportion of each sides forces will be refreshingly different each time I play

I didn't know such random triggers existed! Well actually I knew you could randomize some elements but I didn't know you could even randomize which unit type to spawn. One of the things I would like to use random triggers for are naval maps where the player must search for the enemy task force, especially in carrier vs carrier battles. If you make the mission yourself, you already know where the enemy carrier will be, so it's no fun; but with randomize triggers the issue would be alleviated.

You like defense missions along rivers, don't you ? This one looks tough, even though the Germans seem to have a decent amount of artillery behind the river. The Russians airplanes are sure to be a thorn in the German side...

[PoorOldSpike]

You like defense missions along rivers, don't you ? This one looks tough, even though the Germans seem to have a decent amount of artillery behind the river. The Russians airplanes are sure to be a thorn in the German side...
...One of the things I would like to use random triggers for are naval maps where the player must search for the enemy task force, especially in carrier vs carrier battles.

It's not that I like defensive missions more than any other type of mission, it's just that as a relative newcomer to the Hogwarts academy of scen building I haven't got round to doing big mobile battles and naval battles etc yet...
You raise a good point about randomising the location of AI carriers on the vast ocean so that we have to send out recon planes to find them, I'm not sure how to randomise it yet but am working on it and will post my findings in this sensational thread...

"Captain Rosemarie, take out your Catalina and find the Japs!"
"Aye aye sir"

[WarHomer]

I see no Catalina

[GabeKnight]

What? But she's standing right in front of that strange looking plane...

[koopanique]

I'm not sure how to randomise it yet but am working on it and will post my findings in this sensational thread...

Please do! In the meantime I'll look into it as well.

[PoorOldSpike]

If you care to step into my laboratory for a moment, I've been conducting experiments with the intricacies of the editor procedures that may interest you...



I've found out how to randomise the start position of units, for example in the pics below the carrier Shokaku has a 50-50 chance of appearing on the left of the destroyer (pic 1), and in the second pic it appears on the right...






My next experiments will be to plot a course and mission for the carrier, and also giving it a complement of fighter/bomber/recon aircraft and experimenting with them too, as whichever side spots the other side first will get in the first blows....-