Gettysburg conversion utility

[bill123]

Does anybody know where the conversion utility the designer mentions -- mainly to change the artillery breakdown -- has been posted? Or did that go by the wayside?

thanks

Bill

[rahamy]

Bill,

This is something Doug hasn't completed yet. Real-life has been a bear of late for him. We'll get it posted here when he does get it finished though, of that you can be sure.

[snash]

Any word? I bought the game and would say the present breakdown is the one thing I hate about the game. Larger battles just become massive click fests when you have to move artillery by section. Please save my poor fingers...

[snash]

Also, do the other games require a utility to do the same thing? I was considering buying other games in the series, but may decide otherwise if I'm stuck with the current break downs.

Has Tiller considered putting in the automattic movement feature like in the older Talonsoft WWII games. Then the smaller units wouldn't be such a chore to move.

[rahamy]

Here's the section from the Designers Notes in question:

"While the Confederate Order of Battle remains constant throughout the campaign, that of the Army of the Potomac continually evolved during this time period, necessitating no fewer than 7 Orders of Battle to cover the campaign. You may notice a number of Orders of Battle that are not used by any scenario. There are in essence three versions of each of the 7 main Orders of Battle. The one employed in the game has artillery broken down by section, and each cavalry regiment supplied with a 100 man detachment. I call this partial breakdown. The first alternate to this I call no breakdown - batteries are represented as a whole, and there are no cavalry detachments. The second alternative I term full breakdown. These OOB's represent artillery by section, cavalry in 100 man increments, and infantry in 250 man increments. Consistent with my concerns regarding maneuver, the unit size for infantry and cavalry jives well, in my opinion, with distances occupied while marching. Full breakdown is employed in the historical Battle of Brandy Station. I have actually generated scenarios for each of these Orders of Battle, but at the end I've opted to just get a conversion utility out there rather than include 3 versions of each scenario. This utility will be available at a site online."


So, note that the OOB's are included with the game and can be used at any time to create scenarios with. The utility was to convert a scenario from using one OOB to another, but no, Doug never got that completed.

With that said though a "Random Scenario Generator" does exists, that allows you to choose any OOB with the game, and map, etc. and create a scenario with it very quickly.

http://www.xtreme-gamer.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=177

Note that these are all meeting type engagements.

[rahamy]

Also, do the other games require a utility to do the same thing? I was considering buying other games in the series, but may decide otherwise if I'm stuck with the current break downs.


Depending on the designer the artillery sections may or may not be broken down. Scenarios are always editable, but to do anything quickly a utility is required, which does not exist for any other game at this point.



Has Tiller considered putting in the automatic movement feature like in the older Talonsoft WWII games. Then the smaller units wouldn't be such a chore to move.

Automatic movement? Not sure what you are referring to. Here's some options that exist in the game currently though:

1) You can use "Commander Control" where you just issue orders at the command level you choose and the AI executes those orders.

2) You can do as much of your turn as you like, then click the "Activate AI" button and let the computer do the remainder of your turn.


3) You can use the group movement commands, where you move an entire column at once. This can be done in one of two ways:a) Move an entire chain of command by placing a high-ranking leader at the front of a stack, selecting him, then pressing and holding the "Alt" button. You can then right-click where you want the column to go and then entire group will move after him. I usually stack him with an infantry unit and then click the destination hex I want them to go to, like down a road. This way he will only move the distance the infantry unit can move and you can keep a cohesive line. Cav. obviously moves farther and can jump ahead when the infantry's movement points run out. I also remove supply from columns such as this as they move at a slower rate. I have moved an entire army of 20,000+ men this way.


b) Similarly, you can select a hex (with a single click, thereby not actually selecting any units within the hex) and then press the Alt key and right-click the destination hex. This will move all units from the same side in a column, regardless of command affiliation.


The second option here is good if you are just trying to cover distance, but the first option is better if you are trying to keep commands together and might possibly march down roads that have other friendly forces along the side of them.

Personally, I'm a micro manager, so I don't want the AI doing anything for me if I can help it. So I would suggest experimenting with the latter suggestions I have posted. When you are in the maneuver stage of a game I can move all 50,000 of my troops in a matter of a couple of minutes using this method. Things obviously slow down a bit when you come into contact, but then you need to be establishing lines and so forth and not moving every single unit anyways.

Hope this helps!

[snash]

Thanks for the quick response and help. I didn't realize the game had a group movement feature. Just what I was looking for.

I was looking thru the files and noticed I could import my old Talonsoft music. Another plus as I have always like Bobby Horton.

Does the random scenario generator work with the other HPS CW games? Also, Are naval units modeled? I see graphics for them on the disk in the map folder. What scenarios are they in?

Merry Christmas!

[snash]

If the powers to be are reading, I would buy a game the specialized in just civil war naval battles, a good niche market that none else is doing. It was so cool when the modders did Sabine Pass for the old battleground series.

[KG_RangerBooBoo]

HPS Shiloh has river gunboats and there is actually a couple of hypothetical scenarios just for combat on the river between gunboats. I believe Corinth and Peninsula also have gunboats for the Union depending on the scenario but they are just for shore bombardment as no Confederate gunboats in those.

[Rich Walker]

Just one other quick note about HPS Shiloh. The artillery is broken down by type. For example: If a battery has 6 guns, but 3 types, then there would be three sections to move, if on the other hand, a battery was comprised of only one type, then there would be only one unit representing that battery.

Rich