Battles Report Question . . .

[Coaling]

Myself and MGRamsuer are engaged in a campaign sequence of battles from "Campaign Ozark." . . . How do we go about reporting the individual battles, especially if we don't know the specific variation number, etc.??? . . . Or do we just report the whole campaign when done, keeping track of how many turns we play total? . . . Please advise. Thanks in advance.

 

[rahamy]

The scenario can be determined by opening the CPF file up in a text editor, and then looking for the name. The example below is from a Waterloo campaign file:

----- PEM Header -----
1 0 -1 -1
7
The Waterloo Campaign Large a3_f3, June 1815
1815 6 15 13 15 0 0 6 388

So in this particular case it's one of the big all-in-one scenarios from Waterloo, lasting 388 turns. I would have to see your specific CPF file to determine which scenario it is. Anyway, once you figure out which one it is you can identify it from the normal scenario selection dialog within the game.

As for reporting, there is a selection dialoge box in the WARS reporting screen asking if the scenario was for the end of a Campaign, and if it is you select the overall Campaign results and additional points are awarded accordingly.

 

[Coaling]

I have been unavailable for a week and a half, and find your answer upon my return . . . Is it possible to get an answer tailored to a non-computer fellow? What is the cpf file, and how do I open it?, and where do I find it? Text editor? What's that specifically? A word processor? Do I have to do that while the game in question is in progress? If so, how can I go back in time and get it?

Thanks in advance. I'm not comfortable tinkering with programs. Is there an "easy button" for finding out what the name is?

 

[Gary McClellan]

the cpf file is the same one that you trade back and forth to send your turns...

like mybattle.cpf or whatever you named it. (Note, the campaign makes three files, that's the only one you really need to send).

You can just open the file in Windows Explorer... just don't change it when you close the program and it'll be fine.

 

[Coaling]

How do I "just open the file in Windows Explorer" ?????

 

[Gary McClellan]

Blahblah

NOT Windows Explorer

That was my mistake.

1000 apologies.

Open it using Notepad, and after opening notepad, when you hit the "open file", set it to display all file types.

 

[Coaling]

Thanks for the directions. Evidently, I can't go back in time and find out definitely which "Boonville" scenario we did, but process of elimination provided me with a good-enough guess to file a game report on that anyway. Following is what I got for the current campaign game being played. Does it appear to be the correct information I'll need when that particular episode is done . . . ?



Lyon Campaign.cpd
1 3
cross7
0 0
0
-1
-1
----- PEM Header -----
0 1 -1 -1
11
The Battle of Carthage, July 15, 1861
1861 7 15 12 0 1 0 10 52
10 20 30 0
10 15 60 0
-250 0 250 750
2 2 0 0 16127
77 29
Carthage.map
0Carthage_OB.oob
0JuneJuly_pdt.pdt
24 10 0 4 0 0 0 1

 

[rahamy]

Hey Cpt.

That looks like scenario crosscar15c1u12.scn - based on the title listed there and the number of turns. I just went down the main game screen checking each scenario in order till I found the title that matched.

Regards,
Rich

 

[Coaling]

Can't something be done to make a campaign's battle-recognition (for reporting purposes) just a wee bit easier?

 

[rahamy]

In the scheme of things, no, not really. Programming time is at a premium, so devoting time to something like this is way down the list of desired changes. Only a small percentage of sales are to people who play the games via e-mail, and of that, not everyone will play a campaign and also want to report it in a club...sorry, just being realistic here...

 

[CyberRanger]

Only a small percentage of sales are to people who play the games via e-mail...

That surprises me! What is the largest percentage to?

 

[Coaling]

rahamy . . .

Thanks for the answer. It's understandable, even though it is somewhat of a 'cop out' . . . The games are campaign by their very nature, and yet the only way to tell which variant one is playing is to wade through folders and code, then cross-your-fingers you interpret correctly? . . . Also, I too am curious like Cyberranger: what's the entire list of percentages of games sold to different types of people? Where could we peruse such stats? They would be interesting, and yes may indeed end a few discussions.

 

[Gary McClellan]

From what I've picked up over the years (especially with discussions about Wagram), the majority of purchasers of any of these games are looking to play them solo.

Frankly, I don't see any solo appeal in them, but more often than not, that's what they want. Then you also have those who may play with a buddy or two, but not join any of the organized clubs/ladders, and you end up with a fairly small group who would really be interested in that bit of info.

 

[rahamy]

Gary pretty much covered y'alls question...

But also, part of the intent is to NOT let you know exactly which scenario you are playing, as a further element of FOW. If you knew exactly what scenario it was the players could easily load that up in the main program and scout out all the details about it. Really, the only issue about this is reporting games for club scoring, and while I try to make my games easier for this (buy numbering the scenarios in the main folder) it's not one of the design considerations when making a game.

Regards,
Rich