Campaign Creation Tutorial

[Mad Russian]

In this thread I will explain how to create a Campaign.

Good Hunting.

MR

[CapnDarwin]

Sweeet! [&o][&o][&o]

[Mad Russian]

To make a campaign you must create at least the first scenario of the campaign and save it.

This will be saved in the Scenario Folder with the stand alone scenarios.

You can make campaigns with from 2 to as many as you would like.

The first scenario will have all the core units marked. The units marked as Core Units will be the ones that the game tracks for you.

How to create your first scenario is up to you. You can get as inventive with reinforcements etc. as you like. Reinforcements cannot come into play after the time limit you have set for your scenario limit so they will always be in play at no less than the last turn of the scenario.

Your scenario will be saved in the scenario folder of the game folder.




I start all my Campaign scenarios with the letter C. That lets me know that they are for Campaign games.

My naming convention is:

CA - Campaign American
CS - Campaign Soviet
CWG - Campaign West German
CB - Campaign British

If I keep it simple maybe I won't get them all mixed up.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

When you get ready to create the campaign you move/copy those scenario files to the campaign folder.





I have used 5 scenarios in each of my campaigns to this point.

As you can see by the scenario count I am currently working on 2 more campaigns. A West German one and another Soviet one.

Depending on if I decide to create new maps for the battles will determine how long it takes me to create and playtest these for you.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Once you have the scenarios (at least one to start with) in the campaign folder you are ready to begin.

Open the game and find the Campaign button in the Editors section of the opening page.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

When you click the campaign tab it opens a selection menu to see if you want to open an existing campaign to edit it.




Currently the game has 2 campaigns:

Hell On Wheels - US Campaign
Red Storm - Soviet Campaign

As more campaigns are added they will show up in this window as well.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

If you are wanting to edit an existing campaign click on the name and select the Load tab.

If you are wanting to start a new campaign click the Cancel tab.


Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

To leave the Campaign Editor all together you click the small 'x' in the upper right hand corner.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

We are now ready to start creating the campaign.

Everything on the left side of the screen should be filled in.

Everything under the heading, Create or Edit a Campaign File:

* Campaign Description: - This is where you will put the briefing for the entire campaign. It will not repeat for each battle as it advances through the campaign.

* Name: - Name your campaign.

* You Are: Either Player 1 or Player 2. Player 1 is NATO and Player 2 is Soviet.

* Max Hours: The default is 120 hours. This is how long you have to complete the campaign including time taken to reconstitute your forces. This should be determined by playtesting to see what a good time limit is.

* Author: This would be you the person writing in the editor.

* Author Email: This would be your email address if you decide you want feedback on your work.

* Date Started: This is the date the campaign was started. This is a code supplied date. It is automatically filled in for you.

* Last Revision: This is the most recent date the campaign was revised. This is a code supplied date. It is automatically filled in for you.

* Campaign Version: You decide the campaign version to help you keep track of the updates you've made.

* Flashpoint Version: You decide the Flashpoint version to help you keep track of the updates you've made.

* Password: This is your personal password to lock your work. Others may look at it but they cannot make changes and then save those.


Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

This is what the information boxes look like when they have been filled out.





Notice that the Save Campaign tab is washed out. That's because to save the campaign you must have at least one scenario in it. That scenario could be anything. Even a scenario that is not designed to be played in a campaign. It can only be a scenario that is actually in the campaign file in the folder.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Next you go to the Add a Scenario tab and click on it.

The list of scenarios you have determined to go with campaigns will show up and you select one of those to be the first scenario in your campaign.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Once you have selected the scenario on the list you click on the Load tab.
This then moves that scenario into the campaign play list.

The scenarios play from the list top to bottom.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

You add as many scenarios to the campaign as you like.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

When you get the scenarios in the campaign you want, and in the positions you want them you can save the campaign.

If you put a scenario in the list in the wrong spot, you can reposition it with the Move Scenario Up or Move Scenario Down tabs. Or you can take a scenario off the list with the Remove Scenario tab.

Once the Campaign is where you want it to be, then you click the Save Campaign tab.

If you have put in a Password it asks for it before you can save the file then you must enter the password. Once you protect it with the password it will save.

And you have the campaign in the first iteration.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Now all that remains is for you to playtest the campaign and see how the scenarios are balanced out. What kind of an average hours for you to get for the Max Hours setting.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Tazak]

MR, when setting up the troops in each scenario do you need to select 'is core campaign unit' for each unit or the highest HQ that will be part of the campaign

Nevermind, figured it out, MR you are a hero for the amount of clicking 'is core campaign unit' you must of done [&o]