John Tiller's First World War Campaigns

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Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

John Tiller's First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

End of the Belle Epoque II
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(JTS FWWC France '14 and East Prussia '14)

Here are some screenshots from the latest incarnation of my End of the Belle Epoque mod which works with the new JTS versions.

Fog of war off so you can see what both sides are doing.


From France '14:
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Most of the units are battalions, squadrons, or batteries.

The screenshots have been updated to reflect the current state of the mod.

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From East Prussia '14:
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Most of the units are battalions, squadrons, or batteries.

The screenshots have been updated to reflect the current state of the mod.


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This is the second incarnation of my End of the Belle Epoque mod.

It is designed to work with the JTS version of the game. (If you have the HPS version get in touch with support at JTS and they will help you upgrade to the JTS version).

The original mod came out shortly after France '14 was first released, and has been updated several times since.

Since the initial HPS release of France '14 the graphics have undergone quite a few changes. This version of the Belle Epoque mod works with the new JTS graphics, and has been co-ordinated and harmonized with a sister mod for East
Prussia '14. In case it isn't obvious, the two mods are slightly different and not inter-changeable.

This is a graphics mod, and only effects the 2D and 3D textures.

The mod does two things.

First, it uses a color palette that is a bit more in keeping with traditional maps, though it preserves many of the features of the JTS graphics.

Second, it separates the hex grid from the background map textures, as in the original. This way you have the option of viewing the map with or without the hexgrid. That's why the original design had a 'show hexgrid' settings option.

The mod uses a few of its own conventions that you need to be aware of.

Improved positions, trenches, and obstacles are represented by different color shadings super-imposed on the map.

Headquarters units are color-coded so that you can tell at a glance how far up the chain of command a particular HQ unit is. Brigade HQ's have no color filling, Divisional HQ's have black filling, Corps HQ's have red filling, Army HQ's
are white outlined with red, and Army Group HQ'are white outlined with black.

The mod uses a red circular aiming reticle for fire and shock combat. This isn't cast in stone, and might change if I ever come up with something I like better.

The mod includes distinctive destop icons for France '14 and East Prussia '14.


The mod for France '14 works with the later of the two Volcano Man graphics mods (but not the original). Ed hasn't made a graphics mod for East Prussia '14 (yet), but if he ever does I will make whatever adjustments are needed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The mods can be downloaded from here:


For France '14:

https://app.box.com/s/9zw7gckkt9ha5fssicmvs9oz1s23mxc6

or

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gnyhh88t4uhwh ... b.zip?dl=0



For East Prussia '14:

https://app.box.com/s/ry35ox8jtzxau2iedac23d70z8cxmfht

or

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lk6j4h52nke08 ... b.zip?dl=0


---------------------------------------------------------------------

To learn more about JTS First World War Campaigns go here:


https://john-tiller-software.myshopify. ... -campaigns



For France '14 go here:

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/WWICa ... nce14.html



For East Prussia '14 go here:

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/WWICa ... sia14.html



and for both of them, go here:

https://john-tiller-software.myshopify. ... -campaigns





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zakblood
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by zakblood »

lots of hard work gone in there it seems, thanks
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Philippeatbay
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

Here is what the Belle Epoque mod for France '14 looks like with Volcano Man's unit mod (Volcano Man just happens to be the designer of the series):




Image

French



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German



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British




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Belgians




Volcano Man's First World War Campaigns mods can be found here:

http://volcanomods.com/index.php?option ... ods.com%29

Download the last mod on the page (the one from 2013).
rommel222
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by rommel222 »

Greetings Philippeatbay,
I have been sitting on the fence with the HPS/JTS 1914 series but your mods are tempting me.[:-]
Philippeatbay
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

It's a really wonderful series. The feel of how the games play is very different from Panzer Campaigns, and in an odd sort of way the maneuvering of large bodies of infantry screened by cavalry has a very Napoleonic flavor. I'd love to see the series extended to cover the Franco-Prussian war by way of comparison.

The game engine for FWWC is probably Tiller's best. I wish the Napoleonic engine were this good, but it's not going to happen because making games isn't John Tiller's day job.
Philippeatbay
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

France '14 and East Prussia '14 have both been upgraded to version 1.1.

The links in the first post of this thread will take you to the latest version.

What's changed is that the Belle Epoque mod is now using a different set of symbols for broken terrain and planted fields.

The broken terrain symbol is quite common near Mons and between Dunkirk and Antwerp in France '14.

The field terrain is one of the most common textures in East Prussia '14.

I don't have any screenshots that show this yet because I'm busy working on a solution to the 3D terrain problem.

If things pan out there will be another release in about a week.

Philippeatbay
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

Screenshots from the latest version.


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Antwerp



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The Channel



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Mons



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Paris


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Ypres



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Koenigsberg



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Gumbinnen



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Masurian Lakes
Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

The End of the Belle Epoque II has been updated to version 3.0.

You can download the mod for France '14 or East Prussia '14 from the links in the first post of this thread.

I've given the 3D terrain a major overhaul, so it will no longer make your eyes bleed if you check out the 3D screens to get a better handle on what the 2D map is telling you.

Here are some screenshots of the 3D terrain from France '14:



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Capitaine
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Capitaine »

Hi Philippe,

Thanks again for the great work. The East Prussia file still says ver.1.0. I don't know if that's accurate or the filename just wasn't updated. Could you let us know?
Philippeatbay
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

If you mean the Notes textfile, I left the notes for version 1.0 on the file and put the section for version 3.0 at the bottom of the page. Now that I look at it I realize why it's confusing. When I'm a little more caffeinated I'll give it a rethink and do something about it.

But apart from that, the links will indeed take you to version 3.0: if you look inside the new map folder you'll see a lot of new terrain that wasn't there before (some of it with an ugly mustard yellow background).







AndySfromVA
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by AndySfromVA »

Those 3d graphics are sweet!
Great job!

Philippeatbay
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Status: online The End of the Belle Epoque II has been updated to version 3.0.
Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

The mod has been updated to version 3.1.

I've made a minor adjustment to one of the textures and changed the order of notes in the notes textfile.

I've uploaded the new version to the links in the first post, and updated the screenshots in the first post to reflect the current state of the mod.

Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

The mod has been updated to version 3.2, see the first post in this thread for downloading.

The main thing was adjustments to the colors of the British, French, and Russian units.
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RobS61
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by RobS61 »

A gazillion units. Unplayable, in my opinion.
Gave up on Tiller games years ago, especially after wasting a lot of time on the broken-and-never-to-be-fixed Total War in Europe series.
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Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

There are plenty of smaller scenarios in the two games in the series which have reasonable numbers of units (meaning less than 200 on a side).

The basic units are battalions, and if you're crazy enough to try and play a whole front at that level, you can, but it's your own fault if you start suffering from micro-management overload.

The scenarios have size warning tags in their descriptions, and you need to be sensible and stick to the ones listed as small.

Tiller is essentially a publisher who happened to write the program for the games he sells, and it isn't his day job. Each series is different, and its quality depends a lot on the individual designer.

The First World War Campaign series is a labor of love by Ed Williams, and reading the sources that he used for the game is like taking a graduate level course in WW I military history.

Or you can be lazy and just play the game after you read his notes.

Zorch
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RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Zorch »

ORIGINAL: Philippeatbay

There are plenty of smaller scenarios in the two games in the series which have reasonable numbers of units (meaning less than 200 on a side).

The basic units are battalions, and if you're crazy enough to try and play a whole front at that level, you can, but it's your own fault if you start suffering from micro-management overload.

The scenarios have size warning tags in their descriptions, and you need to be sensible and stick to the ones listed as small.

Tiller is essentially a publisher who happened to write the program for the games he sells, and it isn't his day job. Each series is different, and its quality depends a lot on the individual designer.

The First World War Campaign series is a labor of love by Ed Williams, and reading the sources that he used for the game is like taking a graduate level course in WW I military history.

Or you can be lazy and just play the game after you read his notes.
+1 "Or you can be lazy and just play the game after you read his notes."
Philippeatbay
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

The End of the Belle Epoque II mod has been updated to version 3.2b.

Download links for the France '14 and East Prussia '14 mods are at the end of the first post in this thread.

Be sure to update the games with the latest official patches before you install the mods. The latest offficial patches can be found in the Update section of the JTS website.

Note that the two mods are slighty different, so please don't install the France '14 mod into East Prussia '14 or vice versa.

This update came about because I was playing one of the battle of the Marne scenarios and noticed that I was having a hard time telling what divisional HQ went with which division.

The lettering on the large 2D divisional HQ's is now transparent so you can tell who is in charge of what when divisional colors are turned on.

Philippeatbay
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Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:27 pm

RE: JTS First World War Campaigns

Post by Philippeatbay »

As often happens at the end of the year when JTS is running sales, I've run out of bandwidth in my Box account. The box links will start working again next month when they reset, but in the meantime I've added a pair of Dropbox links to the first post in this thread.
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