Event Editor - Random Time

[DWReese]

Has anyone ever used the Random Time option in the Event Editor? If so, what are your observations and impressions?

It sounds like a great feature, and I have never used it. How often does it update, if you know? I mean if you set something up to occur between 1pm and 2pm, does it check every minute, or ever 30 seconds, or what? What is the interval, if you know?

Thanks in advance.

Doug

[Gunner98]

Hay Doug,

I've used it a couple times, cannot recall except the latest is in MF#1 where NATO goes Hostile on a random time event.

Not sure of the mechanics of it, but it does work.

[DWReese]

Thanks, Gunner.

I just set it up and tested it doing exactly what you did. It works great. What a great tool. I;m surprised that I haven't seen other use it. It is perfect.

Doug

[stilesw]

Doug,

I've used the random time trigger extensively in the Desert Storm campaign and found it works great. Much easier for scenarios development if you have things you want to have happen at the start - some sort of initialization events.

Let's say your scenario starts at 10:00 and you want a mission to launch at the start of the scenario. If you set the trigger at 10:00 every time you start the scenario to test something it will fire and you will have to reset the trigger to 10:00 as it will have changed by the amount of time the scenario has run. You also must set the scenario start time back to 10:00. By making the trigger random such as between 10:05 and 10:06 you can fire up the scenario and only have to reset the start time back to 10:00 without worrying about resetting the trigger (if any of that makes sense).

Anyway, I've used it successfully 100's of times.

-Wayne

[DWReese]

Thanks, Wayne.

The idea that I am looking at is setting up a much wider range of the beginning of hostilities. Few sides actually know the exact time that hostilities would actually break out. If you did, you could always position your units perfectly to repel the attack. But, if that time wasn't exactly known, then things change. If that random time suddenly began the "fight" it could make things very interesting.

Doug

[stilesw]

ew sides actually know the exact time that hostilities would actually break out. If you did, you could always position your units perfectly to repel the attack. But, if that time wasn't exactly known, then things change.

Doug,

Perfect example. I've used it similarly to fire an event to authorize/directing the use of nuclear weapons at a random time and either for the player or the other side (or both). Somewhere between 11:00 and 18:00 in the second day of a three day scenario. To make it a little more interesting I gave the event a 25% chance of happening thus making it unknown when or even if the event will happen. Surprise, surprise!

-Wayne

[SeaQueen]

Yes! I do!

I use it for activating missions that aren't executed in coordination with other missions (e.g. something sequenced, or performed simultaneously). I've also experimented with using it to reassign groups of warships to different patrol boxes in order to create some uncertainty in their movement. I might have them start in one box, then at a random time, move to another box. You could also use it at times of heightened hostility, where it's pretty certain that offensive operations are about to begin, but you don't know exactly when, and then use it to mark a side hostile.

Those are just a few things I can think of. I also use the _CurrentTime() LUA function in conjunction with math.random() to do more complex randomized timing between coordinated events, where changing the time of one thing can force other things to be rescheduled.

[DWReese]

SeaQueen,

I do like the idea that you could set a random time (which is when a posture change could occur), and then somehow using a random time after the original time as to when a specific unit actually starts shooting. I'll have to play with that. What I am thinking is that a side will go hostile somewhere between 1 and 3 am, and then a unit will begin shooting somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes AFTER the posture change occurred. So, it's a random event centered around time, followed by another mission, also randomized by time.

Doug