Sneak Peeks, Coming Attractions, Works-In-Progress

[benpark]

Amazing. Those graphics look fantastic as well.

[Jason Petho]

I agree! Chris has been doing some amazing work! They are getting better and better!

[76mm]

ORIGINAL: berto
Here, more or less, is the latest roster of CSEE (Campaign Series Event Engine) functions:

These look great, but I sure that they the functions will be adequately documented, so that they are in fact usable...

[Jason Petho]

There will be a reference guide included.

[benpark]

Berto- I don't want to distract you from your interesting pursuits- but would you mind illustrating briefly (in game) the results of one of the new functions based upon the code above in game play terms?

An example might be:

move_recon (trackids, hc, dir, radius, actprob)

I'm mainly trying to get a grasp on AI use if these are conditional checks for some state, or if they act more as independent directives- or probably a combination(?).

Thanks!

[berto]

Here is an example, from the scenario VN_700708_FSB_Ripcord.

A scenario opening screenshot (with FOW toggled OFF for purposes of this example; in ordinary game play, one side would not see the other side's units; also, ordinarily the hex coordinates would be toggled OFF):



A snippet of code from the file VN_700708_FSB_Ripcord.lua:



The "NVA Sappers" are the _NVA_DAI_DOI_DAC_CONG_878 company at the green circle. In another section of the battle plan code (not shown), they are directed to attack either Objective 6, else Objective 7.

If the NVA Sappers are directed to attack Objective 6, then if the current turn is before Turn 4, the _C3_D1_R803_NVA_DAI_DOI_BO_BINH_70_795 company, circled in turquoise, is ordered to move_rush() to hex 8,8; if Turn 4 or later, from there attack_strong() Objective 5 (from a Down direction, with attack "radius" of 1 hex). If subsequently they have taken (they "own") Objective 5, they are then to attack_normal() Objective 6 (restricted from a DownLeft direction), while leaving behind at their weakest platoon to defend_strong() Objective 5.

Else if the NVA Sappers are attacking Objective 7, if before Turn 4, the _C3_D1_R803_NVA_DAI_DOI_BO_BINH_70_795 are to move_rush() to hex 5,8. At Turn 4 or later, if Objective 2 is by then still US "owned", the NVA company is to attack_strong() that objective; else if Objective 2 is now NVA owned, if Objective 3 is still US owned, the NVA company is to attrack_strong() Objective 3. And so on for Objectives 5 & 6.

attack_strong(), attack_normal(), defend_strong(), etc. -- these are all LAI (Legacy AI) routines hard coded in the game engine. The Lua code you see above is SAI (Scripted AI) in the CSEE (Campaign Series Event Engine). The SAI works hand-in-hand with the LAI to direct the flow of movements, attacks, and whatever other orders are scripted, or inferred (by the LAI) in the current situation.

That is just one small part of a much larger VN_700708_FSB_Ripcord.lua file. And just one limited example of a much larger universe of CSEE/SAI capabilities. But this should give you a better example of what we are up to.

[berto]

ORIGINAL: Jason Petho

There will be a reference guide included.

For example:



The functions reference is still a work-in-progress. It will be fleshed out with more examples eventually.

There will also be an expanded How-To doc explaining how the bits & pieces of the CSEE/SAI all come together.

[berto]

Combining the CSEE "core" functions, it is possible also to fashion so-called "uber" functions. Here is a standard, ready-to-use uber function, attack_nearest_to_hex(), for attacking any enemy unit(s) nearest to a specified hex:



An example use of this function would be:



In the example: Two VC companies are ordered to attack (capture) a downed US pilot, if he still exists (is on map). Otherwise, attack some Objectives, if they are ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) owned. Else attack any enemy (other side) units nearest to the specified hexes.

The scenario scripter/modder can make use of the "core" functions, also the standard "uber" functions, and/or roll his own. He/she will have to write custom CSEE/SAI Lua code for each individual scenario, of course.

The CSEE/SAI are so rich with possibilities!

[benpark]

Thanks! That's a lot of possibilities!

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Vietnam: Order of Battles

It's been awhile since the last post. Sorry about that!

But, that doesn't mean the work has stopped! This is what ~400 hours of French order of battle improvements mean. This all started when I was going to build some Street without joy scenarios and realized I was missing some organizations. Well, that opened Pandora's Box and this is the result.

These will also be included in the Middle East UPDATE after Vietnam is released and they are also ready for Cold War.

Everything from the platoon to the army oob file was heavily modified.

[Jason Petho]

Massive changes to Regiment sized units, all historical spanning from 1948-1985 including subunit and structure changes.

[Jason Petho]

Massive changes to Brigade sized units, all historical spanning from 1948-1985 including subunit and structure changes. As the image states, the campaign organizations are fictional due to limitations of the campaign generator.

[Jason Petho]

Massive changes to Division sized units, all historical spanning from 1948-1985 including subunit and structure changes.

[Jason Petho]

More changes...

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Vietnam: Scenario Design.

Any guesses what scenario this map will be the basis for?

[Big Ivan]

That jump map is up near the DMZ. Khe Sanh is to the west-northwest maybe just off the map. Hue is down to the southeast off map. The only good sized city in the center left of the jump map would be Quang Tri and the military base there. There were a number of actions/battles around that area. I'm going to say Quang Tri![:)]

[Jason Petho]

Campaign Series Vietnam: ALPHA Graphics: SCENARIO DESIGN
New scenario:

Street Without Joy - Operation Camargue
July 28, 1953


[Vin Tranh, Annam, Indochina]: [SIDE A][HIS][CSL]: Annam was the central coastal region of Indochina and snaking along the coast was Colonial Route 1, which was the primary logistical route between Tonkin in the north and Chochin-china in the south. Communications and convoys along these lines suffered from regular attacks by Viet Minh irregulars that had used a series of fortified villages dispersed along the sand dunes and salt marshes between Quang Tri and Hue. The ambushes were so frequent than the soldiers would christen this stretch of road between Quang Tri and Hue as “la ruie sans joie”, the Street Without Joy”. The French had attempted to clear the area in 1952 during Operation Sauterelle but met with little success. With the winding down of the Korean War in the summer of 1953, the French were able to collect sufficient forces to try again. Under the guise of Operation Camargue, named after the sandy marshland west of Marseille in France, the forces gathered would result in one of the largest operations that the French conducted during the war. The French and Vietnamese forces were divided into four Groupement (task forces), consisting of 30 battalions, two armoured regiments and battalions of artillery. Two of the Groupement would land by the sea, using the amphibious M-29 crabe and LVT4 alligators supported by landing craft, the other two Groupement would attack from Route 1 with the intention of surrounding the area before tightening the bouclage to reign in the Viet Minh. There were also two paratroop battalions held in reserve. It was a race against clock to secure the bouclage before nightfall, otherwise the Viet Minh 95 Regiment, and most importantly, the unassuming black-clad Communist cadre, could slip through into the hills to the west of Colonial Route 1. [ALL][CSEE, Variable Objectives][1.00]

[Andrea G]

Every rabbit you guys take off from your hat is juicier than the previous [:D]

[WillyPete]

I'm really impressed with all the attention to detail. My only complaint at this point is with the unit graphics. The maps are stunning, but are hurt by units that look like blurry blobs on the screen. Clean, good-looking units would make all the difference. Is there anything that can be done?

[Jason Petho]

lean, good-looking units would make all the difference. Is there anything that can be done?

Eventually we will be upgrading the graphics to be PNG. We decided to focus on the SAI and LAI first, as that is far more important than the graphics, to us anyway.

As the current graphics are BMP's, there are limitations to their design. Of course, many of the units look far better on screen than in the screenshots.

Also keep in mind there are thousands of graphics that will need to be rebuilt once we move to PNG. That will take a lot of time to do it right.