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RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE

 
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RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:55:01 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Click on it:




The new Equipment Editor is invoked, with the equipment that was in the Equipment Dialog loaded into the Editor.

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_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 31
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:56:22 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		But we want to put the new equipment at the end of the equipment list where there are plenty of spare equipment slots. Change the “Equipment Number” to 1927:




Note that we are now at the beginning of the “Spare Equipment” section. I’ve edited the equipment to be an “Artillery Crew”. The buttons and check boxes should be mostly self-explanatory, except for the first two on the left side: “Silhouette” and “3D Image”.

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< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:57:03 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 32
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:57:40 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Click on the Silhouette button:




The Silhouette selection dialog appears. Click on the second from last icon.

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< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:58:39 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 33
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:59:13 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Next, click on the 3D Image button. Expect a short delay of several seconds before the dialog appears:




The delay is because all the 3D Images must be loaded when the dialog is called, and that takes a few seconds. You can browse the images via the left and right buttons, or by entering a number in the right button. Once you have the image you want, click the exit button to select it.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 34
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:00:26 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Once the equipment is complete, the button on the far left must be clicked to save the edit to the equipment list. Forget that step and the edit is lost. But even that step doesn’t save anything to disk. That will come later.

Note that there are also buttons to copy and paste equipment as desired. (And I used this extensively in creating the new equipment: Squad equipment was copied to use as the starting point for new squad stuff. Artillery equipment was copied to use as the start of new artillery stuff, etc.). There are buttons to load the previous or next equipment items. But for full access to the equipment list it may be necessary to exit the Equipment Editor and maneuver around the list via the Force Editor.

After creating all the edits desired, you will have a long list of new equipment:





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_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 35
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:02:06 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		However, note that this is still just saved to memory. You need to save the edit to disk. That is done outside the Force Editor:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 36
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:02:42 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		From the “File” pull-down, select “Save Equipment (XML) As…”:




The Save Equipment dialog is invoked. You can change the destination folder at the top. Once saved, you’ll want to load it into the scenario-specific folder. Re-invoke the Scenario Editor and load the scenario. You will get a “Wrong Equipment File” message. Save the scenario, and the new equipment file will finally be in effect.

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< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:03:14 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 37
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:04:07 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		But we’re still not ready to make the forces. We also have a counter color edit to do, first.

I already have a thread on how to do a color edit here:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4385511&mpage=1&key=�

Note that this thread actually describes the CSA/USA color edit that I use in various Civil War scenarios, so it tells exactly how to make the color mod.

Now we can finally build the forces. Back to the Force Editor:





You should already know how to add equipment to units via the manual. This shot shows five equipment items added to a new artillery unit. Here, the “Assigned” is the same as the “Authorized”. But if you need to change that, left-clicking on any equipment item in the left pane will allow the assigned value to be revised. Be aware that setting the assigned to zero will not remove the item from the unit (because zero assigned is a common condition that has to be supported). This is a common misconception of new TOAW designers. That removal has to be done on the Available Systems pane – set the authorized to zero and then the item is removed from the unit.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 38
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:05:23 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		The unit name is set by the Unit Name button at the top. The Unit Size is set by the left button on the left of the strength values:




Notice that TOAW IV has three new Unit Sizes: Army Group, Theater, and Supreme Commander.

The Unit Color set is selected by the button to the right of the Unit Size button – just as under TOAW III. Finally, the Unit Icon is set by the button on the right of the strength values, again just as under TOAW III.


Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 39
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:06:34 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		The Unit Proficiency, Supply level, and Readiness level is set by the Supply button on the bottom row:




Note that, new to TOAW IV, there is a “Range” button – you can set the Range to less than nominal if you want.

Once these values have been set, the copy button is the best way to make additional units – you won’t have to re-set those values that way (unless they change).


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< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:07:07 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 40
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:07:37 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Switching to the Force pane enables units to be placed in formations:




Units can be assigned to formations on this section. Also, units can be cut from one spot in the OOB and pasted to another on this section.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:08:04 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 41
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:08:33 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Note the flag pane at the bottom right on this section. Click on it to set the Force Flag:




Note that there are six new flags available: Confederate Battle Flag, US Civil War Flag, US Revolutionary War Flag, CSA Stars & Bars Flag, Japanese Rising Sun Flag, and German Imperial War Ensign Flag (WWI). Select the US Civil War Flag.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 42
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:09:28 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		While the Force Editor is open, the Force Parameters can be edited:




Note that this pull-down also allows cutting and pasting formations. And it allows setting various game parameters. The Force Overall Proficiency, Force Supply Stockpile Level, and Force Movement Bias were changed for this scenario. The Attrition Divider, Max Rounds Per Battle, Enemy-Hex-Conversion-Cost, Entrenchment Rate, Combat Density Penalty Rate, Supply Costs of Movement Rate, Readiness Costs of Movement rate, and Naval Attrition Divider were changed for this scenario.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 43
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:10:28 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Now that the two forces are defined, we can finally switch out of Map Mode into Deployment Mode:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 44
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:11:00 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		The Control Panel switches to this view:




The two rows of buttons allow navigating the OOB – Units, Formations, and Sides. The bottom button sets the Deployment Mode. It cycles through “Place Unit”, “Remove Unit”, “Place Supply”, “Place Objective”, “Objective Value”, “Reentry Point”, and “Toggle Ownership”. Left-clicking cycles forward. Right-clicking cycles in reverse.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 45
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:11:53 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Leaving the Deployment Mode at “Place Unit”, all of both sides units can now be placed:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 46
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:12:31 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Reinforcements are placed via their Formation Report:




The safest way to enter entry locations is via placing the reinforcement on the map on its entry hex, then removing it. You can type in the location, but that is obviously error prone.

Also note that the above formation is in a reserve deployment, activating on turn 4. So, that’s how that is done. There is also a “Garrison” mode, which never activates by itself. It can only be released by event.

After all units are placed, Automatic Ownership should probably be run, to get a first approximation of ownership. Final adjustments will need to be done with the “Toggle Ownership” mode.


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< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:13:03 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 47
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:13:34 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Cycle to “Place Supply”. Right-click on the location where the Supply Point is to be placed (the supply point will belong to whichever side is the current side – and both sides can have a supply point in the same location). You will be prompted to set the supply level:




A value of 100 is full supply. But you can set a “variable” supply point – with from 1% to 250% (despite the message) of full supply.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 48
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:14:31 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Once the Supply Points have all been placed, cycle to “Place Objective”. You may then place objectives for the current formation. Right-click where you want to place an objective. After this has been completed, the map looks like this:




Objectives should run from friendly areas to enemy areas – particularly enemy areas with objective values to be captured. New to TOAW IV: Total objectives per formation increased from 39 to 99.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:15:00 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 49
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:15:30 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Furthermore, there can be up to five objective tracks:





Which track is in use is set by event. This can allow the PO to handle shifts in momentum in a scenario, or just to add some variability to the PO’s operation. But use of multiple tracks is entirely optional.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 50
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:16:22 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Cycle to “Objective Value” to set objective values on the map. Right-click on the desired objective:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 51
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:17:02 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		You can cycle to Reentry Point if you want to set that. This scenario doesn’t have any units that reconstitute, so there was no need for a reentry point.

The forces are still not fully defined, however. Since we’re in Deployment Mode, we can finally call up the Unit Report:





Note the “Veteran/Untried” button. This is the only place where this factor can be set (that’s always been the case). But there are a number of new features:

The Unit Size button is now here.
The Color Set button is now here.
The Available System pane is now here.
The Unit Name button is now here.
The Supply/Readiness/Proficiency button is now here.
The Copy Unit button is now here.

All those Force Editor functions are now available on the Unit Report. Although not yet completed, the Unit Report is being enabled to perform many of the functions of the legacy Force Editor.

Note how the Available Systems pane has some improvements over the Force Editor:

There is now a scroll bar.
Which individual equipment sections are expanded is up to the user via the section names.
There are buttons to expand all sections or collapse all sections. (The shot shows all sections collapsed).


Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 52
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:18:22 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Click on the formation button:




The General Orders and Orders Emphasis are for the PO only. Don’t forget to set them for each formation. Any side that is expected to be the aggressor should have Ignore Losses Emphasis. Most formations should be set to Attack – however this is where you can place the formation into any reserve deployment, with an activation turn (see the earlier formation display further back).

Again, there are several Force Editor features that have been added here:

Formation Name.
Support Scope.
Formation Proficiency.
Formation Supply.

So, all the features of the Formation pane of the Force Editor are here. This is another part of the new force editor in development.


Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 53
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:19:24 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Click on the OOB – Units button:




A number of Force parameters are now settable here: Force Flag, Force Name, Force Proficiency, and Force Supply. This is the third part of the new Force Editor. There is still much more to add before it is fully ready to replace the Force Editor, though. (One major problem is that these dialogs can’t even be accessed until the force is defined). But these three dialogs are what have been planned to replace the legacy Force Editor. Stay tuned.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 54
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:20:21 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		That completes the Forces. Now open the Edit pull-down:




Note that there are still several tasks to complete before the scenario is finished.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 55
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:21:04 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Click on the Environment Editor:




Note that there are new hex scales for TOAW IV. This scenario uses the new 0.25 kilometer scale. There are also 0.5 kilometer and 1 kilometer scales added at the low end. Then there are 100 kilometer and 200 kilometer scales added at the high end.

The new scales at the low end can result in non-ranged equipment having direct fire ranges beyond the hex size. The designer needs to be judicious as to what topics he uses these scales for. In this example, most fire combat by infantry was at point-blank range due to the dense woods. So, I felt the scale would work. Even so, I had to devise house rules for artillery (which was a direct fire weapon at this point in history). We’re treating designers like adults with these new scales – be responsible. There are some topics that just won’t handle these new scales yet.


Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 56
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:22:28 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Next, click on the Calendar Editor:




Note that there are new turn intervals for TOAW IV. This scenario uses the new One Hour turn interval. There is also a Three Hour turn interval added at the low end. Then there are Two Week, Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual turn intervals added at the high end.

Also, note that the year range has been expanded to range from -3000 to +3000. Values at or below zero have “BC” appended. Positive values less than 1000 have “AD” appended.


Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 57
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:23:25 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Now click on the Event Editor item:




The Event Editor is invoked. Note the new features: Scroll bar, “Go to event #” pane, and copy, delete, and insert event buttons. Note that clicking in an event panel no longer causes an event copy – which often happened by accident. The sort options no longer change the order of events. Instead, the event numbers are shuffled along with the event triggers and effects. There is a new sort option: “By ID”. This basically reverses any previous sort, so that the events are back to sorted by event number.

The events shown show how a Theater Option is coded.


Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:24:00 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 58
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:24:40 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		Be aware that left-clicking on the Trigger button cycles through the triggers. But right-clicking pops up the Trigger Menu:




Clearly, this is an easier way to set the trigger.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 7:25:08 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 59
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 7:25:36 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11775
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: online 		The Effects button works the same way. Here’s the Effects Menu:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 60
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