[SCENARIO] Fournel - Three Patrol Action

Cheers Rambler, I'll review the German AI plan didn't expect it to be a turkey shoot in that area. I'll also add in a few extra holes in the hedgerows.

Still got to work out how to lower the number of demo charges per team... :p
 
Finished battle as the U.S. side. First, let me compliment you on all the time and effort put into creating this scenario. It's something I could never do and I appreciate that others like yourself can do it for us masses. ;)

That said I'm not sure I could highly recommend this to others. IMHO the inherent problem is your desire to make the scenario as historically accurate as possible. Frankly, for the most part, when I'm playing a battle I don't really care about that. More interested in whether the scenario is fun and competitive.

Given the historical limitations I found my forces being shot at from multiple directions by an unseen enemy within a turn and little I could do other than head for cover and hope not to die. After that, what was I to do? Here comes my biggest problem. IIRC I rec'd nothing in the briefing other than a history lesson. Based on the "briefing" in RL I would have ordered my men out of the village immediately and gone back to camp, reporting "There are Germans in the town, sir!" and the battle would have been over. You need to give some information to the U.S. player why they should stay in town. I needed game information. Objective areas would be nice. An explanation as to how my side can win the scenario is a must.

The initial firefight was certainly exciting for 5-10 turns, but after that the battle was essentially over. I did enjoy shooting up Bootie's squads that came running down the enclosed lane right into my HQ's fire zone though. Trying to maneuver through the hedges and walls while guessing where the enemy was, was fun while it lasted. I don't think I'd reduce the amount of satchel charges or add more hedgerow openings.

Thanks Ithikial for letting me play test this one.
 
No problems mTk, that's why we need guinea pigs testers. ;) I think blind testing is far more valuable than me running it over and over again knowing the forces I'm going to be facing.

The battle historically was drawn out over the course of the later afternoon of June 6th and was the southern 'front' of Cassidy's Battalion, so maybe truncating it even more by bringing on the German reserves quicker could be an option and keep the Americans on their toes rather than letting them get settled which appears to be what happened in your game against Bootie. Could also raise the quality of the German troops so they have more staying power but my only concern is making the German 91st ID a more formidable fighting force than it really was.

Bootie and Rambler already flagged the briefing problems and they'll be redrafted. A better explanation of why you as the American player are dumped in the thick of it immediately is a must for the briefing.

Interesting comment about the map given Rambler thought more gaps in the hedgerows was warranted. I am trying to 'gently push' the players to fighting over the village with those limited gaps in the hedgerows so maybe an American Terrain objective is now a must for that to work.

Edit: Oh and thanks for testing! :D
 
Yeah Im of the same ilk as mTk... the scenario map was really nice to play on but the game play in itself was too hard for the Germans. If they lose the initial toss up in the first 5-15 turns they cant win IMO. The reinforcements come on a bit away with open fields to cross and once the Yanks get comfortable the green and regular Axis forces just melt when trying to cross said fields.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Checklist
- Re-write briefings
- Boost German quality level
- Play with reinforcement timings to keep things hectic for the American forces on map. Reduce German reinforcement intervals.
- (Possibly) Alter map to allow Germans to set up covering fire from the rear hedgerows on their side of the map. Geographically this wasn't and isn't the case as the mound peaks in the field itself before sloping towards the hamlet. But for gameplay...

Will look at next week when I'm back. Feel free to add suggestions to the list above.
 
Changelog for next version following the testing earlier in this thread.

- German reinforcement intervals declined significantly. Even against AI, Germans should reach the objectives before US reinforcements making them harder to capture or hold.
- German troop quality level raised to regular with a smattering of green. Motivation is still a mix of low with a smattering of normal. Tests showing they can hold positions against the airborne for a short time.
- Briefings re-drafted. Most changes made to the US briefing.
- Map tweaked to allow easier and quicker German vehicle access.
- Terrain objectives now for both sides.
- Victory points altered and made very black and white for simplicity. Objectives are now equal for both sides. 3 Terrain, 1 Destroy and 1 Destroy all for both sides. Destroy all should be an easy point score for both sides in the first few minutes.
- Slight change on German OOB and initial deployment.
- Changed the AI plans for more German movement into the mission make the initial contact more hap-hazzard and rushed.

Now if anyone knows anything about photoshop/GIMP and how to be an artist with layers... :D
 
Just trying to to design up strategic and tactical maps from Normal Dude's .psd files.

Simply no experience at graphic art work... and almost failed art class in year 8. :D
 
To do it for me? If so wow! Thanks. (Will look at it again tonight).

If not any links to guides / tutorials would be great. :D Or maybe I can weasel work to pay for a Photoshop training course...
 
After a sprinting finish this will be done in a day or so. Just got to write the Scenario Design comments and the thank you's and I'll tick this off for now.

I slugged away at Paint/Photoshop plugin to produce the maps and images. I'm no artist but they'll suffice. Now going to bed.... zzzzzz.
 
Not to take anything away from the FGM downloads section but it's been on the BF Repository for a few days and got over 100 downloads. No post game feedback from the ravaging hordes of the BF forums however. :p
 
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