conboy's campaigns

[ColonelY]

You're welcome.

About your next update, no worries, because first there is no hurry. Then, in my opinion, it shouldn't be a problem anyway as it's your campaign and as several versions of it may exist if needed.

[GabeKnight]

Conboy, the Colonel's right about the airfields. But it's up to you if you want to change that. I think it should be the designer's choice if he wants reinforcements to arrive on map edges only.

BTW, it's the same mechanic for all OoB units: if you don't provide deploy hexes with the editor, all new forces can ONLY be deployed on FLAGGED hexes after deployment phase. Airfield or city. (I'm not sure about naval deployment and city/port hexes, though. Port is probably enough)

Airstrips are an exception. And using the hangar to deploy new units is kind of an exploit. Same as for example landing or undeploying planes to aviod some remove trigger:
In Bruce's Free France / 10MarethLine scenario, for example, I've kept most of my US planes, especially the B-something strat bombers and the BlackWidow tac. bombers by using this exploit to avoid the "undeploy" mechanic after you've finished enemy naval. It's kind of cheating, but you can't prevent everything the player may do.

However you decide, conboy, I'd suggest you do not change the already available deploy hexes. This may create a new mess.

[conboy]

Gabe,
Thanks for the clarification. Sometimes I get confused about what the flags do. I was thinking for a moment, after ColonelY's note, that planes couldn't rest or resupply while in a captured airfield (unless it had a flag), but I remember now that is not the case.

In 3d ID, it doesn't really matter to me if players deploy new planes at captured airfields, but maybe sometimes I didn't put scenario-long redeployment hexes in all scenarios. I'll check it out.

thanks again,

conboy

[ColonelY]

A captured airfield, even without flag, always allows the planes to rest, replenish and resupply... it's just about deploying/redeploying and... cosmetics as well.

No AF without flag, in principle, please. Now, adding a flag per AF won't break anything, thus it shouldn't be question about some mess here.

*******

Okay, according to your request I went a little further:

Two more scenarios played. Here are some feedbacks of mine (I'll try to keep them short):


***************************
6 Volt:

-> Only one unique AF on the entire map, and without flag...

-> Add a small income for the 36th as soon as they're spawned and as long as they stay on the map...
(Possibility to put back the RPs for them to zero, if you wish, once they'll leave, using as trigger an "Add Resources" with a "-100" or something! Anyway, a little income = a welcomingly increased flexibility for the player about these few units...)

-> Perhaps add some nice and immersive name to the Concrete Bunker, like "Fort something"...

-> 'Could increase (a little bit) the difficulty by adding at least one MG-foxhole either in Pietramelara or just one hex north to this location, and perhaps another one in its surroundings, along some road... (Why no defense at all here anyway? Let's adapt this...)

-> We've "Mt Etna" there on the map (without flag yet )... if it's the famous volcano, perhaps it does deserve some cool and immersive pop-up, with a text like "Let's hope it won't blow up just once we'll be not that far." or something (while targetting this hex, and perhaps once closing in on this Mt or directly from start?)...

***
-> I've seen there was some issue around exactly 4 bridges obj and I've made a test...
It's validated at (next) turn start. So, construct on purpose either 4 or 5 bridges (probably on the 3rd turn) and see what's happening:

1. With exactly 4, the pri obj was validated/checked and the sec obj correctly disabled!
So, for me, you can already remove this event ">4 Bridges Objective Disabled"!

2. With 5 (so more than 4), both obj stay and are correctly validated... But then, the pri obj is being validated by triggers, which means that the +25RPs for this pri obj alone won't be offered to the player, who will then receive only 75RPs instead of the promised +100RPs.

=> So, here I would say: 1. Remove this event as it's working as it should (for me at least). & 2. Change the reward for the sec obj at +100 instead of +75 (in the corresponding trigger)!
***

(MV t 18/22)

***************************
7 Barb:

-> Now you've some counter issues... we want 10 pri obj, at least 4 sec obj but if possible all pri obj... we want to see at start 0/10 then 0/4 and then 0/5... now we've at start 0/5 and 0/4 the two last times(*)...
'Taken a look in the triggers. Issue found: The last trigger, the one for having ALL secondary objectives is now linked to "Secure all 10 primary objective"... replace this last link with the proper sec obj and you'll fix all these counters just like this!

-> While you're at it, you may change the label "Secure All Secondary Objectiives" (with two "i"), and adapt the "Secure all 10 primary objectives" as "Secure All 10 Primary Objectives" with capital letters as you usually do, and remove this pri obj descr being now "May show as 0/5 but there are 10 primary objectives"

-> 2 hexes without shadow in the East during deployement... these are (3!) "old" air deploy hexes that can safely be removed as being really far from action...

-> No US AF yet? Perhaps consider adding one (the new from the previous scenario - if you add one, but then where? Choose wisely!) with some flag over it... (we may forget about the eastern part as being already history, but not another usual AF relatively close to the actual frontline...)

-> Event "Mignano Abandoned"... nice, but then put the focus over it, "target" some hex, so that the player directly knows what it's about!

-> About the B17G...
a) Spawn it perhaps 9 hexes southwards (thus giving less the feeling "jumping from nowhere")
b) Add a short, nice and immersive event
c) Give it perhaps already 1 star of XP (our planes do have some, and much more, so...)

-> It could be nice to add the 5 arrows pointing at all sec obj for the obj "Secure All Secondary Objectives" as well (now they are only there for the other sec obj, "Secure four of them", or something)

(MV t 23/28)

(*) It'll change later when all sec obj are under control like 9/10 and 4/4 and 3/4... and at the end with a Major Victory 10/10 and 4/4 and 3/4... Anyway, now you can fix it easily!


Et voilà !

[conboy]

Thank you, ColonelY!
These are all going to be considered for inclusion in my update, most certainly the ones dealing with the Objectives and text errors. Thanks for the detailed review.
I hope you are enjoying the campaign during this detailed play-through -- thanks again!

conboy

[ColonelY]

[...] I hope you are enjoying the campaign [...]

No worries, I do.

[ctskelly]

Avalanche 2.0

When you started working on it, you wrote that there was nothing new in it. I completely disagree. It is brilliant and takes OoB campaigns to a whole new level. There are a number of campaigns out there (Like Bru-Erik's Normandy) where you have to play the first scenarios very conservatively to have enough RPs for the following scenarios, but this goes to a whole new level in Avalanche, since you cannot buy any new units! I love it. You have to conserve RPS for the Americans AND units. Playing at level 4, as I do, the balance of units, RPs, and scenario length is just right, but it is unnerving to have not a single extra turn to achieve objectives.

I liked the 3rd Infantry Campaign, but it seemed easy to win all but two scenarios. Avalanche is harder, and that means replays!

I think it is impossible to win the campaign one play through, but that's what I love about it. I'm doing my third restart at scenario 1. Why? I just started the 3rd scenario yesterday and realized that I let too many of my engineers die in the second who are needed to build a fortified defense line. I should have valued them more. There are some other surprises too, like second German counterattacks that come just when you think you can go on the offensive.

So, getting back to the point, no buying new units. That's more like real war, where Allied officers could not just throw units into the meat grinder and buy more. I think this campaign introduces an innovative feature that makes OoB a whole new game. And along with Erik , Bro and some of the other designers, I have a whole new hero! Keep em coming.

(One bug, kind of: In scen 2, I captured all the special forces objectives but was not given that victory condition, because I took one of the objectives with a regular British unit.)

My deepest thanks to all the people who love OoB as much as I do.

[conboy]

ctskelly,
Thanks very much! Based on your post, I am playing it again. I think it is difficult but winnable with good tactics and sticking close to the objectives.
Thanks again for your compliment and encouragement!

conboy

ps - I think you already know this, but disrupted/wiped out units can be redeployed at the redeployment hexes. I don't really like units being wiped out so easily in OoB -- so I made sure that badly mauled units can be redeployed.

pps - I made a note to fix that objective.

ppps - Also, did you know that the units that were wiped out go into the dead units crate and can be revived using RPs? The only ones that don't are the non-core units, such as the Beachmasters.

[ctskelly]

Avalanche error small.jpg (449.75 KiB) Viewed 2351 times

ps - I think you already know this, but disrupted/wiped out units can be redeployed at the redeployment hexes. I don't really like units being wiped out so easily in OoB -- so I made sure that badly mauled units can be redeployed.

pps - I made a note to fix that objective.

ppps - Also, did you know that the units that were wiped out go into the dead units crate and can be revived using RPs? The only ones that don't are the non-core units, such as the Beachmasters.

LOL. Oh no! I did not know that wiped out units can be brought back. In a way, I don't like that. I just finished the Campaign, playing from Phase 1 to prevent any units from dying. By the end of Phase II, using special tactics, like laying mines every other hex to prevent multiple direction attacks on a unit, sea evacuations of wounded units, landing a bit to the south, going on any offensive with care, restarting turns, etc, I managed to only lose 15 Br. unit points in Phase I and II. So, for me, not knowing I could bring dead units back in was exactly what made this campaign so fun, and to me a new innovation in OoB!

Yes, I see now I can go to the dead units area and revitalize them. Too bad. I liked the tougher challenge before. I also wonder if this is a feature in all scenarios that after 10,000 hours play, I still did not know about! As you can see, I got all the objectives but victory not given.

Above is the victory condition problem in Phase II (I had all three flags), but it seems you fixed it. Sorry for the poor resolution.

[conboy]

ctskelly,

So sorry about the objectives!
I will see about that.
If you could save a replay and send, I'd really appreciate it. If you can't, thanks for playing and letting me know how it went!

conboy

[johnrey]

yes, there is a problem with the trigger for Licata. After seizing and hold all objectives in Phase I (turns 1 thru 7), on turn 15 there is an X marking Objective Failed -- even though the hexes are occupied. Is there a fix or update for this?

[johnrey]

yes, there is a problem with the trigger for Licata. After seizing and hold all objectives in Phase I (turns 1 thru 7), on turn 15 there is an X marking Objective Failed -- even though the hexes are occupied. Is there a fix or update for this?

[conboy]

johnrey,
I know there's a problem with 2 Lica and I found it and fixed it.
But most people are downloading from the Community Content box on the OoB opening screen now, so I don't know how to fix that version until Shards comes back. When he does, I'll do a major update on that when he's ready.
Meantime, I sent you a link to the updated 2 Lica scenario.

Here it is, for anybody that's playing the game now and runs into that problem. As it has been reported, most of the time the issue fixes itself in a couple of turns.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/8hjzpjxh ... a.zip/file

what a mess... I hope folks are nuking their way out of this.

thanks for playing!

conboy

[jn1]

I'm playing the custom campaign and all is going well (all major victories, level 3, version 9.0) until Anzio Beachhead. I take the early objectives but then the problems start with the German counteroffensive and I also notice that I keep getting a lot of RP for the British but there is not a single British unit on the map to use them on. In fact the whole left side of the map is basically empty and then I get a seemingly endless stream of Germans attacking my lines so after a few turns I start running out RP for the Americans all while I soon have 1.000 unused British RP. After turn 16 I can't keep all needed victory hexes any longer. This must be some bug right? I can't see that I can "activate" the British myself but maybe I'm missing something. I restarted the scenario to double check but still no British in sight.

[conboy]

jn1,
Anzio Beachhead might be the most difficult scenario in the campaign, but you can beat it with sound defensive tactics.
There are no British in the scenario. Apparently, I allowed for Brit RPs to accumulate in the Beachhead scenario. They are needed in the next scenario which may even be a little more difficult.
I'll fix the RP situation in my next update

Thanks for playing and commenting!

conboy

[jn1]

Thanks for the quick answer. I guess I have to rethink my strategies a bit to eke out a victory here. It is a great campaign so thank you but the sudden jump in difficulty for this scenario threw me for a loop.

[conboy]

jn1,
The 3d ID is on defense for the first two Anzio scenarios. They're attacking in all the other ones in the campaign, so these two scenarios are set up differently.

The key to winning those two scenarios is paying very close attention to the objectives so you don't get caught off-guard by a major counterattack, and playing a sound tactical defense.

Anyway, thanks for playing and posting!

conboy

[ColonelY]

Hello!

How are things progressing? What are you cooking us up?

Just in case, I found these two "forgotten fights" that may deserve some scenario (especially the first one I would say):

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/a ... ugust-1943 => Maybe even to be integrated within an Australian campaign?

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/a ... ugust-1943

[conboy]

ColonelY,
Thanks for checking on me, hombre.
I'm working on two mini-campaigns now. One Russo-German, the other US v Germany. I have my hands full with other stuff so it's going slowly.
Hope all is well with you -- I am enjoying reading about Bru and ColonelY exploits with the Free French. I was going to make a campaign based on Leclerc, but you guys beat me to it.
I am anxious to see how the Free French campaign versions of Operation Dragoon and Vosges/Strasbourg come out!

conboy

[ColonelY]

Thanks for your kind words.

New mini-campaigns? Well, these two could easily be very interesting, that's for sure. Good luck with these projects!

Yes, thanks, all is rather well with me...

A campaign focused on Leclerc? Indeed with now the building up of the Free France campaign on the run... But, you know, it's still perfectly possible... and it would certainly be interesting as well to see this part of the history of the Free French from another angle, from another perspective.

[...] I am anxious to see how the Free French campaign versions of Operation Dragoon and Vosges/Strasbourg come out! [...]

Well, me too!