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Origins - 6/26/2004 5:53:03 AM

Moose 4075

Posts: 25
Joined: 6/6/2004
Status: offline

Anybody out there seen Battlefields at Origins yet? This looks like a fantastic game, but it'd be cool to get some info from more folks who've seen it first hand.

Post #: 1

RE: Origins - 6/26/2004 4:41:25 PM

IronDuke_slith

Posts: 1595
Joined: 6/30/2002
From: Manchester, UK
Status: offline

Moose,
Welcome, ask anything you like, Friend. The testers and programmers drop by regularly so it'll get answered.

The official scenarios scheduled to ship with the game are listed in a thread further up. There's an ongoing AAR and Geozero has posted regular screen shot threads to remind you and others of how it looks. What did you like about it? For myself, WEGO is new and will change the way these sorts of games are played. I love the way the order of battle is written and stored, allowing you to assign units here and there as objectives demand. Most operational wargamesd I've seen have a static OOB that allows no player intervention.

I think the supply side is the most detailed I've seen, although you don't have to spend much time micromanaging it, a good portion is safely automated, with players only being asked to answer a couple of key questions.

Finally, (present company humbly excepted) the scenario designers are experienced and well known in the field. I think we can be sure the game will ship with some classic battles all ready to go.
Regards,
IronDuke

(in reply to Moose 4075)

Post #: 2

RE: Origins - 6/26/2004 9:54:59 PM

Moose 4075

Posts: 25
Joined: 6/6/2004
Status: offline

The two items that I think I keyed in on the most were the we-go system (I think that's the best way to do a wargame there's just so few of them that way) and the attention to the use of artillery and air for interdiction. I also like the attention to chain of command, as long as there's a user friendly way to make sure you're not accidentally doing things to mess up unit cohesion.

So one thing I wonder about; my understanding is that Battlefields doesn't track the men and equipment in the units, so I was wondering what method is used to track the loss of fighitng ability (casualties) after combat? To me that was one of the biggest drawbacks of the early boardgames I used to play, all these units retreating from combat, but they're exactly the same as they were before.

(in reply to IronDuke_slith)

Post #: 3

RE: Origins - 6/27/2004 1:30:01 AM

IronDuke_slith

Posts: 1595
Joined: 6/30/2002
From: Manchester, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Moose 4075

The two items that I think I keyed in on the most were the we-go system (I think that's the best way to do a wargame there's just so few of them that way) and the attention to the use of artillery and air for interdiction. I also like the attention to chain of command, as long as there's a user friendly way to make sure you're not accidentally doing things to mess up unit cohesion.

So one thing I wonder about; my understanding is that Battlefields doesn't track the men and equipment in the units, so I was wondering what method is used to track the loss of fighitng ability (casualties) after combat? To me that was one of the biggest drawbacks of the early boardgames I used to play, all these units retreating from combat, but they're exactly the same as they were before.

Moose,
The units have a TOE rating. This starts whereever the scenario designer sets it (usually 100%) and declines through combat, attrition, interdiction etc. Therefore, A unit that starts with 100% TOE and a (for example) infantry attack strength of 10, will see that strength reduced to 9 when it loses 10% of it's TOE. The system is more complicated than that because there are a number of other factors under the hood exerting an influence on the combat values, but you get the drift.

Interdiction from these sources (air and artillery) is indeed new, and quite historical. I think the game will portray artillery better than any system has done before.

Regards,
IronDuke

(in reply to Moose 4075)

Post #: 4

RE: Origins - 6/27/2004 4:09:25 AM

Moose 4075

Posts: 25
Joined: 6/6/2004
Status: offline

That's a pretty smart way to track casualties. Seems like it would give realistic results without the complexities of tracking all the specifics, which usually end up causing other types of ahistorical anomalies.

On the interdiction issue, from what I've read that's where air power is actually most effective. Large caliber artillery seems to be primarily for interdiction or hitting static defensive positions.

(in reply to IronDuke_slith)

Post #: 5

RE: Origins - 6/27/2004 5:23:50 PM

Cap Mandrake

Posts: 23184
Joined: 11/15/2002
From: Southern California
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Moose 4075

That's a pretty smart way to track casualties. Seems like it would give realistic results without the complexities of tracking all the specifics, which usually end up causing other types of ahistorical anomalies.

On the interdiction issue, from what I've read that's where air power is actually most effective. Large caliber artillery seems to be primarily for interdiction or hitting static defensive positions.

Moose;

The air and naval editor screen in the scenario editor is quite robust....eg

The scenario designer can also set numerous variables in regard to artillery command and control to model national artillery doctrine. Self-propeled arty units have extra flexibility etc. etc. Coastal artillery interdiction of amphibious units. Lots of fun stuff

The player can reassign artillery units to different HQ's, can select support, barrage or interdiction missions...can assign arty units to specific attacks including bridge destruction attacks etc, etc.