After a very play-intensive beta-test phase I look currently after the takeover of my Battlefield Europe Mod in the newest and up to now best game engine of Strategic Command. I lay my attention by the majority on the units and their representation and behavior in the game. The conversions which are necessary for the change of the modified OOB and new developments in the area of the unit graphics are rather time consuming. But I hope that in the result the good experiences from the predecessor's versions for Strategic Command 2 can be reached and be further developed. I would like to give you a small view of my work for the campaign "1939 Battlefield Europe - Elite Forces".
The scale
It is furthermore my aim to preserve the game feeling and the excellent balance of the original version. In addition, I would like to raise the number and range of the used units discreetly. Also a few smaller changes concerning their strategical-tactical possibilities should be developed. For this purpose I would like to maintain the basic gradation of the original version. Now this serves as a basis of a new unit structure and their optical presentation. The infantry armies and tank armies form furthermore the core units and the spearhead of the modified OOB. Only these large formations receive an ability to double attack. While the original game falls back on the corps level to represent a front unit of the second order, I will restructure this unit category by the majority on the division level (in the simplistic relation of 1 Army=2 Corps=4 Divisions). This kind of restructuring makes it possible to insert various up to now not considered military formations into the game.
In the forums it was discussed several times the sense of a representation of divisions in a strategy game of the current scale. Who knows a little about military organizations might well be able to understand that the deployment of divisions does not represent the "gamey" part of the present OOB, but the representation of corps and armies as operational units. A division is the smallest still independently operating large military formation. Corps and armies are pure organization units. In absence of unit stacking or (for this game rather suitable) corps/army container units, whose fight values arises from the cross section of the freely attached divisions, the deployment of operational armies is compelling inevitably not to overload the map with a flood of independent units.
To anticipate it, my Mod illustrates historically relevant units of the Waffen-SS as well as for balance reasons also units of the Red Army Guards at the division level. The introduction of a division level in my Mod brought this question even more urgently on the agenda, because these troops put out historically an increasing portion of the German armed forces. However, may a strategy game show these combat units rightly associated with considerable war crimes? In certain borders I would say: Yes! Also the German Wehrmacht have made their hands dirty on many theatres of war more than once. Same is also valid for the Red Army. Even the Western Allies have executed the one or other operation which may seem rather questionable from today's view. Of logical manner we would see only units of the Red Cross on the map at the end. But we (hopefully) do not want to enjoy any cruelty and mass murders in the game, but carry out and vary strategical-tactical decisions at a rather abstract level whose background forms the geopolitical and technical situation of the Second World War. Consequently there will be no glorification or public festivals of swastika, but "only" a historical picture of military formations. If you would like to reject the "black" units furthermore, please feel invited to simply deny this event.
Events A row of new and changed events are in planning. Exemplarily are called here the operation Arctic fox terrier as well as a manual protection of the Iranian oil wells and supply routes to the Soviet Union. An Italian adventure in Greece becomes more difficult be to be prevented and an Operation Sealion become even more demanding.
The takeover of the hybrid representation of naval forces also for the units of the air force as well as the more logical gradation of the available units in divisional formations allow a little more clear representation with the Nato symbols. Also the 3D-representation was adapted accordingly of the anew organized OOB. I would like to give you a small foretaste at the example of the already finished red army…
I successfully completed the implementation of the Red Army Guards and the Waffen-SS. In the meantime, almost all unit icons are ready. In addition, I have inserted the now manually performed Operation Countenance (including the Allied AI Offensive script). Slowly it is moving forward.
The partial very elaborate work for my mod is still deep in the transfer phase of my published SC2 Mod to the new game engine. There is still a lot of work ahead. Various events have to be adapted and inserted with extended commands. The existing SC2 graphics from the areas of bitmaps, interface and media must be converted, adapted and transferred. My mod sound files must be converted into ogg files and imported. The unit values must be adapted to the new OOB. The same applies to various AI scripts. Also the unit names of the new division level have to be collected. Then I would love to readjust the look of the game map something. Although the surface of the new strategic masterpiece has been much more modern and pleasing in its entirety, the attention to detail with regard to units, resources and landscape has been greatly abstracted in the second view. Maybe we can do something here. I would like to see what the other graphic modders will come up with. And when everything is finished and chic comes the test run and finally the release...
I did a bit of the map graphics and once made the ports. For my Mod I wanted an optics, which looks somewhat less like a "coastal battery". On Googlemaps I've selected an average port for this purpose, brought to the desired scale and adapted to the game graphics.
So did you scrap those first counter types? I thought they were awesome :( It was easy to see which units were normal and which were elites.
On the new ones you can hardly tell which ones are SS.
I would lose the pictures of soldiers/tanks etc and only have Nato symbols(atleast for ground units). Right now it's kind of a mix between 3d units and counters.. Why not have them separate?
I absolutely loved the first ones, only thing I would change would be to make the Nato symbol bigger and the helmets smaller, instead of the other way around(Not really sure why the helmets are even there?)
Anyway, good job!
(Is there any chance you will release the first version for others to use ?)
< Message edited by Mrslobodan -- 1/1/2017 9:48:23 PM >
Yes, that is - like so much else - a question of personal taste. The "old" counter I have (lazy as I am) taken over from my B.E. version for SC2. But after I had seen the beautiful creations of SIPRES, I wanted to have something similar for my new mod. Since I did not want to simply hijack these counters, I have now designed an own style. But the old as well as the new variant represent so-called "hybrids" after the example of the naval units of the vanilla version. With classical "Nato" counters both variants have little common. Regarding the units recognition value, I put this time on a classic "boardgame" design. The silhuettes symbolize the unit type. The letter shortcuts are based on the real unit name in the (modified) game. The numeric "x" or "I" abbreviation returns the unit size. In the overall picture, confusion is hardly possible any more. The "black" spelling and their own "unit activation sprites" should be sufficient to distinguish between Wehrmacht and SS units. Ultimately, I wanted to preserve a corporate identity, as it was not two different armies, but jointly operating troops of a single nation. But yes, the already completed old version will be attached as an alternative set. Agreed?
Printable Version
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Strategic Command Series >> Strategic Command WWII War in Europe >> Scenario Design and Modding >> Battlefield Europe - Elite Forces 
Battlefield Europe - Elite Forces - 
RE: Battlefield Europe - Elite Forces - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread