Scenario replayability?

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Scenario replayability? - 10/26/2017 3:55:45 PM

RedBunny

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Do CMANO replayers generally replay scenarios, or are they sort of experiences where once you 'crack it' there's not much point in replays except maybe to improve your score?

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/26/2017 4:23:42 PM

Cik

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most good scenarios can easily be played 3-4 times before you "solve" them.

even with a little randomness there are usually scenario-specific tricks that make them semi-trivial after a few playthroughs but that's not really a bad thing as far as it goes.

the hallmark of a good scenario (or one of them, i suppose) is that there are multiple ways to go through it and not every conundrum has only one solution. how many times you can play through it just depends on how lateral it is and how determined you are to get "triumph" i'd guess.

i've probably played brass drum/shamal/canary's cage at least ten times apiece, because i really like them and because i've always wanted to pull off triumph.

(in reply to RedBunny)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/26/2017 4:29:30 PM

Sniper31

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cik

most good scenarios can easily be played 3-4 times before you "solve" them.

even with a little randomness there are usually scenario-specific tricks that make them semi-trivial after a few playthroughs but that's not really a bad thing as far as it goes.

the hallmark of a good scenario (or one of them, i suppose) is that there are multiple ways to go through it and not every conundrum has only one solution. how many times you can play through it just depends on how lateral it is and how determined you are to get "triumph" i'd guess.

i've probably played brass drum/shamal/canary's cage at least ten times apiece, because i really like them and because i've always wanted to pull off triumph.

I must agree with Cik on this subject. I personally replay several of the scenarios, which often keeps me from getting to some of the newer DLC scenarios. It's just that some of the more complex scenarios which I favor, have multiple tactics to employ, many ways to attack the issues at hand. It's very similar to real world military operations in that most plans can always be refined, and most all operations can be done better. It's why in the Infantry we will rehearse a mission over and over, if we have the time, as there are so many variables to get just so.

_____________________________

"I say again, expend ALL remaining in my perimeter!" - Platoon

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(in reply to Cik)

Post #: 3

RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/26/2017 4:53:43 PM

Excroat3

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Sometimes, instead of replaying a scenario, I will alter one after the fact. For example, if I have just completed a scenario and I barely have any munitions left, I will put just one more enemy target or fighter squadron and see how my diminished forces would do. Another thing I like to do is make a save just before I make a big decision, so I can play it both ways. One example of that is in Feltan's Goodnight Irene, (SPOILERS) I simulated a US nuclear response to Iran's attack after my ships were clear of the strait. The save was made just before I launched so I could play the scenario out both ways.

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/26/2017 6:51:14 PM

HalfLifeExpert

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This is not a simple question to answer, it ultimately depends on the scenario.

Some scenarios are made in such a way that once you figure out 'the key' then replayability does become limited.

Other scenarios are quite replayable. I recently replayed USS Midway Vs Cuba after a while and got crunched.

There are even some scenarios that are designed to be quite replayable. Two come to mind at the moment, both can be found in the Community Scenario Pack an the Steam Workshop:

To Kill a Mockingbird, 1979: You are a Soviet air defenses forces commander, responsible for a specific of Soviet airspace, and there is an SR-71 coming in. You are to track it, and if given the order, shoot it down. You might get the order to fire, you might not. You may get the order to fire and then have it quickly cancelled.

Yankee Team, 1966: A routine day in the Vietnam War, you have command of US navy aircraft onboard a number of aircraft carriers. Your targets and aircraft available will be randomly determined at the outset of the scenario, so each time your targets will be different.

(in reply to Excroat3)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/27/2017 12:25:23 PM

serjames

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I will tend to tweak a scenario too once I have it open and have assessed the start position. I might add another airbase with some supporting forces (trying all the time to remain true to life on OOB's etc) Part for the fun for me is that research and getting it all ready.... Because of that I never seem to get any 1 scenario quite the same as the first time... so it's really an endless re-playability..

For instance some of the Northern inferno missions... What if (!) the TSR-2 was actually completed... Lets get a few of those down... Wow they would have been good btw.... Etc etc - It's a total sandbox really.

(in reply to HalfLifeExpert)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/27/2017 10:06:51 PM

SeaQueen

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It depends on the scenario but the ones I make and enjoy are typically not "crackable," in the sense that there's a single path to victory and all other options are either cheating by undermining some flawed assumption on the part of the scenario designer or they result in failure. I'm not a fan of scenarios where there's a single outcome and a single predetermined course of action.

Try playing a single simple scenario over and over using the same basic plan. A good example is DCAMiniEx. I like to play that one a lot. Look at your losses and expenditures from try to try. See how much it changes?

When I play for fun, I focus less on the score (I don't like how most scenario designers score their scenarios anyhow, and I often change it) and more on the exchange ratio (i.e. how many of theirs do I shoot down for every one of mine). I've had results vary everywhere from 3:1 to 7:1 in DCAMiniEx. Some of that is randomness and some of that is due to better decision making.

I do a lot of things to hopefully do a little better. Maybe I set up my DCAP stations differently? Do I have my aircraft engage targets BVR and go home or do I have them stay up until they're Winchester? Do they go to guns? How many aircraft do I put up? How many on the ground? Do I put the F-15s in front or the F-15s in back? Do I engage the enemy DCA or do I wait for them to come to me? At what range do I decide to engage? My later model AMRAAMs can shoot a little further than the early model ones. Do I shoot them at a different range and take advantage of it, or do I use them all at the same range for a Pk advantage on the newer ones? How many do I shoot? If I shoot more I get a better net Pk, but if I shoot less I can stay up longer.

The fact that you have all these "knobs" to twist means you should have a lot of room for variations and experimentation. A good scenario presents you with a complex problem and a lot of different trade offs to make, and so there needn't always be one path to victory.

quote:

ORIGINAL: RedBunny
Do CMANO replayers generally replay scenarios, or are they sort of experiences where once you 'crack it' there's not much point in replays except maybe to improve your score?

< Message edited by SeaQueen -- 10/29/2017 5:23:06 PM >

(in reply to RedBunny)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/28/2017 6:11:16 PM

RedBunny

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Thanks for the responses. I'm not sure the full on CMANO is for me but I am interested in the campaigns in Shifting Sands so I'll probably go for it even if those particular scenarios aren't real replayable. As someone new to wargaming the technology featured in the game I suspect they'll be replayable enough for me. I've seen some useful game play videos but I'm sure I'll come back with some basic questions.

(in reply to RedBunny)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/28/2017 9:17:12 PM

kevinkins

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RedBunny - You might just become "addicted" to Command because of its replayability. Be forewarned.

Kevin

(in reply to RedBunny)

Post #: 9

RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/29/2017 5:32:17 PM

SeaQueen

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From: Washington D.C.
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I think the interesting bit, as you experiment with different tactics, isn't the individual technologies involved so much as how do you use them in combination? For example, you've got cruise missiles, decoys, ARMs, penetrating GPS guided bombs, laser guided bombs and cluster bombs. Your mission might be to draw down some SAMs and strike some highly defended target. Each of those weapons might fit on any of multiple aircraft. How do you fit it all together to hit the things you need to hit? Most likely there's lots of different ways to load up the aircraft, and parse them out among different target sets. How do you time their arrival on target so that they make the most impact? There's probably not a single way to do it. Play with lots of different ideas and see what works and what doesn't and why. Very often you might find that the issue isn't technology at all but the way you're doing things with it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: RedBunny

Thanks for the responses. I'm not sure the full on CMANO is for me but I am interested in the campaigns in Shifting Sands so I'll probably go for it even if those particular scenarios aren't real replayable. As someone new to wargaming the technology featured in the game I suspect they'll be replayable enough for me. I've seen some useful game play videos but I'm sure I'll come back with some basic questions.

(in reply to RedBunny)

Post #: 10

RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/30/2017 12:10:13 AM

HaughtKarl

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SeaQueen, are your missions available via the Steam workshop? I recall enjoying one of your missions for Dangerous Waters in which the player had to hunt for boomers under the ice pack.

(in reply to SeaQueen)

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RE: Scenario replayability? - 10/30/2017 12:01:14 PM

SeaQueen

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From: Washington D.C.
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I do not post my scenarios on account of my job. I'd hate to get in trouble for something in my scenario being considered too similar to something I might deal with at work. So.. rather than risk it, I post AARs for community scenarios I enjoy and philosophize about scenario design.

quote:

ORIGINAL: HaughtKarl

SeaQueen, are your missions available via the Steam workshop? I recall enjoying one of your missions for Dangerous Waters in which the player had to hunt for boomers under the ice pack.

(in reply to HaughtKarl)

Post #: 12