Voyage of the Bismarck is released.

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Order of Battle : World War II >> Voyage of the Bismarck is released.

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Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/2/2018 3:50:14 AM

bru888

Posts: 132
Joined: 1/10/2016
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Voyage of the Bismarck is released. See what you think. Bear in mind one thing: Although I tried to be accurate as to ships and positions, I had to take some artistic liberties for the sake of balanced gameplay versus the AI.

As straight history, I played it over and over again and, frankly, the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen had no chance. To send those two ships out alone was suicidal, at least in hindsight, when faced with the might of the British fleet that pursued them.

So, in this semi-fictional scenario there are some escorts; not warships, but some support. There are some specialisations added which probably are not historically accurate. Above all, I provide both ships with a temporary shield of "enhanced armor" which, believe me, is not infinite and can be used up quickly.

Anyway, I was finally able to beat the scenario on middle difficulty so, out to the showroom it goes! :)

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< Message edited by bru888 -- 4/2/2018 10:07:12 PM >

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/3/2018 1:13:16 AM

bru888

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Joined: 1/10/2016
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New version 1.1 uploaded:

- Fixed issue where Prinz Eugen escape messages were doubled up.
- Scaled back the "enhanced armor" effect to make the scenario more difficult to win.
- "Enhanced Armor" is now explained to the player the first time it works for either Bismarck or Prinz Eugen:

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/4/2018 2:44:37 AM

bru888

Posts: 132
Joined: 1/10/2016
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New version 1.2 uploaded:

- Dialed down enhanced armor effect even further to restore gameplay balance.
- Fixed popup message error in which Admiral Lutjens refers to his "supply ships" instead of "support ships."
- Added two historical events for a bit of flavor.

I talk more about this scenario in my thread on the Slitherine forum but I will add here that I believe this is the best one that I have put together so far.

< Message edited by bru888 -- 1/4/2018 2:47:16 AM >

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/4/2018 4:13:25 PM

bru888

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Joined: 1/10/2016
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New version 1.3 uploaded:

- Added British (and Canadian) AA guns in port cities.
- Corrected an instance of omitting "HMS" in British warship names.

I figured the AA guns would make sense in that the player should not be able to chase convoys all the way to ports by air with impunity, same as by sea. Hopefully that is the last omission of "HMS" (by the way, I read someplace that the Kriegsmarine did not append such acronyms or titles to their warship names, hence they don't appear for Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, and the other German ships).

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/6/2018 2:41:25 AM

bru888

Posts: 132
Joined: 1/10/2016
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New version 1.4 uploaded:

- Fixed a couple of German language spelling errors.
- Applied authentic names to all cargo and transport ships.
- Applied authentic names to all British J-class escort destroyers.
- Provided a list of convoy ships including data sources in the Information folder.
- Included "Voyage of the Bismarck Scenario Playing Tips" in the Information folder.
- Created a module by which escort destroyers will now stay with convoys until released.

Here's some background on the last item: With each Allied convoy, there are two destroyer escorts. The problem was, you cannot just have the destroyers sailing along with the cargo and transport ships in one AI team. Why? Because destroyers have 4 MP and cargo and transport ships 3MP. If you lump them together and assign the AI team a destination, the destroyers pull ahead and leave the other ships behind.

My initial solution for this was to have each pair of escorts placed in their own AI team and assign them the job of protecting one cargo or transport ship in their convoy. However, that worked only until the assigned ship was sunk. At that point, the destroyers would become idle and ping around with their sonars. What I have done to keep them on the job is to daisy-chain their assignments so that as each cargo or transport ship is sunk, they are assigned to guard another ship in the convoy. Only if all the cargo and transport ships in their convoy are sunk are they then released to seek and destroy the enemy (you).

< Message edited by bru888 -- 1/6/2018 2:50:56 AM >

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/17/2018 4:11:07 AM

rangeview

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Joined: 1/17/2018
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This sounds fantastic, how can I get this game please?

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Post #: 6

RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 1/17/2018 11:47:57 AM

Erik2

Posts: 786
Joined: 11/2/2000
From: Oslo, Norway
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It is available on the Slitherine OOB scenario vault.
Last post in this thread:
Single Player scenarios

Scenario Design Forum with a lot of custom single player and multiplayer scenarios:
http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=374

< Message edited by Erik2 -- 1/17/2018 11:48:46 AM >

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Post #: 7

RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 3/25/2018 9:22:10 AM

sonofdavros

Posts: 96
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Dorset, UK
Status: offline

Bru, firstly I must say a huge thank you for developing these scenarios. Since playing the boardgame �Dreadnought� when I was a teenager, through to Avalon Hill's �Bismark�, I have always dreamed of a PC game that could cover such naval encounters, where evasion and actually finding enemy vessels in the vastness of the ocean could be replicated.

Now, I speak only as a player, keen for a good historical representation of these scenarios, completely unaware of what can and cannot be achieved with the scenario builder, so please bear with me, but I have some initial observations / suggestions, having played the Bismarck scenario.

The vessel speeds did not feel quite right to me. Bismarck could make 30 knots, but in game, she lagged well behind Prinz Eugen, which was only 2 knots faster. In 1941, most convoys could only make 8 knots, but in game, Bismarck struggled to catch them. Although on paper capable in excess of 30 knots, in the heavy Atlantic seas, destroyers could not keep up with capital ships going full tilt, e.g., the six I-class destroyers with Hood and PoW (my great uncle was on board HMS Icarus!) got left behind when they steamed to intercept the Germans.

The atrocious weather also played a major factor in visibility and detection. Naval radar was still in its infancy, and very few ships had effective sets � HMS Suffolk was one of them. However, given the constant U-boat / submarine threat in the Atlantic, ships would always zig-zag, so even Suffolk could not keep in contact with the Germans. So, in this scenario, spotting and contacting the enemy should be much more difficult than normal, with positions usually given away by radio transmissions. Maybe I'm the only person who would like this to be the case � the suspense of it all is as exciting as the action, for me!

And is there any way that the Atlantic map could be made even bigger? :)

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 3/25/2018 5:54:51 PM

bru888

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Thanks again for your interest in this stuff. No attempt or claim is made that any of it is absolutely historically accurate for two reasons:

1) Constraints of game design. (For example, battleship speed is set by the game designer there is no "sea weather" effect in OOB yet. Maybe someday.)
2) When scenario designing, much thought must be put into whether it is FUN to play. If the scenario is absolutely accurate, then it tends to be just a rehash of actual history. I mean, did the real Bismarck have any chance at all?

And number 2) leads to my response on the size of the map. I've been criticized for making my maps too large, as a matter of fact! I remember one person over at Slitherine saying that it's too much unit moving and too little combat in this scenario. I beg to differ; I like to think I balanced the two. But a bigger map means many more turns of just moving units around and that can become tedious and boring.

Designing this stuff to be accurate, playable, and fun is not easy, believe me!

< Message edited by bru888 -- 3/25/2018 5:57:45 PM >

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 3/26/2018 5:04:55 PM

sonofdavros

Posts: 96
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Dorset, UK
Status: offline

Thanks, Bru.

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 3/29/2018 7:47:16 PM

ringoblood

Posts: 438
Joined: 3/10/2018
From: USA
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Erik2, thank you for the info about how to get mods/scenarios for Order of Battle, bc Im getting bored replaying the official stuff over and over and waiting for new official stuff so thank you. And Bru888, thank you for all the hard work you have put into these mods, thank you.

Josh

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RE: Voyage of the Bismarck is released. - 3/29/2018 10:00:42 PM

bru888

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Joined: 1/10/2016
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Our pleasure, I am sure. I have another one coming soon and Erik, well, he seems to crank out a couple of scenarios every day.