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Tactics -> RE: Regarding mods (2/19/2007 10:53:08 PM)
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Found it -- Have fun.........
Introduction
The original premise behind the "Realred" project was to create a more realistic set (or version) of game data that met a minimum level of historical accuracy while maintaining gameplay balance within the CC3: The Russian Front Game System. While there are a wide variety of sources on WW2 history, these sources all succumb to a basic set of "facts" regarding armor thickness, slope, engine performance, speed, etc.
Early on in the design process of Realred, it was realized that in order to fully address game play balance, a fundamental flaw in the teams design needed to be corrected: that of historical realism. The following is a final summary of what Realred has attempted, and what it has accomplished.
Historical Realism, Accuracy and the Teams Tables
Several historical imbalances were addressed when creating a more historical force mix for both the German side and the Russian side in CC3. To properly understand a subtle weakness in the developer provided teams, players must realize that there is a clear difference in the design concept of the German team mix and the Russian team mix. This design mix is in part related to the "doctrine" that each army was designed around during WW2.
In CC3, the German player is presented a force mix of teams from 3 separate branches of unit. Heer (regular) troops, SS troops and Fallschirm troops. Historically speaking each military branch often competed with the others for equipment during refit and in some cases actually had special weapons manufactured entirely for their cadre. Being in one branch or the other was a process of where the soldier was assigned upon entering service and only in the very rarest of cases were branch transfers allowed.
Unlike the German Army, the Soviet Army was patterned around an "experience" concept. All units were considered normal and equal. As units gained in combat experience, they would be promoted to "Guards" status and ultimately to "Desant" status to indicate their level of expertise. Guards and Desant units almost always had first choice for refit and reissue when new equipment became available.
To properly outfit the German teams list, Atomic had to make use of near 90% of the available rows in the GETeams table. This generally meant a literal overlap of equipment with each branch having the availability of the same tank or gun. In the attempt to provide the players with the ability to fight the war as one of three branches, Atomic made a critical error. A player is only allowed to requisition SS or Fallschirm troops once the "human" player reaches a certain level of success. Any experienced player will quickly find that it is impossible to achieve the experience necessary in 1941 to request SS of FJ troops. Likewise, it is a rare player who excels such that they can request Fallschirm troops in 1942. In the attempt to create a generous team mix, Atomic put into the tables, teams that a player has no hope of purchasing. Again, things like 1941 SS and FJ units.
The Russian teams mix interesting enough suffers from the opposite problem. Due to the linear nature of experience and promotion within the game, the requisition of Guards and Desant units works quite well. However instead of using the wide number of team slots possible, Atomic developed a "core" of regular units, then cloned them for Guards and Desant status; stopping at a force mix of only half of the available slots possible.
And surprising enough, where Atomic made a real effort to provide "fun" units (even at the expense of historical accuracy) for the Germans, Atomic likewise failed to provide some of the more interesting teams and units available to the Russians during WW2; including a wider variety of lendlease vehicles (beyond the 2 currently included).
Before we discuss this correction of historical realism, we will outline the changes in the base tables in the "Realred" data.
Solactn.txt - The Soldiers Actions Table
* Solactn.txt required no discernable adjustments or changes and has been left intact in the original form.
GENames.txt - The German Names Table
Column Changes
* GENames.txt is a single column of German family surnames. While technically correct, many of the names provided seemingly appeared "foreign" in spelling. With the assistance of a native German speaker, each name in this table was checked for spelling and a proper German spelling using the German alphabet provided.
RUNames.txt - The Russian Names Table
Column Changes
* RUNames.txt is a single column of Russian family surnames. While technically correct, many of the names provided seemingly appeared "foreign" in spelling. With the assistance of a native Russian speaker, each name in this table was checked for spelling and a proper Russian spelling using the Latin alphabet provided.
Elements.txt - The Terrain and Associated Values Table
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits.
* Column D - Cover Prone - Values for terrain types were increased marginally to provide better protective value for infantry.
* Column H - Protection Prone - Values for terrain types were increased marginally to provide better protective value for infantry.
* Column AC - Bog Chance - Values for terrain types were increase marginally so that armor is more affected when trying to move through hindering terrain such as woods.
Soldiers.txt - The Individual Soldier Type Table
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits. A total of 25 new soldier types have been added to fill out various teams and vehicles in a more historical manner.
* Column A - Description - Descriptions have been adjusted to reflect a more "correct" name for the soldier type.
Row Changes
* Row 10 - 50mm Mortar RU - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version for mortar use.
* Row 16 - 82mm Mortar RU - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version for mortar use.
* Row 17 - 8cm Mortar GE - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version for mortar use.
* Row 38 - Panzerbchse39 GE - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version.
* Row 39 - PzB39/GewPzG/MP40 GE - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version of the PzB39. HE rounds are now HEAT rounds. Armed the soldier with an MP40 instead of pistol for backup.
* Row 40 - PzB39/GewPzG/MP40 GE - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version of the PzB39. HE rounds are now HEAT rounds. Armed the soldier with an MP40 instead of pistol for backup.
* Row 41 - PTRD RU - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version.
* Row 60 - 50mm Mortar GE - Ammo counts adjusted to reflect the new clip version for mortar use.
Additional Rows Inserted
* Row 66 - Crew MG34 - GE -This soldier carries the crew supplied MG34 when the vehicle is abandoned (provided he isn't killed).
* Row 67 - Vehicle Crew - RU - This soldier is a special crewmember for Russian tank destroyers only. They were armed with SMGs and hand grenades for self defense in the event they had to abandon the tank destroyer.
* Row 68 - Team Leader - GE - This soldier is a special crewmember for German armored vehicles and heavy weapons teams. German armored vehicles were provided an MP40 as part of the crew personal weapons complement. The MP40 is assigned specifically to the crew leader with a hand grenade.
* Row 69-73 - Gun Crew - GE&RU - Additional soldiers with varying weapons for gun crews
* Row 74-75 - Team Leader - GE&RU - Armed with Stg44 or PPS43 for late war teams
* Row 76 - Gun Crew - GE - MP40 armed gun crew
* Row 77-80 - Gewehr.43 - GE - Soldier armed with G.43 and panzerfausts
* Row 81 - MP40/Grenade Bundle - GE - Stosstruppen Soldier
* Row 82-86 - Team Leader - GE&RU - A variety of other team leader and weapons combinations
* Row 87-88 - Vehicle Crew - GE - Vehicle Crew members with rifle or mp40
* Row 89 - Panzerwurfmine - GE - Mid war soldier with Kar98 and Panzerwurfmine
* Row 90- EfmW.46 - GE - Late war soldier armed with G.43 and EfmW.46
* Row 91 - PPSh41/M95 - RU - Russian Tank Destroyer Leader
* Row 92 - Armored PPS43 - RU - Russian Heavy Assault Engineers
* Row 93 - Armored PPSh41/Molotov - RU - Russian Heavy Assault Engineers
* Row 94 - Armored Team Leader - RU - Russian Heavy Assault Engineer
* Row 95 - Armored Demo Charge - RU - Russian Heavy Assault Engineer
* Row 96 - Armored PPSh41/RPG43 - RU - Russian Heavy Assault Engineer
* Row 97 - M1938/RPG43 - RU - Basic Ground Soldier
* Row 98 - PPSH41/RPG43 - RU - Basic Ground Soldier
* Row 99 - PTRD-41 - GE - Soldier carrying captured Russian AT Rifle
Weapons.txt - The Individual Weapon Type Table
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits.
* Column A - Description - Descriptions have been adjusted to reflect a more "correct" name for the weapon type. This included putting the Russian designation on main guns to insure matching of correct gun to vehicle.
* Column G - Primary Target - Primary targets were verified and corrected where needed.
* Column H - Valid Target - Valid targets were verified and corrected where needed.
* Column I - Chamber Reload Time - These were verified. Mortars and AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect more realistic rates.
* Column J - Clip Reload Time - These were verified. Mortars and AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect more realistic rates.
* Column K - Fire Time - These were verified. Mortars and AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect more realistic rates.
* Column L - Setup Time - These were verified. Mortars and AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect more realistic rates.
* Column M - Clip Rounds - These were verified. Mortars and AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect "sets" of fire as opposed to individual round firing.
* Column O - Weapon Weight - These were originally provided only for personal weapons. Most main guns have their dead weight now included however this field is only used when calculating weight for a specific soldier.
* Column P - Clip Weight - These were originally provided only for personal weapons. Most main guns now include the calculated clip weight for the weapon (side note: this provides an interesting perspective as to just how heavy these main gun rounds were in real life)
* Column U - Bayonet use - These were verified and corrected where needed for small arms weapons.
* Column AA through AE - Blast Size - These were verified to insure conformity through all caliber's.
* Column AF through AJ - Blast Radius - These were verified to insure conformity through all caliber's.
* Column AK through AO - Minimum Range - Mortars (except 120mm) was adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic (actual weapon) values. 120mm mortars had min range tweaked down by 30% so as to not remove them from the game due to range problems. All main guns had minimum ranges adjusted. Original files provided only a 5 meter minimum range which is unrealistic. All main guns under 60mm in size now have a 10-meter minimum range. All main guns between 60mm and 120mm in size have a 15-meter minimum range. All main guns over 120mm in size now have a 20-meter minimum range. This has corrected the problem of the AI moving a tank up to a building and firing the main gun directly into the living room. All coax and crew machineguns now have a minimum range of 8 meters. All bow and rear machineguns have a range of 4 meters. This simulates the height of the weapon on the vehicle and improves infantry survivability. It also prevents tanks from doing the same to buildings with the machineguns. All other personal and light crew weapons were verified to insure consistency between the values. AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values. Rifle grenades were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values.
* Column AU through AY - Base Accuracy - Vehicle mounted machineguns base accuracy was reduced by approximately 25% to represent the restricted field of fire these weapons had due to sight limitations for all vehicle mounted machineguns. Scoped sniper rifle base accuracy was reduced by 4% for all sniper rifles. Mortar base accuracy was reduced by 10% for all mortars.
* Column AZ through BD - Point Blank Range - Mortars was adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic (actual weapon) values. AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values.
* Column BE through BI - Close Range - Mortars were adjusted throughout the table to be 1-meter over Point Blank Range. The purpose of this was to reduce accuracy by requiring all mortars to fire rounds in the close range setting for purposes of "spreading out" the rounds inside the circular area of effect. Only the 50mm and 80mm mortars are affected by this as 120mm mortars are off the maps at this range. AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values. Rifle grenades were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values.
* Column BJ through BN - Medium Range - Mortars was adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic (actual weapon) values. Only 50mm mortars are affected as all large mortars are off the map at these range settings. AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values. Rifle grenades were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values.
* Column BO through BS - Long Range - Mortars were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic (actual weapon) values although this doesn't affect any of the mortars in the game as they are off the map at these range settings. AT Rifles were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values. Rifle grenades were adjusted throughout the table to reflect historic values.
* Column BT through CM - Kill Ratings - AT Rifles was adjusted throughout the table to reflect better game balance values. In addition, all AP and HEAT values were researched and now have the historically correct value in place.
* Column CN through DG - Blast Ratings - AT Rifles was adjusted throughout the table to reflect better game balance values.
* Column DH - Weapon Sounds - AT Rifles were adjusted to sound like a single shot 20mm. This way, they have a clearly different audible during game play.
Row Changes - All German 20mm weapons were combined into a single weapon. All Russian 45mm weapons were combined into a single weapon. In both cases the performance was near exact and this freed up the extra rows to add more weapon systems. 15 original weapons were either combined or removed. 22 new weapon systems added.
* Row 26 - 100mm BS-3 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 36 - 105mm leFH18 GE - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 42 - 76mm E-2 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 52 - Dual 2cm FlaK 38 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 58 - 15cm L/12 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 77 - s.PzB.41 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 78 - 7.5cm L/43 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 80 - Pzb.39 GE - In addition to clip and reload time changes, weapon was changed to remove blast values for AP rounds.
* Row 81 - PTRD-41 RU - In addition to clip and reload time changes, weapon was changed to remove blast values for AP rounds.
* Row 82 - Pzb.39/GewPzG30 GE - In addition to clip and reload time changes, weapon was changed to remove blast values for AP rounds. The GewPzG also is represented as a HEAT round now (which is what it was).
* Row 83 - Pzb.39/GewPzG60 GE - In addition to clip and reload time changes, weapon was changed to remove blast values for AP rounds. The GewPzG also is represented as a HEAT round now (which is what it was).
* Row 86 - 37mm AA - Any - For the Ostwind and the M17 MGMC - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 91 - RPG.43 - RU - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 92 - .30 Cal AA - RU - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 100 - 8.1cm PAW 600 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 103 - 6 lbr (UK) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 104 - 37mm (USA) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 112 - 75mm M3 L/37 (USA) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 113 - PTRS-41 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 115 - MG.42 AA - GE - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 116 - Panzerwurfmine 1 - GE - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 117 - EfmW.46 - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 118 - 2 lbr (UK) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 119 - 76.2mm L-11 for T-34 turrets - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 120 - M1891/30 (Scoped) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
* Row 121 - 7.62 FK 296(r) - this weapon replaces the weapon previously in this slot
Additional Rows Inserted
* Row 122 - 76.2mm KT-26
* Row 123 - Crew MG.34
* Row 124 -76.2mm F-34 - A duplicated line of row 16 specifically with reduced reload times for use on the T-34 tank
* Row 125 - Nagant M95 Revolver - The TT33 pistol replaced the Nagant M95 revolver as the standard issue, military sidearm prior to WW2. It was found however that the TT33 barrel would not fit through the firing ports of Russian tanks, so Russian tank crews were forced to use the Nagant M95 as a standard crew sidearm. The M95 revolver continued to be produced up to the end of 1945 (information provided by Eric Nagant, great grandson of Leon Nagant, developer of the M95 revolver). The Nagant M95 is patterned off of the TT33 with reduced stopping power, a slower reload rate but marginally improve base accuracy.
* Row 126 - MG.42 Coax - GE
* Row 127 - 5cm FlaK 41 - GE
* Row 128 - 7.5cm RFK 43 - GE
Vehicles.txt - The Individual Vehicle Type Table
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits. Armor values and slope angles were verified with the best available sources on hand. 7 original vehicles were either combined or removed. 37 new vehicles systems added.
* Column A - Description - Descriptions have been adjusted to reflect a more "correct" name for the vehicle.
* Column F - Vehicle Type - Vehicle types were verified and corrected where needed.
* Columns G through I - Hull Guns type - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns J through L - Hull Guns Exposed to Fire - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns M through O - Hull Guns Fire Angle - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns P through AD - Hull Guns Ammo (clips) - Ammunition values were verified and # of clips corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns BI through BK - Turret Guns Type - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources. 1 new weapon type representing a machinegun for German AFVs is now in use on those tank destroyers that carried them.
* Columns BL through BN - Turret Guns Exposed to Fire - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns BO through BQ - Turret Guns Fire Angle - Hull gun types were verified and corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Columns BR through CF - Turret Guns Ammo (clips) - Ammunition values were verified and # of clips corrected where needed using historical sources.
* Column DI - Turret Rotation Rate - These were re-calculated using Atomic's formula against actual timed values provided from de-classified post war records.
* Column DN - Vehicle Acceleration - These were re-calculated using Atomic's formula against actual vehicle tonnage and actual vehicle engine horsepower using manufacturing records.
* Column DQ - Vehicle Size - These were re-calculated using Atomic's formula.
* Column DT - Number of Crew - These were verified and corrected where needed.
* Column DX - Has Gyro - These were verified and corrected where needed.
* Column DY - Has Schrzen - These were verified and corrected where needed.
* Column EA - Ground Pressure - This is sort of a subject field. Data was checked to see that it was applied consistently throughout all records.
* Columns EN though EP - Vehicle Width, Length & Height - These were verified and corrected where needed rounding all fractional values either up or down (this happens to be an integer field for some reason). These affect the calculation of Vehicle Size in column DQ
* Column EQ - Max Speed Entry - Determination could not be made as to how this field is calculated.
Row Changes
* Row 9 - Churchill (UK) - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 24 - M17 MGMC - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 55 - White Scout Car - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 57 - BA-64 - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 58 - IS-1 - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 68 - Ostwind - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 70 - 8.1cm PAW 600 - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 76 - Valentine (UK) - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 77 - M3 Lee - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 80 - Wirblewind - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 84 - 122mm M-37 - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 85 - Matilda (UK) - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
* Row 88 - 152mm M-38 - this vehicle replaces the vehicle previously in this slot
Additional Rows Inserted
* Row 92 - ISU122 - RU - patterned using the SU122 entry
* Row 93 - KBT-7a - RU - patterned using the BT-7 entry
* Row 94 - T34/76b - RU - patterned using the T-34/76c entry
* Row 95 - OT-133 - RU - patterned using the T-26c entry
* Row 96 - KV-8s - RU - patterned using the KV-1a entry
* Row 97 - KV-85 - RU - patterned using the KV-1a entry
* Row 98 - BT-7A - RU - patterned using the BT-7 entry
* Row 99 - SU-76i - RU - patterned using the StuG IIIg entry but mounts the Russian 76mm gun
* Row 100 - Wespe - GE -patterned using the Marder III Auf H entry but mounts the leFH 18 howitzer
* Row 101 - Panzerbefehlswagen I - GE - patterned using the Panzer II icon
* Row 102 - AufPz 38(t) - GE - patterned using the Pz 38(t) entry but mounts the SdKfz 234/1 turret.
* Row 103 - PzJager 38(t) - GE - patterned using the Marder III Auf H entry but mounts the 76.2mm Russian gun
* Row 104 - Komsomolyets - RU - patterned using the T-60 hull minus the turret
* Row 105 - SdKfz 250/9 - GE - patterned using the SdKfz 250/1 hull and the SdKfz 234/1 turret.
* Row 106 - Flammpanzer III F1 - GE -patterned using the Panzer III H hull and turret.
* Row 107 - Panzer IV H - GE -patterned using the Panzer IV J hull and turret.
* Row 108 - StuGIV - GE -patterned using the StuH 42 hull
* Row 109 - T-28e - RU - patterned using the KV1 hull and T26 turret
* Row 110 - SdKfz 234/3 - GE - patterned using the SdKfz 234/1 hull and turret
* Row 111 - StuG III F1 - GE - patterned using the StuG III G hull
* Row 112 - 100mm BS-3 - RU - patterned using the 88mm ATG
* Row 113 - SU57 - RU - patterned using the M3 hull and the SdKfz 234/1 turret
* Row 114 - StuH 43 - GE - patterned using the Pz 4D hull and turret
* Row 115 - Bison 15cm s.IG 33/1 aus GW 38(t) - GE - patterned using the Czech 38t hull and Pz II turret
* Row 116 - 2.8cm s.PzB.41 - GE - patterned using the 37mm ATG
* Row 117 - KV-1e - RU - patterned using the KV-1c hull and turret
* Row 118 - Bren Universal Carrier - RU - patterned using the T-60 hull minus the turret
* Row 119 - 2cm FlaK 38 - GE - patterned using 20mm cannon and 37mm gun icons
* Row 120 - 3.7cm FlaK 37 - GE - patterned using 37mm gun icons
* Row 121 - 5cm FlaK 41 - GE - patterned using 50mm ATG icons
GETeams.txt - The German Teams Table
Research into the GETeams.txt table has identified that there is an upper limit of 250 rows on this table. Adding any more units beyond row 250 causes a table overload error and Close Combat 3 will not execute. Unless the table space were somehow increased to a larger value (say 300 rows instead of 250) addition of any more units can only occur by removing existing units. The ramifications of this include: throwing the Atomic provided scenarios out of kilter by having them use replaced equipment instead of equipment the scenario was designed for, as well as throwing out of kilter any upgrade paths that may have relied upon the removed unit. Minimization of replacing teams was attempted to prevent this problem
Historical Realism within GETeams
A historical imbalance was addressed regarding the German teams as presented in the original data set of Close Combat 3: The Russian Front. This is in reference to the use of German Fallshirm units as available teams. While Fallshirm units did historically fight on the Russian Front, their contribution was for the most part very limited and restricted pretty exclusively to the last year of the war during the defense of the German motherland.
The German player in CC3, already has use of elite troops in the form of SS units so providing another set of widely available elite units, as a third branch of military service, was in general felt to be overkill on the part of supply and requisition. A general consensus was felt that to bring the game back into historical balance, those units identified as Fallshirm were converted to Luftwaffe, which outside of the Hermann Goring Division, were low quality auxiliary troops. Luftwaffe ground units in fact served widely on the Russian Front, often being sacrificed in the wake of saving more valuable units from destruction.
Luftwaffe units therefore replace the Fallshirm units as lower quality troops for the German player. It is not out of historical context that they have some limited armor as the Herman Goring Panzer Division did exist and served on the Eastern Front during the latter part of the war. This also reduces a potential tendency of a German player to again wind up with purely elite troops based off of a Fallshirm soldier base; which participated primarily in other theaters of combat during the war. The Atomic provided Fallshirm units have been renamed to Luftwaffe and experience; morale and infantry issued weapons reduced appropriately.
A second, less important concern was addressed. This pertains to the structure of leaders as used within CC3. In practice there were no differences between command teams in 1941 and 1944, with exception possibly of the personal arms the command team might have carried. What is important is that SS units did in fact answer to their own leader staff at the Company level. The German leader structure has been reworked to allow for elite commanders under the SS designation. These would be more prominent at the end of the war as well as cost more for a player to purchase.
Finally, the last concern is regarding the ahistorical nature of certain units. While they are "fun" to play with, the Panzer 4D Raumminenpanzer and FlammHetzer never fought on the Russian front. In fact, the Raumminenpanzer was never built at all, only a single prototype constructed for tests. The FlammHetzer was a conversion of damaged Hetzers into a flamethrower variant. By war's end, only 20 conversions had occurred and all 20 vehicles served on the Western Front against the Americans and British. This is documented in a wide variety of references. Accordingly, these vehicles/teams have been removed from play. In addition, The Wurfrahmen infantry support halftrack and German 120mm mortar were deemed unusable for the exact same reason that Atomic has described in the past the failure to include specific Artillery vehicles. The size of the maps in CC3 precludes any reasonable attempt at using long distance indirect fire. The Wurfrahmen fired a 280mm rocket to a range of some 6000m. The minimum range on the 120mm mortar is 475m. So in order to fire the rocket on a CC3 map, the Wurfrahmen would have to lower the launching crate to near "point blank" proportions to hit a target under 500m. The problem is that intervening obstacles would prevent this from occurring. The Wurfrahmen, likewise, has been removed from GETeams. . Likewise, only on the longest of maps could a 120mm mortar so it has been removed as well.
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits. 30 German teams were removed from play for a variety of reasons, mostly related to either ahistorical problems or inability to purchase them through the requisition system. 40 new teams have been created. Only those added teams will be listed.
* Column A - Name - this is the name used during game play. All were standardized to the abbreviated nomenclature for the vehicle or a common team description
* Column C - Full Name - this is the full descriptive name that is seen during the requisition screen. It has been translated to as near the correct German description as was used historically.
* Column G - Value - it was learned that this column is no longer used. As a result (to prevent confusion) all values were set to 0 to reflect the non-use status.
* Column M - Winter Equipped - Many of these were set to a value of -1. This field is used in a 0 = false, 1 = true manner. Analysis identified that although a -1 value would work, to insure data integrity, those records in error with a -1 value should have in fact been a 1. These records were corrected.
* Column P through Y - Soldier List - Vehicle crew counts were verified for accuracy and corrected where discovered in error. In addition, German armored vehicles had the column P soldier replaced with that of the new Vehicle Crew Leader from Soldiers.txt to provide the MP40 and grenades for the vehicle crews personal defense. Certain German armored vehicles also possessed an MG.34 inside the vehicle for crew personal protection in the event the crew had to abandon the vehicle. Lw teams that had the FG42 were changed to another weapon as the FG42 was only issued to Fallshirm units. The last crewmember of each of these particular vehicles has been changed to the Crew MG.34 from the soldiers.txt table so that they take the MG.34 with them upon abandoning the vehicle.
* Column Z through AI - Soldier Type - Vehicle crew counts were verified for accuracy and corrected where discovered in error.
* Column AK through AM - Upgrade Path - The upgrade paths were analyzed to verify that upgrading was performing correctly.
* Column AN through BC - Rarity - used to determine what is available for purchase during requisition time. Rarity was seriously out of balance with games winding up as pure armor battles by mid 1943. A weighted, scaled system was researched using Advanced Squad Leader rules. The new rarity system actually forces the computer AI to buy more infantry type units due to their restricted availability to both sides during campaign play.
* Column BD - Minefield Clearing - Many of these were set to a value of -1. This field is used in a 0 = false, 1 = true manner. Analysis identified that although a -1 value would work, to insure data integrity, those records in error with a -1 value should have in fact been a 1. These records were corrected.
* Column BE - Detailed Description - This is seen when you push the details button on the requisition screen to find out a little information about the unit being reviewed. It was proofed for spelling and errors corrected where found.
Additional Teams Added
Flammpanzer III F1
StuH 43 Brummb„r
Panzerabwehrtrupp Pzb.39
Panzerabwehrtrupp PzB.783(r)
2.8cm s.PzB.41 Heavy AT Rifle
SdKfz 250/9 Recon Halftrack
8.1cm PAW 600 AT Rocket
Stosstrupp (Early War) - Heavy Recon Squad
Stosstrupp (Mid War)
Stosstrupp (Late War)
Panzerabwehrtrupp (with panzerfausts)
Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth troops)
Aufklarungspanzer 38(t)
Panzer IVH Tank
PzH 18/3 Wespe
Marder III H Tank Destroyer
SdKfz 234/3 Armored Car
StuG III F1 Tank Destroyer
StuG IV Tank Destroyer
12.2cm K 390(r) Field Howitzer
15.2cm KH 433(r) Field Howitzer
Panzerbefehlswagen 1 Command Tank
Panzerbefehlswagen VI Tiger Command Tank
Lw Panzerabwehrtrupp PzB.39
7.5cm RFK 43
SS 7.5cm RFK 43
Ostwind
SS Panzer IVH Tank
SS PzH 18/3 Wespe
SS SdKfz 234/3 Armored Car
SS StuG III F1 Tank Destroyer
SS StuG IV Tank Destroyer
SS Panzerabwehrtrupp (with panzerfausts)
SS Befehlshaber Platoon Leader
SS Zugfuhrer Group Leader
SS SdKfz 251/1 Command Halftrack
SS Panzerbefehlswagen III Command Tank
SS Panzerbefehlswagen IV Command Tank
SS Panzerbefehlswagen V Panther Command Tank
SS Panzerbefehlswagen VI Tiger Command Tank
Wirblewind
Pioniere
Sturmpioniere
SS Pioniere
SS Sturmpioniere
Bison s.IG 33/1 aus GW 38(t)
2cm FlaK 36
SS 2cm Flak 36
3.7cm FlaK 37
SS 3.7cm FlaK 37
5cm FlaK 41
SS 5cm FlaK 41
Panzerabwehrtrupp (Minen)
SS Panzerabwehrtrupp (Minen)
Notes and Comments
There are only two things that prevent the realistic use of additional vehicles within the GETeams.txt team list.
Lack of table space. This has already previously been addressed.
Lack of usable icons. All of the currently added units make use of existing icons within the game with some degree of realism. There is even a degree of flexibility for putting different turrets on different hulls as evidenced with the successful creation of the AufPz 38(t). This isn't a problem for the Germans as they built a wide variety of vehicles based on common hull designs.
Currently there is no means for inserting additional icon sets into either the tanks.zfx or guns.zfx files. Until such time, use of existing icons sets is the only choice for the CC3 editor.
RUTeams.txt - The Russian Teams Table
It is assumed that the RUTeams.txt table is limited to the same number of 250 rows as in GETeams.txt. As there were not the number of vehicle variants used in the Russian army as was in the German army, reaching row 250 did not occur during testing of the Realred data modification. The only ahistorical unit removed from play in the Russian teams list was the JS-3 tank. The Russian JS-3 tank was manufactured so late in the war that it little if next to no action during the war. The JS-3 has been removed from the RUTeams.txt file.
Column Changes -All columns at minimum were checked to insure that values contained were within the limits as defined by the table definition. Columns not identified were found acceptable within game limits. Columns in the RUTeams.txt file were validated as described above for GETeams (and will not be repeated here).
Row Changes
* Row 93 - Command Joseph Stalin 3 - the Joseph Stalin III tank never saw action against the Germans. This command tank is replaced with a Command Joseph Stalin II model.
Additional Rows Inserted
T28e Tank
Gd 152mm M-38 Howitzer
Gd Des Sniper M1891
KV-1'41 Command Tank
Churchill Med Tank
OT134 Lt Flamethrower Tank
Komsomolyets "Tankette"
152mm M-38 Howitzer
T34/76b Tank
Gd T34/76b Tank
Gd IS-1
Captured Panther Tank
Captured StuG IIIG Tank Destroyer
Zek Otryad
Gd OT34 Tank
ISU122 Tank Destroyer
Pogranichniki
Gd ISU122 Tank Destroyer
KV85 Tank
Zastava Otryad
Gd KV85 Tank
KV8s Flamethrower Tank
Matilda Med Tank
Gd KV8s Flamethrower Tank
KV1c Tank
Valentine Med Tank
Gd 57mm Zis2 AT Gun
Gd Des 57mm Zis2 AT Gun
Gd M17 MGMC Halftrack
100mm BS-3 AT Gun
Gd 100mm BS-3 AT Gun
Stuart Lt Tank
122mm M-37 Howitzer
Gd 122mm M-37 Howitzer
Bren Carrier - PTRD
IS-1
KBT7a Command Tank
M17 MGMC Halftrack
T34/76b Command Tank
KT34/76c Command Tank
Gd SU57 Tank Destroyer
Gd Platoon Leader
Gd Group Leader 1941
M3 Lee Tank
Gd Group Leader 1942
Gd Group Leader 1943
Gd Des White Scout Car
Gd Group Leader 1944
Gd Group Leader 1945
SU57 Tank Destroyer
Gd T34/76a Command Tank
Gd T34/76b Command Tank
Gd White Scout Car
Gd T34/76c Command Tank
Gd T34/85 Command Tank
White Scout Car
Gd IS2 Command Tank
Cossack Sniper M1891
Siberian ATR Team
Cossack Infantry Squad
Cossack SMG Squad
Siberian Rifle Squad
Cossack ATR Team
Cossack MMG Team
Siberian Sniper M1891
Cossack HMG Team
Cossack 50mm Mortar Team
Cossack ZIK37 AT Gun
Cossack 82mm Mortar Team
KV-1s Command Tank
Gd KV-1s Command Tank
KV-85 Command Tank
Gd KV-85 Command Tank
Zek Rifle Team
BA-64
Gd BA-64
Gd Des BA-64
Game Play Issues
Game play issues fall into two categories: specific game related problems and balance. These will be addressed in two separate sections.
Game Related Problems
A specific game related problem was encountered during research into making mortars function more realistically. Specifically, the manner in which smoke rounds are fired. AP rounds and HE rounds both appear to function normally using the # of clips method where the rounds per clip is identified in the Weapons.txt table. Smoke rounds will not function in this manner. Specifically, they fire as a single shot, ignoring # of rounds in clip, forcing an automatic clip reload each time a smoke round is fired. While mortars are in fact working much more realistically, this issue with smoke rounds requires a fix by Atomic within the program code to rectify.
Balance
Two specific issues in play balance seem to be consistent throughout the game: Excessive armor and infantry survivability.
Excessive Armor
* Rarity - Rarity levels as supplied in the original set of tables show no apparent consistency in the manner in which they were applied to the teams lists. Using Advanced Squad Leader as a measure for determining rarity as it pertains specifically to armor, a new system was implemented specifically for the armor units that reduces the availability of them for purchasing during requisition time.
Infantry Survivability
A specific game imbalance in CC3 exists in regards to infantry survivability and the set of data as provided in the original release of the game. Infantry in CC3 have almost no ability to survive armored onslaughts and in reality this wasn't always the case. Infantry survivability was affected by a combination of factors including: element terrain values which were no longer providing cover or line of sight protection, unrealistic weapons data specifically dealing with minimum target ranges and lack of the barest of body protection for the soldiers. Buildings in particular were found to not be providing any protective value whatsoever to infantry as a vehicle could drive right up to one, look inside and unleash the main gun in the living room.
With the Realred mod, infantry now have an increased ability to survive an armored attack due to changes in the data as follows:
* A minimum of protection or "body armor" as players like to call it is implemented. Originally, soldiers had no protection what so ever from small arms fire (which includes tank-mounted machineguns). Soldiers are now implemented with the equivalent of 1mm body armor to represent the heavy clothing they wore and the equivalent of 3mm head armor to represent the helmet they wore. While this certainly won't protect the soldier from a cannon round, it will provide a minimum amount of protection from small arms fire, especially at longer ranges. One exception applies to this rule: Russian Heavy Assault Engineer Squads. These soldiers wore body armor in house to house fighting. In these particular squads, the soldiers bearing normal small arms wear 5mm of body armor.
* Changes to main gun minimum ranges. Originally, all cannon had minimum ranges set to a mere 5 meters. This is grossly in-accurate and was creating a situation where tanks could literally drive up to an entrenched position and fire away with main guns with impunity at infantry targets; including infantry in buildings. By establishing a more realistic minimum range for tank main guns, tanks are no longer able to just drive up to a building or entrenched position and loose the main gun at the infantry target inside. Tanks must now rely on the purpose of the bow, rear and coax machineguns for the purpose in which those were intended: protection from enemy infantry. By establishing a more realistic minimum range for vehicle mounted weapons, infantry can now get "under" the main gun minimum range and stand a better chance of surviving. As a game play issue, this also requires a player to maintain some form of infantry support to protect armor from enemy infantry attacks. Minimum ranges for vehicle mounted weapons are as follows:
* Guns over 120mm - 20 meters
* Guns between 60mm and 120mm - 15 meters
* Guns under 60mm - 10 meters
* Coax and Rear machineguns - 8 meters
* Bow, AA and Crew machineguns - 4 meters
* Element terrain values. These were adjusted to provide a more realistic representation of the benefit that a prone soldier has when compared to standing. A prone soldier is harder to see, especially from an enclosed armored fighting vehicle, and therefore likewise harder to hit due to being a smaller target.
Sources Used
Extensive use of a wide variety of sources was made use of in researching accuracy of the data contained in the Realred mod. Many fine Internet sites exist that contain public information regarding the soldiers, vehicles and equipment represented in the game. Extensive use of the following sites were made use of:
German Armed Forces in WW2 http://www.uwm.edu/~jpipes/
Achtung Panzer http://www.achtungpanzer.com/
International Library - Russian Military Zone http://library.virtualave.net/
The Russian Cossacks http://home1.gte.net/artiom/
Panzerfaust http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust.htm
Technical Virtue - Designs of the Wehrmacht http://members.tripod.com/~fingolfen/index.html
Many fine books are in print as well regarding vehicles and weapons of WW2. Principle references that were used throughout the research of the Realred Mod are:
Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of WW2 by Steven Zaloga
German Tanks of World War 2 by F M von Senger und Etterlin
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War 2 by Chamberlain & Doyle
Rifles Of The World, Military and Commercial Arms From 1870 by John Walter
German Artillery of World War 2 by Ian V. Hogg
Soviet Field Artillery in World War 2 by Michael Foedrowitz
Interim Release Notes
Version 06/19/99 - This was the initial final release of Realred upon completion of the installation program.
Version 07/07/99 - 1st official update to Realred.
* Reduced base accuracy of all AFV fired HE rounds by approximately 20% to reduce the "sniper" effect that HE rounds were displaying.
* Bow and Rear mounted AFV machineguns had ranges modified as follows: 4m - Min, 15m - PB, 35m - CL, 55m - Med, 75m - Long. This is to take into account the very limited visual range at which the bow machine gunner could actually employ the weapon even though the physics indicate that rounds could travel quite a bit farther.
* Coax machineguns had ranges modified as follows: 8m - Min, 30m - PB, 70m - CL, 110m - Med, 150m - Long. This is to take into account the somewhat limited visual range at which the coax machine gunner could actually employ the weapon using the gunsight. The increase in range over Bow mgs is provided due to the height advantage the Coax mg has and provides for the limited benefit the gunner gains from using the gunsight.
* Corrected a problem with the Russian IS-1 tank that was causing it to appear as early as 1941.
* Clip reload time for the AA mgs (and the loose Crew mg.34) was increased due to a single man servicing the weapon.
Version 07/30/99 - 2nd official update to Realred.
* Globally reduced the HE Kill Factor across the board for all guns. HE kills appeared quite excessive.
* Increased the size of all AT guns by 1 meter in length, width and height to eliminate the "forever hiding AT Guns".
* Reduced the base accuracy of HE rounds to 50% for all weapons where the base accuracy for HE rounds was greater than 50%
Version 08/05/99 - 3rd official update to Realred.
* A discovery was made on how to resolve the problem with the AT guns forever laying in ambush even when firing, yet not being seen ever by the player. Basically it works like this. We have to change a characteristic on the vehicle (the gun) to remove the "camouflage" that hides AT guns forever. This was done by changing the vehicle type in vehicles.txt from gun to truck. Trucks are not used in CC3 but for some reason the developer left the value working. What this does is provide the ability to keep the gun as a soft target, thereby allowing infantry to shoot at it, along with keeping the movement characteristic as wheeled. We set the size of AT guns back to correct values and it seems to work.
Version 09/05/99 - 4th official update to Realred.
* Made some minor tweaking adjustments (in rarity) on a vehicle by vehicle basis for German armor.
* Replaced the flamethrower solder from the Russian engineer squads with a regular soldier. This lone flamethrower soldier was causing the squad to be a bit too powerful. The same was done for the heavy Maxim and DSHK1938 machineguns. They were replaced by the lighter DP1928.
* A discovery was made that the element radius for the 100mm ATG, 122mm howitzer and the 152mm howitzer was too small. Increased the element radius of these 3 guns to a 2. Also, decreased the element radius of the Pz 1 to a 1. This does affect whether or not the particular vehicle can fit in certain buildings.
* Resolved the sniper issue. Apparently Atomic has snipers hardcoded to function only as 1-man teams. They are now back to 1-man teams.
Version 10/05/99 - 5th official update to Realred (and hopefully the final).
* Due to forum request, the flamethrower soldier was replaced back into the Russian Assault Engineer team. Further analysis showed the rarity on the Russian engineer teams as being quite high. The rarity on all Russian engineer teams was reduced back to more appropriate levels.
* Played around with snipers to tweak them. The AP penetration value was tweaked up so snipers should be more inclined to shoot, however this will NOT automatically generate colorful reticles. Extensive testing does show that snipers kill effectively out to 300-400 meters with a black reticle.
* Perused the elements file to ascertain if there were anything out of alignment with more open terrain that could affect snipers. Tweaked down the "Protection" value of fields and roads. These were artificially high and in some cases higher than trees and other actual obstacles. Snipers now kill a little more effectively when the target is in open terrain such as a field or road.
* Tweaked down the ranges for the scoped Gewehr 43 rifle
* The German 8cm mortar is an exact clone now of the Russian 82mm mortar. Any problems with the German mortar have to be programming related
* Added 4 Russian Spetznatz SMG teams to RUTeams.
* Added Russian Command Halftracks
* Removed all Lw teams and replaced with items listed below:
* Added "stylized" Panzergrenadiere squads. This is more for historical context than anything.
* Readjusted the upgrade paths on German units accordingly for the added Panzergrenadiere squads.
* Added Pioniere, Sturmpioniere and s.Waffen (heavy weapons) teams for Heer, SS and Panzergrenadiere teams
* Re-instituted the German 1945 Sturmgrenadiere teams for Heer and SS teams.
* Added the Bison 15cm s.IG 33/1 aus GW 38(t) for Heer and SS teams
* Added the 7.5cm RFK 43 Recoilless Rifle for Heer, SS and Panzergrenadiere teams (this was not a particularly effective weapon so its cost will be somewhat lower at time of purchase)
* Added the 2cm FlaK 38 for Heer and SS teams
* Added the 3.7cm FlaK 37 for Heer and SS teams
* Added the 5cm FlaK 41 for Heer and SS teams (this is a somewhat rare weapon (about 250 manufactured) but was employed by German forces)
* Added some Panzerabwehrtrupp with mines (Hafthalladung) for early war Heer, SS and Panzergrenadiere teams
* Added Command Armored Cars for Heer and SS teams
Who Contributed
The Realred Project was managed exclusively through the use of a Microsoft Access97 database developed from the original "Stoli" database used by Atomic, and Microsoft Word97 for documentation.
The Realred project could not have occurred without the combined efforts of a wide number of people. The persons who contributed extensively through research, playtesting and feedback are presented here in alphabetic order. There were many others, as well for whom names could not be acquired. To those unidentified persons, heartfelt appreciation and thanks for all of your contributions and feedback.
Vladislav Arhipov Playtesting/Feedback
Michael Bench Playtesting/Feedback
Glen Bolderson Playtesting/Feedback
Ken Butt Analysis/Feedback
Kevin Chin Playtesting/Feedback
Scott Clinton Analysis/Data Research
Mick Conmy Analysis/Data Research
Adam D'Arcy Analysis/Data Research
Alan Davis Analysis/Data Research
Bj”rn Elfstr”m Playtesting/Feedback
Ronald Gretz Analysis/Data Research/Data Merging
John Haberfellner Playtesting/Feedback
Trond Haugskott Analysis/Data Research
Markus Hofbauer Analysis/Data Research
Bryan Johnson Playtesting/Feedback
Martin Karaus Playtesting/Feedback
Vadim Kolosov Analysis/Data Research
Gilles LaChance Analysis/Data Research
Ignacio McGuire Playtesting/Feedback
Chris Merchant Analysis/Feedback
Rob Pettibone Playtesting/Feedback
Wouter Pinkhof Playtesting/Feedback
Bruce Poon Analysis/Data Research
Robert Ralph Analysis/Data Research
Kurt Rompot Analysis/Feedback
Pierre Stutin Playtesting/Feedback
Wilhelm tum Suden Analysis/Feedback
Bruno Weiss Analysis/Feedback
Felipe Welke Playtesting/Feedback
Realred Mod File For Close Combat 3: The Russian Front
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README.DOC
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