Any map/scenario makers out there?

[Linux_Box]

Anyone else making maps, scenarios, army lists, etc?

Anyone know how to get forces to defend in-place? For instance, if you have a beach assault, how do you get them forces to stay in-place? I'm not able to get the defensive forces to stay in-place.

Anyone know of a simplified way to make maps?

How do I make a .coe file? I have the xml files from EStab modifications but still can't find a way to make it a .coe file.

I've just gotten into the game but making custom scenario/etc. is something like I to do. Any help/pointers is/are appreciated!!

 

[jimcarravallah]

Anyone else making maps, scenarios, army lists, etc?

Anyone know how to get forces to defend in-place? For instance, if you have a beach assault, how do you get them forces to stay in-place? I'm not able to get the defensive forces to stay in-place.

Anyone know of a simplified way to make maps?

How do I make a .coe file? I have the xml files from EStab modifications but still can't find a way to make it a .coe file.

I've just gotten into the game but making custom scenario/etc. is something like I to do. Any help/pointers is/are appreciated!!

The SceneMaker manual will tell you how to compile an XML file into a game-compatible COE file.

The SceneMaker and EstabEditor manuals contain information on how to make objectives critical to a defending force to encourage them to remain in place (SceneMaker), how to increase "determination" which will boost a unit's desire to remain in place if ordered to defend (SceneMaker and EstabEdiror) or how to make a unit "static" for the duration of a scenario (EstabEditor).

 

[simovitch]

You can get the defenders to stay in place by designing at-start orders delay of several hours into the scenario. The units will defend if attacked, but they won't issue orders to move, etc. until the delay is expired. And, like Jim says, read the ScenMaker manual.

 

[Linux_Box]

Thanks all!! Took some more close looking but I've found it.

 

[ioncore]

Anyone know how to get forces to defend in-place? For instance, if you have a beach assault, how do you get them forces to stay in-place? I'm not able to get the defensive forces to stay in-place.

Additionally to what Jim and Richard have said already, you may also try to achieve this by placing AI objectives (the ones without victory points assigned). Please refer to "AI Objectives" chapter of ScenMaker Manual v1.1. This is particularly useful if you want to make your defensive perimeter "moving" (expanding, or shrinking, or shifting over time), then you may want to experiment with timed objectives, which will be switching on and off over time.
E.g. during the first hours of the landing you may want to put AI objectives forming a perimeter close to the beach; then few hours later these timed objectives will switch off, but another set of objectives - now forming new perimeter farther from the sealine - will turn on, causing AI to expand.
Making AI to act exactly how you want, finding proper locations and timings for your objectives may take quite some time and many test iterations, though.

Anyone know of a simplified way to make maps?

Map making and playtesting are arguably the most time-consuming parts of scenario development for CmdOps. This is one of the reasons why DLCs are not that cheap to buy.

 

[john connor]

You may find that after you have, for instance, carefully set up your beach objectives in scenmaker with 'max' priority and hefty victory points (at least initially), to tempt the AI to stay put, that the AI at scenario start still moves out the units you placed on those objectives because it thinks other units should be there instead. This is something that's on the developer's wish-list of tweaks, I believe - an ability to set a script for certain sets of units. At the moment it's the price you pay for having an AI that is flexible, interesting and un-scripted - it can, indeed, make these decisions! The only way to stop it - or at least get close to stopping it - is, as Simovitch has pointed out, to build in a really hefty initial orders delay via scenmaker (easily done). However, you may find that the actual orders delay is limited to around 3 hours (and tapering off well within that period - so that you will only really be able to 'fix' units for around an hour), no matter what ridiculously huge delay you try to set. I think this is an issue, which I've raised before, though the realism and desirability of having longer initial delays is questionable, and we're only using it as a 'workaround' in fact. Better would be the scripting possibilities. Some scenario designers have solved these issues by making certain units 'fixed' in the estabs. That works, though at a price, of course - they can't move at all and will eventually die where they stand...