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SITREP

reg129

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Absolutely agree with this approach and I am looking forward immensely to seeing these new features in action. Thanks for your efforts Dave.

Just a silly question. Do you think it would it be valid for modifiers to invoke these tactics taking into account the differing tactical flexibility of various armies?

Great to see this game evolving so positively,
Regards,
Reg
 
Last edited:

song

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It's great to see how far the game has come! I agree both new logic about enhance the attack code and the new flanking logic! Looking forward to more outstanding work from you! Thank you very much Dave!
 

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
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SITREP Fri 27 Aug 2021.

Hi all,

This week I have been stepping through and honing my overhaul of PlanAttack. I have got through the development of a complex attack using the Tutorial scenario. At the moment, though I am still addressing issues when it subsequently tries to develop a basic attack for one of the subAttacks. I have made a plethora of minor changes to handle cases where an attack may choose not to do an Assemble task, moveToAssembly task, moveToReserve task and moveToFUP task. These can occur if the force is already close to the FUP, especially when the boss specifies where that FUP should be. It's fiddly work but nearly done. Hopefully early next week I'll get to see an attack go in.

Stay tuned.
 

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
Joined
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Messages
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Location
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SITREP Sat 4 Sep 21

Hi all,

I finally got the game to run for the first time in months. I managed to run the Tutorial for 55 minutes of game time before it asserted. The CCA 3AD HQ mounted a complex attack. It was underway when it reassessed and asserted because a new attack mission task end was greater than the assigned plan end. Obviously I need to add a constraint into the amount of time I can slip the attack. But the pleasing thing was that finally months of rewiring code have paid off.

There is still work to be done, not the least of which is working out why only one of the CCA's Bn HQs was committed to the attack despite the fact that most of the units were. Because of the start situation in the Tutorial being relatively condensed - the CCA starts within three clicks of the enemy - I was not able to see my new assembly code working. Once the CCA breaks through the initial front line, I should see that coming into play.

So some good progress but more testing and honing required.
 

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
Joined
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Messages
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113
Location
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Website
www.panthergames.com
SITREP Thu 9 Sep 21

Hi all,

So far this week I have pursued the issue of HQ allocation in complex attacks. The first thing I discovered was an error that had crept in after we started basing senior HQs. In CCA's brigade level attack at the start of the Turorial, it bases the CCA HQ and strips out firebases and a few independent units. The remainder comprise the attack force group (attackFG). There is a function which takes this attackFG and determines how many subAttacks should be generated based on the available number of attack capable subordinate HQs. Trouble is now one of the three Bn HQs assigned to CCA is now the subject of the attackFG - as we have based the CCA HQ. SO it only finds two subordinate HQs and generates only two subAttacks. Well that was an easy one to fix but it shows how easy it is to trip up when you start making changes.

After I fixed that it should have assigned each of the three Bn HQs to a separate subAttack. But it chose to assign two HQs (51 Bn and 1.318th Bn) to one of the attacks, 35 Tk Bn to another and the third one didn't get a HQ, just five units. I painstakingly stepped through the allocation code and realised that the levelling code was assigning the 1.318th Bn HQ because most of its subordinate companies had been assigned to the first subAttack, which already had the 51st Bn HQ assigned.

This is a difficult one to solve. I've been considering different approaches. But what I have settled on is to assign the HQs in the PreAllocationPass that occurs before the normal passes. But then I face the issue of how to assign the HQs - ie to which of the attacks. I need to use the FUPs, rather than the objectives of each task, which are more or less at the same spot. But there is another issue to consider. What happens when you have a situation where the HQs may not be with the bulk of its units. This can occur if the force has just one attack and the HQs is back at the old reserveLoc, while the assault units are at the objective. We may end up with the HQ being assigned to the new FUP1 even though the bulk of its forces are close to FUP2.

So to address this, I have written some new code that determines the centre of mass (COM) for the force. Essentially, it processes each member of the force and works out the mean or average location. But then it culls any outliers - units/HQ that may be located at some distance from the meanLoc. It then recalc the COMLoc, so we end up with a location in the middle of the bulk of the force. Tomorrow I aim to use this code for the HQs during the PreAllocationPass. Hopefully, this will avoid having units swapping all over the place. Fingers crossed. :)
 

Grognerd

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And just think we humans process this info and make decisions at the blink of an eye! Writing code to mimic the military decision making is a daunting task indeed! Keep it up Dave!
 

Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor

Panther Games Designer
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
3,415
Points
113
Location
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Website
www.panthergames.com
SITREP Sat 6 Nov 2021

Hi all,

I had to take out two weeks to deal with accounts and taxes. But since then I have been busy coding. I nearly fell off my chair earlier this week when finally I managed to step right through the initial attacks at the start of the Tutorial. It got through all 37 breakpoints I had set in my code to test that all worked as it should. What a feeling of elation. I savoured it despite the fact that the attack was re-planned 97 minutes later.

Here's a screen dumpEscheloned Attack.jpg

Note that new code now checks to see if the objective is within 500m of a crossing and if so uses eschelon formation rather than line.

Here is another shot taken an hour and 34 minutes later in game time.
Escheloned Attack FUPs.jpg

Note the bulk of the force has moved back to the forming up places (FUPs) and are reorganising ready for the assault. Note also that four units are still up front. The new code assigned them as "Near" to the reserve Locs and so created a temporary defend there. The theory being that they will wait there for the whole force to come forward and pass through them. Alas there appears to be a problem with the FUP offsets in this instance. The forward Bn should have been virtually in line with the reserveLocs in this case as there was no preliminary staging undertaken. I need to investigate and fix that.

Also, three minutes later in game time the attack is re-planned when the reorg at the FUP is completed. I have stepped through the code and identified that it was scheduling the start of the assault but a piece of code that has been modified on numerous occasions cut in and forced the replan. I need to do two things to fix this, namely ensure that slip orders are not scheduled before the actual order are received and not invoke a replan in receiveOrders processing if one of the existing tasks in the attack sequence is cribbed to the point of completing. I'll get onto that next week.

But good news. I'm reasonably confident I have broken the back of this attack overhaul. Stay tuned.

BTW that Simonitch character is not me. ;) Nice try Richard!
 
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