Situational Awareness Maps

[Iconoclast]

By Daz

Dave has indicated in the past that the supply bases are not just supply dumps, but an abstraction of the logistics required to keep a Corp's, Division, or Regiment in the field.

I did not know that maintenance and madical services are abstracted into the games supply units. However, in defence of the art of logistics, I would very much disagree with the "Supply Point equals Supply Dump" comparison. Supply Points are very busy and complex installations and I wouldn't call them "dumps".But I agree with the way you are tackeling the problem. Keep it up.

By Peter

If I had stayed in the forces however, I would have retired 10 years ago on a full pension
Or you might have gotten killed....

Or he might have been hit by a car, if he had decided against joining in the first place, and left the recruitment centre without ever applying.....Life kills you

Cheers,

A

 

[Kurt]

All looking good, Daz. Happy New year, mate!

Wish I was a tree surgeon. Or a brain surgeon. One or the other.

If I had stayed in the forces however, I would have retired 10 years ago on a full pension
Or you might have gotten killed....

Peter

Hi John Connor, being a tree surgeon can get you killed as im sure Daz will agree

 

[Daz]

Hi John Connor, being a tree surgeon can get you killed as im sure Daz will agree

Yeah I totally agree.
I have come far closer to death as a tree surgeon than I ever did as a soldier

The below map depicts the Manhay Crossroads scenario.
The darker area is the area that the small scenario map covers.
I have shown far more information with regards to the dispositions of the units in the surrounding area on this one as it shows what is happening on the flanks, but does not play a part in the actual scenario.

The start of this scenario is a few days after the start of the Greyhound Dash Scenario, which takes part on the west flank of this map, and I have shown the rough positions that the units were historical in at this time.
Greyhound Dash scenario Start: 20 Dec 1944 09:00 End: 27 Dec 1944 06:00.
Manhay Crossroads Start: 24 Dec 1944 21:00 End: 27 Dec 1944 04:00.

Details of the units involved in the scenario have been deliberately left out, where they are not mentioned in the briefing.
I have shown the HQ of CCA 7 ARM in Manhay as is mentioned in the briefing, and a few of the reinforcements being moved up as is also in the briefing.
Units inside the dark zone of the scenario map have been left vague and may not be historically accurate, so as not to spoil the fog of war.

 

[SSG D]

Daz,
I like the map. Especially the bigger picture aspects. Nice Job!

 

[Daz]

Thanks SSG D
So that's the two maps that Dave wanted done for the free part of the game, three if you include the St Vith Tutorial.

So do you guys have a favourite from the Battle of the Bulge pack you would like me to do next?

 

[Daz]

This is what the map looks like in Illustrator.
The beauty of using vector graphics is you can zoom in as close as you like without losing quality.
The background map is still raster graphics however, so there is a limitation to it.

It has to be a lot smaller than this to fit into the UI so some of the detail will be hard to see, like the unit names, so I will keep a larger version of the maps on here for anyone that wants a closer look from now on.

When I have enough to make it worth while, Ill do a pdf for download, and maybe it can be put in a sticky on the forum.

 

[pekische]

I have short question: Could be there also a smaller much more zoomed out picture where the battlefield is located in Europe? Would it means too much work, Daz?

 

[Daz]

Do you have the excellent Google Earth overlays that "The Plodder" did a long time back?
Here is a screenshot from it to show the area of the Greyhound Dash scenario, the Manhay Crossroads one is just to the East of it of course.

 

[Kurt]

Do you have the excellent Google Earth overlays that "The Plodder" did a long time back?
Here is a screenshot from it to show the area of the Greyhound Dash scenario, the Manhay Crossroads one is just to the East of it of course.
View attachment 864

This is what the map looks like in Illustrator.
The beauty of using vector graphics is you can zoom in as close as you like without losing quality.
The background map is still raster graphics however, so there is a limitation to it.

It has to be a lot smaller than this to fit into the UI so some of the detail will be hard to see, like the unit names, so I will keep a larger version of the maps on here for anyone that wants a closer look from now on.

When I have enough to make it worth while, Ill do a pdf for download, and maybe it can be put in a sticky on the forum.
View attachment 861

Great work Daz, VII Armee area is my particular favorite

 

[pekische]

Do you have the excellent Google Earth overlays that "The Plodder" did a long time back?
Here is a screenshot from it to show the area of the Greyhound Dash scenario, the Manhay Crossroads one is just to the East of it of course.
View attachment 864

Yeah I know this excellent Plodder´s work. But it would be nice to have the picture locating the battle area in Europe.

 

[EdJaws]

Hey Daz,

If I can chip in with some vector work, let me know. Don't know how much help I'll be but I'm willing to give it a go.

 

[Daz]

The problem is Pekische, we have very limited space in the UI, I'm not sure where the pic would go?
I think there would only need to be one image to show the area of the entire scenario pack at this scale though.
At least that is the case for the Battle of the Bulge battles, because when you zoom out to this scale, then reduce the pic to fit into the UI, one small dot would cover the battle area of the entire pack.

Thanks Edjaws.
The vector art is actually very simple, although it takes me a while, as I am still trying to learn Illustrator, and keep getting stuck on things that just turn out to be a very simple option click that I have missed, but take hours of investigating to discover the fix

What takes the time is the research to understand what is known about the tactical situation, at the start of the battle, and the location of the units not actually in the scenario, but in the surrounding area.
I have found that I need a good grasp on the tactical situation in order to do the maps, and then working out how best to illustrate it without spoiling the fog of war.
I must say its helping my game play no end in the Historical scenarios, as I have a good grasp on where reinforcements are likely to show up

 

[Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor]

Here is a set of screen dumps showing the scenario selection screen with the SAMs for the three core scenarios - ie Tutorial, Greyhound Dash and Manhay Crossings.

 

[Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor]

 

[CapHillRat]

Maps look great.

 

[Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor]

Daz,

I need your mug shot for the credits mate. It needs to be 90 x 120 pixels portrait of just your head in bmp format. You can email it to me at my usual email.

 

[Daz]

Email sent Dave.
I think the SAM's look great in the new interface, but them I'm biased

 

[Philip Devine]

These are awesome! As a wargame novice, it definitely would make learning the scenarios a little less daunting while not giving too much away.

 

[The Plodder]

Daz, I'm a bit late to the party here but instead of using the Opfor symbols for Germans, why not just use friendly NATO symbols but coloured in national colours? I say this, as since a scenario is played by both sides it would look better for both side to appear the same.

 

[kipanderson]

Hi,

From Plodder,
but instead of using the Opfor symbols for Germans, why not just use friendly NATO symbols but coloured in national colours?

Actually… I agree… I have never been a fan of the OPFOR symbols… why not just use different colours even in the military.
Maybe something to do with risk of colour blindness.. no idea.. .
Great maps either way.
All the best,
Kip.