:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:

Trying to Take Marvie

2007-01-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

In a nutshell, here's what happened at Marvie:

Striking at Bastogne through Marvie was the mission given to KG Hauser, which consisted of Pz Lehr's 901 Pz Gren Regiment and the Pz IVs of the 6/130 Pz Coy. They attacked the hamlet on the evening of December 23rd, the night affording some protection from the Allied fighter bombers that ruled the skies in daytime.

Marvie was held by Team O'Hara, defending the NW corner with help from the 609th TD Bn and the 2d Bn of the 327 Glider Inf Regiment, which was positioned along the south. These units had been shelled all day when the bombardment suddenly increased and was followed by an infantry rush on the the hill to the south, which overlooked the town. The glider infantry detachment was surrounded and destroyed.

A German half track, followed by four tanks from the 6/130 tried to exploit this victory and travel down the hill into the town, but the halftrack leading the group was knocked out and blocked the path of the tanks.

At this point, 12 more German Panzers and Infantry tried to force their way through on the Arlon-Bastogne road, which ran through the town, but these where beaten before they reached the town.

After midnight, the Germans renewed their attack, and with an additional 15 Panzers supported by infantry, they were able to take the south half of Marvie. The cost to the Germans was 8 Panzers for the night's attack. The town lay divided as the morning light broke into the sky and it would remain that way for days to come.

To learn more about this battle, read Cole's chapter on Bastogne.

Marvie Mapping

2007-01-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

To create an Airborne Assault map all you've got to do is open up the mapmapker utility that ships with the game.

Okay okay... it's not THAT easy. But it isn't rocket surgery either.

Below is an animated gif that shows the layers that have to be created to construct a map. Compare this gif with the map image below and you'll see the level of accuracy afforded by the Airborne Assault engine. This accuracy translates into in-game realism.

If you want to learn more about making a map, read this and then get started. If you run into trouble, post here. Lots of people want to help you.

The beauty, anyway, is in the finished product. If the game map matches the real terrain with any amount of accuracy, you've got the potential for facing the same problems that the commanders of the actual battle faced. This is one aspect of Airborne Assault that is unmatched in any other gaming system.

Next we'll look at the demands this kind of detail places on a commander in the Airborne Assault Engine.

Maps & Map Creation

2007-01-14T13:55:00.000-05:00

All of the tasks involved with creating scenarios require a lot of attention to detail, whether researching a scenario, creating historically accurate forces, or putting together the scenario itself.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding tasks is working on the game maps. The Airborne Assault engine utilizes extremely detailed maps. In many hex-based games, the maps are very good quality, but they don't have as much detail. A 1 km hex will have a list of attributes that generalize the terrain within that area. In Airborne Assault, the same 1 km x 1 km space will have up to 100 different types of terrain - all based on real maps from the period of the game.

Below is a 1943 U.S. Military Map showing the town of Marvie in the Ardennes. The town is just southeast of Bastogne and it was the location of significant fighting during the Battle of the Bulge as German forces sought to break through the defenses of the Bastogne perimeter and capture the city.

Looking at the map, one can see some significant tactical concerns for both the defender and the attacker. The small hamlet of Marvie lies in a draw and has a small stream which runs through it and another on its southern edge. There isn't much cover close-in - the woods are almost 1 km away in every direction.

An improved road runs east-west just to the north and east of Marvie - this will be one of the vital routes for the attacker. And it will mean that an attacking armored column will have to traverse a 2-3 km stretch that lies within 600 m of enemy guns. Within the town there is one minor road and 3 small roads.

To the south and the northeast, the terrain is higher than the hamlet. But with in the square km, there are six or seven changes in elevation. This will obviously be a strategic location within the game, just as it was within the actual battle.

Next we'll look at how the map will be portrayed in Airborne Assault: Battles from the Bulge.

Data Design Team Diary

2006-12-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

A while back, I joined one of the Airborne Assault data design teams. More specifically, I joined the West Front data design team. That means I'm working on the upcoming Battles From the Bulge (BFTB) title, producing scenarios, editing force lists, researching battles, and sometimes working on maps. None of which is happening very quickly, because I'm a full time something else in the world of work, and a father of two young'uns at home.

But, I'm in all the way and hoping to learn something about developing a game. And, if you read this blog at all (I know updates haven't been happening in some time) you'll be able to learn a little too. I'm going to journal my experiences on the team and share some information about the development of the game.

None of the information is going to be a big scoop for anyone, so don't get your hopes up about me leaking game features and any other juicy tidbits. It's going to be a little more work-a-day scenario design stuff - not screaming tabloid headlines about new features. But I hope you'll get a look at what goes into the game and how the quality of the work makes the in-game experience worthwhile and enjoyable.

It's a Mod Mod Mod Mod World

2006-07-20T00:26:00.000-04:00

You can now get your map on with a handful of excellent terrain mods available at the COTA downloads page.

1st COTA Mod

2006-06-27T21:51:00.000-04:00

0800: Breakfast is served!
Introducing a new terrain file by captskillet - the first player-made modification to COTA. He cooked it up using the existing terrain files from the game, in combination with previous terrain files modified by Data Design Team honcho Bil H.

Before:

After:

Mmmm. Nice rich brown colors - like an good cup of coffee. You can get this mod by shooting captskillet a PM on the Matrix forums. Read the post here.

co-TA! co-TA! co-TA! co-TA! co-TA!

2006-06-16T23:02:00.000-04:00

It's out and it's awesome. Conquest of the Aegean (COTA) is available for download.

The improvements to the game engine are very cool indeed. My favorite is the new supply system, which adds a great deal of suspense to the game. Sometimes it works in your favor - you'll get artillery ammo a little more often. Other times, you'll struggle to keep your supply lines open - you can no longer take them for granted.

Another great feature is mixed-mode movement. Many units that have previously enjoyed the benefit of easy movement through many types of terrain will now feel the pain of poor and non-existent roads. In the image below, I'm thrusting Italian troops into the Pindus mountains to hopefully breakthrough and capture Greece before she can muster her entire army. But the mountains are killing my one chance of lightning breaktrhough. The armor unit, highlighted in a white box, is in terrain that let's it move at 2% of its normal speed. Ugh!

Data Design Teams

2006-04-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

Currently, there are four DDTs (Data Design Teams) working on future releases of the Airborne Assault game engine for World War II: West Front, East Front, North Africa, and Pacific Theatre. And there is one “modern” team – though it isn’t clear yet what period of modern warfare they will begin with.

That pretty much gives you a look at where this game is heading – and it looks quite awesome. If you read this post, it gets even better.

Here are some future battles that are being talked about:

West Front:
Battles From the Bulge

East Front:
Chir River Battles

North Africa:
Graziani's Offensive
Compass
Rommel's first offensive
Brevity
Battleaxe and
Crusader

Pacific:
Guadalcanal
Finschafen

New Scenarios for HTTR

2006-04-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

As spring turns to summer, I’m waiting impatiently for Conquest of the Aegean to ship. I’m sure you are too.

To help pass the time, you can play THREE excellent new scenarios for HTTR with new maps and units.

EPSOM and EPSOM Phase 4 by Pieter – you can get EPSOM at Elsavior's Site. For EPSOM Phase 4, you need to contact tukker per this thread at the Matrix forums.

These are an excellent pair of Normandy-based scenarios that focus on the battle between the British and the Germans west of Caen.

The maps are very well done, and the scenarios provide an enjoyable challenge – especially EPSOM Phase 4, which presents a “what if” the Germans hadn’t been reinforced by II Panzer in time to stop the inland thrusts of the Brits.

Here’s an excerpt from the “designer notes” which is an excellent piece of historical research and writing in and of itself:

Another unique feature of the division was the inclusion of an 8cm ‘Reihenwerfer’ (rocket launchers) battery in each of its Panzergrenadier Regiments. These Werfer were mounted on captured French tracked vehicles. I’ve substituted them with Nebelwerfer.

NAVARONI by Multetears - http://home.clara.net/headcount/Navaroni.html
Another fun to play Scenario is “The Guns of Navarone” scenario by Muletears, which recreates the daring operation portrayed in the 1961 movie.

You’ll have a hard time matching the daring feats of Anthony Quinn and David Niven, but please go ahead and try.

From the Movie:
Mallory: Are you sure it will work?
Corporal Miller: There's no guarantee, but the theory's perfectly feasible.

Happy HQ Birthday

2005-08-31T23:23:00.000-04:00

I've been at this blog almost a year now, and have had nearly 6,000 page loads. That's more than I had imagined it would receive.

Thanks to kindly posters who left comments and to readers who have stopped by and lingered more than 10 seconds.

Google-eyed View of COTA

2005-08-10T22:50:00.000-04:00

Just published a Google Earth walk through of COTA scenarios. Visit this BBS if you want to download
the file: LINK

In case you missed it...

2005-08-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

These are the new features coming with COTA:

Realistic Resupply System
Mixed Mode Movement and Slope Effects
Realistic Delay Task
Exit Tasks
Linked Tasks
Map Improvements
Enhanced Interface, including:
- Order of Battle display
- Display Tool Bar
- New Planning Tools
- Message Log and filters
- SOP History Log
- Enhanced Terrain popup
- Improved Data displays
Improved AI, including:
- Force Allocation
- Reaction and Reassessment
- Formation code
- Retreat code
Additional Weather Patterns
Over 20 new maps
Over 1,000 new Estabs
Over 30 new scenarios
Force List Export/Import
Mod-able Victory Messages
Mod-able Terrain Key

Sources for Arras Battle

2005-06-20T22:43:00.000-04:00

Here's a listing of the sources I've used thus far in compiling data for this little scenario:

HRN Horne Allistair - To Lose A Battle, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England 1984

RMML Rommel, Erwin and Liddell-Hart, Basil H.(editor) - The Rommel Papers, Decapo Press, NY, NY 1953

FSCHR Fischer, K. H., Blitzkrieg Legend Link: http://chrito.users1.50megs.com/karten/1940/arras21mai40.jpg Map is a scan from book.

USMA United States Miliatry Acadamy Map Collection Online. Map: Northwestern France, 1940. Campaign in the West 1940, Situation 21 May and Operations Since 16 May Link: http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ww2%20europe/ww2%20europe%20pages/ww2%20europe%20map%2012.htm Map is from scanned from unknown source, probably: Atlas of The Second World War: Asia and the Pacific (Wayne, NJ: Avery Publishing Group, Inc., 1985).

SPRHD John Moher, Spearhead Games Website, 1997-2000 Link: http://www.geocities.com/ww2spearhead/06grob01.htm Games Website with OOBs and Rules

WKPD WikiPedia: British Expeditionary Forces; Modified 3/27/2005 Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEF#World_War_II

FLDGR Online message board at www.feldgrau.com

WW2DB World War II Data Book, Essential Facts and Figures for All Combatants. John Ellies, Aurum Press, London 1993

LEX German language website about SS formations: http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/SS-Divisionen/SSDivTK.htm

TIL HPS - France 1940 Game OOB

NIEH Niehorster Website: http://niehorster.orbat.com/011_germany/40_organ_army/_40_org_army.html

5th Panzer OOB

2005-06-20T22:35:00.000-04:00

This outfit participated in the Arras counterstroke not at all, I think. But they were in very close proximity to the battle, holding down the right flank of 7th Panzer along the Scarpe river.

5th Panzer Division

8th Pz Brigade
31st Panzer Regiment
1.Abt.
2.Abt.

14th Panzer Regiment
1.Abt.
2.Abt.

8th Panzer Reconnaisance Battalion

5th Shutzen Brigade
14th Rifle Regiment
1.Btl.
II.Btl

13th Rifle Regiment
1 Btl.
II.Btl.

13./Schtz.Bde.5

89th Pioneer Battalion (Motorized with Bridging Equipment and Armor)

77th Signals Battalion

53rd Antitank Battalion

116th Artillery Regiment
1 Btl.
II.Btl.

Dreaded 88

2005-05-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

It was at the high watermark of the BEF's attack that Rommel is reported to have employed the 88mm anti-aircraft gun as an antitank weapon for the first time, easily defeating the heavily armored Matilda, and halting the attack.

I wrote the above quote believing that this was indeed the momentous occasion in which the 88 became the dreaded weapon of the Germans. However, it is apparently not so. 88s were pressed into anti-tank service in Poland and possibly even Spain. I'm looking for more info on this.

OOB for Rommel's Ghost Division

2005-05-25T21:26:00.000-04:00

7th Panzer Division

Armor
25th Panzer Regiment (of three battalions)
1.Abt. 44 x Pz II, 19 x Pz IV
2.Abt. 44 x Pz II, 19 x Pz III
66.Abt 44 x Pz 1, 19 x Pz III

37th Panzer Reconnaisance Battalion
2 x 75mm how
3 x 37mm anti-tank
3 x 81mm mortar
48 x armored cars

Infantry
6th Rifle Regiment
1.Btl. 8 x heavy m.g., 6 x 81mm mort.
II.Btl 8 x heavy m.g., 6 x 81mm mort.

7th Rifle Regiment
1 Btl. 8 x heavy m.g., 6 x 81mm mort.
II.Btl. 8 x heavy m.g., 6 x 81mm mort.

s. Inf. Gesch. Kp.705
2 x 75mm ho
3 x 37 mm anti-tank

7th Motorcycle Battalion
54 x light m.g.
15 x heavy m.g.
9 x 50mm mortar
6 x 8 mm mortar

Engineers
58th Pioneer Battalion

Artillery
78th Field Artillery Regiment
Battalion x three four-gun batteries
Battalion x three four-gun batteries
Battalion x three four-gun batteries

42nd Antitank Battalion

The Battle of Arras

2005-03-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

I’m announcing (very prematurely) my hopes to make an expansion pack for COTA that will cover a small part of the battle for France in 1940. Specifically, I will be working on a map, force list, and scenario for the battle of Arras. Below is some background on the battle.

At first glance, the British counterstroke at Arras appears to be a small gesture of defiance in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg. Pitting two battalions and some slow-moving, underpowered British armor against the vanguard of the entire German panzer army seems like jabbing a penknife into the snout of a charging rhino. But Alistair Horne, in his book "To Lose A Battle", paints the British-lead strike as an engagement that may well have been the most decisive battle in all of WWII. And when you look at the battle, and think about the outcome, he may well be right.

Pouring forth from Germany, the Panzer Divisions had driven hard against the faltering French for 10 days. On the May 20, 1940 the foremost Panzers reached the English Channel. In the words of Horne: "The dog tired Panzer crews filled their lungs with sea air and wondered in amazement at how much more they had achieved than the Kaiser's army before them."

In the process of reaching the sea, they had encircled the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in a pocket along the coast, leaving the BEF with the option of either fighting its way out or evacuating via Dunkirk. Lord Gort, who commanded the BEF in France was, by this time, chiefly concerned with ensuring the survival of the BEF as Britain's primary ground force. However, at the most senior levels of the Allied armies, an operation was conceived for the British and French to make a concerted strike at the Panzer column that had encircled it, and to cut off the "head of the tortoise."

The position of the Germans at this point was indeed tenuous. In addition to out-doing the historical achievements of the Kaiser's army, the lead elements of the Panzer thrust had also outstripped their real-life infantry counterparts who were miles behind them. As a result, what separated the BEF and a number of French units from the main body of the French was a thin "Panzer corridor" absent of the German troops needed seal the fate of the BEF.

The great Allied counterattack was slow in coming together, as coordination between the French and the BEF was poor, and French seemed to be reeling from the devastating psychological effects of the Blitzkrieg. And there was the problem of resources. Attacked on every side, it was difficult for the British and French in the pocket to pull units out of the line and commit them to the attack. So, what was conceived by the higher ups as a strike by four divisions, would only be a riposte of two battalions of the BEF’s 150th, some armor and little to no support from the RAF.

A limited attack to interrupt German communications and supplies was all Gort felt he ever could accomplish. But like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripples of Arras would eventually reach Berlin. Gort waited only a brief time to see if French support would materialize. Then he moved into action.

The attack was launched on the afternoon of May 21, 1940 and was lead by General Martel, Britain's foremost tactician in tank warfare. On the extreme right, the French provided a force of cavalry tanks and guns to cover the flank of the attack. Martel divided his forces into two columns. One equipped with 50 Mark I tanks, the other containing 16 Mark II tanks, called "Matilda's." Both the Mark I and the Matilda were infantry tanks - heavily armored, under-gunned compared to the German tanks, and slow moving.

The attack trundled into its first objectives, and scored early victories against German troops that had grown accustomed to easy wins. It was not long, however, before the Stukas arrived to drive the BEF infantry to ground. The armor kept on going without the infantry, achieving success against the opposing forces. But, without the infantry to make good on the ground gained by the armor, the attack became overextended and began to falter.

It was at the high watermark of the BEF's attack that Rommel is reported to have employed the 88mm anti-aircraft gun as an antitank weapon for the first time, easily defeating the heavily armored Matilda, and halting the attack. Eventually, the 25th Panzer arrived to reverse the BEF’s gains.

Two days later, without the approval of his superiors, Gort began pulling his troops back toward the beaches of Dunkirk. His motive was clearly to preserve the BEF.

In all the attack achieved a only marginal battlefield victory in men and material for the BEF. The Germans reported to have lost significant numbers of men and tanks. The BEF also lost the greater part of its tanks. But the psychological victory of the British over the Germans was the achievement that may have been the most decisive of the war. The attack by Martel and the tough skin of the Matilda must have shaken the Germans. Horne describes the them as feeling a certain amount of disbelief that their attack was going so well to begin with. German reports filtering back to the high command described hundreds of enemy tanks and five enemy divisions. By the time of Arras, the Germans were apparently ready to believe that they had finally run out of luck. And so they paused.

This temporary abatement gave the British time to pull back and organize the “Miracle of Dunkirk,” which returned the BEF to England, giving the English the confidence and spirit to resist Hitler and buying time to bring the U.S. and the U.S.S.R into the war and assure victory over the Third Reich.

Gort would also survive the German Blitzkrieg, but one can only imagine the effects of Dunkirk. Monty - who was then only commander of the 3rd Division - met Gort on the beaches of Dunkirk amidst the evacuation and wrote in his diary about Gort "C-in-C very pathetic site, a defeated and dissapointed man."

But there can be no denying Gort's tremendous achievement in stepping forward and delivering a major psychological blow to the Germans at Arras thus preserving the BEF to fight again another day.

Pardon My Dust

2005-03-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

I have to find a new host for the files for this site. The host where I store the images and game files is being transferred to another owner. Therefore, you'll not be seeing the images and "stuff" for a while.

In other news, I embarassed myself today by completely forgetting what the password I used for my saved tournament game. I sent the file to Panther and I hope they can dig the password out of the file for me.

So, rather than finish up round one against Isacco, the Milano Master of Disaster, he and I started a new game against one another: "Battle of the Boxtel Bases." I took command of the vaunted Axis forces, and Isacco lead the Allies. We played for two hours and I have to admit that he is getting the better of me. Before we could finish, my son woke up from his nap, and my wife strolled in to remind me of the things I needed to get done, so I had to save the game and bid Isacco farewell till next time.

All this while he was driving a Guards armored regiment right across my flank, threatening to envelope the entire 1034 infantry regiment in Boxtel proper. I had recognized the threat and had given them orders to pull back from the city, but they were so war weary, I couldn't get them to move. Grrrrrrr.

Mercifully, I won't have to watch the disaster unfold for another week or so.

Another Hero Gone

2005-03-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

Last week, Bill Kasson passed away. He was a childhood friend of my father, and they served together in the U.S. 71st Infantry Division during WWII.

The picture above is of my father (left) and Bill. The photo was taken at Stanford University after they finished basic training. They were enrolled in specialized training programs at Stanford when suddenly they shipped to Europe as replacements for the many soldiers who were wounded or killed in the early fighting of the invasion of France.

In the photo, they look excited and proud; ready to embark on the adventure of a life time. And what an adventure it was - across France, into Germany, and ending the war in Austria. Bill carried the 45-lb base of a 81 mm mortar a good part of the way, through eight river assualts, a handful of battles, and the liberation of a concentration camp.

Military life meant much to Bill - much more than it did to my dad. While my father was proud to have served and the war figured into his life in many ways, he never had the desire to wear a uniform again and never wanted to spend another night outdoors. Bill, however, spent 30 years in the military reserves and ultimately lead his reserve unit.

During the war, my father and Bill served in different regiments and saw little of each other. One of my dad's favorite stories was how, after crossing the Elbe in a small boat, he scrambled ashore to where a G.I. extended a hand down the river bank to help him up. It was Bill.

They were able to re-enact the happy moment in the 1980s when they followed the Division's path across Europe. Spending time with Bill remembering the old days brought my Dad much joy. In 1986 my dad died. Bill remained a devoted friend of the family ever since, and we will miss him.

I'd like to think that, as Bill went to go home to the Lord, my dad was waiting to extend a hand and help him up those final few steps.

New Map Resource

2005-02-26T15:50:00.000-05:00

The library downtown just got a new map scanner and they have a good collection of Military Service maps from 1942. Spent some time there today getting ready for the next project. Can you guess battle what it will be?

Links and Info

2005-02-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

The Game
Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich - This is what this blog is all about. A great new game that lets you call the shots during Operation Market Garden. Whether you lead the Allies or defend as the Germans, you'll need to think steps ahead and react quickly to achieve victory in real-time battles against an advanced AI or live opponent.

NEWS - the upcoming "Conquest of the Aegean" is nearing completion and should be available this fall. Read more here.

Panther Games - The creators of Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich and its predecessor, Airborne Assault: Red Devils over Arnhem.

The Matrix Games forums for HTTR - Matrix is the publisher of HTTR and hosts an active forum for the game and its follow-on Conquest of the Agean. Query the developers and you'll likely get a response. You can find an online opponent there, and it's also a great place for tips from many very good players.

The Usenet "games - war historical" Message Board - This is the unfiltered usenet group (via Google Groups) that discusses a wide variety of topics... sometimes even wargames. Often Airborne Assualt. Good detailed info is often posted by the developer and updates are provided frequently.

Game Patches and Downloads - The official page for game downloads and patches. Includes a couple of good map graphics map packs by Bil Hardenberger, game reference charts, and tools for scenario creation.

Fan Sites
The Drop Zone - The granddaddy of AA fan sites. This was the fist (and, until I started doing this, the only) Airborne Assault fan site going. Currently, you can follow the HTTR Tourney at this website. The Drop Zone was started after the launch of Airborne Assault: Red Devils After Arnhem. Most, if not all, files are for AA:RDOA and will not work with the current game. But, it still contains a wealth of information about the game and is well worth a look.

El Savior's Airborne Depot - A very informative fan site and home to the Battle of the Bulge mod for HTTR. Plus El Savior hosts a number of other scenarios.

Scenarios/Mods
Hedgerows Mod - Mini-site for my Hedgerows expansion pack.

Crossing the Moselle River - Great map and scenario by Count Sessine. Go to the downloads section of the Airborne Depot.

Heartbreak Ridge - One of the great Airborne Assault: Red Devils Over Arnehm scenarios that has been converted by JeF for the new game.

Hohenstaufen Holiday Scenario - Modified Arnehm scenario that asks "What if the 9th SS Pz Div was rotated out of the Arnehm area prior to the Market Garden op?" If you were in the British 1st AB Div, you would answer: "Only if..." By Paul Roberts. Send him a message via the Matrix forums for the file.

World War HQ - Currently hosting two AA:HTTR mods and will likely host more soon. Mine I hope.

Love / Hate

2005-02-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

The best time and worst time I've had playing this game is against a human opponent.

Having gotten fairly well crushed in my first game in the tourney (my worst time?), I am facing my opponent again in round two. Today we played for almost two hours, but had to stop before the match was over. I enjoyed the game a lot, but can't stop wondering how things will go in the final hours.

There isn't much time left... and my situation is looking okay thus far. BUT, I'm wondering when he'll unleash the knockout blow. Because we are playing a scenario that came with the game, I know full well what forces he has to work with. And so far, I've only seen maybe half or less of his forces.

The question is where will they come? And will I have enough time to react? This is the part I truly love and hate... stay tuned!

Block the Beaches Beta 1.03 Released

2005-02-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

Made some more tweaks and am close to finalizing this scenario.

I have probably played this one about 40 times and it is still fun. It's a good challenge and the map offers opportunities to mix up the strategy and attack.

I hope you enjoy it - download here.

Spanked!

2005-02-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

Isacco handed me a stinging defeat in the HTTR tourney. A 25 point difference in our scores! I will post a more detailed AAR when the whole thing is over. Knowing how balanced the scenario is - and how solid Isacco is - I fear the spread is too much to regain in round two.

On a good note, I've published the Carentan map with a new scenario. Check it out.

Progress!

2005-02-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've managed to put together a small scenario for my new Utah Beach map. It's meant to be played as the Germans. You'll definitely struggle to contain the para drop, consolidate the situation and prepare for the onslaught of the beach invasion.

I've got to finish up two things and then I'll post it for download. Watch this site this weekend....

See some screenies here.

Checking In... Checking Out

2004-11-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of progress here. Been up to my ears in real-life stuff. Check out El Savior's site this week - sounds as if he is getting close to releasing "Seven Roads to Hell."

Crouching Panther, Screaming Eagle

2004-11-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Now that I know COTA will not support the HTTR maps and scenarios, I've decided that my Carentan map is good enough and ready for a scenario (why try to perfect something that I'll only have to recreate when COTA is released).

To that end, I'm putting together battle that pits the 101st AB against a PZ Div. It's fiction - but fun. Will take me a week or more to get it ready. Stay tuned!

AAHQ Update

2004-10-20T20:44:00.000-04:00

I started out using this blog to talk about my modifications to the HTTR game, specifically the Hedgerows mod. But, I've been monitoring the site using "Statcounter" and very very few people bother to read the posts about map creation and estab creation etc. The popular pages are this home page and the links page.

In response to this trend, I think I'll spend a little more time writing quick scenario reviews and mod reviews as a way to help players and prospective game owners get an idea as to what HTTR is all about. Of course, I'll continue to write about modding the game, creating maps and scenarios, which is a lot of fun if you are into WWII history.

If you are stopping by this site for the first time, please download my mod and give it a whirl. Also, you can read my historical Market Garden game AAR on the Matrix message board.

Cheers,

Rooster

Review: Sound Mod by Tactics

2004-10-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

Tactics has created a very cool sound mod for HTTR, using samples from a variety of games and other sources.

The new sounds create a very different ambiance for the game, and enhance the overall experience.

Listen to a sample recording here.

Mostly, I like the mod's echo effect that make you feel as if you are observing the battle from a commanding distance. At times it's like hearing the results of your orders drift back across the valley to your command post. I'm hoping that the upcoming Crete game has sounds this good.

Check out this Tactic's sound mod at the The Drop Zone file download.

Beta Version Released!

2004-10-11T23:05:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to announce that you can download the Beta version of the Hedgerows mod at the Hedgerows mod site. Please give it a try. Your comments are welcome!

Rooster

Creating the Forces: Allied

2004-10-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

I'll start by saying that, while I learned a lot creating the forces from scratch, if I were to do it over, I would have used the existing force pool and modified it to suit my needs.

This would have been easier than creating the entire force pool from scratch, because all I needed to do was create an "ersatz" U.S. Infantry Division, and U.S. Armored Task Force and edit the existing German forces to suit my needs. Instead, I ended up creating the U.S. forces and the German forces.

That said, I did learn quite a bit and I am happy with the results, though there will undoubtedly be room for more learning.

To create a WWII U.S. Infantry Division, I utilized the existing British line infantry estabs. For the most part, there were one-to-one substitutes. I was able to use the existing British line Inf Div Tac HQ for its U.S. counterpart. I was able to use the Brit Mot Inf Bde Tac HQ as a US Inf Reg Tac HQ. The only problem with this swap was that the Brits had a Motorized Bde HQ and I wanted one that was not motorized. The HTTR scenarios don't use the non-motorized line units as I suppose that nearly all British line units were fairly motorized by the time of Market Garden. But early on, in the Norman hedgerows, I think the U.S. companies traveled and fought on foot.

One compromise that I chose to make was to represent the division's artillery battalions with single batteries only. This gives the U.S. forces plenty of arty and keeps the scenario somewhat balanced. Arty is very powerful in HTTR and representing the full compliment of a U.S. Infantry Division's artillery assets would make the scenario a walk in the park for the allies.

Here is the layout of the 117th Inf Regiment, as part of the 30th Infantry Division:

Some things you might notice:

Regimental Weapons and Mortar companies have been distributed among the battalions as under-strength companies. This is how I think they were organized, or so I've read. Plus, the idea of making a few MGs and Mortars available to each Btln is appealing, rather than having to choose where to aim an entire MG company.

I've also included an Armored detachment at this level. This is the only regiment in the entire division where such a unit is attached. I found that, when assigned at the division level, the armored detachment behaved oddly, though I am uncertain why. But, as I look at this, I'm considering trying it again at the division level because it looks odd.

Creating the Map - Part Three

2004-09-19T23:21:00.000-04:00

Having created the terrain levels for the game map based on the source map I loaded into the Map Maker, I was ready to work on roads, waterways, cities, towns, villages and vegetation.

These separate tasks were fairly straightforward, and doing it is all explained quite well in the manual. That doesn't mean I didn't do some of them twice though, learning the hard way a couple of times.

One of the challenges in creating the map and the scenario was recreating an amphibious crossing. I first considered it a problem that might have a map-based solution, and I tried to think of a way to do it using a ferry crossing. Or, thinking I might be clever, using the "lake" terrain element, and actually giving it "movement" points that would allow forces to cross over it as if it were land. I tried this and it did not work. And, it's good that it did not work because this would be a part of the terrain that would work equally well for either side. Further, the AI would use this as a way to move non-amphib equipped troops across the river. In the end, I decided to handle the amphib crossing of six companies as a reinforcement in the scenario that simply appears on the map across the river at the appointed time. More on this when I write about creating units and building the scenario.

Another fun challenge was creating St. Lo. The map maker includes a "city" terrain tile, and I drew a St. Lo sized shape on the map and thought I would be done. As I looked at the final drawing, however, it did not have the same feel that the cities in the game. It lacked a personality that made it feel more realistic, and more engrossing. So, I worked on it for quite a while, trying to capture the feel of an older town. St. Lo is the ancient seat of the district, and should have some intricacies to it. I thumbed through "Great Streets" which has several great overhead drawings of old European cites to show how their streets influenced their design and how they had an organic feeling.

I created the following city layout, which has some interest to it, but is still not close to the quality of those provided with the game.

I think creating maps is easy to do mechanically, although getting the maps to look as detailed as those in the game takes work. I'd say it's worth buying any future installment of the game for the maps alone. The maps in the game are extremely detailed with patches of woods or light woods in irregular shapes, and mixtures of urban and other terrain elements. In general, they look interesting, the way topography does.

Studying the game maps gives you ideas about your creating your own map, but you'll need to use your imagination at times, even if you can find maps like the one shown in this post. In the end, my map includes some fiction to give it a less "sterile" look.

My map also benefits greatly from the Hedgerow terrain mod itself. It blankets a large part of the map and gives it the kind of detail that it would otherwise lack.

I followed the instructions for creating the map files, which is a purely automatic process, and was excited to get some forces on it and try it out.

Creating the Map - Part Two

2004-09-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

Before importing the composite map I created into the game, I had to calculate the map size and create a map file that would allow me to faithfully reproduce the terrain. I could have done a more accurate job of this, following the instructions in this thread over at the message boards, which is filled with gems of info for map creation. At the time, however, the post didn't exist, so I had to wing a little and I was satisfied enough with the result.

I then imported the map graphic it into the Map Maker that ships with Allied Assault: Highway to the Reich. This is fairly straightforward in terms of getting the file to be read by the game, and it's all covered in the manual.

I was ready to begin! The manual suggests starting with the elevations, so I layered up my map using the tools provided, tracing each contour with the associated elevation.

For some areas, the source map was extremely detailed, and it was also extremely quiet about other areas. In the end, I chose to focus on reproducing the general changes in elevation. As a result, the map is more of an approximation rather than a faithful reproduction, and this is just a trade-off I had to made in the interest of getting the map to the point where I could play on it.

Because the terrain has higher hills than Holland where HTTR is based, I knew I could not use the default layer height of 10 meters, I would have to make it 20 meters to get the elevations I needed. My mistake was not doing this straight off. I created the layers at the default setting of 10 meters and then tried to change the layer height later. This didn't work! Every time I changed the dialogue box to read 20, and then tried to save, it crashed the Map Maker.

Luckily, I posted this issue over at the message boards and the kind folks at Panther asked me to send the file in to see what could be done. A day later, "Panther Paul" had fixed the map and informed me that I had detected a small bug that would be fixed in the next patch. Kudos to Panther!

Making the Hedgerow Mod

2004-09-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

Here, in chronological order, are the posts about the making of the Hedgerows mod:

Introduction: If there's a bustle in your hedgerow...

Creating Terrain Elements, Part One

Creating Terrain Elements, Part Two

Creating Terrain Elements - Part Three

Creating the Map - Part One

Creating the Map - Part Two

Creating the Map - Part Three

Creating the Forces - Allied

Creating the Map - Part One

2004-09-09T22:56:00.000-04:00

When Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich was announced, I was reading the official military of the battle for St. Lo. Knowing that the game would ship with the tools to make a map and scenarios, the St. Lo history seemed to be a very good source for re-creating the conflict within the game, so I thought I would give it a try. There were several large and small maps available, along with ample information on forces and timing.

Once I bought the game, I set about creating the map. I wanted to maximize the area of the covered as much as possible so I chose several of the more detailed maps and quilted them together in Photoshop. I used different colors for each map to sort of align them better.

The result was a fairly large chunk of land, about 338 square kilometers, stretching from Allied jump-off point to just south of the St. Lo - Lessay road, and reaching from the Taute River to just east of the Vire. The map includes St. Lo in the bottom right hand corner. There is a ample road network, as well as river crossings and some varied elevation. Again, the main feature is the bocage.

Additionally, the battle narrative for this region provides ample excitement, with allied advances and SS counter-attacks. The actual duration of the battle was 12 days in the middle of July 1944. But more on the battle and the forces later.

After layering together the maps show above in Photoshop, I saved the file as a .bmp so it could be imported into the Map Maker tool. Then, I calculated the size of the area as best I could and created a new map file in the Map Maker to accomodate the size of my map. I then imported the .bmp by following the instructions in the game manual and I was ready to start creating the elevation layers, roads, towns, waterways, etc.

Creating Terrain Elements - Part Three

2004-09-07T11:38:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in previous posts, the tools and documentation provided with HTTR are great and give any owner of the game great latitude (and longitude?) in creating maps, updating terrain, and building scenarios.

However, now that I've turned a wrench on my mod, and scraped my knuckles a time or two in the process, I would have one thing that would make this process a tiny bit better.

More Terrain Element Options!

As mentioned, I've used the "Broken" terrain slot to create the hedgerow terrain element. This means, of course, that I must forgo any maps that are heavy in "broken" terrain because I gave that option up. It would be great, therefore, if, in future releases, we could have MORE terrain options and even some blank terrain elements to build upon.

As the series moves on from Holland to Greece, I can imagine that the developers have opted to give up "Polder" in favor of "Olive Grove." But they couldn't simply add "Olive Grove" without replacing another terrain element, or perhaps I'm not aware. So how about 10 more terrain slots to work with?

That's it. Really, I feel funny complaining about such things... just hoping that my 2 cents can help improve what is a really awesome set of mod tools.

So, for comparison, here are actual hedgerows:

And here are my hedgerows:

Next, I'll walk through my map from research and development to making the file available to anyone wanting to jump in give have a look in advance of the final project being released.

Creating the Mod - Terrain Elements, Part Two

2004-09-04T13:39:00.000-04:00

I'm simultaneously working on the mod and writing about how I've done it. Hopefully these descriptions are of use to anyone that wants to create their own game modifications or build scenarios.

NOTE: Creating these mods (and maps and scenarios) is, for the most part, fairly straightforward because Panther supplies the tools and documentation with the game. Plus, at the HTTR forums, there is a scenario and mod message board where the creators promptly answer questions.

I last talked about how I created the tile using the existing "broken" (meaning broken ground) terrain tile that I felt could be sacrificed in my maps. I addressed the kinds of values I entered into the dialog box to get the effect I wanted, which determines the mechanics of the terrain elements: visibility, movement, and the effect of shell bursts. For this mod I'm also developing new terrain graphics, so the following are some things I learned that may be of help to others.

To give the map the look of the Normandy hedgerows, I've created a series of grids for the different zoom levels of the games. It was a trial and error process figuring out which tiles correspond to which zoom levels, but here for any other aspiring modders is the relationship:

I was quite happy with how the graphic looked initially, but Arjuna from Panther games pointed out that the field density might be a bit high for the zoom level. Good point. So, I created new tiles for the more "zoomed-in" levels, which, after some experimentation, I decided look best as a straight up and down grid. I'm not 100% happy with it yet, but the grid at least doesn't overwhelm the map - and it does its job, giving the player an idea of when they are in the hedgerows.

I also made the tile graphics two-toned so that they would show up at any elevation. The trick was to introduce a dark brown row of pixels next to the green, as seen (barely) below:

For those of you that want to create new terrain graphics - it's important to make a corresponding set of grayscale graphics on the second map interface called "MapPatA.bmp".

Here's how the most magnified zoom level looks:

Anyway – that’s all for now. Next post is part three of terrain were I toss in a couple of “wish list” items for this kind of work.

Creating the Mod – Terrain Elements, Part One

2004-09-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

The cornerstone of this mod is the new Hedgerow terrain element. To create it, I used the existing “Broken” terrain element, which I felt would be one of the least used in the maps I wish to create.

I adapted the speed and visibility values of the “Broken” terrain element to give it the feeling of hedgerow fighting. What I did was give the element the visibility of the city and the speed of polder. I’ve since tweaked almost all of the settings to make the element a little more forgiving, and a little easier to spot in, and this seems to provide the right feel. I hope to get feedback on this when it is released.

The most noticeable and difficult thing about this new terrain is how, even over short distances, a unit will increase dramatically in fatigue, while unit cohesion goes right down the tubes. It makes mounting an attack difficult and wearisome.

All of which seems pretty accurate. The difficulty of bocage fighting was one of the main impressions I took away from Glover S. Johns' book The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo.

In the modified game, the units constantly seek to use the roadways rather than attack through the hedgerows. It's not what I expected, but it might be "realistic." This is supported in the War Department’s history of the battle, which records a warning from the commander of the 2nd Panzer to his men: "the possession of dominating height is often not as decisive as possession of traffic junctions."

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow...

2004-09-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

Hi Airborne Assault fans!

I've chosen to create a blog for this game because it will allow me to easily publish information about my Hedgerows! modification, which will introduce new terrain, new units, and new maps. So far, I've created one map for the game, based on the area of Normandy south of Carentan, between the Vire and Taute rivers.

It was there that the U.S. 30th Infantry Division fought their way southward to capture the heights above St. Lo, thus making it possible for the 29th U.S. Infantry Division to enter and occupy the city. The map info and much of the scenario info was taken from the U.S. Army's Center for Military History.

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The key terrain feature of this map is the hedgerow. These run like lattice-work across the Normandy countryside, divvying up the land into thousands and thousands of enclosed fields. These hedgerows have been in existence for hundreds of years and are formidable 2-meter high earthen barriers topped with dense overgrowth. The Germans made excellent use of these natural fortifications and held the allied advance for several weeks.

The modifications I'm making are an attempt to capture something of the battle of the hedgerows using the really amazing game engine of Allied Assault. It will not be 100% accurate - it cannot be. I don't have access to the game's estabs. But it will be as good an approximation as possible and hopefully further extend the playability of this excellent game... at least until the new titles come out.

It's worth mentioning that Panther Games, the creators of Allied Assault, have announced plans for a Normandy-based game in the future. It will likely be available after they publish Conquest of the Agean this fall, and Battle of the Bulge next year. I hope to have a playable version of the modification, map and new units in September.

Please stay tuned.
Rooster