battle/scenario design?

[saddletank]

Can the game designer please say something about how a player would write a scenario or battle? If I have the historical OrBat for an action would it be easy to transfer this information into a Les Grognards order of battle (division/corps structure)? Say I had a corps of 18,800 men and I know these formed two divisions each of 3 brigades totalling 3,600, 2,900, 2,350, 3,100, 4,050 and 2,800 men. I know each division had an 8 gun 8 pdr foot battery and there was another 8 gun 12pdr foot battery and an 8 gun 6pdr horse battery at corps level, plus an attached light cavalry division of 2 brigades of 1,800 and 1,750 men. I've got the names of the regiments in the divisions but not the strengths on the day so I'll have to fudge in the number and size of battalions. I can do this for paper wargames rules but I was curious as to how the Les Grognards interface will work.

Given that unit sizes are limited would you work to a figure ratio such as 1 Les Grognards 3D figure representing perhaps 20 actual men and build up your battalions that way?

Then I have a battle map and a known deployment for the two sides plus a start time and a nightfall when fighting ended, with a script of who attacked who defended and what the victory condictions were. How would I go about structuring the battle in the Les Grognards interface?

And finally how would I go about constructing the map - I presume like other games there will be a map editor that will include a terraforming tool, a ground texturing tool and then the placement of scenery such as rivers, bridges, buildings and woodland? How would you define areas of marshy ground, dense woods or other obstacles to movement? Will there be a classification for water courses with fordable/unfordable, steep banks/marshy banks or such like so beloved of miniatures wargamers?

[Link]

Hi Martin,

I’m not the game designer but I have made four of the battles, that will come with the game, with the help of the two editors (OoB and Map) so I know these tools like the back of my hand.  

I would say it’s very easy to make the battles. You have most of the regiments and generals in the OoB database with their attributes so it’s only to pick and click. You start with the commander in chief then corps, divisions, brigades and/or regiments. You can alter the number of battalions and strength for each brigade/regiment. See this link for more information: http://www.histwar.com/editor_battle_order.php

The soldier ratio is 1:10.

About the map. You select the two deployment zones, start time and duration. The nightfall is calculated by the SW depending on what season you select. You also select the size of the map and the weather conditions.

However you don’t chose neither who’s defending and who’s attacking nor the victory conditions. Perhaps JMM have some more information about this.

You can select ground levels, rivers (with standard banks), lakes, bridges, fords, marshes, towns, villages, castles, farms, hamlets, camps, redoubts, deep forests, forests plantations, vineyards, roads, brooks and lanes.

For the levels you point at a location on the map and drag horizontally for the size and vertically for the height. For rivers you drag a line thru the map from edge to edge. For brooks, roads and lanes you drag a line from A to B. There is a hooking feature to help you to connect roads and lanes to the streets of towns and villages. For all other objects you simply pick and click. You can place them on the 3D mode or the 2D mode that looks like a paper map or a symbolic mode that looks like the paper map but is in 3D.

One very nice feature is that you can import a 2D map and have it as a background so it’s very easy to create the map after that.
For more information about the map editor see this link: http://www.histwar.com/map_editor.php

/Lars L.

[saddletank]

Many thanks Lars, that sounds extremely comprehensive and easy to use. I like the excellent choice in terrain/forest/crop types. I did skim through those articles you linked to when I first came here but I must read again more carefully.

If it is a small battle with just a C in C and separate divisions without a formal corps structure to the army I presume the SW can cope with this OK?

The 1:10 figure ratio does mean there is a limit to battle size then, given IIRC there are a maximum 100 units a side (although I suppose a unit could be anything up to a complete brigade if you're happy to work at a slightly more abstract level).

I see nothing to stop a scenario designer arbitrarily using a 1:20 ratio or higher if he wanted to portray a bigger action, but I guess the 100 unit limit would preclude that. A variable 3D model:men ratio would be a handy feature though

[JMM]

Bonsoir,

Lars.. all is right!
Just to say there is a limit for either battalion or squadron...
This one is 71 figures for a battailon and 21 for a squadron...

One infantery unit = 1 to 8 battalions (min 300, max 5000)
One cavalery unit= 2 to ?? squadrons (min ???, max ???)

SW only shows  1..6 battalions / 2..6 squadrons...

Generaly speaking, the ratio is 1/10 for a normal battalion (strength 500..700 men)
Over this value, the ratio becomes 1/n (n > 10)

One Foot Artillery unit = 1 to 24 cannons (12£, 8£, 4£, howitzer)
One Horse Artillery unit = 1 to 12 cannons

For the regimental artillery, there is only one cannon displayed.. it presents 1 to 8 real cannons. For other artillery, one cannon presents 1 to 4 real cannons.

Hierarchy.. It's very flexible:
CinC
Corps
Division
Brigade
Regiment

Regiment can be attached to Brigade, Divison or Corps...


JMM
(???, sorry! I don't remember the precise figures   I think 300 to 2000 but I am sure Lars knows the good figures )

[Link]

(???, sorry! I don't remember the precise figures   I think 300 to 2000 but I am sure Lars knows the good figures )

Bonjour,

The max number of squadrons is 12 and in theory minimum strength is 40 and max is 5000. In theory you can go down to 40 men strength for a battalion too.  :wink:

/Lars L.

[saddletank]

Fantastic, a truely flexible system.