Guide for the battle editor?

[Schitzer]

Hello

I would like to make missions in the battle editor and looking for some kind of guide/tutorial which would explain how it works. I didn't find anything on YT and also in the PDF manual, there is nothing on this.

[andrey12345 v2.0]

The game has a tutorial mission.

[joseph66hole]

What do you want to know? I spend a lot of time in it.

[Schitzer]

I would like to set up some basic battle, but I don't understand the commands you use to define lets say defence and more. So I go to define paths and I see defence button, but it always selects one unit only and draws some lines once I click on other units. I can't select other units and give them orders. Lets say, I want a platoon with tanks that will be entrenched and another platoon manouvering and attacking my forces.

[Ozark Rebel]

Maybe this will help?

https://steamcommunity.com/app/312980/discussions/0/405693392923244370/

Gonna eat some dinner and then I'll put up some stuff I think will help you. It's much easier than you think but more generalized concerning some aspects. The AI will determine much of it. More later.

[Ozark Rebel]

I'm not sure what you understand about the editor so excuse me for repeating things you already know. Also, excuse the spelling and grammar. I'm trying to hurry up before bed. Got busy here.

You will have to select the Battle Settings. This is the icon that looks like a cog in the near low panel. In it you will set the map you want to use and various other conditions. You will need to set the player side as well as the enemy side. To the right of that are the Missions of the two sides and allies. After setting the conditions etc. you'll hit the Deploy Troops On The Map button, arrow above horizontal line. This exits you out to the map screen. Hit the Set Battle Area button at the top of the upper panel (disregarding the uppermost and bottom exit button). Set the area you want to fight over.

You can use the next button down to set out the layout, changing the nodes that units will be placed in.


Next you'll place your units on the map. Set up what you want for all sides, keeping in mind the battle mission of the sides. A defense mission by the player will have them start dug in.

When you choose a commander, all additional units clicked will be a part of that formation. You can also make other groups by hitting the button that looks like the wheel of a revolver. Click and right click to form the groups.

You then give your battle objectives. That link above shows the various ones you can set.

The Boot print button allows you to set up paths. With it you can set what the enemy does and a bit how it does it. You must exit out of this mode using the group button. Each time you are done setting the moves you'll need to press the Group button again to select the moves of another formation. Multiple waypoints can be added.

With this you can easily make a battle like you describe. Balancing it is the hardest part.

There is more but need to go to bed. Mess with it and if you have any questions, post them here.

[Ozark Rebel]

So, to do your example.

I set both sides for defense. This ensures that the enemy and my forces are entrenched. I order the closest enemy platoon to defend. A long delay may have been better. The other I have travel down the roads until it approaches then assault.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687843538

Here is the enemy in defense. One tank leaves its position so a big delay would have kept them there instead of the defend option I chose.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687846104

Here is the other platoon moving down the roads as directed.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687846183

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687846224

Hope this helps

[Schitzer]

Thank you for the explanation. I guess the most important thing is when setting the paths and triggers to go every time out and click on Group to "confirm" the commands.
However, I do have questions related to Editor but also the groups:
1. What does the grouping mean? If the units are already under hierarchy (company-platoon) they have grouped already, right? What kind of relationship between units are possible?
2. I made a simple setup: Battalion HQ, infantry company command, infantry platoon, HMG company command, and mortar platoon. In-game, I wanted to test how the orders for mortar fire will be transferred (after wires are being laid).
Why can't I use other units to do observed fire and communicate with the mortar platoon?
Also, since there are no wire guys in the mortar platoon, once I moved the platoon commander far away to act as a spotter, the wired connection couldn't be established. I guess the commander can still communicate via flairs but the fire will be inaccurate.

[archibaldthe1]

Originally posted by Schitzer:

2. … I wanted to test how the orders for mortar fire will be transferred (after wires are being laid).
Why can't I use other units to do observed fire and communicate with the mortar platoon?
...

I ran into this too - I could not make the “upstream target sharing” (from infantry platoon to the commander, then to mortars platoon) work in the battle editor. I saw it in the campaign though. Not sure if it’s a matter of setting up right or a bug.

[archibaldthe1]

Does anyone know if the options we have in battle editor (triggers and movements) are similar tools for what AI uses to construct a battle plan or do we get a simplified version (or perhaps, a battle plan is built using a completely different thing altogether)?

[archibaldthe1]

One thing that would be nice with the battle editor is the ability to create battle groups. Otherwise, it's all but impossible to set up a fully equipped battalion. Well, I suppose, you can do that, but they you'd have to pit it against less than a company :)

[Bjorn Ginger]

What I'd like to see in this game is the option of a map editor where one could use topographic maps from the '30s and '40s as a help to create the environment where the battles are being fought. I'm pretty sure that Graviteam are using those kind of maps and information from the Russian website Pamyat Naroda and maybe even German websites for information about where troops were stationed and their directions of attack.

[andrey12345 v2.0]

The process of making a realistic map is quite complicated - the number of players who will do this is vanishingly small. According to the experience of the previous game, which had such kind of editor, 1.5 people out of ~30K players started making own maps, which is 0.0067%.
This is obviously a completely unnecessary feature that no one uses. Therefore, the map editor is not present in this game and will not be in the next ones either.

[Bjorn Ginger]

I have made maps and missions for the Combat Mission game I own and am in the plans to make a campaign for that game too.

Now I of course don't know anything about the difference in making maps and campaigns for Mius Front and a Combat Mission game. But it would be great if there was an option to get a map editor separately so people could make maps for the game which they later on can use for making missions and quick battles in the in-game mission editor

[andrey12345 v2.0]

Originally posted by Bjorn Ginger:

I have made maps and missions for the Combat Mission game I own and am in the plans to make a campaign for that game too.

There are no tools in Combat Mission to create a realistic landscape. The dimensions of the landscape are extremely small even for a small battle. It is also not possible to create an operation/campaign, only a mission.
Obviously, the creation of a small battlefield in arcade RTS style, using tiles, as is done in CM, has nothing to do in terms of complexity with the creation of a large realistic landscape.

Actually, 90% of the work on creating the realistic landscape is done without the participation of the editor from the game. Topographic reference, combination of various maps and geodata. Cutting out the right landscape section, creating a planes for the right date, and a thousand other things. All this is done perfectly and without any game editor.
I’m generally not speak about the operation, 99% of it is working with archives, translating, drawing diagrams and creating tables for troops descriptions. For all that the game editor is also not needed at all.

Originally posted by Bjorn Ginger:

But it would be great if there was an option to get a map editor separately so people could make maps for the game

No, that would not be great, as I already wrote above, these is the feature that no one will use, but the developers will have to spend resources on supporting them.

[Shrike]

Originally posted by andrey12345 v2.0:

Actually, 90% of the work on creating the realistic landscape is done without the participation of the editor from the game. Topographic reference, combination of various maps and geodata. Cutting out the right landscape section, creating a planes for the right date, and a thousand other things. All this is done perfectly and without any game editor.

I think you're caught on the "realistic" aspect. Nobody is expecting to replicate exactly what you achieve when you put together a campaign. Although I have no idea what tools or effort goes in to something as 'simple' as making a hill on a flat landscape and putting a tree on top of that hill

Similar to the Warcraft III Editor didn't need players to make their own full storied campaigns but still acted as a strong foundation that the playerbase used in so many ways it still effects the entire industry today