Introduction to the Scenario Editor

How to use the Second Front Scenario Editor, and some tips and tricks to help get the best results.

Getting Started

This guide assumes you have already created your map. You can find help with that in the "Introduction to the Map Editor" guide.

Note that while your scenario will appear in the Play menu, it is not available to anyone else to play until after you have uploaded it to the Workshop (this step is covered in Finishing Up).

Set up Scenario Details

From the game menu, select the Edit Scenario option. This will take you to the Scenario Editor, where your first step is to set up the scenario parameters - the date, which map, and other values. This is done by clicking on "create" and filling in the dialog that pops up. Similarly with the map editor, once you save these values, they can't be changed for a scenario.




You need to enter a unique name for the scenario - this should match the name of the map you created previously. This name will appear in many places - the scenario list, the workshop (if uploaded), and at the top of the screen when playing.


Next you need to select the date of the scenario. The date can range from 1936-Jan-01 to 1950-Dec-31, and it affects which units (vehicles and guns) are available to be placed in the scenario. This means that currently scenarios can be created for the war period of Sept 1939 to the end of the war in May 1945.


Now we need to know where the battle will take place - so we need to select a map. The map you previously created will be in the map list, so you can select it and click OK. The map name will appear in the new Scenario dialog.

Next, we need to select which forces will be present on the battlefield and the type of battle. You set the nationalities involved by first selecting "Russian vs German" or "American vs German". Then you select which side the player gets.

Finally, you select if the player is attacking or defending. And with an attack scenario, you can choose between a fight for VP locations or a Breakthrough to exit units. These choices are very important as they have a major impact on the design of your scenario.

In Attack - fight for VP scenarios, you set up 1 or more victory locations that the player needs to capture. In Breakthrough scenarios, you will need to select exit hexes and specify which units count for exit points, and how many are needed to win. For defend scenarios you pick 1 VP location that the player has to defend from the AI.

Once you click OK, the map will be loaded, the available force lists will be limited to the units available on that date, and based on the map type certain other units will be available. For example, maps with Ocean on will have landing craft available to the attacking force.

For our scenario we entered the details as follows:


After clicking OK, you should see a screen with your map displayed similar to the view below:

The Scenario Editor Interface and Properties

The Scenario Editor has a lot of tools available to you. Lets take a look at all of them.


In the top center, we see the scenario name you entered on the create dialog, and the player force nationality (on the left) and AI force nationality (on the right). In the center of this bar we see the scenario date you selected.

In the top left corner, we have the main menu for the editor to let you exit (make sure you save your work first!), create a new scenario (like we did in the previous step), save the scenario under the existing name, or a new one, and the option (initially) to upload the scenario to the workshop.

Under the editor menu, we see the tool selector menu. These items let you set up properties of the scenario, victory locations, special alterations, and units. And the bottom left section (currently showing units) is a context menu for the selected tool mode. Also shown is the active unit type toolbar, currently showing German tanks.


The scenario properties tool lets you configure a number of scenario related details.

• The compass direction of North. Look for the icon on the edge of the map to see which direction is being set north, and use this slider to adjust to the desired position.
  
  
• The ambient temperature for the battle, from very cold to very hot. This affects the chance for fires to spread and become larger. Colder temperatures hinder the fires, while hot temperatures promote spread.
  
  
• The presence or absence of ground snow. Snow makes it more difficult for infantry to move up hill.
  
  
• The choice of Dirt or Paved roads. This affects the entire map.
  
  
  
• Wind direction and strength. These affect the direction of both smoke and the spread of fire.
  
  
  
• Force Fatigue for each side, ranging from low (1 green square) to high (5 red squares). The higher the fatigue, the more likely that a unit will get a weaken result from breaking. Weaken results downgrade the troop quality one level, to a minimum of green.
  
  
• Ammo supply level for each force, from low (1 bullet) to high (3 bullets). Low supply increases the out of ammo % for guns and vehicle weapons, while high supply lowers their chance of running out of ammo. This affects AP, HEAT, and Smoke out of ammo % values.
  
  
• Difficulty - this setting represent how difficult the scenario is for the player, ranging from 0 to 3 stars. This doesn't affect the scenario, its just to help players choose appropriate difficulty scenarios to play.

The last item on the properties screen is the scenario description. This lets you enter a description of your scenario as well as detail the historical outcome or other results of the battle. The description will appear in the workshop to let players know what your scenario is about.

For our scenario, we have used this description:

The Victory Tool

Attack - VP Location and Defend VP Tool

The Victory tool lets you choose to allow casualty victory points or not with the Casualties slider. If enabled, casualty points are scored for eliminating units as follows:

• Half Squad = 1 point
  
• Squad or Crew = 2 points
  
• Leaders are points = 1 + #of gold stars
  
• Vehicles vary depending on the amount of armor they have - more armor gives more points.

Victory Locations are set using the location tool. You select the value using the slider, then click on the brown button (it will say Axis or Allied depending on who the defender is). Then you click on a location on the map to make it a victory location worth the points you first set the slider to.

Any unit able to enter a VP location can capture it. This mean vehicles can't capture locations in a building or forest location unless it could enter that location. Forest locations with roads or factories with vehicle entrances are examples of these that a vehicle could enter and capture.

The choice of VP location value and position is very important to making a good scenario. Depending on the type of scenario (the player is Attacking or the player is Defending) the VP locations will determine the length of scenario, and the chances for a win.

It is important to realize that setting a VP location in a building hex makes all locations in that building VP locations. To gain control of a building, you must free all locations in it (every hex of every floor) of enemy units.

For multi-part buildings like factories and train stations, the entire building consisting of all the building locations in all the connected parts must be controlled to gain control of the VP location.

Rowhouses treat each section as a separate building, and so only those in the section with the VP location must be controlled to gain control of the location. The rest of the rowhouse sections do not count unless they have their own VP location marker in them.

Superiority sets the force ratio the player needs to achieve to force the AI to surrender. When the player forces exceed the set ratio compared to the AI forces, the AI will surrender. Normally, this value should be left at the default of 1.5 until you have enough experience building scenarios.

The force strengths are compared based on:
Squad or Crew = 2 points
Half-squad = 1 point
Leaders = 1 + # of stars points
Vehicles and guns = 0 points.

Attack - Breakthrough VP Tool

When building a Breakthrough scenario, the VP tool is different. There are several settings - and they apply to all exit locations. You can mark an exit location hex by just clicking on the green button and then left clicking on the desired hex (you can have more than one). To remove an exit location, just right click on it and click on yes in the confirmation dialog.

You will likely want to configure the Breakthrough Victory requirement details after you have finished placing units so that you can see just how many points of units will be needed to exit for the player to win.

The Turns to Exit slider sets how many turns the player will have to exit the required VP value of units through any exit hex. This setting has a big impact and needs to be tested in your scenario. If its too low, the scenario becomes impossible to win. If too high then it becomes little challenge to win.

The percent of Force slider works in combination with the unit type slider. The unit type slider gives the choice of infantry only, vehicles only, or all. This allows you to limit which types of units count when exited. After setting the type slider, the Percent slider will show the total value of all qualifying units in the player's force, the selected percentage, and how many points that equates to. In the picture above, you can see that the total force of the player is worth 71 points (from the All units image on the left), and that there are 29 points of infantry and 42 points of vehicles. In each case, it shows the value that the 51% of each type equates to - 36 for all, 14 for infantry, or 21 for vehicles.

The scenario will end on any turn that the total set is reached in - it does not matter which exit hex the units use. It will also end early if all units of one side are eliminated.

Sample Scenario

Here is our map with a few VP locations set:

Scenario Victory conditions

Victory conditions for winning each type of scenario are:

Attack Scenarios (the player is Attacking for VP locations):

VP locations are marked on the map and are reduced by 10 points every complete turn that they are not held by the attacker force. A VP location in a building includes the entire building.*

The player wins by having control of all VP locations and having a force greater than the defender by the factor set by the scenario superiority (default of 1.5) times, or with the elimination of all defenders. The forces are compared based on:
Squad or Crew = 2 points
Half Squad = 1 point
Leaders = 1 + # of stars points
Vehicles and guns = 0 points.

The player loses by not capturing all locations before they go to 0 points or by resigning.

Breakthrough Scenarios (the player is Attacking with exit locations):

You score points for exiting units of the selected type (infantry, vehicles or both). Points scored are calculated like casualty points for the unit that exits. You have a time limit to exit enough points - this is shown in the upper right information block, under the current VPs total.

You win by exiting enough points within the time limit, or by eliminating all defenders. Any other result is a loss.

Defend Scenarios (the player is Defending):

There can be only 1 VP location marked on the map, and it will lose 10 points a turn that the player controls it. If the attacker gets control of the location, it stops losing points, and the scenario will end when you surrender. This gives the defender a chance to recapture the VP location and still win.

You win by forcing the attacker to surrender due to force points as above, or by controlling the VP location until it drops to 0 points.

* The "entire building" is determined by the type of building; some such as row houses are built of pieces and only the piece with the VP marker in it counts (as described above).

The Units Tool

Now that we have the map set up with the intended victory locations the next step is to select the forces for each side and set them up. This will include any reinforcements we want to have.

The process in general is to select the unit you want to place from the proper unit list then left click in the hex you want to place it. Vehicles and guns have a front facing, and you can select which way it is initially set similarly to placing other objects - point at the vertex you want the front facing, or use R and T (for guns) to pick it. And like placing decorations, left click places, right click removes the last unit placed in a hex.

Note that stacking limits are applied when placing units - even in entry hexes. The exception for entry hexes is that you can exceed the stacking limit, but only the first units placed up to the stacking limit will appear. Other units will only appear after the initial units move out of the entry hex.

The forces available for each side are restricted by the type of map, the date of the scenario and the side (attacker or defender). You will only have vehicles and guns historically available on the date selected appearing int he unit lists. Only Ocean maps will have landing craft - and they will only be available to the attacker (and this should be the player's forces).

You can use the Garage to help you select and mark which vehicles you want to use in your scenario as shown in Jo's excellent video.







Below are examples of all the unit menus available to Germans for the settings we used for our scenario.

When placing infantry units in buildings be careful to put them on the floor you intended. You can see which floor they are on by looking for the color border around their flag. No border means they are at ground level, any other color represents a different level.

The color on the flag matches the color of the hexagon of the level they are on (orange in the above picture).

And note that you can't move units if you place them in the wrong spot - you must remove it and place a new one in the location where you wanted it. When guns are placed in appropriate terrain, they will start the scenario hidden, and may include sand bags to protect their crew.

Support Weapons

To assign support weapons to a unit takes a couple steps. First the unit that you want to possess it must be placed. Then click the Units Menu item for Support Weapons to get in SW mode. Now click on the hex containing the unit you want to give the weapon to. If you have done this correctly, the units in that location will appear in the bottom right of the screen.


You then select which unit you want to give the weapon to (left click the counter to select, right click to unselect) then click on the weapon in the active unit toolbar. This will assign that weapon to the unit and it will appear above the unit in the lower right corner. If you want to remove the weapon, you either remove the unit holding it or use the hand icon on the weapon.


When you have placed the weapon correctly, it will be visible on the unit's flag on the map.

Passengers

Setting up passengers works similarly to assigning support weapons. You set up a vehicle that can carry passengers (for example, a truck or half track), place the desired infantry units in the same hex as the vehicle and then switch to the Support Weapon tool. This lets you select the hex with the vehicle and infantry, and shows them in the menu in the lower right corner.

Then you just click the mount icon to enter the vehicle for each unit you want as a passenger or rider.

Reinforcements

Setting up reinforcements works similarly to support weapons and passengers. First you need to mark the entry hex (see the process in the "Special" section below). Then you place the units you want to arrive as a group in the hex, assigning support weapons and passenger status as desired. Finally you add them as reinforcements by selecting a turn of arrival and clicking the "add" or "copy" button. Add puts the units as reinforcements and deletes the units from the map, while Copy puts the units as a reinforcement group and leaves the unit on the map - to add as another group on a different turn, or increase the size of the group on a previously selected group.

For more details managing reinforcements, see the :Special Tools" section below.

Special Tools

The Special Tools Menu gives tools to do a variety of things from modifying the terrain appearance to adjusting details about units.

Top to Bottom, on the left we have Reinforcement Hex, Hidden Unit, Blaze, Immobilize and Schurzen tool. On the right we have the Variable Gun set up tool, the flame tool, Broken tool, and Bomb tool.

Flame and Blaze

The Flame and Blaze tools work similarly - you select the tool, and then click on locations where you want to have a blaze or flame in at scenario start. Keep in mind that both will spread to other burnable terrain that is adjacent. The difference between them is the size of the fire created, and that a blaze can spread more easily.

Immobilize

The Immobilize tool lets you make any vehicle immobile at scenario start. Again, select the tool then click on any vehicle that you want to be immobile.

Broken Unit

The Broken tool lets you set any infantry unit to start the scenario Broken with "!". Simple select the tool then click on the units you want broken at scenario start.

Schurzen

The Schurzen tool lets you add Schurzen (extra armor) to some vehicles. Again, select the tool then select the target vehicle and they will be added (or removed if already present).

Bomb (Ruins) Tool

The Bomb tool lets you turn some terrain items (buildings and decorations) into their ruined version. This is a toggle - so click again on anything you accidentally wrecked to fix it. Also with buildings, it is per location - each hex and floor is separate from the others and ruining one location only affects that location.

Variable Gun

The Variable Gun Position tool lets you set multiple locations that an AI defender's gun can appear in at the start of the scenario. The actual position the gun appears in is randomly selected from among the options saved for the gun.

To use this, you select the tool, then select the gun you want to set up alternate locations for in the list, then select the alternate locations. The gun will show up in its original location with a yellow arc indicating its current facing in the hex, and will show a horizon line in the background of its image in the list. Each allowable location you click in will show a red hex with a yellow arc. Right click will remove a possible location.

Locations selected for other guns will show up with a grey hex outline and grey arc, and all gun locations will be grey when not in this mode.

Hidden Units

With the Hidden Tool, you can select AI Defender units in covering terrain (buildings, trenches, and the various woods) to be hidden at scenario start. When you select this tool, the hex under the mouse pointer shows a hex outline with ? at each vertex. You just click on any location with infantry in cover terrain, and they will be tagged as hidden - making them not visible on the map at scenario start.



And similarly to the Variable Gun tool, you can select multiple locations to set up a hidden infantry unit in, and one of those designated for a unit randomly selected at the scenario start. This makes the unit potentially much more powerful at the start as the player won't know where they are. Normally, only a small portion of the forces should be hidden, and its okay if none are.

Reinforcement Hex

The Reinforcement tool lets you designate entry hexes for reinforcements for either side.




When you click on a hex with this tool, an Arrow will appear pointing at the hex, and a box will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. To set up units to enter at the location, you set them up as normal in the entry hex - including assigning weapons and passengers. Once you have units in the hex that could become entering units, a control panel will appear under the box.



When you are ready with your units, you click "Add" to add the units as reinforcements and empty the hex, or "Copy" to add the reinforcements, and leave the units in the hex. This lets you add more groups that have the same composition.




The units appear in the box as a group indicating the selected turn of entry, and which units will appear. Note that in this box, vehicles and infantry appear separately. You can remove units in a group by clicking on the yellow X over the unit - this removes one of that unit.

The yellow X at the bottom of the box can be used to remove a reinforcement hex (and all units entering there).

Sample Scenario

After performing the desired steps and adding all units to the map we have a finished map now ready:

Finishing Up

Now that we have everything done, we can save the scenario and test it.

This is very important - testing will show you if the scenario is even possible to win, or if its too hard or too easy.

It will also let you know if it works as you intended, and give you the chance to fix it up before releasing it.

While playing it, you should take some screen shots (press F12) and also take an in-game shot using the H key. This will give your scenario image a nice background when it gets posted in the workshop.

There is a guide Getting the best look for your scenario that gives some tips to make it look better, and explains how to do it.


Once you have tested - and won - your scenario, and are satisfied with how it plays, you can then upload it to the workshop.

You use the "Upload" button in the scenario editor menu to get it on workshop.

You just need to add in a comment and then you can upload your scenario.

After this, if you need to make changes, the menu item will say "Update" instead of "Upload"

Tips and Tricks building any Scenario

Just like building a map, there are certain things to keep in mind when building a scenario to get a better result. This list applies no matter what kind of scenario you are building

1. Superiority

   You shouldn't adjust this from the default value until you have had considerable experience building scenarios and understand how this will affect a scenario.
   

2. At Start Units

   The AI doesn't work well if it has no units on the map at the start of the scenario. You must always make sure the AI has a few units available from the start to avoid a potential crash. The player side can start with all forces off-map and entering by reinforcement.
   

3. Safe Reinforcement

   Chose Reinforcement hexes that are either out of line of sight or out of range of enemy units. The AI needs some time to get its units ready for the battle. Players will find it frustrating to have their new units eliminated with no chance. Hide them behind some trees or buildings to give them a chance.
   

4. AI Can't do everything

   The current AI has issues doing certain things, so you should plan your scenario to avoid requiring the AI to do them. This includes using transports properly (AI isn't very good at deciding when to unload), and using TNT weapons. If you give them to AI forces, they will not use them.
   

5. Fatigue can be Devastating

   Be careful giving a force high or low fatigue. For some forces, this can turn them into supermen or cause them to crumble away quickly. High fatigue and Russian forces do not mix well - they will rapidly become a force of green quality troops even if starting with elites. Low fatigue will leave Americans able to almost ignore fire.
   Be sure that you are seeing the results you expect when you test your scenario.
   

6. VP Location Values

   The values you use for VP locations can make a big difference on the scenario. In a Defend scenario, the higher the value, the longer the player has to hold on to win.
   In an Attack - VP location scenario, the higher the value, the slower he can move and take time to set up the fights as he wants. The lower the value, the faster he has to capture the locations. And the player must capture all locations before any of them get to 0 value or he loses. It can take a long time to capture a factory, so you need to allow for this variability when choosing VP values.
   

7. Reinforcement Timing

   A small change in the arrival turn can make a big difference in the scenario outcome. So if your scenario is working as you want you can try adjusting the turn of arrival to see if it improves the play of your scenario. Also remember that stacking limits can't be exceeded by entering units. If the force is larger than the limit, the player will need to move some units out before the others appear. And they will appear in the fixed order that you added them.
   

8. Prevent Forest Fires

   The higher the temperature, the more fires will spread. Note that orchard and grain can kindle from burning wrecks in their location.
   If you have a lot of burnable terrain (for example grain, forests, and buildings), you should probably set the temperature to cold or even very cold to slow down the spread. Otherwise you could end up with most of your map on fire.
   

9. Fewer Leaders is Better

   Having too many leaders can make it to little risk for units taking fire. With a lot of leaders, it is easy to rally a lot of troops every turn. With fewer leaders available, you will get a battle that is a lot more interesting.
   

10. Avoid using Three-Star Leaders

    They are very powerful and can easily imbalance a scenario.
    

11. Don't make it too big

    Don't try to show full formations or too many units. It slows down game play, and reduces tactical options as units run out of space to maneuver. Doubling the number of units will more than double the play time of a scenario.
    

12. Play the game

    Before you start building scenarios, it is to your benefit to play several scenarios to get a feel for what the game can do and how it plays.
    

13. Get some experience before building a Defend or Breakthrough scenario

    They are a challenge to design properly. Play some existing scenarios first to get a feel for them before trying to build your own.

Extra Tips for Building a Defend or Breakthrough Scenario

Defend Scenario Tips

These tips apply to designing Defend Scenarios.

1. Build an Attack - VP Location scenario first

   Building good, playable Defend scenarios is a challenging task. Second Front requires you to build an Attack (VP location) scenario first to get some experience. You really should play some defend scenarios prior to trying to build one so you have an understanding of what works in this type of scenario.
   

2. Only 1 VP location

   Defend scenarios can have only 1 VP location set because the AI performs unsatisfactorily when more than one is present.
   

3. No Beach Landings

   Don't build a Defend scenario with the AI performing the landing. It will not go well.
   

4. Encourage the AI

   When designing the Defend scenario you need to take steps to encourage the AI to attack.

Breakthrough Scenario Tips

These tips apply to building Breakthrough Scenarios

1. Play the Game

   Playing the game in a variety of scenarios to get a good understanding of how it works is essential to being able to build good Breakthrough scenarios.
   

2. Build Regular Attack- VP Location scenarios first

   Get familiar with building VP location attack scenarios to improve your understanding of the mechanics and AI behavior. Then you can look at building a Breakthrough scenario.
   

3. Test the scenario extensively

   Getting the locations right, the forces (both sides) right and the proper amount of time will take several tries to get a workable scenario. Keep testing it until it works properly - that it is winnable.

[PerruMoyau]

tnks

[gerzald]

ty

[Axeking]

Its in the manual, but has been stable for a bit.

[AugustoPudim]

It is stable now? Or you have the links??

[Axeking]

Steam guides apparently are HIGHLY unreliable. Steam seems to want to keep undoing my fixes for when it deletes my images. I had fixed this a couple days ago (on the 25th), then today I see the last update now shows as the 24th - the day before I fixed it last time.

I will be moving these off of steam ASAP. Links to new location will be here...