Teamproject "Hell gate: The Breakout from Cherkassy“

[Dan Caviness]

Hey Phil/Hey Ed:

To be clear...I am probably not the most proficient when it comes to dealing with those large OOB files.
Others may have shortcuts I am unaware of.
A real programmer like Jason snaps his fingers and it dances for him.
For me it's a grind.
Commanders, adding the CORRECT transports, naming and keeping my Sturmbahnführer's straight from my Sturmhauptführer's, not to mention 1st and 2nd Lt's, and mining the OOB hierarchy to find the closest unit structures equivalent to your planned scenario.

If it wasn't for the OOB editor...I would never have learned that "alt129" get you an ümlaüt.
(Apologies to my German friends...I realize I mißpelled)

Again...NOT trying to be an arse here...the designers have sweated gonads over these OOB files, and over the years they have created a lot of really unique units and organizations.  Coincidentally, what they have also created is a data hogging monster that sinks my computer for about 4-5 minutes just OPENING the OOB Editor.  YIKES!
It's like unleashing the Kraken...;)
But in a good way.

Much of my problem is self inflicted...if you make a Size 4 scenario...you have a manageable OOB...if you recreate 60 miles of Normandy coastline...and half the German Army not to mention the US and English...well...those OOBs are a different animal.  The last time I tried to open my Normandy OOB...my PC pulled it's own plug in protest...

The worst part of a huge OOB?
Make one little error.
You won't, you'll make dozens if not hundreds, but for the sake of argument let's say you have one tiny problem with a unit.
Make that error with, oh, let's say, a reinforcement.  Or not...it won't be easy no matter how you slice it...
Then go track that little devil down.
You'll need new fingernails by the time you get there...lol...

The OOB is a labor of love.
It can be clunky for me, but most times I enjoy it.
It just happens to my personal albatross.

I believe the reason I can enjoy it is I know when I'm done...it's SCENARIO editor time...where the REAL fun begins!

All good guys.
It is a shame our work can't be paid forward (and thank you Robert Heinlein for that quote that is finally catching on) as we all have a significant amount of blood sweat and beers invested here.

One thing about gaming, nothing is permanent.
Maybe Chess?
But otherwise...it's a transitory and impermanent artform...continually reinvented by the next generation...so you must face that fact when you decide it's what you need to do in order to feed your creative spirit animal.

The BEST part of this is we are STILL out there...knee deep in the rice paddies...slugging it out with Charlie...


Regards,

Dan