GCM Singleplayer Campaign

I made a singleplayer campaign mode for GCM. You create your own character and get a division, and it creates a sequence of unique battles for you to fight, using GCM's carryover system.

Download GCM


Video "Tutorial": (watch in HD for better detail)




Instructions:

First, install GCM using the download link above, and login to the GCM Launcher.

Click Start Singleplayer Campaign


Choose your side


Create your character


Now it will load the website and you'll see your new division


Back in the Launcher, click Continue Campaign


When the battle is ready it will show this message:


Start Scourge of War, and click Single Player


Click User Scenarios


Select the battle number the Launcher gave you and click Start


Fight the battle


When you're done, click End Battle


Click the Dump Game Database button at the bottom of the report screen


Close Scourge of War, and back in the Launcher click Continue Campaign, and then you'll see this message. Click Record


Choose who won the battle (you decide what rules you use to determine the winner)


On this screen if you don't know what to do, just click Open


It will then show you the battle report on the website


You can view individual division reports



Then do it all over again.

• I can't guarantee this will work with any non-GCM mods.
• It's probably not perfect. I just wanted to release it and see if there is any interest. There might be issues for me to fix still.

G-Man - Great idea, as soon as I get some time, I'm going to give this Campaign a go!

Thanks,

davinci

Release your map first, and then go ahead.

Garnier wrote:

Release your map first, and then go ahead.

If Jim gives the all clear - I can pack up all of the loose ends and release this week.

There is no sense in packing up all of the files, and then adding another one, considering that once the PNG files are packed, you can't add in another file to that particular group.

davinci

Oh, I guess if we're not waiting on you, forgive my impatience and play the campaign at your leisure.

Perhaps I'll try out this single player thing I've been hearing about.

Thanks G. I'll be trying this out myself.

Great idea! Can't wait to try it. How are the battles generated?

Have fixed the bugs that were reported during the night.

How are the battles generated?

Magic. Not sure what you mean exactly, but the battles are set up like normal GCM battles. Each campaign has a union and confederate army. When you go to battle, certain divisions from each army will be present -- all of them have carryover.

Are the fighting divisions the same every time or are they different every time?

As I said, there's an army OOB for each side and the divisions are from that. So yes they will usually be the same but they won't all be in every battle.

Great work Garnier. Thank you very much. You and I don't see eye-to-eye on a few gameplay issues but campaigns and battles-with-context have always been my preference when wargaming and this little gem will make me begin playing SP games at last.

Could this be added to for MP, say... a group of players vs the AI, which would be the next step I guess (though a big one) from SP vs AI.

Or could a game be generated by this system, saved the moment it begins and played as an MP game?

Yes you can play the battles in multiplayer.

Saddletank wrote:

Great work Garnier. Thank you very much. You and I don't see eye-to-eye on a few gameplay issues but campaigns and battles-with-context have always been my preference when wargaming and this little gem will make me begin playing SP games at last.

Could this be added to for MP, say... a group of players vs the AI, which would be the next step I guess (though a big one) from SP vs AI.

Or could a game be generated by this system, saved the moment it begins and played as an MP game?

I think this would be great for you hits and couriers guys to use for your MP games. It looks like the ai side gets a numbers advantage, so it would be good for co-op battles or the side with fewer players gets the side with more ai divisions.

Garnier wrote:

Yes you can play the battles in multiplayer.

Hooorah! I am very much looking forward to doing this. Your earlier reply re 'magic' seems spot on

KG_Soldier wrote:

I think this would be great for you hits and couriers guys to use for your MP games.

I'm trying to imagine how this will work. Mind-boggling ...

Thanks again, for what looks like being a major development.

KG_Soldier wrote:

I think this would be great for you hits and couriers guys to use for your MP games. It looks like the ai side gets a numbers advantage, so it would be good for co-op battles or the side with fewer players gets the side with more ai divisions.

I was thinking that too. At first I thought it was just one division but then saw that the players division is placed in an OOB that is about corps sized and facing a corps sized enemy.

So am I right to think that if a battle is played as MP, then the players could take either side? Or just take one of the commands on the player side vs the AI? If so can players only take divisions, or brigades within the player division?

How does the game select which map to use, or does the player select the map?

Map is randomly selected currently.

If you play MP, then players can take any command just like in any other MP scenario.

Saddletank wrote:

KG_Soldier wrote:

I think this would be great for you hits and couriers guys to use for your MP games. It looks like the ai side gets a numbers advantage, so it would be good for co-op battles or the side with fewer players gets the side with more ai divisions.

I was thinking that too. At first I thought it was just one division but then saw that the players division is placed in an OOB that is about corps sized and facing a corps sized enemy.

So am I right to think that if a battle is played as MP, then the players could take either side? Or just take one of the commands on the player side vs the AI? If so can players only take divisions, or brigades within the player division?

How does the game select which map to use, or does the player select the map?

You see, Digby? Us guys in the GCM aren't such bad dudes after all. Just Garnier and Seal.

What about objectives, Garnier? Continuous points or timed? Random number?

Continuous, and random number of objs. From what I've seen though the AI doesn't bother with them.

Just finished a game. Followed orders and stayed near an objective point. Was attacked by a single div and held him off and accumulated 755 points. Great idea for those of us who cannot get to the MP games on a regular basis. Thank you.

With the regiments in this, do they act like multiplayer regiments (shoot through each other and no bonuses) or do they act like singleplayer stock regiments?

Just finished my first game. It was... difficult in HITs using couriers, esp with 3 brigades and 2 batteries to command. I was on the far right flank, PPT map, on the west side facing east, playing Union. Rebs came pouring over the Emmitsburg Road in the area of the Essnick and Sherfy Farms and hit us hard. We all just managed to hold the line but there was a good few guys hiding in the various woods and barns by the end of the day. Came away with a score of +650 or so. It felt mostly like a draw.

Next time I'll probably deactivate one of the brigades.

I think it would work better without the objectives since the AI doesn't seem to see them and having no idea where your friendly divisions are is awkward since with HITS LOS is almost zero when you begin in a shallow valley. I see the divisions are placed very widely scattered which I hear is the new style option over on GCM.

One major issue - you can't run the campaign without GCM2 gameplay enabled and I have a few disagreements with some of the gameplay tweaks, would rather use my own. Any chance to allow the campaign to be played without forcing the player to use your gameplay as well?

Other, lesser question - could it be worked so the the map can be player-selected rather than given to you randomised?

I just played a game where I had 4500 men, three brigades and two batteries, we had captured on an objective that ran along a raised ridge, and I had my regiments in line behind a fence there and we blasted the Union the first time they came running up, but then the Division to my right collapsed and I had to swing some regiments around to hold the right flank...but it was crumbling. We inflicted a few more casualties than we got.

@Digby

There are things in the gameplay mod that are required by the scenarios. But it's just a mod so you can do what you want to it.

I am the only human on the reb side

www.sowmp.com/gcm/battles/battle/8557

When I try to register I get the following error message and the program shuts down. What is causing this to happen? Thank you.


GCM.exe 675588761 561774345

Microsoft Windows NT 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3[/b]

Problem was it couldn't find your web browser, I've fixed it so it tells you that.

Registering is done on the website: www.sowmp.com/gcm/account/register

The Launcher just links to that page.

As far as I can see, only the player division is carried forward each battle; each of the other divisions, friendly and enemy, is randomised each time. Is that right?