FAQ and Howto (OpenGen + Suite)

[hoza]

Is there a forum option to insert picture from computer?Not from web hosting?
I would like to add it for campaign report.

It is not possible to load pictures directly into the forum. You have to host them somewhere else first.

what easy free host would you recommend?

[randowe]

what easy free host would you recommend?

I always use free german site https://abload.de/ But that is maybe not suitable for international visitors because of the language

[LuisGuzman]

I use https://imgur.com/
Is free and easy to use.

[Duke Falcon]

Greetings everyone!

Question:
Could helos use carriers?
Considering that "helo" class is essentially "flak" in MW e-file I thought it is better if I ask if they could deploy on carriers or not.

[LuisGuzman]

Greetings everyone!

Question:
Could helos use carriers?
Considering that "helo" class is essentially "flak" in MW e-file I thought it is better if I ask if they could deploy on carriers or not.

Well it depends how you configure helos and containers ...

The best way would be if you test your helos with the container you want ... make a single test scenario with a couple of helos and containers and you will see clearly if they fits your needing.

[Duke Falcon]

Greetings everyone!

Question:
Could helos use carriers?
Considering that "helo" class is essentially "flak" in MW e-file I thought it is better if I ask if they could deploy on carriers or not.

Well it depends how you configure helos and containers ...

The best way would be if you test your helos with the container you want ... make a single test scenario with a couple of helos and containers and you will see clearly if they fits your needing.

Would do that.
In worst case I keep some fighters and bombers as "carrier deploy" crafts...

[Duke Falcon]

Okay, I know it were maybe explained many times...
But I decided to save such explanations to avoid ask the same stupid thing again and again like a dumb child...
Plus not sure how much things changed with the latest executable and suite updates...

What I am curious about and would appreciate if one may explain to me:
1. How weight checkboxes works according to transport units (+ transport units must be GTP\ATP\NT or any unit could be "transport", e.g. recon or tank?)?
2. How containers works exactly and what classes could use them apart from fortifications and carriers?
3. Hexes could rise only friendly units or enemy units aswell?
4. Could different nations have different unit values (like player infantries start with basic 15 strenght and go up to 20 while AI starts with basic 10 and go up to 15) or such values are generally affects all sides?
5. Could ground condition changes defined according to terrain types (like swamps freeze faster than rivers) or such changes are generally affects all terrain types what is not ocean or escarpment?

Thank you!

[sympatyk]

Reply to point 4

- When purchasing units - you can set separate basic strength and experience parameters for both sides of the conflict



- When creating a scenario/change - you can individually set the basic strength and current strength parameters for each unit. You can also set individual experience for each unit, set the value of the experience bar --> automatically if - AutoBar is selected




You can set the basic strength to e.g. 15, 10, 8, 2

If you set the unit's strength parameter to more than its base strength, after losing strength --> you can rebuild the unit to its base strength + experience bar value

For example, a unit has a base strength of 4 and a current strength of 10 and experience bar = 2 --> After losing strength to 3, its maximum strength can be 4 + 2 = 6

[sympatyk]

answer point 5

The condition of the ground (dry, frozen, muddy) affects the cost of traffic in specific areas
You define this in the TERRAINEX file

like swamps freeze faster than rivers

Not possible - changes affect all types of terrain according to the values entered in TERRAINEX
Of course, if you enter the same values for - dry, frozen, mud - nothing will change

[Duke Falcon]

Thanks, Sympatik!

I just sketching a new e-file. This would be the first where I want to use special transports (hence the weight checkbox question). I know I read once how it works but I can't find it. And first time want to use trains to - not as transport but as combat crafts do able to transport other units (again the transport weight stuff, it returns to haunt...).
Speaking of which: How rails work? I know how roads work and I suspect rails work the same way... I know there is an "enable road on all terrain" option in the suite but that affects rails to? Or how can I set-up rail-bridges?
I even have an idea for land-based, moving landing-pads what I think also use the transport weight stuffs (third time..!)... Or transport submarines able to ferry ground forces safer than common transport ships (they evade afterall). Lots of strange ideas for this new e-file

[Duke Falcon]

So, I may end up at the wrong answer, so I thought better clarify just for sure:

[randowe]

For containers/hangers you need to use the "misc" panel instead of "transports". Set the number of hangars and carrier weight checkboxes. Then the same checkboxes on the units that should enter the hangar.
I don't know if any unit specials are needed because i use this only for aircraft carriers.

[none]

I don't know if any unit specials are needed because i use this only for aircraft carriers.

No specials needed. Just make the right weight combinations, and you can create transports for light units + transports for heavy units, + units which can't be transported at all.

I've added hangars in destroyers and torpedo boats, allowing them to freely embark and move infantry and light artillery. I also have "ferry boats" (confiscated civil vessels) which can also load and move heavy vehicles like tanks (but are slow as hell). Your imagination is the limit.

I would even completely drop the automatically disappearing naval transports, and replace them with transport units you have to manage when full and empty (and which thus can do several trips).
The problem preventing this is there is no way the player can embark his core units at scenario start, unless you give him a big enough stretch of friendly beach (most maps don't have)...

Hangars is a very powerful feature, and if Luis had continued adding features to OG they could be made to create many different interesting things, like bunkers and trenches you can put troops in (and take out), completely overhaul transports (land, air, sea), and much more.

[Duke Falcon]

I have a strange question at first: Could it be disabled that units get supplied on the map if they not stay in a city\port\airfield? I want dedicated units being the only what can resupply other units with ammo&fuel.
If I remember correctly reinforcement of damaged units could be disabled in a cfg file...

[LuisGuzman]

I have a strange question at first: Could it be disabled that units get supplied on the map if they not stay in a city\port\airfield? I want dedicated units being the only what can resupply other units with ammo&fuel.
If I remember correctly reinforcement of damaged units could be disabled in a cfg file...

Can use $supply_ex to restrict supply to land units close to cities/ports although doesn't affect air or sea units.
See entry for $supply_ex at Config Files

[Duke Falcon]

I have a strange question at first: Could it be disabled that units get supplied on the map if they not stay in a city\port\airfield? I want dedicated units being the only what can resupply other units with ammo&fuel.
If I remember correctly reinforcement of damaged units could be disabled in a cfg file...

Can use $supply_ex to restrict supply to land units close to cities/ports although doesn't affect air or sea units.
See entry for $supply_ex at Config Files

Wow, thanks!
It seems a whole lot of new things could be set in cfg files now!
I sure have some time to study and examine it closer... Maybe get some new ideas for my current WiP e-file

[Duke Falcon]

I have some problem with the terrain.txt (what the game would convert to proper terrain file)...

Each hex type (clear,city, etc...) has 15 lines (13. is rails, 14. is helo, 15. is custom) but there are 13 movement methods described:
Tracked,
Half Tracked,
Wheeled,
Leg,
Towed,
Air,
Deep Naval,
Coastal,
All Terrain,
Amphibious,
Naval,
Mountain (Leg)

So, which one is the non-existent? Deep naval? Coastal? What is the proper order of the movement types corresponding to the lines?

[LuisGuzman]

I have some problem with the terrain.txt (what the game would convert to proper terrain file)...

Each hex type (clear,city, etc...) has 15 lines (13. is rails, 14. is helo, 15. is custom) but there are 13 movement methods described:
Tracked,
Half Tracked,
Wheeled,
Leg,
Towed,
Air,
Deep Naval,
Coastal,
All Terrain,
Amphibious,
Naval,
Mountain (Leg)

So, which one is the non-existent? Deep naval? Coastal? What is the proper order of the movement types corresponding to the lines?

Duke

PG2 had 12 movement methods but OG added a new "Custom" method to the game.
Road and Rail are not really movement methods but terrain layers altering the movement cost, so they are are handled as if they were.

The fact that "Custom" method is set after roads and rails is because that method was added after terrain.txt was used to customize terrain stats, thus I added a new line to keep compatibility with existing terrain.txt files, that is OG can read either terrain.txt or terrain_ex.txt
Hope I got to explain myself

[Duke Falcon]

I have some problem with the terrain.txt (what the game would convert to proper terrain file)...

Each hex type (clear,city, etc...) has 15 lines (13. is rails, 14. is helo, 15. is custom) but there are 13 movement methods described:
Tracked,
Half Tracked,
Wheeled,
Leg,
Towed,
Air,
Deep Naval,
Coastal,
All Terrain,
Amphibious,
Naval,
Mountain (Leg)

So, which one is the non-existent? Deep naval? Coastal? What is the proper order of the movement types corresponding to the lines?

Duke

PG2 had 12 movement methods but OG added a new "Custom" method to the game.
Road and Rail are not really movement methods but terrain layers altering the movement cost, so they are are handled as if they were.

The fact that "Custom" method is set after roads and rails is because that method was added after terrain.txt was used to customize terrain stats, thus I added a new line to keep compatibility with existing terrain.txt files, that is OG can read either terrain.txt or terrain_ex.txt
Hope I got to explain myself

Yes, thanks, Luis!
I also figured the the last few methods would be unnecessary for me... I am rather dumb lately
I would use half-tracked for hovercrafts able to cross land and water.
Also seriously considered purely underwater scenarios. Seems interesting to let underwater tanks clash with subs

[none]

I would use half-tracked for hovercrafts able to cross land and water.

If you have hovercrafts, I would suggest to use the "Custom" type to create a special "Hovercraft" movement type. Because it would be quite different from "half-tracked": Hovercrafts would be indeed unaffected by surface condition (dry/wet/frozen), but very strongly affected by obstacles (towns and forests would be "254", and rough terrain would have a very high terrain cost (besides boulders and ledges, one large-ish ditch and your hovercraft is definitely blocked, incapable of inflating its skirt anymore...).

Also seriously considered purely underwater scenarios. Seems interesting to let underwater tanks clash with subs

It will only work, as you say, "purely under water". Unfortunately OG (like PG2) doesn't have a "Underwater" layer (like the "Air" one), so all kind of illogical things happen between supposedly submerged and surface units, if only that they can't occupy the same hex (= be one over the other, like planes/ground units can)...

[Duke Falcon]

Okay, I messed something seriously...

I thought I set up weigth for units and transport properly but no...
Can someone make me an illustrated guide (it seems otherwise I not understand things) how to set up weigth properly? How can I set that what transport could transport what units? Like wheeled transports only infantry and towed, trains could also carry tanks, naval transports everything regardless of weigth but not aerial units and so on... Also I want some units can carry air units exclusively but on ground...

And how can I get rid the option to buy transport for units? There is no GTP or ATP or NTP in my equipment but when I try to buy an unit all units what has hangars appears as "possible transports for buy"...

[none]

Illustrated maybe not, but the logic is simple.

First of all, we need to make sure about what we're speaking, for there are several types of transport, completely different:

1. is the "organic transport", permanently tied to a unit (like a truck for infantry, or a tractor for towed artillery)
2. are the occasionally used transports for air, sea and rail (air/helo transport, sea transport, train transport, called "Non-organic transports" in Open Suite))
3. are the carriers, mostly known for the airplane carrier/plane use, but which can be (ab)used for about anything. You find those in the "Misc." tab, under "Hangars".

Now how do you set those up? All pretty much the same way (although not at the same place): You've got a number of "weight" slots (checkboxes), and the idea is that any unit and any transport having the same slot checked, will match.
Danger: The thing (and probably the problem you have) is that in OG, not checking anything = checking everything!
So you definitely need to reserve one slot (traditionally the last) for "no transport". Simply do not give that slot to any existing transport, but give it to any unit which shouldn't have any transport. Remember: having a check in the same slot marries units and transports. If nobody else has your slot checked, you're alone.

That is for type #1 ("ground") transports, because for type #2 transports you can simply uncheck the "... transported" checkbox on the right, and they won't have any transport of that type (no air transport, or no sea transport, etc.), no matter what is checked or not on the left side (you'll see everything gray out).


How do I set up type #1 and type #2 (organic and non-organic) transports?

For type #1 and #2 transports, it's inside the "Transports" tab: Type #1 ("organic") transports are on top, as two rows of "Ground" slots (16 slots). Type #2 ("Non-organic") transports are just below, and only have one row of slots (8 slots).
For both, clicking on the link on the name ("Ground" or "Air", etc.) will pop up a window showing you the matches (available transports for units, and available units for transports), allowing you to check for inconsistencies or errors.

Note that for those types of transports, the main unit (passenger) will be always an "active units" type (infantry, tanks, AT, AA, etc.), and the transport unit will be always "ground transport" type for #1, and the relevant transport type (air/sea/helo/train) for #2.


How do I set up type #3 hangars and carriers?

Now that's a very different thing, because any unit can have hangars and/or enter hangars (potentially both the same time!). This system initially was made for airplane carriers, so you could have small carriers only able to host small/slow planes, and big carriers able to host bigger/jet planes. Luis tweaked it, and now you can place hangars about anywhere, and make any unit able to enter those.

Everything is set up in the "Misc." tab, under "Hangars". You have two rows of slots (16 slots), and here again, you'll need to reserve one for "no fit". You also have an additional setting, "Number of hangars", because some transports can transport more than one unit (ships, trains, and so on).

Setting up is simple: Let's say you want to create transport ships of different sizes: Just decide for a slot for "small/light passengers", so only infantry and small-caliber towed weapons can enter, a "medium passenger" slot for those medium caliber guns, and a "heavy passenger" slot for tanks and such. Check on your units the relevant slot (to set if they are light/medium/heavy), and check on your ships the relevant slot(s) (because obviously a ship able to carry heavy units can also carry light ones).
As for the other transports, clicking on the "Carrier Weight" title will pop up the list of potential matches. Disregard the number appearing on the right, it's only useful for developers and debugging (it's the cumulative value of the checked boxes).


Which kind of transport should I use in my E-File?

This is a personal preference issue, but I'd say, use the standard (PG2 type) transports for where it is logical to have, and go for "hangar/carrier" for the rest, since those are IMHO the most realistic kind of transports (can unload and go fetch some more units). On the other hand, OG being limited to kilometer-sized hexes, you can't really afford the clutter of having troops, their trucks, and whatever other support units, all on the same place. So magically disappearing transports do make some sense, even without considering the other perks (like automatic unloading and so on).

And how can I get rid the option to buy transport for units? There is no GTP or ATP or NTP in my equipment but when I try to buy an unit all units what has hangars appears as "possible transports for buy"...

See above: If a unit has a slot checked no transport has, it won't be able to get a transport. But since you can check several slots, so it needs to have only the "no fit" slot checked.
Do not leave all slots empty, because that means "everything"!