(pics below the wall-o-text)
In my project each map represents a square area (currently 6000 square meters)of space on the "world" map. I am designing my game with the concept of infinite scalability in mind, so that I could theoretically model the whole eastern front if I wanted to.
This is accomplished by a complex save/load mechanism that I will detail below:
tactical simulation
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1.) soldiers and vehicles are organized into command groups (like squads)
2.) each group is responsible for handing down orders to the units in the group
3.) each tactical AI (ie: soviets, germans) is aware of the groups that are present in the current map. The tactical AI is responsible for making top level tactical decisions, which it will then pass down to the individual groups.
4.) A tactical simulation ends when the player is killed, or the player leaves the map.
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strategic simulation
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1.) the strategic simulation occurs after the previous tactical sim has ended, and before the next tactical sim/new map is loaded.
2.) The command groups from the previous tactical simulation save the types of units that they contain, and the units themselves are cleared from memory. In this state, the groups are considered "packed" because they have records of their units, but the units themselves aren't loaded.
3.) All of the command groups in the entire simulation are loaded into memory. This is not too memory intensive because they are all in the packed form, and the strategic stage does not include any kind of graphics.
4.)combat is resolved using simple formulas on every map except for the one that the player was just on (if the battle finished there).
5.) The strategic AI for each side is made aware of every group that it has available in the entire simulation. The strategic AI's issue move orders to the groups, or have them defend territory. At this point they can also order reinforcements and place new units
6.) Groups that will be present on the next map (the map that the player moved to) will be loaded (their units will be created/loaded) and moved to the tactical AI
7.) All groups that aren't present on the next map are saved back to text files, and cleared from memory
8.) the new tactical simulation is loaded
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This process is now functional, although the AI's are very simplistic. Since the framework is in place now, I can go back and flesh out each part.
Since this engine work can drive me nuts, I've also been doing a bit of modeling.
To the best of my knowledge, The Fiesler Fi103 flying bombs were never deployed to the Eastern Front, but come on its the first ever cruise missle. These babies will be one of several forms of off map artillery available.
This luger isn't exactly one of my proudest modeling moments, but from the distant third person perspective of the game, it would be almost invisible anyways.
Here's the Wespe (mobile 105 howitzer) in the final stages of modeling. I'm currently using XSI's ModTool, which is free for hobbyist use. I've used Truespace, and briefly tried blender, but I've found XSI easiest to work with.
Here's the Wespe sans howitzer. Several vehicles were built in this way to serve as ammo carriers.cheers
andrew
