Click here to see SDC's Funding Status for 2013

SDC Host funding status for 2013 -Fully Funded through 2013 - Thank You! Goal: $125 Start: $0 Current: $125.00 100% START

 

Your donation or purchase helps fund the site...

---

Ordering through Amazon Search Portal- earns SDC a commission.

• SDC Blog
• Search SDC
• Rich's Blog
• SDC Downloads

Scenario Design Center

Site Blog for www.hist-sdc.com

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

Bulge ‘44 Update v1.10 Released

HPS just released update v1.10 for Bulge ‘44.

Changes for Bulge '44 1.10
- Added Magnified 2D view with 2x sized graphics.
- Added Fanatical nations which have special assault rules when defending.
- Change so that half Frozen Penalty is applied only to Urban (Village, Town, City, and Industrial) hexes.


The update can be located here:

http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/updates/up_PZC/Updates_PZC.asp

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:59:00 +0000

Tsushima v1.04 Update Released

HPS just released update v1.04 for Tsushima

Changes for Tsushima V1.04
- Added Order of Battle editor ncoob.
- Added Parameter Data editor ncparam.
- Added the ability to scroll the main map using the arrow keys.
- Added ability for an Objective to be a circular "Location" objective.
- Added "hollow" flag in Normal View and green name for attached flagship.
- Added Critical Ship feature which when sunk results in immediate scenario termination.
- Change so that zoom changes using the mouse wheel maintain cursor position.
- Added Sea State to lower right-hand corner of Jump Chart.
- Added Collision feature.
- Added number of seconds remaining in ship picture when waiting for air operations to complete.
- Added hot key "R" for aircraft Return to Base.
- Added ability to display distance rings in various increments.
- Added Settings Option for displaying icons in Jump and Ultra Zoom-Out Charts.
- Added Optional Rule for seeing owned ship-fired torpedoes at all ranges.
- Added ability to view Database Dialog from Help Menu in Order of Battle Editor.
- Added additional zoom-out view.
- (Database) Added Japanese Holland Type VII submarine.
- (Editor) Added ability to place and remove mines.
- (Editor) Added ability to specify extra loads on a ship.
- (Shore) Optional shore data and Port Arthur shore included by default.

The update can be located here:

http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/updates/up_NavCamps/Updates_NavCamps.asp

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:32:00 +0000

HPS War Over The Mideast Update 1.01 Released

HPS just released update 1.01 for War Over The Mideast.

Info about the update can be found here:

http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/updates/up_ModernAirPower/up_MAP.ASP

Sun, 05 May 2013 00:11:00 +0000

Jena DD Available

HPS just released the direct download version of Jena.

Information about purchasing the DD version of Jena can be found here:

http://www.hpssims.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=40&subcat=40&cat=Napoleonic+Battles

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:52:00 +0000

Announcing AI Scripting Contest -The AI Strikes Back!

 The AI Strikes Back! 

We would like as many people as possible to try their hand at writing AI scripts for the JTS/HPS pre-WWI games. 

To encourage this, JTS (or HPS) will award one of their  downloadable titles (on a lottery basis) to one new AI script for a historical scenario turned in from now until the end of July 2013. 

The game will be awarded based on the Dow Jones numbers for August 1, 2013, (using the last numbers as a random number calculator). 

To encourage the use of the random script feature in the software, a scenario that offers 5 different scripts for the AI to chose from, will count as 5 scripts turned in. Send your new scenario (remember it must be historic, not a what-if) to me at gcbisset@gmail.com to be checked and numbered for the drawing. 

We especially encourage scenarios that add AI to previous historic scenarios that were released without AI scripts , or that perhaps did not have a very interesting script. 

Label your new scenarios as follows: Game Title (omit "campaign"" ), Scenario Name, Historic Solo,Random (if more than 1 script), Your Name as in the following example: Peninsula 7 Pines Historic Solo Random George Bisset Include a brief description of how many scripts and any other necessary info in your email. 

Visit my website, http://gbisset.bravesites.com , for suggestions of how to make interesting AI scripts.

I also invite any suggestions you have to do the same, and I can add those to the site. All scenarios will be checked to see that the scripts function, and are different from those already existing for that scenario. The scripts will then be uploaded to the SDC lists for everyone to enjoy. 

 If you've never done a script, try one. I just did one for 7 Pines in one hour that kept me playing for a week! 

~George Bisset

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:03:00 +0000

JTS Leipzig Tournament

Who's interested in playing in a JTS Leipzig Tournament?

The tournament will consist of three scenarios played twice, once from each side.

If you are interested, please reply to this sign-up thread located over at The Blitz.

http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=64136

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:04:00 +0000

More Solo Scenarios?

Hello all

I am interested in helping encourage more players to learn the AI system, and develop more solo scenarios using existing scenarios. If anyone has any ideas related to that, or a suggestion for which scenario could use a solo version, or would like to program a scenario or two, please contact me at gcbisset@gmail.com.

George 

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:38:00 +0000

Blitz Tournaments

For those of you who may be interested, over at The Blitz, we are currently conducting sign-ups for a HPS Gettysburg and a HPS Renaissance Tournament.

Both tournaments will consist of three scenarios and will have a maximum of 15 turns.

The Gettysburg sign-up thread can be located here:  http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=64060

The Renaissance sign-up thread can be located here:  http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=63957

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:26:00 +0000

Site Update

As I imagine has been obvious, my priorities have taken me elsewhere lately, and this seems like it is something that should probably be continuing for some time.

Most of my engagement with the site will be through the SDC's associated Facebook page while this is continuing. I have to add a link to that to the SDC menu at some point.

And in additional SDC Facebook news, I recently added Rich Hamilton as an backup admin to that page.

I have had to step down from being the website admin at SPWGame.com in order to refocus my priority. However, I will add in a fan area for 'Der Weltkrieg' games to SDC. Basically this will amount to opening another wing of the site. There is no set schedule for this, but it is something that I will have a significant amount of material from which to work with, and it is a quality simulation of the First World War -in fact it is an oddity in the modular wargaming world, in that it is one of the ones that has actually been completed.

Some years ago I was given the opportunity to do a hobby site by people managing a site related to an unnamed mmpog; and in retrospect, SDC, and its associated sites are really what resulted. I suppose the better news, is that since that time I have gotten much better at graphics and web design.

Until next time.

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:57:00 +0000

I guess I needed the reminder...

Every now and then I get some foolish idea that I can participate, and that 'moderation by community vote' isn't really that bad...."

I hadn't added this title to a database driven site for a long time; I vaguely recall my rationale as letting someone else have the fun... share it around. After all Campaign 1814 came out last May. 

My choice was definitely not a reflection on the game at all, but rather that site.

Ok, well after a slew of releases I decided, well why not see if anyone has added these at that site -and no... still not.

Ok, well I got the title submission approved like nothing -so I guess naively I went off and decided that hey, it could use an identifying image. . . and it languished a few days (and I have others that are doing the same -and I expect exactly the same community voice result -even though -and this is one big frustration with their set up at that site .... sometimes they get in other times they don't -there is ZERO consistency -I got the following decline message.

We're sorry that we couldn't use the recent image that you uploaded to *** related to Campaign 1814, and it was removed it from the system.

Reasons:
30% Wrong Gallery
70%

Comments (optional):
Is this a screensot? Any way, it's not a box front, back or toal media shot, so wrong gallery

Let  me tell you, I can type a bit fast at time, and am not unknown to make typos- but you know there really is nothing like being declined and given a message like that. 

And technically it deserves a rebuttal ... look, no it is not a "screensot" -it is a file from the game folder ... cover.bmp  -where the dot bmp thingie stands in for the type of file it is ... a bitmap file.

Secondly, the publisher does not publish physical products so no there can't be a box top, or 'total media shot' (unless of course you want a screenshot of the files within a folder (hey not a bad idea now that I think about it.... :D ).  Excuse me for adding a file called 'cover.bmp' to the 'Cover Gallery' - I guess it was only counter-intiutive to be ironic? Oh yes, technically I did change the file name to something like 1814_cover.bmp -otherwise as simply cover.bmp I would be overwriting that file all of the time.

Anyway - I suppose the point is more to the -why bother wasting time with that site, they really aren't worth it.

So - I guess someone else can have all the fun again. ;)

____

Edited ( 17 Jan 2013 ): 

As if to emphasize the point, today, using the exact same entry categories (and pretty much the same proposed caption) - the cover image for Squad Battle: First World War uploaded, was approved as a Cover Image at the exact same site (It was added at about the same time a few days back as the Campaign 1814 file).

 
...I suppose the issue is really one of that site's vetting consistency that I find a bit frustrating.

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:52:00 +0000

Through the Wilderness by Alexander Webb

There will be a few more of these posted regarding the Overland Campaign, at approximately weekly intervals, and will gradually be extended to the other Civil War Battles titles' pages.

You can find this article and others on the Historical Background tab of the Campaign Overland page.

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 02:42:00 +0000

Campaign Overland page development update

I have a set of maps completed (there might be more to come).. we'll see how time plays out, I have more work on the horizon, so it might be when I get time to fit things in.

I am going to post several sizes for the big big map to make it more convenient of a download size for users, and am going to also have a link with the text file of rules for that big scenario. While I am not sure how it will translate to a PC game environment, what I do know is that there is nothing even close out there in terms of scale. It was clearly a labor of love.

On another note, one of the good things about the internet is material in the public domain... as is first person accounts from the Civil War, as is ... well, the 4 volumes of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War -and naturally there is a lot of coverage on the Overland campaign. SDC is fortunate enough to have a full version of Acrobat, so I am able to pull sections out of these books as article material.

One such article is Major General E.M. Law's (CSA) account 'From the Wilderness to Cold Harbor', of which will be added in to the SDC Campaign Overland page, along with others.  At the moment, the above is just a graphic... but it will be there in due course, so look for that to show up shortly.

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:57:00 +0000

Campaign Overland... where is it?

(Where is it, at SDC, that is...)   The release schedule from JTS this past month plus could best be described as frantic, to say the least. SDC was fortunate enough to have had a great deal of assistance from David Freer prior to the release of his title, Moscow '42 (of which I can't begin to thank him enough for that... as an aside)...

I have planning maps completed for Squad Battles: First World War although I have not had a chance to integrate them into a web page (much less upload them to the SDC site- although there is a hint of what they look like posted on the SDC Facebook page). I also have to come up with a banner (or at least get rid of that placeholder thing that I am using there... ;) ).

Finally, with all of this going on, Overland came out, and I was familiar with this project for quite awhile- so I knew what was coming -in the sense of it has the largest map I have ever attempted to put together (ok technically I have attempted and actually completed putting together all of them apart from a set of screenshots from PzC which incorporates Moscow '42's material to existing maps -however technically speaking, that is just a series of screenshots- and no actual .map file exists (leastwise not one that was ever made public -and since there are some anomalies with matching terrain and elevations together, it suggests that no such composit .map file exists)... so that one, to me, doesn't count.

Anyways, the point is, I want to get some maps together for Overland and then work on a page from there... so in effect I am working in reverse order from what I normally do.

...but of course, say there are more releases to come, which I haven't heard that there isn't ... then it sort of throws another spanner into the workflow here.  Oh, sure don't get me wrong-I am only writing this to prove that the site has a pulse despite what is outwardly showing.

...and someday I will get to writing my own material (someday that gets closer every day. :) ). And that is when the fun actually begins from my perspective.

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:07:00 +0000

71 Years Ago...

Remembering 7th December, 1941.

 

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Wargaming and Industry...

I came across a link to this article yesterday in The Age. (One of Melbourne's daily newspapers- although I imagine it ran in all of the capital cities' Fairfax papers.

Leading companies use war games to focus better on their competitors, while improving the way they identify, shape, and seize opportunities to innovate.

Read the full article here (site does require registration):

 http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Battle-test_your_innovation_strategy_3038

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:53:00 +0000

Some samples of SB: FWW's planning maps

 

A sampling of the Squad Battles: First World War planning maps that I have been working on the past day or so. More coming, and as usual the full sized versions will be available on the SDC site's page for SB:FWW.

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:18:00 +0000

SDC Facebook page launched

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scenario-Design-Center/351292604967033

A page to supplement the material on the SDC site.

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Abraham Lincoln Apparel section now open at Scenario Design Center Warehouse

Now available, original designs by Scenario Design Center Warehouse commemorating the 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln.



More designs to come as well, so stay tuned. :)

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:33:00 +0000

First World War contest! -Posted by Ed Williams at 'The Blitz'

Ed Williams writes, at 'The Blitz' - your chance to win a copy of 'France '14.'

Hello everyone,

I want to announce a Squad Battles First World War contest!

DETAILS:
---------------------------------------

Who can participate?
-Anyone who owns a copy of First World War!

What is the prize?
-A brand new physical copy of France '14!

When?
-Starting right now, until January 15th.
(I want to give people time to pick up a copy of Squad Battles: First World War if they are waiting to do that around Christmas.)

How does it work?
-This is a single player contest where the challenge/task is playing through the "Wilhelm" campaign vs the A/I. The winner is the one who can rack up the most Leadership Action Points (LAPs) by the time poor Wilhelm becomes a casualty or by the time he is lucky enough to survive the campaign. Basically, all you have to do is play through the Wilhelm campaign by yourself and get as many LAPs as you can. Simple!

How is the final LAP total calculated?
-The final LAP total will be a combination of totaling the actual LAPs accumulated throughout the campaign, plus any bonus points.

Bonus LAPs are awarded by me as follows:

.....+50 LAPs if Wilhelm survived the entire campaign without becoming a casualty
.....+15 LAPs for each Major Victory
.....+10 LAPs for each Minor Victory
.....+5 LAPs for each Draw

How do you report the results?
-When you have completed your campaign to the point that you want to report the result to me, email me your campaign's .CPF file. Send it to: volcano (at) volcanomods [dot] com --please make the subject something like "First World War contest". ***Include your name in the filename of the .CPF file if possible please so that I can keep track of them easily.***

The winner will by chosen and announced on January 16th in this thread, where I will then ask the winner to email me their mailing address for the prize.

That is it!

NOTES:
---------------------------------------

*Remember, poor Willy doesn't have to survive the entire campaign, but if he does without becoming a casualty then he will get bonus LAPs. Also, winning a scenario will provide more bonus points. The dilemma is whether Willy should be aggressive to get lots of LAPs, or be cautious to survive the campaign, or a little of both.

*Please be honest and do not cheat. Any suspicion of cheating will result in disqualification and besides, what is the challenge in cheating? Play to have fun, and for the challenge.

*Any game result that is not played in vs. A/I mode will be disqualified.

*You find the Wilhelm campaign by starting SB:FWW by selecting "Campaign Game" icon in your John Tiller Software folder within the program files in the start button menu. Once there, select "Start New Campaign" and choose the campaign: "Uffz Wilhelm: German Army Unteroffizier, 26.Inf.Div, 1914-18" and start from the first scenario: "Rally On Me!".

*You can play through the campaign as many times as you want, but please try limit your submissions to only ONE result please, so as to minimize the paperwork and book keeping that I will have to do.

*This is NOT an officially sanctioned contest by JTS, HPS, or The Blitz; I am running the contest and providing the prize myself. Be patient with me please.

*If you don't win then it is guaranteed that you WILL have fun, and you will have fun while having fun too! ;)

ENJOY!

If you have any questions then ask away and I will try to answer them.

http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=63153

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:10:00 +0000

John Tiller Software is pleased to announce the release of Squad Battles: First World War

 

 http://www.johntillersoftware.com/SquadBattles/FirstWorldWar.html

This title allows you to experience the technical and tactical advancements of the First World War, and the terrible battles that were carried out. This title is available for Digital Download through the website  http://www.johntillersoftware.com/ - beginning Friday November 16th, 2012.

---

Note: SDC's SB:FWW Planning Maps are still under construction.

http://hist-sdc.com/spotlights/sb_first_world_war.php 

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 21:43:00 +0000

Panzer Campaigns: Moscow '42

Click to visit SDC's Moscow '42 page

John Tiller Software announces the release of their latest Panzer Campaigns title: Moscow '42.


Available November 2, 2012 directly from JTS. 

Also check out SDC's interview with David Freer, project manager and lead scenario designer for Moscow '42.

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:14:00 +0000

SDC AAR's - new blog area open for business

http://hist-sdc-aars.blogspot.com.au/

As some might recall, SDC had had an AAR section, that ultimately blew up - which taught this webmaster a lesson - that being, never delegate authority and let images critical to a narrative be hosted off site.  Delegating authority itself, isn't a bad thing -but remotely hosted images can go missing -and that is. . . live and learn I guess. :)

I might write a little more about the idea behind my implementation of this - insofar as my own writing is concerned. I am more interested in engagement than in story-telling, mainly because readers take more a passive role in a narrative, which isn't a bad thing. But I think by talking to what I am seeing at the outset of any given scenario, that it allows me to write in a much more detailed fashion, that frankly, I doubt would be sustainable throughout an entire scenario replay.  -That, and I also think I can write to a greater variety of topics -which is more of a key consideration.

The first entry is up - it considers the Battle of the Marne scenario from France '14. The second entry will be the Tel el Eisa scenario from Alamein '42. Look for that one shortly.

Then more to follow after that - plus I have a fair amount of material to still reformat and add. 

If you have an AAR and want something posted- feel free to drop me a line at the link on the Contact page on the site. I will be incorporating this into the main site page navigation shortly.

One last thing too, one thing I learned about this hobby is that it is the hobby that counts -not much  else.

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:20:00 +0000

Kurz and Allison calendar images

More on the Kurz and Allison Civil War Battles calendar...



Note that the dates are relative, as CafePress allows buyers to chose the month that their calendar begins. The October image is assigned to October; if you select a calendar starting in January 2013 -then the October image will be for October 2013 (instead of October 2012 as shown).

Corinth

Lookout Mountain

Stones River

Fort Fisher

Fort Donelson

Hampton Roads

Five Forks

the Wilderness

Cold Harbor

First Bull Run

Wilson's Creek

Winchester

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:47:00 +0000

Now Available - Over-sized Civil War Battles Calendar.

Just out, a Calendar featuring 11 x 17 inch Kurz and Allison lithographs commemorating the Civil War Battles of:

• January - Fort Fisher
• February - Fort Donelson
• March - Hampton Roads
• April - Five Forks
• May - Wilderness
• June - Cold Harbor
• July - First Bull Run
• August - Wilson's Creek
• September - Winchester
• October - Corinth
• November - Lookout Mountain
• December - Stones River

http://www.cafepress.com/scenariodesigncenter.686649270 

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:03:00 +0000

Grand Opening: Scenario Design Center Warehouse at CafePress

Scenario Design Center's approach to art is to create designs that honor the sacrifice and valor of our nations' men and women, and to commemorate our heritage, by paying respectful attention to detail.

Scenario Design Center's work is inspired by the graphic designs used for our site. New material is being added continually.

Discover a great military history gift for your friends and family, or find something special for yourself!

Plus, each purchase of a Scenario Design Center, design, be it from the CafePress site, or from the SDC Warehouse shop, goes to support the site. Cafepress runs promotions regularly, and all of the designs from the SDC Warehouse shop are also available in each CafePress store's locations around the world.

Current List of Scenario Design Center Designs at CafePress

Scenario Design Center Warehouse

 

Loading

GameSquad Forums - Blogs - HPS Simulations Blog by rahamy

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:01:49 GMT

SB Updates

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:49:00 GMT

New HPS / JTS Updates in the works...

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:13:25 GMT

More PzC updates...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:06:56 GMT

PzC Updates continue

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:55:32 GMT

PzC Updates

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:36:31 GMT

Atlanta updated...

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:48:13 GMT

More updates...

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:09:45 GMT

Gettysburg updated

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:02:01 GMT

Ozark is up!

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:37:12 GMT

Corinth update...

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:17:48 GMT

New updates...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:24:14 GMT

Ancient Warfare Poll

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:36:56 GMT

Budapest & REN

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:49:42 GMT

Panzer Campaigns: Kharkov '43 & going forward...

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:46:23 GMT

Ren 1.03

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:03:01 GMT

Punic & Gallic Wars updated

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:40:53 GMT

Jutland updated

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:09:11 GMT

France '14 scenarios & finishing notes & tips

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:33:59 GMT

New Ancient Warfare updates posted...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:43:18 GMT

France '14 1.01 update

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:06:37 GMT

Designer Notes: France ‘14 - Part III

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:18:01 GMT

Designer Notes: France ‘14 - Part II

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:10:45 GMT

Designer Notes: France ‘14 - Part I

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:39:46 GMT

Red Victory Operations, part II

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 02:40:24 GMT

Red Victory Operations, part I

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:03:20 GMT

Photos from TCIII...

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:25:44 GMT

Catching up...

Sat, 22 May 2010 15:41:19 GMT

Midway 1.01

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:12:55 GMT

Another hint...

Tue, 11 May 2010 11:07:09 GMT

Greek Wars scenarios

SDC Downloads consists of 2 areas. A dedicated download area, as well as a Blog format. The reason for the differentiation is that the software has a limit of 2 mb, and some of what is hosted here is occasionally larger than that limit. downloads.hist-sdc.com hist-sdc-downloads.blogspot.com

.

.

Scenario Design Center aims to provide you with utilities and ideas to create custom scenarios for use with titles released by John Tiller Software as well as John Tiller's and Paul Bruffell's games from HPS Simulations. Also supported are John Tiller's games through Talonsoft Games. This site is not owned and/or operated by any game company, and as such all material posted here should be considered unofficial; the above companies are not responsible for providing support for anything found on this site (although SDC may be able to assist in some cases).

Scenario Design Center/Centre (aka SDC) use and hosting of images/files of their respective product lines is done with with the expressed written permission of HPS Simulations and John Tiller Software.

---

Scenario Design Center | Promote Your Page Too

---

Visit ConsimWorld