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Just Flight - Battle Over Europe
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Q. BoE is advertised as being able to create 61 different types
of missions. How many are currently available with DGen in Forgotten
Battles version 1.22?
A. Before I answer the actual question I just want to
explain the mission creation dynamics in a little more detail.
We have six main mission groups: airspace patrol; ground attack;
escort; recon; scramble; and transfer. Within each mission type
we have multiple subtypes: for example a ground attack may be
against moving vehicle columns, a stationary artillery
position, bombing a supply depot, striking a train junction,
etc. There are 61 of these mission sub-types in BoE. However
the variety doesn't stop there. Each mission sub-type can be
against one of thousands potential target locations, and the
actual target may be of several different sub-types in each
case. For example, even if technically you might be sent on
two "ground attack / artillery" missions, the first
one may be against a lone 3-gun battery near the Normandy coast,
and the other one may be against a large 12-gun battery near
Falaise with lots of flak and targets of opportunity around.
In other words, while both missions are from one of the 61 available
mission types, the actual missions you get to fly are very different.
In addition to all this, the 61 mission
types do not include any variations of the enemy opposition. There
is a whole new algorithm at play there, with dozens more possible
variations. For example, in one "escort / heavy bomber
/ train station strike" mission your package of B-17s
may be attacked by several consecutive flights of Bf-109s
and FW-190s, while the other mission of the same type will
have the Forts drop their eggs unopposed while you'll be free
to drop down and strafe some targets on the ground.
So, to go back to your original question, the general number
of mission types per side is about the same in BoE and Forgotten
Battles. The number is unique per country, and some countries
may have more mission types than others. However this number
is really not the best representation of mission variety you
will get. The thousands potential target locations and many
variants of target types and enemy opposition all combine
to create literally millions of potential missions in BoE.
Q. What criteria determines that a mission is a success or failure?
A. The criteria that determine
mission success are usually pretty simple: just do what the
mission briefing tells you to do. However it doesn't mean
that you cannot proceed to the next mission if you haven’t
done what the briefing tells you. Each player will be able
to toggle the Instant Mission Success flag for their
campaigns, and with the flag on the mission will be considered
completed the second it starts, and you will be able to exit
it at any time and proceed to the next mission — of course
granted that you've survived the previous one. With the Instant
Success flag off, the player will still not be required to
complete the main mission objective to move on; he'll simply
need to land in one piece. Completing the objective will also
let you move on to the next mission, without requiring you
to land.
Q. How will the front lines be different from how they are currently
generated in Forgotten Battles?
A. This is another area we've spent a lot of time working
with. The basic idea is that you won't only see the front
line in the mission briefing, but you will also see it in
the mission itself. What we're basically doing is placing
opposing ground units around the front line and letting
them duke it out. This results in you seeing explosions, shells
and some smoking destroyed objects as you fly over the front
line.
However if we created an equally
intense amount of ground fighting all across the front line
the missions would become virtually un-playable Therefore
we only create the ground fighting around the areas over which
the player will pass. So if you stray way off course and cross
the front line far away from the indented waypoints, you will
not see the fighting below you.
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