Tutorial 4

Tutorial 4


In this tutorial, we shall cover how to create a complex order of battle that is spread out over two turns. This tutorial can be found in the tutorial folder as the file "tutorial4.map".

To get ourselves ready for the following example, we go through the usual routine of starting the Joy Of Hex Editor application, selecting New... from the File menu, and chosing to start with a 10 by 10 hex map with the climate of Europe1.

In the following picture we can see the order of battle that I'm planning to create. Notice that: HQ1 is connected to a supply hex; HQ2, HQ3 and HQ4 are attached to HQ1; infantry units 1, 2 and 3 are attached to HQ2; infantry units 4, 5 and 6 are attached to HQ3; infantry units 7, 8 and 9 are attached to HQ4; and finally HQ4 and its attached units will arrive 1 turn after the starting turn.

An important step in creating any order of battle is to provide a supply hex from which the units in the order of battle will draw supply from. To start this we need to first select the hex in the hex map that shall be the supply hex for our order of battle.

Since we've just started a new scenario map, we need to switch toolbars to have the necessary buttons that will allow us to place a supply hex on the map. To get to the right toolbar we need to select the Edit Terrain Values menu item from the editor's Toolbar menu. Once the correct toolbar appears we can move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Supply Hexes button, as is shown in the following image:

Clicking in the Supply Hexes button will bring up the following dialog. Notice that since I'm building an order of battle for side 1 that I've only set the dialog so that side 1 can draw a supply level of Very Good.

Clicking on the OK button in the above dialog will cause an orange hex border to appear in the hex that we had previously selected on the map.

The next step that we need to do is to set the hex ownership so that side 1 owns the hexes through which our order of battle can draw their supply lines. Since I'm not going to have any units for side 2 I'm going to select all of the hexes by shift-clicking them all, as I've done in the following picture:

The toolbar needs to be changed before we can go on, so we select the Unit Requirements menu item from the editor's Toolbar menu. We then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Set Ownership button.

Clicking the Set Ownership button will cause the following dialog to appear:

We want to set all of our selected hexes to be owned by side 1 so we click the OK button.

The next step is to start laying out the units that will appear during the first turn. To this end we go through a simple routine of first selecting the hex in which the unit is to appear, as I've pictured in the following image:

Then going up to the toolbar to click on the New Unit button, as in the following image:

Since I've covered how to place units on the hex map in a previous tutorial, I'll not go into any further detail about what I did at this point. If you are curious about the exact settings that I gave each unit, open up the tutorial4.map with the editor, click on a single hex which contains the unit that you're curious about, and do a Cmd-I to bring up the unit info dialog box. What I've done to this point can be seen in the following picture:

Notice in the above picture that I've only placed down those units that shall appear in the first turn of the game.

Also notice, in the above picture, that since I'm about to start connecting units together that I've selected the hex that contains HQ1. I then moved the cursor up into the toolbar and over the left Select HQ button, as is shown in the following image:

In the following image you can see that the image of HQ1 has appeared in the toolbar showing that we are now ready to start attaching units to it. But since HQ1 will also be drawing supply from a supply hex I also need to move the cursor over the right Select HQ button, as I've shown in the following image:

In the next image you can see how the graphic for HQ1 has appeared and tells us that we can now start attaching HQ1 to a supply hex:

Since the supply hex is in the lower left corner of the hex map, I need to select that hex, as I've done in the following picture:

I then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Attach To Hex button, as shown in the following image:

Clicking the Attach To Hex button will cause the following dialog to appear:

Since I want HQ1 attached to the selected supply hex I click the OK button to make the dialog go away.

The next step requires attaching HQ2 and HQ3 to HQ1. To this end, I need to select the hexes containing HQ2 and HQ3, as I've shown in the following image:

I then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Attach Unit button, as I've shown in the following image:

Clicking the Attach Unit button will cause the following dialog to appear:

Since I want the two head-quarters to be attached to HQ1 I click the OK button.

Notice that I didn't have to connect all the head-quarters to HQ1 right away - in fact I'll be making use of this feature latter for HQ4. Sometimes you can't connect all of a head-quarter's units to it in one go (maybe the units are in a stack of units that requires you to rotate the stack to shown each unit in turn) so there's no need to attach all units to a head-quarter at once. But just make certain that before you try playing the scenario that you actually do connect all the units or you shall find that there will be units that have no supply.

Next I'm going to connect 3 infantry units to HQ2. To this end I first select the hex containing HQ2, as I've shown in the following image:

I then move the cursor up into the toolbar and over the left Select HQ button, as in the following image:

Clicking the left Select HQ button will cause the image of HQ2 to appear in the toolbar as is shown in the following picture:

We then go down to the hex map and shift-click on those units that we wish to attach, as is shown in the following picture:

We then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Attach Unit button, as is shown in the following image:

Clicking the Attach Unit button will cause the familar query dialog to appear and in which we click the OK button in order to attach the selected infantry units to HQ2.

We now want to attach 3 infantry units to HQ3. To this end we need to select the hex containing HQ3, as is shown in the following image:

We then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the left Select HQ button, as is shown in the following image:

Clicking the left Select HQ button will cause the graphic for HQ3 to appear in the toolbar, as is shown in the following image:

We then move the cursor back to the hex map and shift-click on the hexes containing the units that we want attached to HQ3, as is shown in the following image:

We then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Attach Unit button, as is shown in the following image:

Clicking the Attach Unit button will cause the familar query dialog to appear and in which we click the OK button in order to attach the selected infantry units to HQ3.

We are now going to do something different and set up our order of battle so that a head-quarter and some attached units arrive a turn after the first. I could attach this new head-quarter to the supply hex, but instead I want to attach it to HQ1 that will be present on the map before HQ4 arrives. To do this, I first select the hex containing HQ1, as is shown in the following picture:

I then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the left Select HQ button, as is shown in the following image:

In the following picture, you can see that the graphic for HQ1 has again appeared in the toolbar:

I now want to change the turn at which units arrive, and so I move the cursor over the Set Turn button, as is shown in the following image:

Notice, in the above image, how there is a number "1" under the Set Turn button. This number tells us that so far we've been placing units down that will be present at turn 1, that is the first turn. We want to change this so that the next units that we place down will arrive one turn after the first (that is to say turn 2). Clicking the Set Turn button will cause the following dialog to appear:

In the above dialog we change the number to "2" and click the OK button to make the dialog go away. This causes a small change to the toolbar - the turn number has changed from a "1" to a "2" - which is shown in the following image:

Placing new units onto the hex map should be a familar process so that I won't go into all of what I did to place HQ4 and its infantry units onto the hex map. If you are curious, use the editor - after making certain that you set the turn to "2" - and use the Cmd-I feature to explore the unit settings.

In the following image you can see the units that I've placed on the map, as well as seeing that I've selected the hex containing HQ4:

I want to attach HQ4 to HQ1, so I go to the toolbar and move the cursor over the Attach Unit button. Notice that that HQ1's graphic is still displayed in the following image:

Clicking the Attach Unit button will cause the familar query dialog to appear and we click OK to agree to the changes.

We then need to attach the new infantry units to HQ4, so we move the cursor over the left Select HQ button, as is shown in the following image:

In the following picture, we can see how the image of HQ4 has appeared in the toolbar, showing that we are now ready to attach units to it:

We move the cursor down to the hex map and shift-click those hexes that contain the infantry units that we want attached to HQ4, as is shown in the following image:

We then move the cursor into the toolbar and over the Attach Unit button as is shown in the following image:

Clicking the Attach Unit button causes the familar query dialog to appear and we click OK to accept the changes.

All that we now need to do is save our work and we have completed our example.

This tutorial is a very tough one to follow, and I won't be surprised if you first found it a little confusing. Don't give up, because with a little effort it will all become second nature and soon you'll be making some amazing scenarios of your own. Don't forget that you can use the editor to take a peek at the scenarios that come included with the Joy Of Hex if you want to see some further examples of complex order of battles.


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