Rally question

[Gurachn]

Originally Posted by runequester

...Are you wanting to know how rallying works in game mechanics, or how to best use it as a player?

Both of these points would be very useful.

I can understand where Kartoffel is coming from. The manual seems to assume that a lot of basic techniques are already well understood by the player which is not always the case.
And not just for noobs either.

Even though I have been playing the series off and on (more off, admittedly) since the first DOS version, I suspect that there are subtleties and techniques that I haven't cottoned on to or have forgotten, or have changed in different versions.

A clear explanation of the mechanics, and some killer ideas of how to use rallying to maximum effectiveness would be most welcome, thanks.

[DRG]

Yes I know how tiresome reading the Game Guide is. It was even more tiresome spending hours writing it knowing few people would actually read it

I had thought the answers given covered the question here's what the game guide says

Rally

The rally rating of that leader. Higher numbers are better. As rallies are done in a turn, this number will tend to decrease. Once a rally attempt fails this number will be set to zero for the remainder of the current turn, signifying that this leader cannot rally himself or subordinates any further this move. Leaders who are in retreat or rout states, can only rally themselves as and until they reach a better morale state. Individual units can only rally themselves, only leaders can rally their subordinates. Company HQ leaders can rally any leaders or units in their subordinated platoons. A0 can rally any troops in line of comms including company commanders.

Now...... does that help ? If no then we really need a more detailed question

Don

[RightDeve]

LOL! I painstakingly read the GG long before I touched any Steel Panthers scenario (WinSPWW2 at that time); to the point that I set the page as default every time my browser opened. Oh... how much I loved to finally have WinSPWW2 at that time; was very much thrilled with the complexities and realism it offers, and a myriad of pre-made scenarios! (just moved from shallow military games like Close Combat, Soldiers, FireFight, etc). I found the GG to be very much a helping hand in understanding the concept and mechanics (my favorite chapter was Game Play Notes back then). Many people think that SP doesn't have a steep learning curve to master, thus they don't really see the need to actually read the GG.

Anyway, thank you Mobhack for planning to review that rally code!

[Gurachn]

Originally Posted by DRG

Yes I know how tiresome reading the Game Guide is. It was even more tiresome spending hours writing it knowing few people would actually read it
I had thought the answers given covered the question here's what the game guide says

Now...... does that help ? If no then we really need a more detailed question

Don

Steady there, Don. No need to get snarky or patronizing.

I totally feel your pain on the issue of 'effort put into manuals' VS. 'Number of users who actually read them' - I spent more than a decade in corporate training banging my head against exactly that wall.
The fact I soon discovered is that almost noone (outside perhaps of yourself and RightDeve) reads and memorizes a manual in its entirety before doing something. Most people when they get a new game (or anything cool)will start the thing up, see if they can figure it out, and if not then read the minimum they need to get started and having fun.
After that they will refer back to the manual whenever they have a question or need some more info.

In order to be successful a good manual must accurate, concise, and organized in a chronologically effective and user freindly-manner.
Your writing is very clear, concise and accurate, but to be honest the organization (at least in this instance) leaves a little to be desired. It took me nearly 30 minutes of going through the manual before I found the paragraph on Rallying you referenced (tucked in between 'Headquarters screen' and 'Waypoints'. That paragraph also doesn't note the range that rallying can be done, nor does it clarify the CHQ link issue.

The fact that manual as a whole isn't easily searchable (being broken into separate htm sections) also means that finding this type of information isn't always easy.
It seems to me that this sort of key information would best be included in the tutorial, which is the one part of a manual that most (though in no way all) users are likely to read.
If you ever decide to revise the manual, I might suggest covering all the key info (along with useful tips and techniques) in a few tutorials, and formatting the rest into a clearly organized and fully searchable quick reference guide.

Apart from the GG issue, I believe the original poster was equally, if not more concerned with the question of how to use rallying effectively, rather than just the cut and dry mechanics of it, e.g. the technique Cross suggested of keeping your A0 far enough and moving him up if necessary.