ACW Campaign Games Quick Start Guide

NEW 04/06/02

Back to ACW Campaign Games Design Center

Below you will find a guide to try to get you up and running with the scenarios offered on this website as quickly as possible. If your question is not answered below, please e-mail me at acwcgdc@brettschulte.net and I'll be happy to answer it for you.

There has been continued confusion in recent months over exactly what is needed to get these scenarios working correctly, especially with regards to having the same version of the scenario as an opponent. As of early April 2003, Ken Miller and I have finally hammered out a system to try to get everyone on the same page and standardize these add-ons as much as possible. For more info from Ken's end, please visit his web page. The problem was with every single scenario designer using his own (and hence different) version of the leaders.bmp and units.bmp files, thus leading to mass confusion and inability to coordinate with opponents. Ken has greatly simplified this process by creating standardized leaders.bmp and units.bmp files that work with all of the scenarios on my site, both the ones currently here and any made in the future. Prospective scenario designers don't have to worry about compatibility issues. Simply contact Ken if his files are missing leaders featured in your scenarios and he will be more than happy to add the info needed. This brings me to the purpose of this guide. I hope to show you in a general way how to quickly get any scenario you want up and running, while also making sure you have the same version as any opponent you'd like to play. You may wish to open another browser window and pick one of my scenarios to look at as you are reading this guide.

1. Get the Scenario You Want from My Site

Go to my Scenarios Section and look for a scenario you would like to download. Notice that each scenario has a large amount of information in addition to the link to the zip file. To the right of the link, you will see listed every single file in the zip file, along with where each file needs to be placed in the Corinth game (or your modified Game folder you made after reading my Add-On Setup section). Download the zip file by clicking on the link and then unzip the files to their proper locations.

2. Look for What Else is Needed to Play And Follow the Links

Some scenarios require more files to be downloaded from various other places. These are listed under the information telling you which files are in the scenario zip file. In most cases, you will need some of Ken Miller's files or some of Pete Seibel's files. Ken Miller's files are key. They ensure that two people playing a scenario have the exact same leaders.bmp, units.bmp and oob files, which is necessary to prevent errors and other strange things from happening. Please note that once you have downloaded Ken Miller's files (including all of the sets of OOB files), you will not have to download these again until or unless Ken makes an update. The leaders.bmp and units.bmp files go in the Info subfolder of the game, while the OOB files can be placed directly into the main game folder. Pete Seibel's files are also key when they are listed. Mainly these are the map files needed to play certain scenarios. All map files can be directly downloaded into the main folder of the game. I have tried to link directly to the page where the map file can be obtained so that you won't have to go searching around for them.

3. Check for Updates Periodically

In some cases Pete, Ken, or myself will update files. I have made sure to clearly mark exactly which files have been updated and when. Ken and Pete do this the same way. From now on, most scenarios on my site will stay as-is. In the early days of the site I was constantly updating as Ken and I tried to work out the best way to standardize all of the files. Since we have now settled on a solid method, everything should stay stable. Ken's leaders.bmp and units.bmp files will be updated typically when I have a new scenario to post on my site, so you might want to get in the habit of checking Ken's site every time you see a new scenario posted here.

That's basically it. This process is really not as complicated as it looks at first glance. I unfortunately made it more complicated than it needed to be while constantly updating the scenarios. Now everything is stabilized and these instructions can be successfully followed in all cases. As always, if you are still experiencing difficulties after reading this guide, my FAQ, and my Add-On Setup instructions, feel free to contact me at acwcgdc@brettschulte.net and I will do my best to reply back that day.