Written by Alexandre Karadimas

How to design a campaign in Panzer General II

Index

1. Technical design

2. Tactical design

1. Technical design

1.1 Cracking the campaign file.

    In Panzer General 2 (PG2), each campaign is described by a specific file: the .cam file, which is stored in the Scenario folder (PG2\Scenario).   As an example the Camp1.cam stores the information describing the first campaign "Blitzkrieg" and the Camp2.cam is for "Defending the Reich".

    Unfortunately the information stored in the .cam files is in hexadecimal form. This is why when you try to view  the files using Notepad most of the characters are gibberish. Although, it is possible to recognize a file name here and there. That is why I thought to myself that surely there must be a way to crack the files and thus create new campaigns.

    Having noticed that Erik Tan, creator of the PG2 programs like the Unit Editor, had to of found a way to edit PG2 files.    I knew there must be a way.  After asking some questions I learned the only way to accomplish my task was to obtain a hex editor. After doing some searching I downloaded a hex editor called Hex Workshop and went to work.

     First I made a copy of the British Campaign "Return to Europe", Camp4.cam, and renamed it Camp6.cam. (Since mistakes are easy its best to work off of a copy of one of the original campaign files.) Next you'll have to count the number of characters which comprise all of the scenario files that make up the campaign. For instance, salerno2.scn has 8 characters. Then, once you have recorded all of the lengths of the scenario files you'll need to make note of the order that the scenarios are played in.  Now your ready to rename your own scenario files, matching up the length of the old campaigns first scenario to the length of your new campaigns first scenario. Now you can replace the file names in the Camp6.cam with with your newly created file names using Hex Workshop.

          Example: my first scenario was Koufra. Since the campaign's first scenario was Salerno2.scn, I renamed it Kourfaff.scn in order to have the required 8 characters.

    IMPORTANT:  Apparently PG2 capitalizes the first letter of the scenarios somewhere other than the scenario names located in the campaign files. Because of this I found that entering the scenario names in lower case in the campaign file and then capitalizing the first letter of the scenario file worked.

          Example : the file Salerno2.scn is written salerno2.scn with Hex Workshop. Therefore, I wrote kourfaff.scn in the Camp6.cam file and named the scenario file Kourfaff.scn .

    Once you have renamed all of the scenarios, you can do the same with the transition text files.

1.2 Campaign files and the Transition Text file

    As you have noticed, there are numerous files in the decoded version of the .cam files.

    - The .smk files are for the animations at the beginning of some of the scenarios and are located on the CD.

    - The .mus files are for the speeches of your commander at the beginning and at the end of the scenario.   The .mus files are located on the CD.

    - The .txt files are for the text which appears at the beginning and at the end of the scenario.

    I don't know what the purpose is of all the other files, if anyone does please let me know.

    For your new campaign you will need to modify the .txt files. There are 4 or 5 .txt files per scenario and it is important to include appropriate text for your scenarios to help set the mode and give the player clues in what his mission will be.

    XX00i.txt is the introduction text, were XX is the country of the player

    XX01bv.txt is the text that appears after a Brilliant Victory

    XX02v.txt is the text that appears after a Normal Victory (this file does not exist in the English campaign)

    XX03mv.txt is the text that appears after a Tactic Victory (NOTICE : since I have not succeeded in differentiating the victory turns, any victory will be brilliant victory in my campaign.)

    XX04l.txt is the text that appears for a defeat.

    When writing the text of these files, you have to write everything on the first line.

1.3 Miscellaneous

    Don't forget to create the files that you specified as existing when you edited the .cam file.

    Don't name the .cam file differently from the CampX.cam convention.

    In the Hex Workshop, don't use the "delete" and "space" keys. Be very careful when overwriting.

    When a modified .cam file doesn't work and all files required exist and work on their own, delete the .cam file. There is no chance you can repair it because in my opinion you added or suppressed a character instead of overwriting.

    I used the linear campaign "Return to Europe" for my new campaign. I don't know if there are differences in a complex campaign structures like "Blitzkrieg". So if you want to try using "Blitzkrieg" for your campaign then I suggest downloading the campaign chart which can be found at Wargamer's Panzer General II Section or at Panzer General II Armory. The chart should aid you in determining the order which scenarios are played in.

    Do changes in steps so that you can tell that each step has worked. Make a copies when a step works.

    OF COURSE, do not touch the custom campaigns. Always work off of a renamed copy.

2. Tactical design

2.1 The core army

    The player's core army is defined in the first scenario. This is done in the scenario builder by placing all the units (core and non-core) on the map. Afterwards, place the DEPLOYMENT HEXES on the units that you want to be included in the player's core army.

2.2 Prestige

    I have not found a way to modify the prestige attribution. In my campaign if you win the scenario it is considered a Brilliant Victory. This leaves plenty of prestige between the scenarios to build a nice army. Prestige should not be given to players during a battle, unless one wishes to simulate reinforcements.

2.3 Deployment

    Apart from the first scenario (see 2.1), you cannot add units to your core army using the Scenario Editor. Airplanes can be deployed at friendly airfields without having to set the airfield as a deployment zone.

2.4 Miscellaneous

    When designing scenarios, don't forget to put the campaign's nation as the first player. Don't forget to also place the objectives for both sides.

    When you make a scenario, you should be able to win by playing both sides. This is the best guarantee of having a balanced and thereby challenging scenario.

    To spice up a scenario set the AI to "aggressive", if the historical context allows it.

    What is true for scenarios is definitely true for campaigns, you must use some semblance of reality in your scenarios.  Someone will question you accuracy. My advice for a campaign is to recreate the actions of one division. Especially elite units, such as the 101 Airborne, Das Reich, or Wiking Divisions. Simply put well known units will have more articles and books written on them, which means you'll have an easier time gathering information to base your campaign on.

    When you read the campaign flow chart on the Internet, it indicates that if you fail at Volokolamsk or Klin you go to the "Defending the Reich" campaign. This is inaccurate. When reading Camp1.cam, you'll notice that "Defending the Reich" is included in it. Hence you cannot go from one campaign to another.

    Thanks to Benjamin Etienne, Emmanuel Brunet and Pierre Henriot (soon will be my boss) for their support, patience and getting my brain refreshed from PG2 for time to time.

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