The Devil's Cauldron - Special Features




Manipulating Counters

All Counters have a context-sensitive menu accessed by right-clicking on the counter. Some commands are grouped into sub-menus. Keyboard shortcuts are displayed for each command and can be used instead of using the menus.




General Commands

Movement Submenu

Combat Submenu

Engineering Submenu




Popup Information Display

Holding the mouse steady over a stack of units activates a popup window showing a zoomed in view of the counters in the hex:-



The units are displayed with from the bottom unit at the left, in order to the top-most unit at the right. Above the unit display is a line of text showing:- Holding the mouse steady over an empty hex will display the Hex reference and the terrain.


Out Of Command Status and Troop Quality Modifiers

Whenever a counter is selected by clicking on it, or by dragging a box around it, the outline of the counter is highlighted in a thicker black border to show that it is current selected. The counter on the right has been selected:



If the counter is Out of Command when selected, then the counter is instead highlighted in a thick red border with a thin red diagonal:



The "-1" label to the right of the Troop Quality is a reminder that Troop Quality is reduced by -1 whenever a unit is out of command. The Troop Quality Modifier status takes into account the following modifiers:-


1AB/82AB Non-formation Command reminder (Special rule S5.9)

Units of the 1st Airborne or 82nd Airborne may be In Command due to the presence of a leader from a different formation is the same division. In this case, there is a penalty cost of 1 additional Command Point when performing an Action with this unit that requires Command Points. A reminder of this (label '+1CP') is displayed when the unit is selected:






'May Not Activate' marker



Some scenarios have special rules that prevent specific units from activating in that scenario when the normal activation process takes place for their Division or Formation. Units that may not activate are marked with a small white cross to the left of the Troop Quality rating.


Additional Map Markers

Marker
Description
V
Marks a hex referenced in the Victory Conditions
E
Marks a hex that starts the game with a Red (1AB) Event Marker
E
Marks a hex that starts the game with a Green (82AB) Event Marker
  Hohenstaufen Flak hex
  Frundsberg Flak hex
  Korps Feldt Flak hex
  Von Tettau Flak hex



No Entry Areas



Sections of the map that are out of play to all units from both sides are marked with a gray cross-hatch shading.


Range Display

Leader counters have a 'Command Range' command that displays a shading on the map out to their command range.

Combat units with a range greater than 1 have a 'Show Range' command that displays a shading on the map out to the limit of their maximum range. PLEASE NOTE that this is a guide only and does not take Line of Sight or Fire Zone suppression into account. You may not be able to shoot at all of the shaded hexes.


Charts



The various charts required for play for both TDC and WED are accessible by clicking on the Charts toolbar button. The Terrain Effects Chart covers the terrain in both games.


Scenario Options and German Reorganisation



Under the Options tab on the Chart display are various options that are set to indicate that special rules are in force in a scenario. These options affect which Formation or Division some units belong to, and the Command/TQ display on highlighted counters.

The Scenario Options in the top half of the screen are used in a variety of scenarios and are generally set for the entire scenario. The correct setting for these options is included in the scenario setup.

The options in the bottom half of the screen implement the German Reorganisation rules used in WED Scenarios 4 & 5 and the Combined campaign. These options must be manually changed by one of the players at the appropriate time in the scenario. See Special Rules S4.5 in the WED exclusive rules.


Notes



Click on the Notes button to open the Notes display. There are four different kinds of notes.
  1. The Scenario notes section is pre-loaded with the complete instructions for the scenario from the Exclusive Rule Book
  2. The Public notes section is empty at the start of the scenario. Players can type notes into this section and they are shared between all players, and saved when the game is saved..
  3. The Private notes section is similar to the Public Notes, except that each player has their own personal copy. The notes are saved with the game, but no other player gets to see your Private Notes.
  4. The Delayed notes section is drop-box for secret information that must be recorded at the start of the game, and then revealed to your opponent at a later time. In TDC, we use this to record Air Drop times and Variable Victory Condition selections. Click on the New button to create a new Delayed note and give it a name. Click Ok, then Save. The note will be saved along with game and your opponent will be able to see the name of the note, and the time it was created, but cannot see the text of the note until you click on the Reveal button. Once created, a Delayed Note cannot be edited, changed or deleted by either player.


Turn Track



Move the Date, Time and Weather markers around the turn track as required.


Activation Chits and Activating Units



The Activation window is the core of TDC. Activation Chits for the various Armies, Divisions and Formations in the scenario are made available for use in the scenario setup, or as reinforcements as the associated troops enter the game. Selected chits are randomized in the Coffee Mug and drawn out one by one to dictate the order of play. The Activation board contains a number of different parts: At the end of a turn, one of the players can click the Refill Mug button to distribute the Used Activation Markers ready for the next turn: As well as manipulating the chits manually, you can use the right-click menu available on each chit
When activated, units belonging to the same formation or division as the chit are clearly marked with a Yellow Highlight:

This allows you to easily see where the currently active units are on the board. The Green highlight indicates an activated unit that has used its Action. Moving a unit, or issuing it commands that represent actions (Such as building an Impoved Position or entering Column Mode) cause the highlight to automatically change from Yellow to Green. If you need to manually may a unit as having done its action, use the 'Mark Action Done' command on the individual counter.

At the end of the Activation, use the Deactivate All button to remove all activation highlights.


Bridge and SDZ status



Right-click on the appropriate Markers and select Open or Close to record the current status of The setting of the markers is used by the Troop Quality Modifier display to display the correct Troop Quality modification based on current game circumstances.


Command and Dispatch Point Tracks



Use the Command and Dispatch markers to track the current level of Command and Dispatch Points for each Division. The Location of each marker on the track represents the number of points currently available. The rate at which the Division gains extra points is indicated on the lower right-hand corner of each marker.


VP Track (Race to the Bridge + Hell's Highway Scenarios)





The Race to the Bridge and Hell's Highway Scenarios have complex Victory Point schemes. Right-click on each button to change the state of the display buttons. The total Allied VP total will change automatically to reflect any changes on the individual buttons.


Scenario Cards - Variable Setup, Holding Boxes, Reinforcements



The Scenario Card toolbar button opens a window containing the scenario cards. There is one card for each of the 9 Divisions represented in the game. The scenario cards are specific to the particular scenario.

For Divisions that are not deployed in the current scenario, the scenario card is blank.

For Divisions that are deployed, the card contains all the counters needed to complete the scenario. Cards have seperate sections for :-


Graveyard



Units in TDC cannot be Deleted directly from the main map board. Use the Movement -> Graveyard (Ctrl-G) command to move destroyed units to the Graveyard map. Once in the Graveyard, units can be deleted if necessary.


Unit Inventory



Display a unit summary inventory. Units are broken down by map, then side, Division, then Formation. Clicking on a unit will scroll the map to show the unit if the map is open. You can right-click on a unit on the inventory screen and issue commands to the unit.


Save Image of Game

Click on the Camera toolbar button and select a file name to save an png image of the current map with all of the counters on it.


Map Overview

The Map Overview button displays a small-scale image of the entire map and draws a rectangle indicating size of the current view screen. Click on the small screen image to move the view screen around. Click on the Map Overview a second time to hide the overview map.


Zoom Map

Click on the Zoom buttons to zoom the current map in and out. The main map has 7 zoom levels defined, and starts at zoom level 3.


Hide Counters

Use the Hide Counters button to temporarily hide all of the counters on map to enable you to examine the map terrain. Click again to make the counters reappear. This has no effect on what your opponent sees.


Deactivate All

The Deactivate button deactivates all units on the map, removing any remaining Yellow (Activated) or Green (Action done) highlights.


Line of Sight



Clicking on the Line of Sight button causes all counters on the map to become transparent, revealing the terrain beneath. Click and drag from one hex to another to draw a Line of Sight thread from the center of the start hex to the center of hexes that you move the cursor over. The range is displayed near the target hex. The Line of Sight thread will stay visible until you click on the map. Refer to the Line of Sight rules to determine if Line of Sight is blocked between the two hexes.


Moved Marker and Movement Trails



When a unit is moved, it is marked with a small yellow marker in the middle right of the counter. To clear all moved markers on all units, click the button on the toolbar.



Use the Movement -> Movement Trail (Ctrl-T) command to display a trail showing where the unit has moved since the last time the was clicked.