Adding a squad with multiple members
 

This came up for me, as well as for another guy working on adding some characters to the WH data files, and I can't figure out if or how it can be done. Any help would be appreciated.

What I'm looking to do is add a unit that comes out as a squad with another unit as a second squad member automatically. For example, Vlad VanCarstien and Isabela VanCarstien, both independent characters, are always taken as a couple. I could add one as an automatic option of the other, but it would work better if they just came pre-grouped under the Vlad and Isabela squad. Is there a way to do this?

What about having a unit called Vlad and Isabella, create an option from the Vlad unit and one from the Isabella unit, add these two options to the V n I unit as automatic options?

Yuo would need a profile that has no stats with it, something similar is in 40K files called None which has no stat line etc so it doesn't interfere with the overall display

He probably wouldn't need a blank profile...just the two options (one for each character) and the option that the user selects that is a link to the two...

Yep, one option with the other two options as auto should do it.

Alright -- sounds like we're on the right track here, but being a relative newby, I'm not sure how to go about setting up what you're suggesting. I'm sure it's perfectly simple once I see how it's done, but I'm a bit confused at the moment. Can you be a bit more explicit about how you'd go about assembling this?

How would the central option that you two are referring to be set up in order to be available as a unit choice? I understand Harkan’s approach, so that may serve as a point of reference, but it sounds like you guys are on target for a cleaner solution...

Now I understand the whole blank unit thing...Make sure that the characters do NOT have race or composition tags...

Create options for each character (there's a button with a lightning bolt that automatically creates a linked option on the unit creation screen)...

Create a Unit named Vlad and Isabel VonCarstien and don't include anything except the cost of the combined unit, composition tag, race tag and the options for the characters...make sure to set the "nature" of the options to "include"...

Heh, alright then -- I've already got them set up that way, so I guess that's the way to do it. I was hoping to be able to get them in without the dummy unit above them, but no big deal. Thanks for the information guys.

Adding a squad with multiple members
 

Sorry for disappearing. My mother went into the hospital the day after this post, so I was derailed for quite some time, after which I was in a huge hole that I've been trying to dig out of. I'm finally just about caught up. Anyways, on to the questions....

There is currently no way within AB to automatically add two top-level units to a squad. If you units must be completely independent, they must be added separately.

The technique proposed will work, although it has a liability. Since neither of the units is a top-level unit, they cannot be dragged around and combined with other units in squads. It also has the problem that the two units would not have their stats readily viewable within the Available Units list. This might be acceptable, but it could also be considered a liability by some players.

Another technique could be to have an option on each of the units to add the other one. The enablement of this option (NOT its "live" state) would be contingent upon a global tag NOT being present. Each of the units would have an "auto-tag" to assign the global tag. Lastly, a validation rule would be used to verify that both units were in the roster. You would then have a situation where each unit could readily trigger the addition of the other one via an option, as well as being able to add both units from the Available Units list, depending on which method the user preferred. You would also be able to move the two units around to group them with other units into squads if you wanted.

Hope this helps,
Rob

At 07:16 PM 4/27/2006, you wrote: