Bill101

Hi There won't be any shifts in US opinion except when you are actually carrying out unrestricted attacks. So, if you've opted to use unrestricted warfare and then remove all your naval units from the trigger points, US opinion won't move any further against you. Hence it's possible, as I do, to use unrestricted warfare infrequently, i.e. only when you have enough naval units at hand to do so, and then pull back to refit once they've had some impact, to return later if appropriate. This way, you can hurt the UK's income at a crucial point in the war, without bringing the USA in. Of course, do this too frequently and for too long, and then you will have a new enemy to fear, but it should be possible to call off your unrestricted campaigns longer before that point, should you so wish. It has always been the case that unrestricted warfare can only be chosen when you have naval units in place on the trigger points to carry out such attacks, and this has always caused annoyance in the US. However, the actual upset caused to the US for every turn you use unrestricted naval warfare has been amended over time.

Just a quick update on this to say that it will be more than just an import into the Breakthrough engine, as we are also resolving some balance issues and making a few other improvements. The upshot will be: expect to find it easier to invade the USSR as Axis during Barbarossa, but not necessarily easier to finish your conquest of that country. Hopefully this will be coming soon!

That's certainly true, as you gave me what can only be described as a sound thrashing!!!

Hi It is March 1916 and the South African General Jan Smuts is set to lead the invasion of Germany's East African colony. Smuts commands a mixed force of British, Indian, South African and Rhodesian troops, not forgetting of course his Belgian allies and the Portuguese who will shortly enter the war. The odds are stacked against the Germans as Smuts is a veteran commander, with experience of fighting the British in the Boer War of 1899-1902, and his forces vastly outnumber the German defenders. But commanding the Germans is a man now famed for his successful use of guerrilla warfare against superior numbers, despite being cut off from support from home, and whose struggle even outlasted Germany proper: Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. I will be playing as von Lettow-Vorbeck and commanding the German colony's armed forces, while Jim Potts aka Happycat will be leading the invasion. Let us begin! Bill

Sapare is correct, as the zone of control imposed by other enemy units could make this be the case. At least one flanking unit will need to be destroyed or at least forced to retreat. However, if that and/or low supply don't appear to be the cause please let us know and we'll be happy to take a look.

Hi Panzer1962 Assuming that your modifications haven't amended any of the victory conditions and the decision scripts relating to them, this should be fixed for the first patch as we did receive a report of something similar a few weeks back. If France and Russia are out, then you've won the war! Bill

Hi In preparation for the forthcoming first patch of WWI Breakthrough!, two of our beta testers are going to be providing us with an action packed refight of the 1918 Ludendorff Offensive! This campaign has had a huge number of changes made to it since the initial release, so this is also a public test of what's new. Commanding the Central Powers in their great offensive of 1918 will be Michael Kollmann aka Hyazinth von Strachwitz, and his Entente opponent, another veteran of many AARs, is Alastair Anderson aka Catacol Highlander. Can the German thrust reach Paris, or will it meet its match after some initial successes and be thrown back, culminating in an armistice just as in real life? Stay tuned to find out! Bill

I have enjoyed using it at times, but be warned that in Breakthrough handing over Trieste does move Romania towards entering the war. So peace with Italy makes war with Romania more likely, as they have their eyes on Transylvania. This might not be a problem if you're doing well, but if Russia remains strong then helping bring forward Romanian war entry could easily backfire.

Sapare is right, because if the Greeks still have units fighting on within their borders, they may surrender if there is only one, but won't if they still have two units within Greece.

Hi Jeff It's my pleasure, and please do ask anything that you can't readily find an answer for in the Manual, Expansion Notes etc, as it does help us to improve our presentation too! Bill

I'm glad to see this is proving useful, and I have a few more things to add in the near future.

Hi Mathieu We have some changes coming up in this campaign for the tanks, so the Germans will still have a level 2 tank unit, but it will arrive at half strength so it will be the player's decision on whether or not to spend MPPs to turn it into a useful unit. The British and French do start with level 1s, but both will start with a chit in researching level 2 so that in due course they'll be able to upgrade and start using their tanks for the counterattacks.

That's right. I use photobucket as once you've saved the image there, it provides you with an IMG code that I just paste into my posts.

It's always hard to give a definite timescale, but the intention is to have it released before Christmas. Most of the changes will be to the Russian Civil War and 1918 Ludendorff Offensive campaigns, so if you're planning on playing one of the other campaigns then you might want to go ahead, and then you can always patch up later once you've finished.

Sure, I'll work on that in due course.

Hi, you're right. We're currently testing the first Breakthrough patch, but it's not out yet.

Hi There isn't a direct cooperative multiplayer mode included in the game, but a forum member has worked out a method to do it which can be found here: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=91324&highlight=hotseat

Yes, the tanks and planes are there because I'm busy preparing the WWII scenario 1939 Storm over Europe for release as a free download for those who have WWI Breakthrough!

Hi FroBodine, your posts have inspired me to start a new thread which I hope will help you and the many other new players to learn the game: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1405800#post1405800