Bill101

Hi Inspired by FroBodine's posts in a different thread, I decided to post here some images to help new players get the hang of the interface and some of the things they will see in the game. This isn't intended to in any way replace the Manual or Expansion Notes, but is really a supplement to make learning the game just that bit easier. I welcome feedback and will happily add more, so if there is something you think should be shown here then please let me know. Firstly, here is some information on the main gaming screen:

Hi Looks like your starting to turn the tide, and the unit strengths that show in a different colour represent the difference in combat readiness due to having either high or low readiness. Generally, battered units that are low in strength will have lower morale and readiness, and their strength will show in a slightly greyed out colour. (sorry Xwormwood, I hadn't seen your post above!).

The only exception would be if they've already attacked.

No, a land or naval unit can always move and attack even if the last bit of movement uses up all its Action Points.

Hi FroBodine That number denotes that the unit has been upgraded, in this example with Naval Warfare. This differentiates such a unit from un-upgraded ones, e.g. modern versus old, Dreadnoughts versus Battleships.

Hi Sharkman I've not been able to replicate the 3 units attacking/swopping from 1 tile. Have you seen it in Multiplayer games or against the AI? The only reason I can think of would be that it has already attacked and swopped. At least, I've not seen any exceptions to that.

In my experience, sometimes an earlier approach can work best, if the Axis go all out, as then the Allies have had less time to prepare their counters.

Nice Decision Event ideas!!

Mining isn't something that we've got in the game. It has crossed my mind but would require some thought, especially as it's more of a tactical feature - not that the Germans on Hill 60 would have thought that when their ridge blew up underneath them! So instead the artillery are the main means for providing the punch to breakthrough.

You're totally right, and without any Corps moved from elsewhere, or better still German Corps, the border will be too weak and the Italians will make gains.

I have done some links like this. It does get a bit complicated so it's best to write it all out first, and then double check it afterwards.

Yes, if the Germans don't send the Goeben or provide the Ottomans with support then you'll probably need to invest in diplomacy to get the Ottoman Empire to join the war.

Hot news from Russia! The Bolshevik party has dissolved itself and is going underground, though key leaders like Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin have fled the country. They are rumoured to be heading for Switzerland, with White agents hot on their tail! With the loss of both capitals, the Central Committee realize that the fight has become hopeless and envision that after a few years of White misrule and infighting between their factions, worker and peasant unrest will increase and this will give the party an opportunity to reform, reorganize and once again take to the barricades. I hope you all enjoyed following the action, we certainly had a great time playing it and it's inspired quite a few ideas to improve the campaign further. I'd like to thank Ivanov for being a great opponent, and to congratulate him on giving me a decisive trouncing! It's been great fun and I look forward to playing with you again... We're now going to be testing out those changes ready for the first Breakthrough patch, though we also plan to have some more AARs for you in the very near future.

Hi Jbeigie Welcome to the forum! I agree with Sapare in that knowing the circumstances will help. It certainly isn't impossible for the Italians to make some progress as it depends on how fast and how many units the Austro-Hungarians can rush to this area when Italy enters the war. Most importantly, with HQs in support, which is why this new front can slow Austro-Hungarian progress elsewhere. Historically, the Austro-Hungarians had real trouble filling up the front line in May 1915 and had to use subterfuge, such as units arriving and then secretly leaving an area, only to arrive again later.

The Polish forces will suffer further mutinies, but I hadn't set it so that there would be further messages as I thought it might be a bit too much. Though I'll be happy to add them in, as thinking further it does makes 100% sense from the perspective of knowing what's happening, as Polish units will be suffering hits to their combat effectiveness for as long as they remain deep in Russia. Their Political Standing will also decrease by 50 points a turn. This will probably be largely or wholly offset by their successes in advancing this far east, but at least it should help prevent their PS from rising too high.

I like your list Rankorian and can see how easy it is for WWII players to experience these surprises. Especially the fact that France really is a tough customer in WWI!

It is possible, if the Whites hold on to Archangel, Ekaterinburg, Rostov, Minsk (a job for the Poles) and Tsaritsyn, but it would only give the Whites a Minor Victory. It's certainly a worthy goal, and will be more likely after the first patch.

Hi Ataman The Serbs will surrender if their capitals have fallen and they have less than 2 units left inside Serbia. This will provide them with an opportunity to vacate their country should they wish, or to continue putting up a fight within their territory. Each town has a generic National Morale value of 12 points per turn, so added up together Germany will be losing 12 NM points x the number of towns lost every turn (and more if any cities are lost). My only worry about what you've suggested is that it would make for a very long end of turn report if these were included in that, e.g. think of when Russia has lost a large number of resources? Bill

Hi Just to let you know that work has begun on converting this to the WWI Breakthrough! engine, and it will be made available as soon as its ready as a free download. Further details to follow in due course. Bill

We cannot deny that the situation at Petrograd is displeasing, and Stalin even claims to have caught Trotsky looking up the times of planes flying out to Mexico. But we won't give up just yet, especially not while our counterattack near Vyazma continues. Voronezh was liberated this turn, and the Red Army at Smolensk and elsewhere is busy upgrading with newly produced weapons while preparing to continue attacking the Whites over the winter. We've refilled the gap in our lines east of Moscow, and upgraded our artillery there too. Our hope is to continue exerting pressure near Vyazma and Smolensk, and that way to force a White withdrawal from Moscow.

Hi Sapare I'm working on this now and have some fixes in place to improve the Romanian and add German armed forces (mainly Freikorps) so that will make attacking either country a much less attractive prospect in future. I had already added some loops from the north to south, but you've inspired me to add another directly from the White Sea near Archangel to the Med, but the journey will take a while. The first patch will iron out a lot of things in this campaign, not least of which will relate to the armored trains. I still need to work on the Political Standing because I totally agree with you, and a lot of things have already been added in ready for the first patch, but a little more won't do any harm. Finally, I sent you a PM a few days back, don't know if you've seen it or had a chance to reply yet?

The Red Counter Attack begins! A White Corps is destroyed near Vyazma and our Horse Army advances, driving the enemy away from the town and threatening their General’s position. All of a sudden he’s in the front line, I bet he didn’t expect that! We also hammered a White Corps near Moscow, just to show that we have the power to strike in more than one place, and now that our second artillery unit has arrived we should be able to increase the pressure here too. We will say it for our White opponents: they are improving. Last turn the unit we attacked near Moscow turned tail and fled, so full credit to them for holding their position and taking the punishment this turn. Meanwhile, our partisans stand poised to liberate Voronezh to the south of Moscow. Petrograd is preparing itself for a long siege, its fate hinging on the outcome of the fighting between Moscow and Smolensk. Good news is that the British are about to depart. They are the last of the Interventionists, so we will be very glad to see the back of them!

The British 1st division attacks on the left: I was in command of the British centre and right, and we made good progress at first, launching successful bayonet charges against any German in sight. But one isolated company of German infantry managed to hold out in the centre of Loos, and although two battalions did bypass the town to advance on Hill 70 to its rear, by then the enemy had occupied their rear line and their firepower proved devastating. We also suffered heavy losses from our own guns, as communications with them were limited and our infantry advanced faster than our runners could report back to the artillery. I didn't attend on the Sunday, but the refight was a British victory with the Germans having proved less successful than on Saturday. One thing that did surprise us was the number of people attending the show who were familiar with the battle, a number of whom had relatives who fought there. The game drew a lot of interest and will hopefully be run again at another wargames convention early next year.