Bill101

No news yet, because to get it right there's lots to be done, so it'll be a while before anything gets announced.

Hi Glabro Sorry for the delay in replying. The section on page 34 in the manual about HQs going to supply 8 relates to if they are receiving supply of 1-5 from a resource. HQs aren't as efficient at passing on supply to other HQs, and consequently their resupply range is relatively short, i.e. if the easternmost HQ were a bit closer to the one in supply 8 then it would have boosted its supply, but it is just out of range to do so. Bill

I've done it with both the Russians and Turks a few times. But only if the front lines are pretty secure, otherwise it isn't a great use of your forces.

While it isn't possible to prevent an Entente declaration of war against Spain, it can if necessary be penalized. At the moment, such a move will lead to both the USA and Portugal swinging against the Entente, of between 8-15% and 15-35% respectively. It works the same way were the Central Powers to declare war on Spain, in the sense that both countries would swing against their side. Normally the issue of Spain probably won't come up, except in games where the Germans attack Russia first. In this event, is the Entente's best move really to move their forces down to the Pyrenees rather than being as aggressive as possible on the Western Front? I'm not sure that it is, and it will probably be an even less profitable move in the next patch when there will be more potential to expand the Spanish army. As to an Entente declaration of war against Belgium, there are historians like Niall Ferguson who argue that the Entente planned to do this if the Germans hadn't attacked Belgium first. I'm not totally convinced by his arguments, but he does present his argument for this in his book The Pity of War.

Barbarossa continues as we commence our encirclements of the cities of Minsk, Riga and Kiev. Our supplies are struggling to keep up, but supplies of new Panzer IIIs reach some of our armoured forces in the Ukraine. The Russian navy obviously wasn't watching when the Luftwaffe smashed the Royal Navy in the Med, and they have just lost a Destroyer. Can we save Finland? I really don't know. :confused: The Italian Army escapes by sea from Tobruk! We live to fight another day, in more profitable campaigns and with better weapons. There is some air action over China, with our Zeros shooting down their fighters in combat, followed by our bombers going on to inflict more casualties on them on the ground.

LOL, that might be a little unfair!

Barbarossa has begun! Axis forces advance en masse into the Ukraine, smashing Red Army units and capturing Odessa, while paratroops drop ahead of the Panzers, inflicting damage on enemy air units. Mussolini decides to evacuate General Balbo from Tobruk, leaving the 1st Army to its fate there. Balbo might be needed for services on the Eastern Front, and pulling him out now will be a lot cheaper than replacing him later. Japan just continues upgrading and reinforcing units. Having Infantry Weapons level 2 means that we should be able to blunt the Chinese sword somewhat now.

Glabro and I are currently playing this out to see how it goes. I'm Entente and have just invaded Belgium in April 1915. It's interesting and different from the norm!

Hi I've just checked the script and it could happen in the following winter if it hasn't happened yet.

The time for Barbarossa is now very close, last minute deployments are taking place, and we're desperately trying to find the time to add some key upgrades to some of our units. The USSR is at 84% and it's August 1941, so it will soon begin... It's raining over China so there are no training flights (for that's all they were last turn). Instead, our aircrew are studiously reading their new manuals for their long range, hard pounding, super torpedo armed bombers!

Hi I've done a little preliminary investigation of this, and I'm finding contradictory indicators of the importance of Pinsk and the communications network around it. For example, looking at the West Point atlas, on their maps of Poland (e.g. map 30), Pinsk isn't connected by rail to anywhere. Though there is a railway running north-south to its east, and also with a connection from that route through the marshes to the east. Yet, on the same atlas's map of the Brusilov Offensive, map 35, Pinsk is connected on an east-west line that runs to Brest-Litovsk which didn't appear on map 30. This suggests that the railway connecting Pinsk was a minor one, probably a single track, i.e. that it's of more significance in a more detailed map of the area. My original intention with this area was to have it as a pretty quiet one, with the action split between north and south. Partly due to the large size of the map, i.e. if there's a good chunk of the Eastern Front that can be ignored, then it's easier and quicker for us to play our turns, and it's also easier on the AI. This makes me slightly hesitant to change things here, but I will give it some more thought.

From looking at your screenshot, due to the hills and mountains that are for the most part between the HQ at 8 and the one you're wanting to supply, the supply will have to follow the route that goes directly south of the HQ at 8, then east and finally north east. But the problem is that the supply from that HQ is decreasing by more than 1 on most tiles, due to the rough terrain. That's why it's dropped from 8 to 6 by just going one tile south (as that tile is hilly). From there it will follow the road to the other HQ, but it would have fallen below 5 before reaching the other HQ. Distance and terrain are the two factors here, and there is a direct relation between the Action Points needed to enter a tile, and the supply lost as a result of passing through that tile. I hope this makes sense?

I'm pretty sure it would be possible, though it would involve exporting the data from Global Gold and importing it into the WWI editor, and from there it would be quite a bit of work to amend and update it. So, probably technically possible, but certainly not a quick job.

There is a chance that Finland will enter the war when Axis forces are approaching Leningrad, a 40% chance per turn as long as there is an Axis unit within 3-5 tiles of the city. Otherwise, it will be through diplomacy.

If you go to start a new game, whether against the AI or multiplayer, it should be one of the campaigns you can choose from?

In WWI and Gold, you can make the AI play itself by pressing F3 on your keyboard before clicking on New Game and then selecting the campaign. In older versions of SC, if it is possible then you would have to press F4. Without checking I cannot be sure exactly when in the SC series this was introduced, but WWI and Gold definitely have it.

Germany is now preparing in earnest for the big one, with forces massing in Poland. Our official cover story is that Stalin has been threatening our eastern borders, so we are only taking steps to protect them. Italian forces counterattack near Tobruk, aggressive to the end. Tired of being on the defensive in China, the Japanese airforce bombs Nanning. Will this be the start of something more? Well, we have just developed Infantry Weapons level 2 and Ground Attack level 1, so it is possible.

Hi Steelwarrior Is it for all games in the SC series that you're looking for? Bill

If you open the campaign in the editor, click on Campaign; Edit Campaign Data; Advanced; then look under Preferences - are there ticks in the boxes for Research, Diplomacy and Purchases? If not then this would be the problem.

Hi Steelwarrior It's great to see that you're enjoying the games! Being careful with your offensives in Europe, having a sufficient but not excessive number of units on the Soviet border, using diplomacy even (if one is feeling so bold) are all factors involved, especially with the USSR. It's harder to keep the USA out, but generally sticking to Germany's historical declarations of war rather than attacking every single country possible will help, i.e. if you were to attack Switzerland then you'd soon see quite a jump in the USA's mobilization value! Spain will always join if you haven't accepted Vichy, conquer Algiers and say yes to the Decision Event which basically pays for Franco to enter the war. I must say that I've not always found this the best strategy to use, but it's the sort of thing that varies from game to game depending on the situation. Bill

I will generally deploy them in the Baltic, but occasionally it's nice to surprise the Turks with a naval or even amphibious offensive. It's possible that with the Caucasus being opened up more in the future, deploying them in the Black Sea will prove more worthwhile than currently. And at least doing so reduces the shameful possibility of having the Russian Black Sea Fleet beaten by the Turkish navy!

Greece surrenders, providing Germany with 75MPPs and a good air base for striking British targets in the Med. The Italians are still holding out valiantly at Tobruk, even launching counterattacks. Japan didn't suffer much from Chinese attacks that turn, so it was fairly quiet in that theater. It is now the 22nd June 1941, that historic date, and the USA is at 28% and the USSR at 72%. Barbarossa cannot now be long delayed...

German bombers strike at Athens, as we commence our next conquest! The Panzers advance and the Greek army is shattered. Athens is not yet ours but unless the British send some troops from Africa (please do!) it will be ours next turn. Japan just continues reinforcing the navy. We haven't launched Barbarossa yet because Germany is awaiting some new units and also better tech. This is steadily coming as our Stukas are going to be upgraded next turn, and we should soon have some new Panzers too!

Rather than savor their victory over the Italians in the Med, the Royal Navy seems to have a death wish as once again we find British cruisers just waiting to be sunk. Plop! There goes another! Italy realigns its forces near Tobruk and operates its Tactical Bombers back to the mainland. At least someone will escape the debacle. Germany continues building up for Barbarossa, with a little redeployment in the Balkans as we are planning a little more nastiness there. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that there is a possibility of convincing General Franco to enter the war, as Spain's mobilization level is currently 68%. Japan's lines in China are holding up at the moment, while the Combined Fleet is being fitted out for operations, and the turn ends on a good note as Germany develops Industrial Technology level 2! It's now April 1941 and the USSR is at 58% mobilization, the USA at 25%.

Hi It might be best to send this to Hubert at support@furysoftware.com as I'm not sure that the file has attached, at least I can't see it. Thanks for reporting it. Bill