Timskorn

You can thank the likes of Rambo for that change, probably. He can make dozens of full-sized forts in no time. I think it makes sense for them to be longer. Units can already entrench themselves pretty good simply by sitting still for a few turns. Forts can be steadily built over time, offer bigger entrenchment bonuses and are permanent until the enemy occupies them. On top of that, units can 'jump' into them to instantly get an entrenchment bonus.

Yep, players pick sides or figure out how sides are picked. No mirror game as this is just a fun tournament to get things going. I've added DAK_21PzDivision to the Wild Card list. As of now, Lothaire and DAK_21PzDivision will be standby's to fill in for anyone who is a no-show or drops out for whatever reason. [ October 27, 2007, 10:35 PM: Message edited by: Timskorn ]

You'll enjoy it Lothaire. I love AI games but there's nothing quite like HvsH play. Even if you get the snot beat out of you it's great how different games can play out.

Ok, I'll pair SO up with Normal Dude and place you guys in the veteran bracket. Targul, you are paired up with Sandy. Get in contact and let the game begin! Lothaire, I'll place you in the Wildcard for now until another person joins in the "noob" bracket.

Bah, sorry SO...I thought I caught everyone. It looks like I'm playing Zin now. Anyone else want to get in and play Stalin? If not I'll have to keep you in the wild card slot for now.

Excellent. I'm at work right now but I'll try and group people together soon. From there, contact your opponent and decide who will be Allies or Axis. I could decide for you, but hopefully you gentlemen can find a way to figure it out. If not, let me know and I'll pick. Since this is not a hardcore tournament don't stress about it too much. Just have fun! Check my original post for opponent pairings. People are now paired up to play! Let it begin! Zinfandel, unless someone drops out or another person wants to join I've put you under the Wild Card group for now. As soon as someone drops or is AWOL, or one joins I will pair you with someone. Actually, I just realized I have no one to play! Zin, not sure of your skill level but if you want to go against me we can do that. I consider myself under the "veterans" group. [ October 25, 2007, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: Timskorn ]

I added you back in Rambo. Don't turn into a Roger Clemens on us.

I'm back! And thanks guys. Had an unbelievable wedding and honeymoon. Pre-ordered the game, can't wait! For anyone wanting in...or out of the tourny, say so now! I will update the list shortly and try to organize initial opponents.

Well gentlemen, I am off for my wedding and honeymoon and won't be returning to duty until Oct. 22nd. If someone would be so kind as to take over this tourny if it ends up starting while I'm gone, I'd be much obliged. Otherwise, if WaW isn't out by the time I get back I'll get back in the saddle again.

Hopefully mid-October. I'll be back from my Honeymoon by then. Yes, I am implying it should be released around the schedule of my life. I am selfish.

Whew, what a game. I was going to do a amphib/para/bombing run on London but kept getting mud, was hoping to take it right before the game ended. I think he only had one minor Corp. protecting it. Good game! Long, but was fun all the way.

Defenses are very powerful in SC2, particularly for the Allies. The Axis are on a time-table and making them bust through a good defense saps both time and MPP's. The turns for effective Axis offensives in the east are limited each year. Once mud and snow arrive, the favor can turn back to the Russians who can counter-attack without fear of air and rocket attacks. Not to mention the benefit of attacking under-supplied units.

April 1947: This long war is almost over. The Germans have been defensive for quite awhile now, shuffling the heavy-hitting rockets around to areas they are needed most. France is completely locked down. There are probably 20 full fortresses surrounding Paris itself. In Russia brutal fighting continues as the struggle for control of Moscow continues. It is a crucial and symbolic city for any peace negotiations. The bloodiest fighting that has occurred in a while on this front happened this month. All German rockets are focused on the city, blasting Russian units around Moscow. The Russian armor defending the city was destroyed last turn and German armies advanced in full force and re-took the city. But the Reds counter-attacked with heavy armor, destroying about five German armies in and around the city and clearing the way for the Reds to continue their control of it. Norway is Allied and the UK operates bombers and fighters from there against targets in Denmark and England. US bombers and air continue sorties out of Spain, leveling every city they can. The UK and US hold onto southern Italy, triggering massive German reinforcements to Rome to protect it. Turkey joined the war and their armies advance into Romania. One more month to go before both sides are exhausted and peace negotiations commence.

If I had the time this would be a fun one to do the AI for!

November 1946: The game has turned pretty stagnant, probably due to Rambo's almost pure defensive stance at this point. The Allies are in Spain, having been beaten back by repeated rocket barrages. From there they operate air and bombing missions against German targets while re-building their ground forces. In Norway the Allies finally gain ground, destroying multiple units and capturing the capital. In Russia the Reds hold Stalingrad, Rostov and up to Moscow but German rocket and air fleets have moved back there from the west and will be doing Hitler's dirty work soon enough. Turkey has joined the war for the Allies and Sweden is on its way. Not much longer before this game is over.

Yeah I downloaded the demo for that Frank Hunter Civil War game, but just don't have the willpower to learn that system right now. I'd love a SC2-esque grand civil war scenario.

I believe it affects the supply of all German owned cities in Russia, cutting the overall effectivess of your forces there. Too lazy to look up the scripts right now. Either way it's doing its job of slowing you down and giving the Russians more time to build up defenses.

Rambo's War of the Worlds machines suck.

Winter upgrades would be interesting but I think it would add an unnecessary level to the gameplay. The Soviet Winter is a unique event in the game and one that plays a big part in slowing down the Germans, allowing the Russians to regroup and even attack. I would rather keep the SW effects in the game as part of the game and something to strategize around in other ways. There is much more skill involved in knowing how to properly handle the Soviet Winters as the Germans than simply investing in winter gear so you don't have to think about it. The SW really does add a fun and different dynamic to that part of the war.

The main reason I bought and enjoyed CC2 over the original was the grand campaign, simple as that. It added much more meaning to each battle. If CC2 had simply been CC1 but in a different setting with different weapons, I wouldn’t have bought it. The graphics for CC2 were also updated, and the UI looked better. Overall, it gave me the impression I would be getting an entirely new game using the existing core model of CC1. I had no qualms about shelling over full price for it because I felt like I was getting a full product. I felt like the sequels to CM1 were more like expansions. New environment and new weapons. Since I play a lot of other types of games a person like myself has to choose where to best spend their gaming money. I figured why spend money for a whole new game that I can get a fairly equal experience from the original? And no, I didn’t tire of the WEGO. I loved that aspect of it. It was a tense, and INTENSE, experience to watch the battle develop in 60 second timeframes…and there was nothing you could do about it during that time. A very unique and entertaining experience. I play RTS games and the RT aspect of Shock Force didn’t interest me. I see that word now and it just sounds so old and tired. Big deal. The setting didn’t excite me either. What can I say, I love WW2.

Interesting, very interesting. It sounds like an abstract way of representing the lack of winter preparations for the Germans. Frozen, near-dead soldiers likely don't have as much "punch" during combat.

Wow, another year? I'm toast! Hah. I thought it ended in '46. Ah well, my bad. The Germans re-took Rome. It was fairly easy for them. 4 Level 5 rockets with air and land support destroyed 6 or so units within 2 turns. Basically he just put his rockets in some mountains and they are pretty much untouchable by my air now. It would take probably 4+ turns to actually begin doing significant damage to just one of them. Meanwhile, each turn they can zap at least 1 to 2 units. The good news is the UK got 500 MPP's back from their losses by taking Rome, and it removed a bunch of Italian units from the board. US bombers are leveling German cities pretty regularly now and the Russians have taken the Caucusus back. Even so, the German military is a formidable force. Their HQ's pretty much all have 4 experience bars. The airforce is the Allies' main advantage at this point, in numbers and tech. It's pretty much a stalemate right now. Russians are advancing in the east, but the Allies are stuck in the west. The Germans are probably still getting a good chunk of MPP's, despite most of France and London being bombed to oblivion and Norwegian convoys getting sunk. They have a solid defensive position and experience troops. Simply put, the rockets make it impossible to advance by land. Even in mud/snow they can fire long distances and rip everything apart. The only time I can advance, like with the Russians right now, are when rockets aren't in the vicinity.

I did not buy CMAK or CMBB, only the original CM. I would definitely buy a bundled Gold pack though if the price was right. The reason I never bought the two sequels is because I was not a hardcore CM fan. I enjoyed the game and got nearly a year of enjoyment out of it, but I wasn't willing to pay full price for two sequels that didn't seem to add a significant new reason to buy them. For example, the jump from Close Combat 1 to 2 was big. I loved 1 but 2 gave me a whole new list of reasons to buy it and enjoy it as the superior game.

Targul, it seems the SF/Commando unit in WaW is probably more inspired by Rangers, Marines and smaller-force SF rather than a direct interpretation of a single type of unit.

June '46: Mussolini is hung. Italy surrenders.