Timskorn

HC touched on this in another thread. The new Special Forces unit has the ability to fight longer when out of supply, and doesn't require a port to load into amphib transports.

May '46: Axis forces have apparently taken a doctrine of defense to try and secure their victory, and Allied forces up to this point have been stagnant in their advances. The recent winter has hampered air operations, therefore shutting down our offensives. The Russians, however, love the winter and launch another set of offensives against the Germans. One is directed at Moscow, the other at Stalingrad. Moscow was a weak diversion while the core of the forces were directed at Stalingrad. A lone Corp. defended Stalingrad and the reds took the iconic city back, while the forces around Moscow were turned back by combination rocket/air/ground forces. The US in southern France have been stalled. Air units have sortied out, bombing cities within reach and harrassing troops. Rockets have picked off a few units. UK/US continues to harass at Norway and await clear weather to go on the offensive again. A US sub sinks Norwegian convoys. The UK regrouped in North Africa, slowly pulling their troops away from supporting the US in France and with US air and naval support, make a strong landing outside Rome. It is very lightly defended and will certainly attract the attention of German rockets next turn.

Yes, that's what my dad has been preachin' all this time. I'm 28 and the time to start investing is now. If I get rich, great, but hopefully at the very least it'll give me a nice nest egg to draw on when I retire so I don't have to keep working until I'm 80. I've made a lot of bad financial decisions in my short life. Looking back I wish I could tell every 18 year old what NOT to do, and what TO DO with their money. I'm just grateful I'm able to start now.

Never retreat. Never surrender.

Finally set up my profit sharing with Marriott today. Probably won't dabble directly with the market for ahwile, but this is a start. Good job by the way JJR. Nothing wrong with getting ahead. That's what America tries to provide for people. It never said it was guaranteed but the opportunity is there. About as much as we can ask for! The stock market and compound interest are ways for you and I and the guy down the street to make some money over and above the stuff we toil for.

Old, but funny. I love the descriptions and you can pretty much find everone in there.

September ’45: Caucusus are lost. Moscow still holds, but is zeroed in by Nazi rockets. A wayfaring German Army gets capped outside its gates. Russians still hold everything north and east of Voronezh and are re-forming defensive lines. Germans are starting to move some of their forces back west to confront the advancing Allies, including two rockets in Italy. Allied bombers are flattening cities left and right. In Norway, UK air is dominating. Port there is disabled, cutting off the convoys. Land forces have snuck through the sub picket that is hitting the US to USSR convoys and reinforced Montgomery’s position. In France Allied troops capture Bordeaux. JJR is performing a great defense of France with his intricate patchwork of fortifications. He is able to hit an adjacent unit, pull back and shuffle in another unit to the fortification and hit my unit again, all while remaining relatively protected (gets entrench 3 automatically when entering the fort). Far-reaching allied air support continues sorties against the rockets in Italy, doing minor damage. More importantly, it’s keeping my air off his ground troops, further slowing my advance. Until I can neutralize the rockets, sending any of my units into the open turns them into zapper-fodder.

It looks like AT have 2 AP, which is on par with an Army unit, but can be motorized too. I imagined they would start with 1 AP to favor their use as a defensive unit. We'll have to see how they work though before judgment is made. On the flip side, they seem to be highly susceptible to infantry attack with only 1 Soft Defense. If you do use them for offense they will become easy targets for any nearby infantry, which in turn may lead players to use them more for defense and/or make sure they are supported properly. They definitely don't look like they'll replace the role of tanks anyway. Even if you upgrade them fully with AT and MT, making them fast-moving armor-zappers, their SD will always be 1 and therefore susceptible to a common unit. Seems like it'll work out to where they are used more effectively as a defensive unit. In Blashy's case it doesn't sound like there are any other enemy units nearby so the risk of attacking with his AT isn't there.

Keep anticipating a pre-order announcement but yet to see it! I'd imagine that would come up at least a couple weeks before release.

Nah, he probably won't need much help saving Paris. With my 6 or so airpower they seem to only manage a point or two of damage to his Army in the southwestern part of France, and even with the morale hit they still defend with a nasty bite against my land troops. I'll take his troops down eventually but at a very slow pace at this rate.

For all the time he's played SC2 too. Shame. Shame I say! I think it's May or June '45: Russians are on the defensive. We still hold Caucusus, Voronezh and Stalingrad but all very tenuously. He has concentrated all of his air and rockets in Russia to try and finish them off. In Norway the Brits score another kill, this time against a German Army. It's becoming a meatgrinder up there for Axis troops now that air support has arrived. In France the Allies begin their push. With bomber and naval support, German-occupied cities are being leveled to zero in preparation for our advances. After that, a nice long strafing of the target units is in order with US fighters and then the mop-up with land forces. We are steadily moving in!

The Russians are in a fight for their life. Two bad turns in a row for Allied air, can only strike at short-range targets. In Norway Brits lose an Army but reinforcements have arrived in the form of a seasoned bomber and fighter group, along with the recovering Corp. in the Norwegian mountains. Russians pull back from Stalingrad and don't press at Voronezh. We are ever-present though, and Voronezh will have to be fought over again. The Caucusus are slowly receding. Allies in France need to push hard and fast soon and let airpower rip apart everything that stands in the way.

Early '45: German rockets have literally turned into zap guns. Two Corp. and an airborne unit instantly destroyed. ZZZZZZZZAP. It's war of the worlds in France right now, literally. The beams are searching for targets and incinerating the flesh of many thousands of brave men who only know their doom is near by the sound of the beams heating up. But still they push on. Allied air units get clear weather and run strafe and bombing runs against the German superweapons in France's southern mountains. A 15 strength rocket is dropped to 7 and will need to be op-moved from the area or face total destruction next turn. Russians swarm Voronezh and re-take the city. The German unit at Stalingrad is facing a horde of angry reds all alone and a Russian corp. takes a bite out of a German rear-guard HQ to the south. A city is lost in the Caucusus but the Russians are dug into the mountains and will force the Nazi's to take every square inch with blood. In Norway, British units destroy a German Corp. that was shuttled into the area and look to finally press on Oslo and reclaim the country.

One thing I have learned in the young years I've lived on this earth is that God has never needed defending by man. He is who He is. I've always admired brother Rambo for his faith, but I have also learned to remember what it was like when I was a non-believer. Scripture was Chinese to me, no matter who quoted it and how many times it was quoted. The only relevant one that helps others to understand is from John 13:35, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Will be home shortly. Long nights at the Marriott this week.

Get all the assistance you can get Jon. Maybe you can give Karl Rove a call. I heard he’s pretty good and devising strategies for the impaired. Allied victory incoming!

Next month is my one year and when I can start my profit sharing with Marriott. Can't wait to dive in!

I think they are in cahoots. Actually I have no idea, I've never heard of DRH. Keep in mind I'm in the New England area too, nor am I within Mr. Marriott's inner sanctum.

I work for Marriott. Just met the "man" last week too. Great company to work for.

I consider myself a "casual" wargamer. I played the demo for the first CM, was amazed and immediately bought the game. I played the demo for CM:SF, was not impressed and will not buy the game. You can tell me I don't "get it", but the fact remains, it's my money that you don't "get". I was in the game industry. The object is to stay in business and hopefully make some money. If you can't do that then who cares about all the new features that we're supposed to "get"? I'm being harsh because the industry IS harsh. You're only as good as your last game and the CMx1 series was solid. All that crap that forumers whine about wanting is, in the end, just a wish list. They'd still buy a CM game even if it didn't have 1:1 representation, and a new customer wouldn't buy it because that "feature" is in the game. Word of mouth is much more powerful, and I'm afraid CM:SF is losing in that department.

October '44: Russians hold the Caucuses, Moscow and all the cities behind it. Rostov, Stalingrad and Voronezh are the three that have been most recently taken. Winter should give the Russians time to stall the Axis advance and buy more time. In Spain, the UK and US have a large air and land force that begins its march into France. In order to counter German rockets, Allied air now has a very long reach and is able to pound on a rocket entrenched near Brest, forcing him to op-move it away. Brits are still operating in Norway, and now German units and an HQ are arriving to deal with them. A lone Italian Corp. sneaks past a US cruiser and lands at an undefended Tunisia. Lame, but we'll take it back. Fun game so far, looks like it may go the distance.

Targul, it's unfair to judge a faith by the actions of person. Just because someone says they are Chistian, and does something un-Christian, doesn't prove anything about the faith itself, just the person. God doesn't need every single follower to be 100% perfect in order to justify Himself. God is God regardless of what people do.

That's good to hear Blashy!

With the WaW expansion, you'll have the option to equip minor units with upgrades. I'm curious if it'll cost the same. I always imagined that if it was implemented like that, it would cost more to equip the minors than it would the majors. A bit of an abstraction that help keep minor units from being pure equals to the majors. Right now they "feel" minor because their inability to stand toe to toe with the majors but still have their role in the game.

August 20th, 1944: Spain is liberated! The US and British establish a strong foothold on the continent as they make their way towards France and the elaborate maze of fortifications that German slave labor have constructed in the five years since war broke out. In Russia, Stalin is wallowing in Vodka as he drowns his worries away and ordering rash decisions. Russian forces in the north destroy a Corp. at Moscow but don't have enough to take it. German rockets directed their fire to the north and have done some damage. In a desperate move, the reds storm southward towards the howling rockets. A Corp. is ambushed and nearly destroyed, but a Red Tank division follows up and hammers a 13 strength rocket down to 7. A small victory for Allied troops everywhere who've been tormented by those monstrosities. Stalingrad holds and the Caucusus reinforce. The Germans look weak in armor as they advance, showing almost all Corp. and Army units. I'm sure they are planning something, as I know he has more units available...somewhere. JJR may be planning an invasion somewhere, or preparing his troops for the upcoming battle in France.