Timskorn

It'll give you a good kick with Expert +2. But, WaW on Expert will probably cream you the first run through. I've been pushed back all the way to the Urals as the Allies on Expert, and without any tactical bonuses, which never happened to me in SC2.

Depends. Against a human opponent, sometimes a forward defense is the right move if they've stretched thin and don't have overwhelming force for Barbarossa. Then you can hold them up real good. I typically defend around Moscow. Have swamps and river near Leningrad, some mountains and forest outside the city. Good first defensive area to put up a fight. I typically don't put any units at all in the forward cities. Once in awhile I'll put one in Minsk, or behind the river at the mines in the south. Even forcing them to stop and fight for a few extra turns can help, but being able to op-move those units away before they get destroyed is key. The advantage Russia has against the Germans there, are the supply lines and the brutal winter. The deeper Germany gets the tougher it is for them to fight at full strength. Try hitting them when they're frozen, undersupplied and without air cover. For fortifications, I'll try and build some around Stalingrad. By the time they get there I can have a few set up.

Doug, that's really too bad because you're missing out on an amazing game. Clearly it is preventing you from playing it as is, and are unable to get around it without being frustrated in the process. The fact remains that many more people play and enjoy it now, without what you are proposing and without the frustration. The issue you have is very similar to those who can't play this game because it's not hex-based. For whatever reason they have, they cannot play SC2 because of it, even though it IS playable as attested to the fact that SC2 is now clearly a successful franchise with 2 expansions and a competitve multiplayer league. Point being, and touching on what Hubert said, to change the game to hexes at this point would be counter-productive and costly. As would adding what you propose. Does Hubert spend time (and consequently, money) adding something that has negligible income benefits, or use that time to create an expansion lots of people will buy? Your point is well presented and most people agree it would be nice to have. But it appears that's as far as it's going to go for now.

Reload!? Shameful!! I was going to say about 20 hours for me, playing on Expert and going all the way until 1945/46.

I can certainly see why people would want this, but I couldn't ever agree this is a "game breaker". I think the repercussions of a change like this would really have to be weighed against how it would affect the game mechanics as they are now, and the AI. Two things that have really been refined over the years, only to be possibly broken by adding this. Likely a big headache at this point. Maybe HC could consider it for a future game if he does one like this again.

It helps to write a summary of what your scenario is trying to achieve to. Where does it take place? Who are the major powers? What scale, tactical or operational? What are the goals for each side? Getting these important things fleshed out first helps get you started when you finally open up the editor. And as Moonslayer said, START SMALL!

No, but a fantastic wargame with two expansions and a loyal fan base does. You clearly want to enjoy SC2 or you wouldn't keep coming back, but it is what it is, and it isn't what you want. Sorry. I don't even think this has even been discussed since Hubert's last post on this thread in 2006. Just isn't an issue here. It's quite possible we're all just nuts and you're the voice of reason.

I understand what you're saying Sombra, and in most cases it is the way it is mostly for balancing reasons. I think if some of your concerns were re-visited and discussed, some novel ideas may bubble up. Siberian Transfer: A simple fix for this in the short term, would be to give a greater date range for when they arrive. Right now, a player knows that when Axis troops near Moscow, they arrive. This could also have a minimum date condition on it so an aggressive and successful Axis player who reaches Moscow early is not penalized for doing so. US Naval Assets: This, and to some degree the above, would work better on a global war map where the loss of Pacific ships would hurt them against the Japanese. If Fall Weiss was re-visited with the Decision events from PDE, the US player could be presented with the choice to transfer the Pacific fleet. If he does, overall US MPP production could be diminished (abstracting the need for more resources dedicated to fighting the Japanese now) but you'd get a fancy fleet for the Atlantic. As for players never doing a Russian forward defense, that's tough to entice players to do any way you slice it. The only viable situation may be in a H2H game where an Axis player is overextended before Barbarossa. Otherwise, it's always wise to defend deep. You don't want to force the player to have a forward defense, either. Overall, this is probably less of an issue because the core of the Russian War is deep in the steppes anyway, with plenty of strategy on both sides to employ.

Hey von Klytus! Just make sure that they aren't adjacent to an enemy unit when doing elite reinforcements, and make sure that the unit has enough experience to receive them (1 full bar = 1 elite reinforcement). And of course having them in supply, and having enough MPP's to reinforce them. Hope that helps!

PDE really rounds out the series, I must say. 25 bucks for something that will give you months of enjoyment? Priceless!!

All I will say is... :eek:

Para's can jump over and over again, what do you mean? They obviously can't prepare to jump on the same turn they landed from a paradrop, and they also require at least 6 supply (I believe it is 6) to prepare again. Against the AI and in WaW, it's typically a good idea to grab Norway. You get free garrison units to help protect its shores, offers a good base for resupplying your subs and you ensure that MPP's flow to you. An Allied invasion could cut that off, or even diplomatic efforts could cut off the Norway convoys. In SC2 vanilla, taking Norway as Axis is debateable.

Packs more punch! They can deal and withstand more damage than a Corp. can. A good way to compare unit stats is in the Purchase Unit screen, and of course, testing their capabilities in battle.

It depends on the situation. Typically you don't want to sit your subs in one spot for more than a turn because the AI and a human opponent will usually come looking for you right away. Take notice the most likely positions where your opponent will be sending his navy from, and make sure to move away farther away from that area on the next turn. There are only so many ports the UK fleet will operate out of, either the UK itself, Gibralter or Iceland. It also depends on if you are playing SC2 or WaW. In SC2, you have to be extra careful and wily because throwing single ships around the Atlantic early on is beneficial to the Allied player. A single ship can hurt your starting subs, which is much different than in WaW. Here you have to bide your time and actually focus on building a sub strategy early if you want to have a chance against Allied ships, which are all decent at pinging your subs, while in WaW you need DD's to do that job. In WaW, a single sub can be devastating to all Allied ships except for the DD, but even then it's a pretty even match in 1940 against the sub-hunters. In WaW, the Allies must move in packs with their fleet in order to take down U-boats effectively, otherwise it can almost be beneficial to sit a couple subs on a shipping late in mid-1940 and tempt them to come at you. Your subs are cheaper to replace than the expensive UK fleet.

Yep, before France falls, it's good to keep them hidden. Get some tech in them too, you want to try and get tech level 2 at least. For the WaW expansion, that isn't as necessary early on as subs are more vicious and Germany gets more. You need France and Norway though to help with supplying and re-organizing your sub fleet without bringing them all the way back to Germany. Hit and run, keep them in packs of 3 or more, make sure their supply doesn't fall below 5, and try to hit the shipping lanes as far away from their ports as possible so it takes them 2 or more turns to bring most of their fleet against you. The longer they are at sea, the lower their supplies go. When they get enough experience, bring them back to France to give them elite reinforcements, it will pay off both in the amount of shipping they sink but also when fighting Allied ships. Higher tech is always nice too, as it increases damage and a subs % chance to dive. At the start of a game, decide if you are going to go for a heavy sub strategy or not. If you do, focus on sub tech and building an extra two or three subs. Having 6 subs at tech level 2 or 3 roaming around the Atlantic will prove costly to any Allied fleet. Also, if you manage to cripple them with your subs and fleet, you not only crimp UK MPP convoys, but the US will have a much harder time shipping troops to Africa or the UK when you're sinking their units at sea.

I always use Corps. They are much cheaper and plentiful. Buy them vanilla-style with no upgrades, and with 3 levels in prod. tech, you get them for 85 MPP each. Use your Armies for the fighting. The only time I'd use an Army is if I anticipated they'd be fighting soon, such as in France close to when I expect D-Day.

It is currently September, 1941. The German war machine has taken Poland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Vichy France, Algeria and Tunisia. The Japanese have been busy fighting the Chinese for a year. It's been a brutal fight, but the Chinese have been broken and sent west. However, time is no longer on our side. The US Congress has voted to cut off all oil shipments to Japan. Germany is pushing for Japan to attack the Russians from the east. War seems inevitable, but there simply isn't enough resources at hand to take on Russia or the US…or worse, both! With China in check, Japan decides to re-organize their divisions there to begin operations in oil-rich Southeast Asia. Some Generals argue against such a move with the Chinese on the run and only rag-tag militia standing between them and the capital. But China is too large, and rebels have been successful cutting supply lines. Even if China was captured entirely, it would take too long and reap little benefit. Japan must expand to support their military needs! Meanwhile, General Bock breaks through El Alamein and faces off with the remnants of the Commonwealth forces defending Cairo and Alexandria, but their time is limited in the face of overwhelming Axis troops. The German U-Boat fleet is growing and has been tasked with hitting Britain's shipping lanes off the western coast of Africa. In July, 1941 Barbarossa kicks off with heavy armor divisions and infantry cutting a swath all the way to Moscow and Volgograd (sp?). Very little Russian resistance so far, but being so close to Moscow it is tempting to push for it before winter sets in. The problem now is, the Generals have yet to catch up with their blitzing army and panzer divisions. If the Luftwaffe and supply can catch up in time, Rundstedt will be charged with taking Moscow. Notes: This is my first time playing the Global Mod for SC2 and it's pretty awesome. I'm not sure how the AI is, but against a human opponent it's great. I can't say what the balance is like yet, but for the Germans it feels fairly similar. Map is a little smaller but it seems to work out just fine. France fell in July of 1940 and was able to put up a good fight because there was less room to manuever. Having double-strike armor here would have been the perfect situation to represent the benefits of "blitzing" armor units, where limited space prevents more than 2-3 units from attacking at once. The scripts have been great. Lots of similar ones, but some cool new ones too that add a lot of flavor. The Japan-China war alone has a bunch! I don't want to detail too much for anyone who hasn't played yet, as part of the fun is experiencing them for the first time. Playing as Japan is a fun, new experience. Right off the bat you're fighting the Chinese, all the while knowing that war will come against the US someday. At first your MPP income is sufficient, but in order to expand your military, research and fight in China effectively you realize you're going to need more MPP's, and soon. But how soon? Do you try and expand earlier and risk being possibly unprepared to fight America? Eventually they cut off oil shipments, further shrinking your income. One thing is for sure, I love the global war. It'll be hard to go back to the Euro-only map after this, considering you still pretty much still have it in this mod.

Just curious, how did you and Armuss find out about this game? Also, had you seen SC2 at some point before and dismissed it for any reason? If so, what made you try it now? Seems like a batch of new players have joined the forum recently, which is great, but it'd be interesting to know why seeing as the game has been out for awhile now.

Welcome, and don't hesitate to use the search tool to find pretty much any topic that comes to mind. If it's in the game, it's likely to have been discussed in great detail at some point. Enjoy the AI, it WILL keep you busy and on your toes for quite a while, but definitely make sure to get some multiplayer games going eventually. Lots of good players here to keep you busy, literally, for years!

No problem guys, and understandable considering the state of things these days. The main thing is that when the contest does start all of us can help spread the word to get new people to come to Battlefront and participate. If each person here could draw in two or three people that are interested, I'd consider that a pretty good success.

Nobody interesting in assisting with prizes huh? No problem, one is sufficient. I will likely start the contest towards the end of this month or early May and run it for a couple months or so. Once it begins, anyone is eligible and I will offer up the entire SC2 package as the prize (SC2 + WaW + PDE). If you already have any of those, then give it up to an interested friend or whoever came in 2nd in the contest. Either way, it'll be your easiest chance to get a free copy of an amazing series.

Can't you change the AP cost of moving through certain terrains too?

There is also a Design Contest running if your suggestion falls under something like that. Post it there and we'll read it, plus you get a chance to win a game copy and become a beta-tester.

Nick, also, their is a Global War map for SC2 out right now. It doesn't start in 1936, but playing as Japan you get to experience them "pre-war" (at war with Chinese though) and understand the desire to expand and get resources. Also, as Honch noted, the editor is fantastic and has allowed for many mods to be made for the game. There is even a War of the Worlds scenario, with new sounds and graphics. If you have the time to do it, you can make that 1936 scenario! Another thing to be mentioned is that while many here prefer SC2 with the WaW expansion, in my opinion (and others) it doesn't obsolete SC2 vanilla either. They both offer pretty distinct game styles and I only really understood this after going back to SC2 to play the Global War map after playing WaW for so long. There's even a new expansion coming called Patton Drives East...

Yep, get at least tech 2 with a bar or two experience, and they'll start dealing respectable damage.