Holien

Fantastic News!!! The AAR prize has been increased to a years subscription to After the Battle. I have been in touch with the editor of the magazine and he has agreed to sponsor the prize. So if you needed an incentive to get typing you now have the chance of winning a full year subscription to this fantastic magazine. See my previous post as to what this prize involves. H

A quick annoucment on the AAR prize. Yes there will be a prize for the best AAR as voted by all those involved in ROW IV. If you look at the following link you will see what you can win. http://www.afterthebattle.com/ab-con1.html I am donating a single edition of the magazine to the winner and will arrange for it to be posted to you anywhere in the world. I subscribe to this magazine and it is a must IMO for anyone who has an interest in WWII. The organisers will short list the three best AAR's (IOO) for you to vote on. The one with the most votes wins. Not a big prize but something to say thank you for taking the time and typing up an AAR. The group sections will be announced above me as I type too slowly. H P.s. Bertram I am sorry that you did not get in please contact KF. [ February 08, 2004, 12:15 PM: Message edited by: Holien ]

Mr D, I did note that you had failed to put down your involvement last time around. I think that you will have no problems here unless anyone has strong objections. I know about the circumstances with the player concerned and it does not affect your entry into the tourney IMO. As KF said we are kicking around ideas as to how to group people. I am fully aware of our debate about this last time Steve and I hope you will be happy with the challenge that is presented you. I have finished one of the games for the tourney and busy playing two others. I hope to have a quick run through the remaining two and they look good so far. I have some Good News on the AAR front and will post that as soon as I can. H

Hi, Can I clear up a bit of confusion. The list is of all those who said they wanted to play. What the list does not show is what time you signed in and what tourneys you have previously played. Because your name is on the list does not mean automatically you get to play. We are now going to sort through that list and release the groups as soon as we can. People wanted to know they signed in and that is what the list shows... (and only that.) I hope this helps. Please refer to the posts at the beginning about how the list will be sorted. H P.s. I will be having a serious talk to KF about his money making schemes.

To be fair Cap Dog, Just because someone wins big time does not mean that it is balanced. You just have to look at the ROW games and see that. Even unbalanced games can be won depending on what the players do or do not do. I might have taken the correct approach in this game or my opponent might have been unlucky or unwise in his approach. I can see the frustration in the time settings and that at least can be modified by someone taking what you have done and extending it. For me that would not be appropriate as making a game much longer does not suit my disposition. But this is where CM comes up trumps in that it can accommodate a broad variety of styles. I think we can all agree that your design is very good and well worth playing, whichever way you choose to play. H

Will you poolers sod off back to your pool.... You can sign up like the rest of the players. IMHO H

Hi the above is very plausible if you play the AI. I don't play the AI and I can not remember the last time I did. I would guess it was Cemetery Hill by a certain wicked German. But since then no games against the AI. I don't get enough time to play and when I do I want a decent game, and that can only be provided by a Human with both of us playing blind. H P.s. Cap Dog is over rating me, I am not that good.

Bertram, Read the posts higher to this about how selection will work. As long as you sign up in a reasonable time frame and if you have been in the other tourneys you stand a good chance of being in, even if you do not sign up on the day that it opens. I hope that helps? H

Yes CMAK.... As for ROW I Vets there are one or two in the wood work but not many. The written part of ROWI appealed to me and might be a way to get people to commit. If they can not be bothered to write a bit of an application then can they be bothered to finish all the games? The other thing that appealed about ROWI was a lot of the scenarios were based around the Normandy battles and were based on real episodes. As Normandy is my main interest that was the icing on the cake. Anyway that was ROWI and not ROWIV. Not long to go... H

Jim, I will not be playing in the games and felt it was time to give you a chance to get into the finals. I do get to play the scenarios and my lips are sealed on what is in them. As for the perceived lack of spaces I really don't think that will be a problem. Yes you will always get some people who don't make it into the tourney but that is life. As stated above we want people who will complete all the games in a reasonable time frame and produce AAR's. The Vets have been there and done it and if they want to play again and sign up within the time limits given then they will earn a place because they are known to meet the critera. Jim was in the same boat as you Panther Commander, last tourney and he managed to get in. So please don't feel hard done by it is just a way of ensuring we have a succesful tourney with players who will complete the games and give the community AAR's. H [ January 21, 2004, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: Holien ]

Hi Brent with regards to sewer movement I had never used it before and saw your comments (due to FOW) until too late. I now know what and what not to do. I guess it was lucky for Lou I did not have an extra 4 platoons beating him up. Then again maybe they would have been hurt by the Soviet heavy Arty. The score was 75% to 25% a Major Victory. He lost 837 men to my 477 and I captured 173 men. I lost 8 vehicles to his 17. Lou lost it in not applying his artillery effectively and did not use his armour well. In the first turn Lou saw some of my tanks and assume that my men would be with them. His 152 Arty hit that area. Fortune was with me as I had placed my armour well back from my start lines and as Lou had not seen my possible deploy area it killed two T/C's and that was all. If that had hit home that entire flank would have been wasted as my men were grouped quite tightly and they were the vital engineers and HMG crews on the right flank. I was lucky with some tank duels (1 stug took two T34's on the left flank) and in other areas careful manuver ensure some good kills on his remaining armour. Lou had a tendency to park his armour and so I could play the angles on it. It was a great game and even though Lou lost he said it was fun to play. Of course he enjoyed the bit where a stray Stuka bomb took out a factory that I had occupied. Again luck was with me as there was only a HMG and Platoon HQ in the building at that time. H

The last file was sent last night but due to the forum being down I could not post. I won a pretty convincing victory in the end and the game ended with all the Soviets throwing up their hands with a total collaspe of morale. I will post exact details when I get home. The key turning point was in the last five or so turns when I managed to kill all the Russian tanks. With them out the way I was able to ravage the Soviets with DF HE from my tanks. Only one of the Soviet tanks (KV) was taken by the Stuka. The rest were whittled away by some good shots and careful use of the German tanks. IMO the key to the game is removing the Soviet tanks so that you can mount effective attacks on the various buildings held by the Soviets. Sewer movement was a total failure for me and of the four platoons I commited to this (all with +2 Stealth) I had about three squads turn up where they were sent. I perhaps sent them too deep as it was 23 turns or more moves under ground. Those four platoons would have been far more use above ground and I will never again use such long distance moves. I enjoyed the surprise of having Soviets behind my lines and these units caused me some pain. Lou my opponent messed up with one platoon of these and had them machine gunned down by me as he tried to move them across a street. The other group caused a lot more pain as I lost a useful Stug to some Tank Hunters. This is certainly a tough game for the attacker but it can be won if you use the right approach and work hard to co-ordinate your efforts. The Soviet airforce and artillery was a pain in the bum. I guess if Lou had better luck with his tanks I would have been in quite a different position. H

Hi, Just a quick answer to the question posed about sign up. When the sign up period is over the list will be scanned first for Vets of ROW I, II and III. These will be moved up the list to ensure that they have a place. Then Vets of any two of ROW's. Then Vets of any one ROW. Then overflow tourney players. Then anyone else if there is space. The only exclusion to this would be if Vets of ROW I, II, or III had dropped out of any of those tourneys. It would have to be considered if they had earned a Vet Status or would be grouped at the end. This would be I guess a case by case decision. The overiding aim is to get players who will stick with it and commit to playing the games in a reasonable time frame. This time frame will be established when the rules are issued. As for the issue on patches in the past we have stuck with the game as started. That way everyone is on a level playing field. The only way you could change that is if everyone in the tourney agreed to upgrade. If you have just one objection then it stays on the same level of patch. I hope this helps? H

Good news and thxs for the update. I had another instance yesterday where I could have done with the Patch being sorted. Excellent news. H

I still plan to get out to China at some stage in the next few years and will certainly do my best to swing by. The game is just about finished and it looks like a white wash unless the Soviets are hiding in the cellars. It would seem that I have been able to gain all flags. I am hoping to wrap the last turns up this weekend. A magnificient scenario and I have had a blast playing it. More comments to come.... H

Just finished this HTH Blind with a good player. I took the Canadians and managed to win a Tactical victory by taking the winery (nice Vino Tinto) and the main VP Flag across the river. Lost a single Sherman and rather too many men for my liking. The bridge was an absolute sod to cross and at one point very ready to throw the towel in as I had achieved a draw without having to lose shed loads of men on an exposed bridge. Really missed not having any serious Arty and this would have reduced casulties (for me anyway). I would think this would be damn hard to win if the Germans held the bridge and nobbled a few tanks. Getting across the bridge and keeping the few tanks alive is the real key. I really enjoyed the game on the whole (bar on spot of seeing all my men die on exposed bridge as the smoke lifted too soon.) The Italians were a waste of time and soon broke. They were placed in defensive positions around the winery and soon broke and a lot ended up with their hands up back inside the cellars. I absolutely loved the map and it looked the business. I would say the scenario favours the Germans and should be played HTH double blind to get some good PBEM moments out of it. Many thanks for the design.

Just finishing this off AAR to follow... Very good map and a highly recommended just to play on the map. Some sticky bits but more on that later tonight. H

Me tooooo... When it is ready let me know or e-mail it to me. Cheers H

Hi Redwolf, Getting buy in from players is a hard thing to do and if you have any suggestions to help with this then chime in. As WWB says things are being put in place to support ROWIV and if anyone has suggestions now is the time to speak up. Mail Kingfish or post them here. Cheers H

That last story has a ring of human truth about it. If I was inside enemy land and stuck inside my safe KV (for that period) I would stay put if I thought I had a chance of help arriving. You know that if you open your hatch you are likely to be shot by the Germans. What do you have to lose? Mind you I would think come night fall if I was on the outside with the Germans you would find a way to get some grenades or explosives on the side of a staionary tank with the crew having limited visibility. H

Mantra don't worry, not all vets will be playing so there might be a place or two... More on that later.... Just keep an eye on this area and ensure you sign up quickly. H

Hi, Sorry to raise a dead horse but just came across this looking for info on the scenario I am just playing with a mate. He got the Brits I got the Italians. Both playing it double blind. I would not recommend this for two player play unless it states that the Italians are on a hiding to nothing. The use of Maltildas by the British (sore subject ) means that the Italians are hard pushed to defeat them. The Italian crews being Green mean you can not engage in a long range shooting war. (Found this out too late ) I would imagine this is best suited as Italians against the British AI. I would also like to suggest this might be worth a revisit and change the scenario so it becomes an attempt to exit forces (Italians) not an attempt to hold ground. I think this would then make an excellent game for HTH play. The map IMO is very good and with a bit of tweaking this Scenario could become a stonker of a game for HTH play. Pretty good as it is for Italian vs AI play if you ignore the aspects of the forces etc... Many thanks Rune for your work and as always I am happy to explain further in a positive and constructive manner. Cheers H

Hi, Sorry to raise a dead horse but just came across this looking for info on the scenario I am just playing with a mate. He got the Brits I got the Italians. Both playing it double blind. I would not recommend this for two player play unless it states that the Italians are on a hiding to nothing. The use of Maltildas by the British (sore subject ) means that the Italians are hard pushed to defeat them. The Italian crews being Green mean you can not engage in a long range shooting war. (Found this out too late ) I would imagine this is best suited as Italians against the British AI. I would also like to suggest this might be worth a revisit and change the scenario so it becomes an attempt to exit forces (Italians) not an attempt to hold ground. I think this would then make an excellent game for HTH play. The map IMO is very good and with a bit of tweaking this Scenario could become a stonker of a game for HTH play. Pretty good as it is for Italian vs AI play if you ignore the aspects of the forces etc... Many thanks Rune for your work and as always I am happy to explain further in a positive and constructive manner. Cheers H

Hi, Cheers and I shall point him at this thread and get him to do what is suggested. I guess he is asleep at the moment. H

Hi, No compression whatsoever. File sent to your Hotmail Address. Very odd as the first time it happened I asked him to double check and he has and re did his turn. So not sure what is happening. A scenario by Combined Arms, a dodgy designer if ever there was one. H