PrivateSlovik

Don't know is someone else posted this already, but here's a way to beat the AI fairly consistently. 1)Hold France about six turns. I like to disband UK bombers and Fr. air fleet to put more armies around Paris. 2) Strip Mediterranean. On first turn transport ground units from Alexandria, then Algeria, then Gibraltar and that southern french city. Send them all and naval units toward Rome, one going to east coast to unload opposite Rome. Operationally move Gibraltar air to southern France. Move air fleets south later too if you can spare any. Once things are in place, declare war on Italy, pound Rome with naval and air units, then unload corps all around it for ground attacks. If all goes well you can have Italy's 105 MPP without it getting to fire a shot. This could work well against a human too, as long as Italy is neutral Germany has no way to see what's happening in Med. and no way to affect it. Of course the time I tried it pbem my opponent was better, France started folding and Italy jumped in early with all my units still on transports off the coast, ouch! Yes, its gamey, but its at least quasi-historical. UK and France discussed the idea in 1940 but events in France soon made it moot. [ June 03, 2002, 01:12 AM: Message edited by: PrivateSlovik ]

Now that I've gotten better (a little) at allied side I've found another perplexing effect. I punch through German lines, look around, and attack an undefended HQ or Air Fleet. Payoff, I think. But no, my experienced, full strength infantry army never does more than 2-4 points damage, sometimes taking a couple in the process. What's the logic here? I was already disappointed at how little effect cutting off or encircling enemy forces seems to have. Now I find breaking through and attacking rear area units doesn't do much either. The net effect seems to be that combat is a head on slugfest no matter what the context. To me it really blunts the feeling of using strategy. The way I imagine it, every ground unit should be assigned to a HQ. Orders, supply, and reinforcement flow through the HQ, and penetrating a line to attack it should seriously disrupt its assigned units. Do the HQ here just represent Rommel in his command tent? What has my armies' attack cost him two points of? Sorry for my long posts. [ May 31, 2002, 02:50 AM: Message edited by: PrivateSlovik ]

I haven't found the AI to be noticeably bad. What are some examples of games with good AI you are measuring SC against?

Anyone interested in trying a pbem? If you're going to be up late tonight (after 11pm central, 12 eastern US) I should be free to do turns for a few hours. Or I can manage 2 turns a day during the week, one in afternoon and one at night. I'm probably not that good, if that matters. email me at aliaserror23@yahoo.com

That was two thirds of a pun: P-U!

I agree w/ discussion about navy especially subs. The big problem is that there is no way to withdraw under fire, standard in real naval actions. Instead you sit while every unit the enemy has cruises in from 400 miles away to your exact spot and nails you. If turns were simultaneous like CM and Tacops this wouldn't be such an issue, but there still should be a real chance of escape ( especially for subs). Surprise seems backwards to me. At this scale surprise should happen when you see him and he can't see you, you move to surprise attack him. Surprise because you bump into him makes sense at tactical level, not w/ armies on 50 mile hexes. I strongly agree w/ comment about supply inside encirclement. What's the point of playing at this scale if you can't race to the sea or use kessels in USSR? Even if you manage a total encirclement the combat seems to play out the same as a head on slugfest. Supply rules should be much tighter, making even partial cutoff a real threat. Last suggestion: we need to talk up the fun factor of this game to non-fanatics, the screenshots aren't going to sell it. [ May 25, 2002, 12:44 AM: Message edited by: PrivateSlovik ]

Yeah. I've been designing perfect games in my head for years, my hat is off to Hubert for actually making one in real life. Better yet, its really good.

I like the pay MPP for info idea, provided you can only do it for hexes within movement range of one of your units (that sends the patrol), that what you see is random (not perfect), and that it can be wrong in both directions (miss units that are there or see units that aren't).

I've played a couple quick ones as Germany just to get a feel. Since I'm long winded I'll do this as a separate thread. Subs- I have to agree w/ many others, German subs are historically way too weak. It really shows up when I'm out in the Atlantic, I intercept a transport, and then a battleship force steams all the way from the UK to find me surfaced in the exact same spot waiting to be sunk. German subs should start with the advantage, probably simplest fix would be to boost dive chance a lot. The counter for Allies would be to 1)escort transports with in-game naval units 2)research sonar to boost defenses of convoys and 3) most importantly, devote air fleets to sub hunting. Air fleets should have best chance of surprising cruising subs, giving an impetus for researching long range air. Sonar and air patrols would shift advantage back to allies. This would make the UK decide whether to use resources fighting subs or for other adventures. Forts- this might just be my quirk, but if I'm fighting the whole war I'd like the option to build fixed defenses, al la atlantic wall, siegfried line etc. Of course they should be very expensive. If its an engine issue maybe they could be units w/ zero movement? Also in one game I charged straight through Maginot. On default difficulty my units were trading even blows or better w/ the most advanced fortifications of the era, it seemed way too easy. Experience- I second suggestion that gradual reinforcement should have less exp. penalty than maxing out in one turn. Is the experience bonus to combat figured fractionally, or only for each complete medal? Players- Any chance of letting AI control some countries at war? It would be interesting to try and fight while allied w/ an unpredictable Italy or USSR run by the AI. Overall its a solid combo of Axis and Allies w/ Panzer General, plus more depth. Most importantly the pieces fit together in a way that makes it fun. [ May 24, 2002, 01:51 AM: Message edited by: PrivateSlovik ]