Catacol Highlander

Matches in play as of 11 March 2014 Catacol (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Baron (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) PGTomli (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Ludi1867 (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Steel32 (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Tmanusa (allies) Pacestick (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Calculon (allies) Fritz (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) Ludi1867 (axis) vs Baron (allies) Calculon (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) gkizziah (axis) vs Jollyguy (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Pacestick (allies) Fritz (allies) vs Jollyguy (allies) Luke (axis) vs Dalibor (allies) Results Strategiclayabout (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amadeus (allies) in June 1941. PGtomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Baron (axis) in December 1940. Amona (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in June 1942. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in August 1942. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (allies) in May 1947. PGtomli (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (allies) in August 1941. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in 1946. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (axis) in February 1942. Steel32 (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in March 1943. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Pacestick (axis) in July 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Tmanusa (axis) in 1944. Catacol (allies) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (axis) in July 1945. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (axis) in June 1942 PGTomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in August 1941. Baron (allies) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (axis) Amadeus (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amona (allies) in July 1943. Fritz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Calculon (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in 1944. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Clausewitz (axis) in March 1942.

The ladder is now more than 10 weeks old. We have had 20 results in that time – many more than expected – and currently have 17 games in play. This is really good, and thank you for your support. We have also gained 4 players who joined late, and lost only 2 who have had to drop out for real life reasons. All in all very successful. With 1.03 now released time for a bit of information for all: 1. New games from now on should be started with 1.03. 2. Provided both players agree, loops should now be turned off in new games from now on. This is easy to do, and instructions of how to do so will be on the email that I send players when a new game starts. If a player is unhappy and wishes to keep loops on then this must be negotiated at the start of the game. 3. Remember – if you want a new game then let me know. Currently I am waiting for new opponents for both Clausewitz and Strategiclayabout. And now for the big change. 4. With the start of 1.03 I am making a fairly significant change to the 1 point allied victory conditions. The 1 point allied victory now reads like this: Allied 1 point win: hold London, Paris, Moscow, Delhi, Canberra, Seoul and Chungking The reason for this is simple. 1 point victory conditions are supposed to allow a player who has had a bad start to the game a way to try still to salvage a win by playing a much better end game. The current axis 1 point conditions work quite well I think. But there is a problem with the allied ones – if the IJN gains supremacy at sea then there is no way that the allied player can take Manila which was a requirement of the original 1 point objectives. So I have taken Manila out and instead brought in Seoul. I have also added London as a fairly obvious requirement in Europe. What will this mean? It means that if Japan gets a great start and successfully wins at sea and extends her power over the pacific the allied player can choose to put everything into a land war. Chungking is not easy to reach from Burma – but it can be done. Seoul can be reached from Russia. All other objectives can either be retaken (London, Paris, Moscow) or successfully defended (Delhi, Canberra) even if the IJN is dominant. I hope this might encourage players to take their games a bit longer and not surrender early on. If all players think through these objectives then I think there are good chances of victory for either side even if in 1942 one side is on top. Adapt your strategy. It may also prompt some players to go for the “easier” 1 point win from the start when playing someone who is very strong at the game. THIS CHANGE ONLY APPLIES TO NEW GAMES FROM NOW ON. GAMES CURRENTLY IN PLAY WILL BE DECIDED UNDER THE ORIGINAL CONDITIONS. I hope you continue to enjoy the ladder, even if you are in the bottom half of the table and struggling for wins. Stick with it – and victory will be yours! And finally continued congratulations to Isnogud who still holds first place. I am not doing especially well in my game with him at the moment. Is anyone good enough to take him on and knock him off top spot? :-P

Dalibor - you are in.

OK - here is a grid of matches that I am going to use as a clever tool to make good match ups. To see your axis games follow rows from left to right. To see your allied games follow columns from top to bottom. It shows effectively what is going on: Now, 2 things spring to mind. 1. I wonder whether we might get to a situation where ALL these boxes are filled and everyone else has played everyone else? That would be the perfect ladder. Almost certainly not possible, but so many games have been played already or are in play that it would be good to see as much of the grid filled with results as possible by the time we get to the end! 2. Secondly note that I have used the current ladder table ranking so that Isnogud who sits on top is on the top and left of the grid and players lower down in the ladder are progressively further down and to the right. Now - if you follow the logic here: the closest games according to ranking OUGHT to be ones that are as close to the black diagonal line from top left to bottom right as possible. The most unbalanced games will be ones in the far top right or far bottom left of the table. It wasnt possible really to get a seeding system going to start with because I dont think many of us knew exactly how strong we were compared to others. To a great extent we are still finding this out. But we are beginning to get an idea. As the ladder evolves I will adjust the grid representation to keep players winning most of the their games to the top and left. And from now on I will try to create matches between players as close to the black diagonal line - in other words you will play people who are very close to you in the ladder table. This ought to be more fun - it ISNT much fun getting destroyed by someone much more experienced. Better to play opponents who are close to your own ability and try and get better gradually. As we get closer to the end of the year it wont be possible always to give players matches that look as though they will be close. The boxes will fill up and players will eventually HAVE to challenge those who are much higher or lower than them in the list. But as far as possible I will try to create games that look like they will be close. Lastly - and this is a new dimension we can add from here. You can all see on this grid who you have played and who you have not. I am quite happy if you want to make direct challenges to players yourself and report them to me. I will arrange the games for you if you wish.. but you can therefore look to arrange them yourself by spotting where the blanks are on this grid. Please just keep me informed if you do this so that I can keep all the data accurate. So - hope you like the grid and if you stare at it long enough you will understand everything I have written (I think!)

Yes - your English is better than mine. I cannot edit the first post in the thread now, but the way you put it is much more clear!

Come play on the ladder Xwormwood - we are now disabling all loops apart from the east to west pacific ones.

Very close. There was one final change made this week that had been forgotten I think - the sneaky Jap forced march in behind Chengchow will be made impossible - and now I think Hubert is ready to go. Probably a matter of days and dependent only on BF doing their bit.

Thank you. Going to jazz up the ladder points table over the weekend to make it more pleasing to the eye and a bit more informative. Give me a day or two... Have to say I had no idea the ladder would get such momentum and have so many games complete in the first 2 months. Very happy with it indeed.

You're in...

... and I forgot to welcome our 2 newest members of the ladder: Luke and Jollyguy.

Matches in play as of 28 February 2014 Catacol (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) The Great Santini (axis) vs Baron (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Baron (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) PGTomli (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Ludi1867 (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Steel32 (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Tmanusa (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Strategiclayabout (allies) Pacestick (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Calculon (allies) Fritz (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) Luke (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Ludi1867 (axis) vs Baron (allies) Calculon (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) gkizziah (axis) vs Jollyguy (allies) Results Strategiclayabout (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amadeus (allies) in June 1941. PGtomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Baron (axis) in December 1940. Amona (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in June 1942. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in August 1942. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (allies) in May 1947. PGtomli (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (allies) in August 1941. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in 1946. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (axis) in February 1942. Steel32 (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in March 1943. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Pacestick (axis) in July 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Tmanusa (axis) in 1944. Catacol (allies) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (axis) in July 1945. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (axis) in June 1942 PGTomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in August 1941. Baron (allies) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (axis) Amadeus (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amona (allies) in July 1943. Fritz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Calculon (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in 1944.

Ladder Table for 28 February here. Tomorrow I am going to add a bit more data to this table in order to show what is going on more effectively. Watch this space...

Hi Strat You may possibly be correct. To me the problem with the 1 point allied conditions may not be Chungking - it is more a problem with Manila. The thinking behind a 1 point allied campaign is that it is possible to do it even if the IJN has secured a decisive naval victory against the USN and RN. BUT to take Manila on top of the various land targets actually requires a naval assault. Not possible to take Manila if the IJN rules the waves. This to me is the flaw with the 1 point allied campaign and I am wondering whether Manila ought to be replaced by Seoul as a 1 point condition. That way a clear defeat of Germany opening the gates for the Red Army in China and the Brits through India/Burma makes a win possible even if the USN is at the bottom of the ocean. The Japanese player is then challenged to do 2 things - win at sea but also hold on land. At present an IJN victory at sea guarantees an axis victory whatever happens on land. I may consider a change along these lines.

Matches in play as of 25 February 2014 Catacol (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) The Great Santini (axis) vs Baron (allies) Calculon (axis) vs Fritz (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Baron (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) PGTomli (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Ludi1867 (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Steel32 (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Tmanusa (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Strategiclayabout (allies) Pacestick (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Calculon (allies) Fritz (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) Luke (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Ludi1867 (axis) vs Baron (allies) Results Strategiclayabout (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amadeus (allies) in June 1941. PGtomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Baron (axis) in December 1940. Amona (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in June 1942. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in August 1942. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (allies) in May 1947. PGtomli (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (allies) in August 1941. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in 1946. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (axis) in February 1942. Steel32 (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in March 1943. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Pacestick (axis) in July 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Tmanusa (axis) in 1944. Catacol (allies) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (axis) in July 1945. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (axis) in June 1942 PGTomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in August 1941. Baron (allies) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (axis) Amadeus (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amona (allies) in July 1943.

As of February 25th - scoreboard looks like this - Isnogud still out in front!

Seamonkey - I think if you have allied amphibs sailing around all over the place doing what you describe then the argument to disable loops is, without doubt, strengthened. Of course there are abstract elements to the game... but actually the game IS trying to simulate naval combat, amphibious landings and convoy interception, so an element that disrupts the realism of this facet of the game is not good.

Here are matches in play, and results, as of 17 February. If any of the data on here is incorrect then please let me know. Matches in play as of 17 February 2014 Catacol (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) The Great Santini (axis) vs Baron (allies) Calculon (axis) vs Fritz (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Baron (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) Ludi1867 (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) PGTomli (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Ludi1867 (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Steel32 (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Tmanusa (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Strategiclayabout (allies) Pacestick (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Calculon (allies) Fritz (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) On Hold (or playing slow) Amona (axis) vs Pacestick (allies) PGtomli (axis) vs Amona (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Amona (allies) Results Strategiclayabout (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amadeus (allies) in June 1941. PGtomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Baron (axis) in December 1940. Amona (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in June 1942. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in August 1942. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (allies) in May 1947. PGtomli (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (allies) in August 1941. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in 1946. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (axis) in February 1942. Steel32 (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in March 1943. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Pacestick (axis) in July 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Tmanusa (axis) in 1944. Catacol (allies) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (axis) in July 1945. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (axis) in June 1942

As of February 17 - here is the updated scoreboard.

Do loops serve a purpose apart from the east to west pacific transfer of naval units that is worth keeping? They help negate the value of U boats. They allow amphibs crazy range and trouble free passage. Why do we have them? I'm not convinced that arguments against micromanagement are valid. Thoughts?

Strat - I have emailed Hubert direct about this. I'm all for game variation, but I think this should be a very hard thing to do. The home defence units should still pop up, and the alternative capital should still be available early on. The big problem is the loops. Amphibs should not be able to use them, but maybe the game engine cannot prevent it. This is the problem with having open scripts - it is too easy to learn the game and spot the loopholes. We need to keep closing them... I am now forewarned about the necessity of defending Japan early on!

Also - we have lost a player. Real world issues have forced Amona to retire from the ladder. A great pity because he is a reliable player who presents a good challenge, and his match against Clausewitz which went right to the final turn of 1947 sounded like a cracker!! I will look at his list of games, and make some new matches for players now that he has pulled out. I will, however, leave him on the ladder table. Who knows - in 6 months time he might want to rejoin. Life has a funny way of producing the unexpected!

A quick note to all players - take a look again at the victory conditions. There are a lot of early surrenders happening in the years 1941 - 43 which to me seems odd!! A 2 point defeat hits your score hard... but could you fight on and hold out for a 1 point defeat? Unless your position is absolutely hopeless is it not worth trying to see if you can fight for that 1 crucial point? Just a thought... If the ladder is eventually decided by a single point in terms of score then perhaps some players will regret not fighting on..

Ladder scoreboard as of 14 February 2014

Matches and results as of 14 February 2014: Matches in play as of 14 February 2014 Catacol (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Isnogud (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs gkizziah (allies) The Great Santini (axis) vs Baron (allies) Calculon (axis) vs Fritz (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Baron (axis) vs Amadeus (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs The Great Santini (allies) Tmanusa (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) Strategiclayabout (axis) vs Isnogud (allies) Ludi1867 (axis) vs PGTomli (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Clausewitz (allies) PGTomli (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Ludi1867 (allies) Catacol (axis) vs Steel32 (allies) Lofty12 (axis) vs Tmanusa (allies) Clausewitz (axis) vs Strategiclayabout (allies) On Hold (or playing slow) Amona (axis) vs Pacestick (allies) PGtomli (axis) vs Amona (allies) Amadeus (axis) vs Amona (allies) Amona (axis) vs Catacol (allies) Results Strategiclayabout (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Amadeus (allies) in June 1941. PGtomli (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Baron (axis) in December 1940. Amona (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in June 1942. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over The Great Santini (allies) in August 1942. Clausewitz (axis) scored a 1 point victory over Amona (allies) in May 1947. PGtomli (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Strategiclayabout (allies) in August 1941. Isnogud (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (allies) in February 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Ludi1867 (axis) in 1946. Isnogud (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (axis) in February 1942. Steel32 (axis) scored a 2 point victory over Lofty12 (allies) in March 1943. Strategiclayabout (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Pacestick (axis) in July 1943. Clausewitz (allies) scored a 2 point victory over Tmanusa (axis) in 1944.

Running both installations is ridiculously easy - just copy and paste the 1.65Gb AoD into another folder named AoD 1.03 or something like that, and then patch that folder. Keep the original folder for 1.02. I dont think we want to wait 11 months to run 1.03 - players can negotiate to play under 1.02 if they really want, but seeing as a few bugs are fixed in 1.03 (I am cursing the Adana rail bug in one game right now already!!) then why wait to use it?