TaoJah

It seems to me that with more recent verions of the game (I think is was from 1.02 on) the French praxtically always surrender fast. But I liked it when the French didn't gave up in older versions, because you can get alot more experience from them with your aircrafts : make sure his aircraft is killed and just attack his units with your aircrafts out of range of the UK airplanes. You'll be VERY happy to have experienced aircrafts later on in the game !!!

It's possible to defend against the Russians, that's for sure. You can use fortifications for that. On turn one, sell the Italian research chit and don't use any Italian money at all, untill you got tenough to buy an engineer. Once that engineer arrive, operate it to the German-Russian border and let it make fortifications, with just one side. You can build up to four forts like that before the Russians join, if you're careful with DOW other countries. In the mean time, buy 5 chits in Advanced Inafntry with the Germans and then all corps. Place the corps behind the river around Copenhagen, in the forts in the middle and on the mountains in the south. The AI will never, ever break this line. EVER. The best defence in the west is to do a Sealion. Even if you don't get Cairo, just taking the UK mainland is a bullet-proof way to ensure that D-Day will be alot weaker because he can not bomb your entrenched troops in the French cities and thus he can not take them in turn one. Plus you can transport units in after D-Day. No supply for him + reinforcements for you = a failed D-Day. Of course, the BEST defence against D-Day is to knock the UK out of the war. Then you can move your entire German and Italian fleet towards the US, take out his ships and just attack every amphiby he makes. [ October 30, 2006, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: TaoJah ]

Yes, that's a good idea. PErhaps not once the first units lands in the UK or Russia, but when the capital moves or something. I can not imagin that English troops would not get a mayor hit when they see pictures of German troops in the royal palaces in London ! There are some examples in history when a country keeps on fighting after the capital is taken (Belgium in WWI for instance) but it's an exception.

Yes, this is indeed a possible (and cheesy) tactic. But if he does this, then the readiness of Finland goes up. So you get few Finnish units and a Finnish headquarter. Plus a nice extra place to invade Russia...

All units in a fortress gets half the maximum entrenchement at the start of each turn since last patch : it goes to 4 at the start of every turn if the maximum entrenchement is 8, it goes to 3 at the start of every turn when the maximum is 6.

No, there is no option in the map to see how much supply each square has. It would be nice... Basically, it works like this <takes deep breath> - each city has a supply number (usually 10, 8, 5, 3). - each headquarter has a supply number (usually 10, 8 or 5). - each square that is 1 hex next to a city of 10 or a headquarter of 10 has a supply of 9. - each square that is 2 hexes next to a city of 10 or a headquarter of 10 has a supply of 8. - each square that is 2 hexes next to a city of 8 or a headquarter of 8 has a supply of 6. BUT... If a square isn't clear but for instance a forest, the supply goes down with 2 instead of with 1.

Hmmm, I misread it the first time, hehe. I like your idea of upgrading it in the queue. [ October 25, 2006, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: TaoJah ]

Well, IMHO you can debate on the HOMEBUILD options, especially for ships. If there is a perfectly functioning port in Vichy France under German control and the Germans commision a new ship, they might as well build it there if they need it there. What's the reasoning against it, except that it makes using new units harder ?

I sent a mail... :waits in anticipation and thinks he's gonne miss out on some sleep the next couple of days

I just played a game against the AI that was already over in August 1941, because he did not have any unit or around Stalingrad. I could walk right in at the same turn that I took Moscow (so it wasn't his capital yet). I had a corps with motorization 2, so I ran in from far, but still, this should not happen. I turned off FOW after the end and I could see that he leaves 5 troops around Riga plus 5 troops around Kiev and Minsk (I always ignore these cities, I run straight to Smolensk) plus 5 troops around Voronezh , but he can not have one single unit in Stalingrad He even had half of his Siberian reserve still standing around it's start point. On a sidenote : perhaps it can also be added to put a corps in Cairo and Paris, the AI always seems to defend these capitals with a HQ.

I know the THEORY of supply in Russia. But then there is the Russian winter popping up, Partisans all over the place (even on hexes next to you), certain terrain cutting of the supply line between your HQ and the city, units cutting off the line between your cities and the HQ, dropping them all to 3... It's too much, IMHO. And my hours are too unpredictable to play humans, sometimes I can play for hours, sometimes I can only play half an hour a day :-(

1. They lose their experience, but for the rest they are the same. 2. I never buy strategic units (but I only play against the AI). 3. I don't know. 4. No, you can safely keep them somewhere, no maintenance costs.

Yes, I understand that part. But then it should blow up when they leave it and an Axis troop marches in.

If the UK army in Europe stands on the Maginot line at the moment that France surrenders, then that part of the Maginot line isn't destroyed. Even when the army moves out of the spot, the fortifications stay there. And even when an Axis troop moves in, the fortifications stay there. Intended ?

In SCI a Dutch gambit was a possibility because the way the river flowed just east. In SCII you need more units to defend across the river, too many I think to be worth it. Besides, in SCII the Axis take the low countries on turn two and that's too early for France to be ready to invade. France only have their troops half-strength to start with and not enough MPPs to raise them enough to attack.

The combat system is already complicated enough to understand, adding this to it will make it totally uncomprehensable. I gave up on understanding the current system because it's impossible to exactly calculate things like supply in Russia, not to mention the flaws in the system (like the Germans not having any supply in the UK when they don't take London). I try to go with my gut feeling now and I am a math geek, lol.

I am curious : why do you do a Sealion so late and not right after France falls ?

>> a must NEED and we NEED it now Hmmm... is this the new way to suggest things ? Sounds pretty agressive, hehe.

Yes, they can rebuild them. You got to knock out Egypt too. Taking Egypt is worth it, by the way. After you take Egypt... - you can attack Syria, Iraq and Iran - you get a MAYOR morale boost - you get Gibraltar, which means you can move the Italian fleet west and own the Atlantic, which make you a) stop D-Day and stop the US transfer to the USSR And last but not least : you need Cairo for an Axis mayor victory.

Thanks for the update ! And reading back, I really should refrain from using phrases like "the AI is horrible", it makes it seem like I don't enjoy the game. I do enjoy it, very much, which is probably why I still keep commenting on it instead of un-installing it and move on to the next game.

I've spent quite some time to narrow down the issues on D-Day and while I did correct many of the AI and script errors, i.e. the US will not be sitting around with 50 troops on the mainland anymore, there is just a little more refinement to go. But the good news is that we have had reports from the testers that the AI has landed a successful invasion force including HQs and that now I just need to re-enforce their staying power once in France </font>

As much as I'd like the whole world in one map, I think that the first thing on the list should be a good D-Day from the allied AI. Play with the Axis put off Fog of War at the end, you'll see what I mean : 50 troops in the US that just sit there and do NOTHING at all.

How does a Allied player avoids it ? By DOW himself ?

You say that they get an extra 4000 MPP, but that's not true, because the game is OVER fast. If you make the UK surrender before you attack Russia, the game is over after you take the first two Russian capitals. And you don't have to worry about the US, they don't D-Day if the game is over in 1942. And even if they did, that D-Day would be hard, because a) you got the UK mainland and you got the entire German and Italian fleet waiting for them.

Yes, but this isn't an ideal world. The AI is horrible. And since about 90% of the games played are against the AI, this is a pressing issue. I don't do the conquer-7-countries, but I still win in the spring of 1942 against the hardest AI without even trying too hard.