Desert Dave
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Posts posted by Desert Dave
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I suspect that gamers are of two minds.As originally posted by Andrew HedgesAfter Holland surrendered in 1940, the US went from having the 17th largest army in the world to the 16th largest...so if the Wehrmacht had kept going from France to Spain to Portugal across the Atlantic...well, maybe not.
1) Playing the game with the historical events and outcomes in mind. This can interfere with the purely pragmatic and strategic goals that are possible -- with the particular game that you are playing.
2) The second mind decides at some point that -- the hell with what happened, let me look around and see what can be done with THIS GAME.
When you look at the large map, you cannot help but notice where the valuable icons are -- the mines and the oil wells.
How to get them (so to further your game ambitions) and what would it take in terms of unit-power to do so?
With PBEM or even FoW, you might very well have the opportunity to accomplish some of your secret strategies -- thus, the glory of WHAT IF? gaming.
In SC, I'll bet that all of us can imagine a secret strategy -- that personal conceit, which, if realized, will make a good game -- Great :cool: , at least in our minds.
We'll soon see if the tendency to adhere to historical aura overwhelms our private ambitions.
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Not to worry Straha, it could be worse.
I know a guy who's always counting the leaves on the trees.
Summertime, he's always very very busy.
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Well, Ted seems to believe that the German navy needs protection from HMS Hood and the like... when actually, my pal Karl Doenitz and I suspect it is the other way around. We'll see how he does in the poppyAs originally posted by Straha:JUST A MOMENT! I see that ports do not necessarily belong to "real" cities ... so we could simply add Bremerhaven ... this should be considered, for it IS strange that the Germans have no way of accessing the North Sea.
fields of Flanders before we accept his judgement at face value, eh?I can't remember now if you can change physical aspects of the map (... ports and factories and the like) -- I don't think so, but it would sure be nice, sort of like one of those Sim City versions.
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That makes sense. I wasn't thinking concretely enough -- how could USA's factories/mines provide MPPs when USA is neutral?As Originally posted by Hubert:The raiding model reflects only what MPP's the UK actually gets outside the island. So since there is no lend lease a raiding penalty for subs active off the coast of the US would be beyond the UK's actual income and be a little unfair
I suppose I was asking if there was some mechanism to account for lending of MPPs.
I am merely thrilled to the skies that this aspect of the War is to be included.
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Super Ted -- your final AAR map shows where you have strengthened the Scharnhorst -- does this mean that the research advance, gun-laying radar, was ALREADY available to the Germans (... this allows an increase over & above size 10)?
If so, that means other countries might have certain research advances before the War even begins?
Also, Kiel does not appear to be a two-front port. Does this mean that Germany cannot exit directly into the Atlantic -- only into the Baltic?
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BB,
The spearhead would move on to Canada and then back to reinforce the Eastern Front.
Sure, you would need the guts of a cat-burglar, and it would depend on another factor -- has Britain been neutralized, either with bombing, or having to reinforce the Med, due to Italian success in the naval wars.
It's just that... all those stacks of factories and mines and oil wells -- it's too tempting?
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So apparently there will no MPPs arriving from American then?As Originally posted by Hubert Cater:So in the N. Atlantic, it will max out at 30 MPP (from Canada) and in the Med. to 20 MPP. This could result in a sizable chunk of income for the UK since their basic total is 130 MPP per turn.
And no Lend-Lease or any other (gradually increasing) pre-war supply/materiel?
In a similar vein, is there any lending of MPPs among allies after they are aligned?
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Hubert, this is nothing less than -- a Masterstroke!
This now eases the Norway problem -- Britain can no longer just hang around in the vicinity of Germany -- it HAS TO watch out for North Atlantic sub activity.
(... and I still think that you had this pigeon up your sleeve all the time!)
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Imagine if you will -- expenditure of MPPs for an (... utterly unsuspected) invasion in 1941!As Originally posted by vonManstein39
I don't understand why there are US hexes on the map. Surely even a Germany victorious in Europe wouldn't be able to ship an invasion force all the way across the Atlantic and hope to succeed!
Just how many USA units can be summoned for the defense?
And, have you counted up all those MPPs in America?
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Thanks for the detailed explanation.
Whew! I get the feeling -- to the aggressor goes the spoils.
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The German losses didn't seem to be very high.
Was this mostly due to attacking from the rear? Or, the superior air force? Any bonus for flank attacks?
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It's late.
I get giddy.
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... and as our Straha-Land Story goes...As originally posted by Straha:
Ehem ... the hex just South of East Prussia, where the Polish Army is located now, should be in fact Prussian (Allenstein region, Southern East Prussia came to be Polish after WW2, the North went to Russia).
Instead, Poland should get the hex exactly to the right of said army (from the Baltic states) ...
(Straha skitters away and hides under the nearest table ...)
And he comes careening out on hands & knees.
And there are dust-puffs in his eyebrows.
And he is holding up this tiny, greasy, cat-chewed bit of cardboard.
And, as heard by a sleep-deprived neighbor, who lives 3 blocks down the street:
-- Come quick everybody! -- Come See!
-- It's that Silesian Honor Guard piece that I lost... let's see...
April 14th, 1983!
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Right down to the last bedraggled unit, pixels or cardboard -- even if it is holed-up in the only un-collapsed corner of the burning-down barn...As originally posted by BloodyBucket:
As a side note, if you are getting the manure knocked out of you, when do you think it would be proper to offer to surrender? I know CM has the Cease Fire and Surrender options in the game system, but assuming that SC doesn't have that, what will the rule of thumb be?
Seriously, a lot of questions posed about what kind of play we prefer.
I don't mind taking either side, but I usually like the underdogs, and according to an earlier post by Hubert, I believe it was, it is very difficult to win with the Axis.
I am anxious to try out some Med strategies that I have in mind, as this -- at least at the start, provides two navies that are roughly equal.
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... more like sweating royal-blue bullets, I am thinking... a person could... have no fingernails left by the time this is over...
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Having had a look at the large map again, I see that you have double hexes in and around Tobruk anyway... so it would only be that last gasp for Alexandria that is going to be tough, as it should be.
While we're on the subject of North Africa, I have a couple more questions:
1) Can you transport (with appropriate time delay) around the Horn of Africa -- you could still attack Britain while in the Atlantic.
2) Any provision for ANZAC or Indian or SA units arriving through the Suez Canal?
Historically, Italy had a strong navy and her Admirals were hesitant and unwilling to confront the Royal Navy... but I wouldn't be!
I am absolutely sure
you have play-tested this to within an inch of its life, and are satisfied. But I wonder if Britain can insure that life-line to Alexandria?You could have that Egyptian factory eligible to produce a small corps -- say, 3 times per year on a random basis?
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Understood (... sort of -- I'm no programmer).
Inch by bloody-gritty inch then, so be it.
When we're drinking Schnapps in a cafe in Baghdad, we'll feel that we've EARNED those oil wells. :cool:
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Straha, this is the one (minor issueAs originally posted by Straha:
Holyman: in principle, I'm with you in case of the mech units, and I would also like to see at least one more row of hexes in Northern Africa (so that only the Quatara depression narrows things down to one row).
) where I tend to agree with you. I had thought all along that it was two hexes (except for the narrows at quattara).So, there wouldn't be that opportunity for even a small encirclement. You could only smash into the opposing unit
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... Not to give away any strategic secrets that I MIGHT have in mind, but,
Let's say Britain has a task-force off the Norway coast around Oslo, and Germany counters that with an air fleet in northern Denmark (remember, one unit per hex).
If I am Britain, I might well have included a transport -- which could then invade northern Denmark and seriously
hinder that squadron of ME 109s or sea-prepared Stukas, yes? -
But, if you were bound and determined for Sea Lion, you would need to somehow counter the Royal Navy.
If bombing port facilities would enable that, then this would be a reasonable ploy.
Speaking of which, how can you prevent Britain from blockading Norway -- is access to the Baltic Sea restricted once Denmark falls?
Otherwise, Germany's small navy could not support a landing near Oslo, no?
Recall, the transports have to sit offshore for a turn, so Britain could wreak havoc, yes?
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I kind of liked that option -- where you could spend resource points to influence the potential alignment of minors.As originally posted by BloodyBucket:How about Spain, Vichy and Turkey? I recall COS had "political points" that you could spend on trying to sway neutral into your camp.
However, until the United States is in the war, the Allies might not have enough MPPs to be very effective. The Axis could put on a diplomatic blitz and settle most everything before the Allies could round up the usual suspects?
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Awhile back I had raised the specter of possible mad-bomber kinds of play (... recall the terror bombing in Hitler's War?)
Now, I see that -- if you are Germany and building TOO MANY bombers, you are probably NOT sufficiently defending the Easter borders.
So here's a variation on that Stranglovian theme:
What if Germany decided to invest in bombers (research optional) to the extent that they would hammer British ports -- and, incidentally, keep some air fleets out of Egypt (... those Iraqui oil wells!).
The question is -- can you attrition the Royal Navy by reducing ports?
We know that supply/readiness is reduced, but can Britain be restricted in reinforcement terms as well?
Or, can factories be utilized for naval construction, so it wouldn't matter if the ports were reduced?
(sorry
a long way to go, I know...) -
And, in a grand-strategy sense, why would you not want to first pick up those MPPs just laying there in front of you?
After all, MPP calculations are made turn to turn so you'd want to build up your war-chest as quickly as possible.
I don't imagine Britain will attack Norway for fear of alienating the other minors in the neighborhood. So Norway can wait?
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Thanks for the map Super Ted! With all these mystical appearances of his, I'll bet in another life he was Rasputin whispering into the ear of the Czar...
And those great gushing oil derricks in Iraq -- whoever runs them, King or Queen or British puppet-prince, never mind, they're mine!
fields of Flanders before we accept his judgement at face value, eh?
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Varying Quality
in Strategic Command 1
Posted
This is an excellent question.
Units do have variable ratings for soft/tank attack and defense, so it seems logical to suppose that regular Wehrmacht would be superior to Rumanian or other minor units.
Same with air and sea power -- does Britain have an inherent advantage over Italian navy -- or was that mostly due to poor leadership?