SeaMonkey

Actually Canuck you may be closer than my estimate. After all there was the 1st Canadian Army(5 Canadian div.), which included the 1st Polish Armored and the UK 49th arranged in two corps with those two Canadian armored brigades(1st & 2nd) attached. Of course Monty was the commander of the army group(21st) and this was in late 44. So how about a scripted reinforcement schedule for the Canadian contigent? An army and a tank group, no corps, no HQ, arriving early, middle 44. 3,2,2 for the army, level 2(3?) HT for the armored group.

Perhaps increase in USA and/or USSR war readiness? Maybe an increase in lend lease MPP potential and/or an early start time for LL. Could some other minors have more leanings towards Allies that contributes to a greater earlier MPP level for USA/USSR?

You da man HC, gotta love this game! :cool:

Some good points Liam. My belief is the Western Allied tech should be available to all Commonwealth and USA units. It should be researched as one side, the USSR on the other. If they(WA) remain separate then there should be some catch up bonus applied. Once one of the WA reaches a level two above the other, the one lagging automatically gets the next level. In this way neither WA partner is ever behind in any tech more than one level. To me this represents a more realistic tech sharing scenario that existed in WW2. This change would also address your point of the middle game disparity in Axis and Allied tech. As far as the USSR numerical resilience. I believe if IT and PT strides can be made before the Nazi juggernaut reaches its zenith, say early 43, then USSR can keep replacing those destroyed units by keeping them in supply. The rebuilds can be inexpensive and slowly but surely the German experienced units can be bled off, all except those dastardly AFs. Man do we ever need an anti-air tech for ground units.

OK Michael, so what do you say, perhaps two full strength corps, upgradeable to Western Allies' tech level and an HQ?

According to my reference 92,000 Canadians served in Italy and 215,000 in NW Europe at peak deployment. How many SC2 units is that?

Hey HC! Any news on the next patch? Are we getting close? Are we going to have to restart after installation?

An interesting hypothesis Curry. Blitzkrieg is a device for limited prosecution. I have to agree. Historical example, my fav. "Battle of the Bulge" Now the question is, does SC2 simulate the conditions of Blitzkrieg success and penalize an over zealous commander? I'm kind of on the fence here. Since SC2 is about attack there is little motivation to move armored formations/high tech mobilized corps deep into enemy territory for envelopments. I would say a tile or two for the SC2 scale. Reason being, units are unable to hold a deep penetration against a determined counter-attack of the enemy forces giving the ineptitude of defensive measures in SC2. If so, what are the "winds of change" needed for SC2 to provide the incentives?

What I would like to see is an inherent defensive strength for fortifications that can only be reduced by an attack of enemy forces. Doesn't matter if the fortification is occupied or not. A deliberate assault by the enemy simulates the final rooting out of the rearguard forces of the initial occupying force. You could also say it is the final ditch effort of the brave defensive diehards. Any attack, naval, air, amphib, para, or ground/artillery assault would accomplish the destruction after the occupiers have been vanquished.

After the new patch I'm thinking that Blashy's mod may well become the staple. I haven't played as Germans but imagining how I would play them with the Mod experience to guide me, it would seemingly mirror the historical pattern. Axis would expand initially and then at some point, and that is the key strategic decision(at what point), would want to start fortifying the Empire to survive the Allied attack. Now you would want that engineer. Sound familiar?

I don't know if we're to that point yet Liam, making Blashy's mod the "staple", but it is definitely in the right direction. The "Sealion" problem has been vanquished, no doubt, with a real Royal Navy, sound historic? Its still possible, but with all the naval and air assets concentrated around UK, it will be dubious at best for Axis. And of course with the victory rules dependent upon a timeframe of Axis survival there is plenty of motivation to carry on until late 45, which is a more thoroughly enjoyable scenario than a rapid surrender of your opponent.

Blashy's mod accomplishes just that fact.

You mean like devise a TO&E from a menu of certain combat formations with different characteristics and the formed army/corps takes on the attributes of the ratio of the sub-formations. Ala TOAW. Been suggested. In other words you want to attach and detach combat units for specific tasks as battlegroups, Kampfgruppes. Try HttR or CotA.

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but as I play, especially Axis, I note which tiles produce raiding effects. I have a pretty large set of coordinates by now.

Mr.D, so when you get some new guys you want them to be initiated into the workings of the unit's structure and also to be trained in the use of the new weaponry which the veterans are training on also? How about the elite reinforcements are already trained on the new weaponry(an assumption) and they train the veterans? Hmmmm, I don't know. How long do you think it would take to incorporate these changes and reach a decent unit cohesiveness for combat. Any veterans out there wish to elaborate?

I've also noted a negative build for corps(probably for other units as well) if USSR has used all its allocation when the Siberians appear. I think this may already have been reported, but just in case.

To hell with Spain, you lose UK and that is the last nail in the coffin. Unless of course you know how to "Kill Bill". :cool:

Don't agree Blashy, I believe the fall of UK would be so disruptive that the best we could hope for is a scripted contingent. Indeed it would be a subsidized force from all over the Commonwealth, probably led by our good buddies the Canadians. In fact that is not a bad idea. The Canadians would acquire and use MPPs as the manager of the new Commonwealth force for builds and diplomacy only, tech would be dependent on USA levels.

Alright what's it going to be, do Bombers (not Heavy Bombers, that is a tech) include naval bombers or not? (CA, UA, NA=4)?? I believe these numbers speak for themselves. Hubert.....Blashy???? Someone.

I'll go along with the sub attack damages to ported vessels, way overblown, but a defense of 6? Maybe 4, it should still be a viable attack option. Ships? Leave them alone. CVs, the same, they were much more efficient at port attacks than any other mechanism. CAGs come in usually undetected for the most part. They have the advantage of 3D maneuvering and an abundance of deliverable ordinance and are able to get very close for release.(the accuracy aspect) They don't suffer a lot of damage. Think about it, 6 Japanese CAGs attack Pearl and lose only 29 aircraft. I'll bring up another point, if Bombers are suppose to include naval type bombers (NA=4)(like we discussed) then I want to see a tech upgrade in Bombers applied to CV CAGs in the same manner. CVs RA goes up and the ability to deal out damage to occupying defending units also. Right now Bombers RA=4, CV RA=1.....go figure? [ July 29, 2006, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: SeaMonkey ]

So JJ, it seems we have some premise for a rebirth of your Z-Plan mod? Now don't forget about the Brest-Litovsk scenario also. We're patient, I know you have much to do, but in a year or two when things settle down with the SC2 engine I hope those creative juices flow that way.

My first few games, I didn't see any. Later though I received naval units, up to two a game and a ground unit occasionally. There may be something in what Edwin says.

Just to add to the tactical argument of this feature. You could now perform bounding recon or overwatch which I believe is a valuable lesson applied even to today's combat formations. Yeah I know this is a grand strategic game, but aren't the best games the ones that capture the flavor of all the scales?

Well JJ don't forget the Germans had a valuable ally with plenty of experience in naval-air operations. I'm sure there could have been some interesting exchanges with the Japanese about how to operate these carriers. Maybe even a deployment to the Japanese islands for a training session. Knowing the adaptive qualities of the Germans, I'll bet they could have pulled off an effective use of these two carriers, even in the open ocean. Perhaps at least air cover for their surface raiders. I wonder if the Bismark would have been caught by those Swordfish in that event.

So this would be like a strategic attack and it would be somewhere on the convoy route? I say OK, but the closer to entry ports the greater the chance for more lost MPPs.