SeaMonkey

Something needs to be done with this Chinese juggernaut, especially the Changsha position which benefits from too many DBs. Wow! Al, that is scary, your CVs are in restricted waters and way to close to Axis air, that may be regrettable.

Maybe the mechanized unit that Al has created could fill that void of the panzergruppe versus the panzer army. Whereas the infantry units are upgradeable by IW, and the tank units by HT, the mech corps(panzer grenadier) could have both, allowing either an infantry heavy formation or one with more numerous armor.

Sounds like you've been going over WWII by John Ellis or maybe the Oxford Companion to, whatever the insight, I like your logic Mike.

Well then if the AI can handle something like the multiple fighter modes, then perhaps another naval mode wouldn't be too difficult for it. So we have a "Raider' mode which simulates convoy interdiction and the obvious default mode that allows movement and attack. What other selectable mode would enhance the naval model and what would its effect be? Perhaps something that would change the evasion level of the affected unit?

It was a test, "jack" to see if you were a worthy wargamer for SC, you passed, congratulations. Remember....this was only a test!

SFs can amphib anywhere(next to water of course), no supply requirement, but I believe certain weather conditions can preclude them from loading into their amphibious vehicles.

You, my dear Marc, are a very fine opponent. I'm wondering, as Axis, have you found the Changsha position to be impregnable as I have?

Heck yes Al, it's easy to see you have a refined discipline of play, I thought since you were schooling our newcomers, I'd add to the information pool, just to let them know different approaches to opening game moves. Don't let me take you off your gameplan, I'm just throwing out ideas for you to consider, kind of making Marc think about different things also. You kind of got a little off track on that Spanish bid, but things are evening out, thanks to your judicious play. Most enjoyable, both you guys are keeping this real interesting, thanks.

A slight set back Al, NBD! Great graphic of the importance of HQ supply coordination and I might add that in the beginning of a campaign I always pan the map for units with low supply. Usually, depending of course, one of the very first moves in SC I make is spending MPPs to get units up to >5 strength and moving them into supply situations of also greater than 5. What this does is maximize their morale and readiness early so that they are available for operations. Now, upon that accomplishment first, the secondary directive is to get them into a deployment stage where they can move immediately on my orders, ie. port access, and don't forget to keep a reserve of MPPs for transport.

Ohhh, and Marc, perhaps that intel was misleading, a plant, ever seen the movie,"The Sting".

:eek:Don't you just love it! What a "wild card" the USA is just now.:cool:

An inconclusive update Al, from PBEM, Hotseat, and a couple of models I've set up. As of August 16, 1940, Chinese are in dire straits when Japanese push a full ground onslaught, research, naval reinforcement and upgrades largely ignored. You might want to consider Urumchi as a final "alternate capital" as it is unlikely the Japs will ever take the place and will allow the Chinese to re-enter the fray with Allied help. USSR at 44% and have a vast army deployed in multiple echelons without many tech upgrades, but it seems almost hopeless to initiate Barbarossa from an Axis perspective. The one hope is the Axis experience factor, we shall see how this theater unfolds. Everything else seems well done, especially the Battle for France. Thought maybe the Frogs could hold out, they had plenty of assets, as the Reds seem to, but the Blitzkrieg was still unstoppable. Enjoying the scenario immensely, thanks for all your hardwork. Oh yeah, I noticed the experience medals for the CW was the German Cross.:confused:

Wait until the first patch and this Chinese advantage will vanish, hopefully, more strategic variance. As you are probably aware of brian, the consensus has been the Axis has had the upperhand. No longer is that true in GOLD, but in fact, IMO, the pendulum has swung to the Allies, perhaps a bit too far, as Al says, we shall see. Never the less, be sure of one thing, GOLD is very close to optimum balance, a slight tweak here or there, and the map is alive with possibilities, some yet to be uncovered.

OK Al, the time has come. I believe you've pretty much turned the momentum in Europe and your continued strategy there should be successful, I want you to think about opening up another area for grooming the Allied assault against Japan. Japan is tied down in China, Burma is an excellent diversion also, now to the SRA to cut the oil lifeline. The Celebes is the key, an area for staging Allied SF and air power, right in the middle of the SRA, hammering the oil resources with your bombers. Marc will have to bring his naval forces to fight and this is where the battle will be and you will win if you configure your deployments appropriately. "Remember the Alamo".:cool:......err...oops.......wrong war.:confused:...well you know what I mean.

Good point Mike, about the ability of the AI to manipulate multi-use units in the most beneficial way and since we hopefully have the developers monitoring this thread, they could comment. How about Hubert, Bill, does the AI possess the fuzzy logic necessary to correctly use the many features/mode a single unit class might possess? If we have some orientation from the designers, I believe there a many ways that the existing features, especially the recon and evasion parameters, could be used to enhance the naval model. It's just that the box is defined by the AI's limitations. And Mike, I know you're not aware of my style of play, but the one unit that I usually build(generally speaking) to the max of the limitations is the "bomber", guess why?

I like that suggestion for "crawling" home. In fact, Mike, this thread has great potential, as much as the supply one did. If there is a model that is lacking in SC, it would be the naval-air one, so I would hope some more good suggestions might be revealed here. Forum? ...........Remember, though, the AI must be able to cope.

Yeah...come on you guys, you're great veterans, the newbies need to see how masters handle the game concepts, share with the World, you're already propping up the EU.:eek: My portfolio thanks the German effort!:cool:

Big Al does it right!

1. Invest Leningrad, Finland will join. Baltics will be annexed if you don't invade early. Barbarossa will eventually get the Balkans in, or wait, they'll come around. There's always diplomacy. 2. A tough decision, but not a drastic one, you've got options. Vichy DoW is always viable, player decision. 3. This is another tough one, I kind of believe that the USA would've allowed Japanese expansion into the SRA without a DoW, but historically the Japanese didn't ever buy into that possibility. So....edit it, I'm with your decision, but this is the historical path of the designer's dictation. 4. Didn't you see Al take Borneo(sticky AAR) with the Italians. There are things they can accomplish, experiment, you don't want take the fun out of trial and errror. 5. Again, campaign designer's decision, you'll know next time.

Dang it xwood! Always the philosopher:rolleyes:....we want a committment!

I just had to post this, after a little over a month at continuous GOLD play, I've come to a conclusion, it's recon. How great, and realistic is the new extended air recon feature? I'll admit, I love the uncloaking sequence of revealing your enemy's deployments and springing the surprise attack on his unsuspecting units, but everyone may not share my elation. So, for everyone else, I know we all have our pet peaves, and if you don't have one, well, high time to ask Hubert and Bill for the "creation of" one or two, maybe three, after all, this is the year of SC3.

I see Al, well.........Hubert, Bill, come on guys, we've got three slots for tech upgrades, at least let the campaign designer mix and match what he feels as appropriate. Wouldn't be a terrifically bad idea to have a designer slot, where the scenario maker could name his tech upgrade along with the customized CTVs. How about it out there you scenario crafters, want to customize your tech upgrades?:cool:

CH, I was referring to Persia(Iran). I knew you had Iraq, I was trying to hint so that Marc would not be forwarned. ("avenue to help your ally out"), oh well;)

I noticed that you didn't include anti-submarine warfare as a tech upgrade for carrier battle groups. As that was a large part of the battle of the Atlantic I was wondering if that was an oversight or a design decision?

Excellent suggestions, Mike. I'm a little skeptical on the Tank Groups, but definitely for warships as they are so hard to build any kind of experience level during the game. Your second suggestion is right in line with a training mechanism of some sort, I've promoted this feature before. I would vote to leave air units out of the equation but your premise would tend to inhibit keeping units in the build Q and instead deploy them as soon as they are ready, not a bad thing. I have another idea, which has its roots in the historical actions of armies to expose their troops to the enemy to acquire experience. Up to the max level of 1 experience, let us allow troops that are adjacent to the enemy accumulate experience without conducting combat operations. Just the nature of patrolling and reconnaissance would infuse formations with real life experience so that they are more familiar with enemy actions and the trial and tweaking of incorporating their training tools should allow them to advance one level. Border patrolling would fall into this category.