Edwin P.

Iceland is included in the Sc2. What role has this country played in the ongoing Beta tests, or is it totally ignored by both sides?

IF the the UK is undefended in the opening game and most naval units are in the Mediterrean; not the north sea, the Axis AI should consider a Sea Lion invasion, especially if it can seize a port in one turn. Example: Allied Units in UK before Dec 1940; 1 Unit in UK - 50% Sea Lion 2 Units in UK - 30% Sea Lion 8 Units in UK - 0% Sea Lion [ October 29, 2005, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Some games, such as Civilization, store a win loss record for the human player. Such as the top 10 scores, fastest win, or a table of wins and losses against each AI level. Will a similar feature be included in SC2?

Many thanks for the update Blashy and Desert Dave. Thats what I want to hear. In SC2 both sides, Allied and Axis had basically one cookie cutter strategy, with the balance heavily tilted towards the Axis; for most players, as evidenced by the bidding system. [ October 24, 2005, 08:37 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Mm, perhaps it is worthwhile for the allies to sway Spain to their side.

To the Playtesters - in your view is the game balanced to allow for victory by either the Axis or Allies in the WWII campaign game?

Blashy - was it worth the 750MPPs?

Has anyone in the Beta Group successfully used diplomacy to influence Spain or Turkey to join their side.

What are the specific effects of Snow - ie Winter Spotting is reduced by ? Movement is reduced by ? Combat Readiness is reduced by ? Sea Movement is affected by ?

Any chance of adding a Air Unit Screening command to fighter units? This would hide adjacent land units from spotting by enemy air units (not land or sea units). Of course, an air unit performing this action can't attack or intercept. The screening effect would be lost if the air unit is attacked, and the combat readiness of screening air units would be reduced by 25% to reflect the dispersal of the air unit over a large area. Just another idea.

In Sc2 does it make sense for the Allies to station air units in Canada, Iceland and Ireland to guard the North Atlantic convoy routes? If so, in SC2 will the Allied AI know how to use Iceland, Ireland and Canada as bases for air units to guard the convoy routes and support Allied Naval units? And will the Allied AI consider conquering Iceland and Ireland via military or diplomatic means in orders to secure such air bases? And does it make economic or strategic sense in SC2 for the allies to conquer Ireland or Iceland? [ October 18, 2005, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

1. True. 2. Generating a firestorm - ie Dresden - takes a lot of bombers. Perhaps in SC2 terms it would be comparable to 5 bomber attacks on the same turn against a single city. Futhermore, "The destruction of Dresden was comparable to that of many other German cities, with the tonnage of bombs dropped lower than in many other areas[28]. However, ideal weather conditions at the target site, the wooden-framed buildings, and "breakthroughs" linking the cellars of contiguous buildings and the lack of preparation for the effects of air-raids by Gauleiter Martin Mutschmann[29], conspired to make the attack particularly devastating. For these reason the loss of life in Dresden was higher than many other bombing raids during World War II. For example Coventry, the English city which is now twinned with Dresden, and is often compared and contrasted with it, lost 1,236 dead in two separate raids in 1940. In late 2004, an RAF man involved in the raid said in an interview on the BBC's Radio 4 that another factor was the lower-than-expected level of anti-aircraft fire, which allowed a high degree of accuracy on the part of the bombers.'

I agree, as its much harder to write a generic AI that accounts for the features of various maps and victory conditions. The biggest change I would like to see is the AI has access to a variety of strategies. In war, most nations pick an initial war fighting strategy to follow and then execute it. Example - the Western Allied AI may choose to only invade France or the Nordic Countries or perhaps it invades North Africa followed by Italy. Its choices affected by its relative strength in each theater of operations. In Sc1 it would only launch a serious invasion of France. Example: Invade Italy via Sicily IF AI relative Strength is above 50% then it will consider this strategy. If AI Relative Strength is below 50% then it will not consider this strategy. Control Gibraltar +10%, Control Libya +10%, Control Malta +10%, Naval Superiority in the Med +20%, Control Vichy France +10% I would like to see the AI able to execute a few, perhaps 3 strategies well in the standard SC2 War In Europe Campaign Scenario. (as opposed to operational and tactical movements). For the Axis it would be Russia First, Control the Med, and UK First. For the Allies it would be Liberate France, Italian Invasion, Strategic Bombing, and Nordic Invasion. [ October 15, 2005, 06:01 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Liam is correct. Artillery and gravity bombs of WWII were inaccurate and largely ineffective against enemy forces in bunkers.

Any news on the AI in SC2?

I like the idea of having generals whose capability is unknown when selected. Perhaps you could purchase a name general for 400MPP and an unknown randomly selected general for 250MPP. The strength and name of the unknown general is revealed after combat.

So, if I build a German force of only Armor (in SC1 I could build 8 or so) I can roll right over the Russian army even more so than in SC1?

Thanks for the update HC. Getting back to Napoleon at Waterloo; First, the only unit types are cavalry, infantry, artillery and HQ. The sides will be French, British and Prussian. Timed reinforcements: Yes Terrain types will be clear, city and forest. Leaders: Wellington, Napoleon, Blucher Forces: 73,000 French vs 67,000 Anglo Allied and 25,000 Prussian Technology - None Map Size - Small All in all, it appears to be a playable battle that can be recreated in SC2 made all the more tense by the pressure on the French to achieve victory before the Prussian reinforcements arrive. [ October 10, 2005, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Napoleon at Waterloo as a great game, simple and well balanced. The only terrain feature that SC lacks that was in NaW is roads. Perhaps after SC2 is finished, HC will consider adding functionality for roads - tiles that cost only 1/2 to 1/3 of an Action point when moving from one road tileside to another road tileside. PS: Can you have timed reinforcements in SC2? Ie on a specific date this group of units appear?

At Present, then perhaps in the future? Ideally such a feature would allow for a popup option at the End of WWII for an East Vs West campaign where it would be Russia vs the Western Allies.

I did not diss your Patton Option, I just pointed out another historical option. The only item I don't know how to do, and perhaps Blashy will offer some feedback, is how to implement your Red Star Rising Option. Perhaps, after Berlin surrenders then Russia joins the Axis so that the war can continue and The Western Allies annex Western Germany? Is this possible?

PSS: Though it would be at the very bottom of HC's long long to do list I would like to see the option to incorporate jpegs of a fixed size into popups. Then players could add photo images to enhance the popups.

Or how about the Patton dies option. Then his HQ unit is damaged/destroyed in December 1945. and Thanks for the feedback Blashy. PS: Though I do like the idea of unexpected the popups, they key as you suggest will be limiting them (1 in 20 games, 1 in 50 games) so that SC2 remains a true war war and the popups don't become an annoyance, but rather something unexpected. [ October 08, 2005, 09:47 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Here's a related idea; Allow Germany to select/influence which nation joins the Axis Alliance. Example: Standard Scenario: Italy joins Axis Scenario 2: Spain joins Axis Scenario 3: Turkey joins Axis How could this be implemented: 1. Perhaps Germany selects his ally from Italy, Spain or Turkey. 2. Perhaps Germany attempts to influence another nation to join at the cost of delaying Italian entry if they are unsuccessful. Example: Germany approaches Spain and if Spain accepts Italy becomes a neutral nation and its war readiness declines to zero. However, if Spain rejects the offer then Italian war readiness declines by 10%.