Edwin P.

Hubert, many thanks for the information. It will keep me on the right path as I brainstorm scripted events that will change gameplay; i.e. reduce reliance on a single cookie cutter strategy, but maintain play balance. [ June 22, 2004, 12:58 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Hubert Does #Trigger stand for the chance (100 = 100%)of a script executing when the Condition is met (ie (21) Poland , Declared War On (0) AND Surrendered (1))? --------------------------------------------- Will the script editor allow for creating simple interactive pop-ups - ie accept or decline - that give players a choice with a different effect for each option. For example: Trigger: 20% Condition: Germany DOW Vichy France AND UK has 150MPP Interactive Popup: Franco asks British Government for assistance to deter German attack. Cost: Yes(150MPP)/No(0) Effect_Yes: UK MPP balance reduced by 150MPP, Spain gains 2 Corps. Effect_No: Random 1-10% Activation Towards Axis for Spain Example2: Trigger: 25%(1 in 4 games when conditions are met) Condition: Norway surrenders to Axis AND UK has 250+MPP. Interactive PopUp: Norwegian Partisans request assistance from the UK. Cost: Yes(200MPP)/No(0) Effect_Yes: Norwegian Partisans Activated Example3: Trigger: 25% (1 in 4 games when conditions are met) Condition: Iraq Surrendered to Allies AND Germany has 300+MPP. Interactive Pop_up: Iraqi Nationalists request assistance from Germany Cost: Yes (300MPP) Effect_Yes: Iraqi Partisans Activated Note: It costs Germany more to support partisans in Iraq than the UK in Norway as the Turkish government demands compensation for allowing the shipment of weapons through their territory. Example4: Trigger: 2% Condition: Axis Attacks Merchant Shipping Interactive Pop_up: US Goverment demands compensation for attack on ocean liner. Cost: Yes (20MPP) Effect_Yes: Effect_No: US War Readiness Increases 1-5% [ June 22, 2004, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Question: Will the Axis AI in SC2 be able to invade Norway and Sweden? In SC1 this was the standard strategy for Axis human players who relied on the production bonus from conquering these two Nordic countries to beat the Allies. In fact, I can't remember a game where a human Axis player did not conquer Norway and Sweden. For those new to the forum, the standard strategy was to conquer Denmark, mass a few airfleets in Denmark, send two armies to flank Oslo, then bombard Oslo with air fleets and then land the Armies to conquer Oslo in one turn, 95% of the time this strategy succeeds. When it does not not the allied player would operate the Morwegian corps from Bergan to Oslo, transport a UK unit to Bergan and perhaps operate in air units to Bergan to intercept any fleets attacking Oslo. Then a most interesting and costly battle develops. If this was added to the library of Axis Intermediate or Expert AI operational tactics it would make for a much more challenging game. And of course, the Allied AI never launched serious attacks on an Axis controlled Norway after Germany launched Barbarossa. In contrast, many Allied players have their carriers and battleships bombard Bergan to gain experience, if the Axis have no air power in Norway, and if the Axis navy has been sunk or can be blocked from interfering they may even attempt an invasion to liberate Oslo. [ June 20, 2004, 05:23 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I look forward to seeing if one could randomly trigger historically possible events if a country (Greece), region (Egypt) or city hex(Warsaw) is not occupied. Example: Trigger: 1% if No Axis Units in or adjacent to Warsaw and 4+ Soviet Units are within 6 Hexes after 1942. Popup: Polish revolt in Warsaw Effect: Partisan Unit appears in Warsaw Rational: Recreates Warsaw Revolt that occured as Soviet Troops approached Warsaw. Example: Trigger: 1% if No Allied or Axis Units are in Egypt Popup: Military Coup in Egypt. New government declares neutrality and orders British citizens to leave Egypt. Effect: Egypt becomes neutral country. Rational: Egyptians despised the continued presence of British troops and advisors in their country. Gameplay Effect: This event would be so rare, occuring only 1% of the turns when Egypt is not occupied, that it would certainly surprise any player that withdrew all forces from Egypt. Example: Trigger: 1% if Gibraltar and its associated port is not occupied. Popup: Spanish Government reclaims Gibraltar in daring night time raid after local garrison was withdrawn. Effect: Spain annexes Gibraltar and value of port hex is reduced to zero, allowing free transit to ships of both sides. Rational: Spain has long argued for the UK to return soverignty over Gibraltar to them. If the British withdraw all military forces from the rock the Spanish government might haved decided to forcibly annex it while allowing Allied and Axis ships to freely traverse the straits. Example: Trigger: 1% IF Vichy France at war and no units are in Vichy Syria. Popup: The Government of Turkey reclaims the territory of Syria. Effect: Turkey annexes Syria Rational: The government of Turkey wanted to reclaim the territory it lost for being being on the losing side during WWI. [ June 20, 2004, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

In my opinion, they served a very minor role in the overall conflict which was dominated by the military of the major powers. Of course there were Spanish volunteers and Polish; however, their impact and numbers was inconseqential when compared to the number of troops from the major powers.

Agreed, this system is easy to edit and I anxiously await the release of more details on the commands available for scripting. I like the apparant ability to add pop-ups that this initial script shows (#POPUP=). Perhaps it allows for add date related (and event related) "chrome" pop-ups that appear only a certain percentage (say 25% on a specific historical date or event so each bit of chrome appears in just 1 of 4 games) of the time to ensure that these bits of chrome do not become too predictable and annoying - ie US Navy Defeats Japan at Battle of Midway, Singapore Surrenders to the Japanese, German Saboteurs Arrested in New York, Yalta Conference with Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt (only if US and USSR and UK have not surrendered). Example - 25% for each popup (so you would see only 3 of 12 chrome pop-ups on average during each game): Popup: 12/14/1939 - Soviet Union expelled from the League of Nations. Popup: 11/5/1940 - Roosevelt re-elected as president of the United States. Popup: 2/15/1942 - British forces in Singapore surrender to the Japanese. Popup: 6/7/1942 - US Navy defeats Japanese Task Force in battle for the Pacific Island of Midway. Popup: 6/20/1942 - New York Times reports that the American FBI arrested 3 German sabatours in New York City. Popup: 12/7/1942 - British Foreign Secretary Eden informs the British House of Commons of mass executions of Jews by Nazis. Popup: 12/14/1943 - The President of the United Stats, Franklin D. Roosevelt, announced that the Allies are fighting for the "unconditional surrender" of Germany, Italy and Japan. Popup: 7/20/1944 - German assination attempt on Hitler fails. Popup: 2/4/1945 - Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet at the Russian Port of Yalta on the Black Sea. (Condition: USA/USSR/UK are at War) Popup: 4/12/1945 - Harry Truman assumes the Presidency of the United States after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Popup: 5/3/1945 - British Troops liberate Burma from the Japanese. Popup: 8/6/1945 - Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. [ June 21, 2004, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Guess we will have to wait for more information on how the scripting will work. As for me I want to write scripts that will improve the game against the AI and make the game unpredictable. Example: If Russia Surrenders then For the Allied Expert AI 70% Normal Game 15% US transfers part of Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic, 2 carriers and 3 Crusers appear in the Atlantic and US gains 2 Bomber Units also transferred from the Pacific. 15% US signs Peace treaty with Japan and transfers Most of Pacific fleet to the Atlantic -4 Carriers, 4 Battleships, 4 Cruisers, 4 Subs, 10 Amphibious Transports, 4 Bombers, 5 Air Fleets, 3 HQs - Now the Axis Player will have a real fight on his hands and the battle for the Atlantic will become a truly exciting naval battle and not a cakewalk against a weak American Navy and controlling AI. Oh, yes and if this third variant is selected there is a small chance that Russian Partisans are activated, a large American Invasion force appears in the Red Sea and a liberated Cairo becomes a second supply/production center for the US, just something extra to make life more exiciting for the Axis Human player who becomes overconfident and generally bored with a game after Russia is conquered for there is no chance of an Allied comeback at this point in SC1 once Russia has surrendered. With this variant the Axis player is faced with a new and exciting war with the potential for great land and naval battles in the East and West. [ June 17, 2004, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I like how the Free French are treated in SC1 as these units become Free French only if they make it to UK terrirtory. If you want Free French units in SC1 then you must 1. Move them to a port and 2. then transport them to the UK. This gives an aggressive Axis player the opportunity to conquer Paris and thus destroy these units before they can reach the UK. Often times I have seen cases were the French units make it to a port but are destroyed before being able to embark to the UK as Paris falls sooner than expected. Note that when Paris falls to the Axis, France surrenders and the French have no opportunity to launch a counter attack or run to the ports. Additionally, I do think that SC1 should have allowed for Free Brits - UK naval units that would become free brits if they were in a US controlled port when the UK surrendered. As was pointed out earlier in this post you can do this by enabling Free Brits or having the capital of the UK move to Canada if the Axis conquers the United Kingdom. [ June 16, 2004, 05:26 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

During WWII partisan units, supplied by allied intelligence operations, tied down large numbers of Axis troops in garrison operations. To create this I would like to see the Allies have the option to use Diplomatic Chits to activate partisan units in selected conquered countries. Now the Axis will not know where Partisan troops will pop up, nor when - will it be Spain, Norway, Vichy, Greece or or Sweden? If they decide not to garrison a nation they risk the chance of partisans being activated by the alliesd and the partisan units liberating the nation, temporarily. [ June 15, 2004, 05:37 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

As long as we do not have to select it "every turn

Lars, correct you could. But I think that having these 3 techs makes for a more interesting game and forces players to make choices. Or it could be that I like Civ3 and GalCiv with their multitude of research choices. Also, with 3 intelligence techs I can reflect each sides historical strengths and weaknesses in this ares - Russia (Counter Intelligence), UK (Naval Intelligence). You can't do that with just one tech. [ June 15, 2004, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I would also like to see a Counter Intelligence Tech that would reduce the enemy's level of Intelligence Tech (and Naval Intelligence Tech). This would allow you to recreate the tight security imposed in Russia vs the more open reporting available from reading the London Times. Perhaps the Russian Police State would start the game with Counter Intelligence Tech 2 and the UK with Counter Intelligence Tech 0. Now the choice is, do I invest in intelligence gathering or counter intelligence or do I forsake investing in intelligence for other areas of reasearch and investment.

I would like to see an Option for Naval Intelligence - essentially Signet that gives a player a chance to spot an enemy fleet (naval or transport unit) during his turn. This gives the Axis a chance to spot the location of allied invasion fleets and the Allies have a chance to spot the location of Axis wolf packs (or Japanese fleets in a Pacific War Scenario). This tech also recreates WWII where both sides intercepted and decoded enemy transmissions that revealed the location of a battle group or wolf pack with various degrees of success. For example At Naval Intelligence 1 a player has a 1% to spot each naval unit or transport. (essentially you spot 1 in 100 units at sea each turn) At Naval Intelligence 2 a player has a 3% to spot each each naval unit (essentailly 1 in 33 units will be spotted) At Naval Intelligence 3 a player has a 6% to spot each naval unit (essentially 1 in 17 units at sea). At Naval Intelligence 4 a player has a 10% to spot each naval unit (essentially 1 in 10 enemy naval units). At Naval Intelligence 5 a player has a 15% to spot each enemy naval unit (1 in 7 units) Naturally, the proposed Generic Naval HQ unit would give a bonus (5%?) to this Naval Intelligence Tech Spotting Chance as the work of various intelligence agencies is better coordinated and assigned a higher level of importance. I realize that few players might be inclined to invest in this tech; however, it would be a great bonus to give to the AI if the catchup bonus was eliminated. It would also allow modders to create realistic Battle for the Atlantic and Pacific War sceanrios. Or for a simpler implementation - You spot 1 randomly selected enemy naval unit per tech each turn. At Tech Level 1 you spot 1 enemy naval unit each turn and at Tech Level 5 you spot 5 randomly selected naval units each turn. A Naval HQ unit increases this by 1 unit. [ June 15, 2004, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

In the developer notes it said that this tech might give a side the ability to see the presence of units (but not their values) in a city hex or adjacent to a city hex. Excellent/Simple/Elegant idea as cities were usually where spies were based and this would substantially help the AI and newbies to identify targets of opportunity while encouraging players to guard cities in their rear. Why? With the Intelligence tech if you leave Rome or Bucharest unguarded the allies will know it. In fact, it would be good if you could via the editor, link this tech to the AI level so that at higher levels of AI the AI would start with a higher Intelligence Tech (and perhaps eliminate the catchup research bonus for this tech area?). [ June 15, 2004, 10:31 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

There have been a lot of comments about air power in SC. I think that players are overlooking the fact that 5 air wings directed against a single target will likely render it combat ineffective, in that sense SC is realistic. On the otherhand, I can't think of a situation in WWII where 5 different air fleets were targeted against a single corps or army. In that sense SC might be unrealistic.

I believe that; Armor Tech will increase the Armor Defense and Armor Attack and Soft Attack and Soft Defense of Armor Units. Anti-Tank will improve the Armor Defense and Armor Attack ratings of Infantry Units.

Many thanks for the information.

Air power was more effective against tanks than infantry? Really? If I am a grunt I would much rather be in a Tank protected by steel than in a field protected by air. Remember, that the gravity bombs dropped during WWII were not very accurate and were more fatal to unprotected infantry. [ June 08, 2004, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Here's an idea for an AI editor - AI Bonuses at each level; For example in the AI Editor allow for - Beginner - 0 Tech Chits, 0 Diplo Chits, Ultra 0%, Ultra Research No, Ultra Garrison No Intermediate - 2 Tech Chits, 1 Diplo Chit, Ultra Navy 5%, Spotting +0, Ultra Research Yes, Ultra Garrison No Expert - 4 Tech Chits, 2 Diplo Chits, Ultra Navy 10%, Spotting +1, Ultra Research Yes, Ultra Garrison Yes Tech Chits - is a bonus number of unallocated Tech chits given to the AI player Diplo Chits - is a bonus number of Diplomatic chits given to the AI player Ultra Navy is a chance per turn to see the location of all enemy Naval Units for that one turn. Reflect the effects of the enemy intercepting and decoding radio transmissions. Ultra Research Yes allows the AI to see its opponent's Tech levels and research allocations. Ultra Garrison - Allows the AI to know if any enemy units are in a country. Example - the AI would know if No Enemy units are in Italy or Canada or Egypt. Spotting is a bonus given to the Spotting Range of AI units. [ June 09, 2004, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Blashy, How many Italians continued to fight for the Axis after Italy surrendered? Just because a force manages to travel to another country does not mean that 100% will continue the fight after their home country surrenders. They might decide to go home, or they might leave their unit and get a job in their new country and of course, their host country might force them to fight or send them to an internment camp (aka Russia). I think that it really depends on the country of Origin with the forces of some countries having a greater % to continue the fight and others a lower percentage chance.

It would be interesting if the AI player received bonus Diplomacy Chits based on the AI level. Say zero chits at Intermediate, 1 bonus chit at Expert level AI and 2 bonus chits at Genius level AI.

I think that this should vary on a country by country basis, Bulgaria vs France, and there should be a chance that troops of an allied country, or a percentage of the unit, will decide to put down their weapons and go home if they are located in a foreign country when their home country surrenders. Thus you might get a Polish army unit to the UK but only 50% will remain to fight if Poland surrenders (ie unit is reduced in strength by 50% until UK player buys replacements).

You could probably create decoy armies using the editor by using one of the rarely used unit types (ie Rockets) and renaming it. You would assign it a Maximum combat value of 1 and possibly limit it to a few units (1, 2 or 3) so that you don't have a large mass of decoy units on the board. The cost should be about 25MPP per Decoy Unit. A few decoy units should be just enough to discourage an invasion of the British Isles or an early D-Day invasion or perhaps trick an opponent into thinking that most of your land forces are in Egypt. [ June 07, 2004, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

1. RE: Turkish Feint - Not realistic, but a great game strategy, much like the Allies attacking Ireland or the Germans invading Canada. But who knows, perhaps think of this as German raiders landing in South Eastern Russia where the locals really didn't like the communists. The biggest problem that Germany had in the Black Sea was the presence of the Russian Fleet, Germany lacked any warships in this area and Turkey would not have allowed the Italian Navy to enter the Black Sea for fear of being drawn into the war. 2. Agreed that the Italian AI actions should depend upon overall German strategy and that later in the war the Italian AI should respond the the effects of the war in Europe. As for which unit the Italian AI should purchase first, an air unit OR a bomber OR a HQ would be my first choice in most situations. [ June 02, 2004, 08:40 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

EV, I like your idea on winterizing but I would simplify it a bit more. Option 1: Winter Fighting Tech, maximum levels 2. 150MPP per chit. Nations with Winter Fighting Tech get a 10% readiness bonus per level during the winter months in Russia and Finland. (max 20% bonus) Finish units have Winter Fighting Tech Level 2 (20% readiness bonus during winter months). All other nations units start with Winter Fighting Tech Level 0. This can be changed in the editor. Option 2: Allow each nation to purchase Winter Fighting Tech Level 1 for all units for a one time cost of 200MPP or as you suggest for 100MPP each year. My Opinion, I prefer Option #1 as HC can use the existing game system for tech advances. The randomness of it reflects that fact that national leaders may or may not be able to convince their bureaucrats and purchasing officers of the importance of preparing for a winter war. Reminds me the case where the US army purchased supplies for the Iraqi police force, the vendor obtained the items and had it waiting at his warehouse; however, because the paperwork was not filled out properly some officer in the Pentagon had the shipment halted and requested that the whole job be rebid following proper rules and regulations. The shipment of these needed supplies was delayed by months - True Story reported in the Wall Street Journal. [ June 02, 2004, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]