Grotius

I agree, HOI has improved quite a bit with 1.02. I just finished a game as Australia, and Japan played more or less historically: did well in China, invaded the Phillipines, took Indochina (well, after rebuffing a French offensive from Vietnam), took half the Dutch East Indies, took Guam and Wake and some NZ possessions, and at game end duked it out with me on New Guinea. I held Port Moresby -- barely. Mostly I played badly: spent way too much time researching useless techs, didn't build enough units, miscalculated techs I needed for a CV, etc. The campaign in the west was a bit less historical. Germany annexed Austria and Czech fine, and it rolled thru Poland and the Low Countries, but it got bogged down on the French border. Franco invaded southern Spain, and then the French counterattacked and conquered Spain! In fact, France ended up with half of Europe and half of Africa. The USSR declared war on Germany in 1941 and conquered it in May 1943. My favorite "fun" moment: when a New Zealand cavalry unit showed up on the Maginot line.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Thanks also for the comments about Malta; they reassure me that I'm not crazy. BTW, Norse, in my first game, I did "solve" the Med problem with Sea Lion. But even against the AI, Sea Lion was not easy, and it would be very difficult against a human. The Royal Navy is daunting.

I posted this in another thread, but no one took me up on it, so I'll try again. I seem to be the only Axis player who has trouble winning in the Med. Well, to be more precise, I usually run out of time (vs AI +1); by the time I'm done with France and Denmark and whatnot, the Sovs are breathing down my neck. But even if I do have time, I have trouble figuring out how to win in the Med. E.g., how does one invade Malta? Two air units plus the Italian fleet aren't enough to dislodge that British air unit, and you can't land there (or can you?) until it's gone. As for the eastern Med, does the Italian navy outnumber the British? I haven't yet played as the Allies, and I use FOW, so I honestly don't know what I'm up against there. As for Egypt, I guess one must land an HQ and a number of land units in Libya and march east. As I say, I'm usually too busy with the Russki to do that. And what's the advantage of taking Egypt; some MPPs, yes, and access to Iraq? So, any advice for the *Axis* in the Med?

One more dumb question. How exactly has research strategy changed under the new patch? Industrial Tech is worth less, I gather? I have a related question about Industrial Tech. I still invested in it and made level 2, as well as Tanks/Anti-Tank level 1. My infantry/tank cost is about the same as it was at game start, presumably because the advantage of Industrial Tech is offset by the extra cost of 11 (as opposed to 10) combat factors to build. Right?

Okay, I guess I'm the resident idiot, because I've never taken Egypt or Malta as the Axis. I'm currently playing as Axis, against Allied AI +1, and by the time I'm done with Denmark, France, the Low Countries, and Yugoslavia, I've got the Soviets breathing down my neck. I just run out of time; I need all the forces I can muster in Russia. Even if I did have the time, I'm not sure how to go about it. I can't transport a land unit to Malta until I remove that Allied air unit, right? Well, with 2 of my air units and the Italian navy, I still can't dislodge it. Am I missing something? I gather the next step -- if I had the time and forces -- would be to engage the British fleet in the eastern med, then put an HQ and a few armies and corps in Libya, then march east. Except my Italians have trouble with that British fleet. So I guess I'm the lone, clueless Axis player who doesn't win in the Med. (I have beaten the Allied AI, though this is my first game under 1.06. And no, I haven't tried PBEM yet.) What am I missing?

Great thread. I'm an old fart too. My first wargames were AH's "Gettysburg" and "D-Day"; I played both as a kid in the late 60s or early 70s. Then on to AH's "Luftwaffe", "Third Reich", "SquadLeader", "PanzerBlitz", "PanzerLeader", "Wooden Ships Iron Men", "1776", "Tactics II", a WWI game whose name I forget, plus a few titles from publishers other than AH: "Sniper," a Vietnam game, a couple others. I played all these in the 1970s. Then a decade-long hiatus until I became an ASL fanatic in the early 1990s. Played ASL for years, competed in AvalonCon once (went 3-2, not bad for a newbie), played ASL by IRC and FtT, bought every module, went nuts. (What I would give for a real computer port of ASL!) Then computer wargames and computer games arrived, along with kids, and I found it easier to manage silicon units than cardboard counters, which attract the destructive hands of toddlers. And the PC offers an always-ready AI opponent. Oh, and I beta-tested Third Reich PC (don't blame me if you didn't like it!) and Operation Crusader.

Yep, I too would like to try a world-wide version of WWII. OK, much of the map would be kinda quiet, but who cares? The old DOS game Pacific War had some of this scope, and I loved it.

Hello fellow generals, I'm playing this game nonstop; it's great fun! I still haven't played a game through to conclusion, though; I've got about 4 in progress. <grin> So here are my questions (and yes, I did a search on 'victory conditons' in this forum before posting): 1. The manual implies that the only way to win is total victory. Is there also some 'partial victory' option? Does the game end in late 1946 or something? I thought I read that somewhere, but I can't find anything like that in the manual. <rubs eyes> Of course, I've been staring at this screen so long, who knows what I missed... 2. If total victory is required, I guess that means invading the USA, as another thread implies. Right? 3. I read one thread suggesting that heavy investment in subs can make Axis subs quite effective in the North Atlantic. Anyone try this? 4. Once the USSR surrenders, its partisans seem to disappear -- unlike those in Yugoslavia. Is that right? Do I have to continue to garrison all those Soviet cities? 5. Anyone made successful use of rockets? I bought one detachment and was dismayed at their short range -- 2 hexes. (And drew immediate air attacks from the Allies.) I guess you've got to invest heavily in rockets to increase range. Does the range go up one hex per level, to a max of 7? Seven would be useful... Thanks!

Thanks for your reply; you answered almost all of my questions. Anyone else have advice on how to handle Malta and the Med? And when/whether to invade Norway if you're playing the Axis?

Well, I'm pretty new to the game myself, but I have twice conquered France before the Russians get involved. Go through the Low Countries; don't assault the Maginot Line directly. I know it seems like one-hex-a-turn in that crowded little corridor in the Low Countries, but once you capture the capital of the Low Countries, things open up. Use air power to whittle down units at key points. Encircle the enemy instead of assaulting it head on. Buy replacements for your troops; don't let them die. Heh, for all my great advice, it does take me longer than it took the Germans historically. The AI may not be perfect, but it is quite capable of putting up a vigorous fight.

Hi all, I'm thoroughly enjoying SC, but I have a few questions: 1. As Germany, I start with a couple of U-boats in the North Atlantic. They have fun intercepting some shipping, but sooner or later the Royal Navy chases after them and whittles them down. Is there anyway to get the subs to a port to resupply them and bring them replacements? Not that it's a large priority; I'm just wondering whether they are destined to sit out there for the whole war. Even after the fall of France, they can't get by the Royal Navy to reach a friendly port. 2. Along the same lines, what is the Italian to do about that pesky air unit on Malta? Naval bombardment is ineffective (or worse), and I assume amphibious assault is out of the question. 3. More generally, what if any Axis/Allied objectives are there in the Med? 4. For the Axis, is it worth conquering Norway? If so, when? By the time I was done with Poland and Denmark, I was itching to visit Paris, so I skipped Norway. Do you all attack Denmark/Norway while still busy with Poland? 5. Any advice on how to conduct an amphibious landing? An HQ would seem to be essential, no? In my first full game, at one of the harder difficulty settings, I conquered France and then conducted Operation Sea Lion -- an invasion of England. OK, call me a dope; I just felt like it. <grin> It took me a couple of turns to realize that I'd need to land an HQ to keep my units in supply, but even then the HQ only kept them at half supply or lower. By then I'd lost my momentum. (Not to mention my fleet and half the units I tried to transport. <g>) Also, invading England seems to tick off the Russians. They declared war on me in mid-1941. Heh, gotta love fighting a war of attrition on the Eastern Front while trying to capture London. I did get a few cracks at London before I gave up. Call it Operation Sea Lion Cub. 6. I kinda wish there were some way I could butter up the Yanks and the Russkies with diplomacy. Any way to do that? 7. Is there any place to download user-created variants? If not, any general advice on what variants are fun to make on my own? Thanks!