Martinov

Reminds me of a story my friend told me. His cousin was a soldier in the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) in the cold war 70's. My friend asked what it was like keeping an eye on those bastards and his cousin replied "Bloody important work, those guys would be at us in a minute if they could!" My friend replied he felt safer knowing our boys were so vigilant against the Rooshans. "The Rooshans?! Hell no! It's those Germans you gotta keep an eye on! They tried twice and you can just tell they'd be at it again in a minute if us and the ruskies weren't sitting on them!" Interesting view from the front.

Jbunnelle, I REALLY like your mod. To review previous comments: I agree, german tech0 tanks looks too flat and weird. Lets have a puny mark 1. The german tanks are the weakest link at the moment, not quickly recognisable and it feels like your icons go to fast up the tech scale (course thats probably due to the fact tech was too fast!). I'd simply use Mk1 to Mk6 profiles, rather than worry about maus type stuff. The tech2 is a bit chunky on the other hand (or maybe just to monochrome). The other area of vagueness is the rather tubby british strat bombers. The german tech3 is a bit vague, a me109? It might be better to choose a grey stuka for german tech1 airfleet to keep in theme. Maybe the sequence should go stuka's-me109's-fw's-262 to represent the decline of the stuka and the increasingly defensive orientation of luftwaffe over the course of war? I say keep the colourful icons, however I do find the ships a bit blurry, in particular hard to tell british BB's and CA's. Maybe a sharper blacker silhouette? Maybe two smaller thinner ships for cruiser units (my preference)? Or maybe a BB unit should have two ships, a BB and a CA? I quite like the italians, but maybe a more brown colour would work. I experimented with making the naval units "transparent" eg just the silhouette against the sea, it didn't really work because ship was small, and too grey to be easily visible against a dark sea. I notice your new sea terrain is light, if you enlarge the ships you might make something worthwhile, maybe even put a naval flag where the upper left corner of the counter would normally be. Lastly, I took changed hq's to have smaller flags, looks more attractive i think, have a look here; 1941 Thanks again, your mods have increased my enjoyment of this game by at least 50%. PS have you tried my transparent hexgrid? I simply deleted every second pixel in the hex bitmap. Much nicer. [ December 13, 2002, 01:27 PM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

The first is more or less true, and admittedly, there weren't many nations left by 1945, but I'd like to see stats for the army and airforce...

I appreciate your criticism & I understand what you say about v1.6 making some of the fixes superfluous & also about the possible negatives of 'cadre' units. On the whole the scens seem to be working fine though, and I believe they increase player options rather than straitjacket them. I guess one thing I'm trying to say to Hubert through these scens is "Have more confidence in your game, it works fine with a more accurate OB, so why not?"

Darn the above should be the opening deployment Look into my eyes and tell me that doing this is wrong.... [ November 30, 2002, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

Actually, its more like +30 5 factor armies not corps and +5 tank groups and +10 HQ's and so forth, so its more like +3000 points! With a couple of minor exceptions, all my changes are justifiable in terms of historical order of battle. If the game units are supposed to represent armies and a country had 10 armies in the field, it should have 10 units, if they are not there for some fudging reason, the game will be of no interest to me. My personal view is play balance be damned, with the correct order of battle the game will play like ww2 if its worth its salt. You can always alter the victory conditions to suit. My scenarios are for people of like mind to enjoy. By the way, I am happy to say that Hubert's game is living up to the challenge presented by an expanded ob excellently. And as the readme notes, the germans start with a significant quality advantage, they tear through the more numerous soviet units, weakening, weakening, as they near Moscow.

Blitzkrieg 1941 version 0.90 ---------------------------------------- This scenario features many improvements over the default campaign and should have a much greater historical feel. Advice and suggestions are welcome via the Blitzkrieg 1941 thread in the Battlefront forum. Regards Martinov. Summary --------------- - Much improved Order of Battle, especially on the Eastern Front. - Experience levels more in line with 1941 levels. - Technology levels & Research Scientists more in line with 1941 levels. - Increased emphasis on U-Boat and Strategic Bombing Campaigns emphasised. - Increased emphasis on North African Campaign The Eastern Front --------------------------- Both German and Soviet deployments are considerably more historical. In particular the Soviet Union commences with 60+ units in the field rather than 25. Even taking into account the fact that most of the Soviet forces start at half-strength to reflect their unpreparedness, this gives the Red Army much greater staying power. The Wehrmacht units start strong and highly experienced, especially the Luftwaffe. Unless handled carefully however, the strain of constant fighting will rapidly dilute this initial advantage. The Mediterreanean Front -------------------------------------- This is quite problematic in SC, as the Axis will find it almost impossible to achieve historical results due to the absence of a port in Tripoli. One solution is to start the Axis in possession of Tobruk and its port, but they did not in fact fall for another 6+ months, with many battles revolving around the city through the period. My solution is to try to recreate the complex situation around Tobruk. This places the initiative with the Axis - they can either launch an immediate attempt to storm the city, with dire consequences for their weakened army if they fail, or opt to build up their forces in an attempt to attrition the Allied forces into submission. I have set Vichy France as an Axis minor with a single garrison unit in Tunisia. I believe this is the configuration most likely to yield historical results, eg the fall of Vichy Syria in 1941, Allied landings & Axis buildup in Vichy Algeria 1942 and Axis occupation of mainland in 1944. Experience Summary -------------------------------- German Air units 3 German Land units 2 German Naval units 1 Commonwealth Air units 2 Commonwealth Ground units 1 Commonwealth Naval units 1 Blitzkrieg 1941 Scenario

Those interested can download version 4 (v0.94), this has minor ob improvements and two experimental improvements, the soviet entry is slowed (remember UK, Fr & USA are all stronger) and conquest of norway gives access to swedish iron ore without the need to conquer sweden. Blitzkrieg 1939 [ November 29, 2002, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

Yes the above posts put the finger on it. Industrial tech most likely represents efficiency, and the soviets were very efficient with their scarce industrial resources compared to Germany and the USA. I have seen this expressed in terms of tanks produced/per ton of steel/per unit of electricity. The soviets did very well in these indexes, however the USA had so much greater industrial resources overall they did not need to reach that efficiency. Where it falls down is the USA's LOW income in the game. If anything the following might represent things more accurately, USA 500 with ind tech 0 and USSR with 250 and ind tech 5.

******************** Hubert - Suggestion ******************** While I approve of the above, I have a simpler solution which would be better than nothing being done at all! Create a band of "deep sea" hexes, covering about half the Atlantic around the USA and Canada. Deep sea hexes represent larger stretches of water and all naval units can only move 1 hex per turn in deep sea. Aircraft range 2 maybe. Spotting max 1 hex, maybe fail that vs This would slow down traffic between the americas and europe and create an nice atmosphere of slow isolation in the atlantic, as ships and subs crept towards each other to intercept. This came to mind after reading a fantastic quote that characterised the difficulty of U-Boat operations "a man on a bicycle in vienna is told to intercept a man in london apparently walking in a certain direction " or somesuch.

Not that weird against a computer player! As a boardgame once pointed out, at the start of 1944 the Axis powers controlled about a third of the planet's population and territory, which had taken them almost four years to conquer, and they lost it in less than two years. This is because they were unable to convert their advantages into military power, but also because they made many "worst case" decisions- Mismanaged D-Day & Falaise, emasculated jet fighters, disaster of army group centre, abandonment of forces in baltic pockets & norway, Ardennes Offensive, Marshall Islands & Leyte Gulf. They could have done a lot better, and if they could have stabilised the russian front and held ploesti, they would have been in a significantly better position to receive the atomic bomb.

Hey Holzem...floppen Great Mod, just a tiny suggestion; on the warmap, you have blue frames for allied countries and red frames for the axis. I swapped them around and think its a lot better, Red suits Soviet Union & British Empire better and blue suits the steel iron fascist powers better, in my mind, anyway. By the way, i made two small graphic improvements; iron cross medals for germans and a nicer transparent hexgrid, feel free to incorporate those into your mod. You can get them via the link on the blitzkrieg1939 thread.

For those interested, I have uploaded the third version to the website. Evidence suggested that it still favoured the axis in human-human play, so the Commonwealth and to a lesser extent the soviets have been strengthened. As an experiment I added the Graf Spee to the South Atlantic, representing itself, its sister battleship the Deutschland and the numerous raiders at sea at the commencement of hostilities. Blitzkrieg1939 v0.93 [ November 10, 2002, 02:15 AM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

This is one of my favourite scenarios for ww2 games. The first question is what difficulty is realistic? I find computer does more than historically at both +2 and +1 advantage. I suggest intermediate +1, but possibly normal. I concur with the above view that the best strategy for the germans is to land a knockout blow on one front, thus freeing up resources for the other two. This means transferring all remaining offensive assets to that theatre. I particularly enjoy stripping all air units to one front - the enemy can't shoot down your expensive luftwaffe if there are none in the sky! It's also worth noting that this particular scenario puts the germans at a disadvantage because it starts on the morning of the Soviet DAGC offensive. While the size of this offensive took the germans completely by surprise, I believe that their intelligence services were expecting an attack and a rational leadership would probably have shortened the line, reducing the effects of this offensive. I know I would have! So I suggest that it is reasonable to edit it to let the germans move first to allow them to run like hell for a a turn or two while regrouping!

Hey its big news everywhere! Even Australia! These are exciting elections! Go Democrats!!!

Great Kuniworth! I remember you from war in russia site, or panzer general site, or somewhere....

Olaf Stapledon in the 20's sf classic "Last and First Men" was even more prescient; he predicted that china and the united states would become rival superpowers in the 21st century.

Olaf Stapledon in the 20's sf classic "Last and First Men" was even more prescient; he predicted that china and the united states would become rival superpowers in the 21st century.

Bill, well, this scenario has a catchier name! Obviously at least half of it originates from Dgaad's seminal work. I'm making an effort (hard work) to accept criticism in the interests of making an popular mod, though I really can't see the fuss about the subs or the german bombers (tell Coventry the jerries didnt have bombers! Carl, I imagine Seelowe is harder than in standard, due to the allies starting relatively stronger - the mainland UK forces have been increased by an (admittedly weak) army, a fighter, a bomber, extra prod & a research point. Maybe I will give them an extra battleship, or extra ground as per Jersey sugg.(they had considerable quantities mobilising) or maybe the RAF experience as you say. As mentioned its best "2 player". [ November 05, 2002, 02:48 AM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

I have uploaded v0.92 with more accurate French dispositions & designations if you are interested. I'd guess the Soviets just got hell unlucky with their tech rolls. The american play sounds disappointing, but I can't imagine it had anything to do with the scenario, you mentioned sealion, maybe its not yet designed to cope with fall of the UK. I have been quite impressed with the AI play generally, especially compared to other games. If you remember, let me know Italian entry date, I'm tossing up whether I've tweaked them to arrive a fraction late.

LOL. Thanks...I wrestled with that one, but couldn't remember!!! French army deployments need tightening up too!

Thanks for the feedback. I made the scenario with 2 player games in mind, but interesting to hear. I'm really pleased with results from my recent 2 player games actually - very nice. I haven't touched USSR entry so thats due to the game. I rarely see Denmark & Norway invaded, maybe the computer is doing it more frequently due to extra forces, and maybe USSR is responding? Against a human the U-Boats still struggle, so I think tech 3 is best for them. I'll probably return sonar to its default of 1 - I mistakenly (?) thought it affected chance of targeted subs diving, but apparently it only affects the ship's defence strength vs subs? I'm glad you agree with 'intrinsic' research, I've gone for the formula 1 per nation, +1 if USA/USSR due to late entry for simplicity, and to minimise deviation hubert's original, but I can see the reasoning behind your allocation. I can see the german +1 jets logic too, but as the germans have gained +1 experience across the board I don't want to overpower their air units in france.

Hmm, well, I will defer to the small but vocal minority...I daresay you have more experience with the game...I'll keep the german bomber though, it remains puny compared to british numbers and bombing tech, and if it encourages a little bombing of england, it has served its purpose. v0.91 German U-Boat technology reduced to 3 US & USSR intrinsic research reduced to 2 points each.

Thanks. I should have noted that the Luftwaffe "medium" bombers start at half-strength to represent their "fledgeling" capacity. The introduction of this unit encourages at least a "token" battle of Britian. No apologies for the "drastic" attempt to improve U-Boats! They are *crap* in the standard game, and these changes...maybe...make them a viable option. The increased research should be taken in context, 4 for the Soviet Union seems high by itself, but by the time of the German invasion the Nazi's probably have 6+, and by then the russians certainly can't spare resources to build more. Perhaps its overcompensation, depending on feedback & more games played I might drop it to 3 per US & USSR. Mind you, the Soviets start with 2 normally so I have only increased their research by 2*12*0.5=1.4 levels a year. Introduction of the 5-4-3-2-1 solution will basically solve the problem anyway. Lastly, computer opponents should be on +1 difficulty, which I imagine is usually the case anyway. [ October 31, 2002, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Martinov ]

Hi. I have created a "realistic" 1939-45 campaign scenario, as per the details below. Hope you enjoy it. Advice welcome. Download via: SC Blitzkrieg 1939 Scenario Blitzkrieg 1939 v0.9 ------------------------ This scenario gives players more strategic options than the 'standard' scenario. The order of battle is more historical and there is increased emphasis on the North Atlantic & Strategic Bombing campaigns and the battle for North Africa. The Commonwealth and French are significantly more numerous, while the Germans have an advantage in experience (tactical skill). Each nation has a basic research ability, quite large in the case of the USA and USSR, in order to better cope with German tech-rush. Many ideas come from Dgaad and others. Comments are welcome via the "Blitzkrieg 1939" forum thread. Regards Martinov. U-Boat War ---------------- Allied sonar tech reduced to 0. German sub tech increased to 4. Atlantic U-Boats reduced to half strength. Additional U-Boat in Kiel Shipyards but both half strength. Bombing Offensive ------------------------ Allied bombing tech increased to 2. Additional Strategic Bomber in UK but both half strength. Research ------------ Commonwealth, France, Germany & Italy commence with a basic research establishment of one research scientist, while the USA and the USSR enter the war with four to represent their peacetime buildup. Commonwealth ------------------- All Commonwealth land & air units start at half strength to reflect ongoing mobilisation, except Gibralter. Canada and Iraq start as part of the Commonwealth. +HQ "Wavell", Army "8th Army", Tank Group "Western Desert Force" & Airfleet "Desert Airforce" in Egypt +Army "BEF", +Corps "X", Airfleet "Fighter Command", in Great Britain +Cruiser in Gibralter -Carrier in Liverpool -Canadian Corps France --------- All French land & air units start at half strength to reflect ongoing mobilisation, except 1st Army. Armies deployed in the Maginot line start fully entrenched (level 8). +6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th Armies +1st & 2nd Alpine Corps on Italian Border +Tank Group "DCR Heavy Tanks" +Airfleet "2nd FAF" Soviet Union ---------------- Heavy Tank tech increased to 2 USA ------- +5 entry to make entry date more historical Nazi Germany ------------------ All German units start at experience level 1 to reflect their superior doctrinal & operational advantage at this stage of the war. All German Corps and Western Front units start at half strength to reflect ongoing mobilisation. +HQ "Kluge", +Airfleet "Luftflotte III" and +4 Corps on Western Front. -2 Corps in Berlin & Vienna, +1 Tank Group and +1 Corps in Slovakia on Eastern front. +Bombers "Luftwaffe Heavy Bombers" +Battleship "Bismark" half-built. Fascist Italy ---------------- -15 entry to make entry date more historical. Misc ------ Positions of some units moved. Polish Southern Army & Warsaw garrison entrenched.