Liam

July 14th: Hungarian Corps is destroyed by French Armor. Relentless shore bombardments reduce a Luftlotte to strength 5. France will fall soon, 3 defenders left

German army destroyed, deathblow delivered by Lancasters, Luflottes pounded by having airbases to close to coast, French suicidally inflict heavy losses upon the Invaders...

June 2nd 1940: Romania Prepares for War, again Pro-Socialist Riots have brought across another Balkan to the Grey Banner. France has been invaded fully, 1 Brit Corps dead, some deadly blows by the Royal Navy and French Navies collectively ( French Fleet known as the #1 Ace in the Hole for the Allied Side thus far during this war ) against German Forces on the Coast, as they've taken the Coastal Route in... French retreat to around Capitol Germans have tech

May 5th, Weather cleared I expect to see the Wermacht

UK Fleet happily joins the Royal Navy somewhere in an unknown destination, in preparation for a Major Operation, you know us Limeys, always making big Operations? Usually ending in Disaster we'll need Ike to straighten out a real D-Day.. "Jolly Good Chap!" Minor Skirmishes Sweden gives into Allied Pressure not to sell Ore to that Behemoth Germany.

Dec 3rd, Snowfall, brings the Allies a much needed rest from the toils of War. the previous year has been all Axis.. We now wait in the West for the oncoming Storm, after the weather clears of course!

November 5th 1939: Status Report in the East, Reds have aided the Axis and divided Poland with a Non-Aggression Pact, Hungary has joined, situation is bleak. Prime Minister Chamberlain dismissed... In the West, No action thus far. Aside from a U-Boat Raider sunk by French Navy. We did in and prepare for the inevitable.. Western World holds it's breath

Warsaw is abandoned, Polish forces do not have the morale to fight back, so they flee in diseray. Germans will conquor Poland this turn.. however, the Polish Airforce in defiance takes a lucky shot on a Panzer in the South... German disorganization costed them in taking Warsaw and Poland the previous turn. In the West a German Corps is smacked on the N.Maginot to strength 4. a Sub South Atlantic Region knocked down to 2 attempting to escape the death jaws of the Royal Navy and combined might of the French Navy Weather turned bad now back to good.. Allies pray for some Winter for mobilisation purposes... Hungary is at 96%

1939: Poland is crushed, two panzers outskirts of the Warsaw, French and UK Navies mobilize. One more turn the Polish Armed Forces haven't inflicted much of any damage... Maybe 2 or 3 strength points ALL over Italy is warned to remove her boats from Tobruk/Crete Area blocking the UK Navy or face possible War! Socialist Movement in Hungary! Ought oh! Going to be a tough game I can see

I'm Allies, he's those Vile Axis... Long time no play, I've never beaten Ranger and this is my first Allied game and his 3rd Game Period... Here we go.

technically speaking you would be right Lars, Crete would effect, Eastern Med Supply, Malta Central Supply and Gibralater Western Med... However not sure HC wants to get that detailed.

Interesting, it seems to mainly hit those areas they definitely know will be Axis Occuppied, the damage regardless is sufficient. Personally, the supply disaster of Libya and Egypt makes the conquest of North Africa quite a delay. You do not need to spread it any further. I have been held up actually at least 7 or 8 turns waiting to get up enough supply to kill Egypt off ALONE! Of course the guy I was playing didn't realize this and it was good for me, I just waited and waited till I had enough supply to crush him. It was down nearly nothing most of that time

I haven't gotten to play as much of the game as I'd like sadly. I've been very busy the last 30 or 40 days, haven't had 1 single match since the the new versions, I do know this much.. it's the opponents not the game in this case that enrich it, houserules are no big deal, we had them in Axis & Allies and as cheezy as that was it was entertaining

I like how SC is nonpolitical. All wargames are really. I notice how a lot of people bash people like Rambo for sharing how he feels, when many secretly are overly defensive due to the fact it's a pretty touchy subject. Big German group on-line and many of us Favor Playing Axis. I personally enjoy the Position of Plunderer, Conqueror, and Germany gives you that feel. It is supposed to be the underdog who outplays the Huge Allied Giant Conquors him and rapes his neutrals, carves an Empire and End Game.. Rambo is a bit of an extremist but what people don't acknowledge it's not all trash talk. He needs to tone it down to be understood is all. Banter doesn't achieve much. In World War II the General German didn't have much love for undesirables. I know because I know people that lived then and were in those uniforms, whether they were SS or regular Wermacht soldiers. Given, not everyone in Germany was a hateful spiteful Nazi..though many many were and the general feeling was of disdain toward Jews, Slavs and Bolsheviks<pretty much same as slavs> It is something ingrained in the German, paraphrazing a book I just read, "it's like crap in a toilet, that you keep flushing down, but the water keeps rising up." In regards to the Germans activities during the 20th century. I know people who're young and from all nationalities who still feel the same way. Inbred into them by their parents. So ingrained into them, it's not unlike how many White Americans feel toward blacks and other minorities. I notice all too often we left off the Wermacht as the Noble fighting men, and indeed they stomached some HELL. As did the German People but sadly they brought it upon themselves, thinking they could just keep conquoring and conquoring. The ideologies in the mind of many of the Leaders of the Wermacht were not planted their by Adolf they were already there. This is hard for many to take but a fact. And probably one of the greatest atrocities in history. Maybe up there with the Wiping out of the Native American Population of the United States, not all of that was deliberate however and originally the intentions of the Settlers. I thought this should be addressed though frankly and honestly by someone who really does know and has experience in the area. In fact I'm near a proffessional in this area of knowledge.. "I'm certian with some research you can find the extent of the Average German's knowledge of what really went on! They were no dummies, Germany was made up of THE Brighest minds of the 20th century!"

Having played a few tank simulators, some of the most realistic in existence. I have found that a tank is a very difficult weapon to master. Simple at first, much more so than say a Aircraft..We all understand the feeling of driving a vehicle, but not all understand the concepts of aerodynamics.. Regardless, you always have the feeling in a tank, that you're blind in some ways and easy prey for any infantry that wish to flank and destroy you. Also you're very vulnerable if your vision isn't good and your as you mentioned here, do not have a 6th sense on the battlefield. Once you understand the concepts of controlling your tank and placing it on the battlefield, you have to understand the pros and cons of it. Really is deadly if you are a good marksmen but also a slow and cumbersome weapon. As you can see, any decent TankBusting Aircraft can end your life in moments. Plus Anti-Tank guns are very hard to pick out if they're properly camouflaged. Any Tank Commander should be applauded it's a very dirty job, all that nose, oil, rough ride, it's hot in there. Not a fun place to be. When we crew up tanks on-line, it's always a joy for me to control that massive firepower though, All those brissling Machine Guns, that Huge Cannon and the fact that noone can penetrate my Armor besides ATGS, Heavy Guns or other Tanks. Tank to Tank Warfare is about manuevering and firepower.. ambush even.. The intuitive feel for it gives you all the advantage, That and a very very good armor piercing Gun that fires accurately. This is likely one of the more difficult jobs in the Army.. though there are worse, you're locked in, strapped in so to speak into a fight to the Death once engaged with another Tank. You must kill him before he kills you and unlike a Fighter you cannot escape in WW2 Terms at 400 MPH in a dive. WW2 Tanks were very rustic weapons, whenever you see on T.V. on Brits talk about their Tank Commanding Days, you can see the scars on their face, German Tanks were awesome. However, they were outdone by British and American Airpower and the fact there weren't enough of them to prevent an onslaught.. In the end 1 good TankBuster is better than 3 or 4 tanks... and 3-4 Shermans outdid 1 Tiger... Regardless, I'd prefer be in a Tiger

ROFL, I didn't say totally random at those points, I said the triggers random enough where you cannot say that between October and November if I play the game exactly like this, you've got a Barbarossa. More like, between June 22nd to Feb '42. Hitler was one thing Lucky, he consulted Astrologer for some of his decisions, the Nazis had a firm belief in the Paranormal. They chased the Holy Grail In all reality do you think a group of men who believe they're descended from Tibetan SuperMen from Outer Space are really going to succeed in a realistic War?

Maybe but obviously it didn't make any difference? Like Hitler ignoring Normandy for Calais, Stalin seemed to ignore the threat altogether by the losses I have heard stories there were hidden roads from Russian territory into German occuppied Europe, and that the Reds were planning their own offensive. Regardless the Reds were caught with their pants down Rubbish - there are records of VVS units requesting permission to intercept these flights and being refused. There's even one sequence of photos from a German photo-recce plane that shows a Sov fighter (an I-153) directly underneath it in several frames! Stalin refused permission to attack them because he was afraid of "provoking" Germany! </font>

That's just it, I'm not saying take things to the extreme. Though a subtle change would allow for room for a person to explore each and every SC2 campaign. I for instance playing you know that I want to put 4 chits, 3 chits there... in the first 5-10 rounds. You're going to play me friend and by the time Barby hits I'm going to simply smoosh your Reds and you won't know what hit you. Even if I ignore pretty much ever other Theatre, because I just know how to arrange my HQs, Units, etc.. and I know how to keep the Red Readiness down there so I can pump out the maximum Grey Units to kill 'em. There is no chance in hell either way you will be able stop me, in 10 games you'll beat me once? Why? Because I know this chessboard better than you, and 9 out of 10 xs Terif will beat me for the same reason.. This is not Chess, look at history, there was some chance factors.. Hitler didn't add up, Hmmmm, "Paris gives me so many MPPs, The Axis Minors, Balkans, Scandanavia, that leaves me enough cake to kill off the USSR before the Brits and USA can hurt my flank." Did He? He couldn't calculate what exactly would happen he had to guess, but it doesn't have to be pure chance, the guess can be a good one.. and the result doesn't have to be as dramatic as Dice.. Even though I'm certian with the dice variably in the combat and tech aspect of this game if it were removed Terif and players like him would never lose a single game A little bit of chance in other areas other than combat and tech would be nice, there is already but not enough is what SeaMonkey and me are saying just enough to spice up a Campaign.. just so they cannot be calculated, because are you calculating anyways if I beat you 9 outta 10 xs? Wanna put it to the test sometime

If you want to model the USA, it's very simple, for D-Day she just needs a Million men, 3 or 4 Armies, 1 tank, 2 or 3 corps. 2 HQs Bradley and Patton... maybe Eike in the Isles with 2 airfleets 1 Bomber that's about accurate More importantly would be about 50-75 MPPs to Britian per turn in supplies

SeaMonkey, The Reds never knew exactly what was on the Border, look how Barbarossa Buildup Went. Germans flew longrange missions into the Soviet Union for finding Soviet Airfields. The Reds never knew of these missions. What triggers Red Readiness should be say 7 Random possibilities in regards to Polish border: 4 units may or may not trigger the 3-4% per turn Maybe it will require 5 units this particular game randomely, maybe it will require 6.. Maybe 6 will be too much and 3 is all that is required. Maybe any amount triggers a 5-6%, and maybe making Russian readiness invisible without say Intel Tech 2 or 3 would be nice as well! This would do away with the requirement for Bidding for the Axis that will soon take place as Terif figures out the perfect Axis Strategies and men like him. Randomely Percentage may Rise anyways because of Stalin's Paranoid Mindset Soviet Spies with Intel tech capture Germany Officer and plans are released making a 5-10% per turn? (not an impossiblity) after a certian time period These are wild ideas a bit, maybe more mundane triggers are better but regardless making them invisible makes it impossible for me to say that in Sept. I'm going to Smash SeaMonkey's Russians.. When I find out in July I have Reds preparing for War.. It makes the perfect Axis Strategy a little imperfect, flexability must be taken into account. We all follow the same routine usually, break it.

It will be something complex to program but that is precisely the point I am trying to get across. We all feel this way because after the initial discoveries you want some more.. though SC2 is very detailed and will take a long time to Master completely.

It was not luck, it was intel far superior to the Japanese had the Japanese known we were there, Midway could've been a disaster. Total defeat in the Pacific would have costed untold American lives, The Japanese could've made peace and signed an agreement with the USSR after Germany was defeated and D-Day may have been delayed due to fear of loss of our Pacific Possessions. Midway is a Classic we decoded your crappy Intel and we are going to make you pay for your arrogance.

P.S. A thought folks.. As in Europa Unversalis II which is an RTS game, you see when you sit down the feel is still a strategy/economic/political/wargame..Tactically it's less detailed than SC2 but SC2 is modelled after WW2 and that game is modelled after A time Period. Once you slide into the cockpit you have to basically have all the events, leaders, triggers, etc... known to you or you will not perform up to par. You have to know your opponent and you are not allowed to surrender unless truly defeated we have a ban rule for weak and unreliable players. SC2 is a learning curb you sit down and study the book and boom, you're a proffessional. CopyCat what Terif and what everyone else does, and what we would go as far as to do is make the Events invisible, random completely. Maps, Capitols, everything.. It never changes the basic feel though. And in 1 bad manuever a SuperPower can be reduced to ashes that isn't something that can happen so easily in SC2, a smaller game, oddly. There aren't as many wild swings.. You'd have to make several bad choices to doom your country usually. Or More You do not have time because of the RTS factor, to go back and double check scripts. To calculate everything, you have to use some gut instinct which I like about Wargames, I do not like calculations and though I've used them I was one of the Top EU2 players outta 500... Though in SC my intuitive abilities weren't as good, good decisions didn't neccessarily pay. Understanding of the Engine was essential in both We should not know that 4 units will stop Russian Readiness by this amount. That's not historical? What is about it? That is something can be changed, Convoy Routes do not always follow the same path do they? Nations do not always surrender just because their Capitols fall. There is so much less intuitive about SC than there should be. When I sat down into my EU2 Chair, before it became Passe, I played guts and intuition and beat out guys with Scripts because I could feel right move and use a fairly decent knowledge of the game engine. Now SC is not in any way RTS on any level but still that's my point any understand basically you're not rewarding by playing the game as much, you're rewarding by repitious math and not even being in the SC2 Multiplayer Enviroment totally different story in EU, you don't play you will suck..which is what hurts EU some...not entirely

Gorgin, I'll break it down into layman terms the way that things are setup, means that the game is going to go exactly this way if I do exactly this and there is a percentage chance of another thing happening the way I am speaking about doing things which is implemented to some degree, is a level of random history. I.E. Pearl Harbor doesn't neccessarily happen, because maybe the USA War Readiness is too high due to German aggression, so IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED the way that it did at least... And etc... for about 20 - 30 other major events in game and minor ones are endless... means that we can make the game more fun by adding more random history. Random movements... Which it is to a degree but Terif can tell you above the exact MPPs he'll get for conquoring Denmark, probably down to 15-25 MPPs with Plunder of 3 years! What if I make it random Civil UnRest in Denmark or Random Plunder, Or Denmark joins the axis? What do I do to his Math and to other's who don't want to play the game but want to crunch #s? I'm not saying taking it to that extreme but you understand now, That many of the events of history are not represented and are random in SC2 anyways it's not a 100% accurate recreation of WW2 it's made to be close, but randomness is a factor of WW2 that we're not using that would make the game funner. We can make Small changes like Russian Readiness Triggers, change them into different sets per game randomely so you cannot use Scripts to decide the decisions to be made. Ultimately you choose by Guts, luck, and relatively levelheaded choices.. Rather than PRECISE Math which it is now, to a degree...

That is fundamental with any wargame and great advice. I have sat in a poker room with 6 bucks and turned into 300 in one NIGHT! Because I was patient, I have also sat in a PokerRoom with 250 over everyone's small stacks and dwindled down to 0 because I was inflexible and upset. However SC does not have the Chance Variables that Poker does especially No Limit... I'd say chance in No Limit poker is huge but in SC quite different.. If you follow a set you'll win, otherwise Terif wouldn't win 95% of the time... Poker luck is like 90% that is why the same players do not win 90% of the time. more like 5-10% of the tiem... Also they can afford it now say in EU2 you've got more variables, and soon EU3 Johnny Rambo gets Randomely placed in Russia while I'm Poland and Terif in Brandenburg. By 1800, I'VE GOT UBER Reds and UBER Germans and my Poor Poles are their Thralls by scripted event and the fact their flanks are covered by weak players I won't name Plus Terif happened to pick an economic nation, and Rambo an Expanionist Country, so both hit well. Meanwhile my Poland was a Diplomatic Warmongering Country that didn't suite me well. However, there is a twist and turn here I can reach out and smash Terif in his infancy without Skill, with some luck with combat Rolls, who Knows, perhaps his classic Generals are lesser than mine early Knowing this is in the script I will kill him before his budding nation can Flower. Then he gets France and Venice to aide him and Rambo to kill me, a gangbang because he uses politics.. Slightly different interaction but knowing the Scripts the Files, I know that if I do not kill such a potential Threat I will in the end be destroyed or his little Girl... Meanwhile same for Rambo, an Uber Expanionist with my Territorial Interests must be kept in Check It's checks and balances basically, and too much one way makes it out of whack, and out of balance. The Random qualities can give someone Like me a second Chance to kill Terif even if he GangBangs me the first time though. In 20 years I can repair my economy and I can hypertech, and convince the little girls in France and Venice to aide me and perhaps I know the scripts are the Times of Troubles for say Russia so I'm kewl with Rambo busy trying to put down revolts.. Now you see the complexities this is a 2player game, that'll change later.. But you're locked into Axis & Allies I feel that there is a need for a random quality to the Historical feel.. I can Print out Scripts too.... and follow them like a guidebook, that's a prerequisite in EU2, we have about 400 years of Scripts we use, leaderfiles, historical files, our opponents files... about 200 pages worth in one game.. Kinda boring? Well, it certianly can be fun, even the random event scripts are reviewed in order to know what to do if they should arise... But the Random events in a Historical few years war like SC2 requires an element of Historical switch in my humble opinion where one plan, one strategy. Like say Industrial Tech and Production doesn't ensure an Allied victory if it hits... it didn't, historically similarly, Tigers, The most Powerful UberSub Fleet maybe doesn't garauntee an Axis victory in 1940..especially if she plays like a little girl with neutral War Readiness Start Points over the map, noone knows how these countries might've reacted if it had been Sunday in Copenhagen and the President was with his Mistress whow as a German spy? Perhaps a Random ASW Event, reflects a Scientific Breakthrough Perhaps... because the Allies are research hardcore Industrial and Production Techs only, their War Readiness stales because the nation is on isolationist mode for the USA.. Stalin loses it and executes off half his Army... LOL All Viable? LOL Which is ahistorical anyways but done?