lesterpartridge

I mostly like SC, at least the demo that I've played several times. But, there's a few things that stick out that makes me hesitate about purchasing the full copy. #1 - Subs' costs seem way out of proportion to their effect. On an average turn, it seems like 1 sub can take out 5 MMPs from the Allies. But, 1 sub costs, what is it, 350? Subs seem way too easily found by Allied ships and, as an A&A player I found this espcially odd, subs are vulnerable to fighters. I know SC isn't meant to be a true historical simulation, but IMO, the sub's cost and vulnerabilities don't justify purchasing this unit. Perhaps subsequent releases of the game will make subs harder to see on the map or something. And, I would think Germany would start out with more than 1 sub in the Atlantic. Historically, the Uboats were devastating, but I can't see that this is reflected in the game very well. #2 - There doesn't appear to be initial relative strengths of units. AS a test in the demo, I had Germany to declare war against the USSR, and was surprised to see that all Soviet units start out at 10. And, I was surprised to see how many units the Soviets started out with! Looks like Russian units would start at 2 or 3 and then gradually get stronger. #3 - National MMP income. It seems a bit out of kilter that the USSR gets so much money right after getting into the game. Perhaps MMP income should grow in increments the longer you're engaged in war, with certain combatants, like France, Germany, and UK already at 100% of their MMP. Other than these things, SC looks like a fantastic game, even though you can't stack units in a hex, or organize simultaneous attacks on a defensive stack like in the old Avalon Hill games (which I guess would be point #4). There's a number of things I adore though - making use of armor's mobility, seeing the hex colors turn your particular shade, not having to buy troop transports, operational movt (very cool!), and the economic dimension of the game - the more you conquer, the more you can buy - reminds me quite a bit of Axis & Allies. Overall, very good game.