Maverik
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Posts posted by Maverik
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Just don't place the fate of the free world on my shoulders! The way I play, we'd all be speaking German!
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War at its worst, fought by men at their best. Think that’s from a movie, but sums up the war. If you look back on all the talent and bravery that was wasted in a terrible war it makes you think. How many men who were destined for greatness ended up bleeding to death on some battlefield somewhere? How many Einstein’s died in camps or bombing raids?
Perhaps one day Humans will stop settling their differences by smashing in the brains of their neighbours.
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I still think America is a little underpowered. Please note I said a little, I don’t subscribe to J.J.R.s theory of legions of supermen that America could produce. But in saying that, I thought the Force pool limits were to reflect a nations ability to produce in accordance with it’s manpower? I think that if America wanted to, it could have produced, maintained and supplied far more tank corps than Germany could have dreamed about. I think the figures for America were over 100,000 tank chassis produced (over half were Medium types), Germany produced less than half this much and many were StuG types (about 20%?) which were not fitted with slew rings. Likewise America produced nearly 300,000 aircraft of all types, German figures were less than 120,000. Granted, a considerable amount of this equipment was sent to allies who provided the crews, but couldn’t America have kept and used this if they wanted to?
To solve the American lack of troops/production problem why don’t they transfer assets after the fall of Japan? I don’t know what the ratio would be but I imagine that America could transfer a considerable number of troops, ships and planes to the European theatre after the fall of Japan.
On top of that, those units would have experience which would make them quite formidable.
I like the inclusion of transferring assets if Spain joins the Axis. But what about a script where Japan does not attack America? This could result in a much later American involvement in Europe, but with far greater industrial power and more units.
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The game comes into its own when playing against another human. I have spent many nerve racked hours pondering where to open up second fronts. Trying to establish troop positions and worrying about whether the Leningrad garrison will last another turn.
I think Tigleth Pilisar has summed it all up with his review and I agree with Retributar that it should be fixed as a sticky where people could see it. ‘Hubert’, are you listening?
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Lars,
If Malta was neutralized then why did the Axis feel the need in April 1942 to drop 6,728 tons of bombs on it? Quite a sum when you consider the island is only 17 miles by 9. To place this in comparison, 18,000 tons of bombs were dropped on London during the entire blitz. When you add the total tonnage of bombs dropped on Malta during the war, it is actually greater than what was dropped on London.
For an unimportant little island, the British submarines operating from it accounted for:
A million tons of Axis shipping.
3 Cruisers
30 Destroyers (57% of Italian fleet at the start of the war)
This doesn’t include the various surface engagements and operations by aircraft that also resulted in losses.
The aircraft operating from Malta had less success due to the constant air raids (an average of 170 enemy aircraft flew over Malta each day between December 1941 and April 1942). The British always knew that Malta would have difficulty operating aircraft or ships if the axis made a concerted effort. This did not become a reality until the Germans lent support to the Italians.
This brings home the point I was making. As this is a game of investment return. Surely the allied player wishing to invest heavily in Malta (Battleship and air fleet) should see a return. The Axis player who invests heavily in Spain (by either diplomacy or conflict) and then takes Gibraltar gets the result of having a 40% chance of reducing Allied supplies in the Med.
Lars you said the British had a supply line of 13,000 miles, which is true. Yet they managed to supply their troops. The Axis had a much shorter supply line and could not get supplies through. Although there is a certain truth that Rommel did not receive reinforcements / Tanks / Guns etc, the real problem was fuel, which his army needed in large quantities (this need was magnified by the poor infrastructure in North Africa). The Italians sent many tankers most of which didn’t make it. Although it is true that most of the Italian big ships sat at home, they did provide destroyer/patrol boat escorts to most convoys. Despite this, British Submarines and surface raiders still got through (i.e. the Malta effect). Perhaps instead of making the effect free, it should rely entirely on placement of assests?
I see what Blashy means about having his Italian fleet out ready to fight, which is another point. In most games the Italian fleet is out fighting and not providing escort to supply convoys!
I just feel that the Mediterranean theatre is currently missing one of its most important features…supply!
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I think Malta should have its affect increased by the placement of a fighter and more so by a bomber. Likewise, having a ship such as a Battleship or Cruiser or aircraft Carrier would further increase the likelihood of successful interdictions on axis supply. This would raise two options for the axis
1. Attack Malta with everything he’s got. This would be expensive for the axis and the Allies but worthwhile for the Allies as it buys time.
2. Ignore Malta, as they did and put up with the supply problems hoping to still pull it off.
I would imagine most players would go for option 1. But it would make it more interesting as apposed to what happens now, which is just ignore it, as it doesn’t really make any difference.
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The Italians kept their entire navy intact and couldn't keep Rommel supplied.
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Blashy,
I was referring to Spain taking Gibraltar as part of an Axis strategy after taking France. I suppose an early D-day is the only way to counter that. But while you are building up for D-Day the Germans have IW3 AT2-3 HT3-4 and are pushing into Russia from the south will all the lovely MPP’s from North Africa.
If you are playing a good Axis player it’s difficult to do a successful D-day before Russia is on it’s knees. Plus if you time it wrong and can’t get a Russian offensive at the same time, the Germans are able to trade blows in France while holding the line in Russia. This can lead to a disaster in France for the Allies.
I don’t see any problem with Spanish diplomacy as such, I’ve held off Germany before, but the reduction in the Malta affect and turning the commonwealth troops into German cannon fodder makes it almost impossible to hold Egypt against the Axis. I think this is a little unrealistic and doesn’t reflect the difficulty for the Axis in supplying their troops in North Africa. Malta is still a ‘tough nut to crack’ as one opponent said to me recently, but it valuable contribution is almost non-existent.
The fate of the German merchant ship Hans Arp, with 500 tons of Rommel’s gasoline…sailed for Benghazi...followed by two destroyers with more gasoline…the tankers Giordani and Sirio were each berthing at Tripoli with several thousand tons of Gasoline on the seventeenth and eighteenth. With this target list thoughtfully provided to the enemy code breakers, the enemy submarines could hardly miss…The next day Waldau wrote in his diary: ‘All the tankers have been sunk. How R. (Rommel) is going to keep moving now is a mystery.’
(David Irving, Rommel: The Trail of the Fox 221-222)
The problem for the Axis was that the allies had a naval base placed directly in line from Italy to the battlefront. I think the Malta affect as been reduced to much. It would be the equivalent of an entire British army sitting in German supply lines as Germany invaded France. Although a determined German Player should be able to still take eygpt it should not be the walk over it as present. There should be some sort of script that takes into account the number of Axis units in Egypt. The more there are, the lower the supply. As it stands at present the equation for taking Egypt is 3 Air Fleets, one Army, One Corps, One HQ and what even Italy can throw in to absorb damage.
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I can’t see anything more important than holding Gibraltar for the Allied player. Once Gibraltar is gone it’s difficult for the allies to hold Egypt. This is complicated by the reduction in the Malta effect. Most Axis players can storm through Egypt now. Even if you transfer troops and the air fleet from Britain, the British can find themselves kicked out of the Mediterranean very quickly once Gibraltar is gone.
But then again, even if Spain doesn’t join, it’s still dicey. This is even more likely now the Commonwealth troops have been reduced to minors.
If the British do get kicked out, the only real way of opening a second front against the Axis is to land in Tangiers. This is a lot easier if Spain is Neutral. Perhaps someone can give some tips on how to counter this, but it seems to be the way of most games I’m playing a present.
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SeaMonkey has a point but I don’t think that the American and British allies were quite as cooperative as you might think. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIH_syndrome for a good explanation of the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome. Read the section on the Harrier to see how complicated it can be for allies to work together and share.
Everyone knows about the British special tanks or Hobart’s Funnies. If I remember right they were offered to the Americans but as they were NIH not used.
But in saying that, there should be some sort of cooperation bonus in research for the allies. Although as SeaMonkey says this might to the allies working in tandem on technology but I think it would fit. After all the British bombed Germany at night because the bombers had less armament and the Americans with their B17 and 24’s which had better defensive firepower bombed by day.
Axis minors were equipment with obsolete german equipment so I think 2 tech levels behind would be good, but perhaps at a slightly higher cost to reflect training, maintenance etc.
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SeaMonkey has a point but I don’t think that the American and British allies were quite as cooperative as you might think. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIH_syndrome for a good explanation of the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome. Read the section on the Harrier to see how complicated it can be for allies to work together and share.
Everyone knows about the British special tanks or Hobart’s Funnies. If I remember right they were offered to the Americans but as they were NIH not used.
But in saying that, there should be some sort of cooperation bonus in research for the allies. Although as SeaMonkey says this might to the allies working in tandem on technology but I think it would fit. After all the British bombed Germany at night because the bombers had less armament and the Americans with their B17 and 24’s which had better defensive firepower bombed by day.
Axis minors were equipment with obsolete german equipment so I think 2 tech levels behind would be good, but perhaps at a slightly higher cost to reflect training, maintenance etc.
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When I get bored I take a red one and a blue one at the same time and see which one wins!Originally posted by aesopu:Someone foget his meds
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Is anyone having trouble with axis supplies now the Malta effect has been reduced? I don’t see any point in placing the bomber there now as the axis air force just makes mincemeat out of it.
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The "presents" though should be higher than they are (IMHO), and the amount should rise as the war goes on (someone mentioned Spain joining after D-Day?). The Spanish economy was in ruins from the civil war, and joining they axis would have meant being completely dependant on Germany for oil – the US would have cut them off – and Germany had its own oil problems.Originally posted by R.J.:</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by SeaMonkey:
Franco wanted attention in the form of resources...
If he(Franco) had been wooed by Axis presents...
Every US state (about 20 so far) that has had a ballot initiative to constitutionally ban ss marriage has passed by a wide margin – from 60% to 40% in the most liberal states, to 87% to 13% in the most conservative. What part of that could you possibly construe as most people? If it wasn't for out of control "we want to impose our values on you" lib left judges reading spurious "rights" into constitutions in the first place, there'd be no need to amend them. </font>Originally posted by Blashy:I totally disagree, most US Citizens (55-60%+) support gay marriage...
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46 years old and never had sex? That's a long time.Originally posted by Desechecs:46, Virginia.
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Male, 32. British Ex-pat living in any country without an extradition agreement with the UK.
Likes: Chicks with guns and long walks on the beach
Dislikes: The wife’s cooking
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Will the patch affect current PBEM games?
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Blashy,
Very true. History is always writen by the winner.
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Hey! That's my wife!
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Or an option to buy beer for the troops?
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I used to play the computer version of Third Reich and I found the abstact way in which the battle for the atlantic was handled was very good. You simply assigned Subs (for the German) and escorts (for the Allies) and the computer worked out what got through. If that could be added you could still buy subs/ships for normal game operations. That would add to the game, without taking something out.
The same could be done for the strategic air war, although Airfleets at present represent fighters/tactical bombers, I would like to see them seperated. This could be done with an absract strategic system. Then again, perhaps I just want to have stukas to play with.
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I don't have ICQ but my email is jtdt2003@emirates.net.ae and free for PBEM
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Dam, I must have missed the cut off time as I still don't have confirmation.
The Demo is driving me up the wall with it's small taste of things to come. The game looks really good, lots of possibilities, I even got Spain to join the Axis before the demo ended one time! Ace work to all those involved.
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Moon,
I've placed an order, how long does it normally take to process? Will I be allowed to DD after the processing is complete?
For all you "I want to beat Terif" players =)
in Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg and Weapons and Warfare
Posted
Thanks for the warning - when I play I take 10-15 minutes over a move vs a human player - I play by "seat of the pants", and I'll always get beaten by someone with this level of micro-understanding, so there's no point me playing him! </font>