abukede

Winter has complicated the German advance. It's now February and I have managed to form a new defensive line south of the border along a river complete with anti-tank units and the odd garrison unit. I do not expect my line to fare well once the weather turns. Both low countries have surrendered... most likely giving Al around 200mmp each. He has not touched Denmark or Norway yet. French morale has fallen rapidly. I think I am below 40%. I honestly do not expect France to last much longer before she surrenders. The remnant of the BEF is holding out around Dunkirk... and dug in. They will most likely be evacuated in the coming turns when the Germans break the French lines. UK strategic bombers have begun bombing occupied ports, reducing their ability to launch an invasion. The UK has deployed a number of Destroyers in the last few turns. (which is a relief as I do not know where his sub fleet is operating.) I will be getting many more shortly due to lend lease. It's shaping up to be a very interesting match.

Winter slowed things down slightly. I expect a German push next turn. France is in a bad way but I am going to try to drag it out as long as possible. England is preparing for invasion. Russia is making more cash due to Germany not honoring the Pact. i.e. readiness is up and increasing. Stalin I think is still angry. Not much I can do at the moment other than try to slow the tide and prepare for future action. As I told Al this turn it will be interesting to see what he does after France falls. He spent a lot of cash operating his army across Germany to get an early strike and improve future strategic options. Will it be worth it? He could easily have invested the cash in new units and tech and walked his troops back to the West. Will he start the war in the East early? Or... Wait and build up? Pull off Sea Lion? Either way he is forcing both Russia and England to invest heavily in building up large ground armies early.

Actually... France will likely fall quicker due to my error. I assumed a longer lead time and planned builds accordingly. The French army is very weak.

He has caught me flatfooted in France. France is not fully prepared yet and the BEF is not fully deployed yet. I think I will keep the remainder of my British forces in England. I should have expected a fast drive from him but did not expect him to waste so much cash operating his army back from Poland. (Huge expense.) You need that money to prepare for Russia. On the flip side... it may not be wasted cash. He's going to crush France rapidly and then will have time to either prepare for the Russian bear or go for England. I think he will have a tough time with England. If he does attack England... it will give Russia the advantage in the East, especially since he did not honor the pact. Russia's army becomes huge fast.

Al will post his thoughts on he last turn but while I have a moment he took Poland on turn two and failed to honor the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This infuriated Stalin. No other beta tester has taken this route against me yet. I am wondering what implications it will have for him. In another game... Germany took Lithuania and paid for it by early war. Note that he took Eastern Poland

Just a note for everyone. Al is an excellent player. He and I have a rivalry that goes back some time and he is one of the few who have beaten me badly. He is also gunning for revenge from our last WWI game. I managed to surround in a pincer movement the bulk and flower of the Russian army which then took 5 turns to destroy. (Yes WWI) He really wants revenge. So expect an cut throat game. We have never played each other the WWII campaign so it will be interesting to see what happens. He thinks out-side the box and focuses on speed. Turn 1 for the Allies. My opponent hammers Poland very hard. I’ve played against numerous players who all approach Poland differently. Some use Poland to build experience. Others just want that cash as quickly as possible. Al is focused on speed and hammers Poland hard bypassing many large concentrations of forces to go right for Warsaw. He destroys the Warsaw garrison unit. (Yes… a new unit that you will quickly grow to love) He does not have the legs to take Warsaw on turn one. I manage to operate in a weak Corp, move an artillery unit in for support and also an HQ but my other units are now isolated and can not react in time. I also hammered him with Polish air. He was too far forward for German air cover. Sometimes a risk worth taking. This time it paid off. Poland falls on the next turn. One other thing... Poland is a major at the beginning of the game. I actually think it's pretty cool and allows the use of unique units, including cavalry.

"whip cracked" back hard at work.

Wolf, I am pleased to you enjoy the show. Thank you for the feedback I really appreciate it. The next episode is set to record on the 14th. The audio engineer who does my recording is out on tour. SeaMonkey and Bossy... I can tell you things are moving in high gear. We are working very hard on the campaign-... well playing hard to be honest. I actually have 2 turns waiting in my inbox at the moment. We recently had a new beta patch with lots of goodies and tweeks. (another is expected this week) To wet your appetite... Game 1: French morale collapsed very rapidly (early) and essentially they crumbled before I was ready giving my opponent an opportunity to possibly invade Britain or better prepare for Russia. I hammered French ports last turn with British air and moved the Royal Navy South to make sure the first possibility would not happen. On the upside I launched an early invasion of Libya and expect the UK to force Tobruk to surrender. I did spot German air in Libya... so Rommel is likely on his way. Game 2: I am shortly expecting the invasion of France as the Allied player. Poland put up a valiant and tough defense dragging out surrender by 1 turn. One of my Polish cavalry units managed to get in behind one of the Germans main thrusts (they bypassed him) and limit supply enough that the Polish Corps, artillery and HQ holding Warsaw was able to hold out 1 more turn. I am seriously concerned about France as I do not expect them to last long. We're getting there.

The WWII campaign has changed drastically since we first started working on it. The joy to working with Hubert and Bill is that they actually listen. Honestly, I can not count the items, additions, scripting alterations, etc. that I’ve suggested that they have managed to include and or improve upon. (and I'm just one of many beta testers!) When you sit down and look at all of the changes, suggestions and ideas that have been put forward and included since we began working on the campaign it's staggering at how far we've come in such a short time. There is a lot of content in this game that you will not have seen before. Having played around 15 multi-player games and around a like number of single player games I personally think that the campaign actually redefines the series and makes the campaign the premier strategy WWII game out there. I know... big words but let me tell you this campaign is a joy and at times a nightmare if you've planned wrong and the enemy catches you unaware. The size and scope of the map is awesome. At time you just sit there studying the map… thinking… “how am I going to pull this off?” The invasion of Russia is daunting and as the German player everything you have done up till that point is easy as making cupcakes. You have to actually 'think' and plan out your attack well in advance and carefully... the Russian player has to do the same defensive wise... it's very tricky because the size of the front is huge and you don't know where your opponent’s strength is hidden or their objectives. You also can not cover every point at once… so you need to focus on objectives/drives in specific areas. A couple examples of what you can do: I've launched an offensive as Russia against the German player (who thought I was on the ropes and done) I had planned an offensive against him carefully and on the first turn of the drive I smashed 2 armored units, an army and 2 corps. The following two turns I continued my drive with an advance that threatened to envelope several armies of which he was barely able to extract them with heavy fighting on both sides. This offensive forced him to pull units away from other areas and saved Moscow. In another instance I’ve smashed through the lines with powerful armored units and encircled 4 German armies and corps, which were reduced the following turns. A real joy! Italy is also fun to play as you actually have strategic options and can project some power. In short the game play is similar but has a completely different feel due to the size of the map and capabilities of the units. It is addictive as hell. You start playing and the next thing you know it’s 3am and you’re wondering where the time has gone! Now, I don’t call the shots but I can feel us getting closer to release week by week. Be patient… this campaign is well worth the wait.

We are all working very hard on it... getting it ready.

Supply in North Africa is affected by British control of Malta. If you don't like it as the Axis... you can attempt to take it... which requires a full combined assault including naval bombardment. The time it takes and resouces to take the island does limit your operations elsewhere but if you are serious about Africa then it is a worthwhile objective for better supply. A good time to hit Malta is right after you conquer France or in the first winter on the East. When playing Axis... I usually prefer to take the island. However due to the size of the map... and operations elsewhere you have to stretch your resouces to their max and leave nothing wasted. Supply in this game is critical. You really have to watch it as you can advance well beyond your supply and then you are vulnerable to counter-attack. As to what Snow said about suggestions... Hubert and Bill are hit with them constantly... many are really awesome ideas but due to limitations on time and resouces not all can be included at this time. I'm sure there are days we drive Hubert quite mad. The beta team really loves the game and a good majority of us have been playing since SC first came out and we are all hardcore fans of Hubert's work... so I know he tolerates with patience many of our off the wall, wacky and sometimes engine changing suggestions.

Alaric... I think each SC game is unique and fun. I can tell you that so far the new WWII campaign is by far my favorite. It is currently under heavy and I mean heavy playtest... content is constantly being added and adjusted to get it to the right feel. Hubert and Bill really listen to the testers and are fun to work with. Due to the size of the map the strategic options for objectives are really amazing. Here is an example: Due to the extremely large front sizes on the East Front... you at times usually over winter agonize on where your enemies next main offensive dirve will be... you can tease your opponent at times into thinking you are going to strike in one direction when you hit somewhere completely different or if you are on the defense you worry about how to blunt the enemy offensive and or keep units from becoming surrounded as you fall back. There are times on the East Front where no one holds the advantage and you have to be extremely careful not to make a mistake that tips it in favor of your opponent. North Africa has a lot more fighting room... and the battle for the Med has much greater significance. Losing Italy can be catastrophic for Germany. On the other hand if Italy and Germany win control of the Med... very possible... the Allies can quickly get into trouble. Great fun so far and with each week the game improves.

You all are going to love the WWII campaign.

Yes it does.

I can tell you we are playing the campaign in beta test right now and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The ability to punch a hole through the enemy line, manuvere on a grand scale with armor, surround and then destroy large pockets of the enemy is terribly fun. At times... when invading Russia you are a bit daunted as your units continue to advance and advance and there is still more territory to take and hold... all the while fighting small battles with an ever strengthening Russian bear. The battle for North Africa is good fun too... lots of room for manuvere.

We can't all have Royals.

Today is April 19th... and 236 years ago today the American War of Independence began at a small sleepy village called Lexington. My how the time has flown by.

Blackcat, Victory involves a bit more than that. I am playing a game with another Beta tester. I am Germany... it's late game... Germany has 4 arty at level 2 with 4 experience bars and Gas 3... Germany is slowly being constricted as the Allies have achieved the near collapse of A-H, Turkey, Bulgaria and Germany is being pushed out of Belgium. There are other ways to win.

I hope you enjoy the show.

Besides... Hindenburg really needs him on the East Front... would be a shame to give him his own command.

Please see the massive thread up above. Look for Moon's directions for a manual install.

If you would like to match up for a pbem game... email me at marc@2centhistory.com I do warn you I have been playing the game for months... and have yet to lose. If you want to learn the game quickly and have fun... email me your preference for side. Best regards, Marc

The next epsidoe is finally up! In this episode we see the Battle of Lexington unfold with Captain Parker's militia company formed as a challenge upon the Green. A shot from an unknown shooter kicks off the American War of Independence. I hope you enjoy. A lot of time and effort went into this episode. My website is finally up. You can find the episode there at www.2centhistory.com

National Morale makes the game much more interesting. Not only do you wage war with units in the field... but I find myself actively working toward wrecking the enemies will to resist.

There are a "lot" of changes. Without revealing too much... I will let Hubert do that... effectiveness of your combat forces is now affected by natioanal morale allowing you to wage another dimension of warefare... to affect your opponents in ways you could not before. It's actually quite fun.