Wargo

Nokturnal, the answer is yes, you can have two home computers running with the same license. It shouldn't, but if the above attempt gives trouble, you ought to be able to "unlicense" the SoW guide on one computer and install and license it on your other.

I appreciate your point, Broadsword. I do hope the guide does end up serving the bright intellectual segment of the audience. Considering the widest possible spectrum of players interested in this game, a good number of them probably have enough curiosity to have read deeply about WWII; but one can imagine most of that reading centering on the ETO, or post-Normandy (as was the case for me) without nearly the same solid feel for the unusual combat and events of North Africa. Or some may be so casual in their gaming interests that they wouldn't have bothered with the library card, you're right... I can't imagine that that crew would appreciate this guide, though. In the end, it's sort of a nuanced discussion to have; but I think it's safe to say Battlefront gamers tend to be on the more serious end of things in their fixation and focus, and well-read. That's who we had in mind for the guide. Anyway, we truly hope SoW feels full enough add heft to the "bookshelf"; it's definitely not trying to replace the other histories altogether. Regarding El Guettar, have you read the account by John Patterson? http://sill-www.army.mil/famag/1990/OCT_1990/OCT_1990_PAGES_31_34.pdf I'll post over in your design-thread when I have a moment... It sounds like the German commander on March 23rd was trying to inspire awe in green American troops with a frontal attack and (as in the earlier battles driving toward Thala and Tebessa) walked into the teeth of Allied batteries that outranged his own mixed forces. I'm not sure the "hollow square" is relevant as much as the underestimation of the strength of Allied positions... Allied guns are indeed close to being overrun by German infantry but have just enough distance (and timed shells) to hold them at bay. And one has to keep in mind how grave the situation is becoming by this point for the Germans: Rommel has already exited the theatre for good; the loss of 30 more Panzers further dooms an already doomed cause. Maybe this general is trying to play a strong bluff to his advantage (inspiring a rout?) but it seems to have failed badly, and represents a rash, desperate order, where both his troops and tanks end up caught in the open under artillery fire. I think Rommel's mistakes (at least in February) are more subtle and fateful. He splits his forces too often; there isn't adequate reconnaissance for the left flank with Buelowius; he doesn't account for the length and duration of his armored thrusts with enough fuel and ammo. These are comparatively tiny mistakes that led to catastrophe.

Regarding printing out, there's a folder of text files that contain the full content of the articles. So if one is interested in having these articles in hand, all that's involved is opening the folder and printing off each article or those of interest. The folder is Battlefront/Strategy of War/_article For our part, the guide has never actually been aimed at casual gamers or young people (and I'm not certain there ARE many TOW2 players in those categories); from the beginning its content has been aimed at (believe it or not) grogs. The heart of the guide is its description of the battles and the ability to see the position of units on the battlefield. From that info, a player can begin to assess--with an understanding of German combined arms tactics--what was working for the Panzer divisions and what eventually undermined them, battle by battle. Broadsword, you represent a kind of gold standard to us in terms of serious players who approach this game, with an extensive library already under your belt (and likely your own experience). I can understand that the guide is a kind of recitation of known concepts for you; I appreciate the depth of insight in your posts, rooted in knowledge of this era of combat from literature covering its history. But the guide is not meant to fall too far outside the interest of even players like you and others. I wouldn't suggest that those who have read An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson would be bored by the guide--quite the opposite (I hope). The guide aims to synthesize quite a number of details: detailed maps, briefings of the battles, Panzer tactics (which despite their seeming simplicity are quite a bit more detailed than the illustrations that Panzer crews would have had in hand themselves) and interactive views of the hardware. The "clickable" battlefield views alone are not something that would be possible in a traditional book-based guide, so that's where we're coming from with this approach. Broadly speaking, this guide is aiming to offer quite a bit more than what is traditionally found in black and white strategy guides.

Glad to hear it, Thadius. No plans have been made for the Centauro expansion yet; definitely would be fun. The Italian forces are lightly addressed in the current guide (more in terms of their tactics and combat before Feb. '43) but without specific attention to their tanks and vehicles.

Hi Txema, I'm Scott (from Leonis Software) and primary creator behind the SoW Guide for Battlefront. I just wanted to offer that I'm happy to answer yours (or anyone's) specific questions about the guide... Regarding your question about the texts, those purchasing the guide can indeed print them out for reading on the beach or for some light tactical reading while eating cereal, etc. It's not so much a "main" text but broken into several chapters -- all of which are listed by subject on the Battlefront site here. I'll exempt myself from a critical discussion for obvious reasons. (Completely up to our forum members and I will stand clear) ... But I will say I hope the SoW Guide has caught the eye of ToW2 players and, broadly speaking, anyone interested in the North African fighting. It's the object of a LOT of careful research into the battles of Kasserine Pass and how they unfolded, blow by blow; we've studied many of the best histories to capture the full storyline of each battle, down to the individual commanders calling the shots. And the guide offers deeper discussions of Panzer tactics, doctrine and the hardware at hand in 1943, exploring these items in more than a diagrammatic way with high-res 3D renders and many interactive elements. I hope all of this will help TOW2 players approach and more fully understand the mechanized tactics and the unusual aspects of this period of fighting. That's been our goal.