Strategiclayabout

Hi back ^^ , - AoD games terminated because of the patch but as promised, here is a small update about China situation though it's less relevant with the new changes. - Two games were trailing behind but by the end of 1940 (sorry, stupid me deleted the screens): * one had the Japs surrounding chinese (first) capital in the south * the other had the Japs breaking the defensive line at the city just to the east - The most advanced game saw the worst case scenario with China nearly wiped out by summer 1941: 1) overall Feb 42 situation 2) Summer 41 offensive in northern China 3) Winter 41 battle of Hwang Ho river 4) Feb 42 China has 10 land units left - What was the most surprising, was bad supply/morale/readiness for chinese units (inf tech lvl 0, unlikely in most games) in the north allowed my experienced japanese infantry (elite steps and inf tech lvl 2) to roll over fortifications and entrenched units without even using air power or artillery (though I had them ready to attack)... - After that, "only" two HQs/army groups (around 12 units on the frontline) were enough to push back KMT each turn. - I hope this feedback will be of help !

- Spotted another funny tile corner at Madagascar near Antsiranana ^^ : - Also I noticed that Belgian Congo is axis territory after the fall of Belgium while it declared itself for the exile governement in London (May 40). So it should side with Allies by event .

Thanks to both of you for the AAR, it was nice to look some turns ahead of my own games .

Ah sorry I misunderstood ! - One way around would be to put more tanks in the production queue at set dates thus decreasing the tank pool at normal cost for 1942. * - We have 10 possible tank units to build from the availability date plus 2 already in the production queue (nov and dec 41, say the siberian tanks) so 12 as a total. - USSR created 7 main tank units for the war (assuming 2 game tank/mechanized units for 1 historical one) as following: summer 42: 3rd guards (may), 5th tank (june), 1st guards, 4th tank (july) winter 43: 2nd tank, 5th guards (january) winter 44: 6th guards (january) (I know several were disbanded, recreated, renamed and armies other that these had quite some tanks but let's keep it simple ) * - So we can: 1) put 6 tank units in queue (4 for january 43, 2 for january 44), leaving 4 in pool (not upgraded and not full steps since soviet player won't have to buy them) That dent in tank pool would simulate the loss of production due to factory transfer for 41-42. 2) keep tank availability date at january 1942 - Soviet player will be able to produce 4 historical units for summer 42 (4 game units) at normal price but not at full strength (4 game units instead of 8). Bringing those new 1942 tank armies to "full power" (8 game units) will require extra MPPs (soft builds) or limit early soviet tank spamming (hard builds). Hope it will help your thinking .

Haha was just answering it . Anyway, it's only my opinion: I didn't play as many games as developers or testers so I'll be fine with what you decide .

Maybe this can be made as an event ? Give the choice to the player: 1) to get tanks early but not full strength (half ?) and without upgrades (may 42 option) (meaning all production is sent to the front "out of factories" and "without paint" as rumoured in some instances ) or 2) later with all upgrades and steps (september 42 option) (meaning organized tank groups as the creation of tank armies in July 42) - 1941 production for T-34 was around 2,500, and above 12,000 in 1942. Also, tanks mustered for 41 winter offensive were around 3,000 (half coming from Siberia) when soviet 1942 spring offensive at Kharkov barely had 1,500 left. So I think it would make sense to have that choice and each side will be happy .

- Isn't that fine ^^ ? I mean german units won't be able to operate for a while, they will also lose some movement ability and in difficult terrain they'll have to cluster around HQs to be in supply. - By the end of 1941 the front is quite large so Germans won't be able to have HQs to cover everywhere. Actually, soviet winter offensive made big advances when Germans retreated/left holes in their lines and went deep in the rear. Where Germans defended in organized hedgehogs there was only limited gain and Soviets had to bypass them.

Playing the new 1.04 patch for gold. - I just noticed in march 1940 (axis, email multiplayer) that Germany can build artillery rocket and V units from the start. - Was it designed that way (to have people invest in rocket research ?)? Before we had to wait before buying those units. Because Allies are in trouble given the power of rocket artillery alone (2 deentrench x3 shells + demoralization), especially with soft builds option .

I think it's somewhere between B and D . Maybe make the Soviet Winter effect drop all axis supply sources in USSR to 0 when it strikes ? You'll have a clear choice of maximizing your offensive power as long as you can or sacrifice late/last 1941 blitzkrieg turns to prepare defensive lines.

You're welcome . Another minor thing: (France has fallen, Vichy is created, Spain is Axis), the two small land tile corners near Casablanca are shown as belonging to (France Surrendered ->) Germany.

- AGN truly is miserable, I hope Hilter won't ask those poor guys to defend Kurland to death... - At least there is some hope in the south where holding the defensive line behind the Dnepr may allow to put some units in reserve and redirect spare troops to the north... Who will save the Reich ? Manstein ? Model ? Guderian ? Maybe Stalin himself ?

So many red units... Maybe Germany should have been more flexible with defense at least in eastern Ukraine. I also think concentrating panzers to deal with the threat from Crimea would have been interesting to shorten Axis' front in the south. Now even a retreat on the Kiev line will be dangerous. Well done Hyazinth, well done .

Hi , Can't remember if the similar issue between Germany and Italy has already been spotted: the Vienna-Milan rail is fine but the road is cut by Switzerland border so you have to pay/operate units to cross the Alps or force march them (not possible for HQs).

Hi Big Al, do you know this one for UK ? http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Ops-Minelaying.htm#1

You can consider they are deliveries from USA and about doctrine of use, they are limited in research capacity and MPPs so you won't see chinese tanks level 5 any time soon .

Thanks for the comments everyone . Seems that second HQ in the south in pretty popular ^^ . I'll toy a bit more with China and see if I can think of some better defense. Maybe a different use for fortifications or even full retreat from the start on some fronts. @ Hubert: I'll keep you updated for mid-41 and mid-42 . I agree it's still early, no need to balance anything yet !

@ abukede: - There never was a chance to save enough MPPs for that, China had to repair units constantly to avoid a disaster. @ Bill101: - I don't think China has enough time to fortify critical tiles with only 1 engineer. I usually select the 1 edge/2 corners fortification, the 1 corner one doesn't take long but is easily flanked. I find it good only for mountain tiles or when enemy contact is limited to 1 tile corner. - Here are screens from 3 ongoing games: 1) I play Axis (pic 1) may 1940 chinese central front is gone and the southern one, well, see by yourself... 2) I play Axis (pic 2-3) december 1939 chinese central front barely hanging, all fortifications destroyed 3) I play Allies (pic 4-5) december 1939 chinese central front ok because Japs didn't push but further south they just rolled over one of the fortifications and chinese forces can't even kill a no upgrade infantry division Chinese managed to take back Canton because it was empty - So I welcome any opinion on that ^^ .

Hi , I noticed several things here and there while playing: - Paris' tile being the only one "frozen" in France (pic below). - Port submarine defense is 0 ? Quite easy for subs to kill ships in ports. - China seems very weak, only 1 HQ in the south, no rail under control between northern and southern fronts to transfer troops. Central and southern armies will probably be wiped out by the end of 1940 in my 3 ongoing games (2 axis 1 ally).

Quick answers: - There are ZoCs but not for single units ! Any land tile with two enemy units adjacent will cost 2 AP more . - I'm still toying with subs so i'm not sure where they stand yet but you get many of them for free as Germany and if you hit sub technology level 2 (free research chit at start) before they come out of the production queue, upgrades for most of them will be free. - Also, by targeting main naval lanes (Canada, India, Australia), you can kill around 20 MPPs a turn by convoy, that's huge. So best case you can "get your money back" for a sub in less than 10 turns. And that doesn't count the possible damages to allied ships ! - However, if you target a multi-convoy naval lane there is a chance your sub will only hit a small convoy with less than 10 MPPs. - Subs won't win the war alone but at worst they can buy you time by slowing UK development .

Summer 1943 ? Feels like it's already 1944 ' . Sheer numbers are favoring Soviets so much I have to congratulate Ghost for not being demoralized . It's true there is still ground to give and somehow I expect a very strong defensive line being prepared near the polish border... P.S.: @ Ivanov, well done managing those red masses .

- I also think Malta should surrender/be evacuated if Axis takes both Gibraltar and Alexandria because UK troops there would starve very quickly. - I agree that if taking only Gibraltar reduces Allies supply in NA taking only Alexandria should negate Malta effect or at least reduce it a lot.

Hi sanderz, my own answers , 1) Yugoslavia: - Yes, usually it's not worth to invest in diplomacy at that point, better take the plunder and XP while securing your southern flank and opening a way towards Greece. - If you invest from the start you have a chance to bring them on your side (actually you only need to reach 90% since they'll prepare for war after that) - One detail: 1 german diplo chit gives 5% chance to get a diplomatic hit but the result of that hit is usually more than 5%. 2) Diplomacy main targets: - Spain, especially to protect Italy/Med by going against Gibraltar, they start already high on axis standing and will gove some good units and MPPs plus a base against Portugal and North Africa. I also think there is an event with the fall of France to help bring them on your side if you decline Vichy or something. - Turkey, to invade Caucasus and ME though they start at 0% so it's quite an investment, even with some events to help. They will gove some nice units and MPPs. - DEI, to avoid consequences of US oil embargo and they start at 25% axis standing. They will give many MPPs and some interesting units while freeing up jap units for other operations. Other targets: - Sweden, depending on your situation and your decision for Norway's mines can be an interesting bet starting at 25% and having several ressources. They will give some units but not being connected by rail to Germany, you won't have their industry working at 100% for you and you already have an economic convoy ongoing. - Algeria, after Vichy event, they should start with high axis leaning and give some units while allowing you to defend better against a "Torch" operation by Allies. - Major countries, USSR or US to speed up or slow down their war entry. Other than that, you can still target other countries if you want to try some exotic strategy. 3) France: - You have to take Paris. French units have very low defensive stats so combining panzers and aerial support with good HQs usually is enough to break any resistance as long as you keep your main forces concentrated. Don't hesitate to take some losses, what you need is speed. 4) France's defense: - You can use some naval units to defend ports but they will be targeted by enemy air attacks so you need at least one fighter around. - You probably can't cover everything and you'll have to take some risks whatever you do. You'll need some kind of reserve to deal with surprises. - You can use axis minors units or Italians to fill the gaps if you need german units somewhere else. Keep an eye on partisan tiles as said above. - In 1941 or 1942 as well as during bad weather turns/seasons, enemy offensive threats will be lower so you can take more risks by having less units in France. - Watch England coasts and enemy moves nearby with active aerial recon (flying over) or passive recon (if you have long range upgrades and planes close enough). - Remember you can also trick your opponent by leaving some tiles empty and waiting in ambush for improvised landings. 5) Japan builds: - Depends on your overall strategy, if your priority is navy, better build some CVs early then other ships with lower building time. - If you go for land and air power, you can do with what you have for Pearl Harbor. Not building CVs early will only limit the number of objectives you can attack simultaneously. - Waiting to build expensive units also gives you a chance to save MPPs by researching production technology or to have spare ones for diplomacy. 6) Vichy: - Not sure since I havn't been there for now but that's how it worked before: you needed to take Algiers to get the french plunder if you decline Vichy. Hope it will help .

Thanks Hubert , After reading xwormwood post, I think the CTD happens when the set pathpoint comes out of the screen when scrolling. As long as you still see the pathpoint onscreen it seems ok.

Hi ^^ , Playing AoD Multiplayer by Email, WaW start. First turn as Allies, when I tried to move the french cruiser near Bordeaux I got a CTD (see pic below). EDIT: I tried to reproduce the error and it seems to happen when I hold CTRL to set a pathpoint for the ship and then scroll the map to reach the tile I want to put the ship on. It seems to happen for all ships.

Thanks for the offer Moon . I'll take it since I have to save money for SC3 .