Courage & Fortitude scenario 3 buggy?

[canuck97]

I wasn't able to find any further info on this in the various threads, so I hope it's okay to ask my question here: Currently I'm playing the C&F campaign on veteran and finished the 2nd scenario. In scenario 3 "crossroads" it says I can decide which road to take - cross country or main road. I played the scenario about 15 times now and always end up in the scenario "bumper cars" - regardless of the road taken. Am I doing anything wrong? According to mission briefing I should only go to "bumper cars" via cross country road... I only reach the other scenario when I lose or draw this scenario deliberately (which I don't want to do). Thanks for any hints/advices!

[womble]

I can't remember the specifics of the scenario briefing, but it's relevant to know that the branching system in campaigns is:

1. binary: there can only ever be two choices
2. dependent on the level of victory: the designer can set it so that choice alpha is activated with anything from a Total Victory to a Major Defeat, with choice omega being the result when a lower level of victory is achieved.

So it's not just the place you exit that determines the way the scenarios progress, but the level of victory. My woolly recollection is that the briefing advises against doing any fighting. Without any combat victories, if you go one way, you get a particular level of victory because the Germans have a points bonus, and you get Exit VPs for your scouting forces. Go the other way and you don't get any Exit VPs (or Touch VL VPS or whatever it is that was used to rack up Ami score), giving you a lower level of victory.

If you (contrary to your orders) defeat the Germans on the map, you might gain enough VPs to turn things round, changing the level of victory so that you only get Bumper Cars as an option. If you want to go the other way, you have to "lose". That's just the way it is.

[canuck97]

Thank you very much for this elaborate answer. That would explain why I wasn't able to get to the other scenario because I always cleared some of the houses/enemy positions on my way. But I had wished for a more detailed briefing on this because I think it's far away from being clear how that branching works in this place. 

[womble]

My recollection is that the briefing specifically advises against engaging the Germans. However, the ability of the player to foul up the victory levels is a weakness of this execution of the branching mechanic. If there was just a flat VP "bonus" for the Germans, and the only method of getting VPs for the Amis was exiting via route "A", then any deviation from orders wouldn't mess up the decision logic. Having "destroy" VPs assigned to the German units on-map allows the Amis to force a surrender or just plain kill enough to change the ratio enough to make it impossible to activate the "least Victory" branch of the campaign.