Andreas Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Thanks to DPhelps my CMBO scenario Into the East, an 11,000 points armoured bun-fight between Poles and the W-SS is now available again on the new scenario depot (under the link above). This was my favourite CMBO scenario of those I designed for a long time. Here is what others had to say about it (spoilers possible), again a great thanks to Denny for keeping the review page on his hard drive: Reviewer Geier Briefing Quality 10 Replayability 6 Date 2001-08-08 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 6 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 8.50 Review This is a damnably hard scenario. I am playing the Germans which are defending and already during setup there are several tough calls to make. The allies has difficult terrain to overcome while the German side has limited resources. It clearly shows the difficulties of pinpointing and destroying the enemy in forested terrain. A few notes regarding the grades: Replayability is a bit low since the allies will have a huge advantage knowing exactly what they are up against imo. If you want to play against the AI, I suspect that you will have to play as the Poles. Played as a double-blind pbem scenario, this is a challenge to anyone, regardless of expertise. I could not recommend this more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer mrcobbler Briefing Quality 7 Replayability 6 Date 2001-08-11 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 7 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 8.17 Review A really great PBEM! As the attacking Poles, you won't believe it's this tough to roll over the Germans. One shock after the other as the turns go by; make your best decisions on the fly..... It says 'medium' map, but plays extra large! Best PBEM I've played in six months. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Treeburst155 Briefing Quality 4 Replayability 0 Date 2001-09-02 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 7 Website Force Balance 10 PBEM Playablility 0 Overall Rating 7.75 Review Don't play this one blind as Allies. You could lose before you begin. This detracts from the enjoyment of a scenario for me. Opposing setup zones are too close together. I prefer a few turns before I'm under the gun. Sour grapes? You bet. Author's Response 2001-09-16 Well, I am not sure which part of the set-up you refer to. I thought the Polish briefing makes it very clear that there has been contact, and a closer look at one of the POlish units should make that clear too. This scenario sets in at the point where the proverbial has hit the fan There is going to be a problem if the Polish player moves from default set-up, maybe I should have made that clear. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Lopaka Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 0 Date 2001-10-08 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 8.50 Review I thoroughly enjoyed this battle even though things did not exactly go my way. Even when things were at their bleakest for my beleagured Germans, I remember thinking that I was still having great fun. And that's rarely the case for this commander. The map was great - allowing for all sorts of separate, but connected, little battles. Maybe that's one of the reasons I enjoyed it, because even when things were going badly, there were still pockets of satisfaction. My only real complaint is that I felt there were too many speedy little vehicles buzzing around for the Poles. It allows the Polish side to exploit, what I consider a Combat Mission glitch - that being that my tanks can't be ordered to only target the big boys that can actually do harm to them. So they end up targetting and re-targetting all sorts of vehicles which they can't take out because their turrets are too slow. And one potemtial problem with the Axis briefing (which on post game re-read was otherwise spot-on, and I made a big mistake in not going back to it in-game) was that it describes how tired the Axis are, but when the game starts they are all totally rested. The author might want to revise that section slightly. Overall this was my favorite scenario to date! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Big X Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 9 Date 2001-10-09 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 9.40 Review This is the best scenario I've played yet. I played the Poles, Lopaka played the Germans, and we slugged it out to a bloody draw. I liked that there was action in pockets all over. As the Poles be prepared for anything immediately. I used the default setup to my regret. Great detailed map. The author spent a lot of time and it shows. Would recommend to anybody! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Jon "JonS" Sowden Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 0 Date 2001-10-17 Map Design 8 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 8 Overall Rating 8.00 Review The items I've rated '0' are ones I can't comment on. I played as Axis, and felt like I was going to be overwhelmed - I spied tons of armour milling around the place, and knew how much I had to go against it. Given this was my first PBEM, I was happy to only go down 56:44 a Minor Allied Victory. Especially after screwing up my set up placements. Badly. As other posters have commented, the fragmented nateure of the battlefield made it feel like many small battles, with some bright spots, and some grim. The design of the map seemed to dictate two choke points for the Allies, and also gives the Axis covered routes to quickly switch forces from one flank to the other. I had to make use of this often! Given the two obvious chokes, which were relatively easily covered by, the Allied player I was up against chose to use neither. This caused me some problems in areas I hadn't covered too well, but also restricted his ability to deploy his armour. Overall, a very enjoyable scen. Thanks Andreas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer BigZergRat Briefing Quality 7 Replayability 3 Date 2001-10-18 Map Design 4 Playable vs. AI 5 Website Force Balance 4 PBEM Playablility 6 Overall Rating 4.83 Review this scenario makes absolutely no sense. the terrain is a hodge-podge of misconceptions from litttle buildings all in nice straight rows to elevation drops from 2-3 levels. 3 of the 5 victory flags are in places of no tactical importance especially concidering the force composition for the attacker. I understand what the designer was TRYING to do but, if a real life commander was faced with this situation and decided to press the attack either his own troops would shoot him or his comanding officer would. Author's Response 2001-10-18 What can I say, apart from that I don't agree. Sorry it did not do it for you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Tread Head Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 4 Date 2001-10-18 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 7 Website Force Balance 7 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 7.33 Review Well, as the Germans you can either win big or lose big. Set-up is vital. I do not envy the Pols mission. Lots of reverse slope ambush spots and not a lot of inf to attack with. Fun map, nice little battles. Boy the air support can really mess you up though. Maybe, remove the flags in the woods or give the poles more grunts.... Fun game overall Author's Response 2001-10-18 Based on feedback from some of you, and some other people, there will be some changes, when I get around to it. Glad you enjoyed it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Dan Brown Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 7 Date 2001-10-18 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Der Kessel Force Balance 7 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 8.40 Review This scenario is rough. It requires sound tactics on both sides... it is very unforgiving. I would like to address some comments made in some of the other reviews... the VLs in the woods are necessary. No commander with better than half a brain would leave those positions in enemy hands. Common sense requires their capture to secure the flank of the advance... the flags just require it. I highly recommend this one... one of Germanboy's best -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Simon Fox Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 7 Date 2001-11-04 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 8.20 Review All in all an excellent scenario for PBEM play. As I didn't play the AI I didn't give a mark for that. I played the Allies (against Jon). The map presented a number of tactical problems for the allied commander given his force structure. The clearance of the forested areas of German infantry is critical to preserving to Polish armour. Therefore the flag placement is entirely correct. I declined the pleasure of charging the "choke points" much to Jon's chagrin. Unfortunately the woods at times seemed to be swarming with SS infantry which means the Polish player must go very cautiously. The Polish player must use his arty and infantry well to win. My only major problem with the scenario was the Polish arty mix which I am not to sure is historical. The scenario does unfortunately highlight the glacially slow 25pdr firing rate in CMBO. I have raised these and some other very minor niggles with Andreas and he seemed quite receptive. Overall a very interesting scenario and maintains uncertainty right to the end. Highly recommended. Author's Response 2001-11-13 Revised, and thanks Simon! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Corey Todaro Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 7 Date 2001-11-27 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 6 PBEM Playablility 8 Overall Rating 7.60 Review A tough fight, but fun all the same. I played PBEM as the Axis. I agree with the other reviews about the fragmented nature of the map, many small intense battles. I would have gladly traded some AA assets for a bit of arty. The AA guns couldn't hit a thing in the sky as the Allied planes hit the town again and again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Lars Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 0 Date 2001-12-04 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 9.25 Review An excellent PBEM battle. Played as Axis. This one went right down to the wire. A great deal of action all the way through with many interesting choices to be made. Would highly recommend it for double blind PBEM with maybe the slightly more experienced player as the Poles. Author's Response 2002-01-19 Thanks for the review Lars - I agree that the more experienced player should take the Poles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Peaveyyyy Briefing Quality 7 Replayability 3 Date 2002-02-03 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 3 PBEM Playablility 7 Overall Rating 5.80 Review Sorry but I found this hopelessly unbalanced. ****Spoiler***** The Allied FB's just killed all my armour. The allied arty killed my AT assets, all without me being spotted on the ground or getting to fire a shot. The briefing should advise the German player to hide from air attack. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Lars107 Briefing Quality 10 Replayability 0 Date 2002-02-13 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 7 PBEM Playablility 8 Overall Rating 8.75 Review Played this scenario as PBEM on the Allied side. Had a lot of fun with all those hot spots on the good designed map. Only problem was that my equal skilled opponent had to give up after 20 turns since he had no forces left to fight with. The units mentioned by Peaveyyyy had no influence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer marc sullivan Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 3 Date 2002-02-28 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 8.00 Review A great scenario, extremely challenging for both sides. The map is gorgeous. I think you really have to play this doubleblind. Definitely worth a PBEM or TCP/IP, I wouldn't waste it on an A.I. battle. Great job! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Sarentmajor Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 3 Date 2002-03-13 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 4 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 6.80 Review Well, I started out liking this scenario as the German player in a pbem against LAH. At first we agreed to rstrict our setup to the scenario default, but then we agreed to do our own after one turn. I relocated much further front with my armour, and moved my AT assets around. LAH revised significantly the author's intent and massed on one flank. When I saw that howling mass, I felt like the ragged-ass fox hightailing it from the baying hounds! I did fight and registered a mass of tank kills. But the pit bulls waz on me! Our game is wrapping and I'm on the losing end. Folding up completely as my bloodshot boys fire off their last rounds. The only dink I give this scenario is Force Balance, but that's what the Germans faced all the time. Yes, the Poles have a lot to consider right at the get-go, but if you can't do something with that tremendous pile of metal, plus the air, then you shouldn't be commanding troops in the field. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer LAH Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 8 Date 2002-04-09 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 7 Website My homepage Force Balance 7 PBEM Playablility 8 Overall Rating 7.83 Review The force balance seems in favour of the Allies but due to the restricted map paths and smart placement of flags I think this is a well designed game, and balanced. I played PBEM blind and moved everything very different to the default setup which caused me problems. A great scenario, very well thought out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Vader's Jester Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 7 Date 2002-04-12 Map Design 8 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 8.20 Review Very fun scenario! I played as the Allies in PBEM against one of my regular opponents. He enjoyed it as well. Very nice map with lots of ambush and a few choke points. Just the right mix of forces and set-up zones to make both players really work to gain a victory. Reinforcements always seed to come at just the right moments. We played to a draw in our match (right down to the last turn!). This is an excellent choice for PBEM, but too large and complex for tcp/ip. I didn't play against the AI, so I have left this a zero; but since I enjoyed it so much, I'll probably give it a try against the computer anyway! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Elvis Briefing Quality 10 Replayability 0 Date 2002-04-28 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 10 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 10.00 Review I did not answer the replayability and vs AI questions. This was the BEST scenario I have played in months. As the Axis player I was forced to make decisions from the outset of the game. I felt whether I was or lost it was completely in my hands. For this reason I rated the balance 10. If I lost it had nothing to do with the balance. Map was cool and interesting. Briefing was all I could ask for. PBEM playability.....IT WAS A BLAST!!!! "I'm winning...I'm losing....I'm winning...I'm losing" Ended in a 47-46 draw. Worth every moment of my life I spent playing it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer pawter Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 0 Date 2002-05-06 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 10 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 9.50 Review I took the krauts in this scenario and both I and my PBEM opponent enjoyed it so much I felt obliged to write this appreciation. The [non default] initial setup constraints were cleverly arranged so that the ambuscade forewarned of in the pre-op briefing was no idle threat. The map and forces, whilst large enough for several simultaneous actions to be going forward at once, were nevertheless manageable and amenable to execution of a coherent gameplan. Reinforcements were timed and of a nature to maintain suspense & play-balance right to the bitter end. Throw in the inevitable allied JABOs to nicely unsettle a too rigid/brittle defence and you have a very good scenario. The best I have yet played. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Ken Briefing Quality 6 Replayability 3 Date 2002-06-24 Map Design 8 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 2 PBEM Playablility 4 Overall Rating 4.60 Review This is a walkover for the allies. The axis is hopelessly overmatched. I generally like this designers scenarios, his map designs are great, and this one is no exception. The allies simply have a vast amount of hardware. If you have masochistic tendancies don't put on a hair shirt--play this as axis on the internet! Author's Response 2002-06-27 A very important rule in reviewing a scenario is that one should not blame the scenario designer for one's own tactical ineptitude. I am sorry this is harsh, but that is the only response I have to this review. [shrug]can't please everyone, obviously.[/shrug] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Silvio Manuel Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 9 Date 2002-08-27 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 9.20 Review Great scenario! I had the attacking Poles vs. a newbie German player. It seems like the German player must be a bit wily to pull this off...good infantry tactics are a must in the heavily wooded areas near the flags. It seems to be very replayable, the map offers several possibilities for both sides. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Firefly Briefing Quality 9 Replayability 6 Date 2002-09-09 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 6 Website Force Balance 10 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 8.50 Review I played this PBEM as the Poles and both my opponent and I agreed that this was one of the best PBEM scenarios we had played. As Andreas says in the blurb at Der Kessel, this is a tough one for both sides, so it's probably fitting that we fought to a very bloody draw. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Cory Runyan Briefing Quality 10 Replayability 0 Date 2002-09-12 Map Design 10 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 8 PBEM Playablility 8 Overall Rating 9.00 Review Played this one PBEM as the Germans versus a CM newbie. The game was marked by vicious infantry combat on the large wooden hill, and German armor in ambush positions destroying handfuls of Canadian tanks. My opponent handled his armor rather badly, and I won a major victory. Good fun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Ken "Miller41" Miller Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 10 Date 2002-10-09 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 9.20 Review I can't believe I haven't posted a review of this excellent scenario. I have played it twice from the german side, and both games were tough slugfests, I lost in both but it could have gone either way. The allies have superior force, and air assets which can turn the tide (or not) but if the german player uses sound tactics this can be pulled out. Fun fight and worth playing several times, if only to learn how to defend in a tough situation on an excellent map! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer Matt Durocher Briefing Quality 0 Replayability 5 Date 2002-10-19 Map Design 7 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 3 PBEM Playablility 2 Overall Rating 4.25 Review Not a balanced scenario for PBEM play. With two opponents of roughly equal skill, the Polish player will win easily. I got a tactical victory against a player that's more than my equal. In fact, he surrendered with several turns left as he didn't have anything left to fight with. And i had just received even more reinforcements that i never would have needed to use anyway. I chose this scenario after seeing the high marks it received from reviewers and by their comments i was led to believe it would be fairly balanced. Far from that. Whoever said this favours the Germans must be joking. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer StrategyCat Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 0 Date 2003-02-06 Map Design 8 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 7 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 8.00 Review As usual, I PBEM'd this blind - I played the German defenders. Easily one of the better scenarios I've played to date, this one had a very tense ending. This scenario gave me a sense of how the Germans must have felt, being faced with a seemingly never-ending stream of Allied tanks and vehicles. About half-way through, I was starting to feel desperate. But my opponent had a very hard time with his final push and we were at a draw with 48% each toward the end. However, with only four or five turns remaining the computer forced my surrender due to low morale, which gave my opponent a tactical victory. If it hadn't been for that, I tink I could have held on to the draw or, at worst, only a minor defeat. Well worth playing, try it PBEM, blind (as you should all scenarios, imo). One caveat: I think the more experienced player should play the Germans, as they probably have it a little harder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer d Briefing Quality 7 Replayability 6 Date 2003-04-16 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 8 Website Force Balance 6 PBEM Playablility 9 Overall Rating 7.50 Review I layed this allies Vs AI initially. I really enjoyed it but as the main objective was to get into town I just ran straight for it. Took town first then thought lets get the other flags. AI doesnt really react to that strategy well, especially when I just Artied the other flags and finally walked my infantry in there. That said it was a diffrent prospect against human only got a draw there after losing enough steel to build a small liner. Great fun either way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer voidhawk Briefing Quality 8 Replayability 0 Date 2003-05-08 Map Design 9 Playable vs. AI 0 Website Force Balance 9 PBEM Playablility 10 Overall Rating 9.00 Review Played PBEM as Allies; an epic game if there ever was one. The orders turns can be kind of long for the Allies (I spent about an hour a turn during the meat of the action) and the movie files can get kind of big (at least 1M) but those are a small price to pay for a most entertaining battle. I made some bad moves in the beginning but a nice reinforcement cycle kept the battle going despite early losses. I think the Axis side could do with some more counter light vehicle weapons though to keep those HTs at bay. A great map that complements the force balance very well. The briefing set the stage well, except that the Axis side's state does not match that in the brieifing. Recommended. Have fun. 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