1939 and 1940 Campaign Mods

[pzgndr]

I have updated my 1939 mod based and extended the basic changes into a new 1940 mod. Both at posted now at Strategic Command HeadQuarters. Both mods make subtle tweaks to the original scenarios with the intent to make them a little more interesting for solo play, but are also well balanced for "real" games. Scenario changes are all fully described in text files included with the downloads. Enjoy!

[Desert Dave]

Both at posted now...

I know from experience, these are the work of a man possessed... surely recommended, since Mr Bill will go to the last square inch, in the last contested hex, in the last WW2 GS-game in existence... in order to provide an accurate and intensely playable campaign. :cool:

[pzgndr]

FYI, I just experimented with scorpion's idea from another thread. I edited the 1939 Campaign scenario giving Germany control of Sweden, primarily to see if the Axis AI would be inclined to move some units up there and then attack Norway. It didn't. Germany used the extra MPPs to buy more units. Barbarossa kicked off in August 1941 with 6 Tank Groups, plus an Italian Tank Group. Very impressive, but not exactly the effect I was looking for. It's an interesting idea that could be useful in other mods, but I don't plan to implement it.

Check out the Campaign mods, for either solo or human play, and tweak them some more if you want. That's what they are there for. Nothing is written in stone around here.

[pzgndr]

I made some minor adjustments to German unit experience in both mods. I also restored the Italian Initial Join percentage to original value in 1939. Both scenarios are now posted at The Wargamer scenario archive. Strategic Command is now listed, so they're easy to find. Strategic Command HeadQuarters should also be posting them shortly.

Thanks to those who have played these mods and provided feedback. With some recent threads discussing Axis bias in the default scenarios, I'm curious how the mods may improve play balance for head-to-head play. They're not just for solo play against the AI.

A couple of potential changes to think about, depending on how games go. 1) Make Iraq US-controlled. This helps the Allied AI since it won't go for Iraq on its own. And it gives the US some extra economic muscle relative to Britain, which usually takes Iraq anyway with a short side campaign. 2) Reconsider those 1/2 research chits. Just give France and Italy 1 chit and bump up Russia to 4 chits. What else might improve these scenarios?

[Jollyguy]

Bill;

I just looked over your 1939 mod, and find it very intriguing. I know some fellow opponents who may be receptive to playing it. I for one would like to try to the Allied side against a very good Axis opponent.

Good job, and thanks for your efforts.

[Hubert Cater]

I too just took a better look at both the '39 and '40 campaigns and must say that they look really good. I think these will go a long way towards balancing out any apparent Axis bias remaining with v1.06. Great job Bill!

Hubert

[Desert Dave]

Since it is quite unlikely that there will be another patch, these kinds of mods are the answer to almost all (... never say never, eh?) the apparent Axis-domination strategies.

Having tried his scenarios, I intend to e-mail Mr Bill with a series of suggestions to improve them. I would encourage all who enjoy playing this excellent and addictive game to take a moment or two and do the same; that way, we can eventually get a mod that will be challenging to even the best of players. :cool:

Bill: perhaps we need to break the scenarios into Axis and Allied versions, since it is hard to "balance" when you are trying to accomodate both sides.

There ARE solutions to Air superiority and Atlantic U-boat ops and Med theatre and Dutch gambit, etc. We merely need to take the time and find them. Sharing a common appreciation of the game is one way to do that.

[pzgndr]

Thanks guys. I'll be the first to admit that these mods aren't perfect, but if they provide an enjoyable game and generate discussion on how to make it better than that's a good thing.

Based on a game crash and verification from Hubert, I can say that making Iraq US-controlled does not work. It starts out OK but crashes after Russia enters the war and US is still inactive. Obviously we could make Iraq British-controlled, but that gives Britain an unfair advantage early on and doesn't help the US. Plan B, however, would be to activate Iraq as British but make the oil resources US-controlled. The computer doesn't seem to mind that combination and it should work nicely. Britain would then get a few extra MPPs from Baghdad only plus the Baghdad corps as a minor ally so Iraq isn't left undefended if the Axis push through Egypt. And, this would give the Brits someplace to go if Egypt gets overrun.

Some thoughts on the multiple version idea. I've considered that and could make multiple versions. That would reduce the need to use higher game settings to get a challenging AI game. But that's what those settings are for, since you can't play another person at Expert +2. Being the inherently lazy guy that I am, I'd rather maintain a single version that "ideally" is well balanced for two-player games on default settings and challenging for either side against the AI on moderately higher settings like Intermediate +1. Let's see how close we can get to that optimal condition and then see if we need multiple versions.

[ January 06, 2003, 01:22 PM: Message edited by: Bill Macon ]

[GumbyDude]

I took the 39 mod and added an extra 1000 to the US starting MPPs, set them at IT level 4 with 5 research points, level 2 jets and 2 in just about everything else. This was then only thing I could think of to help the US with their MPP problems. The result?

Well, Germany was so aggressive in it's conquests (Vichy, Sweden, all of middle east, malta, egypt) that the US and USSR entered on the same turn in June of '41! I figured Germany would be in trouble, but after the initial building spree, they settled back to the normal money problems the US always has and since Germany had level 5 jets and sealed up France, Denmark, and Norway, there was not much they could do (England lost their navy and all of Med fell to Axis except for Gibraltar and Spain). The allied player is a bit weak, still figuring out certain mechanics, but I was still not that impressed with the spending spree that fizzled after a turn or two. We plan to switch sides after this game is over. I do believe the Med fell and his navy lost because of poor play decisions, but the fact is, the US is not helping much even with the $$ and research boost.

I think the US needs to start with 2 HQs and more $$. I wish the editor would allow altering unit forces and setup for nations not yet in the war. More forces would help counter the fact that they are cash poor (unrealistic IMO).

I also like the idea of ramping up the US ecocomy the way it does in A3R. Also the USSR economy is modelled well in that game (factories are relocated to the Urals, so they can maintain high production even though a lot of territory is captured). This would help the Siberian Army problem (helps for a couple turns, but then fizzles again).

[82ndReady]

Bill excellent Mods for '39 and '40 can't wait to try them out. I also agree with on your point about "nothing is in stone" allowing for changes and tweaks provides for better gaming..many different views and opinions out there!

[pzgndr]

Seawolf mentioned that he added a U-boat to the Med in his Italian Campaign and I thought this was an interesting idea. I ran a few tests last night, primarily to verify what the AI does. A 2-factor U-boat started at Venice or somewhere in the Adriatic (to protect it prior to Italy entering) may or may not move around. The Italian fleet that normally starts in Venice will arrive normally, adjacent to Venice if the U-boat is there, so it's not mysteriously lost. That's good. Here's the deal. The AI wants to reinforce that U-boat ASAP. So the Allied player is faced with a full strength U-boat in the Med shortly after Italy enters the war. A British sub starting at Malta will also get reinforced early by the Allied AI.

This is interesting, but may be too much too soon in the war. Britain is always free to buy a sub and send it to the Med. Italy can always buy more subs, and abstractly this could mean German U-boats providing assistance. Germany can take Greece and buy a U-boat there, so that's an option. After thinking about it, I probably will not add additional subs to the Med for the Campaign mods. But that's not to say you can't tweak them on your own to try this or anything else.

My proposed changes for the next update are as follows:

- Start France and Italy with 1 research chit, and increase USSR to 4, rather than provide 125 MPPs for 1/2 chit. The AI works better with the chit than with an option to buy.

- Move the battleship fleet from Malta to Suez.

- Provide US, USSR and Italy 1 turn worth of MPPs at start.

- Bump up rockets to L2 for Germany in 1940. Britain gets a virtual tech advance in sonar from the 1939 start, so this gives Germany something. The Axis AI is even inclined to buy a rocket unit to attack London!

As always, feedback is welcome.

[JerseyJohn]

Regarding the proposed changes, it all sounds good.

There has to be some incentive for Germany's rocket program or it doesn't happen and starting at L-2 is a good idea. I've found they start being useful at L-3 and would invest in that area if it were so close to producing results.

Both Italy and Russia can use initial MPPs as they often start out in desperation! With Italy the added MPPs should counter the Allied immediate invasion plan.

Giving Italy and France a research chit is a good idea as it's hard for either to raise MPPs for their purchase. Giving Russia four chits is also good and for the same reason.

The '39 Mod was good already and these changes look like real improvements. Glad you don't rest on your laurels!

[ January 17, 2003, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ]

[BriantheWise]

This is a dumb question, but how to I upload this into my game file. I downloaded, but when I click on the icon, I'm told that my computer doesn't recognize the suffix or something like that. Is there a 1, 2, 3 process? (I'm sure it's posted in one of the threads somewhere, but I can't find it...)

Thanks.

Brian

[JerseyJohn]

Brian,

You might need to download the latest game patch. I've had to do it two or three different times since it's come out, then everything already stored kicks in when activated.

[SeaWolf_48]

Sounds good Bill, I plan to download the new senario's as soon as I get Home, (I try not to play at work). Hay, how about giving the US Level 5 on Industrial Technology at the beginning, make it so that the US does not have to spend MPP's except on AT, Tank, and Jets.

P.S. Is it true that if Germany takes Athens she can build a sub there?

[pzgndr]

Seawolf, I prefer to leave room for US and USSR to grow their industrial tech and have incentive to do so, even if this "growth" is not as great as it was historically. The combination of some at-start MPPs and a modest boost to their research chits should help them to do this. Besides, giving US and/or USSR L5 IT at-start just gives the Axis an early research bonus. Once they catch up, the advantage is gone.

And yes, U-boats in the Med are possible if Germany takes Greece and waits until a land path between Berlin and Athens opens. Just like building them in France.

[pzgndr]

OK folks, updates to both Campaign Mods are now posted to Strategic Command HeadQuarters. Changes are pretty much as I discussed a couple weeks ago and seem to work well. These will probably be my last updates for v1.06.

This has been an interesting experience using the campaign editor to see what works and what doesn't work. The scenario description files provide good documentation of how these mods evolved and why, so players can further tweak them for better performance. As said before, these mods are not "perfect" nor carved into stone.

Considering the limitations of the AI, it simply is not possible to get a balanced scenario for both sides at normal game settings - some higher settings or handicap options are necessary to get a challenging solo game. I did add a couple of comments suggesting use of HISTORICAL entry for US and Axis Minors as variations, as well as toggling FOW OFF during the AI turn to improve its performance. Beyond that, further customization for different Axis and Allied versions is needed to improve play balance at normal settings. Perhaps some intrepid young lad will continue to improve upon my efforts?

[Shaka of Carthage]

Bill Macon

I for one, would like to thank you for the time and effort you have put into these mod's. Almost all of use think we can do it better, but almost none of us will spend the time to try it.

[sogard]

Thanks for the update for your Scenarios Bill. I just downloaded them and will take a look at them. I have been playing with your last scenario updates for a while and have been enjoying them.