Biltong's Campaign Rules - Last Lap

[Death Commando]

Hi, could someone explain to me Note 5 of the Battle Group?

Note 5: All the Units listed below gain 1 Experience Point for Allied Casualties caused from and including the first number below and an additional Exp. Point from and including the 2nd number:

Armored vehicles with armament smaller than or equal to 35mm: 3+ / 10+ Casualties

Armored vehicles with armament from and including 35mm up to and including 50mm as well

as all flak vehicles and flammpanzers: 6+ / 20+ Casualties

Armored vehicles with armament larger than 50mm: 10+ / 30+ Casualties"

What do u mean by Armament by the armor vechile main gun or by adding all its armor and dividing it to get the measurement.

Thanx,

This is great stuff!!

[Apache]

Armament is the main gun. You then just use the first figure exp gain if they get up to the first kill level and the second number if the 2nd or above etc.

Biltong:

Try this for some weather:

http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/

[Biltong]

Originally posted by Aaron:

I've been doing some numerical analysis on the experience rules. Assuming a squad get +2 XP each battle (average) and only suffers one casualty every other battle (unlikely) and gets Veteran replacements every time (very unlikely), his max experience will be 54. Well below that needed to be Crack. If, by some miracle, the squad can consistantly muster +3 EXP each battle, they will Max out at 73 points but this is extremely unlikely. If the squad getting same +3 each battle are stuck with Regular replacements their max EXP drops to 64. I'm thinking of a couple things. One is allowing a squad to suck up 1 or 2 casualties with no loss is EXP (enough veterans to get the newbie up to speed and keep him from getting them killed). Another would be a roll for each casualty and on a 1-2 he's only lightly wounded and is back in action for the next battle. On a 3-4 he'll be back in one week (not sure how to keep track of that). Or, lastly, each squad keeps track of the highest EXP score it ever had and if its current EXP is lower it gets a +1 exp bonus each battle. The Max EXP value is reset if ever the squad gets Eliminated or if disolved due to Emergency Replacements.

Well picked up Aaron...and nice of you to provide possible answers at the same time

I thought we had this one bedded down (sigh)

I tought of a 4th option: a 3rd exp point for a 'lot' of enemy casualties. Eg.:

Note 4: All the Units listed below gain 1 Experience Point for any number of Allied Casualties caused. In addition to the above Experience Point they can also earn an extra Experience Point for additional Allied Casualties caused from and including the specified number (A)below and they can also earn a final extra Experience Point for additional Allied Casualties caused from and including the specified number (B )below:

CO's: (A) 5+ Casualties; ( 8+ Casualties;

Squads: (A) 12+ Casualties; ( 20+ Casualties.

I like this option since it's easy to impliment

Any other ideas here guys?

Finally, how are you planning on handling the changes to the Infantry Company's organization that happened in '42?

Haven't decided on that yet... We've just started a couple of weeks ago with collecting parameters for 42 South.

The plan is to upgrade the co and armor each year to something different, but I haven't decided to 'what' yet.

How far are you in date terms? And what Player Experience are you playing on Aaron?

[Biltong]

Originally posted by Apache:

...

Try this for some weather:

http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/

Great help Apache!

Any other weather data out there, guys?

And is there anyone getting close to 42?

[Biltong]

Scooby's

site is up for those of you who want to download or view the rules etc in PDF format.

Thanx Scooby!

[History Buff]

Any other weather data out there, guys?

Had a browse through one of my WW2 books. Recorded some dates as i went through along with what info on weather I could find and some interest facts I forgot. 8)

1942

-Jan - Soviet Paratroopers bolster Partisan

-Feb - Cold, Snow on Ground but clearing skies.

-Early March - Soviet Crimea Offensive

-Mid May - Soviet Kharkov Offensive

-Late August - Stalingrad Begins, German Assault

-Mid October - German Offensive inside Stalingrad

-October 22nd - First Snow Falls reported.

-Nov 21st - Uranus, Soviet Assault

-Novemebr 26th - Stalingrad encircled.

-Dec 12th - Von Manstiens relief of Stalingrad beings. Germans pull back from the Caucusas (Or however you sepll it).

-Dec 16th - Soviet Operation Saturn Begins. Italian Army Crushed.

And is there anyone getting close to 42?

Late October 1941. Doing an assault at night in heavy snow with more of the cursed stuff falling. I don't think I'll survive the winter.

On one other note a new idea I've had. It's a way to incorporate the special battles like city fights, river crossings people have been talking about. What about a random event chart which you roll on after each battle. Or at the least if you roll say between 8-10 of a D10 after the battle.

Came up with a bit of a chart. D20, which is avaliable on those electronic dice programs. But most veteran gamers will have one or 2 lying around.

1 - Supply Problems, food and fresh water is not reaching the frontline. Your men are considered "weakened" for the next battle only. (Food once again comes).

2 - Scrounged Units link up with their proper units. Your current Scrounged units value becomes zero.

3 - Great Advance made. The enemy are retreating in front of you and do not wish to fight. Your CO is in praise of you and your men's efforts. Gain a further 5 favour points. [Only takes effect if your previous battle was a victory and the Soviets are not counter attacking].

4 - Rest and Relaxation for you and your men. Your troops are pulled from the front line to the reserve lines for one week. [Which is added on to your next date rolls]. In that time you are fortunate to encounter a high ranking officer from your division and you are favoured after numerous conversations. Increase your favour by 2 pts. [To only take effect if the Soviets are not counter attacking and you are not involved in a further attack against them].

5 - Training. Your men are given a rest from the fighting but in preperation for a coming attack they are given some specialist training in regards to future operations. All units under your command may add 2 experience points to there record. Training lasts one week which is added onto your normal date rolls. [To only take effect if the Soviets are not counter attacking and you are not involved in a further attack against them].

6 - Special Mission. River Crossing. A river blocks the Division's progress ahead. Your command is given the task of crossing the river and forming a beach head for further landings, bridge building equipment etc. If this mission is successfully carried out you may add +3 Favour to your favour score on top of all other factors.

7. - Special Mission. Partisan Raid. Your command is given the task of destroying a suspected Partisan group in the area. The following factors are set.

Force Mix - Infantary

Nationality - Partisan

Division Type - Infantary

The rest a rolled for like a standard mission.

8. Special Mission - City Sweep. Your force is taking part in a sweep of a particular area of a city. The next map you play on must be of Large Town / City form with the following characteristics.

Battle Type - Axis Attack

Tree Cover - Light

Hilliness - Flat

Damage - Heavy

All other characteristics are rolled as normal, including date.

9. Replacements Lost - For some unexplained reason your promised replacements have not arrived. Conduct an emergency reorganization instead.

I said 20, but I can only thing of nine at the moment. But I'm sure you all understand the idea. Add a bit of sudden surprises to the whole fray. Plus gives another reason to lower your scrounged units. For some strange reason i have 396 pts of scrounged units. Haven't had to do an emergency reorganisation for while.

[Biltong]

Originally posted by History Buff:

Had a browse through one of my WW2 books. Recorded some dates...

...Late October 1941. Doing an assault at night in heavy snow with more of the cursed stuff falling. I don't think I'll survive the winter.

On one other note a new idea I've had. It's a way to incorporate the special battles like city fights, river crossings....

Thanx HB - 2 more pieces of the puzzle

Can't wait to get to the winter/snow fights myself, allthough I've only just managed to 'escape' June after 6 battles.

Like your ideas for variety in battles... the holdup is specialized maps. The QB 'city' maps are quite useless. They'll have to be designed and the rules formed around the maps (I think).

Keep the ideas coming.

Biltong

[Biltong]

Just a quick update.

Starting ‘coding’ on 42 South this week-end.

Haven’t got all the parameters I need, but I’ll replace the guesswork as better data becomes available.

As soon as I get the Walkthrough from The Scalpel I’ll launch version 2 of 41 South… Basically what you have now (ver 1.6) with some very minor changes.

Had a thought (it happens)

There have been a lot of good suggestions for additions to the rules that was ‘locked’ out of the 41 South rules, but what I can do, maybe, is add one for each new year (42, 43 etc) as an optional rule that players can implement if they want to.

Which one would you like? Cast your vote.

Biltong

[Biltong]

Hi Guys – Max’s Auto Param’s for ver 1.6 is now up at

SuperSulo’s Site

or

Scooby’s Site

Lots of work there Max… hate to think how long it took you.

Thankless work that’s much appreciated

[Aaron]

Ok, I'm on battle 17 (still september) and here are some general comments. I appologize if they sound overly negative. Just assume that everything I don't complain about I like.

Ok, first off let me talk about Favor. For one, calculating Favor after a battle takes too long. I know this sounds wimpy but it seems too involved for what you get out of it. If I'm fighting a straight infantry force (or partisans) my Favor award is usually about what I get for the Victory level. However, if I'm fighting a mech force, I've destroyed so many light armor and tank units that I quickly max out at +50. Maybe if it were simplified to just use the number from the battle results screen? Secondly, there aren't enough things to spend favor on (more on that later) so I've got over 350 points. I've started burning them on Infantry just to get rid of them.

Secondly. With the modifiers for Immediate Attack, I now don't ever want to get a Total Victory. The effects of an emergency reorg are so bad that I'll sometimes request a Ceasfire to get a Draw rather than risk a follow up attack. It's just not worth sending my troops across a field for the final VL when every wounded soldier cost me 10% of my Experience.

Ok, I've been thinking about Exp alot lately and have two ideas.

First, I was looking at the formula for Exp and realized that dividing the Exp for the replacements by 1.25 is numerically the same as treating Regular replacements as 8 instead of 10. And since they are just a number anyway, why not have a smooth progression on the table rather than the 4/8/20 results we have not. So, make a new replacement chart (in this case June to Aug)

DR Exp

1 3

2 4

3 5

4 6

5 7

6 8

7 10

8 12

9 15

10 20

This way its is -always- better to spend the 30 points of Favor to get a slightly better number. Thus Favor will be more important for keeping your guys from turning Green (or worse).

Secondly, I was also thinking about my early post and looking at the CO Died chart and wondering if we could use a similar chart to determine the effect of casualties on the unit. The chart could look like this

DR Exp change

1 -50%

2 -40%

3 -25%

4 -20%

5 -15%

6 -10%

7 -5%

8 -5%

9 No Change

10 No Change

Use the Losses modifier from 52 and instead of the charts for number 56 (replacement quality) you can just have a Replacement DRM for a given month. Assume that if the Exp drops dramatically its because the squads Gruppenfuher or its best soldier got hit. If a "No Change" result, assume that the guys who died were not part of the leadership element of the squad or perhaps were just lightly wounded. The advantage of this method is that Replacements can never be used to gain Exp for you squad (unlike the current system) and you can also use it to keep track of Exp on a Platoon or even Company level. This might help Apache who is commanding an entire battalion from having to keep track of Exp for every individual squad but rather just for the company.

That's it for now. I hope my charts don't get messed up.

Aaron

[History Buff]

Originally posted by Aaron:

Ok, I'm on battle 17 (still september) and here are some general comments. I appologize if they sound overly negative. Just assume that everything I don't complain about I like.

Ok, first off let me talk about Favor. For one, calculating Favor after a battle takes too long. I know this sounds wimpy but it seems too involved for what you get out of it. If I'm fighting a straight infantry force (or partisans) my Favor award is usually about what I get for the Victory level. However, if I'm fighting a mech force, I've destroyed so many light armor and tank units that I quickly max out at +50. Maybe if it were simplified to just use the number from the battle results screen? Secondly, there aren't enough things to spend favor on (more on that later) so I've got over 350 points. I've started burning them on Infantry just to get rid of them.

Secondly. With the modifiers for Immediate Attack, I now don't ever want to get a Total Victory. The effects of an emergency reorg are so bad that I'll sometimes request a Ceasfire to get a Draw rather than risk a follow up attack. It's just not worth sending my troops across a field for the final VL when every wounded soldier cost me 10% of my Experience.

Aaron

I agree with the favour thing. It's really annoying sitting there adding up mortars destroyed / KO'd. Maybe lighten it up a tad, by getting rid of different values for Ko'd mortars etc. You know how many mortars I've destroyed.

On the immedeate attack bit, yeah it's sometimes not the best but I think it's something to live with. Surely you can use your favour to decrease the roll to prevent your boys going over the top? "No sir, my boys a tired. Send old Charlie company will ya?"

I also suggest two things with favour.

1. Maybe gain 1 favour for every 50 Inf Casulties. It would give some importance to fighting inf vs inf.

2. If my idea of a random event chart (see above) is implemented favour could be used there. To prevent your boys from doing a river crossing and to get some R & R.

[Eden Smallwood]

Originally posted by Aaron:

Maybe if it were simplified to just use the number from the battle results screen?

I think that's an enormously good idea. Can anyone think of a major downside?

Eden

[Apache]

Because I use an amended version of the rules which gives me complete ownership of an entire battalion plus its support I have had to REALLY simplify the Experience (Battle Group) sheet. I have re-designed my own version which is nowehere near as sophisticated as the current one but is quicker (it needs to be if you have to do 3-4 companies of infantry and 15 tanks!). Trouble is I haven't got round to fULLY playtesting it yet to see if everything comes out about right. It should do though. If anyone wants it to try, let me know.

I'm going to try and have a look at the Favour sheet too and am contemplating merely using some kind of system based on the CMBB end battle result screen (which IIRC has been suggested befoie).

[Biltong]

Hi Guys,

This thread has gone quite quiet

Max even wondered if it was still worth his while doing the auto parameters.

You might have wondered if I have disappeared, but I’ve been quite busy testing – let’s be honest: PLAYING BCR (and doing some work on 42 South).

I should have a draft ready in a week or 2 – want to spend some time on it this weekend.

Aaron/History Buff,

Nice feedback .

Aaron: 17 battles Wow!! I’m only on 7. Just managed to sneak into July TG!

Favor:

Some guys like it and even want to expand it and some guys hate it and would like to get rid of it…. The expansion/contraction has been discussed at great length (previous thread?). I try to be in the middle - with no real success.

Replacement effect on Experience:

I like this a lot – a lot simpler: I’m putting this on the list to be investigated and (more than likely) implemented in 42 South. No promises though

As for the 2nd Chart – you say: “The advantage of this method is that Replacements can never be used to gain Exp for you squad (unlike the current system)” Bit worried about this: what happens if a Green/Conscript squad loses most of it’s men and they get replaced by vets?

BTW – 41 South is under ‘feature lock’ , because we’re busy writing the 'Player Guide' (Walkthrough). All further changes will be implemented in ’42’ South.

[ January 25, 2003, 06:42 AM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

[Biltong]

Apache/SuperSulo

Some time back you pointed out possible confusion in the Date instructions:

I’ve added some lines that will hopefully make it a bit clearer:

1- 5 Days

Roll again for the number of days that you must add to your previous battle date. Re-roll if the result is greater than six.

6 – 8 Week(s)

Roll again for the number of weeks that you must add to your previous battle date. Re-roll if the result is greater than three. Then roll for additional days, in accordance with the instructions above.

9 – 10 Month

Add one month only. Don't roll for days or weeks.

The Scalpel’s ‘Player Guide’ also explains this, so it should be reasonably clear for newbies.

Let me know what you think.

[Apache]

Sounds good. I'll mail you my experience sheet which I use for battalion. As you have doubtless gone through loads of options in getting the 'regular' rules experience to their current state I'd welcome any thoughts you have that may save me a load of time. That said, keeping it simple is a MUST for me using so many units. It lacks the sophistication but, hopefully does the job to a point.

[Biltong]

Originally posted by Apache:

Sounds good. I'll mail you my experience sheet which I use for battalion. As you have doubtless gone through loads of options in getting the 'regular' rules experience to their current state I'd welcome any thoughts you have that may save me a load of time. That said, keeping it simple is a MUST for me using so many units. It lacks the sophistication but, hopefully does the job to a point.

Hi Apache,

Sorry I wasn't sure who you were talking to

Got the sheet and send a reply. My reply did not take into account your line above: "keeping it simple is a MUST" so you can discard it.

Fot Battalion duties it should work quite well - once it's printed it will be a very quick and easy reference.

Guys - if you hate the 1.25 calc - ask Apache for his sheet... It doesn't cater for the extreme cases such as Conscripts getting a lot of Vet replacements, but for the average replacements it will be a lot easier and faster.

Pity it's such a pain to put sheets into these posts.

Biltong

[Apache]

Thanks Biltong, I got your reply. I had already changed the sheet in the meantime though. I couldn't help thinking that I was hitting myself twice for replacements. Now I don't. I work on the basis (probably slightly more historically correct) that German troops will be replaced on a sliding scale downwards as we progress through the campaign, esp by end 44 etc. However at moment I base them on Vet. What the revised sheet does do is punish you by dropping them to Regular if you keep getting them all killed and reward you by letting you get them to Crack if you keep doing excellent.

I don't do a replacement calc now, I just look at the company (and I stress it is for company level), work out their total losses (roughly) and total kills and then just apply the scores which drops the company up or down in points. The green/reg/vet is what your company starts as and the rules assume replacements come in at same level.

One thing I have devised for my amendments, which you MAY want to consider for 42 is the replacement delay for AFVs. As you know I use a full battalion of tanks for SS Pz Gr (Arm) Bn and a company of Stugs (with a platoon of Stuh) for Heer. If the vehicles get KO I work on the basis that it would perhaps not be likely to get it replaced next day. So I roll a dice to determine a delay of either 0, 2, 4, 8 or 10 battles. That is not for each vehicle lost, it's rolled up at the end as a general logistics parameter covering every AFV you lose that time. I lost 6 tanks for 8 battles last time and I'm still suffering having been hit with 2 x 3000 points Armored in a row Teaches you to be even more carful with an AFV if it might not come back for a while

Another thing I'm looking at is counter attacks by both sides. The way I see it, it is highly likely that the outfit you played with before the counter will not get raplacements and therefore you should march the right number of 'dead' off the map. However, what I may do is allow the both sides to roll up troops/points accordingly on the basis that my clobbered Axis troops will undoubtedly ask for back-up from the Bn which they may or may not get. I got all excited last night when I thought for a QB you could programme in reinforcements when buying for a QB, seems like you can't. What I was going to do is roll a die to see whether, aside from off map arty, any units the Axis rolled up over and above whatever troops were left from the previous battle would arrive 25%, 50% or 75% through the next battle. What I will now do is buy the originals left from the previous game (and march their dead off) AND whatever else the dice roll allows. I will then roll for WHEN they will arrive and I will buy those units and hopefully be able to place them somewhere safe at the rear of the map where they can do no harm or be harmed until they are due to arrive. If they are at the back of a treeless flat map it may pose problems but I could set them arcs to stop them firing (if they get KO'd it will be a problem). That said, with the new maps, pool table terrain is rare and there will probably always be somewhere out of the way where the reinforcements can effectively 'garaged' until scheduled to arrive.

[ January 26, 2003, 03:46 AM: Message edited by: Apache ]

[Biltong]

Apache!

I think you’ve just given me what I wanted for 42 South.

I love the tank replacement delay!! It will make us so bloody careful with our tanks it’s not true!

I’ve been worried that the 3 diverse tanks in the Battle Group prevent us from learning about the tank platoon command problems.

So: what about 2 tank platoons (different types of course) for 42 south combined with your replacement delay?

What do you guys think?

As for your 2nd idea re replacements for counter/immediate attack:

“…allow the both sides to roll up troops/points accordingly on the basis that my clobbered Axis troops will undoubtedly ask for back-up from the Bn which they may or may not get.”

Love this as well – you’re really cooking!!

As I understand it – you want to move them off the map and buy extra replacements in their stead. My first reaction was, why don’t you just keep the dead instead of replacing them, but then I realized it must be because of the experience difference… Is that right?

If we use (SuperSulo’s?) Scenario Editor option instead of the QB you won’t have to ‘buy’ replacements – you could just set the 'dead/replacements' experience and keep them back until they should arrive.

To be honest – I haven’t tried the SE way yet – Reason being:

I don’t like the idea of the player placing the flags – worried about subconscious cheating. This should be out of the player’s hands.

Also worried about the player creating setup zones for the same reason. Obviously you can use the default QB setup zones, but they are quite boring.

Using the pre-designed maps solves all of this, but I’m worried that we’ll run out of pre-designed maps to play on. I can’t convert the rules to the SE option hoping that we’ll have enough maps and I can’t put both options in since it looks(?) like quite mayor changes (confusion for newbies/too long rules).

Maybe SuperSulo (or other players using the SE) can convince me otherwise: I’ll also play my next battle using the SE… That should give me a better idea.

Getting back to the replacement delay… If we use the SE option it will be straightforward, but if we buy replacements and move the dead off the map, the Allied will get extra purchase points for the dead. I‘ve got no problem with this, but would like to hear what other players say.

So for 42 South:

2 platoons of tanks & implement a time delay for reinforcements. Dead/replacement tanks placed hidden away, facing the map edge, hatch closed and a small, 5m. covered arch towards the map edge. If you’re discovered and die before 'arriving' – tough!

What do you guys think?

If we carry on this way we’ll end up with Apache’s Battalion in 45

[ January 26, 2003, 05:45 AM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

[Apache]

Biltong: Sounds good on platoons of tanks. German Tank Bns early war had 2 plt of light and 1 plt of medium tanks then that switched round as war progressed (42-43). So a platoon of I/II and a platoon of III/IV would be good. To improve the players 'knowledge' as the campaign goes on you could also try to change the composition of the tank platoons as the campaign progresses to match the availability of the tanks. E.g. 42 start IIIG/H then Js, then Ns etc. and then upgrade to the IVs with D, E F etc being swapped again as time goes on. By late '43 it will be 50% IVs and 50% Panther with the odd Tiger platoon showing up!! Infantry (non Pz) would get Stugs. Generally 3 per platoon or 2 Stug/1 Stuh.

Not sure I quite explained my 'replacements' rules for Axis/Allied immediate counter attack very well, problem of a) rushing and me knowing exactly how they work and trying to cut down on writing. A quick example which may help to explain:

You fight a battle with 1-2 coy of infantry and a platoon of tanks. Say 50% gets wiped out.

For your next battle you again roll up the points you spend on the understanding that you do not get less than what you had before in the infantry/tank department (you will need those points to buy what you had at first in order to be able to march 50% off the screen). I stress that at the start of the battles you DO 'Withdraw' your original losses (you lost 'em, you pay the price). Now, this is the good part though, IF you roll up a greater number of points than you had in your last battle you DO get to buy the extra infantry and tanks, arty (whatever). BUT you then roll to see WHEN they will reach you, 25% through the battle, 50% or 75% (again whatever). In my game I use battalions AND if I have managed to lose 2/3 of the tank bn and I roll up above what I have left 'in the pool', tough (it can happen if you lose a lot of tanks AND have to wait 8 battles/days for replacements), I don't get them

When the new battle starts you commence with your original force (minus the 50% casualties you march off the map which, because it is an immediate attack, WILL NOT get reinforcements in time) in whatever positions you choose.

Anything else you bought (except off-map arty) is positioned as close as you can to one of your edges of the map. This represents the help the original force has called for and you MUST trust yourself not to move them to support the original force until either turn 10,20,30 or whatever is 25%, 50% etc. through the battle. If needed, you give them fire-arcs to stop them engaging targets (I have never had to) and work on the basis that you put them in the lowest ground you can to prevent them spotting for your original force OR being spotted. It works excellently.

First time I did it I rolled up 2 extra platoons of tanks - great! Trouble was the battle was mid-day and clear skies, you can guess the rest. Soviet ground attack aircraft shot them up in their holding area (representing them being hammered while on their way to me) and I lost 5! Another time I had infantry and vehicles coming that had to cross a ridge to get to me. They caught a Soviet arty barrage as they came over the top and never managed to reach me.

On other occassions the 'cavalry' has saved the day mind Imagine the Soviets surprise when 10 tankettes and a bn of infantry who were about to overrun my 2nd line of defence get all but wiped out as a platton of IVF2s show up on the top of a hill to left flank. Good timing or what? Bit of a nail biter though. An armored platoon of infantry in HTs rushed to the defensive lines and threw out 4 HMGs which, together with the 251/10 and 5 251/1s soon sent the infantry running. Smokin' Now, THAT'S what I call exciting!

[ January 26, 2003, 07:16 AM: Message edited by: Apache ]

[Aaron]

As for the 2nd Chart ? you say: ?The advantage of this method is that Replacements can never be used to gain Exp for you squad (unlike the current system)? Bit worried about this: what happens if a Green/Conscript squad loses most of it?s men and they get replaced by vets?

Well, using the second method, you don't actually get "Veteran" replacements. Its all abstracted.

I remember a few years ago reading a long article show the differences in the replacement methods of the US, Germany and UK and the different advantages of each. Unfortunately, I've long since long the article and forgotten much of what it said. However, I'm not sure its even possible for conscript units to get high quality replacements. Anyway, I intended to research the actual german replacement system before I finally decided what system I would personally use.

I don?t like the idea of the player placing the flags ? worried about subconscious cheating. This should be out of the player?s hands.

Also worried about the player creating setup zones for the same reason. Obviously you can use the default QB setup zones, but they are quite boring.

As Apache said, its really not an issue. I just have rules for flag placements and setup zone areas. So, when I build a Medium map, the map is 1000 m by 1000 m and the setup zone is 1/3 axis and 1/2 allies and the flags are either one the edges of the setup zone (for probe and assault) or in the middle for attack. If I stick to the rules (which I do simply because I'm trying to do it as fast as possible) I can't really get an advantage out of it. My rules are currently in a nearly unreadable set of notes.

Aaron

[Biltong]

Originally posted by Apache:

Biltong: Sounds good on platoons of tanks....

....Not sure I quite explained my 'replacements' rules for Axis/Allied immediate counter attack very well....

.... Now, THAT'S what I call exciting!

Thanx for the Tank platoon info - 'stored' away for future use

Apache's Counter/Immediate Assault/Attack Delayed Replacements.

How's that for a title?

Realy like the idea of them coming on later. You can even go to town in longer battles and stagger the arrival for different units. Now to formalize the idea into 'newbie absorbable' rules

One last question? The 'Replacements' we're talking about is the Task Force right? Not some extra replacements over and above the Task Force?

As for 'exciting' - I'm sold alread

[ January 27, 2003, 12:54 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

[Apache]

Yes, for you it will be the Task Force. You have to remember I use a slightly different version where I roll for a number of points that are added on to a 'Standard Battle' (currently that is 500). The points are not broken down into categories. If I'm playing the armoured SS Pz Gr Bn they obviously get a lot more points (I use a different sheet) for the same die numbers than would the Heer 'vanilla' infantry (mainly becasue the SS outfit, being armoured/mech, has so much expensive equipment I have to ramp up their points to allow them to afford it). I then use another sheet to tell me what CMBB would allow me to spend on the various categories (you see, I do set the Force Mix on my QB, if I roll an infantry only force, that's what I get, not infantry and some tanks and some vehicles etc.). A further roll then limits the amount CMBB will allow me to spend. You don't get to lose any of your overall spend though as a lot of the categories allow you to spend 100% on infantry or armour, if your CMBB allowed spend is reduced I just take extra infantry etc.

So my points will be spent on whatever I want from the 'battalion shopping list' provided a)the force mix I roll up and set for the QB allows it and it is realistic (e.g. not a company of Tigers or 4 x 150mm FOs!). It is those elements of the battalion which race to the support of the counter attacked company or companies

Also, please note, the delayed replacements is something that is rolled for after any battle where you lose AFVs, not just the immediate counters. They are two separate rules:

1) Delayed replacements

2) Immediate counter - support level and arrival times.

If you have any queries, let me know.

[SuperSulo]

GREAT NEWS!

Well, at least for me.

You want to use the scenario editor for your campaign but are put off because of the hassle with setup zones and flag numbers/placement?

No more! Here's what you do:

In the "Parameters" screen, set the number of flags to 0 for both Large and Small flags.

In the map editor, remove all setup zones / paint it all grey/neutral.

Now when you import this "scenario" into your QB, setup zones and flags will automaticly be added, just as if you had generated a normal QB map! Woohoo!

PS: I have been busy playing, just got to read the last 10 or so posts. Some interesting suggestions/improvements, nice work, guys!

PPS: I'm on my 18th battle, end of september. I've had 8 Large Town battles, with 3 more in pipeline! So in 21 battles I will have fought 11 City battles. Does that sound much?

[Aaron]

Originally posted by SuperSulo:

PPS: I'm on my 18th battle, end of september. I've had 8 Large Town battles, with 3 more in pipeline! So in 21 battles I will have fought 11 City battles. Does that sound much?

I've just finished battle 19. I've had one Large Town and one Village. The rest have been Rural or Farmland. I don't know how you can have so many city battles since you can't at all in June->July.

Thanks for the note about QB flags. That'll help.

Aaron