Another stab at balance rules

[JasonC]

OK, here is yet another balancing rule idea. It is not meant to be as simple as Redwolf's rules or Fionn's old 75-76, though it incorporates aspects of each of those. It is meant to give players control over a number of controversial areas by prior agreement. Each area has an "anything goes" option, for those who don't want any restrictions in that category. There are 10 categories, and 3 options in each. A most restricted, unrestricted, and middle ground option. Obviously the choice of the contents of each are my own recommendations, in terms of where I "cut". If you don't like them, roll your own.

The areas divided as follows -

Major force categories

Armor

Artillery

Infantry

Guns

Minor force types

Flak

Cheap AFV

HC Guns

HC AFV

Overall

Force Mixing

Quality Level

For armor, the three levels are - 75 and under, Panther-76, and anything goes. Panther-76 allows everything *except* - Sherman Jumbos, Pershings, Churchills, King Tigers, Jagdtigers, and Jagdpanthers. 75 and under follows Fionn's old short-75 rule.

For artillery, the three levels are - 120mm and under, 155mm and under, and anything goes (except naval artillery, to be real about it). 4.5 inch fall under "120mm and under", and 5.5 inch fall under "155mm and under".

For infantry, the three levels are - vanilla only, limited SMGs, and anything goes. The first allows only the following infantry types - Rifle 44, Rifle 45, SS Rifle 44, SS Rifle 45, Security, Pioneer, SS Pioneer, Standard UK and US types and their engineers. No Allied airborne, no 2-LMG German squad types, no SMG-heavy squad types. Limited SMGs follows Redwolf's rule - for every platoon of Gebirgsjaegers, VG SMG, or VG Fusilier SMG, there must be one platoon of another type not on that list. Essentially, only half of the German platoons can have majority-SMG. The Allies can take any type in this setting. Anything goes means just what it says.

For guns, the three levels are - limited gun number, limited cheap guns, anything goes. The first uses my own rule of 2 towed guns maximum per 500 points of scenario size, fractions round down. Mortars, HMGs, infantry AT do not count against the total. Limited cheap guns uses redwolf's pair rule - for every towed gun under 50 points you buy, you must buy 1 towed gun costing 50 points or more. Anything goes means just what it says.

Those are the major areas of force composition. The next four areas cover minor types that some feel need to be restricted because of overmodeling, underpricing, rariety, or some combination thereof. Obviously, anybody who thinks there isn't a problem with a given area can just ask for "anything goes" in that area.

For Flak, the settings are no Flak, no Flakwagens, and anything goes. The first bans all towed and mobile Flak and also bans fighter-bombers. The second bans only the 7/1 and 7/2 mobile Flak systems; towed flak, whirblewinds, and fighter-bombers are allowed. The third allows everything.

For cheap AFV, the settings are 3 maximum, pairing, and anything goes. The first allows at most 3 gun-armed vehicles that cost less than 100 points each. The second allows any number of them, but one AFV costing more than 100 points must be purchased for every cheaper AFV (so only half your AFVs can cost less than 100 points each). Anything goes means what it says.

For HC guns, the settings are no HC guns, pairing, and anything goes. HC guns are puppchens and recoilless rifles, which some consider overmodeled, underpriced, or too rare to be realistic. None means what it says - don't buy any. Pairing means the redwolf idea, that you must buy one non-HC towed gun type for every HC towed gun type you buy. Anything goes means as many of them as you want (subject to overall gun restrictions naturally).

For HC vehicles, the settings are again no HC vehicles, pairing, and anything goes. This refers to AFVs with large howitzer main armament that have significant AT capability from the modeling of the HC rounds. Some consider them overmodeled, others think their HE capability is underpriced, and some think the wind up overrepresenting SPA in close combat. It includes 95mm British tanks, 105mm US tanks, Priests, StuH, Wespe, and Hummel.

For force mix, the settings are one type only, minimal mixing, and anything goes. One type means that only a single force type can be taken. Minimal mixing allows Allied Paras for the infantry and support weapon screens, and German Heer Rifle 44 and Rifle 45 infantry and support weapons, for any force type. (Notice this would allow e.g. Volksturm with towed guns). Anything goes means you can mix FJ with SS tankers, whatever you like.

For quality level, the settings are low quality, regular only, and veterans allowed. The first is played with both force qualities set "low", with any mix of greens and conscripts allowed. The second is played with both force qualities set to "medium", but only regulars can be bought - no veterans. The last is played with both force qualities set to "medium", and any mix of veterans or regulars may be used.

The system is designed to be gone through like a checklist. If you don't care about an item, just pick anything goes for it and thus exclude it from the set for that game. If you want a vanilla infantry only fight between greens with few guns and only medium artillery, you can specify that with infantry (1), quality (1), guns (1), artillery (1).

I hope this is useful to somebody.

[Jarmo]

I'm hijacking this thread. :cool:

I've tried mailing you, but get just bouncies.

I'd like to know where we stand with the CMx10 campaign.

I suppose it's dead, and if it's not we probably

cant find the players anymore.

But if it's dead, I'd like to know where we were at

when it ended. There was a lot of speculation of where

the enemy was going to attack from and stuff like that.

I'd like to know what they were trying to do and how

much we managed to hurt them, the FOW was intense.

[JasonC]

It is not dead, but it is currently unconscious -lol. My email at present is jasoncawley@prodigy.net It has changed due to a DSL outage, which I expect will be fixed by early June. I expect to revive the beast this summer when I have time for it again, if players are still available. Further questions about it should be directed to me by email.

[Sarge Saunders]

JasonC - I personally could see using these rules if need be. I think force mixture could be defined more specifically.

Originally posted by JasonC:

Minimal mixing allows Allied Paras for the infantry and support weapon screens, and German Heer Rifle 44 and Rifle 45 infantry and support weapons, for any force type.

Does this mean Axis Volksturm with Tanks, and AFVs purchased from Heer selection? Or FJs with tanks, etc.

I like the checklist structure to this ruleset. You may have even found simplicity too. It addresses enough playability, balancing, and historical issues to be a useful purchase ruleset.

Thanks and be sure to keep it posted up somewhere for reference between players.

-Sarge

[ May 22, 2002, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Sarge Saunders ]

[JasonC]

Good question, but no it does not mean that. "Support weapons" means the second screen, the "support" category, and does not include vehicles, armor, or artillery. The third setting, anything goes, does allow such mixing of FJ infantry with Heer armor etc. But the middle ground setting just minimally expands what can be used beyond the main force type you pick.

You are allowed to use vanilla Heer infantry (44 and 45) and the Heer infantry's support weapons (as in an infantry force type, focused on the first two screens - infantry and support - but without vehicles or armor). It mainly provides access to towed guns, and to vanilla infantry. On the Allied side, they can mix paratroop infantry and paratroop support weapons with whatever type they start with, but can't e.g. mix Brits with Americans.

Conceptually, the middle setting represents Heer (leg) infantry division units fighting alongside the other type, or for the Allies a Parachute (thus also leg infantry) division fighting alongside the other type. Each of which was common enough in practice (e.g. inside Bastogne). Practically, it also lets Allied players use higher SMG para squad types, and lets Germans use guns with some of the more exotic varieties of force type.

I hope this clarifies what I meant. "Support" means that category of points, not "everything but infantry".