Epic game

[Minty]

Whilst there have been a lot of posts lately suggesting smaller tweaks and improvements I for one would like to commend the great HC once more as I think the balance is now (near) perfect in the game.

I've been playing an absolute epic H to H game with a good friend for the last 4 months! We both know the game pretty well and used to play SC1. In earlier versions of SC2 I was pretty much able to kick his butt with some gamey moves as well as my all round brilliance by 1942 both as the evil empire or rebel alliance. This one is going to the wire. Just ending 44 and there isn't a winner, nor an end, in sight. We've tried every trick in the book and no real breakthrough. Advantage probably still to his Axis ( he has the Caucasus and lots of MPP) but western Europe is mine and the US and british grinding him down. It shows that if you get two competent players who know the game mechanics then most of the exploits can be cancelled and I do believe that finally I can say I don't think it matters which side you start with.

If the game ever ends I'll do a report but highlights so far include

French tanks fighting Italians in North Africa in Nov1939 forcing a winter attack on Paris by germany.

Level 4 german tanks barby in 41 in one huge armoured punch resulting in USSR losing ALL it's units and Moscow in Sept 41 but coming back and recapturing moscow in spring 44 (just lost it again mind you)

The total loss of the Royal Navy and Italian Navy and Kriegsmarine. Every single ship.

Allied forces having 2 land units in Sept 41 in total world wide. One canadian corp and one NZ corp. all others ( ALL USSR and British) wiped out. USA came in next turn thankfully along with some rebuilds.

Level 5 US tanks in France in 43. I didn't even know what the graphic looked like.

Over 100+ landunits lost by each side (including around 30 or so Level 5 tanks)

Succesful sealion and UK being down to 1 NZ corp defending Alex with 2 German armies in egypt. Now UK has the british isles back and Ireland, nearly all of North africa and just took Turin. Also Paris and Brussels.

[Exel]

Sounds interesting. Will be waiting for the full AAR. :cool:

Edit: Come to think of it, wouldn't it be cool to have a replay feature in SC2? Something á la the Civilization games where you can take a quick recap of everything that has happened from start to end - nothing too detailed, maybe like the whole map shrunk to fit the screen, showing the frontlines and the areas controlled and then auto fast forwarding the turns in a couple of minutes.

[jon_j_rambo]

Yep, "Replay" feature was requested, along with spectator mode, by the Legend.

Hubert did put in a clock!

Looking forward to SC-2

[Hubert Cater]

Minty,

Thanks and I am very glad you are enjoying the game

Hubert

[xwormwood]

Originally posted by Exel:

Edit: Come to think of it, wouldn't it be cool to have a replay feature in SC2?

Even the old SC-Ancestor Clash of Steel (SSI) had a nice replay-function.

AND I LOVED IT!

Next missing part of SC what Clash of Steel already had is the ability to switch the playing side if you go against the AI.

Both very cool features which i am missing so much.

Sob, sob.

[jon_j_rambo]

@Minty --- Alright dude, I like the promotion of your Epic, how about some follow up?

[Minty]

This one is just running and running. It's Summer 45 and really no end in sight. The losses are huge on all sides. It's carnage. Both sides desperately trying to find a chink in the armour of the other. It could still go both ways. I'm not even ruling out a stalemate as we've only got 2 years left!

A ray of light for the allies. Their 44 offensive proved shortlived and they were kicked out of Belgium in Autumn 44 as well as losing Moscow again. The RAF and US army aircorp were forced to fly out of ther airfields as northern France was being overrun by German corps and Bradley's HQ destroyed. However a ragtag group British, American and French trops held Paris just long enough to reinforcements to beat the Gemrans back. After losing Moscow again the Red army stock a stand at some random soviet city and held against large Wehrmacht numbers. The german steamroller has finally been stopped in the east. In Spring mud Moscow has just been retaken by the communists again and this time along with Leningrad. However Stalingrad and caucasus still in Axis hands though and feeding vast amounts of Oil into the nazi factories.

Italy has fallen but crack German commandos command the banks of the River Po and are blocking any entry across the alps and threaten to sweep down to install a rescued Benito back into power. Neither side can afford not to defend Northern Italy but it's a phoney war as we don't have the firepower to spare to break through such tough terrain.

Spain is cut off from its fascist brothers but Allied commanders are wary of diverting any forces from the task of tying down as many German troops as possible.

Fortress europe is locked down with no weak spot to penetrate. But as german losses mount will the Fuhrer be forced to pull back from defending some of his partners and captured land? Or can his huge oil reserves keep his forces dominant? Allied commander's promises to Stockholm to grant them planning permission for thousands of IKEA stores worldwide are starting to win the Swedes over and they must surely enter by Winter 45.

Allied losses up to 200 land units total now!!

Axis should have a large panzer reserve somewhere though of Level 5 tanks ready to punish the slighest allied mistake. The luftwaffe still reigns supreme in the east and a strong German counter is expected to break Russian resitance.

It's a monster.

[Desert Dave]

Allied commander's promises to Stockholm to grant them planning permission for thousands of IKEA stores worldwide are starting to win the Swedes over and they must surely enter by Winter 45.

Sounds like a great game Minty.

Had very many myself, playing HvsH.

Now,

If we can only punch up the AI

Some more, a little bit more,

Here and there and

All around the SC Town, well,

We'd really have some kind of b/witchen

Wonderful, eh?

And,

Some thing tells me... it's gonna happen,

IS happening... now. :cool:

[Minty]

So this game is STILL going on. We're down to about a turn a day and both exhausted. It's Sept 45 and it finally looks like there will be a winner. Unable to knock the Soviets out of the Urals,the Axis have been stretched and are just starting to snap. It's still not over but Germany's usual summer offensive ran out of steam straight awya and the Fatherland has just been breached in the West with Volonezh retaken and stalingrad cut off from the Reich, besieged by the Red Army.

Death toll in this one is incredible. Never seen anything like it. 130 soviets, over 110 Germans! and the Brits have lost over 45 land units as well as the entire Royal Navy. There can't be a man under 50 or over 12 alive in Europe.

Tanks have dominated with slow advances in Airfleets and early Heavy tanks on both sides. Allies airpower not huge in numbers but very focused in France and on high experience. Luftwaffe not able to dominate on both fronts.

I'm still not confident to call it and the Axis could hold for a stalemate but I think we'll decide it by Spring 46. Sweden have finally entered the War (after a huge Allied order for volvos and flatpack furniture) opening yet another front for Germans to hold as Franco has just chocked on his tapas with long range US paras taking Madrid and forcing his surrender. UK economy should be a monster once the Gibraltor effect is over.

If the allies do win then the turning point seems to have been the US timely reinforcement through Suez to save Alex. We shall see and I'll give you the full bloody deathtoll when it's over.