Thrawn modification - wow impressive

[JJColorado]

I downloaded this mod from Panzerliga and am thrilled with the changes that have been made as an alternative campaign for PBEM. Has anyone tried playing this mod yet? I was absolutely shocked (in a good way) at the extent of the changes that have been made. The new triple size map is gorgeous and adds areas like Petsamo, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia.

Does anyone have experience with this yet or has anyone tried PBEM? My initial impression is that it will help the Allies since Axis forces trying to go on the offensive in Russia will be at HQ supply 8 sooner and an offensive from Iraq or Turkey into Russian oilfields seems very tough with 5 HQ supply. Also taking out Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, etc will be tougher since there is more ground to cover and more supply problems.

This is definitely worth taking a look at if you haven't yet. It just drops into the campaigns folder as another campaign in v1.04.

Any thoughts/experience?

P.S. Someone asked for name of mod - I think it's just Thrawn English

It can be downloaded from the first link on this page on panzerliga

panzerliga scenarios web page

[ November 27, 2006, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: JJColorado ]

[Retributar]

What's the NAME of the MOD?.

Also, can you please leave a SHORT-CUT Link to that MOD here?.

-----------------------------

Addendum:

http://www.panzerliga.de/en/docs/szenarien/szenarien_sc2.php

1939 and earlier:

Thrawn - European Theater - Beta 0.9 | Author: Thrawn

For SC2 V1.04 english version !

ThrawnEnglish.zip

[ November 27, 2006, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: Retributar ]

[Night]

I downloaded and put it in my campaign file, but it doesn't show up on my list.

[SeaMonkey]

Did you take the CGN file out of the file folder?

[Retributar]

Night !,... i haven't tried the MOD myself yet, however, it seem's that other's have had it working. So, of course my first and only question is, do you have v1.04 for your SC2 program?. If you don't, as i have been in that situation,...i have an external Hard-Drive, and i so i have made what-ever version to what i need it to be on my extra H.D. & i didn't require in this case to use up my 2nd installation option for a 2nd Computer! .

So!, i hope i have helped in some way!.

[Night]

The CGN file is on the list with the rest.

[Night]

I have version 1.05... im not trying to downgrade to play the mod although i am very interested

[Thrawn78]

hello,

I will try to update the mod to 1.05 at the next weekend.

[JJColorado]

I've been playing this solitaire some and have just started a PBEM game using it. If you don't have 1.04 you can reinstall SC2 to a different path (for example I named my new install folder for the v1.05 version "C:\Program Files\Battlefront\Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg105") then play either the 1.05 version or the 1.04 version depending on which patch you apply to the new install folder.

I do hope Thrawn updates it to 1.05 though. Thrawn if you are really going to do it this weekend I might stop my PBEM game and restart when you have 1.05 out.

During solitaire play as Axis I have some impressions:

1) There are a lot of units already scheduled to come in when the game starts (throughout 1940 they come in) but building a new unit is very expensive. For example to build a new panzer unit is around 800+ MPP. So I don't think I'll be building many new units - it will be a true effort to save up for a new unit while combat operations are on-going.

2) Max AT value of 4 seems like a good idea to somewhat counter the super-effectiveness of late-game tanks.

3) Armies are very effective now - faster than before. They feel quite powerful.

4) It's been fun to tech up and build up the 4 starting German U-Boats and try to sortie them into the Atlantic.

5) Poland - with 2 HQ's and a lot more units - seemed tough at first but I knocked it out pretty quickly (about 3 turns I think) anyway without too many losses. I think the Germans historically probably took a few more losses - of course this was against the AI. Maybe the city of Lodz could be added to the map to strengthen their center.

6) I was able to use my starting forces on the French border to take out Belgium within 2 or 3 turns. Then I just kept pushing forward into France and almost at Paris while still in 1939 - again this is against the AI of course - but the French seem to be a little bit too weak perhaps.

7) I'm not 100% sure but it seems like there are about twice as many turns - in other words each turn only passes about half the number of weeks in this mod. It seems that I've had a lot of clear weather turns in 1939 which is why I say this.

8) Having Egypt as a separate allied country is interesting. Egypt DOW'ed Italy and advanced on Tobruk. This battle is now very insteresting since there are 3 fortress hexes at Tobruk now.

9) Italy being a little wider seems good since not every hex is bombardable by ships in southern Italy now.

10) The Italians have a sizeable army but the unit and ship strengths are so low that it will take a looooong time (1941?) before they can reinforce each unit up to strength 10. Starting with better supply and an HQ in Albania is interesting. Italy has 4 or 5 air units - each strength 4.

11) I tried DOW'ing on all minors just to see what they get and it looks like a lot of fun to have HQ's for many of the minors

12) I used max diplo on Spain as Germany and was able to get them to enter on my side in 1939. I'm sure the AI didn't counter-diplo though.

13) Finland seems very low on units so it seems like maybe they should get another corp on the russian border or something - hard to stop the Russians from taking Petsamo and also advancing along the very wide front available farther south. I don't know much about the winter war or how the Finns were able to stop the Soviets other than that they fought a lot in the forest - but the Soviets should be able to easily bypass the very few Finnish units on this map if they try to defend in the forest.

14) The entire geography of the new map is so much fun to check out. A larger UK seems very interesting - with Southampton, Hull, Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Belfast added the invasion of Britain would be more than a few hex advance now.

15) It's fun to see the French CV - Bearn - added as a tiny 3 point CV unit.

16) I love the addition of the islands (Faeroes, Azores, etc) in the Atlantic - needed now that the map is so much larger.

17) The map drawn near Leningrad seems to make it easier to cut it off. Historically the Soviets were able to hold open a tenuous corridor but the map east and south of Leningrad seems to make it easy for the Germans to cut off the city completely.

This mod is really a lot of fun!

[ November 28, 2006, 09:27 AM: Message edited by: JJColorado ]

[Night]

I personally think this map is how SC2 should have been stock. It is one of the main reasons I really don't play it anymore, it can get redundant in Russia and North Africa and more of a chore then a game. This mod sounds like it adds a lot of dynamic to the maneuver aspect of the conflict. The designers of SC seemed to miss the boat on that both times sadly. If you look at Sc2 you will see more of a WWI style fight then WWII. You form long fronts and for the most part straight land breakthroughs are hard to come by, while historically all the major armies attempted to slip through un or underdefended regions and manuever behind the enemy, on a strategic level.

In SC2 a Stalingrad type battle is gamey and doesn't have the feel that if you get out maneuvered you loose the battle, and more of a if you have less technology and strength, you loose. The best example I can give is France - 1940. The French Historically lost because they failed to counter the German manuever through the forest and lost. In SC2 France dies because the German troops are better and have more "HQs." With a larger map it will become a question of where is the best spot to deploy men, not let's build enough units to fill a line coast-to-coast.

[Thrawn78]

thx for ur feedback

many good points I have to think about

to 5) ya! but hard to find the right balance

to 7) Yes turns are at the same time so twice as many turns

to 10) Yes but that was a main problem of Italy during WWII (but also possible to attack with 6 strenght army )

to 12) there is an allied AI script to counter diplomacy on spain - but also a question of MPP

to 13) hard to describe that historical with units

so I i gave finnish units a bit more experience

but true maybe not enough

btw. hard to promise to finish the update at the weekend - cos the new AI scripts are very nice - so play ur game

[JJColorado]

Thrawn - about point (10)....I was not complaining about Italy - I like the way you handled them - having a large army but a very poor army. Good job. In fact it might take until 42 or 43 to reinforce and tech up their army - not 41 - which is realistic I think.

[Blashy]

Look forward to the updated version. I saw it a while back and I loved the size of the map.

I might just stick with his campaign and mod from there once it is up to version 1.05.

I think he has the better map size for the type of game SC2 plays. Not that Hubert did not design a nice map. Just preference.

And JJ, his mod should play better with the v1.05 AI.

[Blashy]

Thrawn, just put it so it is played for 1.05 very quick, you can do the refining after.

But I am anxious to give it a go and have a look.

[JJColorado]

Well Blashy - it may be best to do a parallel install of SC2 and patch it to 1.04 to play this scenario. Thrawn has added a LOT of scripting and events to it which you would lose if he does a quick version of it. Do 1.04 and look at the list of script events - you will be very impressed I think.

Also interesting is that you can now transit ships to Persian Gulf or Red Sea and between those as well - not just now to Red Sea. Good stuff.

[Blashy]

Not really, you can simply "export" version 1.04 and then open an editor with version 1.05 and use import and that should make it compatible... I think.

[JJColorado]

When I load a PBEM turn it shows that it's in a directory called "_letstry" on the savegame load screen. I've never even noticed that there is a directory column there on that screen. Anyway when I load it the game pops up a message box that says the directory "_letstry" doesn't exist and it will be loaded "without customizations". Does anyone know what this means? The turns seems to still load fine and I can play on w/o problems but this message has me concerned....

[Blashy]

Thrawn, when it comes to the Italian navy, it was stacked and ready to fight right away.

Their problem was a lack of confidence. They feared facing the British in the open waters and pretty much stayed in ports.

This is easily simulated by reducing their naval attack by -1. It simulates their lack of sea prowess and confidence and thus they do not make good use of all their options.

[ November 29, 2006, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: Blashy ]

[Thrawn78]

ok - 50% ready, seems weekend is possible

@ blashy:

import/export works but i want to check first the AI;

i agreed with italian naval attack -1 (also thinking about -1 movement)

any other ideas ?

(btw. feel free to help modding the mod it is not an ego thing just a tribune to a great game ^^)

permaster@gmx.de

[Hubert Cater]

it is not an ego thing just a tribune to a great game

[Blashy]

Thrawn, I would not reduce anything else but their attack power. The Italians had an excellent navy, it was the people behind the hardware that were not so confident, hehe.

[rleete]

Just tried this last night. Excellent mod.

Thanks for making it.

[Leedsunited40]

Bounce

[ December 04, 2006, 04:44 AM: Message edited by: Leedsunited40 ]

[Leedsunited40]

Bounce

[ December 04, 2006, 04:43 AM: Message edited by: Leedsunited40 ]

[Leedsunited40]

Can this mod be played at Normalized 14 day turns?

Also, when I try to go to the editor I get an error message:

"Could not find European theater/scripts/events/convoy.......

Cannot load scenario"

I noticed there is no convoy script - is this correct?