Advanced Third Reich Mod for SC2-WaW

[pzgndr]

My 1939 and 1941 A3R campaigns updated for SC2-WaW are now posted at CMMODS. Enjoy! Please discuss.

DESCRIPTION: This is an adaptation of Avalon Hill's 1992 board game ADVANCED THIRD REICH (A3R), the sequel to THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE THIRD REICH originally designed by John Prados in the 1970s. This adaptation has roughly the same map, the same force pools and scenario orders of battle, and the same relative economic production and unit costs. The scale and scope is essentially the same, and veteran players familiar with A3R should feel right at home – right down to the customized military unit bitmaps. THIS CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR SC2-WAW.

VERSION NOTES

v1.00

DATA CHANGES

- made minor change to UK tiles east of London for connectivity

- made minor change to Sweden tiles to fix Stockholm port connection to capital

- made minor change to Denmark tiles to remove island and extend terrain northward

- made minor change to Palermo port for connectivity

- renamed Dusseldorf to Cologne and Colgne to Bonn per original A3R map

- added various minor cities per original A3R to improve supply and for historical flavor (note: minor cities provide no value and no defense bonuses except max entrenchment of 3)

- added minor city to Azores and Rhodes to permit op moves by air units

- changed Maginot Line from fortifications to fortresses

- added port Glasgow

- added port Al Aqabah for alternate debarkations for Transports if Suez is captured

- added port Sundsvall to northern Sweden for better supply at mine

- added port in Kuwait for additional UK/USA reinforcements

- increased max strength of fortresses and minor cities to 10 to improve supply

- added text layer to map with names of resources, countries, rivers and bodies of water (note: A3R objectives are labled in red but have no effect on gameplay)

- updated weather map with new SC2-WaW weather zones

- moved starting U-boat to North Atlantic in 1939

- reduced Portugal corps to strength 5

- added Saudi Arabia corps for garrison

- made adjustments to Germany 1939 setup on Polish border

- added splash and victory conditions bitmaps to Interface

- added updated flag_sprites bitmaps for historical German Nazi flag

- made Rosyth an industrial center

- increased German and USA AG command range to 6

- updated force pools and CTVs with new SC2-WaW unit types

- accelerated German Rommel AG arrival to January 1941 for more historical arrival in Libya

- added third ASW fleet build for USA and added 1 ASW fleet to 1941 campaign start

- added German destroyer to P/Q in 1939 and at start in 1941

- reduced USSR P/D by 1 month and increased French P/D by 1 month for infantry corps only

- reduced UK P/D by 1 month for infantry corps only

- added 1 point of experience to USSR Army Groups on P/Q

- made minor CTV adjustments for Artillery, Tactical Bombers and Strategic Bombers

- set partisan spotting to 1 consistent with 1-3 corps spotting

- increased default sub naval defense to 3

- changed SA=0 and TA=0 for strategic bombers to restrict attacks on land units

- reduced IT increments to 5%

- increased Italy's allowed research chits to 3 (750 MPP limit)

- upped German subs to 15 raid multiplier from 10

- updated research upgrade costs (research changes, fortification AAR, etc.)

- fixed several upgrade costs for infantry and artillery techs

- increased cost of influencing major powers to 150 MPP

- updated weather zone data with SC2-WaW weather changes

- deleted movement penalty for snow/ice; movement penalty only for mud now

- increased operational move costs to 25%

- increased port sub defense

SCRIPT CHANGES

- updated all event scripts with new #IMAGE and #SOUND lines

- updated unit events with new unit types and new #CONDITION_POSITION lines

- updated AI purchase scripts with new unit types and new #VARIABLE_CONDITION lines

- updated AI research scripts with new #ARTILLERY lines

- added more variants (mostly from original A3R game):

-- Italy modernizes and expands its army

-- Germany develops heavy tanks ahead of schedule

-- V-weapons produced in quantity

-- Red Army is not weakened by purges

-- New Soviet tanks available ahead of schedule

-- Expanded British commando operations

-- Developments in Far East allow transfer of American naval units to Atlantic

-- Iraq becomes a German Minor Ally

-- Cyprus transferred to Italy following World War I

-- USA expands airborne capability

-- Iran begins oil production

- made significant revisions to amphibious and transport scripts for FRIENDLY_POSITION corrections and other logic corrections (Allied behavior in Med and for D-Day is noticeably better)

- added Axis AI scripts for Sealion, Spain and Turkey strategies for 5% possibility at normal difficulty levels

- made significant revisions to various Allied AI scripts for North Africa and Middle East actions/reactions

- updated Sealion scripts:

-- added amphibious scripts for possible 2nd Sealion attempt after USSR is at war

-- revised transport_minor scripts for German reinforcements and USA response

-- added purchase scripts for USA mobilization to support an early Sealion response

- added AI amphibious scripts for possible Allied invasion of France in 1943 and updated transport_minor scripts for earlier reinforcements if successsful

- made adjustments to AI amphibious scripts for USA invasion of Portugal and added offensive script for attacking Spain in case of Portugal invasion and neutral Spain

- added amphibious_minor scripts for possible German and Romanian landings in Turkey

- added fleet script to hold UK sub at Malta until Italy at war

- made adjustments to fleet scripts for evacuation of UK fleets from Red Sea to include Aqabah

- added AI fortification scripts for Maginot Line, Moscow, Stalingrad, Oder River and Elbe River

- added variations to French garrison scripts for Paris defensive line

- made some garrison script adjustments for French and UK Belgian border defense, El Alamein, and Italy pre-war build up on French border

- added AI garrison scripts for UK while France not surrendered to hold air units in Egypt

- made adjustments to German garison scripts for Fall Gelb to better protect Bonn/Essen from Allied aggression

- added German garrison script for Eastern Front in event France is not surrendered by October 1940

- added UK garrison scripts for Middle East ports to help keep them open for reinforcements

- set trigger garrison and made adjustments to offensive script for German DOW on Baltic States

- revised AI garrison scripts for Taranto to better stage Italian units for transport to Libya

- revised Axis AI garrison scripts for Albania and Greece

- added some more German garrison scripts for Italy near-surrender, post-surrender and Po River defense line

- fixed USA garrison script for Rome

- made some offensive script adjustments for German build up for Fall Gelb, and added possible early attack on Netherlands triggered by capture of Krakow

- increased chance of German invasion of Baltic States

- added AI offensive for USA attack into Vichy France from Lorient

- added a few AI offensive scripts for continuous Allied offensives to Berlin and Munich, hopefully to get Allies to commit more air units to the continent for support

- revised offensive script for USSR -> Helsinki to require Finland to be at war

- made various revisions to Axis and Allied purchase and research scripts to improve performance

- revised most AI transport scripts to BUILD_LENGTH=0 to expedite movements

- made several adjustments in AI transport_minor scripts to improve AI performance: fixed logic error for USA reinforcements to Morocco and Algeria, revised cancellation criteria for USA continuous buildup to England, revised cancellation criteria for UK transports to Egypt and Iraq

- made adjustments in AI transport scripts to fix logic error for UK reinforcements to Italy

- added transport_minor scripts for UK intervention to Free French North Africa countries

- added AI transport_minor and amphibious_minor scripts for increased Allied pressure in North Africa and France in event Axis controls Cairo

- fixed transport_minor scripts for possible German reinforcements to Finland

- made adjustments to transport_minor scripts to improve UK/USA reinforcements to Egypt and Iraq

- revised Axis AI transport_minor scripts for Germany to respond to a pro-Allied coup in Sweden

- adjusted USA transport and fleet scripts to delay North Africa invasions until UK is liberated

- adjusted UK/USA transport_minor scripts for Spain belligerent intervention

- adjusted USA transport_minor scripts for reinforcements to Portugal

- added additional transport scripts for Kuwait

- revised transport_minor scripts to extend Iraq reinforcements after Italy surrender until France surrender

- made more adjustments to AI transport and transport_minor scripts to cancel Allied reinforcements to Italy once Allies have advanced to German border

- made adjustments to UK/USA transport scripts for reinforcements to Italy and France

- adjusted activation #1 events to increase USA reaction to Allied DOWs to 4-8% and Italy reaction to Allied DOWs to 10-20%

- made adjustments to activation_2 and war_entry scripts to slightly reduce variants and Axis/Allied AI events for various ahistorical country activations

- made adjustments to activation #1 scripts to slightly increase Swedish and Spanish reaction to Allied DOW on Belgium, and changed these scripts to Type 1 to ensure some reaction occurs

- revised activation #1 events to add Diplomatic penalty if Axis DoW Saudi Arabia

- added partisan scripts for Vichy France

- decreased triggers by 5% for most partisan event scripts

- revised Swedish iron ore convoy script to start in Sundsvall for more raiding opportunity

- revised convoy scripts to maximum transfers (for AI benefit) to USSR; players can adjust these

- adjusted North Atlantic convoy routes

- adjusted convoy scripts for US Lend Lease to UK and USSR

- added resource script to activate Vichy when Axis units are approaching Paris

- added Strength event for Russian Winter

- increased triggers by 5% for Malta Effect supply scripts and made other supply and strength script adjustments for Russian Winter scripts

- added surrender_2 scripts for Italy and Romania; USA has to be within 3 tiles of Rome and USSR has to be within 4 tiles of Bucharest

- added surrender_1 script for German occupation of northern Italy and Albania upon Italian surrender_2. Note this assumes a historical Italian surrender upon USA invasion of southern Italy.

- added surrender_2 scripts for Vichy France surrender upon liberation of France

- changed territory script for Finnish border war to make variable event a Type 0 with 75% chance, which means border war has 25% chance of not happening

- added variant unit events for France, USSR and Germany engineers

- deleted Axis AI unit script for Romanian armor since minor purchase script is implemented

- changed variable_condition in unit events for UK Egyptian reinforcements to now require France is surrendered; ie, Commonwealth will not support aggressive Allied strategy

- added AI unit events for extra German armor when Germany DOWs USSR

- added De Gaulle unit event for HQ, armor and Free French fighters to arrive when France is liberated

- added AI unit events for USSR reserves when Axis gets within 5 tiles of various objectives (based on original 3R game): 3-5 armor in Moscow, 2-3 infantry in Leningrad, and 1-3 infantry in Kharkov, Stalingrad and Grozny

- added AI unit event for USSR reserves for loss of Stalingrad similar to loss of Moscow

- added Axis AI unit event for Germany to release final reserves

- added UK armor corps for Allied AI unit event if Cairo is captured by Axis

- added alternate Axis marginal victory script

- added Allied AI war_entry script for Pro-Allied Coup in Norway and adjusted various triggers for coups in Iraq, Norway and Syria

- added optional historical French war_entry script

[MemoryLeak]

Sir,

I obviously have no clue how to install this mod. I copied the downloaded files into the campaign folder in SC2 WAW. However when I launch the game the Advanced Third Reich option is not there. What am I screwing up?

[pzgndr]

The zip file has a .cgn file and the campaign folder. These should be installed into the Campaign folder for SC2-WaW. Maybe you downloaded into SC2 and not SC2-WaW? Check that the .cgn file is listed with the other default .cgn files and the campaign folder is listed with the other ones. It should then appear in the start menu.

[Wolfpack]

Originally posted by pzgndr:

The zip file has a .cgn file and the campaign folder. These should be installed into the Campaign folder for SC2-WaW. Maybe you downloaded into SC2 and not SC2-WaW? Check that the .cgn file is listed with the other default .cgn files and the campaign folder is listed with the other ones. It should then appear in the start menu.

I'm having the same issue. Checked the folders, and everything is in the right place, and appears to be okay, but it's not showing in the menu.

[Alaric]

maybe will not be any help but if you have some more scenarios in the diretory there are two pages of scenarios, you will move to second page with a click on upper right corner of the scenario selection screen, third reich maybe in the second page, it list it ok, as two pages detected, maybe other issue but some players at first have problems with this "issue",

best regards,

alaric.

[pzgndr]

Yes there are multiple pages to the campaign selection menu. Is this working OK for everyone now or no??

With forum comments about performance issues and the recommendation to set resolution to 16-bit, I checked this and noticed my custom bitmaps displayed with a white box around them. This is now fixed and updated files are posted at CMMODS. Just download one of the campaigns and copy the updated unit_sprites_military.bmp file to the other campaign's bitmap folder. I'm now wondering how much faster this will play on my PC at 16-bit mode...

[targul]

Just downloaded this update for WAW. I want to thank you much Pzgndr for this quick update to my favorite game and mod.

[John DiFool the 2nd]

Hey Panzer-been playing this, enjoying it a bunch. Two questions/comments/reports:

1. When the event giving extra units to the Italians comes up, I get an extra tank and 3 extra corps. Problem is that the hard limits are not expanded, as I got 2 of my tanks killed and could only buy one back. Perhaps that was intentional.

2. While the map is certainly roomier in the N/S direction, the distance from the German border to certain key Russian cities seems comparatively small.

[Alaric]

is a very very good mod and make ready very fast after the release of the expansion pack, i do have taken your scenario as the base for my own mod, pzgren. thanks for make it available,

keep up the good work!!!,

with best regards,

alarick.

[pzgndr]

OK, thanks guys, apparently all is working well. I've been enjoying the game too! This is my way to share.

John, unfortunately nothing in the scripting allows for changes to things like force pool limits, research levels, etc. That would be ideal, and if the scripting gets to that point I can better implement the variants and A3R force pool changes over time. For the variant events, you just get the extra units. This at least saves some cost, and if you already have your other units built then you get extras to use for as long as they last. Germans could get a second airborne corps, and with two they have some interesting options.

For the map, it's pretty much a straight conversion from the A3R map. A copy of the AWAW map I used is at the back of the Design Notes document, with the tile overlay. If there are discrepancies in that original map then you'll see them in my map too. As far as the Russian cities being too close, I've found as Axis they aren't as close as I'd like...

[HardRock]

the site doesnt seem to be loading. is it down?

thanks

[MemoryLeak]

pzgndr,

I've been trying out the mod. I like it. I was wondering, the research is very expensive and some things are no longer an available choice. Like infantry weapons, heavy tanks and anti-tank weapons. And I am not allowed to buy the new like anti-air and anti-tank units. Is this intentional or am I having a problem?

By the way the research I am allowed to buy never come to fruition. I have been playing two years and no upgrades have been available.

[pzgndr]

Research is limited and expensive by design. This is mentioned in the Design Notes document. It is OK to actually read this, you know?

Mind you, this is an adaptation of the Third Reich board game. There is a quote from The Gamer's Guide to THIRD REICH which has stuck with me all these many years since it was published in 1985:

Similarly, there are those critics who claim that the game would have been more interesting with BRPs spent on technology to introduce bigger and better weapon systems. But given three-month Game Turns, can't one more readily assume that such technological improvements are occurring simultaneously for both sides (or near simultaneously as shown by changes in Initiative which provide devastaing "double turns"). That is, can't we assume that the Russian introduction of the T-34 is soon balanced by the German introduction of the Mk IV with an upgunned 75 or a Panther? Do we really need to drag players through the mechanics and record keeping of such technological improvements? Isn't it easier on the players to just assume that such developments have a counter-balancing effect at this time scale? Or do we really need to introduce new armor counters with greater strength to reflect bigger and better tanks? Surely the Panzer Corps of 1944 is more than a match for the Mk II's which conquered Poland, but is it not also true that those Panthers are now facing Shermans and SU-85's rather than cavalry? The relative strengths of these forces as measured against the opposition has not changed. Thus the emphasis remains on questions of grand strategy, not tactics. For the effects of technological advances and also to introduce new situations into our game, we fell back on the Variant Chits - a less obvious but far more elegant way of showing the importance of technology in the game.

Of course, the power of the computer now frees players from record keeping and units in this game and others can be easily upgraded. Thus players expect more and more micromanagement opportunities. But is it really better, and is the old argument above totally irrelevant? I chose to pursue the minimal approach.

Personally, I harbor a few minor concerns about the effect high tech has on the combat formulas. There is no relative comparison of opposing tech levels in combat and late game battles tend to be bloody affairs. This is fun in its own way and players get to see new unit icons during a game, but again I don't believe the old "relative strengths" argument above no longer matters and my choice was to pursue something different.

Please understand my intent in all this was to take the old Third Reich game system I grew up playing and enjoying and adapt it to SC2-WaW. This mod demonstrates many of the features of the comprehensive Editor, providing a totally different game than the default campaigns with larger map, more units, monthly turns and more. Hopefully it will encourage others to develop more custom games of their own to share.

By the way the research I am allowed to buy never come to fruition. I have been playing two years and no upgrades have been available.

None at all, for either side? This is most likely bad luck unless others report research is not working at all for some reason. In my Design Notes, I do mention how the land unit upgrades for Russia and Italy are the "Wild Cards" in this game. Early advances can provide an advantage, while delayed advances could prove disastrous. Generally Russia and Italy are upgrading by 1942-43. Note also how these upgrade costs for land units are also expensive.

[MemoryLeak]

PDZNDR,

First off I'm 59 and I have learned many things. One of them is to admire anyone who has your dedication and ability to make a computer game. I can't do it so I certainly was not making any critism of your product. I enjoy this type of game.

I just wanted to make sure I was grasping the concepts. And you are correct. I should read the manual. Actually I usually do read the manuals because I print them at work and read them at night. But I didn't know about the design notes. My fault. Thanks for the reply and the good game.

[pzgndr]

Here's what I'm currently working on for an update:

v1.1

DATA CHANGES

- reduced max unit experience from 5 to 3.

- reduced hidden attacker readiness bonus from 25% to 10%.

SCRIPT CHANGES

- adjusted various USA naval scripts to: 1) focus USA liberation of UK on Manchester rather than London, 2) require Manchester be friendly rather than London to trigger USA invasion of North Africa scripts, and 3) provide better USA fleet support for invasion of North Africa with and without Axis control of Gibraltar

- added USA purchase scripts to build more ASW if Axis control London or Gibraltar

- adjusted war_entry scripts regarding Iran to reduce Axis AI chance from 25% to 10% and added increased Allied AI chance if UK is surrendered

- adjusted Axis garrison scripts for Yugoslavia

- fixed USSR garrison script for Voronezh

Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Any game reports??

[asgard]

Originally posted by pzgndr:

The zip file has a .cgn file and the campaign folder. These should be installed into the Campaign folder for SC2-WaW. Maybe you downloaded into SC2 and not SC2-WaW? Check that the .cgn file is listed with the other default .cgn files and the campaign folder is listed with the other ones. It should then appear in the start menu.

I am a rookie at this. I downloaded the unzipped file(s) to campaing folder. Do I have to unzip the folder or what? Someone please show me the steps.

[asgard]

Nevermind. Figured it out after an a hour. I'm a virgin at this.

[Kuniworth]

Bill:

I also found out the hard way that experience is a killer and need to be reduced. Have you worked with tech-levels and combat values to reduce the impact of combat?

[pzgndr]

Yeah, what I've seen is that tac bombers and artillery accumulate experience faster than other unit types and can get elite reinforcements which create very tough units. So reducing max experience to 3 should help here without affecting most other units. I won't say experience is a killer in my mod but some situations on the Russian Front that I've seen prompted me to reconsider this.

For CTVs, I reworked everything to be consistent with the nationality combat values in the original board game. Research, as I've discussed above, is limited and does not have the same impact on combat as seen in the default game. Except for Russian infantry and tank upgrades and Italian infantry upgrades, land units do not get any tech upgrades. So the emphasis of A3R remains on questions of grand strategy, not research game tactics and luck.

[John DiFool the 2nd]

Hey Kuni, Buntaland has a 404 error when I click on the link...

[Kuniworth]

It should be changed now...

[william bowen]

Pzgndr great mod I am enjoying it very much, one question did you leave out the railways on purpose or they could not be put into the advance 3rd reich type of map. Does not matter one way or the other just curious. Thanks again for all your effort.

PS Will you be doing anything with the global map for waw or is that strictly a fury software type of thing.

Bill Bowen

[pzgndr]

Thank you Bill. I left out roads and railroads in the mod by design primarily to keep it simple. Op moves are unrestricted, much like SRs were in the original game. Considering the size of the campaign, keeping the roads/railroads layers out of play probably helps with executution speed. It's still a long game, but fun!

I considered adding more map detail. The World in Flames map is a good guide with its roads, railroads, forests, etc. And yet the simplicity of the original Third Reich map allows players to focus on grand strategy.

[william bowen]

[ November 17, 2007, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: william bowen ]

[william bowen]

Thank you Pzgndr makes sense to me, thanks for getting right back to me. Did you not answer the second part of my post because of fury software, the part about doing the global map Japan, China etc. I would like to see you tackle that one I am sure it would be well done. Do you think anyone will tackle it other than Hubert and fury software.

Bill