A Few Questions.

[mjm800]

First of all I am loving this highly addictive game. The game is easy enough to jump right into and have fun, yet it has a high enough level of complexity to keep the game exciting. Bravo to the developers!

I was wondering about a few things:

1. Is there a script that is written or can be written to have Germany declare war on Benelux and Russia on historic dates? I understand that not having a script allows for some AI surprise but Germany always attacks Benelux in winter 1940 and Russia in winter 1941 this actually makes the German campaign harder by attacking in winter. I have seen other scripts that have historic entry dates I wish there was an option for historic German dates as well.

2. Can Russia be set to not activate until attacked? Russia was woefully unprepared for war and the current settings allow for too much preparation. I attempted to set Russia to neutral but that throws of the Baltic States annexation script I think it could work if Russia was allowed to research and redeploy units but it should not be allowed to purchase new units until attacked. The U.S. should have a similar setting.

3. Is there a way to access the unit data in order to create new units, such as SS Panzer’s and have them on their own upgrade tree? It would be ideal if we could create country specific units to add depth to the modding experience. The editor is very similar to the editor for Civilian III which allows for the creation of new and unique units.

4. Why was it decided to have grids on the map rather than hexes? I am getting used to the grids but I much prefer hexes.

5. Why was it decided to not allow stacking? If the units are going to be sized i.e. Corps and Armies then three Corps could stack in one grid as a Corps is smaller than an Army.

6. Subs are far too easy to detect and the UK can blockade the Baltic with Destroyers making it almost impossible for a sub to run the blockade. Can the percentage of detection be modified?

That’s it for now! Seriously, I absolutely love this game and I love the editor so I can customize just about every aspect of the game; however, it just stops short of grating total access. Will Global Conflict allow for greater customization?

Thank you for a great game.

[Hubert Cater]

Hi mjm800,

Glad to hear you are enjoying the game

1. You can certainly do this and this would just require you to edit the OFFENSIVE scripts as needed, but the good thing about the existing scripts is that the AI will only DoW on these countries when it is sufficiently ready to, i.e. it has the appropriate number of units in place and so on. If you change this to hard dates, it will of course DoW on the historical dates but it might not have the right number of units in place and may actually be less effective. You can of course compensate for this by adding in UNIT events as needed.

2. You can change this but as you noticed you then have to edit a few other scripts that are tied into the existing USSR settings. Alternatively you could turn off USSR/USA resources via a set of RESOURCE events so that they only activate once they are activated so that this way they will have less early MPPs for purchases etc. Take a look at the Urals Industry RESOURCE event for some ideas.

3. Unfortunately not at the moment

4. This was just a design decision made a long time ago

5. Another design decision just to keep things simple

6. Unfortunately no as there is no detection percentage to edit

Hubert

[mjm800]

Hi Hubert,

Thank you for your reply, your comments are very useful. I have a few more questions (if you don't mind).

1. I noticed that if a unit moves without using its full MP allowance it will lose any unused MP. It is a move it or lose it situation. Often I do not like the movement path the game decides I would like to move a few grids and then a few more. Sometimes I am not sure what is out there (fog of war) and it would be nice to be able to move a few grids at a time. Are there plans allow more freedom in movement?

2. Units do not retreat when attacked. Are there plans to allow for retreat and exploitation? Such as, if a unit is routed by an armor unit the attacking armor unit would be able to advance into the vacated grid after the attack.

3. Rail damage? Units moving into uncontrolled grids do not damage rail. It would be useful to have this option especially in Russia where the rail gauge did not even match German rail. Could there be an option box for rail (destroy on overrun) like with fortifications? Engineers could repair the rail, of course, countries would need to be able to build more Engineers with this option selected.

4. ZOC. Are there any plans for a more robust ZOC currently units will stop when they encounter a hidden unit; however, units can easily move around and cut off an adjacent exposed unit. Full strength Corps, Armies and Armor Groups should exert some control over their adjacent grids. Weakened units would, of course, lose control allowing attacking units to surround and destroy them if they do not escape.

Am I talking about a different game here and my wishes are just beyond the scope of the engine? Thank you for your time.

[Hubert Cater]

1. The path can be controlled by using the mouse and the Ctrl button on the keyboard, i.e. you can set waypoints.

2. I think this is a possibility in the future

3. We've thought about it and while it is a great feature for head to head games the AI would have a real hard time dealing with it effectively so the option was left out.

4. At the moment there are only adjacent unit penalties but this is something we have also considered developing further.