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darroch -> (9/14/2002 11:56:01 PM)
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"These battles are difficult"...
Getting playbalance right is very tricky and it is difficult to predict what a player's core force will look like...
We tried to ensure that getting a decisive in Russian Steel without stretching any rules (like a core force over 55 units) was possible but not easy...
I would strongly encourage anyone who has a particularly tough battle to edit their campaign and increase the build points for the next battle so you don't start out crippled...
If you have more than 3 or 4 dead tanks at the start of a battle it will take a lot of the fun out the new fight...
These latest battles are tougher for a slightly different reason: the Germans in 1942 have a lot more lethal antitank gunnery available: Stug F, PZkWIV fs/2, and the MKIIIs with the 50/L60 with APCR rounds ("arrow shot")....
In 1941 tank losses were more from Luftwaffe and infantry than anti-tank gunnery - you could hang about in the open and stay alive...
In 1942, this is no longer the case - the Germans can engage you before your own gunnery becomes effective...and they have the 50/L60, the 75/L43, and reengineered Pak76 guns - all deadly to T34s and KVs...
AS a result the Russian is forced onto the defensive tactically (as was the case historically) - reverse slope deployments, absorbing the Panzerfists with infantry before counterattacking with your own armor...constantly looking for the flank and rear shots on armor, use of artillery to button and disorient the enemy armor so you can get the first shot off and hopefully kill before getting sliced open....
During playtesting, I was losing 10-15 tanks per battle and getting marginal victories largely because I knew the general German layout!!!
When you play these battles for the first time, it will be tough!
So you have the designer's encouragement to increase your rebuild points by up to 300 points per battle to ensure a healthy core force for each battle...
I also got really frustrated by how hard it is to kill MKIII and MkIV Panzers with standard issue 76 guns....only the Zis5 has a decent chance against the front...
Oddly enough I found the Sherman III with a PEN of 102 and the M10 Wolverine with a nice PEN of 137 are useful additions - a couple of these held in reserve go a long way...and they are lend-lease candidates so it doesn't require switching nations which is a bit of cheat (but, admittedly, fun)...
I would ove to hear specific feedback on these battles if you have the time - they needn't be so hard that it isn't any fun.....we may have overdone it...
Cheers,
Brad
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