Campaign observations (good bad ugly)

Campaign observations (good bad ugly) (Full Version)

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sjuncal -> Campaign observations (good bad ugly) (6/1/2000 5:34:00 AM)
Generated Campaign, US (mixed) vs Italian's (1) and German's (2 & 3) 16 battles from 5/44 to 6/45 Forces (approximate): HQ Jeep 1 Platoon (4) M16 SPAA 2 platoons US Rifle + support (Fwd Observer, mortar, 30 cals) 1 platoon US Eng. + support 1 platoon US Rangers + support (w/ "attached" 50 cals and AT team) 1 half company (less than 2 platoons) allied commandos + support Canadian and British commandos with FO's Bren teams and "attached" 17 pounders. 1 Section Sherman Flame tanks 1 Section Scott CS tanks 1 Fat platoon of m4(76mm) Sherman's (fat = two "zero" leaders and three other tanks. 1 Platoon Wolverine TD's Multiple sections M20 armored cars (probably 5 sections) 1 Section each of 57 and 76mm AT Multiple sections of 37mm AT (for non-towed mobility and later upgrade). 75mm pack on map arty (multiple) 105mm on map arty (a couple) 155mm btn Misc. mortars 5 each of US. CA. and BR. snipers 15 total 1 FO jeep and FO team A few Jeeps for later upgrade Support: 1 btn 155mm arty some more 105's, 2 ammo carriers added later (see below) 1 btn 155mm and 1 btn 8 inch, a platoon of Ammo carriers, and an ammo dump and 4 P38j air support. Here are my thoughts in no particular order (note I realize I'm not up against a strong opponent, these comments should be read knowing that I know that... or something) [img]http://www.matrixgames.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] Arty is effective so long as only FO's are used to call it in... No line of sight seems needed... Pre-plotted "priority hex"'s are superfluous, you only get four of them (arbitrary and IMHO too small a number). The FO can call in available arty within 0.1 to 0.4 of a turn every turn. Needless to say whole companies of Infantry can be turned back with a mix of forward deployed snipers, and a subsequent artillery bombardment (or two). The option to shift a fire mission is of almost no use, as the FO can completely retarget with no real penalty. Italians are mince meat in every battle so far, 6 decisive wins for me 6 crushing defeats for the Italians. In defend scenarios I can set up brutal cross fires, and await about 8 platoons of Mechanized (dropped off by trucks) "line INF." supported by 2 AT guns, and 4 20mm AA guns, and 5 or 6 Tanks total. Force composition has been the same in every battle... Kinda boring, you almost want to say "it didn't work last time you pasta eatin' wops!" (Note author of post is Italian and so claims the right to use such epithets, author also loves pasta and wops for that matter) "Campaign score" has stayed at "20" despite wins of 2000 or more points (is it supposed to work that way?). Out of three "delay" missions each has ended at or around turn 5 due I suspect to a complete rout of the enemy or the destruction of the Italian CO. HQ. Which in my last battle drove to the front ahead of it's 5 or 6 tanks, got it's ride shot out from under it and then was picked apart over subsequent turns. Commando's "infiltrating" makes them disappear, I was hoping for something neat like blowing the bridge I set as their objective and set them to infiltrate... Scratch one fat Canadian Commando platoon (four squads plus support) only it's FO and it's Bren and Mortar team show up any more. I canceled it's "infiltrate" mission last battle but they failed to show up after the deploy. The P38j is a waste of 147 requisition points, out of 6 or 7 sorties per plane (4 planes) they have: no kills; have caused no casualties; have repeatedly attacked trucks instead of infantry and trucks instead of Tanks; flown right over spotted (by the FO that called them in!) Tanks that were their target, to attack something 10 hexes away. They've failed even to destroy one of the 10 or 15 SOFT TRUCKS they've attacked. I must echo other's sentiments about op fire choosing stupid targets (retreating already unloaded trucks seems to be the favorite) 8 or 10 hexes away when there are Tanks 4 or 5 hexes from my position. With Italian tanks this is no big deal... But when It's a Tiger that rides right up to one of my Sherm's or TD's and blasts it because that Sherman and the 5 or 6 other Tanks and 7 or 8 other AT guns which could have conceivably stopped the Tiger; all shot at some retreating unarmed truck, then it's going to be really frustrating... Re: Support ... I seem to have kept every support unit I've purchased... Those 155mm btn's at 400 points a pop start adding up (when they're available to be fired at least) I added an 8 inch btn to it before an "assault" mission which game me the more than 1000 support points need to buy it. As with everyone else I haven't seen hide nor hair of the upgrade/repair screen, this has become somewhat of a challenge... As I've added an ammo dump and carriers, and take front line troops and get them to supply as "reserves" in rotation... kinda like that aspect actually... But it would be nice to make some changes... or fix the three (total!) AFV I've lost and get my artillery thinned squads back up to strength. If the bug that causes this is tracked down I wouldn't mind seeing the repair screen only every 4 or 5 battles making supply a more important consideration. I love how hard infantry is to anihilate... Still I wish they would surrender more readily, instead of being destroyed or dispersing. The bug... all this leads up to my suspicion that the bug I'm seeing and many others see is a failure to update the campaign after each battle... either sporadic failure (those that do occasionally see an upgrade/repair screen) or total failure in my case... I would point to: 1) Same "campaign score" after every battle 2) Exact same force composition for the Italians over 6 battles 3) Keeping support units from one battle to the next 4) No upgrade/repair screen 5) I seem to get the same mix of "early" battles... 6) the date has not advanced... I'm 6 battles in to a 16 battle campaign yet it's still 5/44 and I'm still fighting Italians. As always these experiences are intended to be constructive.

victorhauser -> (6/1/2000 5:47:00 AM)
Repair/Upgrade Screen in Campaigns... I get the repair/upgrade screen after every battle I've fought. I've been able to fix and/or change all of my core units after each battle. Perhaps this has something to do with what download version you have. As I recall, there were three choices when downloading the game. Could it be that each of those download versions is subtly different? Or another possibility is the method of downloading. Those were real big files. I used a cable modem to download the whole thing in a little more than an hour. Could it be that fidelity errors creep in when downloads take a long long time to finish (i.e., when not using a cable modem)?

grockall -> (6/1/2000 7:04:00 AM)
I don't think it can be download time. It took me 25 hours all together using gozilla breaking off every 3-4 hours. I always get the rebuild/upgrade

Mike Wood -> (6/1/2000 7:52:00 AM)
Hello! There is the long WW II campaign and the Campaign Generator. There are several bugs in the Campaign Generator code, which I am currently fixing. The long WW II campaign is much more stable. quote: Originally posted by victorhauser: I get the repair/upgrade screen after every battle I've fought. I've been able to fix and/or change all of my core units after each battle. Perhaps this has something to do with what download version you have. As I recall, there were three choices when downloading the game. Could it be that each of those download versions is subtly different? Or another possibility is the method of downloading. Those were real big files. I used a cable modem to download the whole thing in a little more than an hour. Could it be that fidelity errors creep in when downloads take a long long time to finish (i.e., when not using a cable modem)? We will be releasing a patch for the game, soon, which will repair many of the known bugs and add a few new features. These include, but are not limited to: 1) Allowing aircraft to fly with full bomb loads when "full ammo" is off. 2) Crews combining properly with their vehicles after battles, in all campaigns . 3) Eliminating the need to use the batch file, "start.bat", to run the game. 4) Immobilized turretless vehicles turning to opportunity fire. 5) A variety of Campaign Generator bugs. 6) Improper flags icons being displayed. 7) Allowing users to set the number of starting points in campaigns. 8) Enlarging the maximum map size in the editor. 9) Increasing the maximum numbers units and formations allowed in the game and of core units for campaigns. 10) A new option to allow unit costs to be modified by experience, while the "country training" option is set to "XXXX". 11) Adding a hot key to stop the video replay. 12) Allowing the random battle generator used by the campaigns to choose beach assault missions. 13) Allowing the user to loose battles without being thrown out of a campaign. 14) Allowing users playing campaigns to exchange or upgrade units of differing types, such as an infantry unit upgrading to a tank. We will be releasing a second patch, later, with TCP/IP capability, bug fixes and other new features. Thanks for your support, Michael Wood Matrix Games

Bondy -> (6/1/2000 10:58:00 AM)
That's great news about the patch Michael - espcially the campaign unit upgrade choices. This game is already awesome - I'm very pleased Matrix is striving to make it even better.

grockall -> (6/1/2000 5:36:00 PM)
Yes many thanks to the whole team .Not only do we get a free game but continued support as well. Many paid for games don't bother. For me it is the continued support and ongoing improvement that have made the SP series the best computer wargames [This message has been edited by grockall (edited 06-01-2000).]

Larry Holt -> (6/1/2000 8:54:00 PM)
Someone else suggested a really loooong campaign with weekly battles, not bi-monthly. I'd like to see that. In this case the rebuild points should be lowered per battle to simulate frequent, minor repairs with perhaps a bounus occasionally representing replacements or upgrades. Also, how about adding the Balkins into the German long campaign? The diversion there was of strategic importance as it delayed Barbarossa and did not allow the Germans time to achieve a decisive defeat of the USSR before winter. ------------------ An old soldier but not yet a faded one. OK, maybe just a bit faded.

Charles22 -> (6/1/2000 9:23:00 PM)
Thanks Mike for the work, and though I'm a stranger to SP2WW2, I have noticed they have a feature which I wish WAW did, and that is that equipment available for it's time, would be available for both core and support. As it stands, when new equipment is available, that first month, you can only pick it in support.

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