Locarnus Addon 2025-10a, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

[Locarnus]

Good News! I think I have everything except all of the videos because I think STeam saved it all, but I am having trouble reinstalling the mod. Is there anyway you can help me?

Sent you an email.
If there is more trouble, it is better to reply to the email instead of the forum, since the forum is not great on mobile devices.



Something different:
Request for help regarding graphics:

Can anyone exchange the german themed central poster for the campaign starts with a soviet themed one (same 1939 year in the top right corner)?
So that it is more fitting for starting a soviet campaign?

Wikipedia has this one marked to be public domain, which would roughly fit regarding the displayed equipment and aspect ratio:
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:E ... poster.jpg

0_default.png (101.45 KiB) Viewed 1634 times

0_highlighted.png (106.82 KiB) Viewed 1634 times

0_selected.png (106.93 KiB) Viewed 1634 times

[goose_2]

Hey Buddy,

Good News!

I was able to get the mod to work and am excited to get started with diving into the start of 44.

I have been thinking that I wanted to start training my 7th SE unit, but I happened to get as my first se unit as the Pz3J which costs like 435, which my cursory scan of the various se units available right now is the most expensive, so I have decided for at least the 1st scenario in 44 that I will sell the se unit for quick cash and start off right with prestige gain as needing to do expensive unit switches for exp gain.

I hope to get time this weekend to record, but not sure as finding good game time is hard to do, unless you are a new easy to jump on mod like Nico made.

[goose_2]

My plan for Korsun is coming together, but it will look different than any other playthrough that I have seen, and may mean a loss of the Scenario but carries the possibilities of the greatest rewards, so yeah, going for that one.

[goose_2]

Is there a reason I should be getting 150 per main objective taken, instead of the normal 100?

I noticed that I get 37 per main objective which is 25% of 150, and I double checked the difficulty which is set up correctly.

[Locarnus]

Great that it works.
Agreed, 438 prestige is well worth it to sell that bonus SE/Std unit with your extreme difficulty setting!
44 is the last year where you can sell bonus SE/Std, so now or never.

Very much looking forward to your Korsun strategy! Great to see new approaches.

Ah, totally forgot that it was 100 prestige for victory hexes in unmodded PzC.
McGuba must have changed that for Battlefield Europe, to make those more important than taking normal flags.

[eskuche]

Update on AK playthrough on FM Rommel.
Eked out decisive on Gaza line. I haven't played AK in a very, very long time (6-8 years?). I also couldn't figure out which were the core units, so I briefly broke rule-of-1 to kill more mines with pioneers. 4 units lost so far, including the hero IT Breda.


Post-gaza. Everyone is extremely beat up. I had to elite reinforce PzGren and something else this map. I completely didn't know there was a massive eastern attack coming so had to scramble there. Enemy air was difficult to contend. I also missed reading the briefing completely through and didn't destroy the last two Matilda IIs behind the line until turn 23.


Starting Malta with 7500 prestige before overstrength. Heroes are fairly decent; both pioneers were trained up (with one mid-map swap) on mines in Gazala line. In addition to the Breda, 2 units with bad heroes (I think a Bison and a german tank?) have died. I didn't know if I could afford swapping classes like in GC but might do so here. The D3 would go great on a bersagliari or something. The gifted JG 27 hero has saved the campaign. I am SORELY lacking in a panzer IV, but waffled on commiting. I may skip it altogether and just live with a StuG III F. Most of the Italian artillery has been lackluster, with 2 range, and I regret not selling them way earlier. May be worth converting some German artillery to experienced tanks, but will see...

I feel like German equipment only gets relatively better from here barring some Wunderwaffen, so hopefully things go better from hereon forward.

[Locarnus]

Update on AK playthrough on FM Rommel.

Very nice to see you continue with AK, especially on FM Rommel!
Yeah, elite reinforcements during a scenario is something to get used to.
And Gazala is really rough, even with map knowledge and less punishing difficulty settings and house rules!
Full unit losses hurt a lot more as well, especially when playing without reform unit options and a special campaign hero is lost.

That Bf 109 campaign hero was perhaps the best individual fighter pilot in history. Controversial character (eg not a teamplayer, recklessness and "partying"), but unmatched air combat skill in his aircraft. After a bad career start, he became known as the "Star of Africa", and a few weeks before his death claimed 17 enemy fighters on a single day!
If I had to fit him in with the grand campaign heroes, he would have stats similar to Uber Rudel, but back when I made AK compatible, I balanced it overall much tighter.

7500 prestige is great on FM Rommel Africa Corps, allows for quite some adjustments.
Yeah, italians are really underwhelming, except for their fighters during the ahistorical path. Speaking of those, you only have 2 single engine fighters and 5 aircraft total?

Back then the german core unit selection was not as varied as it is now. So now there is less reason for so many italian arties (eg germans now also have many 2 movement arty options). Imho the italian 100/17 arty is really useful when in family upgraded to be mounted on the truck, instead of just being towed by it. Before that 2 range self propelled with rof 10 capability becomes available with tracked, armored units.

Ah, forgot about that captured M3. I wanted to make it upgradeable to Sherman and then Firefly. Will do so in the next update. You can already switch it to desert tracked variant, which should improve its movement.


I'm amazed that you managed to come this far on that difficulty in AK and even have a prestige cushion, really well played!
Thank you so much for your feedback. Always gives me motivation to revisit the balancing and find stuff I missed or overlooked (like that captured M3 Grant upgrade option).

[eskuche]

Aircraft: they are way too expensive, and without the cushion of GC39-43 I can't afford to elite reinforce too much, and even green reinforce (I know it's not 0% green unit experience) costs quite a bit given how strong, relatively, the enemy fighters are. Given the relatively fewer unit slots, I also can't afford too much on fighters. I haven't even used the strat bomber on most maps. Given my experience with locarnus mod GC, I opted for more artillery to convert into passable ground units later. So far, there hasn't been a huge need for infantry either given the terrain. I will maybe convert one more artillery to an elite infantry after Palestine or so.

Campaign: It seems much harder than I remember, although I did not read all of your updates. Prestige-wise, I am not sure if you bumped up surrender by 100%, but I seem to be getting much more from there. Again will mention the low max strength matildas which have contributed a very significant amount to my stores. Not sure if this is balanced if people don't know about this mechanic. Escarpment has made for very convenient surrenders sometimes needing only 1-2 units to block.

[Locarnus]

Aircraft: they are way too expensive, and without the cushion of GC39-43 I can't afford to elite reinforce too much, and even green reinforce (I know it's not 0% green unit experience) costs quite a bit given how strong, relatively, the enemy fighters are. Given the relatively fewer unit slots, I also can't afford too much on fighters. I haven't even used the strat bomber on most maps. Given my experience with locarnus mod GC, I opted for more artillery to convert into passable ground units later. So far, there hasn't been a huge need for infantry either given the terrain. I will maybe convert one more artillery to an elite infantry after Palestine or so.

Campaign: It seems much harder than I remember, although I did not read all of your updates. Prestige-wise, I am not sure if you bumped up surrender by 100%, but I seem to be getting much more from there. Again will mention the low max strength matildas which have contributed a very significant amount to my stores. Not sure if this is balanced if people don't know about this mechanic. Escarpment has made for very convenient surrenders sometimes needing only 1-2 units to block.

I agree that aircraft are expensive, not controlling the air might be more expensive?
Also agreed on limited unit slots, so a pure fighter might be wasted after achieving air superiority.
Therefore I highly recommend a Fw 190, if you aim for the ahistorical, longer path.

While only available as a pure fighter in mid 1942, from early 1943 the F (and G) variants are both decent fighters and tac bombers. Like the Bf 110, but with competitive initiative against enemy fighters in 1943. The Re.200x would be the italian option, though it probably would have needed training from 1941 onwards and does not have as many options as the Fw 190.

Not having any Pz IV is tough for 1942, earliest crossover from your current units would be the Brummbär in May 1943, when most of Africa Corps campaign is already completed.
I'll make your M3 Grant upgradeable to an M4 Sherman/M10 Wolverine in the next update. Not great, not terrible.

I think I already made it much harder when I initially made it compatible with the Addon. Due to using a more hands on approach and thinking about more radical game balance changes for the Addon. Something that was not feasible anymore when I came around to the idea of making more campaigns compatible, like the grand campaign.

Yep, prestige from unit surrenders was significantly increased. Perhaps end of last year or earlier this year, not sure anymore. As far as I remember, with many Addon players going for Rommel difficulty, it seemed that prestige from surrender was often not worth the risk anymore. To counter the damage taken from those surrender attempts. Especially compared to selling captured units and randomly gained bonus SE units from the grand campaign. Since those unit sales are not affected by the 50% Rommel prestige setting.

You are right, players can't use it if they do not know about it. I'll have to work on communication of those Addon changes to game mechanics.

[eskuche]

Cinched last turn DV on Malta. Played very carefully because it looked like naval units had weird rebalances. This is despite using 2 class-change units that apparently couldn't upgrade on the Allied objectives. They still did their job as decoy with 3 artillery behind the during rain Also used a Fw 189 scout, which was interesting! Racked up a star with 1 attack. If I replay the GC (or if you mod another campaign) might be interested in running one of those in the core if they ever got recon move..

For El Alamein, 3 star artillery became a Pz IV, losing 400 prestige. 3 attack pioneer became a 10.5 cm leFH. My sad italian tank is driving a semovente. Sold grant and spitfire for 1k. Might need to do a strat bomber shuffle to Fw190, but that 700 prestige price tag is gonna hurt.

[Locarnus]

Cinched last turn DV on Malta. Played very carefully because it looked like naval units had weird rebalances. This is despite using 2 class-change units that apparently couldn't upgrade on the Allied objectives. They still did their job as decoy with 3 artillery behind the during rain Also used a Fw 189 scout, which was interesting! Racked up a star with 1 attack. If I replay the GC (or if you mod another campaign) might be interested in running one of those in the core if they ever got recon move..

For El Alamein, 3 star artillery became a Pz IV, losing 400 prestige. 3 attack pioneer became a 10.5 cm leFH. My sad italian tank is driving a semovente. Sold grant and spitfire for 1k. Might need to do a strat bomber shuffle to Fw190, but that 700 prestige price tag is gonna hurt.

I had to reinstate the unmodded PzC values for the ships for everything except Battlefield Europe scenario. Thus there are currently two versions for most ships, one for BE and one unmodded version (usually with "GC" = grand campaign in the name).
For example the GC submarines do not have all those dive and camo modes from BE. Most importantly the Naval Transports (in the normale campaigns) have movement 4 again, for which many landing scenarios were designed (while the BE Landing craft have movement 6).

Upgrade cities are only those with either the black cross or the double chevron in the bottom right corner. So only Valletta is an upgrade hex in the Malta scenario.

Ah, the Fw 189. Still not sure how to balance that. Very interesting that it got a star so quickly.
I think there are currently actually 3 versions of the Fw 189 and the other small scout plane, two for Battlefield Europe, the other one for the normal campaigns.
One of the BE ones is only given as a script, can not be upgraded or switched to another mode except for ferry.
The other BE one and the one for normal campaigns can be purchased and switched between fighter, tac bomber and strat bomber modes. If I remember correctly, the only difference is that the BE does not have recon move in strat bomber mode, while the normal campaign one should have recon move in strat bomber mode?

The He 111 has a night fighter conversion available from January 1943 (added in the last update? Though I seem to have forgotten it in the update list of changes). Which you could use to switch your current He 111 to fighter mode, saving at least that transitioning prestige.

[Locarnus]

Only minor update this month due to unrelated rl events.

Simply copied Kübelwagen and Hs 126 for Italian roster, so that those can be used to switch classes for italian units (eg for Afrika Korps DLC). Will hopefully replace them with more fitting italian graphics in the future.
German aux Hs 126 added to an early scenario for the compatible DLC campaigns, to provide an example for the useability of recon planes.



2025-09 Update "Locarnus Addon" Download:

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already on top of BE 2.4 and the bugfixed PzC patch 1.32 first. All previous updates to the 2025 base version are included in this one.

Technical and graphics:
- Increased save file maximum name length from 50 to 75 characters

Battlefield Europe, GC East, AK, SC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- AK first scenario has additional message info regarding difficulty and bonus units
- GC aux towed Pak transports fixed (removed doubles) in several scenarios
- GC 41 - 42 scenarios share flags for Axis (so italian units can upgrade in scenario)
- AK, GC, OC added an aux Hs 126 to an early scenario (in recon strat bomber mode)

Unit Changes:
- Kübelwagen and Hs 126 for Italians, workaround until more fitting graphics found
- He 111 night fighter from Jan 1943 onwards (already added in last update)
- He 111 H-1 becoming available during GC 39
- Slight rebalances for several very early german strat bomber (eg air defense)
- KV-2 rof increased from 6 to 7

[Locarnus]

goose_2 youtube playthrough GC Napoleon difficulty
GC 1944e2 start upgrade recommendations
7846 prestige, after elite replacements to full strength for all understrength units and selling excess captured units.
New randomly received bonus SE/Std T-34 unit already sold

red marker for a) no or 1 hero, b) <800 kills, c) <350 experience
blue marker for a) 3 heroes, b) >=1500 kills, c) >= 450 experience

UnitType ....... transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements


45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
.Std Nimrod+ r11 ............... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 1440 ... 354
.Std Blue Division 43 ........... d1d2 ... PatrickLee .......... 1028 ... 355
.Std P26/40(i) ................... i1d2 ... Dimitri ................ 872 ... 363
.Std Marder III M .................. m1 ... PaulWilde ............ 722 ... 324
.Std Flakpanzer I r12 ....... m1a3a3 ... Makorin .............. 1308 ... 412
.7.5 FK 16 nA r11 ... Horse ....... ?? ... Eskuche ............... 168 ... 318
plus 2 random non-hero bonus SE units for the 44 &45 grand campaign years

5 Infantry
.Grenadiere 43 ..... Sd250/1+ ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 893 ... 328 ... ==> Gigiduru switcheroo after 2nd hero
.Kz 8 GrWerfer r11 ............. m1d2 ... Artemis .............. 782 ... 338 ... ==> 10.5 leG 43
.Fallschirmjäger 43 .............. i1a2 ... Pullig ................. 915 ... 314 ... ==> Kz 8 GrWerfer r11 ==> 10.5 GebH + Kettenkrad
.Kradschützen 43 ................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 850 ... 341
.Sahariana 43 ....................... a2 ... Kostia ................. 837 ... 322

Once Richard Martin gets his second hero, he can switch equipment with Gigiduru, via the "8 GrWerfer 34 r11".
Artemis can take 10.5 leG 43 towed arty, which frees up the "Kz 8 GrWerfer r11" path for Pullig to get the 10.5 GebH arty.
PeteMitchell also waits for his second hero.
Together with PatrickLee (Std Blue Division), this leaves 4 actual infantry for 44e2 (Artemis and Pulling becoming arties).
Perhaps one more Std unit could take a Std Infantry, to bring your infantry count to 5 for the moment.


0 Towed AT

2 Recon
.Panzer II 44 r9 ...................... i1 ... Blast ................... 795 ... 406
.SdKfz 233+ r9 .................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 809 ... 381

10 Tanks
.Panther A dg ....................... a2 ... Kapl ..................... 523 ... 325
.Panther D ........................ d1d3 ... Festival ................. 986 ... 404
.Tiger I E .......................... d2a3 ... Temis .................... 949 ... 430 ... ==> Tiger I 44
.Tiger P+ s8 ...................... m1d2 ... ElBaron ................. 996 ... 416
.Ferdinand s8 .................... m1d2 ... Gooseboy ............. 1147 ... 362
.StuG III G+ ....................... i1m1 ... DoktorG ............... 1048 ... 372
.StuG IV ........................... s1a2 ... Rimski .................. 1085 ... 321
.Nashorn ........................... a1i1 ... ForestLaw ............. 1010 ... 440
.SU-85(r) .......................... a3a3 ... 7Bowls .................. 1000 ... 318 ... ==> SU-122 for experience training
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium ........... 1054 ... 322

11 Mobile Arty
.StuH 44 ........................... m1a2 ... NightPhoenix ........ 1068 ... 365
.Hummel 44 r8 ....................... s1 ... Soren ................... 656 ... 300
.Grille r8 ............................. m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 769 ... 371
.Wespe ............................ m1d2 ... Goose .................. 961 ... 376
.Lorraine GW r8 .................... m1 ... Reoguru ................ 590 ... 364
.Brummbär r8 ..................... a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 765 ... 393
.StuIG 33B r8 ......................... r1 ... RayCaster ............. 694 ... 469
.10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............. m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 752 ... 421
.Semovente 105/25 ................. d2 ... RightSide .............. 713 ... 433
.Panzerwerfer 42 r12 ............... a3 ... Singer .................. 703 ... 372
.Wurfrahmen 43 r8 ................ r1r1 ... Dneos .................. 891 ... 452

NightPhoenix, Locarnus and Goose should always be deployed, to reach 4 stars asap.
So that StuH, Wespe and Brummbär are always in use, since they are best for training experience.


6 Towed Arty
.12 cm GrWerfer .... Blitz+ ..... m1a3 ... Soljaism .............. 891 ... 328 ... ==> 15cm Nblwf r11 ? or keep 12cm GrWerfer
.7.62 FK 288(r) r11 . Sd251/1+ . m1a2 ... Gigiduru .............. 773 ... 403 ... ==> future switcheroo with RichardMartin
.10.5cm Polish arty . Blitz ....... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 867 ... 458
.10.5cm leFH 18M ... Horse ....... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 778 ... 474
.15 sFH range3 r8 .... Sd7 .......... r1 ... Raduku ................. 576 ... 441
.21cm Mrs 18 r5 ...... Sd8 ......... m1 ... Kei ...................... 847 ... 414


3 Anti-Air
.8.8cm Flak 41 ........ Sd7 .... m1m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 944 ... 349
.Cannone 90/53 r8 ... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo .................. 809 ... 330
.SdKfz 7/2+ r11 ................... a3a1 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 861 ... 361


15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
.Bf 109 G-6+ ......................... d3 ... vonThüringen ....... 687 ... 377 ... ==> Bf 109 G-6/U2
.Bf 109 F-4+ ......................... d3 ... CouchOffiziell ....... 548 ... 342
.Fw 190 A-7 ......................... a2 ... MafujKhan ............ 712 ... 359 ... ==> He 111 NJ ==> He 111 H-16
.Fw 190 F-3 ......................... d2 ... Alvarez ................ 469 ... 337 ... ==> Ju 88 A-4+
.Re.2005 .......................... a3a3 ... Noxush ................ 810 ... 405 ... ==> Re.2005+
.G.55 Centauro ..................... a2 ... BlackVulture ......... 683 ... 379
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945

1 Multi engine Fighter / Tac Bomber
.Me 410 A-1/U2 ..................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 758 ... 346 ... ==> Me 410 A-1/U4
.Ju 88 R-2 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 623 ... 502 ... ==> Fw 190 A-7

1 Multi engine Fighter / Strat Bomber
.He 111 NJ ........................... a1 ... RMA901 ................. 551 ... 502 ... ==> Fw 190 F-3

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
.Hs 129 B-2 BK .................... a3a1 ... AratoBela ............. 1061 ... 381
.Ju 87 D-5 ......................... a1d3 ... cmbbfan ............... 1011 ... 377

1 Tac Bomber / Strat Bomber
.Ju 188 A-2 .......................... i1i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 826 ... 422

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
.Do 217 M ............................. d1 ... Richard ................. 405 ... 459

Imho you need to deploy 4 strat bomber each scenario, or you won't be able to bring your airforce up to experience before end of 44 and then 45 hits hard.
5 stars make all the difference for fighters. If the enemy has that, but you do not, you have a major problem.
If your 5 star units do good in their multi engine fighter bombers, then they will do great as Fw 190.
And you have the ~2300 prestige to make those switcheroos, spending it now will reduce your losses in the air and thus might pay for itself.

[Locarnus]

I had a tough time considering the upgrade options for several units.
Which prompted me to further investigate potential upgrade family changes and cross class units.
Found the "Panzerselbstfahrlafette IVb" (10.5cm leFH arty on Panzer IV chassis), which was a precursor to the "Heuschrecke" (10.5cm leFH arty on Panzer III/IV chassis).
Neither got to the planned production numbers, but the first one was built in a small series of 10 (thus similar to Bison II with 12 produced) and actually saw combat with regular units.

So I will introduce the "Panzerselbstfahrlafette IVb", using the recently published unit by Birgeria!
It will be a crossover between Panzer IV tank family and 10.5cm leFH arty family.
Thus solving quite a few upgrade path issues, with values similar to the 10.5 leFH auf B2(f).

Allowing for example Pierre to get the Jagdpanzer IV. And then Rimski to take that "Panzerselbstfahrlafette IVb" for more efficient self propelled arty training. Which then frees up the StuG IV from Rimski and so on.

Also taking another look at the mortar and 15cm Nebelwerfer/Panzerwerfer situation.


Regarding fighters, I think training up vonThüringen and CouchOffiziell at the same time means that neither of them can escape 3 stars in a timely manner.
So I would focus on vonThüringen in most modern Bf 109, since he is closer to 4 stars already.
While Couch Offiziell would be in line for the next strat bomber conversion (Do 217?).

Two 5 star Fw 190 would take the fighter lead anyway, and BlackVulture would require training just like vonThüringen anyway.
FighterAce now takes the lead for ground attack, with the Me 410 A-1/U4 and its 5cm gun outclassing the aging Ju 87.

[goose_2]

goose_2 youtube playthrough GC Napoleon difficulty
GC 1944e2 start upgrade recommendations
7846 prestige, after elite replacements to full strength for all understrength units and selling excess captured units.
New randomly received bonus SE/Std T-34 unit already sold

red marker for a) no or 1 hero, b) <800 kills, c) <350 experience
blue marker for a) 3 heroes, b) >=1500 kills, c) >= 450 experience

UnitType ....... transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements


45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
.Std Nimrod+ r11 ............... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 1440 ... 354
.Std Blue Division 43 ........... d1d2 ... PatrickLee .......... 1028 ... 355
.Std P26/40(i) ................... i1d2 ... Dimitri ................ 872 ... 363
.Std Marder III M .................. m1 ... PaulWilde ............ 722 ... 324
.Std Flakpanzer I r12 ....... m1a3a3 ... Makorin .............. 1308 ... 412
.7.5 FK 16 nA r11 ... Horse ....... ?? ... Eskuche ............... 168 ... 318
plus 2 random non-hero bonus SE units for the 44 &45 grand campaign years

5 Infantry
.Grenadiere 43 ..... Sd250/1+ ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 893 ... 328 ... ==> Gigiduru switcheroo after 2nd hero

.Kradschützen 43 ................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 850 ... 341
.Sahariana 43 ....................... a2 ... Kostia ................. 837 ... 322

Once Richard Martin gets his second hero, he can switch equipment with Gigiduru, via the "8 GrWerfer 34 r11".
Artemis can take 10.5 leG 43 towed arty, which frees up the "Kz 8 GrWerfer r11" path for Pullig to get the 10.5 GebH arty.
PeteMitchell also waits for his second hero.
Together with PatrickLee (Std Blue Division), this leaves 4 actual infantry for 44e2 (Artemis and Pulling becoming arties).
Perhaps one more Std unit could take a Std Infantry, to bring your infantry count to 5 for the moment.


0 Towed AT

2 Recon
.Panzer II 44 r9 ...................... i1 ... Blast ................... 795 ... 406
.SdKfz 233+ r9 .................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 809 ... 381

10 Tanks
.Panther A dg ....................... a2 ... Kapl ..................... 523 ... 325

.Tiger I E .......................... d2a3 ... Temis .................... 949 ... 430 ... ==> Tiger I 44

.StuG IV ........................... s1a2 ... Rimski .................. 1085 ... 321
.SU-85(r) .......................... a3a3 ... 7Bowls .................. 1000 ... 318 ... ==> SU-122 for experience training
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium ........... 1054 ... 322

11 Mobile Arty
.StuH 44 ........................... m1a2 ... NightPhoenix ........ 1068 ... 365
.Hummel 44 r8 ....................... s1 ... Soren ................... 656 ... 300
.Grille r8 ............................. m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 769 ... 371
.Wespe ............................ m1d2 ... Goose .................. 961 ... 376
.Lorraine GW r8 .................... m1 ... Reoguru ................ [color=#BF0=#0000BF]469[/color]
.10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............. m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 752 ... 421
.Semovente 105/25 ................. d2 ... RightSide .............. 713 ... 433
.P0]703[/color] ... 372
.Wurfrahmen 43 r8 ................ r1r1 ... Dneos .................. 891 ... 452

NightPhoenix, Locarnus and Goose should always be deployed, to reach 4 stars asap.
So that StuH, Wespe and Brummbär are always in use, since they are best for training experience.


6 Towed Arty
.12 cm GrWerfer .... Blitz+ ..... m1a3 ... Soljaism .............. 891 ... 328 ... ==> 15cm Nblwf r11 ? or keep 12cm GrWerfer
.7.62 FK 288(r) r11 . Sd251/1+ . m1a2 ... Gigiduru .............. 773 ... 403 ... ==> future switcheroo withRichardMartin
.10.5cm Polish arty . Blitz ....... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 867 ... 458
.10.5cm leFH 18M ... Horse ....... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 778 ... 474
.15 sFH range3 r8 .... Sd7 .......... r1 ... Raduku ................. 576 ... 441
.21cm Mrs 18 r5 ...... Sd8 ......... m1 ... Kei ...................... 847 ... 414


3 Anti-Air
r=#BF0000]349[/color]
.Cannone 90/53 r8 ... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo .................. 809 ... 330
.SdKfz 7/2+ r11 ................... a3a1 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 861 ... 361


onThüringen ....... 687 ... 377 ... ==> Bf 109 G-6/U2
.Bf 109 F-4+ ......................... d3 ... CouchOffizielllor=#BF0000]d2[/color] ... Alvarez ................ 469 ... 337 ... ==> Ju 88 A-4+
.Re.2005 .......................... a3a3 ... Noxush ................ 810 ... 405 ... ==> Re.2005+
.G.55 Centauro ..................... a2 ... BlackVulture ......... 683 ... 379
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in ... 346 ... ==> Me 410 A-1/U4-7

1 Multi engine Fighter / Strolor] ... ==> Fw 190 F-3

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
.Hs 129 B-2 BK .................... a3a1 ... AratoBela ............. 1061 ... 381
.Ju 87 D-5 ......................... a1d3 ... cmbbfan ............... 1011 ... 377

1 Tac Bomber / Strat Bomber
.Ju 188 A-2 .......................... i1i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 826 ... 422

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
.Do 217 M ............................. d1 ... Richard ................. 405 ... 459

Imho you need to deploy 4 strat bomber each scenario, or you won't be able to bring your airforce up to experience before end of 44 and then 45 hits hard.
5 stars make all the difference for fighters. If the enemy has that, but you do not, you have a major problem.
If your 5 star units do good in th

In taking a look at where stuff is, I see myself bringing these 37 units to next scenario, but may change based on setting up and execution. I need suggestions for last 2 units. I will not be using more than 3 strats in any scenario, I am thinking 2 is more than enough in the next scenario, as the weather is not good in that scenarioe I still need to bring the correct units to win the scenario. I have so many units that need building up, that some will fall through the cracks. My Fighter strats can stay Fighter Strats until I get others trained up.

5 starred FW-'s are not needed til 45 so time for playtime and just a quick note before I walk away for the weekend
will discuss more Sundayir multi engine fighter bombers, then they will do great as Fw 190.
And you have the ~2300 prestige to make those switcheroos, spending it now will reduce your losses in the air and thus might pay for itself.

.

[Locarnus]

goose_2 youtube playthrough GC Napoleon difficulty
GC 1944e2 start upgrade recommendations
7846 prestige, after elite replacements to full strength for all understrength units and selling excess captured units.
New randomly received bonus SE/Std T-34 unit already sold

red marker for a) no or 1 hero, b) <800 kills, c) <350 experience
blue marker for a) 3 heroes, b) >=1500 kills, c) >= 450 experience

UnitType ....... transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements


45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
.Std Nimrod+ r11 ............... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 1440 ... 354
.Std Blue Division 43 ........... d1d2 ... PatrickLee .......... 1028 ... 355
.Std P26/40(i) ................... i1d2 ... Dimitri ................ 872 ... 363
.Std Marder III M .................. m1 ... PaulWilde ............ 722 ... 324
.Std Flakpanzer I r12 ....... m1a3a3 ... Makorin .............. 1308 ... 412
.7.5 FK 16 nA r11 ... Horse ....... ?? ... Eskuche ............... 168 ... 318
plus 2 random non-hero bonus SE units for the 44 &45 grand campaign years

5 Infantry
.Grenadiere 43 ..... Sd250/1+ ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 893 ... 328 ... ==> Gigiduru switcheroo after 2nd hero
.Kradschützen 43 ................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 850 ... 341
.Sahariana 43 ....................... a2 ... Kostia ................. 837 ... 322

Once Richard Martin gets his second hero, he can switch equipment with Gigiduru, via the "8 GrWerfer 34 r11".
Artemis can take 10.5 leG 43 towed arty, which frees up the "Kz 8 GrWerfer r11" path for Pullig to get the 10.5 GebH arty.
PeteMitchell also waits for his second hero.
Together with PatrickLee (Std Blue Division), this leaves 4 actual infantry for 44e2 (Artemis and Pulling becoming arties).
Perhaps one more Std unit could take a Std Infantry, to bring your infantry count to 5 for the moment.


0 Towed AT

2 Recon
.Panzer II 44 r9 ...................... i1 ... Blast ................... 795 ... 406
.SdKfz 233+ r9 .................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 809 ... 381

10 Tanks
.Panther A dg ....................... a2 ... Kapl ..................... 523 ... 325
.Tiger I E .......................... d2a3 ... Temis .................... 949 ... 430 ... ==> Tiger I 44
.StuG IV ........................... s1a2 ... Rimski .................. 1085 ... 321
.SU-85(r) .......................... a3a3 ... 7Bowls .................. 1000 ... 318 ... ==> SU-122 for experience training
.KV-85(r) .......................... d2d2 ... Paramecium ........... 1054 ... 322

11 Mobile Arty
.StuH 44 ........................... m1a2 ... NightPhoenix ........ 1068 ... 365
.Hummel 44 r8 ....................... s1 ... Soren ................... 656 ... 300
.Grille r8 ............................. m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 769 ... 371
(↑ inefficient training, wasted deployment slot)
.Wespe ............................ m1d2 ... Goose .................. 961 ... 376
.Lorraine GW r8 .................... m1 ... Reoguru ................ 590 ... 364
(↑ inefficient training, wasted deployment slot)
.10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............. m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 752 ... 421
.Semovente 105/25 ................. d2 ... RightSide .............. 713 ... 433
.Wurfrahmen 43 r8 ................ r1r1 ... Dneos .................. 891 ... 452

NightPhoenix, Locarnus and Goose should always be deployed, to reach 4 stars asap.
So that StuH, Wespe and Brummbär are always in use, since they are best for training experience.


6 Towed Arty
.12 cm GrWerfer .... Blitz+ ..... m1a3 ... Soljaism .............. 891 ... 328 ... ==> 15cm Nblwf r11 ? or keep 12cm GrWerfer
.7.62 FK 288(r) r11 . Sd251/1+ . m1a2 ... Gigiduru .............. 773 ... 403 ... ==> future switcheroo withRichardMartin
.10.5cm Polish arty . Blitz ....... s1a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 867 ... 458
.10.5cm leFH 18M ... Horse ....... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 778 ... 474
.15 sFH range3 r8 .... Sd7 .......... r1 ... Raduku ................. 576 ... 441
.21cm Mrs 18 r5 ...... Sd8 ......... m1 ... Kei ...................... 847 ... 414


3 Anti-Air
.Cannone 90/53 r8 ... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo .................. 809 ... 330
.SdKfz 7/2+ r11 ................... a3a1 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 861 ... 361


15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
.Bf 109 G-6+ ......................... d3 ... vonThüringen ....... 687 ... 377 ... ==> Bf 109 G-6/U2
.Bf 109 F-4+ ......................... d3 ... CouchOffiziell ....... 548 ... 342
(↑ inefficient training, wasted deployment slot)
.Fw 190 F-3 ......................... d2 ... Alvarez ................ 469 ... 337 ... ==> Ju 88 A-4+
(↑ inefficient training, wasted deployment slot)
.Re.2005 .......................... a3a3 ... Noxush ................ 810 ... 405 ... ==> Re.2005+
.G.55 Centauro ..................... a2 ... BlackVulture ......... 683 ... 379


1 Multi engine Fighter / Tac Bomber
.Me 410 A-1/U2 ..................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 758 ... 346 ... ==> Me 410 A-1/U4

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
.Hs 129 B-2 BK .................... a3a1 ... AratoBela ............. 1061 ... 381
.Ju 87 D-5 ......................... a1d3 ... cmbbfan ............... 1011 ... 377
(↑ would leave at home, FighterAce needs 2nd hero)

1 Tac Bomber / Strat Bomber
.Ju 188 A-2 .......................... i1i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 826 ... 422

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
.Do 217 M ............................. d1 ... Richard ................. 405 ... 459

Imho you need to deploy 4 strat bomber each scenario, or you won't be able to bring your airforce up to experience before end of 44 and then 45 hits hard.
5 stars make all the difference for fighters. If the enemy has that, but you do not, you have a major problem.
If your 5 star units do good in their multi engine fighter bombers, then they will do great as Fw 190.
And you now have the ~2300 prestige to make those switcheroos, spending it now will reduce your losses in the air and thus might pay for itself.

In taking a look at where stuff is, I see myself bringing these 37 units to next scenario, but may change based on setting up and execution. I need suggestions for last 2 units. I will not be using more than 3 strats in any scenario, I am thinking 2 is more than enough in the next scenario, as the weather is not good in that scenarioe I still need to bring the correct units to win the scenario. I have so many units that need building up, that some will fall through the cracks. My Fighter strats can stay Fighter Strats until I get others trained up.

5 starred FW-'s are not needed til 45 so time for playtime and just a quick note before I walk away for the weekend
will discuss more Sunday

Something went wrong with the formating. I tried to bring it in order, but now there are 36 instead of 33 normal units (plus 6 bonus SE/Std ones). Commented in green under some units.



A thing I don't understand is the training to arbitrary thresholds.
393 experience = 300 experience for combat.
Locarnus unit has 393 experience with Brummbär (a good unit for experience training). If that unit gets to 400 experience, it would be well suited to become something else (like Möbelwagen SPAA in the future). Just shy of that magic 400 mark, it does not get deployed anymore, thus will not have completed its experience training to the next level, thus is not ready to take on another role.

Thats like dropping out of school just a few days before the end. All tests completed, all exams written, and then failing on attendence hours due to just not showing up the last few days.

And then the good for training and fighting Brummbär is blocked indefinitely, while old, bad for training anf fighting units like the Grille and Lorraine GW are deployed instead.

Result is, that you currently have no fitting unit to take the Jagdpanzer IV, but a whole bunch of units somewhere in the 300 experience range.
But then again you have two strats that have completed their experience training to 5 stars and are ready to become fighters for kill farming, but are simply not made into those fighters.



Really have trouble understanding why you are still attempting unit trainings/deployments that did not work for 5 years already.

Two Panzer IV resulted in those two units having the worst experience and kills of your ground units (except very late additions).
Two Bf 109 resulted in both your Bf 109 to lag behind even your italian fighters.
Your two Fw 190 are also not exactly your best fighters, due to Fw 190 seemingly needing experience levels to work well.

After 5 years of grand campaign, it seems well established that your fighters can not attain proper experience levels without being trained as strat bombers for some time (on double FM difficulty).

Now you have strat bombers at 5 stars that need kills and can easily be converted to Fw 190, while also having Fw 190 that primarily need experience, that can easily be converted to strat bombers.
Having one 5 star Fw 190 right now could drastically reduce your losses in the air and thus your prestige cost for every 44 and 45 scenario.
So making one switcheroo costs about 1150 presige, but saves prestige every turn and leads to more effective and efficient training. Making the switcheroo in 45 costs the same, but only saves prestige from then on. I don't understand .

So school is all completed, you have passed everything, but the school is not handing out your diploma because you have an outstanding debt of 5 USD late fees regarding the school library. You have nearly 80 USD in your bank, but just refuse to pay up those 5 USD. Saying something like "I don't need my diploma right now. I'm fine with getting paid much less every paycheck simply due to not being able to show this diploma to my employer. I wait till next year to get that piece of paper it, in order to save me 5 USD right now."


edit: An Fw 190 F-3 with 5 stars would be by far your best fighter aircraft at the moment. And would be very close to the Ju 87 as a tac bomber (only 1 less soft attack than your 3 star Ju 87 D-5), but much more defensible.

[slowgtp]

hi locarnus, loving the mod. i have a suggestion... adding Maykop and an oilfield, road, and maybe RR/airport nearby the forest hex surrounded by mountains where the kuban river ends/

[goose_2]

Quick Update: I have started just the first 2 days of the next battle. Super pleased with what I have come up with so far. Some painful nicks of damage without real catastrophic damage. I am taking 1 day at a time in order to limit mistakes, but have the next 2 turns planned out. So much joy and so much destruction. Lovin it.

Should be ready by Sunday.

[Locarnus]

hi locarnus, loving the mod. i have a suggestion... adding Maykop and an oilfield, road, and maybe RR/airport nearby the forest hex surrounded by mountains where the kuban river ends/

Ah, yep.
I agree that Maykop and its oilfield seems to be missing from the map, I felt the same way.
If I remember correctly the reason for McGuba not including it was its oil production value. Maykop and Grozny together had comparable oil production to the Romanian oil fields, which are represented by only 1 oilfield hex on that scenario scale. So the oil fields north of the Caucasus also only are represented by 1 oil hex (the one further away at Grozny, for gameplay reasons).

Due to the absence of supply and logistics mechanics in the Panzer Corps engine, the airfield placement is also often a compromise between historic realities and gameplay considerations. For example most Soviet airfields are placed on the eastern side of rivers, making it just a tiny bit harder for the Axis. Same for the Caucasus, where an additional airfield there would slightly benefit the Axis advance right around the historical max reach of them.

I agree that something is missing there, I'm just not sure how to include it without providing yet more gameplay advantages to the Axis (lack of supply and logistics simulation in Panzer Corps engine is already extremely benefitial to the Axis).

Quick Update: I have started just the first 2 days of the next battle. Super pleased with what I have come up with so far. Some painful nicks of damage without real catastrophic damage. I am taking 1 day at a time in order to limit mistakes, but have the next 2 turns planned out. So much joy and so much destruction. Lovin it.

Should be ready by Sunday.

Looking forward to Korsun Breakout youtube video on Sunday!

[eskuche]

I agree that something is missing there, I'm just not sure how to include it without providing yet more gameplay advantages to the Axis (lack of supply and logistics simulation in Panzer Corps engine is already extremely benefitial to the Axis).

Triggers for additional fuel and/or ammo loss at extreme distances? Just thought I would note that the change in rail gauges is never simulated in PC as well, a huge boon for the Axis player