Feedback and musings

[Mukeli14]

I have completed the first six missions, currently trying to beat the seventh one focused on the Channel ports, with a total playtime of roughly 80 hours. One of the things I like most about this game is how focused the missions are, where so far at least I can play the game for an hour or two at a time and walk away. A lot of RTS games suck players in (e.g. Civ, EU4, Stellaris, and Terra Invicta), which isn't a bad thing, but it's refreshing to have a game where that isn't the case. Also, this game forces players to focus on tactics and creating opportunities rather than bidding their time in attempt to research new technology to gain an advantage.

One of the first things that stuck out to me was unit size. Our armies are made of divisions, but they're awfully small with only 5,000 troops for infantry and 3,300 for armored. I'm assuming this was done purposely, which is fine, but should be addressed within an FAQ section at release. Another thought on army composition is that I think it would be helpful if limits were placed on how many units could be subordinated to a headquarters unit. Span of control is a real thing, and players shouldn't be allowed to place more than a handful of units (depending on type and headquarters echelon) under a single HQ.

Regarding combat, it's not apparent to me that players are rewarded when they form units at lower echelons that combine multiple combat arms. For example, a regiment with mechanized infantry, armor, and SP antitank gun battalions should be more effective going against strictly armor units rather than pitting tanks against tanks. It would also be helpful if supply units were incorporated to help with resupply during combat. Manually ordering units to resupply at depots would make more sense if the player immediately went to the next mission and a division was not combat effective after the previous mission.

[FoolishMortals]

I have completed the first six missions, currently trying to beat the seventh one focused on the Channel ports, with a total playtime of roughly 80 hours. One of the things I like most about this game is how focused the missions are, where so far at least I can play the game for an hour or two at a time and walk away. A lot of RTS games suck players in (e.g. Civ, EU4, Stellaris, and Terra Invicta), which isn't a bad thing, but it's refreshing to have a game where that isn't the case. Also, this game forces players to focus on tactics and creating opportunities rather than bidding their time in attempt to research new technology to gain an advantage.

One of the first things that stuck out to me was unit size. Our armies are made of divisions, but they're awfully small with only 5,000 troops for infantry and 3,300 for armored. I'm assuming this was done purposely, which is fine, but should be addressed within an FAQ section at release. Another thought on army composition is that I think it would be helpful if limits were placed on how many units could be subordinated to a headquarters unit. Span of control is a real thing, and players shouldn't be allowed to place more than a handful of units (depending on type and headquarters echelon) under a single HQ.

Regarding combat, it's not apparent to me that players are rewarded when they form units at lower echelons that combine multiple combat arms. For example, a regiment with mechanized infantry, armor, and SP antitank gun battalions should be more effective going against strictly armor units rather than pitting tanks against tanks. It would also be helpful if supply units were incorporated to help with resupply during combat. Manually ordering units to resupply at depots would make more sense if the player immediately went to the next mission and a division was not combat effective after the previous mission.

Thanks for your feedback & extensive playtime!

You're right that on paper, historical divisions were much larger. We're only displaying the number FIGHTING TROOPS - we don't display logistic & back-end troops. They also would have kept some units in reserve rather than deploy all of them simultaneously. However we may increase the size in future.

Headquarters: the upcoming version has made Headquarters & Officers more useful, in that each formation MUST be led by an Officer in a Headquarters company to be used in a mission. We may also in future change how sub-selecting regiments and battalions work, and only allow splitting off units on a per headquarters basis. The idea of a limit or cap or troops beneath each headquarters is definitely worth considering though.

I agree combined arms needs to be more important. We do have an area of effect buff for engineers being nearby for destroying enemy fortifications and safely bypassing mines, but this could be extended to all unit types.

The upcoming patch also has an explicit slot pre-mission for sending units off to rest & refit.

I like the idea of supply units being more visible.

Thanks for the feedback!