Andrea69 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 23, 2026 3:51 pm
In the eastern part, north of Caen, there are still airports that can be conquered quite easily
Well, since you cant reach the battleships with your bombers, you need rommels units to get there first to take the airfields, but they take heavy damage. Thats what it makes somehow unsual.
Riga 1944
Surprisingly easy. I have to admit I once again was too offensive with a small core force and got encircled. Had to load 2-3 turns before, but then it was no problem. Could get both elite objectives and had 5 turns left.
Well, its the same old story, when the AI has to attack it doesnt really work.
But I am fine with the map. You dont have to fight ultra hard battles all the time, its okay to farm some exp and prestige, upgrade some units and stuff.
I am fine with more scenarios on the western front and the idea behind this is fine.
Just a little unrealistic, that your whole cores moves thousands of kilometers from east to west and back again...is the Breitspuhrbahn already in use?
The whole map is a precision landing, I took everything in the last possible turn. No time to jerk around.
But, unfortunately the map is too long/big. You fight the same fight 4-5 times. Move forward, kill everything easily, you get out of air support range, you get attacked by waves. Kill everyting, repair, move forward. Hardest aspect is again to find some proper airfields. My planes cant cross the normandy in one flight? I have to build airfield in this little corner of france? Makes absolutly no sense... and the allies play like russians again...hey, lets use 100 bomber to kill a single tank. Doesnt matter if noone comes back.
The biggest problem are the level bombers. My aa-units cant touch them. The bomber do no damage, but slow my units down. If I play it again I would upgrade my sdkfz to 8.8 gun and I might finish 10 turns early.
My suggestion: Switch the order of the scenarios, if possible. This one should come after stormbird and you get a vanilla core on the ground (rommels division under your command since he is injured) and you can use your own airfleet again.
15-20 turn at max, one third of the map size.
The allies should have a strong defense line to protect their bridgehead, not 3-4 lines with some random units, who wait for you to attack, while their comrades are slaughtered at the frontline.
I just can repeat myself, the game should not feel so much scripted.
DefiantXYX wrote: ↑Fri Feb 27, 2026 9:03 amCOTENTIN
I am fine with more scenarios on the western front and the idea behind this is fine.
Just a little unrealistic, that your whole cores moves thousands of kilometers from east to west and back again...is the Breitspuhrbahn already in use?
The whole map is a precision landing, I took everything in the last possible turn. No time to jerk around.
But, unfortunately the map is too long/big. You fight the same fight 4-5 times. Move forward, kill everything easily, you get out of air support range, you get attacked by waves. Kill everyting, repair, move forward. Hardest aspect is again to find some proper airfields. My planes cant cross the normandy in one flight? I have to build airfield in this little corner of france? Makes absolutly no sense... and the allies play like russians again...hey, lets use 100 bomber to kill a single tank. Doesnt matter if noone comes back.
The biggest problem are the level bombers. My aa-units cant touch them. The bomber do no damage, but slow my units down. If I play it again I would upgrade my sdkfz to 8.8 gun and I might finish 10 turns early.
My suggestion: Switch the order of the scenarios, if possible. This one should come after stormbird and you get a vanilla core on the ground (rommels division under your command since he is injured) and you can use your own airfleet again.
15-20 turn at max, one third of the map size.
Hello, I had actually also considered the type of scenario you suggest, but ultimately I think players always prefer to play with all their core units, so two in a row with only planes seemed too much to me. I don't know how long the train ride from Riga to Normandy took back then, but the scenario takes place at the end of July, so perhaps it's technically possible.
As for the range of the planes, I think I'll make a general update in the near future, significantly expanding it (the size of the maps in all campaigns now actually requires it), but the tactical/strategic role of the airports will remain primary, also because I believe it's the best way to exploit the controversial game mechanic of rebasing at the end of each turn.
Finally, regarding unit scripting, in some scenarios (especially those where the AI defends) it seemed clear to me that it is the best way to maximize its performance, making the scenario more complicated for the player.
You called it medium yourself, and yeah it is. The map doesnt really work for me, for once the german defenses were strong enough to stop the russian until my core arrived. And we all know that the AI cant cross a river, when there is proper defense. So I easily killed everything, the last unit 6-7 turns early.
Maybe you could place some paratroopers or militias on the way, to slow down your own core forces, to give the russians 1-2 turns more to cross the river. Or give them some bridge engineers.
But the objectives are far better than the original "let them kill the hanger".
But overall its fine for what it is, looking at the story.
DefiantXYX wrote: ↑Sat Feb 28, 2026 3:34 pmLVOV 1944
You called it medium yourself, and yeah it is. The map doesnt really work for me, for once the german defenses were strong enough to stop the russian until my core arrived. And we all know that the AI cant cross a river, when there is proper defense. So I easily killed everything, the last unit 6-7 turns early.
Maybe you could place some paratroopers or militias on the way, to slow down your own core forces, to give the russians 1-2 turns more to cross the river. Or give them some bridge engineers.
But the objectives are far better than the original "let them kill the hanger".
But overall its fine for what it is, looking at the story.
Well, paratroopers are already present, but yeah, this probably needs some further tweaking to be more interesting, maybe I could significantly reduce the available core units
KOLOZSVAR
Calm before the storm, easy map like you say, no problem with it.
BATTLE OF PLOESTI
Not that hard, it even feels like the vanilla one is harder.
It might have bugged a bit, the orange elite devision came in pretty late...not sure what they did or if they should defend an area instead of going in asap. So I could kill everything wave by wave. Its harder to get the elite objectives but finally the railway guns do a decent job.
Overall the hardest maps are VORONEZH and SARATOV. They are just full with elite equipment and these annoying guns.
With the 2 maps on the western front there was a good mixture in this campaign.
DefiantXYX wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2026 10:53 pm BATTLE OF PLOESTI
Not that hard, it even feels like the vanilla one is harder.
It might have bugged a bit, the orange elite devision came in pretty late...not sure what they did or if they should defend an area instead of going in asap. So I could kill everything wave by wave. Its harder to get the elite objectives but finally the railway guns do a decent job.
Overall the hardest maps are VORONEZH and SARATOV. They are just full with elite equipment and these annoying guns.
With the 2 maps on the western front there was a good mixture in this campaign.
Hello, thanks for the feedback. As for Ploesti, the stance of the orange Soviet guards is the same as in vanilla (patrolling the central part of the map), except that in this new map, those who make the right choice (using the southern path to reach Ploesti) can bypass them and attack them later. Perhaps in the next version I'll make accessing the southern path a little more difficult, making the player's choice less obvious.
As usual, here you can read the detailed changelog of what is coming
Changelog
-- V. 1.8 --
- Small changes in the debriefing of Brighton (AO 1940)
- Some terrain and string changes in Minsk 1941 and Klin (AO 1941 East)
- Fixed a problem with German capital ships movement route in Operation Cerberus (AO 1942 East)
- Added some more trucks for German auxiliary infantry in Bombing of Stalingrad (AO 1942 East)
- Evac Transports strenght set to 12 (from 20) in Operation Blut (AO 1942 East)
- Added a couple of aux mobile airfields in Manych Breakout (AO 1943 East)
- Fixed some wrong Allied equipment in Operation Stormbird (AO 1944 East)
- Fixed the secondary hex mark lacking at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in Cotentin (AO 1944 East)
- Few string fixes and reduced core slots available in Lvov 1944 (AO 1944 East)
- Fixed some wrong Soviet equipment in Battle of Ploesti (AO 1944 East); also fixed the debriefing (Ana Sofia's letter talked about Rommel's death)
- New update for the equipment file (units.csv)
- New revision for AO 1945 East
-- 1.8 Units Update -- (thanks to Pumnurau for his valuable analysis of the equipment file)
- Added NoBase, SingleEntity and EntKiller4 traits to V1 flying bomb and V2 rocket, also V2 got IgnoresEntrenchment trait; finally for both -1 slot cost (to 4 for V1 e to 5 for V2)
- Added 1945 upgrades for some more infantry: DK Guards, Alpini and Bersaglieri
- Added German fighter Bf109G14; also slightly reworked stats for Bf109G/K fighters
- Increased AA/AD for late war German fighter Do335A; also +1 AD for German jet fighter Me262C
- Decreased slot cost for German recons SdKfz232-8Rad to 2, Kfz13 to 1 and Kfz14 to 3
- Increased slot cost for German 88mmFlaK18SflAA/AT to 4
- Decreased slot cost for German 128mmFlaK40AA/AT to 3
- Decreased slot cost for German artillery SturmpanzerI/sIG33IISf/sIG38tM to 3
- Some tweaks to German E-Class tanks
- Swapped the cost between the SdKfz62AA/AT and the SdKfz72AA/AT (so that one actually feels like an upgrade from the other)
- Increased speed for German fighter-bomber Bf 110C-6 (now on par with the Bf 110D)
- Increased prestige and slot cost (to 4) for German fighter-bomber Bf109Z
- Increased prestige cost for German fighter-bombers Fw190F/Fw190F8/Fw190G/Fw190G8
- Decreased prestige cost for German dive bomber Ju87R
- Decreased slot cost for German dive bomber Ju87G to 3
- Increased prestige cost for German jet bombers Ar234B and Hs132A
- Enabled use of dirt airfields for early war German strategic bomber Ju52Bomber
- Decreased slot cost for SCW recon BilbaoM1932 to 1
- Decreased slot cost for SCW tank TrubiaNaval to 2
- Decreased slot cost for Danish recon DK Motorcycle to 2
- Increased prestige cost for Italian air defense 20-70quadruploAA
- Early war Soviet tactical bomber Po-2 renamed Polikarpov Po-2 and decreased slot cost to 1
- Decreased slot cost for Soviet heavy bomber PetlyakovPe8 to 2
- Decreased slot cost for Soviet rocket launcher BM-13 Katyusha to 3
- Increased prestige cost for Soviet artillery SU-5-2
- Increased slot cost for Soviet air defense SU6AA/AT to 3
- Decreased slot cost for Soviet late war tanks T44 and T44_100 (to 7 and 8 respectively)
- Slightly reworked stats for Soviet late war tanks IS3/IS4
- Decreased slot cost for British flame tank Wasp to 2
- Decreased slot cost for British late war tanks CometI/CenturionMkI/CenturionMkII (to 7, 7 and 8 respectively)
- Increased prestige and slot cost (to 3) for British fighter-bomber BeaufighterMkIF
------------------
-- AO 1945 East --
------------------
- Heavy map editing/polishing/naming for almost all scenarios (historical path excluded)
- Added Grondel's random hero script and reserve script; the random hero script features now double costs (2000/6000/10000 prestige) except for the first scenario
- Added elite and prestige objectives in many scenarios
- Reinstated Commendation Points
- Significant changes in the storyline
- Campaign experience cap is set at 5 stars (5000 xp)
- OPERATION PUMA - Map Size 61x64 (AOR 1.0/AO 35x34), 32 turns, Difficulty MEDIUM - First, I'd like to tell you that, at least for AO45 East and AO46 Amerika, there will no longer be automatic hero separation at the start of the campaign. This is likely welcome news for many, given the time it takes to reassign heroes based on your preferences. Coming instead to this scenario, overall I like the vanilla version, so the general layout has remained unchanged. I've just expanded and updated the map, keeping the same scale of Lvov 1944. For this reason the Pripyat area in the north (rather useless from a gameplay perspective) has been cut out, adding more depth and detail to the central and southern areas. As in vanilla you can find many depots to raid for a lot of Soviet aircraft - anyway not so useful at this point of the war - and some minetanks (no changes). In addition you have an almost mandatory bonus objective (to capture all victory hexes, worth 4 CPs), see next scenario to know why it's better to get it. No prestige objective instead, even if this is somehow integrated into the elite one (to capture all 5 district centers) as each district center awards 500 prestige points. Finally the elite objective reward is a first wave of upgraded German elite infantry plus some powerful prototypes and Soviet tanks (19 EliteGrenadier45, 19 ElitePioniere45, 29 EliteWehrInfantry45, 29 EliteGebirgsjager45, 20 ElitePanzerVIILowe, 35 PanzerVIILowe, 19 IS3 and 29 T44_100)
- KUMMERSDORF 1945 - In this training scenario at start you have the chance to spend 4 CPs for the powerful fighter hero Gerhard Barkhorn (+2 Ini, +2 AA, Prudent and Machine Gun), who will be very useful in the next scenario. Also near Kummersdorf there are the usual special facilities where you can upgrade some of your "non german" stuff: you can upgrade for free the Italian P26-40 tank to the Italian Panther D model and the IT Infantry 43, Alpini 43 and Bersaglieri 43 units to their respective 1945 models; same way you can upgrade your DK Guards 43 and the Azul Infantry units (including Granaderos). Anyway, like in Kummersdorf 1944, it is advisable to focus above all on training your planes
- FLANDERS - Map Size 69x54, 30 turns, Difficulty HARD - I was never convinced by the setting of the vanilla campaign where the Allies, once Operation Overlord failed, give up on invading Europe. Instead, I believe it is more likely that sooner or later they would have tried again. This explains the reason for this new scenario set on the Western Front, which replaces the vanilla Operation Wagtail and regarding the "new" storyline of the campaign sees Field Marshal Rommel return as the protagonist. Of course, a comparison with Operation Stormbird comes naturally: in this case, the Allied air forces are slightly less exorbitant, but be careful because their planes are much more competitive; furthermore, this time it is possible to deploy your planes even at coastal airfields, and this is obviously an important advantage, but it shouldn't last long since they will soon fall into enemy hands. No bonus objective here, while the prestige one (to hold all secondary hexes, maybe you'll need paratroopers for this) is worth 5000 and the elite objective (to destroy all British warships and cruisers) will reward you with some very good tank units (17 ElitePanzerVIILowe, 13 EliteMaus, 11 IS3 and 33 PanzerVIILowe) and tank/antitank hero Otto Carius (+2 Speed, Crippling Blow and from this version Unyielding and Reduced Slots)
- OPERATION BARCA - Map Size 79x74 (AOR 1.0/AO 45x64), 36 turns, Difficulty HARD - I do like the vanilla scenario, but unfortunately the map is very flawed (especially the northern part) even after my first revision. So this time I took the time to completely redo it, as usual adding lots of details as well as a plausible order of battle. The result is a scenario more complicated in the battle with the Soviets (pay particular attention to the counterattack of the Guards), while the clash between the Russians and the Romanian and Hungarian armies has been substantially anesthetized. In any case, keep in mind that as in some AO 1944 East scenarios it will be very difficult to get all the objectives. As in vanilla you can find some storehouses to get many Soviet aircraft (both fighters and bombers); in addition now there are only two main objectives, a bonus one (to capture all victory hexes, for 2 CPs), a prestige one (to eliminate at least 25 Soviet Guards Army units, worth 5000) and an elite objective (to reach the junction for Proskurov), which grants you some German elite units and prototypes (13 EliteGrenadier45, 13 ElitePioniere45, 19 EliteWehrInfantry45, 19 EliteGebirgsjager45, 25 ElitePantherII, 9 EliteMaus and 15 HortenHXVIII)
- MINSK 1945 - Map Size 85x58 (AOR 1.0/AO 45x36), 39 turns, Difficulty HARD - As you can see, the plot changes have led to the exclusion of the vanilla Munich scenario and this complete reworking of Operation Feuerkartoffel. This means no more atomic bombs in the storyline (at least until 1946) and a complete revisiting of the end of the war in the East with four brand new scenarios. This is the first one, with a large map based mainly on the previous Minsk 1941, clearly not one of my best but at least more accurate than vanilla. Here you will be able to command only your core air units and the Grossdeutschland Division as auxiliary force, with Segimer von Teutoburg, Die Spinne and the Skorzeny commandos coming from Operation Barca plus Odin and Leopold (it's up to you to find out who these last two are); in addition you'll be supported by the mighty 2nd SS Panzer Corps, with the Das Reich and Hohenstaufen elite divisions. While this is undoubtedly a top-notch supporting cast, you should prepare yourself for a very tough battle, as being able to deploy your heroes only to the aircraft (aside from a few I've added to your special forces) is obviously a significant advantage for the Soviets, who are already quite strong anyway, with tons of assault guns and an outstanding defensive line around Minsk. The main objective of the mission is to capture and hold Minsk, and besides a couple of valuable Soviet depots with tanks and bombers you have also a prestige objective (to capture all secondary hexes, worth 8000), but it will be nearly impossible to achieve given the size of the map and the poor efficiency of your support forces. I therefore recommend focusing only on the elite objective (to reach the junction for Mogilev), whose reward are some German very elite units (13 EliteE100, 17 EliteE75, 17 EliteE25 and 21 EliteE10) and fighter/tactical bomber hero Beate Uhse (+1 Ini, Aiming Assistance, Zero Slots and from this version +2 Speed)
- ULYANOVSK - Map Size 72x72 (AOR 1.0 50x78), 38 turns, Difficulty HARD - The previous version of this map had significant errors (for example the key bridge over the Volga at Balakovo did not yet exist) and also scale issues, so I remodeled it seeking greater accuracy. I've cut out a large part of the southern area (starting with the city of Saratov, no more interesting for the gameplay), while the right side of the Volga will play an even more important role because it will require very careful management of resources, including the handful of water transports I've made available for your army. The main objective is still to capture Saransk and Ulyanovsk, but you have also a bonus objective (to capture all secondary hexes, for 6 CPs) which once again will probably need too many resources even if the reward in the next scenario is good. Finally the tough elite objective (to capture the Syzran Bridge and the Ulyanovsk Bridge) will grant you some German elite units and prototypes (11 ElitePanzerVIILowe, 7 EliteMaus, 15 EliteTigerII, 17 EliteE50, 13 EliteJagdtiger and 17 FWTA183) and a V2ATY gift unit
- GORKY - Map Size 90x56 (AOR 1.0 76x58), 38 turns, Difficulty HARD - the scenario has been renamed since Kuybyshev is no longer on the map, but this is not the only thing that's changed. In fact, a lot has changed, as fixing some serious bugs (such as the Kama Bridge and the Zaymishchensky Bridge, which didn't yet exist) has led to a substantial change in the scenario gameplay. Now, the only bridge available for you to cross the Volga is the Romanovsky Railway Bridge at Zelenodolsk; there's another possible crossing point (where the Zaymishchensky Bridge currently stands) using some bridge engineers. In short, it's quite easy to see how reaching Kazan will be truly complicated, regardless of the Soviet counteroffensive you'll have to guard against in the early turns; as for the other main objective - Gorky - it's not necessary to cross the Volga, but if you think it'll be easier, you're very wrong. Anyway at start you can refill your most powerful Soviet equipment for 6 CPs (you get 40 T44_100, 30 IS2, 25 IS3, 40 SU100, 25 ISU122AT, 15 ISU122SAT and 20 ISU152ATY), while Segimer von Teutoburg and Die Spinne will be back to help you as well as new aux hero Gottwald Stier with his Maus tank. Finally the prestige objective (to capture all secondary hexes) is worth 6000, but once again it is advisable to skip it in order to get the others, and the elite objective (to reach the junction for Yoshkar-Ola) will reward you with another wave of German elite units and prototypes (13 EliteGrenadier45, 13 ElitePioniere45, 11 EliteE100, 15 EliteE75, 21 EliteJagdpanther and 11 HortenHXVIII) as well as another V2ATY gift unit that should come in handy in the next scenario
- MOSCOW 1945 - Map Size 83x50, 39 turns, Difficulty HARD - Here we are at the final scenario of the war in the East. Could it have ended differently than in Moscow? Based on how I've modified the campaign storyline, overall yes, but I preferred to add this final act to give a greater sense of completion to this war. Anyway, be aware that this won't be the last time you'll have to deal with Soviet equipment in AOredone. The map, based on that of the AO 1941 East Battle of Moscow scenario, sees your forces attacking from east to west, with the Soviet defenses initially rather weak but gradually increasing in intensity until Moscow, where you will have to prevail over an incredibly fearful artillery barrage and the powerful prototypes deployed by the Red Army. For this reason all the best additional support units will be at your disposal (from Die Spinne to Segimer von Teutoburg and the Skorzeny commandos, from Gottwald Stier to Odin and Leopold), but even in this case it is advisable to be very cautious before assaulting Moscow. No bonus objective here, while the prestige objective (once again to capture all secondary hexes and once again probably better to skip it) is worth 8000 and the elite objective (to destroy at least 60 Guard units) will grant you some German and Soviet elite units and prototypes (25 PanzerVIILowe, 17 ElitePanzerVIILowe, 19 ElitePantherII, 23 EliteE25, 29 EliteE10, 15 IS4, 17 ISU152-2ATY, 11 Me262C and 13 FWTA183)
- TEHRAN - Map Size 63x42, 28 turns, Difficulty MEDIUM - New scenario to replace the vanilla Reichstag - now useless due to changes in the plot - for a major battle where you'll have to face both the Americans and the British to finally put an end to the Persian Corridor. Be careful because this is a more difficult scenario than many might think after playing against the powerful Red Army: the Allies have many jet aircraft at the same level as yours (but oversized at 20) and also the Americans already field some advanced tanks that you will find again in AO46 Amerika. But it is also true that after such an intense battle as the one in Moscow, everything seems relatively easy. Neither bonus nor prestige objective here, but you have the elite one (to capture both US bases), which will reward you with some German elite units and prototypes (11 EliteMaus, 17 E100, 21 E75 and 29 E50) and another V2ATY gift unit
- ZAHIDAN - Map Size 83x60 (AOR 1.0 59x38/AO 55X28), 38 turns, Difficulty MEDIUM - The rather unrealistic map (both vanilla and my first version) has been upsized and updated for greater accuracy. I also tried to make the scenario a little more challenging by adding an escort mission to replace the main objective and increasing a lot the quality of the British troops. As in vanilla you can find a couple of depots to get a large amount of British artillery equipment (no changes); in addition you have a prestige objective (to capture all victory hexes, worth 6000), while the elite objective (to reach the junctions for Quetta and Karachi) will reward you with a huge resupply of Lion tanks as well as some valuable British equipment (600 PanzerVIILowe, 150 ElitePanzerVIILowe, 17 Tortoise, 25 TempestMkV and 15 MeteorMkIII)
- INDUS RIVER - Map Size 61x72 (AOR 1.0 37x48/AO 31x44), 32 turns, Difficulty MEDIUM - Another scenario renaming, as Operation Hydra is no longer appropriate due to the lack of the Japanese from the equation. As for Zahidan, the small vanilla map has been upsized and updated with a much more detailed version, focusing on its central-southern part. Be aware that the enemy is much stronger than vanilla, with tons of overstrenghted aircraft and tanks guarding a solid defensive line on both banks of the Indus; the difficulty rating is however only medium because once you cross the big river everything becomes much easier. The scenario has a new main objective (to capture and hold Hyderabad), while the bonus objective (to capture all secondary hexes) is worth 6 CPs and 5250 prestige if you seize them all; finally the elite objective (to destroy at least 75 RAF aircraft) will grant you some German elite units and prototypes (29 EliteWehrInfantry45, 25 EliteGebirgsjager45, 13 E100, 17 E75, 23 E25 and 27 E10) and fighter-bomber ace Eckart Wilhelm von Bonin (+2 Speed, +2 AA, +4 AD, Lightning Attack and Readiness, so losing +2 Ini and Evasive from previous version, but now it can also be used as a fighter hero)
- CASE BRUNO - Map Size 47x100 (AOR 1.0 31x112/AO 31x44), 42 turns, Difficulty HARD - Major facelift for both map and scenario here. The map has been completely remodeled using a scale more in line with this new version of AOredone, adding many details and trying to eliminate all historical inaccuracies, which is not easy considering the scarcity of information on India in the 40s. In this regard, historically Gandhi had already been released from Bombay prison in 1945, but since we are moving in alt history territory I have not changed this element of the narrative. Anyway, now the scenario is way more challenging; to take Bombay you will definitely have to work a lot with your best units, while the road to the metropolis will be constantly under fire from nasty British aircraft. At start you have the chance to spend 6 CPs for a pretty good collection of top British equipment (30 BlackPrince, 35 CenturionMkII, 25 Tortoise, 25 MeteorMkIII, 35 SpitfireMk21, 27 LancasterMkIII and 33 HalifaxMkIII); in addition you have a prestige objective (to capture all secondary hexes, worth 5000), while the elite objective (to capture Nashik) will reward you with a final wave of German elite units and prototypes (15 EliteGrenadier45, 15 ElitePioniere45, 11 EliteMaus, 13 EliteE100, 17 EliteE75, 23 EliteE50 and 17 Me262C). Finally, for once the debriefing is worth reading, because in some way the changes in the storyline also work as a teaser for the final campaign
Hi Andrea, as I mentioned yesterday on the Steam forum, I’ll outline a few changes I’ve made to my AOR game. Of course, these are tailored to my settings and other internal rules, so they might not be suitable for others.
But you might like some of them.
Most of the changes involve the units.csv file.
- Add the Panzer IIIB, because you have it as a gift unit, but it’s not in the file, so the stats are taken from the vanilla file.
Solution: Copy the line from the vanilla file and change the stats.defense.close column to 2
- Change stats.fuel for TrubiaNaval to 150 (it’s 120 there), because it has stats.speed = 50 and the standard rule is that stats.fuel = 3*stats.speed
I made several such changes to stats.defense.close and stats.fuel, but I don’t remember them all now. When AO45 comes out, I’ll have an unmodified new file again and will check it there.
- Added Ju88C and Ju88G as fighter-bombers
- Increased the initiative of fighter-bombers from 1 to 2 so that the "Hit and Run" trait can be utilized in fighter mode. I know players can boost this using heroes and general traits, but I felt this was a better approach, even for the AI.
- Reduced slots for the FW190 family from 5 to 4. While it has better stats compared to the Bf109, not by enough to justify a 66% higher price.
- Increased range from 1 to 2 in artillery mode for units such as the StuG, BT-7A, A10CruiserCS, etc. I know that on most maps, 1 hex = 4 km, but this feels more realistic to me, since these units operated behind the front line, not on it.
- Replaced the FerociousDefense trait for heavy infantry with ForcedMarch. Over thousands of hours in PC2, I attacked with a unit having Ignore Entrenchment against AI-controlled entrenched heavy infantry at most 10 times, and the AI never once countered my units with this combination. ForcedMarch isn’t a strong trait, but these units offer players more versatility; when the AI uses it, they become more dangerous, and standard infantry still has one more movement point.
- The No Retreat trait on Elite, Guards, etc. units. No Retreat is a negative trait for me because such units are easier to destroy—both mine and the AI’s. I thought long and hard about this, but then I chose Prudent. For the player, it’s a slight lifesaver given the limited pool of these units, and AI units with this trait, on the other hand, are much harder to completely destroy.
- Gifted HU and RO infantry units are weaker than German infantry, so unless you're playing as the Collector, it's better to upgrade them to German infantry right away. It might be a good idea to create new units here, similar to the DKGuards with specific traits. Maybe something like HUHortyGuards and ROAntonescuGuards or something along those lines
- If possible, change Wilhelm von Thoma’s portrait. I thought he looked really weird, so I used the one from SoE. I don’t know how you mod developers handle data sharing, but if it’s possible, I’d recommend this change.
Well, that’s all for now. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of other things, so I’ll come back to them next time. I hope this helps you at least a little and provides some inspiration.
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
Hi Andrea, as I mentioned yesterday on the Steam forum, I’ll outline a few changes I’ve made to my AOR game. Of course, these are tailored to my settings and other internal rules, so they might not be suitable for others.
But you might like some of them.
Most of the changes involve the units.csv file.
Hi, well lots of interesting ideas here, some I fully agree with, others less so
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- Add the Panzer IIIB, because you have it as a gift unit, but it’s not in the file, so the stats are taken from the vanilla file.
Solution: Copy the line from the vanilla file and change the stats.defense.close column to 2
- Change stats.fuel for TrubiaNaval to 150 (it’s 120 there), because it has stats.speed = 50 and the standard rule is that stats.fuel = 3*stats.speed
I made several such changes to stats.defense.close and stats.fuel, but I don’t remember them all now. When AO45 comes out, I’ll have an unmodified new file again and will check it there.
Ok, will do
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- Added Ju88C and Ju88G as fighter-bombers
- Increased the initiative of fighter-bombers from 1 to 2 so that the "Hit and Run" trait can be utilized in fighter mode. I know players can boost this using heroes and general traits, but I felt this was a better approach, even for the AI.
I had already planned these changes as part of a major aircraft update, which I will release only after the new version of AO46, so it will take some time. The update will include increased range for all aircraft and will also include many variants for the German strategic bombers
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- Reduced slots for the FW190 family from 5 to 4. While it has better stats compared to the Bf109, not by enough to justify a 66% higher price.
- Increased range from 1 to 2 in artillery mode for units such as the StuG, BT-7A, A10CruiserCS, etc. I know that on most maps, 1 hex = 4 km, but this feels more realistic to me, since these units operated behind the front line, not on it.
These changes were already discussed extensively when this equipment file was created, which originally also covered PC1 Remake and SOE and is still very similar across all three mods. There are pros and cons to both leaving things as they are or modifying them as you suggest
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- Replaced the FerociousDefense trait for heavy infantry with ForcedMarch. Over thousands of hours in PC2, I attacked with a unit having Ignore Entrenchment against AI-controlled entrenched heavy infantry at most 10 times, and the AI never once countered my units with this combination. ForcedMarch isn’t a strong trait, but these units offer players more versatility; when the AI uses it, they become more dangerous, and standard infantry still has one more movement point.
This change is intriguing, but I'd actually already considered using the ForcedMarch trait to create the new Panzergrenadier infantry unit for future builds. The heavy infantry unit will therefore remain as it is now
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- The No Retreat trait on Elite, Guards, etc. units. No Retreat is a negative trait for me because such units are easier to destroy—both mine and the AI’s. I thought long and hard about this, but then I chose Prudent. For the player, it’s a slight lifesaver given the limited pool of these units, and AI units with this trait, on the other hand, are much harder to completely destroy.
- Gifted HU and RO infantry units are weaker than German infantry, so unless you're playing as the Collector, it's better to upgrade them to German infantry right away. It might be a good idea to create new units here, similar to the DKGuards with specific traits. Maybe something like HUHortyGuards and ROAntonescuGuards or something along those lines
The no retreat trait is actually a double-edged sword; sometimes it saves your life, sometimes it kills you, but I want to keep it because historically these units have suffered heavy losses for this very reason. Furthermore, the Prudent trait is far too powerful; in my opinion, it should be used with great caution.
As for the Hungarian and Romanian units, I would even be willing to replace them with elite units from those countries, but I have found no historical evidence to this effect
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
- If possible, change Wilhelm von Thoma’s portrait. I thought he looked really weird, so I used the one from SoE. I don’t know how you mod developers handle data sharing, but if it’s possible, I’d recommend this change.
You are right about von Thoma’s portrait
dan1107 wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 10:34 am
Well, that’s all for now. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot of other things, so I’ll come back to them next time. I hope this helps you at least a little and provides some inspiration.
After a quick check of units.csv, I found these minor issues:
Panzer IVA - isn't in the file, so CD = 0 from vanilla
Panzer IID - is in the file, but CD is also = 0
OstwindAA and OstwindAT - are switchable, but have different values for fuel, movement points, slots, and service. They should probably be the same.
Great news regarding aircraft. But when increasing aircraft range, be mindful of the game mechanics for aircraft (excluding strategic bombers): every unspent movement point = +2 % accuracy. In this regard be careful not to make the aircraft too OP.
dan1107 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 12:26 pm
I'm glad you found something interesting.
After a quick check of units.csv, I found these minor issues:
Panzer IVA - isn't in the file, so CD = 0 from vanilla
Panzer IID - is in the file, but CD is also = 0
OstwindAA and OstwindAT - are switchable, but have different values for fuel, movement points, slots, and service. They should probably be the same.
Good finds, please continue to report any other inconsistencies
I knew about the Romanian division; I didn't use it because there was only one, but the Border Guards could also be used because they were considered a higher tier than the regular infantry. I didn't know about the Hungarian division, though. I'll see what I can do in future updates.
dan1107 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 12:26 pm
Great news regarding aircraft. But when increasing aircraft range, be mindful of the game mechanics for aircraft (excluding strategic bombers): every unspent movement point = +2 % accuracy. In this regard be careful not to make the aircraft too OP.
Obviously everything needs to be tested carefully, which is why I postponed the update until the next AOredone review
I'm currently mid-1943, like the mod so far. Except maybe the aircraft respawn script in Sealion - it's not too hard to fend them off (AO46 did teach me to always have a lot of flaks around, preferably with AA Veteran trait or Lethal Attack hero) but it becomes annoying quite fast. A bit of advice, BTW - you might want to disable AA switch on Bunkerflak. IRL these things could barely elevate the barrel.
WRT aircraft rebalance: IMO, you should go further than just increasing the range. Much further.
1) Strats and tactical bombers are really, really, REALLY messed up in this game. Combing together Ju 88 and B-17 is a... strange move, to say the least - these are different planes with different tactical roles. The fact that Wellington (a much larger plane than, say, He 111) resides in tacbomber tab gives me a fit every time I see it there.
The following should be moved to strats tab (i.e. change TacticalBomber to StrategicBomber in units.csv):
- Wellingtons (sigh)
- B-25s (except B-25H, as it is a proper low-level attack version)
- B-26s
- SM.79, SM.81 (another funny placement - these are in the same class as Ju 52, and SM.81 was even used in the SCW airlift)
2) Now for the stats.
2a) Medium bombers:
- All of the above
- Ju 52, Ju 86, He 111 (except Z), Ju 88\188, Do 17\217, CANT Z.1007, DB-3\IL-4, Yer-2, Whitley, Le0 451, P.37B, all Japanese bombers except Fugaku
- Traits: Suppressing Fire, EntKiller 2x, maybe EntKiller 3x for some late models to denote increased bombload. Note the absence of Carpet Bombing.
- Stats are basically the same as current ones, with maybe some adjustments for range
- Good against ships (or maybe specific antiship versions if possible and where applicable - Ju-88 torpedo bomber, for example)
- Can use dirt airfields (most, if not all of them, could do it IRL. And B-25s could fly from aircraft carrier, LOL)
These are basically a frontline flying artillery. You park them at the nearest airfield and use them for whatever you need. A good alternative to tacbombers when you face a lot of entrenched enemies, but you'll probably want to swap them for tacbombers for tank battles.
2b) Heavy bombers:
- He 111Z, He 177, late war German Amerika bombers, B-17\24\29\32, Lancaster, Stirling etc
- Traits: Carpet Bombing, Suppressing Fire, EntKiller 4x
- Stats: More range (and I mean MORE - at least +10 to what it's now), good soft attack, poor hard attack, real bad naval attack
- More prestige and slot costs (4-5 slots for He 177, 6-7 for late-war bombers such as Ta 400)
- Cannot use dirt airfields
These are things you field when you face a massive city battle like Stalingrad. They cost a ton and have troubles with parking, but they are great for digging out entrenched infantry or suppressing flaks. Poor naval attack is due to the fact that high-altitude heavy bombers had about a zero chance to hit a moving ship. I would really, really like to add City Fighter to make these even more special, but alas, it doesn't seem to work on aircraft.
One interesting thing here is that Germany does not get access to these until at least 1941, where you can buy He 111Zs for CP. IIRC, you may get some Stirlings from airfields in Sealion though.
2c) Special planes, such as nuclear bombers and Fugaku, obviously stay the same (except range adjustments)
2d) Lancaster Special:
- Either a switch for the Lancaster I, or a dedicated unit (the latter is probably better, since I have no idea if AI can use such a switch properly - and you may want this thing for AI use in West Europe)
- Trades all traits for Bunker Killer
- Weaker soft attack, stronger hard attack, maybe better naval attack
This means to represent Tallboy-carrying Lancasters. Again, you may want to give AI a couple of these to bomb German bunkers; a limited stock of them can be an elite reward in these missions. Better naval attack is questionable at best, though - the Tirpitz wasn't moving when RAF bombed it.
3) On an unrelated note: consider Evasive trait for at least some recon planes. Fi 156 and Fw 189 were quite hard to shoot down thanks to their superior maneuverability.
4) On an unrelated note #2: consider changing airfield strongpoints to MG nests from the new Italy DLC. I like the idea of airfields being protected, but not by concrete strongpoints. To build a concrete bunker, you need a) concrete and b) a lot of specialized equipment such as diggers, mixers etc. Both of these are generally scarce on a dirt airfield. MG nest, on the other hand, is exactly what airbase security would build.
Hello biohazard15, thanks so much for the suggestions; this is definitely a good resource for the aircraft update.
One of my priorities, aside from aircraft range, is to further develop and differentiate the strategic bomber class. It's clear that the game developers have mixed things up a bit between tactical and strategic bombers, placing medium bombers here and there and assigning the anti-ship role to strategic bombers. This choice was certainly a bit arbitrary, but it shows that beyond historical references, we must also consider what the game's engine is capable of offering. In this case, I believe it was intended to increase the appeal of this class, which otherwise (at least for less experienced players) would have been lacking.
Andrea69 wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 9:08 pm
Hello biohazard15, thanks so much for the suggestions; this is definitely a good resource for the aircraft update.
One of my priorities, aside from aircraft range, is to further develop and differentiate the strategic bomber class. It's clear that the game developers have mixed things up a bit between tactical and strategic bombers, placing medium bombers here and there and assigning the anti-ship role to strategic bombers. This choice was certainly a bit arbitrary, but it shows that beyond historical references, we must also consider what the game's engine is capable of offering. In this case, I believe it was intended to increase the appeal of this class, which otherwise (at least for less experienced players) would have been lacking.
If they wanted to increase appeal of strats, they utterly failed IMO. In vanilla AO, I used them mostly for anti-shipping missions such as Stalingrad Bombing or D-Day. AOR did us good by giving us two strat heroes who, when combined in one unit, make a nice Rudel-esque aircraft.
Some further suggestions, if I may:
1) Azuls in 1939:
- Blue Division was formed two days after Barbarossa start, so Azul gift unit in Raseiniai is (kind of) historically correct. The one in 1939 Czechoslovakia, however, is not
- Since we can get two Spanish infantry units in SCW (Colonial Infantry and Guardia Civil), I propose adding a couple of upgrade hexes for these in Czechoslovakia
- Colonials get upgrade to standard Azul Infanterie (this replaces Azul gift unit)
- Guardia get upgrade to a new unit Azul Zapadores (Zapadores was the name for sapper regiment of Blue Division). Compared to German Pioniere: same traits, +1 speed, +2 to soft\hard attack, -2 to all defense stats, +1 core slot cost. Basically assault Pioniere.
2) Azul Granaderos:
- It was a kind of disappointment when I got them - I've expected something unique like Infanterie's trademarked Rapid Fire, not Forced March...
- I suggest changing them from Italian heavy infantry to Mortaio 35 infantry\artillery. Now THAT would be unique. (At least until devs remember that literally every nation that fought in WW2 had mortars!). Stats would need to be looked over, probably - vanilla unit was made for 1940 Cyrenaica campaign
Speaking of Stalingrad - a bug report: in Streets of Stalingrad elite objective, I got only Boelter hero, but not the equipment. Might be because I saved\loaded quite liberally during this mission.
