GC43 Video AAR

[deducter]

Scenario 10: Kiev43

Part 1: http://youtu.be/pt8ua4D65Rw
Part 2: http://youtu.be/wvquD2f8Me8
Part 3: http://youtu.be/iJMGFtlffE4

Highlights: the 8.8 cm Pak 43/41, urban warfare in Kiev, and the defeat of elite Soviet fighters using both AA and fighters.

This concludes GC43 on the Eastern Front. GC44 will begin soon.

[shawkhan]

You know, Deducter, I have noticed something as I have played this same scenario today. In my game, the Russians were well equipped with IS I, KV-85, ISU-152s and the like. The weakest tanks they fielded were T34/43s. Does the AI practice some kind of calculation to take into account the relative strengths of the opposing forces? My force was well equipped with Tigers and Panthers so I wonder. A three star IS-1 pretty much shrugs off the attacks your troops could hand out.

[deducter]

You know, Deducter, I have noticed something as I have played this same scenario today. In my game, the Russians were well equipped with IS I, KV-85, ISU-152s and the like. The weakest tanks they fielded were T34/43s. Does the AI practice some kind of calculation to take into account the relative strengths of the opposing forces? My force was well equipped with Tigers and Panthers so I wonder. A three star IS-1 pretty much shrugs off the attacks your troops could hand out.

Do you mean Kiev43? My mod makes absolutely no changes to all preplaced units. The only difference is that the AI will not spam heavy tanks towards the end of scenarios, rather, it will buy T-34/43 or T-34-85 depending on the year.
There was a massive onslaught of good Soviet units, but almost all of them got stuck in Kiev and annihilated by my elite infantry.

My mod does slightly improve some German units (Panther has +1 HA, Panzer IV Hhas +2 HA) and slightly some Soviet units (most of the Soviet heavies have slightly lower IN than vanilla), but many Soviet units are buffed (Yak-3, La-7, SU-152, ISU-152). Furthermore, costs of many German units are higher, and elite reinforcements are much higher, overstrength is much, much more expensive, and I am certain the game is much harder than with the default files. I've had no one tell me that 1943+ is easier for them.

The one major difference in my mod is that most Soviet heavy assault guns can't switch, and won't have range = 3. This does not necessarily make the game easier though, because often you will find the Soviet assault guns caught in artillery mode when they should be in assault mode and hence easy pickings for your tanks. However, the SU-76M and SU-122 can switch, and the former has range = 3, and there are a surprising number of them in almost all maps, so the Soviets still have mobile artillery.

The game does not adjust the level of enemy troops in any way to compensate for my core units. I actually made a suggestion that it could be a good feature for a sequel, but in this game, whether I deploy 10 Tigers or 0, the AI is exactly the same in experience and strength. The only way to change those is with the diff.pzdat file, and I just play on Rommel (-50%) prestige.

Don't underestimate my troops. I destroyed plenty of 3-star KV-85 in Kiev43, and even a 3-star IS-1, with that Pak 43/41. And there are plenty more in 1944, when my core gets only slightly stronger, and I will still destroy all the good Soviet tanks without much effort. The trick is that I always fight under circumstances that favor my troops, in the terrain and manner of my choosing. I won't win all DV in 1944, but I never struggle at all. Only towards the very end of 1945 will I have difficulty, and to be fair, I cannot win DV on Berlin without gutting pretty much all of my core, and DV on Berlin Redux is probably impossible.

[shawkhan]

Yes, indeed, it was in Kiev'43. The pre-placed units were the same but the AI seemed to like purchasing IS-I tanks with three stars, spamming up to four of them at a time. They gave me a rough time, that is for sure. On to Korsun'44 today.