Battlefield: Europe MOD v2.4

[floplop]

is this thing available for download yet?

[Uhu]

Thus, it allows yet another interesting decision to make: wheter I want to advance with my now obsolete unit, or stop and waste 1-2 turns upgrading it to a better one?

And that is also realistic because upgrades took many times: transporting back the crew to Germany, train them, transporting back to the front...
Although there were causes when the upgrade and training took place on the field - for example the Hungarian armor crew who get Tiger I's replacing the obsolote Turán II's in Galizia, 1944 may-june.

[iceFlame]

I voted for a GC! I want to fight in the Streets of Paris! A WW1 version of Berlin

Poor Paris. I can almost see the shop keepers running for cover as I type. "Mon ami, save the wine!"

But yeah I vote for GC as well. Just can't get enough GC goodness.

[McGuba]

LandMarine wrote:
Will anything bad happen should say, the Allies take Rome in Jan. 1944? Say extra units for D-Day?

Nothing like that. But the Axis will get 50 prestige less each turn from that point. And the allies would gain a nice airfield from which they can attack targets in the Balkans and Central Europe. Also, after taking Rome they would continue to advance towards Venice and Genoa, and eventually to capture Vienna. And holding Vienna is a victory condtition, so it might be a good idea to stop them somewhere.

flipflop wrote:
is this thing available for download yet?

Not yet, but testing is in a very advanced stage, so I should release it in a couple of days.

Thus, it allows yet another interesting decision to make: wheter I want to advance with my now obsolete unit, or stop and waste 1-2 turns upgrading it to a better one?

Uhu wrote:

And that is also realistic because upgrades took many times: transporting back the crew to Germany, train them, transporting back to the front...
Although there were causes when the upgrade and training took place on the field - for example the Hungarian armor crew who get Tiger I's replacing the obsolote Turán II's in Galizia, 1944 may-june.

Sure, and the Germans did the same, e.g. the many different sub-types of the PzIII and IV were transported to the front right from the factory to replace the losses. Often there were only small differencies so their crews did not need special training.

Still, in the mod there will be quite a lot of unit transportation all across Europe. So the player has to be a kind on logistics expert as well. And sometimes the partisans would disrupt the main railroads, just to make things worse. And sometimes completely cut off whole areas like Greece if they manage to take control of Serbia.


...


Some latewar alternative timeline screenshots

After winnig the Battle of Kursk the Axis managed to regain the initiative once more. However, since this test play I made the Kursk battle somewhat harder as the Soviets would now make fortifications and get more units, so these events may not happen in subsequent test plays.

Finn-German units besieging Leningrad in summer, 1944. The city would fall a few turns later. Note that new Axis units come with a camo pattern from 1943:





After winning Kursk I returned to Stalingrad, which was only lightly defended, so I could take it, but then massive Soviet formations arrived from the Ural and started a counter attack. I ordered all Axis air units in the area to attack them, but, all in vain, as in the end I had to retreat for a second (and last) time:





In the meantime, the Allies are closing on Paris and now threatening the western border of the Reich. Their advance was one of the reasons why I had to give up my offensive in the east and recall some of those units to France:




So I ended the first testplay with a draw. I played it in the historical way up until 1943, but winning Kursk obviously changed the flow of events. There were times when I felt that I was so close to defeat the USSR, but in the end I decided to go for a much safer draw. Mainly because of the Allied landing in France.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

This is looking really cool! Just don't release it too early, I don't want all the people hooked on your thing when WWI is released! (or I will release the stormtroopers with poison gas that use zeppelins as a transport method!)

- BNC

[iceFlame]

Not yet, but testing is in a very advanced stage, so I should release it in a couple of days.

OK, now you got me totally psyched. Good times just around the corner? Awesome, can hardly wait!

Some latewar alternative timeline screenshots

Thanks for the screens... Very interesting alternate timelines. The fall of Leningrad, victory at Kursk and a second advance to Stalingrad all give much needed hope for the battle weary player. Good to know it's within the realm of possibility as it makes the game much more fun.

[LandMarine47]

I assume the Soviets fortified Moscow (did you even attempt an attack on that direction? And Stalingrad, so close, yet so far.

And what of Italy? Is Rome in Allied Hands?

And one last question, will the player be able to buy rare weapons, like the Karl Siege Mortar, or the Gustav Railgun? Maybe even the Graf Zeppelin!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I voted for a GC! I want to fight in the Streets of Paris! A WW1 version of Berlin

Poor Paris. I can almost see the shop keepers running for cover as I type. "Mon ami, save the wine!"

But yeah I vote for GC as well. Just can't get enough GC goodness.

Those Fench guys sided with Russia, who in turn sided with Serbia, who fought my ally - it's their fault I'm attacking Paris! (and the Uk...)

- BNC

[McGuba]

LandMarine wrote:
I assume the Soviets fortified Moscow (did you even attempt an attack on that direction? And Stalingrad, so close, yet so far.

Yeah, the defence of Moscow is strenghtened after 1941, but it is possible to take it later. The problem is that there are just too many objectives in the USSR and it is just way too big. The trick is that the further you advance into Russia the longer your frontline will be and the more units you will need to maintain the pressure. So it is not easy to take all main objectives. And in the meantime the Allies are planning something as well in France...

And what of Italy? Is Rome in Allied Hands?

I do not want to spoil the whole war, and anyway there are many possible outcomes. In one game it can remain in Axis hands in another it may not...

And one last question, will the player be able to buy rare weapons, like the Karl Siege Mortar, or the Gustav Railgun? Maybe even the Graf Zeppelin!

There is only one very heavy artillery owned by the Axis, a Karl-Gerat unit. It represents all those heavy siege mortars used by the Germans, so it is the only one and no other can be bought. It is mainly because of the scale of the units in this mod. And also due to gameplay reasons: it is most useful against those heavy fortresses, but it can only be used against one of those at a time: Odessa, Sevastopol, or Leningrad.


EDIT: I was thinking about adding the only German aircraft carrier at some point, at strenght 1 - and then the player can decide wheter he wants to reinforce it to strenght 10 or not, which would cost some prestige of course. Historically it reached 90% or something like that if I am right. I just do not really know if it would be useful at all. Rememember this mod is restricted to the European theater and there are quite a lot of airfields on the map...

[LandMarine47]

I'd be useful in a re-invasion of North Africa

[BiteNibbleChomp]

The Graf Zeppelin starting on 1 is a good idea! Maybe do it with Bismarck and Tirpitz as well?

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Also, any chance you could upload the file for the units in the strategic map for me to use in War of the World's 1.1 patch?

- BNC

[LandMarine47]

The Graf Zeppelin starting on 1 is a good idea! Maybe do it with Bismarck and Tirpitz as well?

- BNC

Remember this is 1941, the RN already hunted Down the Bismark and the Tripitz is in hiding after taking a beating form RAF torpedo bombers

BUT we should be able to rebuild the Bismark

[McGuba]

The Bismarck was sunk in May 1941 and the scenario starts in June.

The Tirpitz will be ready for service at full strenght in turn 14 having finished its trial and training. (While historically it did some patrol at the start of Barbarossa, it was not fully ready, so it had to resume its training before it could start its first real combat operation in early 1942.)

The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are under repair in the French ports after being damaged by British bombers. They are at strenght 3-4 in turn 1. The player can decide if he wants to repair these, which costs some prestige, or just leave them. If repaired they can be used to block Allied convoy routes (but, in that case the British will deploy some of their battleships there as well), or use them in Sealion or attack Gibraltar or for defense when D-day comes.

I still have concerns adding the Graf Zeppelin: the main problem is that PzC does not handle carriers as it should. I mean as we saw it in Pacific Genaral. I think it would be quite unhistorical to have all the available Axis aircraft, including strategic bombers like Ju-88 or He-111, land on it. If there was an updateto PzC with deck operations, and 'carrier based' trait added to aircraft I would be happier to add it.

Also, any chance you could upload the file for the units in the strategic map for me to use in War of the World's 1.1 patch?

Soon I will upload the whole stuff and then you can take what you need. It is much easier than to upload several parts of it one by one.

BUT we should be able to rebuild the Bismark

Realistically speaking that should take several years. And the U-boats had the priority by that time.

[LandMarine47]

I like your point, but if were going to be historical about the Graf Zepplin, NO aircraft would land on it, because the Germans didn't research carrier based fighters and bombers. But I agree on the point with the Heavy Bombers. Their range is long enough so a carrier shouldn't be needed.

[McGuba]

I like your point, but if were going to be historical about the Graf Zepplin, NO aircraft would land on it, because the Germans didn't research carrier based fighters and bombers.

That's another reason not to add it. Altough the Germans experimented with the Bf-109 and Ju-87 and toyed with the idea of using those until dedicated carrier based aircraft are developed, I wonder how effectively could they have used the 109 as its main weakness was its narrow wheeltrack, making the plane unstable on the ground. And strong and stable landing gears are a must for any carrier based aircraft.

[iceFlame]

The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are under repair in the French ports after being damaged by British bombers... If repaired they can be used to block Allied convoy routes (but, in that case the British will deploy some of their battleships there as well), or use them in Sealion or attack Gibraltar or for defense when D-day comes.

I hear the weather is very nice in Gibraltar, so perhaps a scenic cruise is called for. Who knows, maybe we'll lob a few shells their way just to make sure they're not asleep at the switch.

I still have concerns adding the Graf Zeppelin: the main problem is that PzC does not handle carriers as it should... I think it would be quite unhistorical to have all the available Axis aircraft, including strategic bombers like Ju-88 or He-111, land on it.

I agree about the absurdity of having all Axis planes capable of landing on her, but that being said, it's not entirely accurate to suggest the Germans made no preparations for carrier operations. For example, the BF109T was specifically modified with carrier operations in mind, featuring extended wings with high-lift overwing spoilers and a specially widened undercarriage.

Edit: Oops, I almost forgot to mention, she had a more powerful engine as well.

Here's a couple of shots of a 109T being launched from a catapult:

[McGuba]

And I would be happy to add the BF109T and the Graf Zeppelin if there was a "carrier based" trait or something like that. Maybe a later patch will add it.

EDIT: thanks for the images they are very interesting. Still, it seems to me that it was just a make-shift solution, why there are no landing gears visible? I still have doubts about the possible usefullness of the Bf-109 as a carrier based aircraft. After all most such planes of the US Navy and the IJN were developed with carrier operations in mind. On the other hand, the British successfully converted the existing Spitfire to the Seafire design...

[LandMarine47]

A condition for the Graf Zeppelin should be to sink a substantial amount of the RN, to "convince" German High Kommand, and if possible, you should mod the game so Heavy bombers can't land on them. In my eyes only the BF 109/110 and Stuka should be allowed. Anything else should operate from Airbases.

[Treebeard]

Looks like a great mod. Me and Juno are ready to test play it in Multiplayer (hope it will be released soon We're currently playing 1941 which is much fun and this addition to the WW2 maps would add even more fun. (By the way, in the PzCps current rules, STR aircraft can't be supplied by carriers. So in essence the only planes that can be supplied are FTRs and TACs).