Been away for a while

[jkile]

Having played PG I&II extensively, I was one of the few who was a little disappointed with PC!! Anyways, I quit playing because the combat just drove me crazy, like soviet conscripts doing damage to Tigers&Panthers in open ground. Also, the AI being able to do things the player couldn't, like reinforcing when completely surrounded. I also had a PC crash 3-4 mos ago that lost all my data and now am still catching up with previous games.

But I have watched some videos the last few days, and it seems as Afrika Korp & Allied Corp have been issued, maybe some of my complaints have at least been minimised. So, I have a couple of questions.

I see that the 39-45 GCs can be played with either the original vanilla or Afrika Corp!!?? Correct?? In light of that, can one play 39-40 GCs and the choose to go to the desert campaign with army all ready created and then be able to go back to the eastern front??? Or are the campaigns still separate.

Also, I read the Afrika Korp came with new graphics, units types, etc. Do these new things apply to the GCs also???

Thanks,

JMK

[ThvN]

Hello JMK, welcome back!

I see that the 39-45 GCs can be played with either the original vanilla or Afrika Corp!!?? Correct??

Only for the regular, non-Steam version. I assume you have the regular version, in which case the GC's will work with either one. But if you have the Steam version, you'll need the vanilla PzC Wehrmacht to be able to play the GC's.

In light of that, can one play 39-40 GCs and the choose to go to the desert campaign with army all ready created and then be able to go back to the eastern front??? Or are the campaigns still separate.

The campaigns are completely separate, and Afrika forces you to start with a pre-made core. Although the game can be modded to import your GC'40 core to Afrika... But once in Afrika, there is no going back to the other campaigns. Same goes for the GC East and GC West: the GC East/West campaigns from 1942 on are separate and the cores only carry over within the branch you have chosen. The other campaigns are played separately.

Also, I read the Afrika Korp came with new graphics, units types, etc. Do these new things apply to the GCs also???

These are very minor improvements when compared the the original GC's, the graphics are mostly desert terrain and reskinned units in desert colors. The new units do not really have an impact on the original gameplay. Some units are available in Afrika only (sIG 33, similar to the Sturmpanzer), or only become available very late in the game (1945 jet aircraft). The most noticeble additions will be a new transport halftrack for heavy artillery, an extra 'Marder' antitank unit and the Hs 129 ground attack aircraft.

The biggest changes are to the gameplay, the GC's have been tweaked and upgraded with special bonus heroes, and there are some new combat rules, some of which are still hotly debated and not everybody likes them. The 'soft cap' to limit prestige income is one of them. Others are well received, like the 'dice chess' optional rule, which makes combat results less randomized (this might be interesting for you if I see your comment about conscript vs. tanks). Also, difficulty can be adjusted in more detail, and you can switch difficulty between scenarios.

Personally, I play with modded rules, and a lot of things can be modified to suit personal taste, so even if the normal and optional settings are not to your liking you can try that route. Have fun, I hope you like it better this time around!

[jkile]

Thanks ThvN for great feedback. Your comments have just about have made up my mind for me. BUT I have unusual and big problem(for me ). As mentioned above I have complete data loss 3-4mos ago and am still catching up with old paid-paid-for games. I have the original vanilla registered on Slitherine site and just one of eight GC DLCs on Matrix site. My bad for not doing rest, but what can I say. I have a propsal that I hope makes sense and should makes things easier for you all and me.

I want to buy Afrika Corp so I can play GCs from that. I have all but 44&45 West of the GCs. So I was wondering, if after I verify my sereal numbers, you could send me a speccial coupon that would allow me to get the package of GCs I have seen on the stores for the just the cost of the last 2 GCs, that according to your comments would work well with Afrika. Sometime later I can obtain the vanilla download. I hope this can be done, otherwise you will have to send 8-9 new downlinks and me download same.

Also, I have an extra sereal number that I labeled wrong and I really don't know what it is. I hope I have made myself clear and we can work something out.

Thanks again for past and future,

JMK

[ThvN]

I'm just a forum mod, so unfortunately I can't help you directly with support for retrieving downloads or serial numbers. But your problem is not uncommon, and the best option is to contact the official Slitherine support staff (email support[at]slitherine.co.uk with your questions), they can assist you further to help you get your downloads again. And they will probably be able to work out what your mystery serial number is for, that would be nice to know I guess?

About the package of GC's you mention, I presume you mean the Grand Campaign MegaPack? There was a limited introduction offer for people who already had several GC's installed, but that offer has expired a long time ago. So personally I think the best option is to purchase the last missing GC's separately, but maybe the support staff can help you with that question as well.

[jkile]

Okay, I wasn't sure where to put this, and again thanks for your help.

JMK