'Tanks, more tanks, Tovarish!' - Red Star Review and Discuss

[bru888]

Karelia

Well, I thought I had it made at this point. Just keep pushing ahead; plenty of time left:

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But I had an "uh-oh" moment here. You don't get reinforcements like these without expecting the battle to get a lot hotter, and soon!

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Sure enough, those darned ski troops! (Thanks for the advice, Andy.) Now I have a battle on my hands. [Rolls up sleeves and gets to work.]

[bru888]

Karelia

All's well that ends well. Again, the clock is a factor; one cannot dawdle but one must also guard one's flanks from the ski troops. Keep pushing ahead at all times. So far, every scenario has been entertaining and challenging (middle difficulty) in that if I did not play well, I would have lost.

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An interesting side bit: I had to hold off on administering the coup de grace in Perkjärvi so that I could nail that second enemy air unit:

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Doing so brings some important benefits:

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[CoolDTA]

I've dabbled in campaign play and found that the longer it goes on, the more we get hampered by the "core force" thing, and by how many purchase points we can spend etc, because the results of the previous battle have an impact on the next one, but with standalones we get a clean fresh sheet every time.
Also if I remember correctly, campaign battles have "specialisations" which drastically affect gameplay, so like I said it's better for newcomers to stick to standalones at first.

In a standalone scen you have a number of RPs to buy a core force for that battle, so I can't see any other difference than in a campaign you will usually have a more experienced core. The effect of specs should not be overestimated, but what they do, is they make the game even better.

I agree, not all scenarios are great. However, campaigns are so much more exciting than playing only single battles without continuity that it is not much of a contest - whether you are a newcomer or a veteran. Your mileage may naturally vary and as we know, does so.

Mmmm, Stargate...

[PoorOldSpike]

I just got a win in Karelia, it was a simple straightforward advance on two axes to the objectives against the clock, mopping up the Finns on the way, nothing to write home about..



My stats are now Played-10, Won-8, Lost- 2
(vanilla standalone scens / med difficulty)
Lake Khasan- Vict
Summa 39- Vict
Rostov- Vict
Khalkin Gol jap attack- Vict
Viipuri- Defeat
Smolensk- Defeat
Grodno- Vict
Khalkin Gol Zhukov- Vict
Raseiniai- Vict
Karelia- Vict

[PoorOldSpike]

Mmmm, Stargate...

'Stargate Universe' is by far my favourite of the franchise, the two main "heroes" are Doctor Rush and Colonel Young who hate each others guts so much that they've had at least two fist fights, and Rush tried to frame Young for murder, and Young later tried to maroon Rush on a hostile planet, they don't make heroes like that any more..

PS- In episode 1 Rush (right) and Jack O'Neill turn up on a kids doorstep to sign up his talents for a trip across the universe because he solved a puzzle they'd planted in a video game, so there's hope that we wargamers will be following suit-

[CoolDTA]

Okay, I have now finished the first seven scens. At the middle diff because I'm a wuss.

1. Lake Khasan 1938 (border conflict, with Japan, Manchuria)

Good first scenario. Used two about equal prongs. Conscripts are really fragile, but they are also very cheap, so if you use them accordingly, they are ok.

2. Khalkin Gol, main Japanese attack in June 1939 (border conflict with Japan, Mongolia)

Imo the most difficult of these seven, probably because I played somewhat like Bru first i.e. too aggressively. The easiest way to win is to use enough support for the "orange guys" (esp. for the northern group) and only take the northern and southern bridge near the end.

3. Khalkin Gol, Soviet counter-strike in early August 1939 to defeat the Japanese

With your overwhelming armoured force it is quite easy to strike from NW and SE towards Nomanhan where the prongs meet completing the encirclement.

4. Grodno, September 1939 (vs. Poland)

An easy respite which only requires you to keep up your speed because of supply issues. Many southern supply towns are unoccupied.

5. Invasion of Karelia, start of the Winter War vs. Finland, late 1939

The winter conditions really slow your forces (except armor) so stay on roads when possible. I was somewhat disappointed to the counterattack by Finnish ski troops. I think they should be more concentrated. As of now they are too easy to destroy piecemeal.

6. Summa 1939, Finnish attacks after the 1st Soviet attempt to defeat this key part of the Mannerheim Line failed

Nice and rather easy defensive battle. The Finns have only one armoured unit so you don't need AT. Retreat all aux units you can around the primary objectives and defend them with your core infantry and artillery. Tanks can make destructive pinpoint strikes against the advancing Finns. BT-7s excel in this because of their speed.

7. Summa 1940, player leads the second major attempt to break through at Summa

A frontal attack against a fortified line. Choose where you want to break the bunker line (my recommendation is the eastern end) and roll the enemy line. Fast tanks are very useful in taking the two secondaries because the terrain combined with winter weather makes other units probably too slow. I used the troops taking SW secondary for the primary of Kuolemajärvi. This is also a safe area to use your bombers (if you have any), because there are no enemy fighters here.

My core at the end of Summa 1940:

Infantry: 2 x regulars, one each of heavy, marines, paratroops, engineers
Armour: 3 x BT-7, 2 x OT-130 (flame)
Arty: 3 x 122mm A-19, 1 x 122mm M1938
Air: 3 x I-16, R-10 tac bomber, DB-3 str bomber, 2 x R-5 recon
Not deployed: 45mm AT, T-38 tin foil coffin

Next battle will be Viipuri. RPs are awarded quite generously in this dlc and I have about 2,000 RPs now. Naturally I use only elite replacements. Gives your troops just the extra strength and resilience they need and besides, there are more than enough for any hardware you want.

[bru888]

I just got a win in Karelia, it was a just straightforward advance on two axes to the objectives against the clock, mopping up the Finns on the way, nothing to write home about..

Except that you missed the 2 air units and therefore some goodies. Just sayin'

Okay, I have now finished the first seven scens. At the middle diff because I'm a wuss.

Hardly, my dear sir! Middle difficulty does not equal "wuss"! As a matter of fact, if a scenario can go either way for, let's say, an average player like me who usually plays on middle difficulty, then I would adjudge it to be finely balanced. Inexperienced players can dial back the difficulty while the true warriors among us should feel free to dial up the intensity.

So far, (through Karelia), this campaign strikes me as well-balanced.

[PoorOldSpike]

Okay, I have now finished the first seven scens. At the middle diff because I'm a wuss.

I always- but ALWAYS- play middle difficulty (III) because both sides are strength 10 so it's a level playing field.
I've tried other difficulty levels in the past but didn't like them because the game looked lopsided.
Our own human strength is always 10,
but at levels I/II/III/IV/V the enemy AI strength is 6/8/10/12/13

[PoorOldSpike]

Just notched up another sensational victory in Summa 40..




There were 9 primaries on the map, these below were the main 8, consisting mostly of bunkers along the Mannerheim Line.
(Another obj is in the far southwest out of this shot which I took with a smaller force)
My cunning plan was to deploy a massive force on the right and simply roll up the objs along the red arrow one by one like dominoes..





And it worked, as Shakespeare said- "Summa's lease hath all too short a date"
Below is a near-endgame screenshot of my Russki steamroller in action (I've marked where the objs were with a red X)



My stats are now Played-11, Won-9, Lost- 2
(vanilla standalone scens / med difficulty)
Lake Khasan- Vict
Summa 39- Vict
Rostov- Vict
Khalkin Gol jap attack- Vict
Viipuri- Defeat
Smolensk- Defeat
Grodno- Vict
Khalkin Gol Zhukov- Vict
Raseiniai- Vict
Karelia- Vict
Summa 40- Vict

[bebro]

And it worked, as Shakespeare said- "Summa's lease hath all too short a date"

Seems you also followed his motto "Cry Summaaa! and let slip the tanks of war" ...

[CoolDTA]

Hardly, my dear sir! Middle difficulty does not equal "wuss"! As a matter of fact, if a scenario can go either way for, let's say, an average player like me who usually plays on middle difficulty, then I would adjudge it to be finely balanced. Inexperienced players can dial back the difficulty while the true warriors among us should feel free to dial up the intensity.

I always- but ALWAYS- play middle difficulty (III) because both sides are strength 10 so it's a level playing field.
I've tried other difficulty levels in the past but didn't like them because the game looked lopsided.

I agree with both you fine gentlemen. I find the game being most fun and fluid at lvl 3 while I feel the harder difficulties would make it a chore requiring too much time and micromanagement. And I think having good time is why we play these games.

'Stargate Universe' is by far my favourite of the franchise, the two main "heroes" are Doctor Rush and Colonel Young who hate each others guts so much that they've had at least two fist fights, and Rush tried to frame Young for murder, and Young later tried to maroon Rush on a hostile planet, they don't make heroes like that any more..

I've only seen the first season of SGU and hope to see the second sometime in the future. I'd say it is more "gray" than SG-1 and Atlantis - both of which I liked a lot.

[bru888]

Summa 39

Interesting how the designer sets the scene here. The Soviets have just taken a smackdown from the Finns at the Mannerheim Line and you, Commissar, are expected to rectify the situation!

So, you see here various low-strength Soviet units but they are also exhausted. When you place units on the map, you can set their strength, experience, and entrenchment but not their efficiency. Only by spawning these units at the beginning of the scenario could the designer also make them very low in efficiency:

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[PoorOldSpike]

I just got a win in Karelia, it was a just straightforward advance on two axes to the objectives against the clock, mopping up the Finns on the way, nothing to write home about..

Except that you missed the 2 air units and therefore some goodies. Just sayin'

Mate, I want the magic word "Victory" to come up at the end of all my games, and the only way to guarantee that is to concentrate 100 percent on achieving the PRIMARY objectives, and not get sidetracked in going for the Secondaries too..

[bru888]

Mate, I want the magic word "Victory" to come up at the end of all my games, and the only way to guarantee that is to concentrate 100 percent on achieving the PRIMARY objectives, and not get sidetracked in going for the Secondaries too..

To each his own. I prefer the goodies AND the victory!

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[CoolDTA]

To each his own. I prefer the goodies AND the victory!

I do, too, but we have to remember Spike only plays standalone scens and those particular goodies apply to campaign game.

[bru888]

To each his own. I prefer the goodies AND the victory!

I do, too, but we have to remember Spike only plays standalone scens and those particular goodies apply to campaign game.

Not in this case. I was able to use that additional air commander immediately.

Meanwhile, oh, blessed relief! (And some outstanding pics in this campaign.)

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And just in time, too, because I had rather badly underestimated the potential threat from the west; I think I could have handled it with the gun and the BT-7 but this unit guarantees it:

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[CoolDTA]

Not in this case. I was able to use that additional air commander immediately.

Yes, the commander appears immediately in Summa 39, but wasn't the scenario Spike played Karelia?

And just in time, too, because I had rather badly underestimated the potential threat from the west; I think I could have handled it with the gun and the BT-7 but this unit guarantees it:

The Finns were in for a rude surprise there. I see you used a more forward defense around that upper objective than I did.

[bru888]

Yes, the commander appears immediately in Summa 39, but wasn't the scenario Spike played Karelia?

You got me there. Yes, in Karelia, it's all "future considerations" (i.e., in campaign play) for destroying 2 air units:

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But why would anybody want to play Red Star one scenario at a time? I think we can all agree that Spike is a weird dude. (Just kidding, Spike! )

[bru888]

Summa 39

I broke the back of their attack and won handily on middle difficulty. They keep coming to the end, though, and your western flank better be covered:

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Summa 39.zip

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You know why I am winning these scenarios? I'll tell you why I'm winning these scenarios. I'm playing smarter, probably the best that I have ever played OOB. These:

1) Conserve resources. Don't waste them on aux units unless they are crucial to the tactical situation. Don't buy or upgrade units unless it makes sense. Save resources for core unit repair and use normal repair if resources are tight. Once you have built up a reserve of resources, then you can indulge in elite repair and unit upgrades.

2) Behold the power of artillery and strategic bombers. Especially the latter, which has been a revelation to me. They may not dramatically reduce enemy strength but they destroy their efficiency. Soften them up first (engineers also help in this regard), then strike them with infantry and armor.

3) It's a fine balance, but somebody mentioned it earlier: If you have a choice between 3 bombers and 2 fighters, or 2 bombers and 3 fighters, choose the latter. Air supremacy is important in this game and you don't want the enemy doing number 2) to your units!

4) In general, play smart. Think about each local situation and how best to handle it. For example, in this scenario, you had to "Destroy 15 infantry units." So, the way to go about it was to hit a unit with artillery and bombers, then with infantry, and when they retreated with "1" strength, that's when you chase after them with your more mobile tank, armored car, or cavalry. In that order, and set up a similar ambush for the next approaching enemy unit. Don't do dumb things like ending a unit's turn next to a bunker; why give them a free shot? Use low-strength aux units to scout and patrol your flanks; if they get ground up, fine - they're like canaries in a coal mine.

[PoorOldSpike]

..I think we can all agree that Spike is a weird dude. (Just kidding, Spike! )

Yes mate, my dad used to say I was nutty, but amazingly I've somehow been muddling through and topping online wargaming leagues for the past 17 years and picked up this hallowed 6" trophy on the way, it sits on its own small table in my living room, carefully positioned so that it's the first thing guests see when they arrive, and I can keep steering the conversation towards it during the course of the evening..