CSI Sweep: Germany West 1945

[bru888]

By invitation from Erik. Version 0.9.

According to Erik, "This is (hopefully) the last of the PzC conversions." Here is the Campaign Tree:

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Very interesting to note that "Crossroads 2" leads to two very different types of endings. The path leading to "End on the Elbe" is one of those "victory despite overall defeat" situations whereas "Dunkirk (1945)" and "Sea Lion (1945)" result in true German victory. The player should keep this in mind and perhaps save the campaign with a unique name before choosing a path at "Crossroads 2" so that he can come back later and play the alternative.

This may not be important, but I would be more comfortable with the default "1-1-0" instead of this date:

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If it is significant, though, this date may in fact cause problems; I'd go with "1-1-0" instead:

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You may want to improve on this a bit. Rant, rave, scream, cry! "We have been utterly defeated. This campaign has ended in ignominious failure and your personal disgrace." You can add the "dummkopf" and "schweinhund" as you like. The stage is yours and the spotlight is on you. Emote!

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This, however, is a delicate situation. But first, let's get "victory" in the image field:

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The delicate situation is, what do you say here if you do choose to enhance this statement? Recall what I said above; one result it a negative victory, a "we won the campaign, but we lost the war." The other result is, "The war is over. Without a base of operations anywhere in Europe, the Americans have focused their efforts on defeating the Empire of Japan . . . With the defeat of Britain, the conflict on the Western Front has ended" (quoting from Sea Lion (1945)). My point is, the campaign victory statement needs to cover both endings so it probably needs to be something general like "This campaign has ended in glorious fashion! Despite overwhelming odds, all of our objectives have been achieved. Well done!"

Interesting - you rarely use variables in your campaigns. It will be interesting to see how this one works. In the meantime, I suggest that you make the notification viewable by the Axis alliance:

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You can barely see it but the highlighted text is "Germany East 1944." Could this be a problem considering that campaign is still named "Germany East 44"?

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[bru888]

Just a few more things concerning the campaign file.

First, better change the year to "1941" and remove "Rationing" according to the "Survey of Working Specialisations" (see latest post):

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And I'm just checking on this - no further specialisations for Waffen SS. It stands to reason because the Waffen SS has no specialisation income in the campaign:

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[bru888]

One more thing with the campaign; a couple of the message popups are truncated and the messages themselves are not very clear:

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I recommend the following revisions, which fit the text box. Notice that I have added a third popup message for each crossroads to clarify the choice; remember that not all players will not have the clear historical understanding of what is being offered.

CROSSROADS 1

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I commend you on a brilliantly orchestrated start to our new offensive, Herr General. If we keep up this rate of success, I have no doubt we'll be celebrating in Antwerp come January! Before we get ahead of ourselves though, I want you to decide where you wish to commit your forces.

While the direct route seems most logical, our forces will eventually need to secure important bridge crossings on the Ourthe and Meuse rivers, especially after the spring thaw. Regardless of the choice you make, expect Allied resistance to be light, but growing in strength as you advance further and further into their lines.

Therefore, the decision is to either choose Houffalize to secure those bridges or Elsenborn Ridge to attempt the direct route to Antwerp.

CROSSROADS 2

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With Bastogne's road network firmly secured, we are at a crossroads. On one hand, our path to Antwerp has never looked more open than it does now. However, with the weather clearing up, our advancing troops will be vulnerable to our enemy's overwhelming air superiority. This could easily turn a limited victory into a decisive defeat.

On the other hand, we could fall back now and be content with limited victory in the Ardennes. We have bloodied the Americans and this will undoubtedly give them pause, at least for a while. Ultimately, though, the sheer material superiority of the Allies will be thrown against us so what good will sitting on the defensive do for Germany?

It is a difficult choice to make. Choose Nordwind to go generally on the defensive. Choose Liege to carry the fight to the Allies in the west.

[bru888]

St.Vith v. 0.9

Suggest expanding a bit on the mission description for players who don't know who Otto Skorzeny was:

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German soldiers led by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny have infiltrated Allied lines by using enemy uniforms, equipment, language, and customs. If both commando units survive, get 1 specialisation point and 50 resources.

Remove bold mark from briefing:

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Both of these triggers seem to be faulty in that the wrong type of unit is defined. Should be US Airborne '44, I believe:

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I have a couple of comments in conjunction with this trigger:

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First, no matter what you may have read by another forum member, I believe this is the way to go when there is a sudden-ending scenario victory trigger and there is a secondary objective trigger that awards its prize if some condition is met when the scenario ends. It cannot be timed for "Scenario turn limit," as we now know. Therefore, making it conditional on the primary objective that ends the scenario early is the way to go. However, the timing must be right so in this case, it should be set for "Capture VP Event" which is the same Trigger Event as the primary objective.

Second, I see that you are awarding the Waffen SS with a specialisation point. Let's go back to the campaign editor for a moment. You do not provide for Waffen SS specialisation points between scenarios, nor do you allow for any future specialisations to be offered:

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Please resolve this apparent inconsistency.

[bru888]

Elsenborn Ridge v. 0.9

Orphan here. I'm guessing AI Team 7 "Local 2" - local defense, distance 2 hexes for vehicular units:

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Scenario Description: Suggest "German forces advancing towards Antwerp encounter the fortified Elsenborn Ridge." (Drop the "s" from "encounters.")

Wrong alliance to be holding the one objective:

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[bru888]

La Gleize v. 0.9

Since the Germans already hold one primary VP, suggest this mission title: "Hold Malmedy and capture 7 other objectives"

Scenario Description: You have it as "The German push to Liege is thwarted by an American counterattack." We don't know that yet. Suggest instead: "The German push to Liege is in danger of being thwarted by an American counterattack.

Since defeat is defined by the U.S. holding just 1 primary VP at the end, this should be "Value > 0":

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This trigger will not work for the reason stated in the St.Vith post; i.e., when the scenario ends early once the 8 VPs are in German hands, this trigger will still be waiting for the "Scenario turn limit":

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Instead, I recommend the trigger look like this:

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[bru888]

Bastogne Siege v. 0.9

Orphan here. My guess is AI Team 4 "Allerborn":

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Excellent idea for a mission: "Escort at least 6 V1-transports to the launch sites" but I have a few suggestions:
1) Remove the reference to "and also a few V2 Rockets" from the briefing. They are not in the scenario.
2) This also needs rewriting: "Your objective is to secure all Victory Hexes AND escort all 10 V Weapon Units to old launch sites in the region."
3) Name each SdKfz 7 as "V1 Transport" for clarity and excitement.
4) There are 10 of them in the scenario. Therefore, the mission description should say "You cannot lose more than 4 transports."
5) Correspondingly, this should be set for "Amount > 4":

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6) I don't think you need this "Check Objective State" condition because you are not waiting until the scenario is over to evaluate the other condition (6 SdKfz 7's exit); either it is fulfilled before the primary objective is completed or it is not:

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7) How about a road connection to the southern exit cluster? It's not like the Germans would drive their V1's overland:

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8 ) In the "V1 exits" trigger, link the "Check Unit Count" condition to the "Escort at least 6 V1-transports to the launch sites" objective so the player may track his progress.

If you are worried about the primary objective being achieved before 6 V1 transports have exited, make it "Capture all 4 objectives" (change the mission, edit the briefing, and revise the "Ger 3 objs" and "US 2 objs" triggers).

Note: In any event, check the alliance on the "US 2 objs" trigger's "Check VP Count" condition - it's set for the wrong alliance. I would post a picture but editing this post would be a problem.

Thread to be continued . . .

[bru888]

Bastogne Assault v. 0.9

Orphans. I guess AI Team 9 "Hemroulle" for this one:

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and AI Team 2 "Zone-2" for the AA guns and AI Team 1 "Zone-1" for the infantry:

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[bru888]

Bastogne Assault v. 0.9 (continued)

Wrong alliance:

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This is calling for 8 primary VPs when the scenario will end immediately with 6 in German hands (why not use the "Check Objective State" condition as usual?):

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Wrong faction to be changing income for:

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Wrong alliance here, which will prevent the trigger from firing, I believe:

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This will activate as soon as the first primary VP is taken. Reason: it's calling for "Any" instead of "Primary" VP. Intentional?

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By the way, I'm not sure but I think McAuliffe himself is an orphan. I would assign him to AI Team 11 "Bastogne" if so.

[bru888]

Nordwind v. 0.9

Nobody is crossing the Rhine in this scenario because it is comprised of water hexes. It does not matter whether they are deep or shallow water; they are impassible:

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Hitler would have been overjoyed at this point in the war. Talk about "Sitzkrieg"! But, if you want to have a working scenario, you need to create narrows for the bridges to cross, using rivers (note the swamp terrain and the multi-branched rivers):

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[bru888]

Nordwind v. 0.9 (continued)

Mission Description: "Get one specialisation point and 50 resources." (correct "speciualisation")

This is lacking the "Turn Start / Check Turn / Scenario turn limit" arrangement; else it will end the game immediately after one side captures a VP:

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Wrong objective to fail with this trigger:

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[bru888]

Colmar Pocket v. 0.9

Again, the Germans on the west side of the Rhine are doomed because crossing it is impossible. Suggest fixing in a manner like this:

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[bru888]

Colmar Pocket v. 0.9 (continued)

Supply seems a bit short but is easily remedied by eliminating this neural zone surrounding Rouffach unless you intended it for something:

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This should be set for "Turn > 9" because the trigger will check at the beginning of the Allies' ninth turn and the objective is "Hold all 7 objectives for at least 9 (full) turns":

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Similarly, this should be "Turn < 10" because the Allies should get nine full turns to try and defeat the Axis objective:

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This is more of an opinion, but I believe this objective would be better served if it dealt with units exited, not alive. The problem is, the Germans could sit in place and win the objective if enough of them survive; there is no incentive to cross the Rhine:

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So, I would make that Unit Status "Exited" and provide for some exit hexes on the east side of the river.

Here's another opinion: "Capture Mulhouse" is not a realistic objective in terms of both gameplay and history. If the primary objective is to evacuate, how can a secondary objective be to advance? It didn't happen IRL and it won't happen in the scenario, either.

Suggestion: A secondary objective to be holding the eastern ends of bridge crossings, and/or eastern villages and airfields, when the "Evacuate at least 20 core units across the Rhine" objective is completed. Sort of a rear guard action. Another nice touch might be a repeating dialog trigger offering this each turn: "Do you wish to blow the bridges? Do not destroy them too soon or you will maroon your own forces on the west bank of the Rhine."

None of the "Tx Air" triggers provide for "Change Income" effects, as is your usual practice.

Two things about this trigger:

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1) Rather than pick three specific VP's as conditions, I would make it three or more primary VP's in Allied hands.
2) I would not disable the "Hold all 7 objectives for at least 9 turns" objective. What if the player has already completed that objective - does he then lose credit for it? Conversely, if he's already failed it, he should either pay for it or have a chance to turn it around with a counterattack (depending on whether it's before or after Turn 9). One way or another, that primary objective should stay in place for the entire scenario.

On second thought, I'm wondering whether this "Evacuation" trigger is even necessary. Say the player completes the "Hold all 7 objectives for at least 9 turns" objective. That trigger should immediately turn on the "Evacuate at least 20 core units across the Rhine" trigger. If it does not, then the scenario ends immediately because the single enabled primary objective has been completed. Same logic if the player fails the "Hold all 7 objectives for at least 9 turns" objective. The player can at least achieve a Draw if, having failed that objective, he can "Evacuate at least 20 core units across the Rhine" instead.

Two last things about the "Evacuation" trigger: The Event Popup message images are missing from the folder and the one message needs editing:
"Your orders have changed!
Move at least 20 core ground units across the Rhine River before (what?).
At least 20 core units must survive the battle (or exit, if you choose to take my advice)."

This Thunderbolt should be in AI Team 1 "Fighters":

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Thread to be continued . . .

[Erik2]

Quick reply re frozen water hexes.
The correct way is to use lake, it will freeze over properly.
(I thought shallow water worked in a similar way).

[bru888]

Quick reply re frozen water hexes.
The correct way is to use lake, it will freeze over properly.
(I thought shallow water worked in a similar way).

I see. I also note your return to more traditional methods in warmer weather (the next scenario).

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[bru888]

Incidentally, in the previous scenario and now this one, I am starting to notice that tendency for gameplay imbalance again. Here, I estimate the Germans will be able to field about 50 units. A rough count of the U.S. land forces yields 144 units, almost a three-to-one advantage. The U.S. also enjoys a better than 3 to 1 advantage in resource income. Not to mention the 29 U.S. aircraft versus the six planes available to the Germans. (Meh, on your meager jets. They will be no more effective than the New York Jets! )

You want, I believe, the gameplay balance to be such that most likely the U.S. will win but, if the German player plays well, he may be able to pull out a victory. Such a win should be limited in nature, of course - it is near the end of the war - and I think you have that right: Hold Cologne and push the U.S. back across the Rhine. That would have been quite a limited victory indeed at this point but I don't see it happening in this scenario because the odds are too great.

In short, you may want to scale back the U.S. forces back a bit in some of these scenarios. The odds will still be terrible, but that doesn't mean the player needs to be utterly frustrated. There has to be a possibility of winning scenarios, and even the campaign, while still losing the war.

[bru888]

Ruhr Pocket v. 0.9

Orphan! Although I am tempted to leave him as such, considering what I said above.

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The U.S. begins with a small shortage of supply, although I am tempted . . . oh, never mind:

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Also, perhaps provide land supply on the west side of the Rhine?

It's a bit odd to not see a city as large as Bonn on the map; it should be around here, I believe:

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[bru888]

Ruhr Pocket v. 0.9 (continued)

Wrong objective to fail (should be the AI objective - it needs to be created):

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Wrong objective to complete (should be the AI objective - it needs to be created) and wrong alliance selected:

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You may expect reprisals from the Waffen SS for this gross insult to their honor:

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[bru888]

Ruhr Pocket v. 0.9 (continued)

It's a bit odd to not see a city as large as Bonn on the map; it should be around here, I believe:

Of course, including Bonn creates a bit of a problem in that the Rhine runs through the city, so a representation of it needs to be on both banks like you did with Cologne. Obviously, there were bridges connecting the two portions but also obviously there can be no other bridges or the overall setup of the scenario will be compromised. Fortunately, the deep water negates the "bridges" so that lip service is done to them and they look "submerged"; i.e., blown:

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Just a couple more notes:

- With the "US units" trigger, the condition is "Alive = 0" for the AI Team 1 "East." If some of them escape through exit hexes, aren't they still technically alive? Perhaps "Deployed = 0" is a better choice. Also, I would make that "Any Event" because the final U.S. unit may escape rather than be destroyed in combat.

- The messages with "Rail gun," "Jets," and "V1" triggers all imply that these weapons will "knock out that bridge." Is this a vestige of PzC? Because we know in OOB that bridges cannot be targets and destroyed in that fashion. However, I am imagining using two inert (marked idle) fortresses at each end of the bridge (representing the towers) that, once destroyed, would cause the bridge to be blown in a trigger effect.

[bru888]

Ruhr Pocket v. 0.9 (continued)

- The messages with "Rail gun," "Jets," and "V1" triggers all imply that these weapons will "knock out that bridge." Is this a vestige of PzC? Because we know in OOB that bridges cannot be targets and destroyed in that fashion. However, I am imagining using two inert (marked idle) fortresses at each end of the bridge (representing the towers) that, once destroyed, would cause the bridge to be blown in a trigger effect.

Maybe like this (I had to move a couple of the ubiquitous U.S. units to make room:

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Features:

- This arrangement does not block access to the bridge itself or the engineers working on it.

- Name each fortress "Ludendorff Bridge Tower" so the player knows what these units represent.

- Create a secondary objective enabled from the beginning to "Destroy the bridge at Remagen" as would stand to reason that this would be a priority at all times. In the mission description, specify that "All four Ludendorff Bridge towers must be eliminated by ground or air attack."

- It would take the Germans some time to get down there, if they ever get there at all, and by then, the "Rail gun," "Jets," and "V1s" would come in handy.

- Better make the bridge towers strength 5, however; they are tough to destroy and in any case the Ludendorff Bridge was not in good shape when the U.S. arrived. According to Wikipedia, "Although this bridge was wired with demolition charges, the weak civilian-grade 'Donarite' explosives failed to bring the bridge down . . ."

- Use a separate AI team for these fortresses, set for "Idle"; we don't want to make this any harder and they are supposed to be only bridge towers.

- Design a trigger that checks for Combat Event, Check Unit Count, AI Team "Bridge Towers" Alive = 0, Effect = Blow both types of bridges on all three hexes spanning the Rhine.

Thread to be continued . . .