Blitzkrieg 41-42

[Erik2]

Leningrad, Zhurivka, Zolotonosha, Vyazma have been edited.
Campaign will be updated after Kriegsmarine has launced. I have just finished 3 selectable Crete scenarios (Maleme, Rethimnon, Iraklio) that will replace the current large Crete scenario.

[calmhatchery]

cool!1 can't wait!!! Erik I have a question for you, maybe you can change the skin camo correctly? Is there a way to the useres can change some in some folders to skin camo can working correctly?

[Erik2]

I haven't tried skin camo yet, I'm waiting for the KM update.

[calmhatchery]

OK. if you will have a little free time please check it. IM waiting for KM too...this skin camo feature was announced in 2015 and it worked good until the next patch with Morning Sun DLC...cheers Peter

[Horst]

We possibly still have to wait until a North Africa DLC for better in-game skin-support. They won't come around using the ugly panzer-grey for desert scenarios, no they won't!

[calmhatchery]

yes exactly!!maybe AK dlc brings correctly SKIN camo!!!

[calmhatchery]

yes exactly!!maybe AK dlc brings correctly working SKIN camo!!!

[Horst]

Forum is a bit laggy today, but spamming for features should be tolerated!

What I would do about skins is to add entries in the climates.txt file to use default camo-skins for certain climates. Winter and desert should automatically switch to their proper skins then. That would save the fussy work manually choosing skins for every unit.

[Andy2012]

@Horst, calmhatchery: Yeah, I hope for a DLC that does not have to add that many units, but can instead focus on skins and maybe redesigning infantry units properly. Waffen SS could have camo shirts, heavyinf MG42 or MG34 instead of the pervasive M2 Browning. Wikingdivision could have its own look. (Finally.) Good mission design should also be a priority, add a bit of drama.

@Erik: Vyazma works nicely, took Moscow in 20 turns and then waited for 10 turns for the mission to finish.
Streets of Moscow has (again, as almost all missions) supply issues at the start. Be a bit more generous here. Without my lightinf, light AT and light arty (without transport) core, I have no chance against the Red Army.

[calmhatchery]

Andy I agree with you. Refreshing german heavey units and SS unit add to this game more climate. plus good missions yes. We have to wait!..

[Andy2012]

@Horst, calmhatchery: Yeah, I hope for a DLC that does not have to add that many units, but can instead focus on skins and maybe redesigning infantry units properly. Waffen SS could have camo shirts, heavyinf MG42 or MG34 instead of the pervasive M2 Browning. Wikingdivision could have its own look. (Finally.) Good mission design should also be a priority, add a bit of drama.

@Erik: Vyazma works nicely, took Moscow in 20 turns and then waited for 10 turns for the mission to finish.
Streets of Moscow has (again, as almost all missions) supply issues at the start. Be a bit more generous here. Without my lightinf, light AT and light arty (without transport) core, I have no chance against the Red Army.

@Erik: Streets of Moscow - same as before. Waffen SS reinforcement pic in Turn 2 is a brown blank. Now have zero supply left in the starting area, but 10 Waffen SS and 14 regular Wehrmacht command points left.

[Andy2012]

@Erik: Demyansk Pocket is still not working properly. I resupply the airfields and then wait for an attack. But the AI never does anything, not even refuel its planes. Right now, this is more of a holiday for my core army. You really need to rewrite this one. An attack on Firovo should not be the default outcome. I mean, this is supposed to be a tight spot where the Red Army attacks me frontally while I try to hold on, right? They never do that.

[Erik2]

Demyansk

No wonder, many/most of the Russian units were without orders...
Fixed and attached the scenario.

[Andy2012]

@Erik: Vitebsk - got all trains safe and sound in Vitebsk around Turn 8. Took both Russian supply bases, too. Got the two T34s, both spawn in the west, strangely. Now on to 12 turns watching dithering Red Army units without supply. (However, I kind of knew what was happening. So I guess for other players, this mission will be okay.) Maybe just do an end of scenario trigger - if I have the trains in Vitebsk, hold all cities and the Soviet supply bases, I win? That armoured attack towards the south is pretty fierce. So I guess apart from the end of mission trigger, you can probably keep it this way.

[Andy2012]

@Erik: Kharkov (and generally) - if I get assigned aux units, they should have some experience. At this point (and especially if they are called elite units in the briefing), they should have five stars. Otherwise, they are useless as a gameplay element.

[Erik2]

I've been wondering what is the best way to add experience to aux units, 2-3 points for each year?

[Andy2012]

I've been wondering what is the best way to add experience to aux units, 2-3 points for each year?

Sounds about right. I think the non-Wehrmacht ones should have maybe one star (Italian, Romanian etc) to reflect their bad equipment, low morale etc. 41 should have 1-2 stars, after Demyansk 3-4. I mean, all my core has five stars by then (except AA maybe). Otherwise, I would stand no chance against the Red Army's hordes of tanks...

Simferopol: Works nicely, took it in 11 turns. Maybe 12 turns is a bit tight for some players. Those tanks and inf in the west never attacked - intentional? I cut straight for Simferopol, had a recon plane hover there just to be sure.

Sevastopol Siege: Works better, but still kind of impossible. I know, it was a slaughterfest back then, but after isolating the whole city in 10 turns, there are still more than 10 (!) heavy arty in the city on yellow supply. They take a heavy toll. And when I knock them out, their supply situation gets better again. Suggestion: Use OoB's supply system here and let Sevastopol depend on a) a high-supply rail link (maybe 50) and b) several supply ships in the harbor (40 each, as usual). This way, I have the option of starving them out elegantly instead of being obliterated in a frontal assault. (Should put that in the briefing, too.) My Stukas take out the supply ships, my tanks cut the rail line, the city goes into red, I take it - done. The current setup is just a horrible credit grinder.
BTW, Karl and Gustav are mortars in Simferopol, but high exp long-range arty here. I think it works like this now. Oh yeah, dont need all that air supply. Consistently 22-24 all over the campaign is fine. 3-4 FW190s, 3-4 Stukas, 2 recon, perfect.

[Horst]

I’ve made a rough guideline to unit experience of nations. Elite/core units may have twice as many points/stars. The mentioned year gives the start of 1 point in experience, simplified adding one point per following year.
A closer study of the historical order of battle for a scenario could reveal much more accurate experience of course.
Note: one point = 0.5 stars

Axis
Japan: 1938-1939+1942 (no more than 3 on the loosing path due island isolation and heavy losses)
Germany: 1940 (spanish war veterans could have +2 extra, can be as low as 1 in 1944-45 on the loosing path)
Waffen-SS: 1941 (as it was still very small in 1939, or simplified same as Germany later)
Finland: 1940
Italy: 1941 (German infantry backbone in North Africa, but can be as low as 1 in 1943-44 in Sicily/Italy)
Bulgaria/Romania/Slovakia: 1942
Hungary: - (mainly participated in 1942 only)
Vichy France: - (not really enough battles to justify experience)

Allies
Free Poland, air force: 1940
Britain: 1941 (some units could start with 1 in Sea Lion)
Commonwealth: 1941 (simplified same as Britain: British India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)
Free France/Poland-West/Greece/Czechoslovakia/Netherlands: same like Britain to simplify it
USSR: 1942 (Winter War/Siberian/Far-East-border/Guards veterans +2, same like Germany/Finland)
USA-West/East: 1943 (US Marines are elite, so may have double points)
Canada: 1944 (mainly started in Sicily/Italy)
Free Poland-East: 1944 (along USSR and in Warsaw Uprising, partisan veterans could have more points like Free Poland-West)

[Erik2]

Vyazma; removed end-of-scenario condition, so no more waiting 10 turns.
Moscow; added supply and Waffen SS picture
Simferopol; fixed the two Soviet groups that should attack when the Germans capture 2-3 primary objectives.
Sevastopol scenarios; removed much Soviet land-based supply and replaced it with supply ships (good idea!)

Adding exp to non-core units for most/all scenarios is a major project, so I'll deal with that later.
Thanks to Horst for the exp proposal.

[Andy2012]

Vyazma; removed end-of-scenario condition, so no more waiting 10 turns.
Moscow; added supply and Waffen SS picture
Simferopol; fixed the two Soviet groups that should attack when the Germans capture 2-3 primary objectives.
Sevastopol scenarios; removed much Soviet land-based supply and replaced it with supply ships (good idea!)

Adding exp to non-core units for most/all scenarios is a major project, so I'll deal with that later.
Thanks to Horst for the exp proposal.

Thanks, Erik.
You mean Vitebsk,too; not only Vyazma, right? They both had that loong waiting time in the end.
Oh yeah, dont just add supply in Moscow, do it in one fell swoop. Just 10-20 extra in all missions, done.
If those two groups attack my flanks in Simferopol, 12 turns will be too tight.
You write "Sevastopol Scenarios" - there are two? Always had the siege mission.

Keep up the great work, Erik.