Duedman achieved a total victory in his
youtube Let's Play of
Battlefield Europe + Locarnus Addon
in turn 85/86!
This is the playlist of this grand journey to victory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eStzz_4 ... h-wTwJZG5o
In his last video (turn 86), Duedman provided lots of feedback.
Unfortunately youtube often ghostbans more detailed comments, so I have to discuss the feedback and improvement potential in this thread.
Overall the victory was easier than anticipated.
Imho a result of several aspects, which together led to an easier and earlier defeat of the Soviet Union.
At which point the western Allies became "speed bumps", rather than the historical "serious threats in the rear of the major frontline".
Therefore I will try to analyze the factors that led to this easier than anticipated victory,
for the now completed youtube playthrough by Duedman (BE + Addon 2022-10 "General" "dice chess").
Comparing it to the earlier forum AAR by Duedman ("blind" BE 2.0 "General" "normal dice").
And keeping in mind the youtube playthrough by goose_2 ("blind" BE 2.0 "General" "normal dice"),
compared to the ongoing youtube playthrough by goose_2 (BE 2.3 "FM" "normal dice") and several more feedback threads for BE.
(+) = imho making it easier than his previous forum AAR playthrough,
(-) = imho making it harder
1. Previous knowledge and difficulty settings (regardless of the specific Addon changes)
1.1 (~12+) Duedman previously played and won BE 2.0 (see his AAR here:
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=95886).
-> This has a significant difficulty impact. Both Duedman and goose_2 had a much harder time when playing blind, especially concerning major scripted events like Torch.
-> But also regarding the handling of Leningrad, the potential Stalingrad counterattack, the approach to the Caucasus, ignoring Crimea, and so on...
FIX: Recommending FM difficulty for those who already achieved a total victory in BE.
1.2 (+) He also plays (and usually wins) Strategic Command multiplayer matches.
Don't konw if he did so before his blind BE playthrough. Potentially an added experience gain.
1.3 (~5+)("~7+") The settings were standard "General" difficulty with "dice chess" rng.
Dice chess significantly limits the "outliers" of combat results. It makes combat more predictable (something I also prefer when having to talk while playing!).
-> Since unit losses (often the result of those rng outliers) hit the player much harder than the AI this outright reduces the difficulty compared to normal rng.
-> It also makes it "safer" to conduct attacks "out of formation", further speeding up the player advance.
-> This especially reduces crucial air force losses!
-> Only (5+) counted, since Duedman stated that he did reload some rng results for his BE 2.0 AAR as well.
FIX: Recommending a player prestige reduction when using "dice chess" setting, eg 30% player prestige reduction (roughly halfway to Rommel difficulty player penalty).
1.4 (-) There was limited Addon familiarity before embarking on this grand Let's Play.
1.5 (-) BE got harder between versions 2.0 and 2.3 (which was the basis for the Addon).
=> Subtotal: (~16+)
Imho the experience from the previous playthrough and the change to "dice chess" are the major advantages for the second playthrough.
For comparison, goose_2 defeated the SU in turn 54 in his "blind BE 2.0 General" playthrough, while recently defeating the SU around turn 58 in his "BE 2.3 FM" playthrough (both with "dice chess").
Since BE 2.3 is somewhat harder than BE 2.0, it would thus be reasonable to estimate that this "blind" effect is roughly comparable to the difficulty increase from General to Field Marshal.
2. Prolog and transition to Barbarossa
2.1 General 5 unit core starting advantage with prolog
-> This is much less of an advantage with Addon compared to BE, since you can purchase additional core units anyway from turn 2 onwards of the Barbarossa scenario.
2.2 (+) Prolog 6 core units instead of 5, with the Addon
-> On its own, having 6 instead of 5 core units gives kills and some extra experience to a single "existing" Barbarossa unit.
2.3 (+) Ability to freely train Bf 110 in tac bomber mode, then switch and upgrade in fighter mode to Bf 109 for Barbarossa
While it is fully possible to have 3 fighters with the 5 core units from BE, those usually have to share most of the prolog kills and experience.
-> The "training as Bf 110" and then convert to Bf 109 later is a clear advantage, making better use of the 6 core slots from (2.2) above.
2.4 (5-) Prestige cut between prolog and Barbarossa with the Addon
It is possible to accumulate thousands of prestige points in the early scenarios, that extra prestige is removed when transitioning to the main scenario with the Addon.
-> This generally balances prestige between a start with prolog and without prolog.
2.5 (-) Prestige malus between prolog and Barbarossa with the Addon
On top of the prestige cut from (2.4), there is also a small prestige malus for starting with prolog scenarios with the Addon.
-> This is intended to somewhat balance out (2.1) and (2.2).
=> Subtotal: (4-)
A significant player disadvantage for his youtube playthrough with Addon, compared to his BE 2.0 AAR.
3. Eastern Front (Addon changes)
3.1 (++) The Addon made the early Panzer IV overpowered
Duedman purchased 3 of them during the prolog, making kills with them easier, though this potentially hampered experience gain for them.
Although the Panzer III mostly caught up for Barbarossa, Duedman stayed with 3 core Panzer IV.
-> Imho some advantage, but mainly due to the still too good stats of those 4 (3 from prolog) Panzer IV in the crucial early stages of Barbarossa.
-> Even though the early Barbarossa stages are imho more about the traffic jam, encirclements, the weather and so on, rather than 1on1 tank engagements.
-> But it combined very well with his choice to go for 3 pure fighters, the overpowered Panzer IV somewhat made up for his lack of an additional Stuka
FIXED: Early Panzer IV stats have been fixed in the 2022-11 Addon version.
3.2 (+++) Unit variety and balancing changes (except for the already discussed and fixed Panzer IV issue)
Several Axis units are generally stronger, but also more expensive, some Allied units are generally weaker.
The still somewhat overpowered Bison I, which is also a cheap and available upgrade option for obsolete Panzer I, allows for a more mobile advance.
Especially the early T-34 has weaker offensive capabilities, which is imho much more historically accurate.
-> This provides some advantage to the early Axis, even though it also costs more later on, after taking casualties.
FIXED: The Bison I has been further nerfed in a recent Addon version, reducing this point to ("++").
3.3 (-) Additionally deployed Addon units at Barbarossa start
The player mainly gets a railway arty and a parachute artillery, the AI gets a bunch of additional units.
-> While both of those player units are nice and obvious, the AI gets a considerably bigger advantage, in order to compensate for the point above.
FIXED: The AI gets some more guarding units, especially protecting several airfields and "final" defenses. This should increase this player disadvantage to ("--").
3.4 (++)("++++") Ability to purchase core units from Barbarossa turn 2 onwards
-> A considerable advantage compared to BE ("++++"), though Duedman restricted himself by making limited use of that mechanic, thus only (++) counted for his youtube playthrough.
3.5 (--) Lower starting prestige for Barbarossa
On top of the transition prestige cut from point 2.4 and the transitioning malus from 2.5, there is an additional nerf to the Barbarossa starting prestige even without the prolog.
-> This is intended to somewhat balance point 3.4 directly above.
edit:
3.6 (--) Lower prestige rewards for some major objectives (eg Malta, Leningrad)
-> Leningrad provides a KV unit instead, but overall there is less prestige to go around, somewhat compensating for the ability to buy early additional core units with Addon (3.4).
edit:
3.7 (--) Additional victory objectives for the SU
-> The route to Murmansk, Yerevan and Kazan were new in the Addon, compared to BE itself, giving the SU several more turns of survival.
=> Subtotal: (o), => FIXED, but fully exploited (3.4): ("1-")
Some BE "exploits" are not as easy with Addon, like the Rush to Moscow with recon units, though those were not tried in the playthrough.
Several already implemented fixes reduce the player advantage.
4. Transport availability and Paratroopers
Since transports can not be bought due to PzC game engine limitations, there are more transports available with the Addon.
It is recommended to use house rules to limit this.
4.1 ("+") More trains are available with the Addon
-> This imho made little difference for Duedman in the early game, since he did not really play the upgrade shuffle before the SU was defeated.
-> After the SU defeat it probably shaved off a turn or two when redeploying for Sealion and made some in between redeployment easier.
4.2 ("+") More naval transports available with the Addon
-> Also of limited use for the crucial early phases.
-> Probably more important for better Torch preparations or a Sealion with less overwhelming naval and air superiority.
4.3 (++) More air transports available
-> This led to significantly larger air lift operations, allowing for the buildup of critical mass to take and hold objectives behind enemy lines.
-> Even regardless of paratrooper availability (Kairo airport!), this made reinforcements and operations behind enemy lines much more viable.
-> Impact already somewhat reduced by having more guards at Allied airfields in newer Addon versions.
PARTIAL FIX: More allied airfields are guarded in newer Addon versions, so fewer operations like "Kairo" are possible.
4.4 (++) Combination bonus between points 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 4.3
Paratrooper arty unit type (3.2) (which is already deployed (3.3)), ability to purchase additional paratroopers (3.4), combined with more air transports (4.3).
-> This combination additionally shaved off some turns from the crucial Caucasus campaign. First at Rostov on Don, then at Maykop.
4.5 (++) Of specific note is the decision to not really play the "upgrade shuffle" mini game. This is not Addon specific.
In the first year of Barbarossa, Duedman only upgraded very specific units to very specific versions.
Instead of always having several units in "upgrade transit" each turn, he kept more units at the front line, bolstering his short term offensive capabilities.
Eventually his eastern front forces consisted of mostly 1941 units even in 1943!
But this long term force "aging" never really bit him, as he managed to defeat the SU before they could field large numbers of modern units.
Having so many rail transports available (4.1) also gave a sense of security, that large scale emergency refits would be possible at any time.
-> Only (++), because only a portion of the additional "not in transit" units were actually meaningfully employed on the front lines.
-> And several great, cheap and readily available air unit upgrades (Italian air force!) were omitted as well.
=> Subtotal: (6+), => (4+) from Addon alone for the early phase, in addition to (2+) from 4.5 even without Addon
Using air transports to shave off crucial turns for the defeat of the SU is easier due to point 1.1 ("non-blind").
Otherwise some air operations might have been much less useful and more prone to casualties.
This whole section is a major balancing issue when not using house rules.
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Imho at this point the game was already decided.
The early advantages listed above are so significant, that the Soviet Union could be effectively knocked out of the war before turning into the dreaded red steamroller.
This in turn had a massive snowball effect.
Where the western Allies became mere obstacles in front of the experienced and refueled Axis war machine, instead of the historical serious threat in its starved and exposed rear.
Essentially defeating the SU before turn 60, while keeping Tripolis, already decides the war.
This is independent of the Addon, as seen by the playthroughs by goose_2.
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5. Air War issues (which have not been discussed above), mostly concerning the PzC game engine limitations independent of the Addon
5.1 Surface AA units effectively and very efficiently "hunting" air units
From the early SdKfz 10/4 to the Addon specific Flakzug (flak train), this is a painfully stupid PzC mechanic.
It is worse in BE, since overstrength on those units is much more valuable and it is easier to defend the same area.
-> AA is a practically maintenance "free" counter to the Allied bombing campaign in BE.
-> Imho the Addon Eisenbahnflak made this a bit worse (+), but not by much. Plenty of cheaper, not rail bound, self propelled AA were available, with ranges 1, 2 and even 3.
-> And as seen in the youtube playthrough by goose_2, simple AI aircraft traps work nearly as well, even without any mobile AA units...
-> Imho the deciding element was the massive, maintenance free concentration of flak units, based on previous scenario knowledge, similar to what as goose_2 did.
Proposed FIX for BE and Addon: AA at least in France, BeNeLux and Germany should cost some form of maintenance.
5.2 Player ability to swarm and focus "kill" enemy aircraft, while the AI is unable to do so
-> The large map makes it more difficult for the AI to concentrate their airforce for outright unit kills on the eastern front.
-> This is compounded by the "dice chess" setting. On "normal dice" the AI will get lucky from time to time and sometimes kills even experienced fighter units.
6. Navy issues
6.1 Italian Fleet helping the Afrika Korps
While not an issue between versions and playthroughs, this is rather unhistorical.
-> Without that early fleet support, the situation of the Afrika Korps is much worse.
-> To make progress, the player might be enticed to send more ground and air units, weakening the eastern front and potentially saving the SU for a few more turns.
Proposed FIX for BE and Addon: Reduce the ability of the Italian fleet to help the Afrika Korps.
6.2 Battle of the Atlantic
As Duedman and goose_2 demonstrated, players tend to simply not fight the U-Boot battle at all (when not playing blind).
-> Accumulating the U-Boots for a later Sealion is much more valuable than risking them against allied destroyers in the middle of the Atlantic.
-> While some prestige can be accumulated early on, that prestige is often eaten up by U-Boot repairs. Not even counting irreplacable U-Boot losses.
Proposed FIX for BE and Addon: Making U-Boots (and destroyers?) purchasable and only gifting U-Boots as replacements for outright losses.
