McGuba wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:43 am
Many questions appeared here, I try to answere them, but the thing is maybe it would be better to post your questions in the main topic of the BE mod as there is a better chance that me or other experienced players like Uhu or Pete would see them.
As for heroes: the game only gives heroes and awards (medals) if you are playing the scenario(s) in campaign mode. That is if you start a game them from the main campaign screen where you can see the four starting points with pictures: Poland, France, the Med and Barbarossa. If you play an individual scenario starting it from the "Scenario" folder heroes and awards are not given to units. Heroes and medals are also not given if you play multiplayer scenarios through the server. It has nothing to do with this mod, it is the same with the vanilla campaigns and scenrios. Probably you did not notice it because the vanilla scenarios are short and in that short timespan you did not expect to get heroes anyway. By the way, I think this should be changed in the game and that's why it is one of my top requests in my wishlist that I posted last summer:
viewtopic.php?f=121&t=100067#p866319
So currently you can play the big scenario either in campaign mode or as an individual scenario. If you start the Barbarossa map from the campaign screen the version will be the default "realistic" and you will get heroes and awards. If you start it from the scenrio screen you can choose between the "moderate", "realistic" and "realistic+" versions and no heroes will be given. If you are playing the mod in campaign style after finishing the Mediterranean scenario you will be offered the same choice to decide which version of the big scenrio you intend to play and then you can of course play any version and get heroes as well.
This is something that I cannot change for it is hard coded in the game, hence my request in the wishlist. However, as a compensation for not getting heroes when playing in scenario mode all new purchased units will start with 50 experience points while in campaign mode they start with 0. Currently that's all I could do about it to make it a bit more fair.
I also reduced the number of kills that are required to get the first hero when played in campaign mode. In this mod Axis units can get the first hero anytime after they reach 30 kills but they surely get it before they reach 100. It is decided randomly by the game as with the dice rolls within this interval and it has nothing to do with how "good" they are in a given attack. The second hero can appear between 101 and 200 kills and the third between 201 and 500. But you can also read this and more in the "Changes" section of the in game "Library" which is recommended to be read in the very first message box. In the next version of the mod I will try to make the "Changes" section a bit more informative (providing that players read it
).
As for the various strategies, there are of course many ways to win or lose the war and it is intentional. There isn't only one good solution so that players can continue to experiment in repeated replays. And of course there is a built-in randomness so even if you do everything the same way the end result will never be exactly the same. Other than that now the AI can more or less react to most possible strategic decisions of the player. Most action is followed by an answere from the AI.
Neglecting the North African theatre is a valid option, but it will have its consequencies: the Western Allies will capture Tunis and that will trigger further invasions in the Mediterranean. The loss of Tunis also triggers the creation of the US 12th Air Force in North Africa which means more American heavy bombers and fighters attacking from the south from 1944. If Tunis is lost and if there is no opposition the AI units in North Africa will most likely continue to advance towards Tripoli and then Tobruk and then all the way to Alexandria, if the latter was captured by the player. When the AI units are set to be on the offensive they always move from one victory objective city to the next nearest. Unless they are set to move to a specific AI zone which may be the case sometimes. However, if there is a mass of water between the two they just stop on the coast and wait for a miracle so that they can cross it with dry feet. The AI is unable to embark units to sea or air transports, unless it is specifically scripted or ordered to do so. In this mod there is no such script as it would take too long for the AI to embark its units one by one for an invasion. Instead, major Allied invasion units are spawned in the middle of the sea
en masse and then proceed to land at their designated beaches which are currently more or less the historical locations.
I really wanted to do the redeployment from the Eastern front after turn 7, to prepare for a Sealion. However, both my Southern and Central Front was soooo successful than never before. Currently I am turn 9, and I have a unit in Moscow, and I am very close to Mariupol. I have a great chance to capture both Moscow and Rostov at the very end of 41 or early 42 ( turn 14-15) so I hesitate what to do. I think i consider doing that, and then try to reach Baku even in 42, and postpone Sealion, until late 42. But not later, that s 100%.