Need help with the DLC Grand Campaigns

[joe6778]

I just restarted the East 43 campaign using Lieutenant difficulty, 1.14 ruleset, chess dice, and reform units. I began with 36000 PPs and won a DV. I have +30000 PPs to begin the next scenario (at which I have won DVs even on Colonel difficulty.)

Kharkov 43 was challenging, but not insane. I'll see how I progress through this campaign. This might be my speed.

[joe6778]

I haven't played Time of Fury. Can you describe the gameplay?

First of all, here's the product page: http://www.slitherine.com/games/time_of_fury

Basically it is a grand strategy game that covers all of Europe. You choose what nation(s) you would like to play, and from there, basically control the entire nation's war effort. There is some minor forms of diplomacy, mostly limited to declaring war, Attempting to gain an Ally, or launching coup d e'tats. Units appear to be a similar scale to those of PzC, but are limited to only a few classes:

Infantry - weakest, slowest, cheapest class. Doesn't take movement penalties from forests and possibly mountains, but does from mud or snow

Motorised - weak, cheap and fast class. Useful for taking towns, but limited beyond there.

Tank - strong, fast and expensive class. Main weapon of attack.

Airborne - Paratroopers. Really weak. Also only avaliable in Divisons.

Fighter - Air unit used to attack other air units. Can intercept bombers within range

Tac Bomber - Air unit that can only attack ground and Naval units. Very powerful against strong enemy units, but useless against strength 0s and 1s

Strategic Bomber - Air unit that can reduce production capabilities of towns. I personally don't use them at all.

as well as Naval units, which I won't go in to.

Infantry, Motorised and Tank units can be purchased as either divisions or corps. A corps is roughly 3x the strength of a division, as well as costing ~3x as much. If you purchase a division, it will be possible to upgrade to a corps later.

Upgrades can be researched for a rough cost of 150 'PP' (Production Points), which may be paid up to 3 times to increase speed of research. If the full 450 is paid, it will take about 12 months. There are 5 levels, with most units in 1939 being level 1.

Beyond this, youtube and the game tutorials will be more useful.

- BNC

I read a couple of reviews and it seems like this game is basically Hearts of Iron Lite: same basic gameplay but less micromanaging. For $19.99 I might give it a try, but I really have my eyes on Heroes of Stalingrad since I own other Lock and Load boardgames and I know the system.

I owned Strategic War in Europe, and I was underwhelmed.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Time of Fury is half price this week - so now you only have to pay $10. Ultimately it is just a suggestion however.

- BNC

[joe6778]

Thanks for the tip. I bought the game.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Thanks for the tip. I bought the game.

Hope you enjoy.

- BNC

[ThorHa]

First of all, here's the product page: http://www.slitherine.com/games/time_of_fury

Sounds like either the 100th remake of Axis and Allies. Which is quite boring. Or a remake of Clash of Steel, which was not so bad for game attempting to squeeze grand strategy (Hearts of Iron) into DOS memory (640 kb).

Regards,
Thorsten

[BiteNibbleChomp]

If you think about it, PzC is a remake of Panzer General, possibly moreso than ToF is of Axis and Allies. But yes, why can't anyone think up original ideas?

- BNC

[joe6778]

Actually, TIME OF FURY looks and plays exactly like STRATEGIC WAR IN EUROPE.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

If you play it just a bit, then yes. But obviously you haven't had any tech bonuses, easy-to-kill Russians or Nukes. (Nukes are basically impossible to get in SWE, in ToF, you should be able to get them by 1946)

Play it to mid-1941, and see if your mind changes. (If not, then $10 isn't a huge loss any way)

- BNC

[Wellingham]

Actually, TIME OF FURY looks and plays exactly like STRATEGIC WAR IN EUROPE.

The difference is, Time of Fury is smoother and better

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Actually, TIME OF FURY looks and plays exactly like STRATEGIC WAR IN EUROPE.

The difference is, Time of Fury is smoother and better

Smoother details and graphics certainly. Crashes slightly more though, but WHO CARES

- BNC

[Wellingham]

Actually, TIME OF FURY looks and plays exactly like STRATEGIC WAR IN EUROPE.

The difference is, Time of Fury is smoother and better

Smoother details and graphics certainly. Crashes slightly more though, but WHO CARES

- BNC

REALLY? I find SWIE soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo buggy compared to TOF

[joe6778]

Getting back to the Panzer Corps Grand Campaign-

I'm "playing" the Return To Kishinev scenario and I'm literally laughing out loud at the number of units the Russians have. I already lost 5 core units including SE units. Luckily, I'm playing with the Reform Units option.

I cringe when I think about returning to the game now. At least it's not the slaughter that it was when I played using the new rules.

At this point I'm just trying to finish up with the East 44 Grand Campaign. I may or may not continue with East 45. Not fun.

[captainjack]

44 East can be hard going. I've been working through it on and off over the past few months - each time getting a bit further before I have to escape for some light relief (usually to Afrika Korps or Allied Corps). I don't have a recipe for guaranteed success - if I did, I'd probably be playing 45 East - but I have learned that over-extending your forces is a near guarantee of disaster.

Three tips that help a bit:
read the briefings and study the map and the campaign path before deciding whether you want MV or DV. The raid on Poltava makes a DV worthwhile, but most of the time MV is fine. At times a loss will end your campaign, but sometimes you will still progress, and if this preserves critical units it's a better option.
Pull units out of combat if badly damaged (to preserve experience) or if they need resupply. You can't afford the limited resupply or suppressed troops when facing multiple powerful attacks per turn (your supporting artillery is probably better resupplying itself than firing when its your turns - but also consider downgrading some guns to increase the ammo supply if they keep running out).
1.2 rules favour experienced AA and AT attacks. At 3* or more, Elefant is your most dangerous weapon for as long as its ammo holds out (but see tip 2 above). If your air force is getting shredded, either rely more on your AA units or hold out for Poltava where you can acquire 4 or 5 experienced AA units if successful.

[joe6778]

Actually, I've followed the strategy tips on various forums and already do these things. I started the scenario with over 20000 PPs, but the gripe I have is the never ending numbers of Russian units attacking starting with Stalingrad East 42.

I have excellent units and leader bonuses, but no matter how many Russian units I destroy, more powerful units just keep coming. Every battle turns into a grueling slugfest.

Nothing I do in the current or prior campaigns/scenarios has any effect on Russian production, nor does it alter the ultimate outcome of the Campaign.

Plus, the AI obviously cheats. Even if there are no enemy units in observation range, the Russian bombers and fighters seem to know exactly which of my units are unprotected.

[Tarrak]

Plus, the AI obviously cheats. Even if there are no enemy units in observation range, the Russian bombers and fighters seem to know exactly which of my units are unprotected.

This actually isn't true. The AI obeys the same visibility rules as human player do. If you haven't turned the fog of war off, which would allow you and the AI to see everything, it need to spot your units. What can happen in some scenarios, especially if you advance a lot faster then the designer of the scenario expected, is that a scripted enemy reinforcement unit spawns within visibility range of your units giving the AI suddenly view at previously unspotted units but it's a rather rare occurance.

[captainjack]

The AI obeys the same visibility rules as human player do.

I have occasionally been attacked by ranged weapons in AK during sandstorms when there were no units (not even minefields) in contact with the attacked unit - ie ALL UNITS were out of spotting range.

I have never seen this in the East - it may be an anomaly with forts/strongpoints which are a bit more numerous in AK.

[aster]

I have excellent units and leader bonuses, but no matter how many Russian units I destroy, more powerful units just keep coming. Every battle turns into a grueling slugfest.

Nothing I do in the current or prior campaigns/scenarios has any effect on Russian production, nor does it alter the ultimate outcome of the Campaign.

Yup, this IMO was a serious design error in the Grand Campaign expansions - really a killer for both immersion and narrative satisfaction. A mounting challenge is great, but the sense that all your efforts are futile (despite battlefield success greater than historical) and that everything winds up the same just makes it feel, well.... boring. Strange design choice in an otherwise fantastic game.

[Tarrak]

The AI obeys the same visibility rules as human player do.

I have occasionally been attacked by ranged weapons in AK during sandstorms when there were no units (not even minefields) in contact with the attacked unit - ie ALL UNITS were out of spotting range.

I have never seen this in the East - it may be an anomaly with forts/strongpoints which are a bit more numerous in AK.

What i noticed happens in AK sometimes is that when the AI spawns a new wave of planes it can instantly move them. So it moves the planes somewhere which gives him visibility of the units it flew over and then use this new gained information to pound units you considered unspotted. Of course the same can happen on the east front but the russian air force is a lot weaker and less numerous then the western allies one so it happens a lot less.

The forts of course can be a source of the problem as well. Some of them got very high spotting values (up to 5 hexes on some of them iirc) so they see a lot further then you expect. Quite often the fort see your units way before you even spotted it's presence.

[ThorHa]

The forts of course can be a source of the problem as well. Some of them got very high spotting values (up to 5 hexes on some of them iirc) so they see a lot further then you expect. Quite often the fort see your units way before you even spotted it's presence.

The single main reason why taking out e.g. the fortresses in Sevastopol are a number one priority. Because the AI plays by the book, thus diminishing its spotting range is often the first step to an easy victory. I can not even count the number of times I managed traps on ground, air and naval. Often enough accidentially as the AI quite obviously is not programmed to deal with limited visibility.

Regards,
Thorsten