Slitherine

I tell you, this Unauthorized Unit module is the best thing since sliced bread. No way the player should have any more tanks in the Honkaniemi scenario.

Added aux artillery, so that also gets added to Unauthorized Units. Now that I have crossed the line in this regard, banning unit categories at will, I can be as arbitrary and capricious as I wish. Tra la la!


So that one is done. Now for a quick side trip back to Turku for a bit of campaign compatibility remodeling. Ahh, my beloved Turku. My adopted city! I will fight, fight, fight to defend her!

Retrofitting Turku was easier than expected. (Heh, I don't say that very often!) Removed the aux planes and hangars, turned on the deployment phase, added initial resource points needed to ramp up to 12 planes (7 more planes than the previous maximum in the campaign), added an air command points module to replicate the fighter scramble over three turns just as in the original scenario. A couple of other tweaks, and done. Fully compatible with the campaign.

Cool, recently I have been realizing that, unless I am mistaken, you edited some of those maps that you provided by inserting English translations. If so, much appreciated once more. The Lemetti map is a good example, and will come in handy.

bru888 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 5:15 pm Cool, recently I have been realizing that, unless I am mistaken, you edited some of those maps that you provided by inserting English translations. If so, much appreciated once more. The Lemetti map is a good example, and will come in handy.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did and none of the original maps had any of the English annotations.

Normandy UK & Canada 1944, v2.4, middle difficulty

03Gold

- the sec. obj "coastal guns" won't validate

06Villiers

- with the changing of the mines' faction from neutral to German, those now count into the sec. obj. "destroy all units (=40!)"
I keep telling you, keep the mines neutral and stop messing around with established mechanics...

09Cristot

- rather empty map. I'd suggest some more enemy defenders on the supply hexes, esp. more static/local defenders of the (at the moment empty) eastern VP.
- also I'd suggest for some +300RP at scen start for the +30 land CP (compared to the previous scen) for the player

13Caumont

- on turn 13/14 there's an event-popup about some "Battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment in the vicinity of Chagnolles!", but nothing happens (?)
- I don't need the >140 land CP for this mission. Instead of more land CP for the player, I would suggest to keep the same amount from the previous scen, but increase the RP/turn income a bit (+15-20) and add about 5 turns.

This was an excellent map and AI design/balance. I had to carefully prepare for the enemy attacks - that I had no idea about where they would come from on such a huge map - and shift my units around to where they were needed. Great!

14Martlet

This scen played super easy and not as indended, I guess. From turn one all German armoured units retreated to/around the "Le Cairon" victory hex and remained there until surrounded and destroyed. The rest of the German army stood no chance against (approx.) 130 land CP of mine and an unopposed airforce.

This scen played like a mirror-image of my experience with the GermanyWest41/43 campaign: This time I had the numerical superiority in land and air units and could just overrun them, basically...

- suggestion: Change the armoured PzIII/IV (?) AI teams to fully engage (local defense) from the beginning. And I guess it would make sense to split the Panther forces; let some of them remain at "Le Cairon" and some should help the rest of their friends...and either add enemy air or cut the player air CP by 50% or so...
- the whole eastern VPs and supply hexes had no enemy units. Add some local/static garrisons
- the enemy reinforcements on turn 10 warped into my western territory. I'd suggest to spawn them on the southern map edge instead
- in any case, there's really no need for any reinforcements, resp. increase of the players land CP, in this scen
- the rightmost (eastern) "Off-map AF" has text, but no exit-hex assigned


BTW, I was missing (in all of the scens).... some .....German air opposition...?!?

Anyhow, this is a great campaign. No real balance issues so far. Thanks, guys!

GabeKnight wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 11:05 pm
BTW, I was missing (in all of the scens).... some .....German air opposition...?!?

Anyhow, this is a great campaign. No real balance issues so far. Thanks, guys!

Well, historically there was some "light" German air opposition... but indeed there was!

For example, have a look here:

https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/material/aviation

https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-day/ ... /luftwaffe

So, it's true that some German planes units can be added (but not much)...

Gabe, thanks for the feedback. I've started a new Normandy list.
And I'll take a look at ColonelY's German air link and see if we can add some LW units.

bru888 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:48 pm Added aux artillery, so that also gets added to Unauthorized Units. Now that I have crossed the line in this regard, banning unit categories at will, I can be as arbitrary and capricious as I wish. Tra la la!

Designer's prerogative.

bru888 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:48 pm Ahh, my beloved Turku. My adopted city! I will fight, fight, fight to defend her!

Heh, heh. There's a well-known fact regarding Turku:

Which traffic sign justifies making a U-turn on a highway?

Turku 10 km

bru888 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 5:15 pm Cool, recently I have been realizing that, unless I am mistaken, you edited some of those maps that you provided by inserting English translations. If so, much appreciated once more. The Lemetti map is a good example, and will come in handy.

Thanks, Bru. Good to hear the edits were useful.

CoolDTA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:31 am Thanks, Bru. Good to hear the edits were useful.

Here's how useful your Lemetti map has been:


Yes, I used it to redraw the map for this scenario. Here is the original template:


I saw another version of your map from a different source. I am convinced that it is accurate.

Erik used maps from a collection of custom scenarios that were designed for John Tiller's Campaign Series. Most of the time, they are fine but occasionally I have been noticing that some of them are wildly inaccurate or unnecessarily limited in scope. The guy who designed this one, for example, completely disregards the "motti" motif. Where is the pocket? In my version, Finn troops will be deployed in a ring around the Lemetti motti.

Erik has been very good about my altering his initial creations - I believe he knows that I am doing so only after considerable research and deliberation - but he can always restore the original map if he wants, with some necessary editing once he takes over the official version.

All in all, though, the quality control over there was lacking in my opinion. Those guys needed to do more homework (and be able to write better, too).

Heh, here is how I am handling the "Clash of the HQs" portion of the scenario. The Soviet non-combatants / now-combatants are about to stage their breakout north, in the direction of Kitilä. Their Finnish counterparts are in the Encampment and drivers are standing outside the Vehicle Park (missing are a few deployment hexes to replicate the thin arc of Finnish besiegers in this area, who will be overcome by the sudden surge of Soviets). Let the battle of clipboards, syringes, butcher knives, and radio antennas begin!

bru888 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:35 pmoccasionally I have been noticing that some of them are wildly inaccurate or unnecessarily limited in scope.

[...]

All in all, though, the quality control over there was lacking in my opinion. Those guys needed to do more homework (and be able to write better, too).

In my opinion those guys have made a number of fantasy maps probably because they have no good (or any?) sources. I guess it matters little because the players know even less of Winter War. That's okay, you can enjoy the game nevertheless. And they probably have little risk of having some nitpicking Finn around complaining of this and that. So you can easily take the low road. Luckily guys like you and Erik would never do that which means your scens and campaigns are of immensely higher quality.

bru888 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:50 pmLet the battle of clipboards, syringes, butcher knives, and radio antennas begin!

CoolDTA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:05 pm In my opinion those guys have made a number of fantasy maps probably because they have no good (or any?) sources. I guess it matters little because the players know even less of Winter War. That's okay, you can enjoy the game nevertheless. And they probably have little risk of having some nitpicking Finn around complaining of this and that. So you can easily take the low road. Luckily guys like you and Erik would never do that which means your scens and campaigns are of immensely higher quality.

When he wasn't boxing my ears (I exaggerate, mostly), my father would impart wisdom such as "Any job worth doing is worth doing well." Sure, it's taking me time to do research, but not excessively.

For example, I did not read the book that I cited above from cover to cover. I searched and skimmed. Same for the internet; search and skim. But with that minimum amount of effort, I have found much information (and many corrections to the texts of those JTCS scenarios).

So, why not take that time and effort and do the job properly? For example, I can assure you with confidence that my version of Lemetti is not only going to be better looking, better informed, and better designed, it will also be more fun than that other guy's version.

bru888 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:52 pm [...] I can assure you with confidence that my version of Lemetti is not only going to be better looking, better informed, and better designed, it will also be more fun than that other guy's version.

Hey, didn't your father also impart any wisdom in the line of "Don't let success go to your head"...?

GabeKnight wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:06 pm

bru888 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:52 pm [...] I can assure you with confidence that my version of Lemetti is not only going to be better looking, better informed, and better designed, it will also be more fun than that other guy's version.

Hey, didn't your father also impart any wisdom in the line of "Don't let success go to your head"...?

Actually, Erik, my spiritual father here (he once said to me "Bruce, I am your father" - yes, I know that's the wrong quote, linking "Bruce" and "Luke," but my first name does not rhyme with "No" as in "No, I am your father") has already warned me about emulating the foolhardiness of Icarus.


In that context, he is more like Sisyphus than Darth Vader.

You crack me up, sonny.

In Tuppura Island I was puzzled for a while by the subtitle of "Betrayal of General Winter." Who is General Winter?

The original author does not explain and at first, my search yielded only a board game about some other battle. I found this lengthy personal account of the Battle of Tuppuransaari and he does not mention a "General Winter" either.

Wait a minute. Could this be a colloquialism? Yes, it's yet another term for Russian Winter.

So my guess is that since Viipuri Bay is frozen over, thus negating natural water defenses of the island, the Finns have been "Betrayed by General Winter" (a better rendition, I think). I guess I will keep the idea but explain the term in the scenario for non-grognards like me, looking for some fierce-looking general in a white coat with icicles in his beard.

This original template map, on the other hand, is relatively well done. It took me a little while to orient myself but I realized that we are looking at Kuninkaansaari and only a portion of Tuppuransaari. I will explain this in the scenario using this other map that Cool provided:


A bit of a dilemma that I need to deal with again: Saying "Tuppuransaari Island" is like saying "Tuppura Island Island" because "saari" is Finnish for "island," apparently. I want to use local names, in Finnish, whenever possible; I did so in Turku and elsewhere and probably will do so again. Folks will figure out "Viipurinlahti" is Viipuri Bay, won't they? Regardless, you will not see "Viipurinlahti Bay," either.

Yep, the location boxes could be more flexible, allowing two lines of text, for example:

I was lucky enough to have many of the Greek stories read to me by my parents as a child. Especially loved the one about Odysseus and his voyages.
But isn't Icarus more about blind ambition? That's not what I was talking about...

Normandy UK & Canada 1944, v2.4, continued

Sorry, guys, but I did not play the following Epson scens and some of the others, because as mentioned before, these are too big maps for me. No other reason, just my personal taste - although I'm glad I didn't have to play it as I did not understand one word of that briefing gibberish - what was that? Scottish?

It takes forever to move around 300 landCP worth of units; and the AI takes forever, too. But I'm absolutely sure others will enjoy massive battles like that.

05Sword worked flawlessly, so far I could tell.

04Juno

- the map is huge and my engineers have no transport (except one, I think). And because my main faction is Canada, I can not buy or upgrade any of my core units, contrary to the other two beach scens, where I could choose to use some of my landCP to upgrade existing units or buy different ones. I did not have to rely on the units you gave me on scen start then. Here I had to.
- I'm not sure you're aware of that (or even: if intended), but many of the strong supporting units like towed arty, Hummel, Wurfrahmen or the Nashorn remained idle for the most time of the scen, unless attacked directly. I checked in the editor, and it's mostly AI team 2. During play it's definitely more interested in guarding the supply hexes on the map edges than attacking units in the defined 10-hex radius.
- Another point that you haven't thought about possibly is that the Churchill AVRE tanks can not clear mines in the stock OoB units file (unless you play with my mod ). As you assigned "engineer" names to them, you may have thought otherwise.

Gabe

Added the Juno comments to the list.

After using your mod testing Crete and other custom scenarios I plan to use the mod whenever I'm playing OOB.
I think it is very good. Kudos