Slitherine

Battlefield Europe Mod

I recently started a new game after having finished GC East 39-45 on Rommel. The aim is to play GC39-41 and then import the best units into GC 42/43 West since I have actually never finished GC West, I have always gotten bored with it in 1945, but this time I am going to do it properly. I am therefore playing with a small, elite, core where I use a lot of over strength and elite replacements without concerning myself about saving up prestige for the later years since it is all wiped out anyway. The prestige planning and preservation is such an important part of PzC so it feels very casual, easy and strange playing without caring too much about prestige even though I must say I currently enjoy it quite a bit just coming from GC East '45 on Rommel…

I really like most of the GC39-41 scenarios since they are quicker to play with less units and the Blitzkrieg nature. With that said here are some of my favourite scenarios for each GC (East only). I struggled somewhat to come up with favourite scenarios for GC43 and 44 since I am not a huge fan of either.

GC39: Piatek - a shock the first time you play it
GC40: Dunkirk - nice variation
GC41: Minsk 41 - Blitzkrieg at its finest
GC42: Stalingrad Docks - the most enjoyable (and easiest) of the Stalingrad scenarios imo
GC43: Prokhorovka - epic
GC44: Poltava - a bit easy but provides flair and variation to the other scenarios in ’44
GC45: Budapest 45 - nice mix of attacking and defending over a large map

My Favourite Scenario:
1. Rommel in France 40. 7th Panzer Division "Ghost Division". Dinant. viewtopic.php?f=147&t=101081

proline wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2018 5:20 pm

captainjack wrote:I agree with Hurly. Afrika Korps is for me the most enjoyable expansion. It includes some interesting and challenging scenarios (Dash to the Wire, Persia), and withstands multiple replays - eg with Italian only, different core compositions. On top of this most scenarios allow more than one way to win.

I'm playing through US Corps for the second time now. I actually think the scenarios themselves are among the best, even better than Afrika. However, The replay value is reduced by the fact that the Americans have such a simple tech tree- there is no process of figuring out innovative unit combinations for each scenario. You don't need any fighter but the P-47, any bomber but the B-17, any artillery but the GMC until mid-1944 when it diversifies a bit, any anti-tank but the wolverine, any tank but the M4 series until 1945, or any infantry but the rangers and a couple engineers for the mine fields. Their only switch units are the 75 GMC which is an obsolete anti-tank compared to the wolverine that comes out at the same time, and the M4 artillery piece that also isn't that compelling at the very end.

With other factions you have the tension between flamethrower tanks vs. engineers, towed AA that can fight tanks vs. mobile AA, multiple series of viable fighters, heavy artillery vs light vs mortars, dedicated tac bombers vs. fighter bombers, etc. US corps has none of that and it hurts the gameplay.

One of the greatest aspects of US Corps, in my opinion, is the consistency of scale. It plays very well at the battalion level throughout all the DLCs with only 1 or 2 exceptions. There might not be a lot of equipment options but you can see some of the magic of PzC by playing the series with a historical order of battle at battalion level. There is a wealth of online information available as to what was present for each battle and it can be great fun to see how different units develop (a 3 battalion infantry regiment with 1 movement hero each for example). That mod does a great job of keeping track of unit histories and it can be interesting seeing the different places units have been throughout the war.

I understand trying to stop the Wehrmacht at El Guettar with 10 units of infantry, 1 75 GMC, and 4 artillery might not seem like fun but to me that is where the mechanics (close defense, ambush, etc.) really shine.

fgiannet wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 10:55 am

proline wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2018 5:20 pm

captainjack wrote:I agree with Hurly. Afrika Korps is for me the most enjoyable expansion. It includes some interesting and challenging scenarios (Dash to the Wire, Persia), and withstands multiple replays - eg with Italian only, different core compositions. On top of this most scenarios allow more than one way to win.

I'm playing through US Corps for the second time now. I actually think the scenarios themselves are among the best, even better than Afrika. However, The replay value is reduced by the fact that the Americans have such a simple tech tree- there is no process of figuring out innovative unit combinations for each scenario. You don't need any fighter but the P-47, any bomber but the B-17, any artillery but the GMC until mid-1944 when it diversifies a bit, any anti-tank but the wolverine, any tank but the M4 series until 1945, or any infantry but the rangers and a couple engineers for the mine fields. Their only switch units are the 75 GMC which is an obsolete anti-tank compared to the wolverine that comes out at the same time, and the M4 artillery piece that also isn't that compelling at the very end.

With other factions you have the tension between flamethrower tanks vs. engineers, towed AA that can fight tanks vs. mobile AA, multiple series of viable fighters, heavy artillery vs light vs mortars, dedicated tac bombers vs. fighter bombers, etc. US corps has none of that and it hurts the gameplay.

One of the greatest aspects of US Corps, in my opinion, is the consistency of scale. It plays very well at the battalion level throughout all the DLCs with only 1 or 2 exceptions. There might not be a lot of equipment options but you can see some of the magic of PzC by playing the series with a historical order of battle at battalion level. There is a wealth of online information available as to what was present for each battle and it can be great fun to see how different units develop (a 3 battalion infantry regiment with 1 movement hero each for example). That mod does a great job of keeping track of unit histories and it can be interesting seeing the different places units have been throughout the war.

I understand trying to stop the Wehrmacht at El Guettar with 10 units of infantry, 1 75 GMC, and 4 artillery might not seem like fun but to me that is where the mechanics (close defense, ambush, etc.) really shine.

I remember i had to create US Corps with the units available. I did get the capturables in the end. But despite the under representation of US units, I did have a good time creating the missions.

nikivdd wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:26 pm I remember i had to create US Corps with the units available. I did get the capturables in the end. But despite the under representation of US units, I did have a good time creating the missions.

I am a great fan of yours and think you design really interesting scenarios. You, in my opinion, have a great understanding of the subtle conditions that produce good tactics. You were obviously handicapped in terms of the equipment file, it is like being a chef without being able to select the ingredients, but you created scenarios where players can be successful without having to use the “best of all possible equipment” approach. An example of this is how you put a ridge line in front of Gela. That little detail allows me to put an infantry regiment on it (supported by an artillery battalion) and be able to conduct the defense of Gela with the historical 1st Infantry Division order of battle. It might not be possible to defend Gela with a mostly infantry force without that initial close terrain. Your great eye for design allows me to enjoy the game with historical forces alongside other players that want to blast through it with an all Wolverine/Ranger force. To reach such a wide range of players is a vast and rare accomplishment in the world of strategy games.

Your scenarios have educated me as well. Being able to use historical units gave me a window into what the leadership was envisioning when they structured their forces (why the 1st ID had so many Tank Destroyer Battalions at El Guettar, etc). There are a lot of great game mechanics that I only learned how to use because of your intelligent scenarios and their terrain (setting up infantry ambushes, etc.). Your consistent scale gives a nice brigadier or major general level of operations to the entire campaign (instead of going from small maps to countrywide and then back down again). It is great fun watching divisional subunits take on their own distinctive character as the battalions develop hero’s and start to be considered in the deployment phase (18th Infantry Regiment has mostly defensive hero’s so they will be holding the line, etc.). Last, but certainly not least, seeing the battle history for each unit (1/24th Infantry Regiment raised flag of victory over Casablanca 9th November 1942......Aachen October 20th 1944, etc.) throughout the entire war (a great feature I have only seen you utilize fully) is awe inspiring. So many great aspects to your work.

If you can not win (or at least advance) using historical forces then a player must resort to ahistorical “best of everything forces” and no longer needs to understand the finer details of tactics/game mechanics. It can be a lot of fun finding new uses for a vast equipment file but what you accomplished with US Corps is, in my opinion, a much more subtle and greater achievement.

nikivdd wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:26 pm I remember i had to create US Corps with the units available. I did get the capturables in the end. But despite the under representation of US units, I did have a good time creating the missions.

I wrote the above many years ago. A couple weeks back, I got the chance to play PzC2 for the first time (I don't normally have access to a PC). The game mechanics have so much potential but the maps are so tiny that the game loses any strategic dimension to it. And of course PzC2 will always be a tiny game because even as a tiny game the system requirements are enormous.

Makes me appreciate the PzC campaigns even more.

proline wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:17 am I wrote the above many years ago. A couple weeks back, I got the chance to play PzC2 for the first time (I don't normally have access to a PC). The game mechanics have so much potential but the maps are so tiny that the game loses any strategic dimension to it. And of course PzC2 will always be a tiny game because even as a tiny game the system requirements are enormous.

Makes me appreciate the PzC campaigns even more.

I can play PzC2 without problems on a low-end PC Gamer, the cheapest PC Gamer of the time (which is already a bit out of date now)... It is certain that if we compare to PzC 1, the system requirements are different

Battlefield Europe Mod

terminator wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:50 am

proline wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:17 am I wrote the above many years ago. A couple weeks back, I got the chance to play PzC2 for the first time (I don't normally have access to a PC). The game mechanics have so much potential but the maps are so tiny that the game loses any strategic dimension to it. And of course PzC2 will always be a tiny game because even as a tiny game the system requirements are enormous.

Makes me appreciate the PzC campaigns even more.

I can play PzC2 without problems on a low-end PC Gamer, the cheapest PC Gamer of the time (which is already a bit out of date now)... It is certain that if we compare to PzC 1, the system requirements are different

I was using a 2019 Intel i9-9980HK paired with a Vega 20 graphics card with 4GB RAM and it ran hot and slow. Now sure, you could get better results with a desktop tower with better cooling, but is that really what most people have? AFAIK, most people have cheap laptops and I was on a pretty decent one. PzC2 has system reqs that are way too high for casual gamers.

Sorry for the necro, but I did notice

PoorOldSpike wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2018 2:29 pm
I've got the same problem mate, I bought PC Gold last year and most of the scens are too big and fiddly for my taste, (so are the Campaigns) so I've started building my own scens in the Editor. For example I recently built 'Paradrop' and am having great fun playing it, your Brit paras land randomly scattered all over the map and you have to pull them together into killer groups to go hunting jerry while he's hunting you.
Hey is it possible for me to send Paradrop in an email attachment to anybody who wants it?
And if anybody else builds smallish scens we could send them to each other for fun..

Does anybody by chance still have this scenario from PoorOldSpike? Because it sounds really good and replayable. And alas, I know a lot of Panzer Corps content has been lost, possibly irrevocably.

Sorry for the bother, but I just figured I'd ask.

Turtler wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:44 am [re: 'Paradrop']- Does anybody by chance still have this scenario from PoorOldSpike? Because it sounds really good and replayable. And alas, I know a lot of Panzer Corps content has been lost, possibly irrevocably.

To my shame I must have accidentally deleted it when I switched to PC2 a couple of years ago and cleared out all my PC1 stuff..(insert red-faced emoticon here)

PoorOldSpike wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:34 am To my shame I must have accidentally deleted it when I switched to PC2 a couple of years ago and cleared out all my PC1 stuff..(insert red-faced emoticon here)

No wories, real life happens and it is an old game. But we did talk about that. THe best I can imagine is- if you did send it t anyone by email- that it might be on a copy of your sent messages.

Assuming you still have the same email service and whatnot. Which is a Biig If. H

But that's why I decided to ask more generally in ase you sent it to anyone else. As a Panzer COrps fan I love more scenarios, and as a logntme vintage wrgamer and historian I realize what a Pita it is to lose data.

Turtler wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:07 pm

PoorOldSpike wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:34 am To my shame I must have accidentally deleted it when I switched to PC2 a couple of years ago and cleared out all my PC1 stuff..(insert red-faced emoticon here)

No wories, real life happens and it is an old game. But we did talk about that. THe best I can imagine is- if you did send it t anyone by email- that it might be on a copy of your sent messages.

Assuming you still have the same email service and whatnot. Which is a Biig If. H

But that's why I decided to ask more generally in ase you sent it to anyone else. As a Panzer COrps fan I love more scenarios, and as a logntme vintage wrgamer and historian I realize what a Pita it is to lose data.

I just ran a search of my system and email but couldn't find it, sorry, in fact I don't even remember creating it in the editor and don't remember if I sent it to anybody.
But hey, you could try creating something like it yourself in the editor..

PS- as consolation I found this pic on my hard drive of a WW2 drop in Holland-