Slitherine

Am playing 2way Cristot versus CaveHobbit, under the new BA v2.10, and have just realised that 251s now seem to enjoy twice the movement range (12+ squares) of Bren carriers (6+ squares) on roads... I had a feeling that movements for 251s and Bren carriers were more balanced before... Both classes of unit still show exactly the same movement values in squads.csv... Did anything change in the benefits of roads for 251/1s, 251/9s or Bren carriers?

Ok, on further investigation, I see that 251 is classed as "halftrack" type, while Bren carrier is classed as "tracked" (in squads.csv). Halftrack costs 2AP/square to move on roads, tracked costs 4AP/square (in terrain.txt). So 251 can indeed move twice as far as Bren carrier on tracks and roads... Intuitively this doesn't feel right, but maybe 251 really did have twice the speed/range of a Bren carrier? Does anyone actually know?... Am thinking about modding it, so both would cost 3AP/square, less fast than those vulnerable trucks at 2AP/square.

Sd.Kfz. 251
Speed: 32.5 mph (52.5 km/h )
Operational range: 186 miles (300 km)

Bren Carrier
Speed: 30 mph (48 km/h)
Operational range : 150 miles (250 km)

Hmmm... Merci Amaris...

It seems to me that the Bren carrier should enjoy approximately the same speed and slightly lower range versus the 251 then... Certainly not half. At least not for MP, to keep it fair and accurate.

Do you have the same data for a Kangeroo? Not the Aussie marsupial, which I understand is actually quite fast, lol...

Rather than accurately model every different unit type we have to abstract things to make the game play clearer. You know that anything wheeled/half tracked will be faster on roads. This makes the game more playable without having to somehow show you move ranges on a per unit basis over every type of terrain. The Bren carrier is an odd one as all other light transports like this are not fully tracked, so its really sitting in a mobility class that's populated by tanks.

Thanks Iain, that makes sense.

It's more for the GJS'44 MP games than BA in general. In those, most German transports are 251s, most Allied are Brens... And with half the range on roads, per turn, it puts the Allies at a significant disadvantage...

Only realised when Germans starting appearing somewhere on a map where they "shouldn't have got to" quite so quickly...

We could move Brens to the half track category but it feels a little confusing.

Thanks Iain, that's a great suggestion.

I'll drop Brens into the halftrack category in squads.csv for our GJS'44 campaign, to level the playing field for MP. I'm assuming that would just change the road movement and doesn't actually tell the player it's supposed to be a halftrack.

It makes sense as it will mean Bren carrier kills are in the HT section not tank which I just realized they would be. Maybe this is a change for the core game data too.

Try it out and if it works let us know and we can change it.

Thanks Iain. Will do