Slitherine

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Download v3.3: https://www.mediafire.com/?7o0bvpi5939z00u

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Jun 8, 2015

For the benefit of anyone who wants to start playing the mod and wants a more in-depth view of how the various units work, or just want to become better, here's a little guide to the various units:

Infantry

Infantry will generally be the dominant force on the battlefield, and 50% or more of your core should be made up of it if you want success in most scenarios.

Generic Infantry Unit: No particular bonus or penalty. Good supply stats, and low cost. Upgrades in 1916, 1918 and 1920
Machine Gunner 'MG': Excellent on defense, adequate on attack. Higher supply stats and cost, but slower movement. Upgrades in 1917 and 1920
Minesweepers: Supporting unit ideal for clearing minefields and barbed wire (similar to ww2 Pionieres). Although it can fight, it is not for frontline combat and should only engage other infantry in serious circumstances. No upgrades.
Flamethrowers 'Flm': Strongest attacker in the early war. Expensive and with low supply stats. Arrives in 1915, upgrades in 1918.
Sturmtruppen: Late war assault team, unmatched when attacking. Low supply stats but more movement than other infantry. Arrives in 1918.
Sturmpionieres: Combination of Minesweepers, Flamethrowers and Sturmtruppen that arrives in 1920. Extremely powerful assault team.

Tanks

Tanks in WWI generally are slow and with horrid supply stats, but are far stronger than any opponent they will likely encounter. Unlike in WWII, WWI tanks can safely hold close positions due to the lack of decent AT weaponry carried by any unit (apart from the Fahrpanzer).

Germany has access to one tank unit - the A7V, which is very useful during the breakthrough stages of the Spring Offensive in 1918, when it first becomes available. Should you reach the USA scenario, it can be upgraded to the much more powerful A11V, which comes with a specialised anti-tank 75mm gun.

Recon

Ground based recon units have very limited effectiveness on the WWI battlefield, as its role has largely been replaced by aircraft. However, Armoured Cars are very useful units in any offensive situation and can fight competently with infantry (though not tanks). Armoured Cars generally unlock in the middle of the war.

Artillery

Artillery dooms all! Simply, it has an extreme ground attack stat and decent ammo, and should probably make up 25% of your core. Remember, the Somme battle was decided by the lack of British Artillery batteries, and ammunition for them. In WWI there are several types, each with a specific purpose. Also, unlike any other mod, artillery range as a standard is around 6, making it a dangerous opponent.

Light Artillery: Cheap and effective unit. Most useful in defensive situations as it disrupts enemy attacks without causing major damage.
Medium Artillery: Mighty artillery that specialises in the destruction of soft targets. Cost is equal to 2 early-war infantry divisions but perofrmance is equal to several.
Heavy Artillery: Great all-rounder artillery that deals some damage to tanks. Costs 33% more than a medium gun but deals similar damage to infantry. Keep in mind that it is the lightest type capable of fighting armoured targets.
Siege Artillery: Expensive artillery that ruins all hard objects with ease. Low supply stats and lack of power against soft targets makes it less important than a heavy gun, but useful in heavily fortified regions such as Verdun and Cambrai.
Gas Artillery: Not really an artillery as much as a transport. Converts to a gas shell that causes maximal damage to soft targets (similar to a v2)
Paris Gun: Arrives in 1918 and isn't very useful in your core. Many late-war scenarios provide it as an auxillary, and those are the only times it will be able to move very far (limited to railroads). Extremely long range.

AA and AT have limited use, bombers only really exist in 1920 and fighters will steadily improve over the course of the war. Keep enough fighters around to fight of the enemy planes, but artillery and infantry should be the main component of your offensives.

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I have started making a World War I campaign and mod for Panzer Corps.

At this stage:

- New Graphics: Done
- New Units (85 of them) : Nearly done
- Scenarios: Not started
- Campaign linking and other stuff: Not started.

At this stage it looks like this:

Scenarios: Schlieffen Plan, Marne, Paris 14, Race to the Sea, Gallipoli, Poland 15, Serbia, Verdun, Jutland, Somme, Romania, Arras 17, Estonia, Cambrai, Michael, Georgette, Paris 18, UK 18, Arras 18, Mons 18, German Revolution.

And some new units: Fokker Dr. I , Sopwith Camel, Mark IV Tank, Zeppelin, Paris Gun and Bolsheviks. These are just a few.

I have tried to structure the campaign (as an idea) so that there would be very few trench-based scenarios. (I think that Verdun, Somme and a few 1917 scenarios are the only ones like this - and most of those are avoided by winning Paris 14)

You play as the Central Powers (Germany in every scenario, but Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria can join you as auxillaries)

Feel free to ask me any questions about this or about WWI in general, it may help you to have a bit of an understanding of WW1 when you want to play my mod later (I will be releasing it in 2014, but am not sure when exactly yet)

- BNC

No posts? What!!! C'mon, someone has to do it...

Well, anyway, I have also decided to add the "Caporetto" (late 1917, Italian Front) and the "Brusilov Offensive" (Russian attack, 1916) scenarios to the campaign. Be sure to look out for more info!

- BNC

Sounds really nice, I don't know that much about WW1, although I have some books (even one about the A7V tank). Will the 'Schlieffen Plan' scenario be the actual plan they used or the earlier version where they wanted to commit almost everything to the attack on France and cross through The Netherlands? Or will the player have a choice?

I remember playing the KuK campaign for Panzer General. Using this platform for WW 1, is definately a different experience and demands another kind of gameplay. I am looking forward to what you will come up with. I might need to brush up my knowledge about static and elastic defense doctrines once your mod is released

ThvN wrote:Sounds really nice, I don't know that much about WW1, although I have some books (even one about the A7V tank). Will the 'Schlieffen Plan' scenario be the actual plan they used or the earlier version where they wanted to commit almost everything to the attack on France and cross through The Netherlands? Or will the player have a choice?

In this scenario, it is some of von Moltke's plan, where you have to rush through Belgium and take Brussels, Liege and Namur. The map is unlikely to go quite as far north as the Netherlands (depends on if I choose to add Antwerp to it or not) Overall the scenario will be about the first 15-20 days of the war, with the next one ("Marne") starting 10 days later -> this idea is used in the vanilla ww2 campaign - you conquer Belgium and then stuff happens before the "France" scenario.

Nikivdd, As I mentioned earlier, there isn't a lot to do with trench warfare (imagined that just sitting there while the enemy breaks his back would be no fun), as I have made it more of the fights of movement (thats why it is the Eastern Front in 1915, and then in 1916 there is the option to go to the Brusilov Offensive rather than the Somme. Only Arras 17, Cambrai and a few other scenarios are trench fights, and all these involve great battles where one side will leave his trench, usually with tanks, and that will (hopefully) draw the other side out for a great battle in No-Man's Land.

Tanks are powerful but have (very) limited supply, so they are only ideal for the initial punch, usually to be followed up by infantry and cavalry. They appear for the first time in the Somme scenario, with a few in 1917 (a large amount at Cambrai) and then the Central Powers get their first A7V in the Michael Offensive.

- BNC

nikivdd wrote
I remember playing the KuK campaign for Panzer General.

Ah, yeah, good old days... I happen to be the creator of this mod which is still available for download at tripod, lol:
http://kukgen.tripod.com/

This campaign was also converted to Panzer General Forever (the predecessor of Panzer Corps), early on, even though this conversion was not flawless. However, it is still played by some folks as I get an e-mail time after time from players after all these years.

I was thinking about converting it to PzC as well, but postponed the idea due to the lack of time. My main concern is to make all the necessary unit icons in good quality. I think the infantry icons could be used from PzC, and some of the arty as well, but all the aircraft and tanks and the missing arty pieces need to be added in the same style, preferably. (Any chance for a few pre-alpha screenshots?)

Concentrating on scenarios with more movement is definitely a good idea, I did the same, but in some occasions static trench warfare needs to be added as well, as a WW1 game would not be very authentic without it.

Nice Idea Bite,

For more enthusiasm we need eventually some screenshots with deep dirt battlefield, entrenched bunkers, barbed wired gun sights, burning support facilities, roaring fokkers...

Excited about the icons!

Really good idea!
The e-file has to be rewritten completely that's for sure. I'm really curious how the PG/PzC game mechanic can be converted to WW1 while not to become boring (no armor... ). Although with good game/scenario design everything is possible! Sure the scns with more action and manouvering is a good idea - mostly in the early stages of war and later in the east and south-east is that possible. Also a good question how strenghtful tanks and airplanes should be as I know they played not a victory-making role.
Do not forget to add Stosstruppen for the Germans and Austro-Hungarians as late war elite units!

I can show you a few units that I have made:

Fokker Dreidecker: Barbed Wire Unit: This unit works in the same way as a minefield does, and will frequently be with minefields on the maps

Gas Shell Unit: There will be a unit you can purhase called the "Gas Artillery" which when switched, becomes this poison gas shell. Gas shells in ww1 work the same way as V2s in ww2, but even stronger.

I have included recon-only Zeppelins to the unit file as well, along with many other aircraft (Nieuport 11, 17 and 24, Fokker e.iii and the sopwith pup and camel etc.). Aircraft in this have 2 main roles: Recon above the enemy line, and knocking down the enemy's planes so he can't do recon.

Tanks are quite powerful (think Tiger II to a WW2 Inf), but with very limited supplies, are only useful for the initial punch in the enemy line. Cavalry are your most commonly-occuring replacement for ww2 tanks.

Sturmtruppen have been added, and are the infantry equivalent of a ww1 tank, moving faster. Unlocks in 1918.

At this stage I see it unlikely that new terrain graphics will be added, but I will be able to post units and later, scenario graphics.

- BNC (now working on the Schlieffen Plan scenario)

IMHO gas shells show some severe lack of good taste to put it mildly. Besides the effect of poison gas (sarin)
was pretty slow, so gas shells have no real similarity to V2 rockets.

I put those in because in 1915 the gas had a real impact that allowed the Central Powers some relatively easy victories. Although gas being put into artillery wasn't done until 1917, I thought that would be the best way of including this weapon. Unlike V2s, they can only attack 8 hexes away (Normal Artillery can shoot 6 away), which is a lot less than the V2's 30. The idea is more for their power, but it comes at a high cost (1 gas attack costs about the same as a 1917 Machine Gun unit)

Stuff about the first scenario: The map isn't done yet but this is the area it covers when compared to the Low Countries scenario: Part of Fortress Antwerp will be included on the map, and there will be more hexes than the part of the Low Countries scenario showing the same area. Let me know if you think the End turn etc. Headbase is good.

- BNC

huertgenwald wrote:IMHO gas shells show some severe lack of good taste to put it mildly.

Well, to put things in perspective... Most weapons have rather unpleasant effects, and other horrendous weapons like flamethrowers or white phosphor shells are still part of today's arsenals.

Besides the effect of poison gas (sarin) was pretty slow, so gas shells have no real similarity to V2 rockets.

(pedant mode) Sarin was invented after WW1 (late 1930ies, if I remember correctly) and is a nerve agent that kills in a few minutes.

But you are otherwise right, the chemical agents that were used are the slow ones you mean. During WW1, they used chlorine and more commonly phosgene. Later on also the well-known mustard gas. These are basically irritants/blister agents that attack exposed soft tissue and work quite slowly. Time to take effect was usually hours, sometimes it would take more than 24 hours. The effects were horrendous, as lethality was low but the tissue damage (lungs, eyes, etc.) was widespread. But still, the biggest effect they had (militarily speaking, on a grand scale) was the psychological impact.

In most scenarios, the turns are planned to be daily, so a 24hr effect of gas shells can be seen as quite damaging to the units. The idea is that if you do a gas attack on a bunch of troops, they will be quite weak for a while (or in some scenarios where the Entente have 0pp, forever) making poison gas a useful weapon to break a trench line. I do hope to release a "demo" version of it of the 1914 and some 1915 scenarios when such scenarios are done, so that people can test the new units (and a few other things associated with them)

- BNC

I remember playing a WWI mod for Panzer General II. While it was done nicely, it played really boring. Everything was slow and static. It took forever to destroy infantry backed up by artillery without the possibility of flanking with fast units or bombing them effectfully. I think without changing the game mechnics, you should stick to non-trench warfare theatres. And I doubt the AI is up to trench warfare. Once you strike on hole in its defense, with massed artillery, it will not be able to regroup and contain your breakthrough.

Nearly every breakthrough in the war was quite minor until 1918, when Ludendorff launches his nearly-successful Operation Michael. The scenario for this battle will be done so that the map is the breakthrough area, with Haig's reinforcements scripted to arrive later.

There are only a few trench scenarios: Verdun, Somme, Arras 17, Cambrai, Michael, Georgette. Bothe the Somme and Cambrai are only done by choice (If not Somme, Brusilov Offensive / If not Camrai, Caporetto or Estonia). I only included tese because they were very important battles - no point to have minor trench skirmishes filling up the campaign, as these aren't fun (Though Passchendaele never made it). So all of 1915 is the Eastern Front, and 1914 and 18 are full of movement.

- BNC

News from the front has reached us in a telegram:

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AACHEN, GERMAN BORDER WITH BELGIUM 17,7,1914

OUR TROOPS ARE PREPARING TO ATTACK BELGIUM IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN OF 1907. WE THINK THEY WILL BE
READY WHEN WAR IS DECLARED. OUR TARGETS ARE THE CITIES
BELGIUM AND LEUVEN , AND FORTRESSES ANTWERP, LIEGE AND
NAMUR. WE THINK IT WILL TAKE NO LONGER THAN 19 DAYS TO
SUBDUE THEM.

HELMUTH VON MOLTKE,
CENTRAL POWERS HIGH COMMAND GERMANY
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- BNC (I will have finished the scenario in about 3, the 19 is how many turns you are given in the scenario)

Well, I was able to finish the scenario a lot quicker than I expected - it is already done (only the first one - 1 down 22 more to go).

Some screens. First off, notice the Zeppelin above the airbase?
And now, fortress Liege
Keep looking at (and posting on) this forum, as more and more stuff gets revealed. Stay tuned for news from the Marne (and possibly an AAR on this scenario)

- BNC

Marne scenario done - now doing Paris 14

The Marne scenario is actually quite difficult - you have to capture a number of objectives and kill every enemy core unit (some are in a well defended fortress). If you don't, you miss out on Paris 14 and the first of two chances to knock France out of the war.

- Someone post soon - I'm getting lonely
- BNC

Someone post soon - I'm getting lonely

First.

But seriously,

First I would suggest to remove the submachine gun from the basic infantry icons. It would look a bit weird in a WWI mod, at least before 1918.

I also suggest to use an animation in which there is only rifle fire for these units - e.g. the bridge engineer one.

Second, in 1914 the Germans used a very different helmet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickelhaube

The standard Stahlhelm was only introduced in 1916. And most other armies did not even have a helmet in 1914 just field caps. Thus I think some new/modified icons are needed here.

Also, it would be nice to add a shadow to the Zeppelin - air units in PzC usually have a shadow to give them some kind of quasy 3D look that they are not at the same level with the ground units.

Other than that looks nice, keep up the good work.