Slitherine

Here is probably so far my best veteran game result, turn 45.



- All communist forces destroyed
- H&M at 76%
- My loss rate is 9, VC losses at 26 units, NVA at 14.

The secret was really in reading the favourable terrain, finding out the NVA invasion route and then placing the bases properly.

I placed my firebase smack in the middle of the map, but within 1 chinook flight from the main base. After I notied the NVA are coming from the SW corner of the map, I placed a forward outpost with a green beret, a tank and later an artillery unit. Was able to overwhelm the NVA invasion route completely.

I used my engineers (bought a 2nd engineer unit - something I wouldn't usually do) to build roads connecting everything. As a result, I was able to do with just 1 cobra unit, as there was little jungle to block my moves. Lots of open terrain really helped with winning the game. I made a strong lead by turn 20 and as not threatened since. I regularly had turns with 0 communist units on the map.

well it won't be long at that rate before your chest is full of medals soldier

Why I love the SF unit, I just scout and scout and poof. Find the corridor and the Crown will be yours sire!

Wow, congrats. That's one of the best results I've seen. Looks like you landed really favourable terrain!

The roads are critical, I make sure to interconnect everything myself, and 2 engineers is pretty much a must. Allows your tanks to roam, your mech infantry to roam, and if your engineers have nothing to do they can go clear some mines or repair/resupply mech and armoured units so they don't have to go back to the firebase.

How do you best handle supply?

Someone on Steam was complaining about all the supply runs the Hueys constantly need to make.

(Kong just posted something I see)

Rosseau wrote:How do you best handle supply?

Someone on Steam was complaining about all the supply runs the Hueys constantly need to make.

(Kong just posted something I see)

Make your second firebase the center of gravity. Make sure it is in a location to cover the area you suspect is the axis of the enemy activity. If you can do that its cake. It reduces the flying time to support the units active in the area engaged in SD or pacification. But yes indeed, if you cant support foreward deployed units via a well placed second base, you are hosed. And yep logistics are huge in the game. Fail to address the needs of your units and you will lose them.

Good result, terrain was very favorable and the low body count indicates a lethargic enemy

2 engineers is pretty much a must

This, I think, depends on the map. I just suffered a humiliating decisive defeat on a map that I thought would require two engineer units. Lots of jungle and isolated HQ. By the time I got to the central cluster of villages with the engineers, there were NVA everywhere, and I couldn't afford the Cobra I normally get in the early game. What was worse, I didn't realize that the positioning of the villages would prevent me building the firebase where I had planned. I managed to fight through with some infantry and started training some ARVN, but never managed to recoup that political support. Some bad luck with RPGs and firefights later, there were 7 NVA bases and my ARVN center was overrun, and the newly built firebase soon followed.

I will think hard before I get two engineers that early again. Just to be clear, these are the kinds of decisions that, to me give the game a depth that may not be readily apparent to everyone.

kongxinga wrote:The roads are critical, I make sure to interconnect everything myself, and 2 engineers is pretty much a must. Allows your tanks to roam, your mech infantry to roam, and if your engineers have nothing to do they can go clear some mines or repair/resupply mech and armoured units so they don't have to go back to the firebase.

Roads are important in areas where you are gonna send mech and tanks through (near your firebase and the NVA invasion route). But otherwise... my impression is best than to have 4 clear tiles than 2 road tiles in the country. If I got to play this again, I'd build a bit less roads in the northeast and south centerof the map, instead I'd clear more of the jungle in the north.

Rosseau wrote:How do you best handle supply?

Someone on Steam was complaining about all the supply runs the Hueys constantly need to make.

(Kong just posted something I see)

Build forward bases. In this game I built 3 for instance. 1 on the NVA trail, the 2 others near hard to reach villages. Keep units that do not have to run around the field too much in bases. Ifthere is low VC activity (1 cadre or 0 units), then do not move yours out of bases unless you plan to place them in strategic positions - it would be a waste of resources to move them when there's no opfor activity.

And yeah Helicopter supply is a must, though as someone who hates micromanagement in games I did not find the level of micromanaging supply in this game annoying.

And I do hate to much micromanagement I gave a very low rating review for a much larger strategy game recently because how bad the UI was and how bad micromanagement was. Micromanagement ruind a few classic games for me too, Master of Orion III is a good example.

ricomise wrote:

2 engineers is pretty much a must

This, I think, depends on the map. I just suffered a humiliating decisive defeat on a map that I thought would require two engineer units. Lots of jungle and isolated HQ. By the time I got to the central cluster of villages with the engineers, there were NVA everywhere, and I couldn't afford the Cobra I normally get in the early game. What was worse, I didn't realize that the positioning of the villages would prevent me building the firebase where I had planned. I managed to fight through with some infantry and started training some ARVN, but never managed to recoup that political support. Some bad luck with RPGs and firefights later, there were 7 NVA bases and my ARVN center was overrun, and the newly built firebase soon followed.

I will think hard before I get two engineers that early again. Just to be clear, these are the kinds of decisions that, to me give the game a depth that may not be readily apparent to everyone.

Well, my experience told me the opposite- if you have a lot of jungle, you will need the 2 cobras and probably also 2 chinooks for mobility. There is no sense asting effort on 2nd engineer early, as you won't clear the land in time anyways.

I had a game like that (lots of jungle, there was a village near the edge taht was ~10 hexes from the nerest clear hex) and really I ended up buing just 1 mech, no tanks, no second engineer.

I agree with the, is the scale simply too much via the time you have to actually do what you want. My last game I had a nice map with the northern part pretty much connected by a road, my starting base was in the SE corner of the map, I could have built a road and cleared some jungle to link the first village to my main base but calculated it would take me something like 10 turns to effect, so it was pointless, I needed to get a firebase build asap in the center of that northern village cluster so I could extend my reach, and that's what I did. I still ended up with a 58 score which peeved me :} I also assumed the NVA NLF didn't effect the villages but they appeared to be actually inserting units into these villages while I had them occupied and shifting the HM scale in their favor, this on veteran.

Sabratha wrote:

kongxinga wrote:The roads are critical, I make sure to interconnect everything myself, and 2 engineers is pretty much a must. Allows your tanks to roam, your mech infantry to roam, and if your engineers have nothing to do they can go clear some mines or repair/resupply mech and armoured units so they don't have to go back to the firebase.

Roads are important in areas where you are gonna send mech and tanks through (near your firebase and the NVA invasion route). But otherwise... my impression is best than to have 4 clear tiles than 2 road tiles in the country. If I got to play this again, I'd build a bit less roads in the northeast and south centerof the map, instead I'd clear more of the jungle in the north.

Rosseau wrote:How do you best handle supply?

Someone on Steam was complaining about all the supply runs the Hueys constantly need to make.

(Kong just posted something I see)

Build forward bases. In this game I built 3 for instance. 1 on the NVA trail, the 2 others near hard to reach villages. Keep units that do not have to run around the field too much in bases. Ifthere is low VC activity (1 cadre or 0 units), then do not move yours out of bases unless you plan to place them in strategic positions - it would be a waste of resources to move them when there's no opfor activity.

And yeah Helicopter supply is a must, though as someone who hates micromanagement in games I did not find the level of micromanaging supply in this game annoying.

And I do hate to much micromanagement I gave a very low rating review for a much larger strategy game recently because how bad the UI was and how bad micromanagement was. Micromanagement ruind a few classic games for me too, Master of Orion III is a good example.

ricomise wrote:

2 engineers is pretty much a must

This, I think, depends on the map. I just suffered a humiliating decisive defeat on a map that I thought would require two engineer units. Lots of jungle and isolated HQ. By the time I got to the central cluster of villages with the engineers, there were NVA everywhere, and I couldn't afford the Cobra I normally get in the early game. What was worse, I didn't realize that the positioning of the villages would prevent me building the firebase where I had planned. I managed to fight through with some infantry and started training some ARVN, but never managed to recoup that political support. Some bad luck with RPGs and firefights later, there were 7 NVA bases and my ARVN center was overrun, and the newly built firebase soon followed.

I will think hard before I get two engineers that early again. Just to be clear, these are the kinds of decisions that, to me give the game a depth that may not be readily apparent to everyone.

Well, my experience told me the opposite- if you have a lot of jungle, you will need the 2 cobras and probably also 2 chinooks for mobility. There is no sense asting effort on 2nd engineer early, as you won't clear the land in time anyways.

I had a game like that (lots of jungle, there was a village near the edge taht was ~10 hexes from the nerest clear hex) and really I ended up buing just 1 mech, no tanks, no second engineer.

Roads are an interesting strategy , useful when there is a good road placement at startup which enables troops and mech to move to villages freely and without Helos, or when you build a remote forward base close to,two or three villages,and you build spokes for ARVN , use it, don't use it.....

[quote="Vietnam65" use it, don't use it..... [/quote]


what is that supposed to mean??

I don't find roads that much a necessity really, if there is already a decent road infrastructure that I can get to from my HQ then sure, I use them and may build 1 mech or armor unit but there is really no threat to the cobra on the map so no reason to ever really built armor. The only issue with not having roads is that if you hurt an Engineer it is a long slow way back to repairs. Usually I don't bother - if an Engie gets hurt I park them in the Firebase and there they stay refueling and repairing other units for the rest of the game.

The roads you have are nice, curious how much was there before you started. The cost of clearing jungle just isn't worth it to me.

An engineer can repair itself when in a base!

An engineer can also repair a Helo when in the same base...

Vietnam65 wrote:An engineer can also repair a Helo when in the same base...

Glad to know this.

Sabratha wrote:

kongxinga wrote:
I had a game like that (lots of jungle, there was a village near the edge taht was ~10 hexes from the nerest clear hex) and really I ended up buing just 1 mech, no tanks, no second engineer.

On the issue of village placements ruining firebase placement, clear a jungle spot 2 squares away from a village. That will become a valid firebase spot. Use your 2nd engineer to beeline to that spot from turn 1. You want the firebase asap, but you need the other engineer to plop down the beginning forward base to get arvin production asap. You have 3 hueys and 3 inf, your green beret either slogs along and hopes for spotting vc, or he can start training. I prefer more Arvins who can get better intel in lieu of green berets in forests. This is why you need 2 engineers, else you either delay firebase placement or arvin production. Your engineer heading to the firebase squad can lay down roads or clear terrain if it does not delay the firebase placement.

Your forward base engineer can either clear landing zones, or connect roads, meanwhile your firebase engineer does nothing but go for that firebase. After that, repair and resupply mech and clear mines.

Terrain is a major factor, maybe it's time for weather....

Vietnam65 wrote:Terrain is a major factor, maybe it's time for weather....

I *think* it was in my original suggestion thread, so I agree completely and entirely