<r> <QUOTE><s>[quote]</s>it's second-nature to beat the AI when playing on even terms.<e>[/quote]</e></QUOTE>
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Even privileged setting doesn't help the AI - I absolutely slaughter it, playing either side, now that I know the game (but it is amusing to see these new AI units magically pop up ...

Claim and close is not working for me either. I also have a couple of other games that are short of the 30 days but unusable due to crashes. (including the one >30 days). This may be the cause of the problem.

Yes kirk23, that is a logical solution, otherwise invasion is essentially impossible unless you manage to take Brussels.

Ahh, I did mod my LUA to extend the war end date to past 1918. Could this have done it? We are still currently in 1918 however.

I tried to claim it, since it was Carnage's turn, and it does nothing, even after 30 days. I'll keep trying.

<t> Strat bombing seems to me to be the biggest game breaker to fix in this patch. If you get a deadlock by 1916 or so, it's the only thing that ends up counting - a crazy back and forth of fleets of bombers until one side or the other withers away first. The land war ceases to have a meaning. I ...

<t> There are definitely reasons why you might not want to open a front. <br/>
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The Italians can need French support to hold the line early (depending on the CP position) - what if the French forces are more valuable elsewhere? The Romanian example is another good one - if they could delay ...

<t> I agree about the trade-off between historical realism and game balance, but I think that can be maintained and more flexibility (and less predictability) given by allowing either the neutral country 1 turn to maneuver, or better still, to turn the neutral country over the player at some point ...

Okay, thanks Ulver, re: US entry - that makes sense, and will also help with my planning.

Yes, let's do an AAR - although I've not yet kept any screenies. It's been a terrific game so far - very different to the standard 1914 campaign, which is what I was after.

<r> Well, as an update, Ulver and I have been trying out the new rules (see post #17 above). Serbia fell first, in late 1914, after a massive assault from both AH and German forces, along with 2 arty units in support.<br/>
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Then, despite valiant defend-and-retreat efforts, Russia looks like ...

Agreed Naskra, and fighters should be more effective at intercepting bombers, especially when the fighter unit is sitting over the target city.

Well, Paris never did fall, and that armored car and preserved Belgian infantry turned out to be incredibly useful! So I'll consider this a viable strategy.

<t> Once you've got the hang of the opening moves, Paris should always fall against the AI. Indeed, against a skilled CP player in an MP game, it is a real challenge to stop this as the Entente. It can be done (I've done it 4/4 times so far), but it's a close run thing, and not guaranteed.<br/>
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The new patch fixed the non-response from the PgUp/PgDn hotkey, but apparently introduced this new problem.

What would also be ideal, whilst I have the eye of the developers, is to also have a 'sleep' button for units, like in Panzer Corps.

<t> The counter needs to centre around port facilities extending into the full length of the Gulf of Finland. That way the Russian battleship has a viable chance to defend its key port. Otherwise, I've found a strategy to brake the game open (against Russia, and potentially cascading to the whole ...

<r> Thanks ulver - see my (long) in-game message. Yes, the Russian front is almost closed, but it will be still be (to me) a highly interesting scenario to see how the subsequent 1-front war, with a neutral Belgium, plays out. This is the alternative history that attracted me to playing this ...

<t> I think the game needs a better way of reflecting the later value of creeping barrages vs heavy pounding. Perhaps as Arty tech develops it could be more likely to force a retreat, rather than vaporize troops as pat so aptly put it. That, combined with a diminishing returns curve on multiple arty ...

<t> Good overview. Though you can pretty safely leave the armoured car in Antwerp for a while and still successfully execute the Schlieffen.<br/>
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The CP player is (virtually) ALWAYS able to take Warsaw on mobilization day using just German troops (2 x INF, 1 x GAR), if set up properly ...

<t> For the naval bombardment of Petrograd, there are two possible 'fixes'. One is to just put the port back in Helsinki, which would provide the Russian Battleship with a port bonus that should (might?) extend right to the Neva estuary. The other is to put a port at Petrograd, although this would ...

<t> I've had this a couple of times now. At the end of a turn, I've been cycling through my units using PgDn hotkey, to check if I forgot to move anything. Occasionally, once you've gone through all units, it will then register a warning bleep, and a Windows dialogue box will appear saying something ...