Ukraine 2022, first impressions using ver. 11/10/2022

[popejohnpaul]

Instead of giving D21 another go, I thought I'd try to tackle "Ukraine 2022" and see what kind of game it provides. I applaude the developer(s) of this version of the scenario ( as of 11/10/2022 ) as it's got all the bells and whistles and has all the looks and smells of an excellent product. This is rapidly becoming my favorite.

I see where this is just the first 60 days of the rapidly developing situation that's still going on as we speak. I thought I'd watch Elmer move some of the units around, see what he does, get a first impressions impression.

After a minute or two of that I became curious as to what the Russians have for a force and I'm now looking through the inventory of units and notice that there's lots of things that aren't being built. So there are some units that are going to need special protection from the ways of harm that might come their way. Specifically the Support Squads and Command Groups. There's only ONE Command Group and very few Support Squads so protecting them becomes a major priority among all the other existing priorities. Very few aircraft of any type are being produced. This IS after all only the first 60 days.

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[popejohnpaul]

I've been watching Elmer move the units for the Russians and there were some attacks and it advanced through all the combat rounds, the turn ended, and then it became the the Ukraine turn to move. I stopped the gameplay so I could take a look at one of the 29 attacks Russia made on turn 1 and noticed that there were no airfield strikes at all. The losses were relatively bloodless, giving a good tactical feel to the scenario. I like that a lot.

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[sPzAbt653]

Specifically the Support Squads and Command Groups. There's only ONE Command Group and very few Support Squads so protecting them becomes a major priority among all the other existing priorities.

Hi Larry! This scenario is still in BETA, and as it is an ongoing conflict there are a few things that are experimental. One of which is:

Formation Supply/Leaders: Use of Support and Command Squads are not guaranteed to properly simulate the problems the Russians are having with Supplies and Generals being killed. To experiment with possible ways to simulate this, a few different set ups are currently in place. One example is the 12th Gds Tank Regiment at Bryansk. The Formation has a Support Company. If the Ukraine player can bombard such a Support Unit and cause it to lose Support Squads, then the Formation will suffer Supply difficulty.
Another example is the 150th Motorized Division, which starts around Taganrog. This Div is in one large Formation and has a 'Support' Battalion with Support Squads and also contains one Command Squad. This combination may make it difficult to control, and I generally don't like designing Formations like this because it hurts the PO. But if we find that it works well in simulating Russian difficulties, I would be willing to arrange the rest of the Russian Formations this way.

More intel becomes available as time progresses, and combined with the play tests will provide clearer paths of development.