Workshop for the new guys - Directive 21 (D21)

[larryfulkerson]

I heard through the grapevine that there are players that don't know D21 yet. So I thought I'd introduce the
new guys to it. First of all, I'll go through the steps to create a new game just so you know how *I* do it.
Choose "new game" and we're on our way.

[larryfulkerson]

Navigate your way, using the far left button, to the WWII - East Front directory and you should see
D21 near the middle. Toggle the play mode button until it's showing computer player is Soviets and
in the Options I reccommend to turn OFF the "no borders" option. You'll be able to see more supply dots.
And then hit play.

[larryfulkerson]

And next you should see one of these. Just click the okie dokie button
to dismiss the message. Alternately you can hit the escape key to do
the same thing.

[larryfulkerson]

I have no way to see what you're seeing but I'm seeing that
I have reinforcements awaiting assignment. They are sitting
in a depot somewhere among a thousand just like him with no
job, no place to be, no home, no semi-permanent friends.
Waiting. Then somebody comes by to get the attention of
the group and announces some names, they leave and you're
waiting again. Then, finally, it's going to be your turn.
All you need is a player to move you.

[larryfulkerson]

And the next screen you should see is the what's going on report. It's got the info about the
scenario and the values of some of the settings the scenario designer used when this thing was
compiled last and please notice the "Event Variable" low down in the verbage. It's value always
starts out zero. What it is is the variable the game engine keeps track of so that scenario
designers can track that variable and use it as a trigger for one or more events for that turn.
It's handy for a lot of things. You can use it for the changing weather. You can use it for
the chance you'll pull the troops out of South Vietnam ( CSV ). You can use it to effect
the morale of your troops...."the higher the value goes the closer to being done we are."

[larryfulkerson]

And if you click on the bottom far right button, the next page button, you'll see this dialog. And I want to say
something about this thing: Supply enhancement. When you dig in your unit, and they aren't going to move anymore
that turn, the organic trucks, lorry's, donkey carts, horse pulled wagons, what can carry supplies, is loaned to
the next higher up HQ to use and they ordinarily carry supplies.* And the supply line for the entire formation is
improved. The more units you dig in the more trucks ( etc. ) are loaned the better the enhancement. So the bottom
line at the end of the day after all is said and done it's usually a good idea to dig your units in when possible.

[larryfulkerson]

The lower right button, ( next page ) gives you this page with more scenario info and some values for various things
important things. I've annotated the several things you want to know about to guide your strategic policy and maybe
your tactical considerations. The Air Shock difference means it's a good idea to do a lot of airfield strikes just
now. You almost can't lose those attacks. And the land shock difference is advantageous because it means the chance
of an RBC is higher when you attack a hex. The game starts out as a draw and that's cool, but I'm not really going
to concentrate on getting objectives as much as I'd like to destroy as many Soviet units as I can. It might pay off
in the long run.

[larryfulkerson]

Dismissing the situation briefing allows the news to present. I'm glad to see that the percent chance to damage an
enemy rail is zero so converting the enemy hex, if it has a rail in it, that rail won't be damaged and won't need a
repair. That's cool. So that is encouragement to convert all the rail you can as you go just because it's guarenteed
to be okie dokie and the supply lines will extend all that much further which is a very good thing, believe me.

[larryfulkerson]

Dismissing the news summary you're presented with the keys to the game. The currently selected unit, however, is the
SECOND one in the OOB list and you need to go to the previous unit to move it first if you're using OOB order, which
I am. I don't want to miss anybody. So what I do is click on the button for the OKH unit and then right click on the
mini-map to center the map on the OKH. And then I move it first.

[larryfulkerson]

This is me moving the OKH over adjacent to the two airfields near Berlin. I want to be adjacent to extend the effects
of the HQ unit to the units that WILL be sitting on the airfield hexes. I'm going to use those two airfields to fix
broken planes you see, and the boost from an HQ unit might be substantial. I'm planning ahead because I've been through
this scenario before and by now it's getting to be easier to figure these things out. I've been trying things and finding
what works and what doesn't and I'm getting a better game because of it.

EDIt: oH, And I wanted to say that the railroad icon on the unit display is where you click if you would like to
embark the unit. Also, hovering over it with your mouse will give you how much rail cap. is required to haul the
unit via rail AND the amount of rail cap. you still have remaining in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
Mine says 177/9400 which means nobody else is embarked yet, but we knew that.

EDIT2: Oh, and I wanted to say, that you may be seeing something besides a swastika on your unit display and I've
got Swastika's because I'm using a mod that somebody came up with, I forget now who, thank you very much, and I'll
zip up the file and attach it to the post on the next post below so you can have it too.

[larryfulkerson]

Just unzip it and drop it in your GraphicsOverRide folder replacing any FlagRoundels.png there is in there.

EDIT: I suppose I should tell you what it is first. It's the Swastika flag used by the Nazi's in WWII.

[larryfulkerson]

The next unit after the OKH is the 1st of 5 Brandenburg's. These are highly skilled
paratroops ready to go on a minutes notice and they have their own organic transports
which is abstracted in this game, and how many of them you can transport on any given
turn depends on your air capability remaining. The situation briefing said you had
1100 metric tons of capability remaining and the 1st Brandenburg takes 10 to get
airborne so there's enough and more for getting all five of them to a destination,
the question is where. It's though gamey to decide where to put your paratroops after
everybody else has moved. It's thought that a lot of planning and recon needs to go
into an airdrop. It's thought that perhaps the paratroops might ought to be dropped
before anybody else moves. I'm not sure I agree. I'm thinking that like the 1st CAV
in Vietnam, that there were teams of people ready at a moment's notice to saddle up
and be moved to a location where they were to get on the ground and secure the area
until releaved ( most of the time ). So it's probably a home rule thing that you might
want to settle with your opponent. LOL.

[larryfulkerson]

The next formation to move is some supporting arty. And this is the first unit. I'm the kind of guy who likes to
get the arty right in close to the action even tho it might have plenty of range so I can spread the support over
a wider area, more troops supported is a good thing.

[larryfulkerson]

So I'm moving the units one at a time following OOB order and I run into a really long range arty piece and I'm
thinking that since he can cover a lot of targets he's probably going to fire a lot in the combat phase so to
conserve ammo I'm putting him on a single-dot stance so that when he fires it'll be at the reduced rate. The
standard rate, two dots, fires twice during a combat but a single-dot setting fires only a single time. The
three dot standing shoots three times and expends supply at triple the rate of a one-dot setting. Makes sense.

[larryfulkerson]

A couple of units later I run into a shorter-range arty piece that covers only a couple of enemy troop stacks and one
of them is one that's getting attacked this combat round so I dedicate the arty piece to the attack by assigning it
to attack. I'll do the combat planner to show what that looks like.

[larryfulkerson]

So I select an LCU close to the target hex ( adjacent ) and hover the mouse cursor over the target hex, the Soviet
stuff, and hit the letter "p" and the combat planner comes up and shows the arty unit with a tee niny little copper
colored diagonagonal thing on the corner of the arty unit. It's hard to see. I wish there were a different way
to designate it part of the attack.

[larryfulkerson]

And next I run into a badly placed arty piece and move it to a much better place. The range arc now rests
over a lot of enemy troops and now supports the attacks to clear the road headed NE.

[larryfulkerson]

And the next unit to move is the first of many RR engineers. They can't move unless and until they are embarked on
a train. That way they are forced to follow the rail when they go repair something. Just move them up adjacent
to the broken rail and it get's fixed by next turn usually. It costs 100 rail cap. to embark one of them and you
have a lot to embark so I suggest you embark them all now so there won't be a shortage of rail cap. for your RR
engineers ( who you want to be able to move to the next place to repair at will ). You can combine RR engineer
units in the hex to increase the repair effect on the target hexes.

EDIT: Oh, and I wanted to say you can click on the deployment status button for the unit(s) to get a dialog that
facilitates changing the deployment of the unit but I notice that embark on a train isn't one of them. Too bad
because that would save a lot of work embarking them all.

[larryfulkerson]

And after embarking all of them I see from the situation briefing that I have 8300 metric tons of rail cap. left.

[tverse]

Are you saying rail repair units need to be embarked on trains in order to repair rail lines? I thought you could move them over the damaged rail and then from drop down menu order them to repair the damage.