How are Leaders Handled?

[76mm]

Another question about this game--how does it handle unit leaders?

--Are they "individuals" with name, rank, etc.?
--What specific leadership attributes (if any) are modeled?
--Can they become casualties (without their underlying unit being wiped out)?
--Are there seperate HQ units?
--Do they gain experience, etc. in the course of a campaign?
--I saw in another thread that there is more emphasis on C&C than in, for instance, CM, but it wasn't clear how that worked.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Erik Rutins]

Still on the fence, eh? [;)]

Command level is a focus of the game, but individual leader "units" are not. In other words, we try to encourage you to play as if you were really a company commander by issuing orders to your platoons through each platoon's HQ. We do not give your platoon HQs individual abilities at present, though they may earn them (as with other units) through the campaign system.

Platoon HQs do grant an initiative bonus to units within the platoon that stay within a certain range. They are also the only possible artillery contact point, with each Platoon HQ making a check each turn to see if it has contact with a FO for artillery strikes (assuming you have artillery available). If you lose a Platoon HQ unit, a surviving unit will take its place next turn.

As far as the idea of having more detailed leaders, I'm all for it and in fact something like that is on our plan for the next release, but right now all platoon leaders are created equal. What you do with them is what matters.

Regards,

- Erik

[76mm]

Not really on the fence anymore; I'm gonna buy it, but my personal schedule is brutal for the next several months and I won't be able to play much until the fall, so I'm trying to decide if I should buy now or wait till then. Given your heroic support efforts though, I'll probably pull the trigger tomorrow.

So it sounds like there are no individual unit leaders at all, they are just sort of factored into the base unit's capabilities?

Frankly, with what sounds like an awesome campaign system, if you're leaving out individual leaders I think you're leaving a really cool feature out--who wouldn't want to see if the courageous Hauptman Gruber or Kapitan (or whatever) Glukhov will survive the campaign? Would probably appeal a lot to the former ASL geeks out there (like me), who seem to be attacted to this game.

[Erik Rutins]

You're right, I think it would complement the campaign system well and it would add both flavor and fun. I still have my original SL copy in the closet about five feet from me right now and I certainly recall some of my leaders from those games (Lt. Stahler?).

[76mm]

Yeah, I might be alone in this, but regardless of core units, etc., in any wargame I'll put my troops through the meat grinder in a campaign UNTIL some favorite leader emerges that I don't want to kill off. Then I tend to treat him and his pixeltroopen with more consideration. Makes it more fun indeed.

[ravinhood]

And don't forget the most famous one Les the Sarge.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: 76mm
Yeah, I might be alone in this, but regardless of core units, etc., in any wargame I'll put my troops through the meat grinder in a campaign UNTIL some favorite leader emerges that I don't want to kill off. Then I tend to treat him and his pixeltroopen with more consideration. Makes it more fun indeed.

I think you'll find the existing abilities and medals will definitely give you a lot of this effect already, but I agree leaders would add an extra dimension for certain.

[Stridor]

ORIGINAL: 76mm

Yeah, I might be alone in this, but regardless of core units, etc., in any wargame I'll put my troops through the meat grinder in a campaign UNTIL some favorite leader emerges that I don't want to kill off. Then I tend to treat him and his pixeltroopen with more consideration. Makes it more fun indeed.

This is exactly the sort of thing that already happens in the game. They all start out equal but then the fortunes of war start to sort 'em all out until you have clearly established elite and medalled up the whaazoo platoons with mucho bonuses. Look after these guys [;)]

[76mm]

Sounds good, but for some reason I don't get as excited about preserving that elite Panther #4 or Maxim crew #2 as about keeping individual leaders alive.

[rickier65]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

You're right, I think it would complement the campaign system well and it would add both flavor and fun. I still have my original SL copy in the closet about five feet from me right now and I certainly recall some of my leaders from those games (Lt. Stahler?).

As soon as I read this I glanced over to my left at my bookshelf and sitting there on it's side was my original SL box. (bulging a bit since I had put the Cross of Iron rules in with the SL box and had plastice document covers on the rules).

hmm...I hadn't even thought about food for scenarios....Does anyone know if the copywrite for SL scenarios has run out?

ah...memories.

Rick

[rickier65]

ORIGINAL: 76mm

Sounds good, but for some reason I don't get as excited about preserving that elite Panther #4 or Maxim crew #2 as about keeping individual leaders alive.

If you create your own campiagn you can have a core set of units, and they can also be named in the scenario editor ( or maybe in the Campaign Editor - not sure which but I did end up with a platoon or Rick's IE6 tanks floating around).

Rick

[benpark]

I agree that there doesn't seem to be a need for leader statistics, but names of squad leaders and tank commanders would be great.