From the Meuse to the Rhine, slight changes.

[Phoenix100]

Enjoying playing through a very slightly modified version of From the Meuse to the Rhine. In case anyone interested, here it is, and here are the changes:
1. I think that in the stock scenario the allied air presence isn't representative enough of what I read about MG, so I've upped the air availability to 20 missions a day. That won't happen every day, due to weather, but it will make the air superiority a tad more noticeable than it is in the stock scenario.
2. To represent the RL attempts to re-supply into Oosterbeek I've added a SEP there. It won't change much, to be honest, but nor did the real life drops, which were largely unsuccessful. I've changed the Johanna Hoeve DZ SEP - moved it to Renkum Heath. I believe the RL resupply DZ extended over both areas. I've also tinkered with the supply levels between SEPs a little to try to make sure 1AB has at least a chance of getting 40% or so, throughout the op.
3. The 'elite' para units don't seem very elite to me (in terms of the differential in their stats between themselves and other 'normal' units, so I've tinkered a little with some of their stats (especially some of the leaders), though not very much. Also sometimes given them greater starting compliment and supply, though, again, not much diff.
4. I've found nowhere, so far, evidence to suggest that allied supply was so poor as is represented in the stock scenario, so I've increased overall supply.

None of this dubious tampering with the excellent stock scenario will tip the balance at all. There is no balance, because there wasn't any historically - the Allies will still lose, but I feel these changes are justifiable anyway, from my reading of the history, and looking at how things worked in the stock scenario (or maybe it's just so depressing playing it through that I feel I have to change something.....).

This is meant to be played only as Allies, on historical settings.

Peter

[Phoenix100]

Playing this little modified scenario I'm at the beginning of day 3 and it looks like this:

First the northern op area;

[Phoenix100]

A more detailed view of Arnhem, where things might be described as going moderately well, if we could only imagine that relief was, at most, a day away.....

[Phoenix100]

But sadly, down in Nijmegan, we haven't got the bridges.....

[Phoenix100]

I do hold Grave and Honighutje, or, at least, they're no longer primed to blow. But the Nijmegan bridges were already too far.....and we will have to wait for XXX Corps to take them, which means, by my estimate, that it will be at least 3 days before we get near First Airborne.

[Phoenix100]

On the plus side I think the game works very nicely now. All the acute supply problems that seemed somewhat artificial have been cured, I think. At least I haven't seen them. There have been a couple of 100% interdiction messages in the Nijmegan area that left me puzzled, as only explainable in terms of arty interdiction of the columns (because no enemy units near - I surrendered to check), but it was possible to imagine that was what happened, and mostly the interdiction has been partial. Even when complete I'm less worried as the suspended supply message soon follows, reassuring me that even if the pathfinding isn't ideal I'm not going to lose all my supply trucks as the AI keeps repeating the error. So great work on all the patches we've had, I think. Hats off to Dave and Miguel and anyone else involved.

Should add, I love the new 'defend in-situ' box. Thanks Miguel. Very useful.

[dazkaz15]

ORIGINAL: phoenix

On the plus side I think the game works very nicely now. All the acute supply problems that seemed somewhat artificial have been cured, I think. At least I haven't seen them. There have been a couple of 100% interdiction messages in the Nijmegan area that left me puzzled, as only explainable in terms of arty interdiction of the columns (because no enemy units near - I surrendered to check), but it was possible to imagine that was what happened, and mostly the interdiction has been partial. Even when complete I'm less worried as the suspended supply message soon follows, reassuring me that even if the pathfinding isn't ideal I'm not going to lose all my supply trucks as the AI keeps repeating the error. So great work on all the patches we've had, I think. Hats off to Dave and Miguel and anyone else involved.

Should add, I love the new 'defend in-situ' box. Thanks Miguel. Very useful.

So your back flogging that old dead horse again Peter [:D]

I hope one day you do get a win from it, it will be cause for a good party [;)]

I totally agree the 'defend in-situ' box is a great feature.
A massif improvement on the playability of the game all in one small box [X(]

[Phoenix100]

Thanks Daz. I don't know whether I can bear to play on past day 3 really. It's all too grim. Even if you make superb progress at Nijmegan it still takes at least a day too long to get up to Arnhem and all the paras start getting killed. The odds are overwhelmingly against the Allies.

Maybe you can help - or someone else - I would like, in fact, to shorten this scenario to make it simply a race for the bridges - to end before XXX Corps arrive, in fact. But I can't see an easy way to do this. You can easily shorten the scenario in scenmaker by changing the dates, but am I right that the program will then automatically adjust all the reinforcement schedule arrival times so as to make them all fit into the new shortened time frame? Or am I just imagining that? What I want is to keep it EXACTLY as it is, with the exact historical reinforcement schedule, but end it at, say, 7am day 3. I could then easily alter the VPs to make the key bridges carry the victory better.

[springel]

ORIGINAL: phoenix

Thanks Daz. I don't know whether I can bear to play on past day 3 really. It's all too grim. Even if you make superb progress at Nijmegan it still takes at least a day too long to get up to Arnhem and all the paras start getting killed. The odds are overwhelmingly against the Allies.

Maybe you can help - or someone else - I would like, in fact, to shorten this scenario to make it simply a race for the bridges - to end before XXX Corps arrive, in fact. But I can't see an easy way to do this. You can easily shorten the scenario in scenmaker by changing the dates, but am I right that the program will then automatically adjust all the reinforcement schedule arrival times so as to make them all fit into the new shortened time frame? Or am I just imagining that? What I want is to keep it EXACTLY as it is, with the exact historical reinforcement schedule, but end it at, say, 7am day 3. I could then easily alter the VPs to make the key bridges carry the victory better.

You can remove the SS forces at Arnhem from the German OOB, so you play according to the expectancy of the Allies.

Edit: Sorry, that is not what you asked, I didn't read the question carefully enough.

[Phoenix100]

Might not need to change anything else, Springel. Not sure what's going on here. I'm in danger of being able to hold out. It's like the AI has gone to sleep. This is what Arnhem looks like, approaching end of day 3.

[Phoenix100]

The reason it looks like there's hardly any enemy nth of the highway bridge is because I have no intel on them because there's been no attacks. All of my bridgehead companies there are in fact cut off, but still have plenty supply. Because they haven't been fighting. The fighting has never really materialised. What's going on? If I surrender then it looks like this!!!!!!

[Phoenix100]

What on earth is that empty no man's land between the bridge defenders and that overwhelming mass of Axis power? Why isn't the AI attacking? Never happened before like this. I would have to suspect something is broke.