The terrain and climate is a bit tame . . .

[stockwellpete]

Great to see that kirk is still working on the game and making many excellent changes.

One area that I would like to see considered again (and I have raised it in the past) is making the physical geographical and climatic features of the map more testing. I think maybe the way to do this in certain areas is to use impassable hexes carefully. I am thinking of areas like the Alps, the Pripet (Pinsk) marshes, and the Masurian Lakes. And I am also thinking of weather conditions, particularly in winter, where armies would just not be able to make any progress (thousands died, frozen to death, both Russian and Turkish in the Caucasus around Sarikamish in 1914/15).

At the moment I think it is a bit too easy for the Italians to break out of Italy towards Vienna - and the Pripet marshes and Masurian Lakes should provide more difficult problems to armies operating in that region.

What do people think?

[Hellfirejet]

ORIGINAL: stockwellpete

Great to see that kirk is still working on the game and making many excellent changes.

One area that I would like to see considered again (and I have raised it in the past) is making the physical geographical and climatic features of the map more testing. I think maybe the way to do this in certain areas is to use impassable hexes carefully. I am thinking of areas like the Alps, the Pripet (Pinsk) marshes, and the Masurian Lakes. And I am also thinking of weather conditions, particularly in winter, where armies would just not be able to make any progress (thousands died, frozen to death, both Russian and Turkish in the Caucasus around Sarikamish in 1914/15).

At the moment I think it is a bit too easy for the Italians to break out of Italy towards Vienna - and the Pripet marshes and Masurian Lakes should provide more difficult problems to armies operating in that region.

What do people think?

I agree, some terrain should be much more restrictive, and weather effects in winter should also be much more problematic to movement and unit efficiency.[;)]

[operating]

ORIGINAL: stockwellpete

Great to see that kirk is still working on the game and making many excellent changes.

One area that I would like to see considered again (and I have raised it in the past) is making the physical geographical and climatic features of the map more testing. I think maybe the way to do this in certain areas is to use impassable hexes carefully. I am thinking of areas like the Alps, the Pripet (Pinsk) marshes, and the Masurian Lakes. And I am also thinking of weather conditions, particularly in winter, where armies would just not be able to make any progress (thousands died, frozen to death, both Russian and Turkish in the Caucasus around Sarikamish in 1914/15).

At the moment I think it is a bit too easy for the Italians to break out of Italy towards Vienna - and the Pripet marshes and Masurian Lakes should provide more difficult problems to armies operating in that region.

What do people think?

Time wise: Presently it takes 2 weeks (1 turn) to move 1 mountain hex, the Italian ALPS are at least 2 hex wide, so to clear the mountains takes 3 turns (a month and a-half) if not contested. Pripet marshes takes at least 3 turns for infantry to cross, armored cars and artillery 6 turns. I don't know historically what the travel time was to cross these map areas, under present game conditions they seem about right. If there was to be a change to these features, it would likely be an efficiency loss, after all: these armies did make the crossings, don't recall that they could not, so having travel through these areas "prohibited" I don't think would be fair. Having prohibited land hexes on the map could be used for an advantage one way or the other. If it is chosen to go the path of an efficiency loss at least at the same time allow these units a defense value increase while in these hexes. For if a hex is hard to traverse, it should also be hard to attack.

[Hellfirejet]

I forgot I had already tweaked most of these settings, meaning Swamps,Marshes,Mountains etc do have enhanced movement restrictions.

[stockwellpete]

ORIGINAL: operating

Time wise: Presently it takes 2 weeks (1 turn) to move 1 mountain hex, the Italian ALPS are at least 2 hex wide, so to clear the mountains takes 3 turns (a month and a-half) if not contested. Pripet marshes takes at least 3 turns for infantry to cross, armored cars and artillery 6 turns. I don't know historically what the travel time was to cross these map areas, under present game conditions they seem about right. If there was to be a change to these features, it would likely be an efficiency loss, after all: these armies did make the crossings, don't recall that they could not, so having travel through these areas "prohibited" I don't think would be fair. Having prohibited land hexes on the map could be used for an advantage one way or the other. If it is chosen to go the path of an efficiency loss at least at the same time allow these units a defense value increase while in these hexes. For if a hex is hard to traverse, it should also be hard to attack.

Certainly if all hexes are to remain passable then quite severe "efficiency losses" (e.g. a gradual loss of unit strength points) would be a reasonable way to model the impact of harsh terrain and weather on armies. I just think certain parts of the Alps or Pripet marshes would be quite impassable to armies and a few impassable hexes would be another way of approaching the issue. How many Battles of Isonzo were there in WW1? 11 or 12, I think. Which suggests there was only one way over the Alps between Italy and Austria.