Living Manual

[Stonne]

Hello jb5256,

I'm happy to having be of some help.

By principle, I try to let rule comment to the design team.

Coming from the boardgame world, this stacking rule doesn't bother me the less. There's more in the game than this stacking rule, things that I like and things that I like less. For me the balance is positive.
But our preferences are personnal and I totally respect yours. And I'll advise you what I always advise: consider everything and then make your own choice, not the choice to please somebody else.

Regards,

Stonne

[Joel Billings]

Only 1/2 percent of disabled is killed each turn, and 1 percent goes to the manpower pool.

[Joel Billings]

For next update to the living manual re leaders and impact on combat: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 7&t=407183

[MarkShot]

Joel,

I read the link. You and Herr Wiedrock are shattering my most cherished misconceptions.

I am now re-doing my spreadsheet of artillery trajectories as I have become a flat earther. It's one thing when you cannot trust politicians, but when you cannot trust game developers, society is definitely on the brink of collapse!!!

[Joel Billings]

Referencing this thread for clarifications/changes to Guards rule for future living manual: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 7&t=407144

[Wiedrock]

1. WHEN to become GUARDS?

   27.5.6. Creation of Guards Units
   Soviet Guards Armies are created according to the historical timescale.
   Combat units may become guards if they have won sufficient battles with the
   exception of the 1941 at-start Tank and Mechanized Divisions. This process will
   commence from Turn 18 onwards.

   It starts from (at least) Turn 12 (see save attached).

   

   GUARDS T12.png (1.47 MiB) Viewed 1117 times

   ---

2. WHO to become GUARDS?

   I can’t give you a simple list, because the code isn’t written in a simple way. But I’ll do my best to give you the info I understand re what units are converted to guards. In the editor, any unit can be made a Guards unit (or renamed mid-game into a Guards unit), via initial unit data. As for newly built/created units, or existing units converting due to wins, most of it is unit name based, and here’s what I know:
   
   1. All units with Rocket or Heavy Tank in the name are automatically Guards.
   2. Units with Militia/PM Rifle/Rum/NKVD/Partisan in their name will never convert to Guards.
   3. Battalions never convert to Guards.
   4. A unit must have a number in its name to convert to Guards
   5. Default is HQs don’t convert (however non-Shock Army HQs can convert to Guards)
   6. Tank Divisions and Mechanized Divisions don’t convert to Guards.
   7. Any unit with Rifle Division, Rifle Corps, Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps, Mechanized Corps, Tank Corps in the name, must have an appropriate Guards OB in the OB list to convert to Guards. The OB must be date available. (Mountain Rifle Divisions don't have a Guards OB, and since they have Rifle Division in the name, they don't qualify.)
   
   There's always the chance I've missed something. I hope this info helps.

   Could we get that 1.-7. Into the Manual, pls? Seems pretty accurate.
   
   

   ---

3. HOW to become GUARDS?
   And further, yesterday - as manytimes before there appeared to be lots of guessing towards what you need to become GUARDs concerning the wins, FortTell shared a part of the WITE1 Manual, Chapter 9.2.2.2., I am almost certain it still works like described there (the WITE2 community was/is not even sure whether losses matter or not - it's like back in teenage years with all the rumors floating around about who with whom and such stuff ).
   Adding this to the manual would stop all that guessing.
   Attached a save T21 - to see that MOT units may not become Guards having below 10 wins in 1941 (see Tank Regiments/Brigades).
   
   

   ---

4. Further Info
   Becomming Guards may stop the Disbanding of a Unit at a set Date in the Future.

Ressources
Attached are 4 Saves [2Turns] (both sides to be able to "roll" into the Turns yourself).
T12 - the first turn which causes the GUARDS naming.
T21 - a test with Tank Brigades/Regiments with 8-9 wins which won't become GUARDS (since there are special rules for MOT Units - as described in WITE1 Manual, Chapter 9.2.2.2.)!

[Joel Billings]

Another item for the living manual re weather and changes in snow level: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 7#p5199897

[ImperatorAugustus]

The hidden assignment to construction SUs to combat units to provide fortification level is limited at 1 SU/ 1 CU automatically sends on the largest unit in this case.

Just tested this thoroughly.

[M60A3TTS]

And further, yesterday - as manytimes before there appeared to be lots of guessing towards what you need to become GUARDs concerning the wins, FortTell shared a part of the WITE1 Manual, Chapter 9.2.2.2., I am almost certain it still works like described there (the WITE2 community was/is not even sure whether losses matter or not - it's like back in teenage years with all the rumors floating around about who with whom and such stuff ).
Adding this to the manual would stop all that guessing.
Attached a save T21 - to see that MOT units may not become Guards having below 10 wins in 1941 (see Tank Regiments/Brigades).

---

[*]Further Info
Becomming Guards may stop the Disbanding of a Unit at a set Date in the Future.
[/list]


Ressources
Attached are 4 Saves [2Turns] (both sides to be able to "roll" into the Turns yourself).
T12 - the first turn which causes the GUARDS naming.
T21 - a test with Tank Brigades/Regiments with 8-9 wins which won't become GUARDS (since there are special rules for MOT Units - as described in WITE1 Manual, Chapter 9.2.2.2.)!

Maybe as a project you can figure out what the type percentages are based on. Apparently heavy guards tank regiments do add to the armor %. Also I do not have access to a WiTE1 manual to read about special rules that may apply.

[Wiedrock]

Maybe as a project you can figure out what the type percentages are based on. Apparently heavy guards tank regiments do add to the armor %.

My list of projects is longer than the Chinese Wall already!
...what I can say is that you can build PTRD Battalions to get the AT Guards %-values down.

[Nikel]

Also I do not have access to a WiTE1 manual to read about special rules that may apply.

Here is the link for the manual in Steam.

https://shared.fastly.steamstatic.com/s ... 1710931833

[Zovs]

There is also the Community Edition Manual.

[loyt5]

Also I do not have access to a WiTE1 manual to read about special rules that may apply.

Here is the link for the manual in Steam.

https://shared.fastly.steamstatic.com/s ... 1710931833

Thank you!!!!!

[Joel Billings]

The hidden assignment to construction SUs to combat units to provide fortification level is limited at 1 SU/ 1 CU automatically sends on the largest unit in this case.

Just tested this thoroughly.

Interesting, did you test having construction units in several different HQs up the chain (so a corps and army HQ might each contribute one SU)? I was not aware of there being a limit, but I'm not ruling out that there is one. It's likely the coding would be much easier to go combat unit by combat unit and just use 1 SU max.

[Joel Billings]

Leader Ratings Check - 15.5.2

"The chance to pass a check is dependent on how a unit reports to the chain of
command. The expectation is that Axis units will report to a Corps HQ and that, after
August 1941, Soviet units will report to an Army HQ. "

Is August correct or is it November when all the Rifle Corps HQs are disbanded?

Note 15.5.3 states

The Soviet structure up to the withdrawal of the Corps HQs in August 1941 is one
where some units might report directly to a corps and others to an army.

Rifle Corps withdraw after November, not August.

I've got the item above on my list to try to get info on if the Army disadvantage exists from the start (June) till end of November 41, or if the disadvantage starts in August. The corps start having a chance to automatically disband starting around turn 4-6 (can't remember now), with the chance going up over time. Most don't survive all the way until the disband date listed for the corps HQ. Reposting this so I don't lose it. I'll also be asking about whether the guard creation rules for WitE1 apply to WitE2 (re wins/losses required).

I've reviewed the recent posts here and so far I've got the items below that will be in the next living manual. Please let me know if i missed something posted here, and thanks to those that have contributed by pointing out where the manual is wrong or misleading.

• Undocumented rule (First Winter Disruption) – Non-Finnish and non-mountain Axis units, in combat where the defending unit is in a heavy snow hex from December 1941 through February 1942, suffer significant disruption at the start of a battle. The amount of disruption reduces each month and is higher for an attacker than a defender.
• Undocumented rule – Just prior to resolving the final odds for a battle, there is a chance that up to ¾ of the ground elements disrupted will have their disruption removed. The higher the experience of the elements, the greater the chance of removal.
• Manual correction (section 23.10.2) – Only one half of one percent (1/2) of the disabled pool is converted to KIA each turn, not 1%.
• Manual correction (section 12.1.2) – Soviet motorized units do not gain +10 to their national morale starting Sept 1943 (remains +5).
• Manual correction (section 23.8.1) – Leader checks do not directly impact whether ground elements fire during ground combat. They do play a role in determining the final CV and thus the final odds calculation.
• Manual correction (sections 8.1.3 and 8.1.4) – Snow level in blizzard goes up 1-2 per turn. Snow during snowfall as stated in the mild winter rules, goes up by 1+die(2), or 2-3 normally, but only die(2), 1-2 during mild winters. But there's a caveat to this. If the snow is already 7 or above, instead of going up, it will drop 1 level. So, a 7 would become a 6 (an 8 would become a 7). During mild winters, if already over 7, it would drop 2, so a 7 would become a 5. So the statement that snow goes up between 1 and 3 per turn up to level 7 in snowfall is somewhat misleading, and also not accounting for the fact that if a hex was a 7 already, it would actually drop down to a 6 or 5 (depending on if it was a mild winter).
• Manual clarification (section 8.2) - The estimated future weather is only for the Air Weather. No estimate is provided for the ground weather.
• Manual clarification (section 27.5.6) – Regarding Soviet units becoming Guards:
o All units with Rocket or Heavy Tank in the name are automatically Guards.
o Units with Militia/PM Rifle/Rum/NKVD/Partisan in their name will never convert to Guards.
o Battalions never convert to Guards.
o A unit must have a number in its name to convert to Guards
o Default is HQs don’t convert (however non-Shock Army HQs can convert to Guards)
o Tank Divisions and Mechanized Divisions don’t convert to Guards.
o Any unit with Rifle Division, Rifle Corps, Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps, Mechanized Corps, Tank Corps in the name, must have an appropriate Guards OB in the OB list to convert to Guards. The OB must be date available. (Mountain Rifle Divisions don't have a Guards OB, and since they have Rifle Division in the name, they don't qualify.)

[MarkShot]

Thanks, Joel for your commitment to get us the most accurate documentation possible!

Loki gave me a copy of the WITE-2 manual. Besides the subject matter; just the quality of manual ... I was sold on WITE-2/WITW/WITP-AE/EDBTR. Documentation hasn't looked like this since the days of Microprose and Dynamix.

BTW, if is not classified ... is Loki still involved? It seems he and Red Lancer have departed. (sad they were tremendous assets)

PS: For those, who may blow up at Loki as it happened in the past (for gross violation of state secrets). At the time I was still a Matrix Beta which by written agreement many years ago gave me access to every project released and in development in the portfolio (under NDA), but no business plans. So, Loki did not break any rules by sharing something that may have not been available for download.

[Joel Billings]

Unfortunately, Red Lancer (John) and Loki (Roger) have moved on to other things. Apparently, they have lives apart from gaming. I heard from Red Lancer recently and he is doing well, but I don’t think I’ve communicated with Loki in well over a year. They were both very important contributors in the development of the game, and critical in providing the documentation. It was not an easy task, as they often had to do their own investigative work to determine how the game worked. Loki was especially helpful in that regard, as his testing for documentation purposes also uncovered other issues. As has often been the case, the programmer/designers moved faster than the rest of us could keep up. Most of Gary’s designs are never on paper, as they keep changing as he programs them. Both Red Lancer and Loki were great to work with and Gary and I thank them for their contribution to the WitX series.

[MarkShot]

Unfortunately, Red Lancer (John) and Loki (Roger) have moved on to other things. Apparently, they have lives apart from gaming. I heard from Red Lancer recently and he is doing well, but I don’t think I’ve communicated with Loki in well over a year. They were both very important contributors in the development of the game, and critical in providing the documentation. It was not an easy task, as they often had to do their own investigative work to determine how the game worked. Loki was especially helpful in that regard, as his testing for documentation purposes also uncovered other issues. As has often been the case, the programmer/designers moved faster than the rest of us could keep up. Most of Gary’s designs are never on paper, as they keep changing as he programs them. Both Red Lancer and Loki were great to work with and Gary and I thank them for their contribution to the WitX series.

Thanks, Joel. Over the years, I have found that the best indie dev/beta teams are populated with many areas expertise; not just game developers. Roger was the owner of a research/production business and PhD in the area of preparing such materials. John a career military officer.

As much as is made of AI learning from the Internet and books, people like Roger and John had expertise that simply wasn't in books and field manuals. Good luck on the current project, Joel.

BTW, Gary's design of WITW and WITE-2 (I am a retired SWE) reflects very much what was in vogue during the 60's and 70's. Step wise transformation of data collections (know as "batch processing") versus simulation loops (procedural or object). But it is a really appropriate use of such techniques. It allowed something highly complex to be broken down into comprehensible steps and yield reasonable performance, and further should also facilitate optimization tuning. As for the data analysis screens, they were as good as any professional UIs I saw done on Wall St. trading platforms. All, very nice.

Most game companies can only produce the same game over and over again. Paradox is a good example of having reproduced Philippe Thibaut's (who was on the EU 1 port team) EU BG over and over again. I see WITP=WEGO, EDBTR=WEGO/RTS, WITW/WITE2= Hybrid TBS (like the air war and reserves). The ability of 2by3 to switch architectures from game to game is very impressive.

[ImperatorAugustus]

Interesting, did you test having construction units in several different HQs up the chain (so a corps and army HQ might each contribute one SU)? I was not aware of there being a limit, but I'm not ruling out that there is one. It's likely the coding would be much easier to go combat unit by combat unit and just use 1 SU max.

I only looked at direct HQs for support. Higher level HQs are more likely to send it to a higher priority function just based on range.

[Joel Billings]

Leader Ratings Check - 15.5.2

"The chance to pass a check is dependent on how a unit reports to the chain of
command. The expectation is that Axis units will report to a Corps HQ and that, after
August 1941, Soviet units will report to an Army HQ. "

Is August correct or is it November when all the Rifle Corps HQs are disbanded?

Note 15.5.3 states

The Soviet structure up to the withdrawal of the Corps HQs in August 1941 is one
where some units might report directly to a corps and others to an army.

Rifle Corps withdraw after November, not August.

The direct attachment to Soviet army HQ penalty applies from June 1941 through the end of November 1941. The corps start disbanding sometime in July and the chance increases over time.