Some Personal Impressions After Several Months of Campaigning

[LouSen]

Hello Wargamers,
I have played many wargames over the years... WEGO systems, War in the East 2, War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition, Strategic Command, WarPlan, Decisive Campaigns, SGS titles and others. Despite that, the way this game models the war itself really stands out to me.
What I particularly like is the morale system. Fighting around cities often turns into prolonged and grinding battles instead of quick captures, which feels very appropriate for a civil war setting. You really have to watch the morale of your units and keep fresh reserves ready, otherwise a battle like that can easily get out of control.
The hex control system is also excellent. Control is not simply binary.
I would also like to highlight the Loss of Life Value mechanic. It represents the political and social cost of the war very well. High casualties and especially civilian losses can actually slow down your strategic options, which fits the nature of a civil war remarkably well.
Despite the many complex mechanics in the game and a few small “teething issues” I noticed during the first months, I still want to highlight how impressive the overall system is. Many of the mechanics work together to create a very convincing dynamic of the conflict.
So I would simply like to thank the developers and the pre-release testers who clearly invested a lot of work into this project.
Looking ahead, one thing I would like to see is further improvement of the AI.
For example, I noticed that it rarely uses long-range artillery and could perhaps organize its regiments more effectively.
And in the longer term, additional scenarios would of course also be very welcome.
Thanks for reading.

[RangerJoe]

Hello Wargamers,
I have played many wargames over the years... WEGO systems, War in the East 2, War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition, Strategic Command, WarPlan, Decisive Campaigns, SGS titles and others. Despite that, the way this game models the war itself really stands out to me.
What I particularly like is the morale system. Fighting around cities often turns into prolonged and grinding battles instead of quick captures, which feels very appropriate for a civil war setting. You really have to watch the morale of your units and keep fresh reserves ready, otherwise a battle like that can easily get out of control.
The hex control system is also excellent. Control is not simply binary.
I would also like to highlight the Loss of Life Value mechanic. It represents the political and social cost of the war very well. High casualties and especially civilian losses can actually slow down your strategic options, which fits the nature of a civil war remarkably well.
Despite the many complex mechanics in the game and a few small “teething issues” I noticed during the first months, I still want to highlight how impressive the overall system is. Many of the mechanics work together to create a very convincing dynamic of the conflict.
So I would simply like to thank the developers and the pre-release testers who clearly invested a lot of work into this project.
Looking ahead, one thing I would like to see is further improvement of the AI.
For example, I noticed that it rarely uses long-range artillery and could perhaps organize its regiments more effectively.
And in the longer term, additional scenarios would of course also be very welcome.
Thanks for reading.

Welcome to the forum!

Well, things are being added and new scenarios are coming. My input to the development was mostly play testing but I did have a little input on a few things in the discussions. But I sure did break things frequently!

As far as the LR Barrages, I just saw my first ones by the AI today while testing an updated exe file. So improvements are slowly coming.

Now if the fuel and oil will move to where it is needed . . .

[CrusaderRex]

I agree. I've been playing these kind of games since the 1980s and WiS is on good footing with this design. It does need some tweaking, especially in the QoL department [Better manual and/or comprehensive tutorials, OOB listing, search feature for looking up units, bases, etc. - I'd personally appreciate a way to look up devices by the units that have them in their TOE] but I'm quite sure most of these will be addressed in time.

Speaking of tutorials, I highly recommend the YouTube channel Cannae Gaming - the creator Mark has a very informative series on WiS.

The power of terrain in defense. The power of massed artillery. The importance of morale and experience. The vital importance of logistics units to keep the troops supplied...and so many other mechanisms really make this system unique.

I knew very little about this conflict before I got the game and, oh boy, have I gotten an education! What a fascinating conflict! Here are some sources I have used to learn about it:

Books:
"The Spanish Civil War" by Hugh Thomas
"The Battle for Spain" by Antony Beevor

YouTube documentaries:
-"The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War" hosted by Kino Lorber
-A 6 part docuseries "The Spanish Civil War" hosted by Military Man
-"The Entire Spanish Civil War| The Prelude to the Second World War" hosted by WW2 Legends
-"The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)" hosted by Der Kommandant English

[RangerJoe]

I agree. I've been playing these kind of games since the 1980s and WiS is on good footing with this design. It does need some tweaking, especially in the QoL department [Better manual and/or comprehensive tutorials, OOB listing, search feature for looking up units, bases, etc. - I'd personally appreciate a way to look up devices by the units that have them in their TOE] but I'm quite sure most of these will be addressed in time.

Speaking of tutorials, I highly recommend the YouTube channel Cannae Gaming - the creator Mark has a very informative series on WiS.

The power of terrain in defense. The power of massed artillery. The importance of morale and experience. The vital importance of logistics units to keep the troops supplied...and so many other mechanisms really make this system unique.

I knew very little about this conflict before I got the game and, oh boy, have I gotten an education! What a fascinating conflict! Here are some sources I have used to learn about it:

Books:
"The Spanish Civil War" by Hugh Thomas
"The Battle for Spain" by Antony Beevor

YouTube documentaries:
-"The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War" hosted by Kino Lorber
-A 6 part docuseries "The Spanish Civil War" hosted by Military Man
-"The Entire Spanish Civil War| The Prelude to the Second World War" hosted by WW2 Legends
-"The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)" hosted by Der Kommandant English

I did some posts on my AAR with a description and pictures much like a tutorial although I am limited to 4 pictures per post. I am willing to add more of those types of posts if people want them.

[PeteJC]

Ranger Joe - your AAR is excellent and very helpful. For me the best part is when you break down how to do the mechanics of the game. the strategy and story are nice but I m most interested in the nuts and bolts of how to actually play the game and how it works. Thanks

[CrusaderRex]

I did some posts on my AAR with a description and pictures much like a tutorial although I am limited to 4 pictures per post. I am willing to add more of those types of posts if people want them.

Oh yes, your AAR was instrumental in learning several of the games mechanics, especially how to manage LCU device changes
I'm looking forward to your pending treatise on leaders

I'm still struggling with what some of the devices actually do
Some examples:
Tractors [farm, landesa, pavesi, caminera] - do they help engineering units or are they used to tow artillery?
What is the difference between a support squad and a service squad?
What is the difference between aviation support and airfield support device?

Also does anyone know what the "ARM" value is in the device information screen?

[melvi]

Also does anyone know what the "ARM" value is in the device information screen?

I bet ARMament points from industry in more complex economy models?
Regards:
Melvi

[CrusaderRex]

I bet ARMament points from industry in more complex economy models?
Regards:
Melvi

Ah yes. I think that is it, thanks!