Icarus Mod, Versions 6 and 7 in Preliminary Release

[OldCrowBalthazor]

There are few US/French scripts activating with American units 5 hexes from Paris. I think it can be safely ~8 hexes from Paris, to include wider front, whenever US units might want to pop up.

I am not sure what is flu epidemic status now. But there was nothing in France. Some small hits to ports in US in early 1918, I think, but that was all.

AH industrial production expands to quite impressive values, especially with some Balkans etc. I think they could have 1 less industrial tech max level? In later stages they can easily be >400 MPPs, like 3x Italy, almost France.

There is some weirdness with Syria after Otto surrender. When armistice is signed, but some other CP units are trapped in Syria, whatever resources those CP units occupy cannot be taken back by Ents Units just cannot move into such resources.

Hi. Hey mdsmall overseas for awhile. When he gets back I will also let him know about what you found.

[mdsmall]

There are few US/French scripts activating with American units 5 hexes from Paris. I think it can be safely ~8 hexes from Paris, to include wider front, whenever US units might want to pop up.

I am not sure what is flu epidemic status now. But there was nothing in France. Some small hits to ports in US in early 1918, I think, but that was all.

AH industrial production expands to quite impressive values, especially with some Balkans etc. I think they could have 1 less industrial tech max level? In later stages they can easily be >400 MPPs, like 3x Italy, almost France.

There is some weirdness with Syria after Otto surrender. When armistice is signed, but some other CP units are trapped in Syria, whatever resources those CP units occupy cannot be taken back by Ents Units just cannot move into such resources.

Hi Beriand,

Thanks as always for the feedback. As Old Crow notes, I am travelling at the moment but have some access to wifi. Here are my initial reactions to your comments.

- France gets a 2000 NM point bonus when the USA has three corps within 5 hexes of Paris - in other words, that they have landed 3 corps at Le Havre. I think this is the right range for this script: for the French troops and the public to feel that the US Army has really arrived, they have to be close enough to the main front in Belgium and eastern France.

- The trigger for the arrival of U.S. heavy and field artillery is also having three corps within 5 hexes of Paris. This makes sense as they are being acquired to support the advance wave of U.S. troops.

- The range for a morale bonus for the presence of US troops for all other Entente armies in France is 8 hexes from Paris. That covers almost all of the western front from Epinal to Flanders. I could expand this a bit to 9 hexes to cover all of Alsace Lorraine. But if for example the Entente player sent all of the U.S army to Italy, I don't think that would boost the morale of other Entente troops on the Western Front.

- The flu scripts are still there in all the recent versions of Icarus. But they are not very strong: they only fire if an Entente unit is one of the affected ports on a specific turn. I could make them stronger, but they are mostly there for historical colour. If I really wanted to represent the Spanish flu, it should start reducing German and Austro-Hungarian national morale heavily in late 1918, and I did not want to make the outcome of the end-game subject to such a random factor.

- That's an interesting observation about Austria-Hungary. I think the way to deal with it is not to give them a lower Industrial tech limit than other powers (all powers have a limit of 3 in the mod), but to raise AH's industrial modifier from 85 perhaps to 100, so that the net increment of each tech investment is somewhat reduced.

- I tried a test after an Ottoman armistice with some other CP units stranded in Syria and could not see the weirdness that you describe. If those forces evacuated resources in Syria which they occupied, the Entente could move in behind them. Perhaps you could describe this further, or post a screenshot. Nevertheless, it is weird that German or AH units fighting in the Middle East in support of the Ottomans would survive as a fighting force after an Ottoman armistice. They would probably be forced to surrender to the Entente and would be held as prisoner until the end of the war. I will look into writing some scripts for the next iteration of the mod which will replicate that.

Cheers, Michael (currently travelling in the former Ottoman Empire, between Antep and Diyarbakir)

[Beriand]

So Syria is just Entente country:


Homs and some hexes there are 'CP occupied':


Ents cannot move into the occupied territory:


Because it is occupied by armisticed-Ottoman Empire...:


I think this is because of Expeditionary Corps units.

- That's an interesting observation about Austria-Hungary. I think the way to deal with it is not to give them a lower Industrial tech limit than other powers (all powers have a limit of 3 in the mod), but to raise AH's industrial modifier from 85 perhaps to 100, so that the net increment of each tech investment is somewhat reduced.

I did not understand the above. By itself it gives AH even more moniez?

[Edelweiss93]

I wanted to ask what the recommended settings are for single-player (difficulty level). I would be playing as the Central Powers.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

I wanted to ask what the recommended settings are for single-player (difficulty level). I would be playing as the Central Powers.

I would try Veteran.

[Edelweiss93]

I wanted to ask what the recommended settings are for single-player (difficulty level). I would be playing as the Central Powers.

I would try Veteran.

Thx OldCrowBalthazor, i will try it.
By the way, great youtube channel and great gameplay. Looking forward for the next episode today.

[Morsey]

Hello, my friend and I are playing mirror games. We started one over, and when I hosted the game, it shows red in the open challenges; I posted another game, and the same thing. What is the fix for this?

[mdsmall]

Hello, my friend and I are playing mirror games. We started one over, and when I hosted the game, it shows red in the open challenges; I posted another game, and the same thing. What is the fix for this?

Hi Morsey - you are probably using a slightly older version of the latest version of the mod. I do small updates to correct glitches as I find them, and make a note of it here. I am about to do another small update. I suggest you wait 24 hours till you see my note here and then download the mod again. Have your friend do the same thing.

Cheers,

Michael

[mdsmall]

Ents cannot move into the occupied territory:


Because it is occupied by armisticed-Ottoman Empire...:


I think this is because of Expeditionary Corps units.

Hi Beriand - this is puzzling. I have tried a couple of hot seat tests when the Ottomans sign an armistice and can not replicate the situation you have shown above in your screen shots. I do not believe that if the Expeditionary Corps were occupying Homs before the Ottoman armistice that makes any difference.

Bill - any suggestions as to what might be causing this situation?

[mdsmall]

I have made a small update to the files for both Icarus campaigns to ensure that the following scripts fire correctly:
- mobilization of the Greek navy if it enters the war;
- mobilization of the Greek corps in Kalamata;
- no NM penalty for Russia if the British intervention force is removed after the Bolshevik Revolution;
- timing of DEs for Russia and Austria-Hungary to spend MPPs to raise national morale at NM below 40% and 25%;
- Russia only surrenders when NM reaches 0 if Germany rejects DE for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk;

The files for both the 1914 and 1916 campaigns can be found in my Dropbox link above in this thread. Latest versions of the files are dated June 13, 2026.

[mdsmall]

Hi Beriand - you are right. Increasing the industrial modifier for AH will raise, not reduce, their income. I will look into other ways of slightly slowing down Austria-Hungary in the later stages of the war. The disparity in its economy versus Italy is particularly striking once Russia has left the war.

Cheers,

Michael

[Tauingers]

Just to confirm I’m understanding this correctly can national morale swings only trigger once per Objective? I captured Paris and Nancy, lost them again in the same turn, then retook them, but didn’t gain any national morale the second time.

[mdsmall]

Just to confirm I’m understanding this correctly can national morale swings only trigger once per Objective? I captured Paris and Nancy, lost them again in the same turn, then retook them, but didn’t gain any national morale the second time.

That's right. Not every NM objective is reversible (see the section in the Guide to the mod for the list). But for those that are, they swing only once each direction. After that there is nothing further to be lost or gained in terms of national morale in recapturing them. So, if you are the attacker, it is better to wait till you can capture an objective like Nancy with enough force to be able to hold it against enemy counter-attacks. Hope this helps.

Michael

[gregb41352]

Just a quick note to express my thanks to the mod creator. This is a pretty major and very much appreciated work. The amount of research and dedication taken to produce this is extraordinary. I taught WWI era history for many years. I'm now 75 years old but still able to enjoy this mod. Thank you.

[mdsmall]

Just a quick note to express my thanks to the mod creator. This is a pretty major and very much appreciated work. The amount of research and dedication taken to produce this is extraordinary. I taught WWI era history for many years. I'm now 75 years old but still able to enjoy this mod. Thank you.

Thank you for your kind words about the mod. It has been a huge amount of work over the past five years to develop it and test it, so I am pleased that new players are continuing finding the mod and are enjoying it.

I have another limited update in mind which I expect to release in the next couple of weeks as Version 7.2. While mods are never final, I think Icarus has now reached a reasonable level of maturity.

All the best,

Michael

[mdsmall]

Proposed Changes for Icarus Version 7.2

After some more play-testing with hannaj, I have come up with a number of further adjustments to the mod. Before updating the game files in my drop-box, I thought I would list what I have in mind here, so that players who are familiar with the mod can offer questions and comments. I will be happy to take player feedback into account. Suggestions for other adjustments to the mod would also be very welcome at this time.

The following are my proposed changes, listed roughly in order of importance. None of them fundamentally change the mod, but they can make a difference in certain theatres of the war.

1) The alternate minor victory conditions for the Central Powers proposed in earlier versions of the mod (based on the timing of U.S. war entry) have been removed. The remaining CP Minor Victory conditions remain unchanged (i.e. at the end of the last CP turn on November 2, 1918, all three CP majors are still in the war, Serbia has surrendered, and the CP control Warsaw, Verdun (both hexes) and Paris).

Comment: the previous alternate victory conditions proved unworkable and were unrealistic. In order for the Central Powers to secure any degree of victory, France would have to be on its knees by the end of the war.

2) In the regular game, Russia can be forced to surrender if Germany does not send Lenin to Russia and then Russian NM drops below 1%, or both of its capitals (Petrograd and Moscow) are captured. In this version of the mod, it is effectively impossible for Russia to surrender. A second alternate capital has been added to Russia, in Samara on the edge of the Urals, which should be impossible to capture before Russian NM drops below 1%. If Russian NM drops below 1% (without Lenin), Russia will now sign an armistice with the Central Powers. The effects of the armistice will be the same as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, except that Germany will receive 100 MPPs in indemnity payments from Russia for ten turns, rather than just three. Also, the Central Powers will suffer none of the NM effects of Bolshevik agitation, including upon return home after the armistice. The consequences of the decision to send Lenin or not are elaborated in the Notes in this DE-618 for Germany.

Comment: it seemed completely unrealistic that Wilhelmine Germany (as opposed to Axis Germany) would ever want to occupy and administer all of Russia after defeating it. These armistice terms are a more plausible outcome. It should also make the option of not sending Lenin to Russia more attractive for Germany to consider.

3) The Ottoman Empire now has an alternate capital in Angora. The NM cost of losing Constantinople has been raised to 7500 points (up from 5000).

Comment: the Ottoman Empire was the only major which did not have an alternate capital. Adding Angora will make it impossible for the Entente to force the Ottomans to surrender through a surprise amphibious attack against Constantinople. However, the Ottomans will suffer a huge loss of prestige if Constantinople is ever taken and they cannot win back these lost NM points.

4) Mountain divisions now only receive a 1 point bonus attacking when against hard and soft targets in mountain hexes (rather than 2). The will also receive a 1 point action point bonus if they start a turn on a mountain or high mountain hex.

Comment: mountain division were previously over-powered when fighting against corps in mountain hexes, especially given their cheaper cost. The extra movement point will enable them to move into mountain hexes in enemy zones of control when they are supply of 5 or below. Note that this will also give mountain divisions starting in mountain hexes an extra movement point when moving through clear terrain (this is hard coded into the game engine).

5) German stormtroopers now have the same 30% bonus for a prepared attack as other corps. But they will gain 0.25 points of experience per successful attack, rather than 0.15 points.

Comment: After experimenting with many different formulas for modelling stormtroopers, I have decided to stick with using a dedicated tech to build them. The downside is that new stormtrooper units arrive with no experience. This change is intended to rectify that as they gain more experience when attacking.

6) Persia will swing 50% towards the Entente if the Entente liberate Mesopotamia (by capturing Baghdad and Basra). It will swing 45% towards the Entente if Armenia, Georgia or Azerbaijan surrender to the Central Powers.

Comment: these changes are meant to make it possible for the U.K. to send Dunsterforce through Persia to Azerbaijan, if the Central Powers make a push for Baku.

7) After the Second Revolution, Russian expeditionary forces in the Middle East will lose 1-2 points in attrition and 25-50% in morale on a 75% chance each turn. Romanian units fighting in Russia (i.e. outside of Romania) will desert at the same rate every turn. After the Second Revolution, the desertion scripts for CP forces and other Entente forces in Russia will fire on a 10% chance every turn (rather than just once).

Comment: the assumption here is that once the Bolsheviks seize power, Russian commanders fighting in the Middle East would no longer be able to count on the loyalty of their troops; nor would Romanian forces feel as motivated to fight in Russia for the Bolshevik regime.

8) Udine is no longer an NM objective for Austria-Hungary (however it remains one for Italy). Italy now gains only 500 NM points for capturing Bruneck or Klagenfurt (rather than 1000 points each).

Comment: these changes are intended to slightly reduce the NM impact of losses on either side of the Italian front. As it is, it remains the richest front in terms of NM objectives in a confined area.

9) If the Ottoman Empire signs an armistice or surrenders, France will now earn 2000 NM points.

Comment: this change reflects the fact that France had significant territorial ambitions in the Middle East, which could be realized if the Ottoman Empire withdrew from the war.

10) Russia and Serbia are now blocked from investing diplomatic chits in the Netherlands. This will balance the maximum number of diplomacy chits which both sides can invest in the Netherlands at 13 (until the USA enters the war).

Comment: given the importance of food imports from the Netherlands for Germany, this reduces the Entente's ability to use its superiority in diplomatic chits from out-spending the Central Powers there.

11) The French DE to strengthen the Romanian armed forces (DE 209) will now provide a half strength field artillery unit (rather than a half strength corps), as well as a half strength recon bomber. They will arrive in Romania in four turns at a cost of 50 MPPs per turn for four turns. Romania's build capacity for both field artillery and recon bombers has been reduced to 0 (which still allows them to buy back these units if destroyed).

Comment: although slower and more expensive than the previous version of this DE, the addition of a field artillery unit paid for by France can give Romania an offensive capability which Russia may not be able to afford.

12) U.S. DE 513 now includes a French fighter as well as a U.S. recon bomber.

Comment: France has more reasons to invest in fighter tech than the U.S.A. and U.S. army pilots in France largely flew in French aircraft.

14) Some of the partisan spawning hexes in Arabia have been moved to ensure that there are at least two hexes between each spawning hex. The number of potential spawning points has been reduced by two, but the maximum number of Arab partisans remains the same at 6.

Comment: this change was made to prevent Ottoman units, especially those guarding Medina and Ha'il, from suppressing two P hexes at one time. This should make it harder to completely suppress the Arab Revolt.

15) Bulgaria will sign an armistice and withdraw from the war if German NM falls below 10% (or 20% if YES to DE-707 returning eastern Macedonia to Greece), provided that there are no Entente units within four hexes of Sofia or Adrianople.

Comment: The assumption here is that the Bulgarians will withdraw from the war if it is going badly and they do not feel threatened. This prevents a Bulgarian armistice from blocking Entente units that may be invading Bulgaria from be able to threaten threatening Constantinople.

16) If the U.S.A sends a punitive expedition to Mexico (in response to the Zimmerman telegram), once a cease-fire is in place one American mine and one oil well will increase to full production in anticipation of a future war with the Central Powers. (This replaces a previous bonus of 50 MPPs per turn). The remaining the U.S. mines and oil wells will mobilize as normal when the U.S. enters the war.

Comment: a 50 MPP bonus every turn seemed too big a bonus for the USA in this situation.

17) After the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses, the newly independent states of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia will swing only once, by 33-50% towards the Entente, rather than joining the Entente after 2-3 turns.

Comment: I could not see why the regular game has these newly independent states automatically joining the Entente. If this happens after Russia has left the war, it can create some weird situations which would encourage Germany to invade them.

18) The units scripts for Persia have been adjusted so that the garrison in Kazvin and the garrison in Qom will always mobilize for Persia, if the Persian Cossack cavalry division on Tehran defects to Russia when Persia is attacked by the Entente. The Persian Cossack division will no longer defect to the U.K. if the Entente DOWs Persia after Russia withdraws from the war.

Comment: the changes in the Persian garrison scripts will ensure that the Entente cannot move into Tehran and force Persia to surrender without facing some resistance from Persian forces.

19) The Western Frontier force which the U.K. can deploy in Egypt (through DE-117) is now a half strength cavalry division, rather than a full strength detachment.

Comment: this better reflects the actual composition of the Western Frontier Force. A cavalry division will be more useful for the U.K. in combatting the Senussi partisans than another detachment.

20) The British Armoured Car Expeditionary Force now forms in France and deploys in Le Havre on September 16, 1916 (rather than arriving in Arkhangelsk in June 1916). This U.K. DE now costs 75 MPPs for one turn, plus the costs of transporting the force to its chosen destination.

Comment: this change gives the Entente the option of deciding where to send the armoured car expeditionary force (rather than having it always arrive in Russia). The date of its arrival has been pushed back by a season for game balance reasons.

21) Liberated Arabia, Libya and Morocco cannot build amphibious transports.

Comment: it is unrealistic that these largely partisan forces would have any amphibious capabilities.

22) A script has been added to ensure that the Italian garrison will always mobilize in Benghazi before Senussi rebels can move into the town.

23) Russian Women's Battalion now arrives as a full strength detachment, rather than a half strength one.

Comment: this seems better for value for money for a DE that costs 50 MPPs.

24) In the eastern Ottoman Empire, two high mountain hexes have been added for the Pontic Alps and one in Russian Caucasus for Mount Aragats. Erzurum and hex 229,105 on the road to Kars are now hill hexes; hex 227,206 on the road From Erzurum to Erzincan is now a clear terrain hex. The hexes along the Black Sea coast from hex 224,104 to the Russian border are all now mountain hexes.

Comment: these changes reflect the actual terrain of this region. The Black Sea coast around Trabzon is very mountainous and the Pontic Alps should be difficult to cross. On the other hand, the plateau between Kars and Erzurum is a more accessible highway into eastern Anatolia.

25) Erzurum is back to being a city (not a fortified town). Mus is now a town (not a city). Diyarbakir is now a city (not a town).

Comment: this better reflects the regional importance of Erzurum and its relative lack of fortifications. It makes more sense to have the only other city in eastern Anatolia be Diyarkbakir, which occupies a strategic position at cross-roads towards Antep and into Mesopotamia, rather than Mus, which is not on any route of advance.

[Taaff]

No reduction in Austrian industrial ramp up? or did I miss it?

[mdsmall]

No reduction in Austrian industrial ramp up? or did I miss it?

Hi Taaf - thanks for reminding me about that issue first raised by Beriand. No, it is not included in the above changes. But that remains a possibility - that's why I posted this notice for comment.

I have not really noticed the growth in AH's economy being an issue. From my reading, it had a considerably larger economy and industrial base than Italy in this period. Given the other penalties I have placed on AH - such as capping their tech in Command and Control at 1 and the various NM costs that grow over time, I am reluctant to cap their industry as well. Also, other players have commented that the game is somewhat weighted against the CP. But I will be interested in your views on the need for this.

Michael

[Cfant]

Your changes sound very reasonable! One thing I'm thinking about is a few coastal guns. As it is now, the Entente can easily block (and with Uboats sink without danger for themselves) the A-H fleet. And the Germans can do the same with the Russian fleet. Giving the Russians a coastal gun at the start near e.g. Helsinki and the Austrians at the Adriatic coast could help to conter that.
Because when there is MPP and time to buy a coastal gun, the harm is often done already.

[mdsmall]

Hi Chris - that's an interesting suggestion about coastal guns. I have looked into how to make ships less vulnerable in ports to enemy attack, especially by subs, for exactly the reasons you have mentioned. The only way I have found is to agree on a house rule that a given port can only be attacked by enemy subs once per turn. Even so, since ports can't inflict damage on subs, an attack is still 0-0 which means the subs will sometime score a hit. But at least it will slow down the ability of the Germans to destory the Russian fleet in port. The AH fleet in the Adriatic is vulnerable too, though in their case more to seaplane attack by the Entente which can get better odds against targets in port than subs.