A Question about battle ending before designated amount of turns

[Melvin]

There's something I've been wondering for a while. I hope someone could clarify it for me a bit.

I was playing Heroes of the Motherland mission 2. My tactic was to make a perimeter of at-guns and infantry to welcome the germans. I thought after I'd destroyed some enemy tanks I'd counter attack with my own tank force from their flank.

However, what really happened was: I'd destroyed a bit more than one third of the enemy vehicles and was ready to counter attack when the game suddenly ended a draw. The turn was 8/15. The enemys force morale broke, but I had only one of the four victory hexes.

So how come it ended? I know the game is supposed to end when the enemy's force morale is broken but I thought you also had to have all the victory hexes. It was a bit annoying because I thought I could've taken the rest of the flags by counter attacking the remaining turns (and thus getting a better score).

//Melvin

[Resisti]

were the other three VHs neutral?
I think the AI must owe at least one, to avoid the "sudden death" syndrome.
This is why some designers now place a VH, with very low value, in AI's hands and in a place that is very difficult for the human player to reach.

[Melvin]

The AI had the other three VH's.


//Melvin

[Jim1954]

Did this apply?

• The “Force Broken” status has been revised. IF 2/3 of your units are dead, routed, or
reduced to 50% strength or less, their force morale can be “broken”. This also requires
the AO to fail a morale check (Die(120> morale). Any turn in which theses conditions
apply and the AO fails this check, and one side has the preponderance of victory hexes,
the game can end before the allotted. Scenario designers can mitigate this by giving the
A0 120 morale and the player protecting it. In addition to the possible early end of the
game, he effect of Force Morale breaking is to add suppression to every unit in the force
at the end of each turn.

[Melvin]

I think that it applied otherwise except for the victory hexes. The enemy had less than half of it's units destroyed but many were routed.

The thing that puzzles me is the victory hexes -condition. It didn't apply. I had one of four hexes and the AI had the rest.

Is it possible that the campaign author made some special rules?

//Melvin

[Resisti]

ORIGINAL: Melvin

Is it possible that the campaign author made some special rules?

//Melvin

I don't think so.

Do you remember if there were any EXIT victory hexes? I saw some scens abruptedly ending, when such type of victory hexes are present on map...

[Jim1954]

I remember something from somewhere that said if you inflicted a disproportionate amount of damage (huge) on your opponent in a very short period of time, you might break the enemy's morale.

[Melvin]

ORIGINAL: Resisti

Do you remember if there were any EXIT victory hexes? I saw some scens abruptedly ending, when such type of victory hexes are present on map...

What are those? I'm not sure but I think they were all normal ones. They were four single flags (not groups of 4-5 flags) scattered accross the map.

Maybe it's possible that the v. 8.01 is messing it somehow. I mean isn't that an older campaign?

//Melvin

[Voriax]

Exit hexes give points for each unit that exit map via such hex. You can identify them by hovering the cursor over the flag and checking the info. Afaik exit hex type scenarios never end prematurely as exit hexes do not change ownership, therefore there is always one or more hexes under enemy control.

I have a very, very vague feeling that it is possible that the AI decides that the battle is 'hopeless' even though it has some victory hexes. Kinda like it calculates that it is impossible to gain any further VH's. This may just be my imagination so don't take it as a gospel [8D]

Or, it just may be a bug related to an old campaign. Or just a random, unexplainable bug. Those happen, now and then.

Voriax