Is this an updated Axis and Allies?

[1LTRambo]

I have been following the Empires in Arms forum and have not been following this forum. I received Axis and Allies back when it came out in like 1982 as a gift and loved playing it as a child. However, I find the battle resolution to be very disturbing as an adult and experienced soldier. I have played Empires in Arms from Avalon Hill as the board game and I eagerly await its release. This game I'm not familiar with and understand that it is not going to be released until Feb 05. Can somebody clue me in on this game? Is it an updated form of Axis and Allies released by Milton bradley or is it totally different?[&:]

[paullus99]

Totally different - take a look through the AAR's above to get an idea. Unlike A&A, there is a logistical model involved & production is much, much better. It's like night and day.

[1LTRambo]

Ok. I'll read the AAR's, but can someone be more specific?

[paullus99]

Read the FAQ as well (example quoted below):

- Is this game similar to A&A (Axis and Allies) and HOI (Hearts of Iron)?

First off this is turn based, not continuous like HOI. Second it is area based, with over 350 areas, not hex based like Clash of Steel/etc. The best way I can describe it by using an existing game would be to say to combine Axis & Allies Europe and Axis & Allies Pacific, fill in the rest of the world, add depth and detail to the units so they have more attributes and that these attributes can be changed via research. A bit more complexity is added in terms of production, strategic movement, supplies (especially with the "advanced" supply rules on) and rules for many things that were never covered in A&A (partisans being an example). In addition, we hope the AI will be light years ahead of the AI in the computer version of A&A, and in fact we believe our current AI is already much stronger than the AI in A&A.

As for production, we deal with factories (industry), resources (oil is a big part of this) and manpower. It takes these three items to create units (including supplies), repair damaged units, and research (manpower not needed on research). As an example, Japan starts with 21 industry points per turn, but only about a dozen resources, so they need to capture resources. Some of their resources come from trade with neutral countries, some comes from occupied China, and some comes from the United States. There are some things that Japan can do to capture more resources without going to war with the Western Allies, however they may end up losing the resources that the US provides them. In any event until the Japanese can capture the resources in the areas they took in late 41/eary 42 (and until they spend supplies to repair the damaged facilities that they capture), they will find themselves falling far short of their theoretical maximum production.

Also, by having the need to build supplies instead of just building military units, along with special use of supplies (fuel) by armored units and large warships, we have dealt with the items you've mentioned. We've kept it simple, but the factors are all there.

[Sabuesillo]

I hope it's NOT like the recent A&A which in my humble opinions has one of the worst AI's I've ever experienced at the strategic level!