Matrix Games Forums

GeneralBalderdash wrote: Sat Jul 05, 2025 5:16 am After doing some more reading and sleeping on it -

Yudenich is back to lvl 6
Samsonov back to lvl 3
Evert reduced to lvl 3 from lvl 4

An alternative - which I considered - is changing Russia's command and control tech settings. After playing around with it, I left Russia with the same settings as the regular game i.e. they start at Level 1 in Command and Control. But in Icarus (unlike the regular game) they can't invest any chits to achieve a higher level.

You could start Russia at level 0 in C&C which would reduce the command bonus and command range of all of their HQs by 1. Or you could split the difference by adjusting the benefits to Russia only of C&C, so that their HQs get the extra command range but not the command bonus, or vice-versa. I found that weakened Russia too much and made them not sufficiently a threat to the CP in 1914 when Germany is concentrating on the West and AH is attacking Serbia. But you might want to check that out yourself.

Certainly Russia's generalship - especially in 1914 - was appalling. The only reason to start them at level 1 in C&C is for game balance reasons.

Yeah i thought about the C&C tech setting but decided to adjust the ratings instead - poor Samsonov - wasn't all his fault.

Though i've just read the section on Battle of Masurian Lakes and Von Rennenkampf didn't lose his whole army but has a lower command rating than Samsonov

Done some more reading and reinstated II Turkestan corps in Caucasus which makes 2 Turkestan corps (historically accurate) with one in the Caucasus where they did serve.

Am gonna start first game with an experienced player and see how it goes - he feels Russia starts too strong esp in hands of someone who knows what they're doing

though you've got me thinking now #facepalm - maybe could start with Russia having one chit invested in C&C (but not at lvl 1) - see how this firs game goes...

Anyone would like to test 6.8? I could play any side, one or two games. Intermediate level, preferably; expert starting-hyper-aggression will probably smash me, but could try anyway, I guess.

yep - i'll give u a game - see myself as an intermediate player - not played Icarus 6.8 b4 but looked at it - prefer to play CP if thats OK

Hi Michael,

am currently playing the 6.8 mod PBEM and getting the following errors

Start of every turn i get error msg

'could not find the following marker within the text/EN/map.txt file
#1150 - Klausenberg

Also at the end of replaying my opponents turn i can see the turn end screen which has all the countries MPP listed (he's Entente)

Also i moved a German unit to Novi Sad and the AH 2nd Army units then deployed in a very strange way - the HQ ended up in the mtns and one inf Corps that before deployed one hex SE now deployed 2 hexes NE

Pls advise

GeneralBalderdash wrote: Mon Jul 14, 2025 5:31 am Hi Michael,

am currently playing the 6.8 mod PBEM and getting the following errors

Start of every turn i get error msg

'could not find the following marker within the text/EN/map.txt file
#1150 - Klausenberg

Also at the end of replaying my opponents turn i can see the turn end screen which has all the countries MPP listed (he's Entente)

Also i moved a German unit to Novi Sad and the AH 2nd Army units then deployed in a very strange way - the HQ ended up in the mtns and one inf Corps that before deployed one hex SE now deployed 2 hexes NE

Pls advise

That's strange. It sounds like there is some error in the way the mod files on your computer (and possibly your opponent's) are interacting with the PBEM server. I do not see most of these issues (except the last one) when I start the mod in Hotseat mode. Perhaps Bill or Hubert can advise on where the trouble may lie.

I have set up a private challenge for you and I to see if the issues repeats. I will email you separately about starting that.

On the deployment of the AH 2nd Army, I made a very small change (for cosmetic purposes relating to the photos) and had the second AH HQ unit arrive on Temeschburg rather than Novi Sad. If you had a unit on Temeschburg at the end of the turn, then the engine would have sent the HQ into the mountains. The last of the three units belonging to the 2nd Army deploys as in the regular game on Arad which is two hexes north of Temeschburg. In a separate test, send the AH 2nd Army to Serbia again but make sure that Temeschburg is empty at the end of the first move.

Morning/afternoon/evening depending on where you are,

this issue with the error msgs seems resolved and was prob due to files being corrupted in some way during download. Deleting and reinstalling seemed to do the trick.

Thanks Michael for your help

Michael, why are my US troops losing hit points every turn in Europe?

Hi Morsey - there was a coding glitch in a Strength script in version 6.7 of the mod which had that effect. But I thought I had corrected it in Version 6.8. I hope you are playing an older version of the mod. Regret I won’t be able to check this till August 6 when I get back home to my game computer.

Michael

Michael, I am playing 6.7, will fit to 6.8 now.

Thanks

I didn't play mod or have much time in base game either but why would anyone build field artillery if this is the case , can someone explain? : ==>


Field Artillery units have a range of 2 hexes, 3 APs, a maximum of 6 shells after upgrades. They cost 250 MPPs and take three turns to build. They have a base demoralization rate of 5% and a maximum of 15% per shell after upgrades.

Heavy Artillery units have a range of 3 hexes, 2 APs and a maximum of 8 shells after upgrades. They cost 300 MPPs and take four turns to build. They have a base demoralization rate of 10% and a maximum of 20% per shell after upgrades.

Players build field artillery because there are tight build limits on heavy artillery (max 7 for Entente and 6 for CP). And the de-entrenchment effects are the same which is the most important effect of artillery. The extra action point is also helpful in theatres with rough terrain and dispersed defensive points, e.g. most of the Ottoman Empire and in the later stages of the CP push into Russia.

mdsmall wrote: Mon Jul 28, 2025 8:21 pm Players build field artillery because there are tight build limits on heavy artillery (max 7 for Entente and 6 for CP). And the de-entrenchment effects are the same which is the most important effect of artillery. The extra action point is also helpful in theatres with rough terrain and dispersed defensive points, e.g. most of the Ottoman Empire and in the later stages of the CP push into Russia.

thank you for clearing this for me.

Hello
I am take Kiev in 1916 and nothing event, maybe event of create Ukraine State or Grain effect to stop naval blockade?
Stefan

StefanKreis wrote: Thu Jul 31, 2025 7:07 am Hello
I am take Kiev in 1916 and nothing event, maybe event of create Ukraine State or Grain effect to stop naval blockade?
Stefan

Hi Stefan - the only thing that is guaranteed to happen when the Central Powers take Kiev is that Russia loses 2000 NM points. The creation of Ukraine as an independent state and shipments of grain to the Central Powers only happens once Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. And that only happens if Lenin has been sent to Russia first by the Central Powers and Russian national morale drops to 12%. It is the same in the regular game.

Cheers,

Michael

Michael, what changes were made in 6.8 compared to 6.7 as far as the US mobilization? I found that the US mobilization was much better, as the US could purchase technology leading up to its entry into the war. Except for US units getting whacked with a loss of strength points each turn, I thought it was pretty good.

Morsey wrote: Wed Aug 06, 2025 1:26 pm Michael, what changes were made in 6.8 compared to 6.7 as far as the US mobilization? I found that the US mobilization was much better, as the US could purchase technology leading up to its entry into the war. Except for US units getting whacked with a loss of strength points each turn, I thought it was pretty good.

Hi Morsey - You can see my explanation of all those changes in Version 6.8 at the top of the my post earlier in this thread (on page 6) from June 15, 2025. U.S. mobilization should start to increase significantly in 1917, depending on what is happening in Russia and if Germany has begun unrestricted naval warfare. In Version 6.8, this should still allow the U.S. to invest in key technologies before they enter the war. If you reduce the % of the U.S. convoy to the UK for a few turns, that will also give them additional resources for this purpose. I retained the new DEs introduced in Version 6.7 allowing the U.S. to build up a significant army to send to Europe after war entry.

Michael

thanks

Hi - It turns out there were a couple of significant glitches in the new scripts which I introduced in Version 6.8 to offset NM point gains for captured major power resources. Beriand kindly caught these and brought them to my attention. I have now corrected them and have updated the Icarus Version 6.8 files for both 1914 and 1916 campaigns in my Dropbox.

If you are planning on play-testing Version 6.8, I recommend downloading the current versions of the files. You can tell by looking at the date for the .cgn files. They should be dated August 8, 2025.

Michael