Bugs

[bott.2]

I have noticed that the game sometimes will not zero in on intercepted naval units and resulting naval battles. Instead, I have to move the cursor to find the battle hex.

[jpinard]

This is from 1.09 so I don't know if this carries over to 1.10. I had a Russian Sub I placed SW of Copenhagen. He got hit and retreated into the spot shown. From there I was not able to move him. Not being able to budge , the German AI over successive turns sent in his Destroyers to finish him off.

[sPzAbt653]

As the Axis player against the Allied computer, I similarly trapped a UK sub in the canal and destroyed it.

[Hubert Cater]

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

As the Axis player against the Allied computer, I similarly trapped a UK sub in the canal and destroyed it.

Thanks and this should be fixed now on my end and for the next update.

[jpinard]

ORIGINAL: Hubert Cater

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

As the Axis player against the Allied computer, I similarly trapped a UK sub in the canal and destroyed it.

Thanks and this should be fixed now on my end and for the next update.

Wow, you are fast!!! Excellent!

[TheBattlefield]

ORIGINAL: TheBattlefield


Suddenly the paratroopers have maintained their airplane symbols and the Nato symbol had disappeared completely!

After a jump the paras still remain in the "flight mode". (v1.00.10a)

[Mithrilotter]

Soviet paratroopers can't attack. The number of strikes line is also missing when one examines the unit.

[xwormwood]

I've started a 1.10 game as Axis against the Allied AI (exp. lvl,+10% income), and did - nothing.
Just to find out what might happen.
Right now I've reached July 20th, 1940.
France did - nothing but some naval movements.
The UK did - the very same
Poland did take Danzig and some minor movements in South-Western Poland.
Russia declared war on Germany. And I guess this only because of a bug I've found. Even though Germany never conquered Poland, the USSR war entry gets triggered because Germany didn't garrissoned 5 units around Warsaw. This clock should only start to click once or if Germany defeated Poland, which never happened in my game.

Suggestion 1: add some additional "phoney war", "Sitzkrieg" and " Drôle de guerre" pop-ups while France & UK are at war with Germany, with no German units on French hexes, while Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy are at peace.
Suggestion 2: remove most of the German fortifications opposing the Maginot line. The German Westwall / Siegfried line was more or less a propaganda building, and not at all the strong fortification line which Goebbels wanted the world to believe. This would make a French attack more likely IF Germany remains inactive in the west.

[xwormwood]

Just for the record: August 1940 brought & saw the start of a French offensive into Germany (Russian units need still more time to reach the German border. Hint: Russian AI should only declare war when it is READY to attack = units next to the border).

[xwormwood]

Ok, now the world went nuts: the UK declared war against Belgium, France protests against it (???), Italy was angered about that (why?) and joined the Axis (again: why? Russia declared war on Germany, Poland is still intact, and if the UK starts war, Italy can't be blamed to do the same in Africa).
End of the Allied turn brough the pop-up that German forces conquered Eben-Emael. Which wouldn't be necessary, considering the Fact that Belgium is at war with France & the UK and therefor an Axis power!
If Germany fails to conquer Poland or any other european country, Italy should stay out of the war. I guess Italy would have rather joined the Allies if there would have been some easy gains to achieve (Austria / Yugoslavia), but I guess even Mussolini would have refuced to joined a lost cause like an unsucessfull German war.

And Germany itself? I guess it might have started to remove the entire Nazi party from power under such circumstances. Hitler and his gang wouldn't have had anything to show, no revenge, no glory, just complete disaster.
You could add some major National Morale losses if Poland never has fallen, France is intact AND Russia has joined the Allies.


edit: September 1940: Japan, Germany and Italy form the triparte. Pop up shouldn't happen under these circumstances.

[sPzAbt653]

and did - nothing. Just to find out what might happen.

The 1939 Campaign is designed specifically for the first move to be Poland conquered by Germany. Otherwise, many things will not work properly, by design. So everything you have reported in the last three posts are non issues. Or did I miss your point ?

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: Xwormwood

Even though Germany never conquered Poland, the USSR war entry gets triggered because Germany didn't garrissoned 5 units around Warsaw. This clock should only start to click once or if Germany defeated Poland, which never happened in my game.

We've always had it in the game, ever since the days of SC1 in fact, that a delayed conquest of Poland would make Stalin mobilize, slowly but surely. Stalin knew war with Hitler was inevitable and signs of weakness from the Axis will stimulate his desire to get it out of the way.

I'm honestly not sure how likely what you've playtested is to happen in an actual game, though it's certainly been useful in spotting the Eben Emael problem. [:)]

So I'll have a look at Eben Emael but I'm not sure what else really does need changing given that even the AI can knock Poland out of the war before the end of 1939.

The rest are diplomatic reactions to discourage unhistorical declarations of war, including having the British and French populations react against an attack on Belgium that would have been considered disgraceful by those who had fought for Belgium's independence in 1914-18.

[EdwinP]

ORIGINAL: Xwormwood

I've started a 1.10 game as Axis against the Allied AI (exp. lvl,+10% income), and did - nothing.
Just to find out what might happen.
Right now I've reached July 20th, 1940.
France did - nothing but some naval movements.
The UK did - the very same
Poland did take Warsaw and some minor movements in South-Western Poland.
Russia declared war on Germany.

In one of my mods, the British/French DOW on Germany is a decision event.

If they remain neutral, after Poland falls:

1) USSR war readiness begins to climb.
2) Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia and Italy mobilization increases and they join the Axis within 2 to 4 turns.
3) If Germany attacks Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark or Norway, the UK and France enters the war.
4) Eventually the USSR will DOW Germany or Germany will DOW the USSR, this does not trigger an increase in UK/France mobilization.
5) Once Germany and the USSR are at war, British and French war readiness declines as they watch Germany and the Soviet Union battle each other.

Historically, this is what Germany originally planned for. They hoped that the UK and France would remain neutral so that they could focus on the Soviet Union.

[xwormwood]

@sPzAbt653

Yes, I guess you did miss my point.


Imagine a review where a tester does what I did. Imagine the game had no idea about what to do if the player refuse to attack Poland.
What I found are no real problems, they are incomplete storylines. If they get completed, of if they have to, is the decision of the designer of the campaign. But if he wants to find open holes, someone needs to report them. Thats what I did.

Look, the game gives the player absolute power to decide what and when he will do something. If you don't want to destroy the illusion of absolute power, you need to be prepared for even unhistorical ways to play the game. And if the game does have historical correct answers for a different course of war, and if a player finds out about this, you will truly have him excited about the game.

Thats was what I've tried: force the game to adjust to my decisions. As brainless as they might be, the game system should at least be able to work correctly. Good news is that it will find the right answers. Only some pop ups need to check one or two more things before they show, and Russian war readiness shouldn't rise from the lack of german garissons around Poland, nor should the strategy adivsor tell the german player to place garissons near Warsaw. While Poland still stands, Russia should be drawn into war by the German inabillity to conquer Poland and / or France. The strategy advise should be "finish Poland quickly, or else Russia will move toward war".

If no one test things like this, the game can't get better. Even if nothing will be changed because of lack of time or ressources, it is not a bad thing to know about the issues. Just in case that time and ressources will be ready, or for the next project.

[xwormwood]

ORIGINAL: Bill Runacre

ORIGINAL: Xwormwood

Even though Germany never conquered Poland, the USSR war entry gets triggered because Germany didn't garrissoned 5 units around Warsaw. This clock should only start to click once or if Germany defeated Poland, which never happened in my game.

We've always had it in the game, ever since the days of SC1 in fact, that a delayed conquest of Poland would make Stalin mobilize, slowly but surely. Stalin knew war with Hitler was inevitable and signs of weakness from the Axis will stimulate his desire to get it out of the way.

I'm honestly not sure how likely what you've playtested is to happen in an actual game, though it's certainly been useful in spotting the Eben Emael problem. [:)]

So I'll have a look at Eben Emael but I'm not sure what else really does need changing given that even the AI can knock Poland out of the war before the end of 1939.

The rest are diplomatic reactions to discourage unhistorical declarations of war, including having the British and French populations react against an attack on Belgium that would have been considered disgraceful by those who had fought for Belgium's independence in 1914-18.

Bill, the strategy advise assumed that Germany already won the war against Poland. At least it reads like it is not able to understand the current front lines. It is absolutely ok that Stalin moves toward war if Germany fails to achieve anything. I wouldn't want it any other way. Just try to avoid the impressions that the game engine isn't able to understand that Poland is still Poland, and not greater Germany.


Yes, I agree that it is unlikely that Poland remains alive for more than 4 or 5 turns. I just wanted to see what might happen, if the game would be able to handle the real war situation, or if it is too scripted to turn left where it should turn right because of the given situation.

Btw: the French reaction was a bit unclear to me. I assumed that the French General staff was upset about the British declaration of war against Belgium, coming from the fact that it only reads that the UK (and only the UK alone) declared war on Belgium. For a moment I wondered if only UK units would invade into Belgium.

[crispy131313]

Allied DOW on Belgium results in incorrect Pop up - Germany forces conquer Eben Emael.

[sPzAbt653]

This may be ok, but it looks a little odd. There appears to be a bridge over this fjord, but units can't move across it [a unit has to move around it, as the highlighted movement path indicates]. Units can't move straight across it to get the hex with the red circle in it. However, when the weather gets cold, units can cross, so maybe the fjord freezes ?

[EdwinP]

As the Allies I received two naval units and was able to place the Bulldog Destroyer in Hex 115,65 - in the middle of the Atlantic.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: EdwinP

As the Allies I received two naval units and was able to place the Bulldog Destroyer in Hex 115,65 - in the middle of the Atlantic.

It might be best to send a saved turn to Hubert, as that is a weird one.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: Xwormwood

@sPzAbt653

Yes, I guess you did miss my point.


Imagine a review where a tester does what I did. Imagine the game had no idea about what to do if the player refuse to attack Poland.
What I found are no real problems, they are incomplete storylines. If they get completed, of if they have to, is the decision of the designer of the campaign. But if he wants to find open holes, someone needs to report them. Thats what I did.

Look, the game gives the player absolute power to decide what and when he will do something. If you don't want to destroy the illusion of absolute power, you need to be prepared for even unhistorical ways to play the game. And if the game does have historical correct answers for a different course of war, and if a player finds out about this, you will truly have him excited about the game.

Thats was what I've tried: force the game to adjust to my decisions. As brainless as they might be, the game system should at least be able to work correctly. Good news is that it will find the right answers. Only some pop ups need to check one or two more things before they show, and Russian war readiness shouldn't rise from the lack of german garissons around Poland, nor should the strategy adivsor tell the german player to place garissons near Warsaw. While Poland still stands, Russia should be drawn into war by the German inabillity to conquer Poland and / or France. The strategy advise should be "finish Poland quickly, or else Russia will move toward war".

If no one test things like this, the game can't get better. Even if nothing will be changed because of lack of time or ressources, it is not a bad thing to know about the issues. Just in case that time and ressources will be ready, or for the next project.

Claus, I totally agree with you. [:)]

All testing is useful as it sometimes throws out odd things that might only occur in 1 in 1,000 games, but we don't want anyone's game spoiled by mistakes if we can help it. Perfection is impossible but we aim in that direction.

I will make a few changes as I hadn't realised at first that the Garrison Pop Ups were firing as well as the USSR's mobilization for not conquering Poland in 1939.

Eben Emael is now fixed too. [:)]