Icarus Mod, Versions 6 and 7 in Preliminary Release

[shri]

So, my views-
1. Torpedo boats, maybe reduce it to 1 for all except UK and Ger.

2. Keep entrenchment as it is, Russia with level 5 trenches is a-historical, historically entire Fortress Poland fell extremely easily, was almost a cakewalk as compared to the supposed 3 layered defensive labyrinth. Russia should be brittle and keep leaking men/corps.

3. Keep the level 3 HQs as it is. As it is, CP has only 1 attacker faction - Germany, the Entente has 3, though UK takes time to pick steam and Russia loses it by then (or France is losing by then), so theoretically 2.

4. Get Storm Troopers in 4 waves in 1916 (1 wave) and 1917 (2 waves) and final wave in start of 1918, in Berlin (and surrounding hexes) by decisions. Fully upgraded. But just 2 Corps in each wave, for a total of 8 corps. They should start with level 2 (irrespective of research and with at least 2 extra attack and 1 extra defense as compared to normal corps and with 2 experience pips) and at 11 strength, but once destroyed, not being able to rebuild.
These were literally irreplaceable troops and shouldn't be rebuildable if fully destroyed but should start out very strong. They should cost a lot to build. Maybe 300 MPPs per corp, so 600 MPPs, spread over 4 turns. That's substantial investments for something which is unable to bought back.
Reinforcements should also cost more (comes back to being irreplaceable).
This should allow a German attack starting from mid/late 1916 onwards using these weapons.

5. Do push both Serbian detachments to 10 at start, Belgrade shouldn't fall. But remove the Serbian research to compensate. Serbia being able to research anything is too humorous, they lacked uniforms in the real war. Serbia infact needs to lose more men in Typhus 1914 Winter. It destroyed the Serbian army more than any offensive (pre Mackensen offensive).

6. Austria shouldn't have those desertion waves before 1917, it is a-historical, only after Franz Joseph died in winter of 1916 did the Hapsburg armies turn into memes, earlier they weren't bad.

7. Italy shouldn't get an Artillery and definitely not at the start, historically Italy performed terribly. No need to buff them up at all. They need to leak MPPs and should be a drag on the Entente not a boost.

8. France and UK should get their artillery earlier, maybe in Winter of 1914, to be in position for a spring 1915 all out attack. Infact the spring and summer French offensive would see more French deaths (in each campaign) than even 1914 Battle of Frontiers. France was bled white in 1915 doing futile attacks, is the reason why Falkenhyn felt so confident attacking them in 1916.

[Taaff]

There apparently was a Czech Legion in Italy. It only formed for active service in spring 1918, and its numbers were formed into 2 divisions, with roughly 25,000 men total.

So it should form later, in spring 1918. Authorized in January 1918 and effective from April-May 1918.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

So, my views-
1. Torpedo boats, maybe reduce it to 1 for all except UK and Ger.

2. Keep entrenchment as it is, Russia with level 5 trenches is a-historical, historically entire Fortress Poland fell extremely easily, was almost a cakewalk as compared to the supposed 3 layered defensive labyrinth. Russia should be brittle and keep leaking men/corps.

3. Keep the level 3 HQs as it is. As it is, CP has only 1 attacker faction - Germany, the Entente has 3, though UK takes time to pick steam and Russia loses it by then (or France is losing by then), so theoretically 2.

4. Get Storm Troopers in 4 waves in 1916 (1 wave) and 1917 (2 waves) and final wave in start of 1918, in Berlin (and surrounding hexes) by decisions. Fully upgraded. But just 2 Corps in each wave, for a total of 8 corps. They should start with level 2 (irrespective of research and with at least 2 extra attack and 1 extra defense as compared to normal corps and with 2 experience pips) and at 11 strength, but once destroyed, not being able to rebuild.
These were literally irreplaceable troops and shouldn't be rebuildable if fully destroyed but should start out very strong. They should cost a lot to build. Maybe 300 MPPs per corp, so 600 MPPs, spread over 4 turns. That's substantial investments for something which is unable to bought back.
Reinforcements should also cost more (comes back to being irreplaceable).
This should allow a German attack starting from mid/late 1916 onwards using these weapons.

5. Do push both Serbian detachments to 10 at start, Belgrade shouldn't fall. But remove the Serbian research to compensate. Serbia being able to research anything is too humorous, they lacked uniforms in the real war. Serbia infact needs to lose more men in Typhus 1914 Winter. It destroyed the Serbian army more than any offensive (pre Mackensen offensive).

6. Austria shouldn't have those desertion waves before 1917, it is a-historical, only after Franz Joseph died in winter of 1916 did the Hapsburg armies turn into memes, earlier they weren't bad.

7. Italy shouldn't get an Artillery and definitely not at the start, historically Italy performed terribly. No need to buff them up at all. They need to leak MPPs and should be a drag on the Entente not a boost.

8. France and UK should get their artillery earlier, maybe in Winter of 1914, to be in position for a spring 1915 all out attack. Infact the spring and summer French offensive would see more French deaths (in each campaign) than even 1914 Battle of Frontiers. France was bled white in 1915 doing futile attacks, is the reason why Falkenhyn felt so confident attacking them in 1916.

Agree with the above except 1 and 7

1: Torpedo boats. If you restrict nations like France and Italy to 1, the Entente will be hard pressed to take on the CP U-boat menace. As it is, Italy and France will be hard pressed to find the MPPs to do ASW and buy those boats. Restriction to 1 takes away player agency to make the hard choice to indeed buy the others. U-boats handled correctly by the CP can absolutely cripple the Entente.

7: Italy with its poor economy definitely needs a field artillery upon war entry. Even with it, the Italians will be extremely hard-pressed. So this change is for balance reasons.

[hannaj]

2. Keep entrenchment as it is, Russia with level 5 trenches is a-historical, historically entire Fortress Poland fell extremely easily, was almost a cakewalk as compared to the supposed 3 layered defensive labyrinth. Russia should be brittle and keep leaking men/corps.

Right now Russian and Ottoman entrenchment is lvl 3, German is lvl 5, everyone else is lvl 4 in Icarus.

This means that at least on plain fields and with a lvl 2 German general you can still take out fully entrenched Russians corps _without any artillery_
and with a positive kill ratio. At least after some standard NM disparity because the fall of Serbia and Warsaw (which will happen anyhow quite easily
before max entrenchment is reached).

I think this is very a-historical. The eastern frontier was less static because of maneuver, not because the Germans could attack Russian trenches
head-on loosing less attackers than defenders.


Thus, my plea is to increase Ottoman and Russian entrenchment to lvl 4.

hannaj

[teletabicus]

I think that throughout the SC series, some heavy field artillery is also factored into the corps. The artillery groups present in the game are not just additional, heavier artillery pieces, but also represent the direction and organization of fire and bombardment distribution, as well as the provision and use of ammunition at the army group level. It's reasonable that three German corps could break through an entrenched Russian corps, given the vastness of the front, a much lower density of men and a trench system that had to defend much more space compared to other fronts (except probably the Middle East and Mesopotamia), plus the Stavka's difficulty in coherently managing reserves.

I would agree with shri's point 5, but I fear that in terms of gameplay, the AH will simply end up not attempting any attacks in Serbia and waiting for its German cousin (which already happens quite a bit).

Regarding the Italians (point 7), not because I am Italian but because I have access to many national sources, I can say that the Italian army's performance until the autumn of 1917 was abysmal from the point of view of command and operational capacity. However, from a strictly military standpoint, Italy maintained almost constant offensive operations for two and a half years, repelled an AH counteroffensive in Trentino, and conquered Gorizia (during the same period on the Western Front, for example, the British conducted a disastrous campaign on the Somme, in more favorable terrain than the Italian front on the so-called Carso). What happened at Caporetto in October 1917 was a sort of moral collapse, a sort of 'strike' by the troops against the command. For this reason, I believe that Italy's poor performance in the late stages of the war should be simulated in terms of gameplay, more with DE than with interventions on strength and order of battle. I'm working on it.

[hannaj]

I think that throughout the SC series, some heavy field artillery is also factored into the corps. The artillery groups present in the game are not just additional, heavier artillery pieces, but also represent the direction and organization of fire and bombardment distribution, as well as the provision and use of ammunition at the army group level.

O.k., my take is similar but still somewhat different. Namely, that corps have factored in -as you wrote- field artillery which in the German case was 7.7 and 10.5 cm, but not the heavier foot artillery which was not available in sufficient quantities at the start of the war but is needed for attacking entrechments. "Heavy field artillery" is a bit of an oxymoron to my understanding. I thought the available foot artillery at the beginning of the war is represented by the 5 strength artillery unit the Germans have at the beginning of the war. The field artillery callibers also match quite nicely with corps not being able to easily take out heavily entrenched troops (but the Russians cannot heavily entrench in Icarus).

It's reasonable that three German corps could break through an entrenched Russian corps,

I agree that with 3 corps in attack preparation (no moving) plus maybe moving in 1-2 more to subsequently attack you should be able to kill an entrenched Russian corps (and you can with Russian lvl 4 entrenchment) but you shouldn't be able to do so with a positive kill ratio (as it is for lvl 3 entrenchment after only the first NM reductions with Warsaw and Serbia, not a complete breakdown of NM yet).

given the vastness of the front, a much lower density of men and a trench system that had to defend much more space compared to other fronts (except probably the Middle East and Mesopotamia), plus the Stavka's difficulty in coherently managing reserves.

I don't understand: one corps in the west and east represent the same amount of troops, more space just corresponds to the longer frontier, given by the map. Because of the longer frontier you cannot have multiple layers of troops (as you can have in the west. And if you had, you could counter attack breakthroughs in the west as is historical. But, players then often prefer to move their excess German troops against Russia and English against Ottomans/to Greece which strategically makes sense).
BTW, why is that asymmetric so that the Germans don't suffer from this argument?

Additionally, I would like to add that I do not believing in extreme disparities (economics aside) between the different sides on the long run. If a war drags on, all countries will be able and have been historically able to learn from the other side, and adapt to a similar level of such a basic thing as entrenchment. That the Russians didn't entrench so deep was 8and is) more because of the fluidity of the frontier. also with entrenchment lvl 4, the CPs can keep it fluid enough to advance toward one Russian NM center after the other and then rail in some artillery to conquer it. If the frontier can be stabilized in some parts, there is no reason the Russians cannot properly entrench if they go for it.

Having said that, let me emphasize that my main reason for suggesting lvl 4 entrenchment for Russia and Ottomans is gameplay and balance.

[teletabicus]

I don't know if in SCWW1 a corps in the West and East represent the same amount of troops. Personally, I've always thought that the Russian corps had more men than their German, AH, and French counterparts. We should ask Bill Runacre, but if each SP represented a fixed parameter for each nation, for example, 10,000 men, then Russia should have had more corps at the beginning. Numerically, its army was much larger than the German and AH combined.
However, I believe that the question of the level of Russian entrenchment should be thought of more in the light of the idea that for historical reasons and playability, Russia cannot consider a defensive strategy too convenient.
The beauty of Icarus however is that it is a work in progress (thanks mdsmall) and we can continuously test and evolve the mod as best as possible.

[hannaj]

However, I believe that the question of the level of Russian entrenchment should be thought of more in the light of the idea that for historical reasons and playability, Russia cannot consider a defensive strategy too convenient.
The beauty of Icarus however is that it is a work in progress (thanks mdsmall) and we can continuously test and evolve the mod as best as possible.

I agree on this. Defensive they need to go after Galicia offensive, but it should not be too convenient/easy.

What we disagree on is our assesement whether the defensive strategy is too easy with entrenchment lvl 4 and fair with lvl 3 (you) or fair with entrenchment lvl 4 and impossibly difficult with entrenchment lvl 3 (me).

[TofkY]

I think it's pretty silly that the "Trench"-Values can't be altered and units can't get bonuses/reductions if they are in a trench. I don't get why this is possbile for EVERY other ressource but not for the trench. Sems like something the devs should fix imo.

IF one coudl alter trnch values in the attached menu, then units in trenches could get a reduction in AP (maybe 2) and or bonus to defence, which would greatly enhance the western front actually being static but still brutal. This would also make it a meaningful choice to entrench and not something thats always good, when you have one AP left.

[mdsmall]

I think it's pretty silly that the "Trench"-Values can't be altered and units can't get bonuses/reductions if they are in a trench. I don't get why this is possbile for EVERY other ressource but not for the trench. Sems like something the devs should fix imo.

IF one coudl alter trnch values in the attached menu, then units in trenches could get a reduction in AP (maybe 2) and or bonus to defence, which would greatly enhance the western front actually being static but still brutal. This would also make it a meaningful choice to entrench and not something thats always good, when you have one AP left.

I fully agree and I have made this exactly this suggestion to the devs in the past. There may be a game engine reason for this (given that trenches are the only resource that can be constructed by units during a move). But if were possible to modify the benefit of trenches on combat and movement, it would open up a lot of interesting new possibilities. In the meantime, we work with what we have!

[TofkY]

I fully agree and I have made this exactly this suggestion to the devs in the past. There may be a game engine reason for this (given that trenches are the only resource that can be constructed by units during a move). But if were possible to modify the benefit of trenches on combat and movement, it would open up a lot of interesting new possibilities. In the meantime, we work with what we have!

Mhm maybe there are engine limitations, but fortifications can be constructed too in a similar way and those can be altered. Odd. Another thing I wondered about, while watching the match between you and OCB, was whether it's a bit powerful to have artillery both deentrench and demoralise. It seems that way the bombarded unit has almost no way to fight back and dies very easily. I only watched parts of the match though and haven't played the latest version myself yet.

[Beriand]

But fortifications are trenches - no?

I mean it literally, settings for fortifications are settings for trenches, at least in some cases.

[TofkY]

Yes they work pretty similar but they are theretically different buildings in the engine i think , only the "Trench" Building can't be edited for some reason. At least when you edit the fortification settings it doesn't change for trenches and in the right click menu it says Trench for Trenches, not fortification

[mdsmall]

But fortifications are trenches - no?

I mean it literally, settings for fortifications are settings for trenches, at least in some cases.

Hi - I checked it again and Beriand is correct. The settings for Fortifications in Defence Bonus menu not only apply to the few fortifications that start on the map (e.g. next to the Masurian Lakes), but to all trenches too. So you can increase the base maximum entrenchment and defense bonuses of trenches if you wish. Oddly though, fortifications do not appear as a terrain option on the Movement penalty menu, so you can not add a movement cost to cross a trench hex-side.

[mdsmall]

Another thing I wondered about, while watching the match between you and OCB, was whether it's a bit powerful to have artillery both deentrench and demoralise. It seems that way the bombarded unit has almost no way to fight back and dies very easily. I only watched parts of the match though and haven't played the latest version myself yet.

Hi - that is an interesting suggestion. In the vanilla game, artillery weapons tech increases both de-entrenchment and demoralization per shell. In Icarus, I allow artillery to de-entrench without that tech, while increasing the demoralization per shell with each tech increment. I could look into scaling back the demoralization effects. My preference would be to require more than one shell to de-entrench, however is not possible with the game engine. Firing two shells at 0.5 de-entrenchment each does not result in 1 level of de-entrenchment; it results in no de-entrenchment. I looked into all these options in the early design of this mod, but I will take another look it again.

[TofkY]

Hi - I checked it again and Beriand is correct. The settings for Fortifications in Defence Bonus menu not only apply to the few fortifications that start on the map (e.g. next to the Masurian Lakes), but to all trenches too. So you can increase the base maximum entrenchment and defense bonuses of trenches if you wish. Oddly though, fortifications do not appear as a terrain option on the Movement penalty menu, so you can not add a movement cost to cross a trench hex-side.

Interesting, then it applies pretty inconsistantly. I played around with the editor a bit and the bonuses/penalties menu for units stationed in certain ressources. When I gave units in fortifications -2 AP and +2 soft and hard defence, it worked for fortifications in east prussia but not for trenches. Odd way to code it, if the "normal" defence bonuses for fortifications apply to trenches.

[Taaff]

Hello Michael,

Is there any estimated ETA on 7.1? Sounds like planning is early days yet.

Am planning on starting another 7.0 game but wondering if I should just wait.

Thanks,
Tom

[mdsmall]

Hi Tom,

Version 7.1 is quite advanced, but I keep finding new things to adjust as I am playing my current game of the 1916 campaign against Old Crow (coming to his YT channel after April 15). So, I probably won't publish Version 7.1 until mid-April. But if you would like a working version of it now, send me a DM and I can send you the mod files. Happy to do the same with any other reader of this forum.

Michael

[mdsmall]

New Icarus Version 7.1

I have updated both campaign for the Icarus mod to produce a new update: Version 7.1. This new version reflects observations from my two recent games of the 1914 and 1916 campaign with Old Crow Balthazor (see his YT channel). I also made good use of the many helpful suggestions posted above by other readers of this forum. You can download the files here from my dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wnunwfdz ... 3bjgb&dl=0

Here is what is new in Version 7.1, compared to Version 7.0 in both campaigns.

1. Changes intended to reduce ability of the side that is winning to "steamroll" the losing side, though cumulative advantages that accrue to the winner.

- All HQs are now limited to a maximum of 2 points of experience.

- The NM morale value every turn of captured enemy fortresses and major fortresses is reduced from 50 points (for major fortresses) and 30 points (for fortresses) to zero. The one-time NM costs and benefits of capturing these NM objectives remains.

- The additional unit morale penalties for NM falling below 10% have been eliminated. However, the penalty in this mod for NM falling below 20% remains.

- The MPP penalties for NM falling below 20% and 10% have been dropped.

2. Change intended to improve the ability of the Entente to resist the Central Powers "steamroller" in 1914-15.

- France now receives its half-strength field artillery unit on September 5, 1914 rather than in February 1915.

3. Changes intended to enable Russia to survive longer before its National Morale falls to 12%, triggering the negotiations for an armistice:

- The 2000 NM boost which Russia receives after forming the provisional government if France is still in the war has been reinstated. Thus, Russia normally receives 4000 NM after the First Revolution (2000 points in all circumstances plus the 2000 NM boost). The 2000 NM points Russia will receive if the UK sends an intervention force is in addition to this amount.

- Russia receives a new DE the turn after the First Revolution giving it the option of scuttling any Russian ships that remain in Finnish ports before Finland declares independence. Russia will lose NM points equal to the MPP cost of the scuttled ships. But this also means that Russia will not take double NM losses if these ships are subsequently sunk by the German navy and Germany will not gain NM points for sinking them.

4. Changes intended to strengthen Italy upon entry into the war:

- The Italian “war bond” which generates Italy’s initial resources of 125 MPPs is moved up to October 10, 1914 (from December 5, 1914).

- Italy receives a half-strength field artillery unit when it joins the war.

Changes intended to make the option more attractive for Italy of delaying their entry into the war in return for annexing Albania. These provisions only apply if Italy says YES to DE301.

- The trigger for Italy to swing 5 - 8% to the Entente is increased from 25% to 33%.

- Italy will automatically swing 30% to the Entente in November 1915, virtually guaranteeing that they will enter the war by December 1915.

- The decision event to build a half-strength detachment in Albania now fires from June 1915 onward, so Italy can build this unit if it has annexed Albania before entering the war.

- The convoy from Libya to Italy will start in January 1915.

- Italy will not pay 75 MPPs to mobilize its army upon entering the war.

The DE for Italy in December 1916 to build a corps from Czech deserters has been changed into building a corps from Italian American volunteers. This corps now forms at full strength but without experience point or research. It costs 3 X 40 MPPs to build (reduced from 3 X 50 MPPs). However, if Italy says YES, there is a 50% chance that the USA will swing 2- 4% away from the Entente (in protest against aggressive recruitment in the neutral United States of volunteers for the Italian army).

5. Changes intended to strengthen Serbia’s ability to defend itself in 1914-15.

- The Serbian detachment that starts on Belgrade is increased from 6 to 8 strength points.

- The Serbian decision event on August 22, 1914 to either build either a Montenegrin general (Jankovic) or a second Serbian general (Misic) or has been reinstated. Serbian generals can still command Montenegrin units. However, if Serbia choses the option to build a HQ for Montenegro, Montenegrin units will receive an 80% - 100% increase in their unit morale if Jankovic is within one hex of the capital in Podgorica. Jankovic also has a command rating of 6 versus 5 for Misic.

- If Serbia chooses not to build a detachment of volunteers from the U.S.A, it will receive 25 MPPs for two turns from their supporters in the U.S.A instead of paying 2 X 25 MPPs to build the detachment.

- If Serbia has surrendered, there is a 20% chance that Montenegrin units can become free units under French control.

6. Changes to Greece, mostly intended to strengthen its ability to defend itself:

- Greece now has an alternate capital in Kalamata, so that Greece can continue to fight from the Peloponnese peninsula once Athens falls.

- The Ottoman NM bonus for defeating Greece now applies if the Central Powers capture Athens and an Ottoman unit is occupying it, even though Greece can still be in the war if its capital has moved to Kalamata.

- Greek and Bulgarian cities (apart from their capitals) now have a maximum supply value of 8 rather than 10 if connected by rail to Central Powers capital. This means that Salonika and its port has a maximum supply value of 8 if it is transferred to Bulgarian control after it is captured by the Central Powers. This is intended to reduce the huge amount of supply that Salonika can project if it becomes a level 10 port after being annexed by Bulgaria. ( Note that in the 1914 campaign, if Salonika comes under Entente control, it will only have a supply value of 5 since it has no rail connection to a major capital).

- The Greek corps that mobilizes in Larissa will deploy in front of the Greek HQ that also mobilizes in Larissa, shielding the HQ from immediate attack.

- If Greece mobilizes for the Entente, the three Greek corps that mobilize on Larissa, Ioannina and Kalamata if one Central Powers unit is within three hexes of those towns now mobilize with full research. If any of these units mobilize, the U.K. will pay 85 MPPs for mobilizing the Greek army (to cover the cost of upgrading them with infantry weapons). If these forces mobilize for the Central Powers, they will not arrive with full research.

- The Greek detachment that mobilized when Greece goes to war mobilizes on Athens (as in vanilla) rather than Crete.

- Athens is a hill hex rather than a mountain hex, making it easier to move through Athens if the detachment mobilizes next to the Greek general in Athens.

- If France says NO to the decision event (DE-208) to seize the two ships of the Greek navy, there is now a 10% chance each turn of these ships defecting to the Ottoman navy (compared to a one-time 30% chance if France says YES).

- Greek ships now have a 70% chance of becoming free units (for France if Entente aligned, and the Ottomans if CP aligned) if Greece surrenders.

7. Changes in Trans-Caucasia after Russia withdraws from the war.

- The Ottomans will gain 1000 NM points each for gaining control of Batum and Kars, when former Russian territory is transferred to the Ottomans after an armistice. This is a reduction from 2000 points each.

- The Trans-Caucasian Republic has been replaced by three separate republics in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Each of them can build 2 corps and 2 detachments. The U.K. is their Entente parent power.

- Their units mobilize with full research, at no extra cost to the U.K.

- Armenia and Georgia will mobilize fully if the other one is attacked by the Central Powers.

- Azerbaijan will mobilize 50% if Ottoman units invade Armenia and another 50% if they invade Georgia and are within one hex of Tiflis. Azerbaijan will fully mobilize if Ottoman units invade Persia and are within four hexes of Tabriz, or within two hexes of Elisabethpol in Azerbaijan.

- The U.K. decision event to form Dunsterforce to assist in the defence of the trans-Caucasian republics has been strengthened. The force now consists of a half strength cavalry corps with full research and a half strength HQ for General Dunsterville. These units will mobilize in Astara on the Azerbaijan / Persian border if Azerbaijan is fully mobilized and the Entente controls all the road hexes between Astara and Tehran inclusive.

- Armenia now only forms after Russia withdraws from the war. Thus, the territory of northern Persia that transfers to Russian control through a Decision Event (Persian Azerbaijan) is now directly annexed by Russia (rather than placed under Armenian control). Tabriz - which is the major resource center in this region - is now a town rather than a city (so that it only reaches a maximum of 8 supply when it is annexed by Russia). The two Armenian volunteer detachments that can mobilize for Russia early in the war now form as Russian units.

- If Russia has withdrawn from the war, the Persian cossack corps that mobilized on Tehran now has a 50% chance of defecting to the U.K, if the Entente decides to attack Persia.

8. Changes to U.S.A. mobilization:

- If Germany is practicing unrestricted naval warfare the trigger for a protest by the U.S.A. has been raised from 75% to 100%, however the potential swing to the Entente per turn has been reduced from 1- 4% from 1-3%.

- If Britain leaks the Zimmerman telegram and Wilson does not believe it, it negates the effect of Britain's investment in the Preparedness Movement in the U.S.A (i.e. a 1-2% swing towards the Entente per turn). However, if Russia withdraws from the war or surrenders, the U.S.A. will start to swing by 4-6% per turn towards the Entente.

- The same applies if the U.S.A chooses to send a punitive expedition to Mexico, in response to Mexico joining the Central Powers. This offset to the swing from the Preparedness Movement only applies as long as the punitive expedition is in the field. Once there is a cease-fire with Mexico, it ceases.

9. Other changes:

- Austro-Hungarian units no longer suffer desertions on the Italian front.

- The morale boost for Entente units on the Western Front if three U.S.A corps are within 8 hexes of Paris has been doubled from 10%-20%; this also applies to the morale boost when there are six U.S.A. corps within 8 hexes of Paris.

- The build capacity for torpedo boat for all powers (except Serbia and the USA) remains at 2. However, torpedo boats cannot be upgraded with naval weapons and their maximum ASW capacity has been capped at 1. Their defence strength against attack by naval units has been reduced to 0.

- An additional partisan spawning hex has been added to Morocco south of Rabat.

10. Changes that apply only to the 1916 Campaign:

- Salonika has been made a French Primary Supply Centre.

- All of the front-line Russian units facing Austria-Hungary in Galicia start at full strength. Russia receives an extra corps at full strength and full research on March 25, 1916.

- The Entente starts the campaign with two diplomacy chits invested in Romania: one Russian and one French.

- Each turn that there are two Russian units within three hexes of Lemberg there is a 50% chance of Romania swinging 4-6% towards the Entente.

- The DE for Russia to build a Czech corps now fires in April 1917, rather than September 1917.

11. German stormtroopers in the 1916 campaign in Version 7.1 are built in a different way than in the 1914 Icarus campaign. They are essentially a super-elite upgrade to existing corps that have already achieved one point of experience.

- Assault Infantry tech is not used in this campaign. Instead, in January 1917, Germany receives a DE which allows it to establish two stormtrooper training centres in Cologne and Mannheim, near the Western Front. This DE costs 4 X 50 MPPs. As of September 15, 1917, the two centres are operational. If a German corps with full research and at least one point of experience is moved onto Cologne or Mannheim, the unit is automatically removed and replaced at the start of the next CP turn with a new Stormtrooper corps, with 11 strength points, full research and one point of experience. This process requires the CP player to observe a house rule that only corps that already have one point of experience and full research will be placed on these two centres for upgrading to become Stormtroopers.

- Up to eight Stormtrooper corps can be built at rate of two per turn, arriving between the beginning of October and the end of December 1917. If destroyed in combat, they can be bought back at 70% of full cost. Germany has a base build capacity of four Stormtrooper corps, so if more than four are built using the upgrading procedure described above, the surplus cannot be replaced if destroyed. This build capacity can be increased by two Stormtrooper corps per increment of Infantry Warfare tech to a maximum of eight corps at level 4.

- Stormtroopers have most of same advantages over regular corps in terms of prepared attack bonus, ability to evade losses on attack and demoralization effects as in the 1914 campaign. However, they do not receive a 1 point attack bonus over regular corps when Shock Infantry tech reaches level 4. They do however gain experience faster than regular corps. In effect, they are super-elite infantry units.

Comments: The majority of the changes listed above will benefit the Entente more than the Central Powers. My own recent play-tests and comments from other players indicate that the Central Powers could accumulate too many advantages early in the war for the Entente to overcome. This was especially true in terms of the experience gained by the superior German HQs and the NM gains from capturing enemy majors' resources (specifically in Russia and France). I have tried to reduce these advantages without eliminating them in this update.

I have reworked what happens in Trans-Caucasia to make it a more interesting and competitive theatre of conflict in the late stages of the game after Russia has withdrawn from the war. This is a tempting theatre for the Ottomans to invade after Russia collapses, as Tiflis is worth 1000 NM points and Baku 2000 points, plus there are two very valuable oil wells in Azerbaijan. The Trans-Caucasian Republic which appears in the regular game only existed for a month before it collapsed into three separate republics. So dividing it up into three not only is more realistic, but also more resilient as the existing Trans-Caucasian republic only had one capital in Tiflis which was easily captured. Reworking these three republics into three British minors, also gave me a reason to turn the very obscure British DE to create Dunsterforce into something more credible: it now provides a half strength British HQ which can be reinforced to command the forces of the three trans-Caucasian minors. To get there however, the Entente will have to have occupied Persia before Russia withdraws - thus creating more reasons to bring Persia into the war.

I have also experimented with making some changes in the 1916 mod that do not apply to the 1914 mod. This is true for the extra provisions that will strengthen a Russian Brusilov offensive in Galicia in the winter and spring of 1916, and increased chances of Romania entering the war (as happened historically in August 1916). As an experiment, I have introduced a very different way of treating German stormtroopers in the 1916 campaign, as explained above. This responds to comments from other players about the unrealistic feel of having stormtroopers arrive as new units with zero experience. This approach does require players to observe a house rule about which German corps can be upgraded this way, as the game engine can not measure whether a unit has a given level of strength, tech or experience.

In my two recent games against Old Crow, we used a house rule that the Central Powers could not send corps-sized units (infantry or cavalry) to the Ottoman Empire, apart from the two Expeditionary Corps that arrive through decision events. However, other CP units could be sent, including detachments, aircraft and field artillery. I would encourage players to use this house rule (it could even be expanded to other unit types). I would include a prohibition on either side sending heavy artillery units to fight in the Ottoman Empire. As before, I also recommend that all European minors, including free Serbian units, be excluded from the Ottoman Empire, apart from Portuguese units and Greek units in Turkey proper.

As always, I look forward to feedback and comments from players in this forum.

Michael (mdsmall)

[mdsmall]

New Icarus Version 7.1

I have updated both campaign for the Icarus mod to produce a new update: Version 7.1. This new version reflects observations from my two recent games of the 1914 and 1916 campaign with Old Crow Balthazor (see his YT channel). I also made good use of the many helpful suggestions posted above by other readers of this forum. You can download the files here from my dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wnunwfdz ... 3bjgb&dl=0

Here is what is new in Version 7.1, compared to Version 7.0 in both campaigns.

1. Changes intended to reduce ability of the side that is winning to "steamroll" the losing side, though cumulative advantages that accrue to the winner.

- All HQs are now limited to a maximum of 2 points of experience.

- The NM morale value every turn of captured enemy fortresses and major fortresses is reduced from 50 points (for major fortresses) and 30 points (for fortresses) to zero. The one-time NM costs and benefits of capturing these NM objectives remains.

- The additional unit morale penalties for NM falling below 10% have been eliminated. However, the penalty in this mod for NM falling below 20% remains.

- The MPP penalties for NM falling below 20% and 10% have been dropped.

2. Change intended to improve the ability of the Entente to resist the Central Powers "steamroller" in 1914-15.

- France now receives its half-strength field artillery unit on September 5, 1914 rather than in February 1915.

3. Changes intended to enable Russia to survive longer before its National Morale falls to 12%, triggering the negotiations for an armistice:

- The 2000 NM boost which Russia receives after forming the provisional government if France is still in the war has been reinstated. Thus, Russia normally receives 4000 NM after the First Revolution (2000 points in all circumstances plus the 2000 NM boost). The 2000 NM points Russia will receive if the UK sends an intervention force is in addition to this amount.

- Russia receives a new DE the turn after the First Revolution giving it the option of scuttling any Russian ships that remain in Finnish ports before Finland declares independence. Russia will lose NM points equal to the MPP cost of the scuttled ships. But this also means that Russia will not take double NM losses if these ships are subsequently sunk by the German navy and Germany will not gain NM points for sinking them.

4. Changes intended to strengthen Italy upon entry into the war:

- The Italian “war bond” which generates Italy’s initial resources of 125 MPPs is moved up to October 10, 1914 (from December 5, 1914).

- Italy receives a half-strength field artillery unit when it joins the war.

Changes intended to make the option more attractive for Italy of delaying their entry into the war in return for annexing Albania. These provisions only apply if Italy says YES to DE301.

- The trigger for Italy to swing 5 - 8% to the Entente is increased from 25% to 33%.

- Italy will automatically swing 30% to the Entente in November 1915, virtually guaranteeing that they will enter the war by December 1915.

- The decision event to build a half-strength detachment in Albania now fires from June 1915 onward, so Italy can build this unit if it has annexed Albania before entering the war.

- The convoy from Libya to Italy will start in January 1915.

- Italy will not pay 75 MPPs to mobilize its army upon entering the war.

The DE for Italy in December 1916 to build a corps from Czech deserters has been changed into building a corps from Italian American volunteers. This corps now forms at full strength but without experience point or research. It costs 3 X 40 MPPs to build (reduced from 3 X 50 MPPs). However, if Italy says YES, there is a 50% chance that the USA will swing 2- 4% away from the Entente (in protest against aggressive recruitment in the neutral United States of volunteers for the Italian army).

5. Changes intended to strengthen Serbia’s ability to defend itself in 1914-15.

- The Serbian detachment that starts on Belgrade is increased from 6 to 8 strength points.

- The Serbian decision event on August 22, 1914 to either build either a Montenegrin general (Jankovic) or a second Serbian general (Misic) or has been reinstated. Serbian generals can still command Montenegrin units. However, if Serbia choses the option to build a HQ for Montenegro, Montenegrin units will receive an 80% - 100% increase in their unit morale if Jankovic is within one hex of the capital in Podgorica. Jankovic also has a command rating of 6 versus 5 for Misic.

- If Serbia chooses not to build a detachment of volunteers from the U.S.A, it will receive 25 MPPs for two turns from their supporters in the U.S.A instead of paying 2 X 25 MPPs to build the detachment.

- If Serbia has surrendered, there is a 20% chance that Montenegrin units can become free units under French control.

6. Changes to Greece, mostly intended to strengthen its ability to defend itself:

- Greece now has an alternate capital in Kalamata, so that Greece can continue to fight from the Peloponnese peninsula once Athens falls.

- The Ottoman NM bonus for defeating Greece now applies if the Central Powers capture Athens and an Ottoman unit is occupying it, even though Greece can still be in the war if its capital has moved to Kalamata.

- Greek and Bulgarian cities (apart from their capitals) now have a maximum supply value of 8 rather than 10 if connected by rail to Central Powers capital. This means that Salonika and its port has a maximum supply value of 8 if it is transferred to Bulgarian control after it is captured by the Central Powers. This is intended to reduce the huge amount of supply that Salonika can project if it becomes a level 10 port after being annexed by Bulgaria. ( Note that in the 1914 campaign, if Salonika comes under Entente control, it will only have a supply value of 5 since it has no rail connection to a major capital).

- The Greek corps that mobilizes in Larissa will deploy in front of the Greek HQ that also mobilizes in Larissa, shielding the HQ from immediate attack.

- If Greece mobilizes for the Entente, the three Greek corps that mobilize on Larissa, Ioannina and Kalamata if one Central Powers unit is within three hexes of those towns now mobilize with full research. If any of these units mobilize, the U.K. will pay 85 MPPs for mobilizing the Greek army (to cover the cost of upgrading them with infantry weapons). If these forces mobilize for the Central Powers, they will not arrive with full research.

- The Greek detachment that mobilized when Greece goes to war mobilizes on Athens (as in vanilla) rather than Crete.

- Athens is a hill hex rather than a mountain hex, making it easier to move through Athens if the detachment mobilizes next to the Greek general in Athens.

- If France says NO to the decision event (DE-208) to seize the two ships of the Greek navy, there is now a 10% chance each turn of these ships defecting to the Ottoman navy (compared to a one-time 30% chance if France says YES).

- Greek ships now have a 70% chance of becoming free units (for France if Entente aligned, and the Ottomans if CP aligned) if Greece surrenders.

7. Changes in Trans-Caucasia after Russia withdraws from the war.

- The Ottomans will gain 1000 NM points each for gaining control of Batum and Kars, when former Russian territory is transferred to the Ottomans after an armistice. This is a reduction from 2000 points each.

- The Trans-Caucasian Republic has been replaced by three separate republics in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Each of them can build 2 corps and 2 detachments. The U.K. is their Entente parent power.

- Their units mobilize with full research, at no extra cost to the U.K.

- Armenia and Georgia will mobilize fully if the other one is attacked by the Central Powers.

- Azerbaijan will mobilize 50% if Ottoman units invade Armenia and another 50% if they invade Georgia and are within one hex of Tiflis. Azerbaijan will fully mobilize if Ottoman units invade Persia and are within four hexes of Tabriz, or within two hexes of Elisabethpol in Azerbaijan.

- The U.K. decision event to form Dunsterforce to assist in the defence of the trans-Caucasian republics has been strengthened. The force now consists of a half strength cavalry corps with full research and a half strength HQ for General Dunsterville. These units will mobilize in Astara on the Azerbaijan / Persian border if Azerbaijan is fully mobilized and the Entente controls all the road hexes between Astara and Tehran inclusive.

- Armenia now only forms after Russia withdraws from the war. Thus, the territory of northern Persia that transfers to Russian control through a Decision Event (Persian Azerbaijan) is now directly annexed by Russia (rather than placed under Armenian control). Tabriz - which is the major resource center in this region - is now a town rather than a city (so that it only reaches a maximum of 8 supply when it is annexed by Russia). The two Armenian volunteer detachments that can mobilize for Russia early in the war now form as Russian units.

- If Russia has withdrawn from the war, the Persian cossack corps that mobilized on Tehran now has a 50% chance of defecting to the U.K, if the Entente decides to attack Persia.

8. Changes to U.S.A. mobilization:

- If Germany is practicing unrestricted naval warfare the trigger for a protest by the U.S.A. has been raised from 75% to 100%, however the potential swing to the Entente per turn has been reduced from 1- 4% from 1-3%.

- If Britain leaks the Zimmerman telegram and Wilson does not believe it, it negates the effect of Britain's investment in the Preparedness Movement in the U.S.A (i.e. a 1-2% swing towards the Entente per turn). However, if Russia withdraws from the war or surrenders, the U.S.A. will start to swing by 4-6% per turn towards the Entente.

- The same applies if the U.S.A chooses to send a punitive expedition to Mexico, in response to Mexico joining the Central Powers. This offset to the swing from the Preparedness Movement only applies as long as the punitive expedition is in the field. Once there is a cease-fire with Mexico, it ceases.

9. Other changes:

- Austro-Hungarian units no longer suffer desertions on the Italian front.

- The morale boost for Entente units on the Western Front if three U.S.A corps are within 8 hexes of Paris has been doubled from 10%-20%; this also applies to the morale boost when there are six U.S.A. corps within 8 hexes of Paris.

- The build capacity for torpedo boat for all powers (except Serbia and the USA) remains at 2. However, torpedo boats cannot be upgraded with naval weapons and their maximum ASW capacity has been capped at 1. Their defence strength against attack by naval units has been reduced to 0.

- The half strength regular Ottoman corps that can spawn in Libya in response to an Ottoman DE is now a half-strength division and the cost of this DE has been reduced accordingly.

- An additional partisan spawning hex has been added to Morocco south of Rabat.

10. Changes that apply only to the 1916 Campaign:

- Salonika has been made a French Primary Supply Centre.

- All of the front-line Russian units facing Austria-Hungary in Galicia start at full strength. Russia receives an extra corps at full strength and full research on March 25, 1916.

- The Entente starts the campaign with two diplomacy chits invested in Romania: one Russian and one French.

- Each turn that there are two Russian units within three hexes of Lemberg there is a 50% chance of Romania swinging 4-6% towards the Entente.

- The DE for Russia to build a Czech corps now fires in April 1917, rather than September 1917.

11. German stormtroopers in the 1916 campaign in Version 7.1 are built in a different way than in the 1914 Icarus campaign. They are essentially a super-elite upgrade to existing corps that have already achieved one point of experience.

- Assault Infantry tech is not used in this campaign. Instead, in January 1917, Germany receives a DE which allows it to establish two stormtrooper training centres in Cologne and Mannheim, near the Western Front. This DE costs 4 X 50 MPPs. As of September 15, 1917, the two centres are operational. If a German corps with full research and at least one point of experience is moved onto Cologne or Mannheim, the unit is automatically removed and replaced at the start of the next CP turn with a new Stormtrooper corps, with 11 strength points, full research and one point of experience. This process requires the CP player to observe a house rule that only corps that already have one point of experience and full research will be placed on these two centres for upgrading to become Stormtroopers.

- Up to eight Stormtrooper corps can be built at rate of two per turn, arriving between the beginning of October and the end of December 1917. If destroyed in combat, they can be bought back at 70% of full cost. Germany has a base build capacity of four Stormtrooper corps, so if more than four are built using the upgrading procedure described above, the surplus cannot be replaced if destroyed. This build capacity can be increased by two Stormtrooper corps per increment of Infantry Warfare tech to a maximum of eight corps at level 4.

- Stormtroopers have most of same advantages over regular corps in terms of prepared attack bonus, ability to evade losses on attack and demoralization effects as in the 1914 campaign. However, they do not receive a 1 point attack bonus over regular corps when Shock Infantry tech reaches level 4. They do however gain experience faster than regular corps. In effect, they are super-elite infantry units.

Comments: The majority of the changes listed above will benefit the Entente more than the Central Powers. My own recent play-tests and comments from other players indicate that the Central Powers could accumulate too many advantages early in the war for the Entente to overcome. This was especially true in terms of the experience gained by the superior German HQs and the NM gains from capturing enemy majors' resources (specifically in Russia and France). I have tried to reduce these advantages without eliminating them in this update.

I have reworked what happens in Trans-Caucasia to make it a more interesting and competitive theatre of conflict in the late stages of the game after Russia has withdrawn from the war. This is a tempting theatre for the Ottomans to invade after Russia collapses, as Tiflis is worth 1000 NM points and Baku 2000 points, plus there are two very valuable oil wells in Azerbaijan. The Trans-Caucasian Republic which appears in the regular game only existed for a month before it collapsed into three separate republics. So dividing it up into three not only is more realistic, but also more resilient as the existing Trans-Caucasian republic only had one capital in Tiflis which was easily captured. Reworking these three republics into three British minors, also gave me a reason to turn the very obscure British DE to create Dunsterforce into something more credible: it now provides a half strength British HQ which can be reinforced to command the forces of the three trans-Caucasian minors. To get there however, the Entente will have to have occupied Persia before Russia withdraws - thus creating more reasons to bring Persia into the war.

I have also experimented with making some changes in the 1916 mod that do not apply to the 1914 mod. This is true for the extra provisions that will strengthen a Russian Brusilov offensive in Galicia in the winter and spring of 1916, and increased chances of Romania entering the war (as happened historically in August 1916). As an experiment, I have introduced a very different way of treating German stormtroopers in the 1916 campaign, as explained above. This responds to comments from other players about the unrealistic feel of having stormtroopers arrive as new units with zero experience. This approach does require players to observe a house rule about which German corps can be upgraded this way, as the game engine can not measure whether a unit has a given level of strength, tech or experience.

In my two recent games against Old Crow, we used a house rule that the Central Powers could not send corps-sized units (infantry or cavalry) to the Ottoman Empire, apart from the two Expeditionary Corps that arrive through decision events. However, other CP units could be sent, including detachments, aircraft and field artillery. I would encourage players to use this house rule (it could even be expanded to other unit types). I would include a prohibition on either side sending heavy artillery units to fight in the Ottoman Empire. As before, I also recommend that all European minors, including free Serbian units, be excluded from the Ottoman Empire, apart from Portuguese units and Greek units in Turkey proper.

As always, I look forward to feedback and comments from players in this forum.

Michael (mdsmall)