War in the East Q&A

[ComradeP]

Thanks for posting that chart Joel.

What does the increased MP penalty for ice levels lower than 5 represent, the ice making it more difficult to bridge the water/the ice destroying pontoon bridges?

[Joel Billings]

Yes.

[Smirfy]

I'm following Pyledrivers AAR. I was wondering how does the game handle ahistorical outcomes. Like for instance in Pyledriver's game the 16th Pz is surrounded and might be destroyed. What if that was a division that was scheduled to be transfered west? How is that handled as I expect the Atlantic wall still needs defended. Also several formations wont be destroyed at Stalingrad how is that handled. The German practice seemed to be to send burnt out divisions back home or to the west to refit and reequip to ease the logistic strain reequiping in theatre seemed problematical for them. how is that handled as maybe the same division dont suffer the same losses as they did historically? As Stalingrad wont be taken or destroyed in Pyledrivers game surely a city that is not destroyed and civilain population wiped out would have a massive effect on production

[ComradeP]

It was mentioned earlier that some divisions would be placed in Germany and slowly be (re)build over time, so possibly KIA'ed divisions also return as cadres that you could fill up. That would be preferable in some ways, as the Germans can't produce new units so a KIA'ed unit would be gone forever if it doesn't return as a cadre, which would be especially painful when Motorised and Panzer divisions are concerned.

[elmo3]

From the manual:

When German Units are Destroyed they return to the map the next turn and they stay frozen for 6 turns. They come back with around 40% experience.

[Great_Ajax]

Many of the units destroyed at Stalingrad were rebuilt and sent to Italy. Those units are withdraw about a month or two prior to when they were re-deployed. Units are not arbitrarily withdrawn from the game if they were destroyed historically.

Trey

ORIGINAL: Smirfy

I'm following Pyledrivers AAR. I was wondering how does the game handle ahistorical outcomes. Like for instance in Pyledriver's game the 16th Pz is surrounded and might be destroyed. What if that was a division that was scheduled to be transfered west? How is that handled as I expect the Atlantic wall still needs defended. Also several formations wont be destroyed at Stalingrad how is that handled. The German practice seemed to be to send burnt out divisions back home or to the west to refit and reequip to ease the logistic strain reequiping in theatre seemed problematical for them. how is that handled as maybe the same division dont suffer the same losses as they did historically? As Stalingrad wont be taken or destroyed in Pyledrivers game surely a city that is not destroyed and civilain population wiped out would have a massive effect on production

[ComradeP]

So at the start of the 6 week "frozen" period, they have 40 experience, or do they have 40 experience at the end of that period?

[british exil]

War in the East Beta Tester
Scenario Design and Unit Researcher
Sabre 21's perpetual arch-nemisis

el hefe are you just teasing us with your sig? WitE Beta Tester? or WitE Beta Teaser?[:D]

Thought the Alpha phase was not over yet. Or did I miss something????[&:]

Mat

[Great_Ajax]

Man! You guys are desparate! I changed my sig to eliminate the confusion. We are real close to Beta.

Trey

ORIGINAL: british exil

War in the East Beta Tester
Scenario Design and Unit Researcher
Sabre 21's perpetual arch-nemisis

el hefe are you just teasing us with your sig? WitE Beta Tester? or WitE Beta Teaser?[:D]

Thought the Alpha phase was not over yet. Or did I miss something????[&:]

Mat

[ComradeP]

Man! You guys are desparate!

Once people became aware of the possible existence of the Holy Grail, they started searching for it. Some of us have the impression that we might have found it.

[british exil]

We are real close to Beta.

How close?[:D]


Sorry couldn't resist the question.

Mat

[Neal_MLC]

so, I'm guessing no June 22 release...

[ComradeP]

To continue the discussion of the mud season:

I think the effects of mud as described are too serious.

For starters: the game uses 1 week turns. If you move 1 mile/hour for 16 hours during a day due to mud conditions, you still advance 11 hexes in game terms.

Perhaps the effects of mud would be more accurate if hasty attacks were not possible and deliberate attacks would require significantly more MP's.

Yes, the mud would certainly make it difficult to attack, but you have an entire week to prepare for it, so you'd still get 8.000 out of 10.000 guys into battle, it just takes a lot more preparation and the breakthroughs will be less significant.

If mud basically shuts the entire front down, imagine what a typical Russian rain storm in July 1941 (or any other random weather out of season mud turn) would do to the German advance: the Soviets get another week to move in troops/fortify and the Germans are more or less stuck where they are.

Mud might be terrible, but it didn't shut down operations like a serious blizzard. Everything was slowed down to a crawl, but movement and attacks were still possible.

[PyleDriver]

Comrade have you ever lived in off road country? I have, you stay home, or call your friends to help dig you out....

[ComradeP]

But it doesn't take a week to dig you out.

My dad lives in a rural area, and there are plenty of roads there where, if you ain't driving a tractor, you shouldn't be there when the road is muddy. However, as long as you're prepared, the mud is less of a problem on foot.

[Great_Ajax]

I don't make the call here - Joel does. The key turning point to getting into beta is getting all of the rules finalized and all of the features added. We have made a lot of progress with the victory conditions decided upon and implemented, art is being finalized, basic PBEM functionality has just been added (haven't tried it myself), and the 1941 campaign should be getting locked from changes here in a couple of weeks. We still have to add the sound effects and music and Pavel and Jim are crunching production numbers. I am finishing up Axis data entry for 1941 with the Hungarian and Romanian air unit review and then I have a slew of changes to apply to the remaining campaign games.

Trey

ORIGINAL: british exil

We are real close to Beta.

How close?[:D]


Sorry couldn't resist the question.

Mat

[Neal_MLC]

Having grown up in rural Missouri where we have mud every spring and fall, but nothing like the steppes of Mother Russia, I can assure you that even "light" mud can stop you in your tracks. It slick as ice and as sticky as duct tape and just because you have a tracked vehicle doesn't mean you are going to move[:'(]  Just another thought/question, have you ever tried to dig out a stuck bulldozer?[&:][:)] I really really hate mud.

[british exil]

I bet these men hated mud too.

[british exil]

But also in the pacific the US also faced similar problems with lighter vehicles.

[Smirfy]

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

To continue the discussion of the mud season:

I think the effects of mud as described are too serious.

For starters: the game uses 1 week turns. If you move 1 mile/hour for 16 hours during a day due to mud conditions, you still advance 11 hexes in game terms.

Perhaps the effects of mud would be more accurate if hasty attacks were not possible and deliberate attacks would require significantly more MP's.

Yes, the mud would certainly make it difficult to attack, but you have an entire week to prepare for it, so you'd still get 8.000 out of 10.000 guys into battle, it just takes a lot more preparation and the breakthroughs will be less significant.

If mud basically shuts the entire front down, imagine what a typical Russian rain storm in July 1941 (or any other random weather out of season mud turn) would do to the German advance: the Soviets get another week to move in troops/fortify and the Germans are more or less stuck where they are.

Mud might be terrible, but it didn't shut down operations like a serious blizzard. Everything was slowed down to a crawl, but movement and attacks were still possible.

The problem with mud in Russia was not just movement, logistics became impossible units were left with what they had to hand. Fire off your ammo and thats it. Right through the war in Russia the mud brought an end to campaigning in Autumn and Spring . The late thaw in 44 forced Hitler to lend the Eastern front Lehr, 9th SS 10th SS and 349th after he gambled on an early thaw and lost. In 43 Manstein's counter came to an end once the thaw came.