Workshop for the new guys - Barbarossa 41

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: RufusTFirefly
Great work, Larry. Absolutely impressive.

Well, maybe it's almost good but thanks for your kind words. I'm getting
the message that you guys want more detail. Okie dokie.

ORIGINAL: RufusTFirefly
I am a wargamer for more than 25 years now and of course now all the basics.
Playing Advanced Tactics Gold for years now and always some PBEMs running. But
have tried TOAW III only a few times playing the FITE
scenario. Guess I haven't figuered out half of the options and mechanics
of the game so far. It is very helpful to read about this detailed combat
plannings and SFT management.

What's an SFT anyway? You're welcome and do me a favor and ask me a
question. I feel like a better person when I answer questions.

ORIGINAL: RufusTFirefly
Will download the game tomorrow. This will be a weekend of a lot of reading,
trying and I will surely enjoy experiencing this great game.

That's the way I feel about it too. Are you going to quit your day job?
I've found working keeps me away from my computer.

[sanderz]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Here's what the different crop circle colors mean.

EDIT: You can enter different numbers for the different colors but it's got to be a hexadecimal number:
A number starting with 0x and then the number in base 16. So the number 11 in decimal is '0xB' in hexadecimal.
So you would enter "0x00000B" for the value. Like that.

Thanks Larry but i still don't get what they all mean, or how some are relevant.

For example the red/green line - is a mix of Artillery and Naval Spotting?? Why is red shown at all?

The blue AA - i assume this means anti-aircraft guns - seems to go nearly as far as the planes fly which can't be right?

Yellow does seem to be the key one for planes - i assume they can fly any mission inside the yellow lines.

what am i missing here?

thanks again

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: sanderz
Thanks Larry but i still don't get what they all mean, or how some are relevant.

Don't feel like the lone ranger. I wasn't involved in the discussion
of the meaning of the colors and nobody asked for my opinion and for
all intents and purposes they put that scheme together without my
input. I had no say in the matter. I just complain when they don't
show up. I need that little circle around the arty unit to show me it's
range. etc.

ORIGINAL: sanderz
For example the red/green line - is a mix of Artillery and Naval Spotting?? Why is red shown at all?

I'm not really sure I know what you're talking about; can you supply us
with a screenshot or something?

ORIGINAL: sanderz
The blue AA - i assume this means anti-aircraft guns - seems to go nearly as far as the planes fly which can't be right?

I'm going to need a screenshot to demonstrate what you're talking about
because I've never seen that and I'm not sure it's supposed to happen.
You might want to review the colors dialog and change one to see how it
affects your game. Effects? Affects?

ORIGINAL: sanderz
Yellow does seem to be the key one for planes - i assume they can fly any mission inside the yellow lines.

True. Except ferry. For ferry they can fly their entire range from one
base to another. I like to base planes at one place and not move them
around from turn to turn. Moving them often is unrealistic. I used to
be part of the airfield support staff ( weapons mechanic, bombloader ) and
I noticed how they like to get a shop up and running and keep it there
for as long as it's needed before they move it again. I was at Bien Hoa
for a whole year and went to the forward operating locations only as a TDY.

ORIGINAL: sanderz
what am i missing here?

You're doing fine. Asking questiions means you want to know. That's a
good thing. Being curious is a sign of intelligence.

ORIGINAL: sanderz
thanks again

No, no,no,no,no....thenk YOU.

[Fred98]

Can you provide an example of how a damaged railway looks, what a railroad repair unit looks like, how to repair a railway and how all of this is used to push supply forward.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Joe 98
Can you provide an example of how a damaged railway looks, what a railroad repair unit looks like, how to repair a railway and how all of this is used to push supply forward.

I believe I can. Lemme grab a screenshot or several and annotate the heck out of it. I'll be right back.

EDIT: How's this:

[RufusTFirefly]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: RufusTFirefly
Will download the game tomorrow. This will be a weekend of a lot of reading,
trying and I will surely enjoy experiencing this great game.

That's the way I feel about it too. Are you going to quit your day job?
I've found working keeps me away from my computer.

Yep, although I like my job it keeps my away from comp too often.
My wife and I live in different cities. We meet only on wekends. This weekend she wont have time for me. I have to admit: I am not really sorry about it.
(P.S.: Please dont tell her.)

[larryfulkerson]

And if you feel dizzy watching a moving picture here's one that's still.

[larryfulkerson]

My wife and I live in different cities. We meet only on wekends.

That must be rough. I'm sorry that's happened to you. I fear for your relationship. Whatever you do
don't mention T4 around her or she'll get the wrong idea. You don't actually have to listen to her
but you have to LOOK like you're listening to her. So you can continue to daydream about T4 stuff
and she doesn't have to know. What would she do with the information? We don't want to go there.
Take extra good care of her. Make her happy if you can. Call her once in a while. Who am I kidding
quit your job and live off your wife's income and T4 day and night.

[RufusTFirefly]

So railway repair units are used to repair blown/damaged bridges only?

WitE referres to the different raiway systems in east and west. Railway engineers have to replace the eastern railway by western railway. This is going very slow and often frontline units lack of supply due to only few railway lines being converted and usable by the German Reichsbahn.

[Hyding]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Okay I went to move the unit and I was presented with a dialog: did I want to lose the 12 fixed guns in order to move
the unit and I answered yes, I did. So after the unit moved I'm taking a look at it and I see where those 240mm guns
were just lost, they didn't end up in the pools like I thought. I was wrong. D'oh. I just lost some guns that I'll
probably never use in this game. So now that little unit is good only for clearing hexes in the backfield and maybe
garrison somewhere. I'll have to deal with it the rest of the game in terms of whether or not to move it and where to
and it's such a useless unit I'm thinking of disbanding it and getting rid of it.

Larry those guns should arrive in your replacement pool over the next few turns. At least they did in TOAW III scenarios.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Narses
Larry those guns should arrive in your replacement pool over the next few turns. At least they did in TOAW III scenarios.

Are you kidding me? That's great news. So I might get to use those guns after all. Great. Usually Leningrad is a
hard row to hoe and I like to bring in all kinds of arty to support up there. These guns will fit in just fine.

[Fred98]

Apart from railway bridges, can railway lines be damaged and need repair?

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Joe 98
Apart from railway bridges, can railway lines be damaged and need repair?

Not yet. There's some talk about doing a version TOAW V that will have means to damage regular railroads
but it's not a thing yet. Bombing from the air should be able to wreck the rails. Ideal is to get a bomb under
the rails before it explodes warping the rails into the air, twisting them into an unusable state. Trains usually
fall over when they try to pass on that kind of rail.

[Tamas]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

ORIGINAL: Joe 98
Apart from railway bridges, can railway lines be damaged and need repair?

Not yet. There's some talk about doing a version TOAW V that will have means to damage regular railroads
but it's not a thing yet. Bombing from the air should be able to wreck the rails. Ideal is to get a bomb under
the rails before it explodes warping the rails into the air, twisting them into an unusable state. Trains usually
fall over when they try to pass on that kind of rail.

Uhm, actually, railroads CAN be damaged, when you take control of an enemy hex. I admit I don't remember the exact rules for it, but you will see the line of railroad broken (as in having several gaps in it) in those hexes. Not coloured red though like the destroyed bridges.

Railroad repair units can repair damaged railroad of course. Also, usually engineer units can repair bridges, but that's scenario dependent.

[sanderz]

ORIGINAL: sanderz
For example the red/green line - is a mix of Artillery and Naval Spotting?? Why is red shown at all?

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
I'm not really sure I know what you're talking about; can you supply us
with a screenshot or something?

ORIGINAL: sanderz
The blue AA - i assume this means anti-aircraft guns - seems to go nearly as far as the planes fly which can't be right?

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
I'm going to need a screenshot to demonstrate what you're talking about
because I've never seen that and I'm not sure it's supposed to happen.
You might want to review the colors dialog and change one to see how it
affects your game. Effects? Affects?

Hi Larry
Both of these lines are in the screenshot in post #75 above

thanks

[larryfulkerson]

Both of these lines are in the screenshot in post #75 above

Okie dokie........I went to post #75 and I think maybe I have a solution. The red/green line that is further out than
the others is the maximum extended range of the unit according to the aircraft with the longest range in that unit.
That the crop circle is less than that is because you can set the range of your aircraft units to any range including
zero. Up to the max range of course. And the other line you asked about that you thought was an AA unit.....I got
out the magnifying glasses and decifered the markings on the unit and I think it's an aircraft on CS missions. I
mean instead of an AA unit.

Keep these questions coming. That's how we learn.

EDIT: It turns out I'm probably wrong about the red and green line. I'm really not sure what it might signify.

[sanderz]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
Okie dokie........I went to post #75 and I think maybe I have a solution. The red/green line that is further out than the others is the maximum extended range of the unit according to the aircraft with the longest range in that unit.

thank you, that makes sense, though it looks like its per stack --- so it seems that if you have a unit selected and there is NO red/green line then it means all units in the stack can do missions inside the yellow line, if there IS a red/green line then it means there is another unit in the stack that can fly missions outside of the range of the other unit - could be very important if you want fighter cover i suppose #

# on the subject of fighter cover - there is no "Escort" mission for fighters, how do i get them to protect my bombers?

That the crop circle is less than that is because you can set the range of your aircraft units to any range including
zero. Up to the max range of course.

Not sure what you mean by this - but i think its covered by the above

And the other line you asked about that you thought was an AA unit.....I got
out the magnifying glasses and deciphered the markings on the unit and I think it's an aircraft on CS missions. I mean instead of an AA unit.

Not sure this is correct - the blue (turquoise?) line for me always seems to be there even if i cancel all the missions. Also, it always seems to be one hex less than the yellow line regardless of the mission type.

Looking at the manual i found....
"The DBR of air units is shown on the micro map, along with the effective radii of AA units. These are both displayed in blue."
So the blue line seems to be the effective bombardment range? though i have no idea why its always 1 less than the units actual range? Also you can actually do missions out to the yellow line. Nothing really game breaking here but if i see a line on the map i want to know what it means [:)]

[larryfulkerson]

# on the subject of fighter cover - there is no "Escort" mission for fighters, how do i get them to protect my bombers?

It's my understanding that if you assign some AS fighters to the same attacked hex as the bombers the game engine
interprets that as some bombers being escorted. It seems to work. Fewer bombers are shot down when you do that.

[larryfulkerson]

Okay.....now that we have a brand new turn (T2) and the MP's are at max there's no reason not to attack that Soviet
stack in the road to Riga. I've already repaired the railroad almost up to the target hex, so I need that stack to
be gone so I can repair the rail under it.

[larryfulkerson]

So there I was....moving units up to the front lines, moving adjacent to the enemy units, getting ready for the
kickoff. And I run into this HQ unit and I WAS going to move it adjacent to the Soviet dude but I looked under
the hood for that unit and discovered that it's got no arty of the indirect fire kind. It's of no use on those
adjacent hexes and actually might be a liability if it gets damaged, especially if it had any command groups in
it, which this one doesn't. I don't want to get it damaged because it might go into reorg and take the rest of
the formation with it. That would be highly inconvient.