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But I think the Russians did in the winter of 41-42, the winter of 42-43, the winter of 43-44 and (less effectively) the winter of 44-45

There's a difference between launching an offensive, and launching a successful one. Perhaps with the exception of the 1943-1944 offensive, none of the objectives achieved the (often rather optimistic) goals of Stalin/STAVKA, and the Soviets suffered heavy losses in all of them, although again with the possible exception of the 1943-1944 offensive depending on when you consider it to have stopped.

Am resigned to having to wait some time for this product.  Watched this game play out with great interest.  [:D]  The Germans failing to reach a historical line against the AI is a bit of a concern.  Along with what appears to be a Berlin '43 result.  Of course one playing doesn't represent much.  Last I heard there was an end of quarter two target for release.  I have plastic in hand, and am not afraid to use it.  [8D]

ORIGINAL: wurger54

...  The Germans failing to reach a historical line against the AI is a bit of a concern.  ....

Don't be concerned. It was my first playing of the campaign, and on Challenging which is a hard setting. Add to that my deliberate attempt to reach Moscow using a dubious plan by creating a bulge that could not survive the first winter effects. All that added up to trouble for me. I know Andy has his way with the AI on Challenging on a regular basis so it can be done. And we have plenty of time before launch for fine tuning the AI as needed.

in real life there was a mud season in spring and fall, the late fall early winter was actual a frozen but workable time for the Germans... in 41, is this moddled in the  weather?

ORIGINAL: freeboy

in real life there was a mud season in spring and fall, the late fall early winter was actual a frozen but workable time for the Germans... in 41, is this moddled in the  weather?

It's not that simple due to the four weather zones but my understanding is non-random weather is close to historical weather. Random weather is determined from a table but it's not so random that you'd see blizzards in August, etc.

ORIGINAL: freeboy

in real life there was a mud season in spring and fall, the late fall early winter was actual a frozen but workable time for the Germans... in 41, is this moddled in the  weather?

Yes, snow, which usually follows mud, is a decent time for the Germans. They can still move and attack with only minor penalties. Much better than mud conditions.

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

There's a difference between launching an offensive, and launching a successful one. Perhaps with the exception of the 1943-1944 offensive, none of the objectives achieved the (often rather optimistic) goals of Stalin/STAVKA, and the Soviets suffered heavy losses in all of them, although again with the possible exception of the 1943-1944 offensive depending on when you consider it to have stopped.

There were lots or reports from germans about the sowjets troops stopping attacks after successfull breaking through the german lines. Mainly because most officers were too inexperienced and didn't understand how the "Blitzkrieg" really worked.
So instead of taking advantage of the new situtation the mobile forces were often standing still, giving germans time to react.

Here is a battle report:
 
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2374651&mpage=5&key=battle%2Creport&#2379954

Thanks again for the great AAR.

Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!

Wow, this was over fast, Germany on the defensive already in  -41? I dont know...seems alittle strange.
Is an ahistorical outcome really possibly in this game?

Not really, considering the strategy chosen...

ORIGINAL: Phenix

Wow, this was over fast, Germany on the defensive already in  -41? I dont know...seems alittle strange.
Is an ahistorical outcome really possibly in this game?

Not sure why you would say it's strange. The Germans took a beating during the first winter and the game models that very well. It is certainly possible for a German player to survive the winter and renew the fight in 42 with better play than my first attempt at the campaign.

Some things to keep in mind: I was playing my first campaign game on Challenging and the difficulty of that level has since been lowered. I made a large bulge trying to reach Moscow and then replayed it knowing a more aggressive AI build needed to be tested. After doing some analysis of my play I realized I had misunderstood the rules on HQ's and supply range that would have significantly improved my supply situation. So a number of factors can together that resulted in a mad result for the Germans in this test run. Other testers including me and have done better in subsequent tests of the campaign since then.

plus remember, as testers, we don't always "play" the game, we are doing and looking for things, so you may not be doing everything you should/could be doing if you where really playing, even more so, when you are playing to show what you can do

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

plus remember, as testers, we don't always "play" the game, we are doing and looking for things, so you may not be doing everything you should/could be doing if you where really playing, even more so, when you are playing to show what you can do

Well said Sarge. I think everyone needs to remember that these AAR's are test games. They are not a showcase for players talents, but a test bed to help improve the AI etc.

It's too easy, with hindsight, to pick holes in different players strategies. As Elmo has said he is still understanding/learning certain aspects of the game.

Keep up the great work guys it is really appreciated.

I enjoyed this thread also. Thank you for sharing it with us.

You're welcome.

It was great fun and tught me a lot about the game - both design and play.

When's the next epic?

Thanks
S

Not sure when there will be another AAR.  We are waiting on the PBEM code.  Maybe a couple of testers will show a PBEM game when that is ready for testing.

PBEM AAR will be interesting to see.

Elmo...thanks mate great AAR...that coupled with Hardsarges screenshots have me sold.

What a great AAR. Thank you for posting it. Needless to say, I'm itching for the day when this becomes available. This game seems like a nice balance - not so detailed that a game requires extensive micromanaging as WiTP:AE, but not so abstract like most other land warfare games.

I do have some questions if you don't mind answering them:

1. Despite reading the entire AAR, I'm still unsure what all the symbols/numbers represent on the various units. Could you post a few of them and then go through what each symbol/number represents. For example, I'm still unsure what numbers corresponds to movement!

2. Could you also show a graphic of airbases, and what numbers represent what - and how you know what aircraft are at each base.

3. Could you explain more how air missions work? To do a bombing mission, is it as simple as selecting something that says "bomb", then click the target hex? Or is it more complicated than that?? Likewise, is CAP automatic - or do you assign "zones" to have CAP? And are aircraft types automatically chosen for air missions - or do you have to select each aircraft for each mission??

4. A question on rail movement. If you move a unit by rail, when it disembarks - is the unit "frozen" in that hex until the following turn? Or can it disembark and immediately begin movement? And how far (many hexes) can a unit move by rail in a given turn?

5. Ok. One more question. What is meant by the term "railhead." Is a railhead those little "dots" scattered along the rail line? Or is a "railhead" any hex that has a rail line going through it?

6. Are there stacking limits in the game? Or a maximum amount of units/troops/total strength that can be packed into a hex? And/or is there a penalty for having too many troops in a hex, similar to how WiTP:AE has?

7. Last but not least, can you elaborate a bit on how naval operations and amphibious operations (if there are any) work?

Thanks again for the great AAR.

BTW - the AI seemed to follow a solid strategy after your re-start. While there might be a bug with too many weak Russian units, it's still a good strategy. The AI seemed to fall back in good order - reserving many of it's troops for later in 1941 and avoiding the catastrophe of a standup fight in the first weeks after the German invasion. That was a solid Soviet strategy in the old War in Russia game - retreat to the outer edge of the German initial attack (where supply runs thin and the panzers are out by themselves, waiting for the infantry to catch up), then form a line that has some depth to it, thus forcing the Germans to plow through them, instead of creating huge pockets of cut-off troops through maneuver. The AI seems aware of the old maxim about the eastern front - the Russians have more men than the Germans have bullets!

I'm also impressed with where and how the AI counter-attacked. It attacked the German AGC bulge in a perfect place. And it's broad frontal counter-attack was sure to poke some holes in your line and force the German line to start moving backwards.

And wow, like another poster said - some of those screen shots showing all those Russian units are downright scary if you're the German player!!

All said and done, I'm very impressed with this game! I was a bit hesitant when I saw the turns were one week in length instead of a few days, but after reading through this AAR - week turns now seem ideal.