Newbie Thoughts and Questions
Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:39 am
A few observations/comments based on getting to 1917 with both the TE and CP:
1. The TE is far, far easier than the CP. The TE has access to so many production points that they rapidly outpace the CP's on a technology level.
2. The game does a great job of outlining the German's strategic problem. Having tried a Russia first strategy you are tossing resources into a hole that doesn't necessarily cause huge losses but does result in needing a lot of corps just to cover the front. I get a better feel for why you risk everything on the Schlieffen Plan which has always seemed like a huge crap shoot.
3. The naval stuff is problematic. In late 1917 my TE forces have yet to run down the Austrian or German navies. The AH navy in particular seems staffed by super-men because they have fended off everything the French, UK and Italians have tossed at them. The CPU did no better running down the German fleet against me. The Germans run my North sea blockade with depressing regularity with their friggin' DN's. The UI doesn't give me a ton of info so I have a variety of UK warhsips that I can't do anything with and I'm not sure where they are. I've gotten pretty comfortable with a lot of the UI but the naval side in terms of deployment and disposition of forces remains problematic. I'd love to try and figure out a better UI for this area.
4. At the same time, the U-boat threat is really pretty low. The only time the CP threatened England was when they gained surface superiority for one turn and I'm not sure the U-boats sank any transports in either game I've played over an extended period.
5. Do the Ottomans actually help the CP's? The downside of letting the UK onto the continent is surely not balanced by whatever nuisance the OE causes the Russians in the Caucus.
6.It is really expensive to take empty ground. As the TE I just kept rolling my Russians back until I had a line running roughly from Riga to behind the Pripet Marshes (which do not seem as big a barrier as I'd hoped) and then made a stand along that dug in line. It took the Germans ages to get there and they could not run sustained offensives. They'd make an occasional breakthrough but nothing they could exploit because I'm sure they'd chewed up all their offensives taking the vacant land. On the flip side, the Anglo-French forces shattered the German line by early 1917 and had and still have free reign to run all over German but, again, can't because they are out of offensive points. Same thing with my poor forces in the Levant who can't roll up the Ottomans. I've learned the great value of cavalry in those scenarios but I tend to build "highways" of control and am constantly up against those "Why can't I move there moments" far, far behind my lines.
7. The CPU buys a ton of artillery. Far more than I do. They use it constantly in barrages all along the front. I have fewer tubes but concentrate it where I'm gonna attack. I'm trying to figure out if the massive investment in artillery and barrages is worth the damage they cause. It doesn't seem to be but maybe the CPU understands something I don't.
8. Airpower can be frustrating since I apply a unit to a "Front" but still can't use it - and I mean ones I should be able to use. Air units committed to the Italian front can't be used it seems past the Italian border hexes. There appears to be an invisible line in German that stops the TE from using "Western" front airpower around, say Hannover or Wilmshaven. I've never been able to get Russian airpower to appear in the Caucuses and the same thing for Mesopotamia.
9. The R&D tree I have not mastered yet. The TE's are not a good choice since I can focus on everything, more or less, but with the CP's what are really the key items? I do not have a feel for the relative value of Assault vs Tanks for example. ASW, because subs don't appear to do much, does not seem to matter all that much.
10. Can you stave off the revolution? My TE strategy was very low on Russian losses but I still got hit with the Revolution. Are the Russians really a use 'em or losed 'em ally? Should I be throwing them at the Germans to consume replacements?
11. Despite some of the quibbles above I'm now really enjoying this game since I feel like I've broken through the learning curve (mostly) and am now trying to get to the mastery curve. I see a lot of options trying out different gambits as the CP's and TE's.
1. The TE is far, far easier than the CP. The TE has access to so many production points that they rapidly outpace the CP's on a technology level.
2. The game does a great job of outlining the German's strategic problem. Having tried a Russia first strategy you are tossing resources into a hole that doesn't necessarily cause huge losses but does result in needing a lot of corps just to cover the front. I get a better feel for why you risk everything on the Schlieffen Plan which has always seemed like a huge crap shoot.
3. The naval stuff is problematic. In late 1917 my TE forces have yet to run down the Austrian or German navies. The AH navy in particular seems staffed by super-men because they have fended off everything the French, UK and Italians have tossed at them. The CPU did no better running down the German fleet against me. The Germans run my North sea blockade with depressing regularity with their friggin' DN's. The UI doesn't give me a ton of info so I have a variety of UK warhsips that I can't do anything with and I'm not sure where they are. I've gotten pretty comfortable with a lot of the UI but the naval side in terms of deployment and disposition of forces remains problematic. I'd love to try and figure out a better UI for this area.
4. At the same time, the U-boat threat is really pretty low. The only time the CP threatened England was when they gained surface superiority for one turn and I'm not sure the U-boats sank any transports in either game I've played over an extended period.
5. Do the Ottomans actually help the CP's? The downside of letting the UK onto the continent is surely not balanced by whatever nuisance the OE causes the Russians in the Caucus.
6.It is really expensive to take empty ground. As the TE I just kept rolling my Russians back until I had a line running roughly from Riga to behind the Pripet Marshes (which do not seem as big a barrier as I'd hoped) and then made a stand along that dug in line. It took the Germans ages to get there and they could not run sustained offensives. They'd make an occasional breakthrough but nothing they could exploit because I'm sure they'd chewed up all their offensives taking the vacant land. On the flip side, the Anglo-French forces shattered the German line by early 1917 and had and still have free reign to run all over German but, again, can't because they are out of offensive points. Same thing with my poor forces in the Levant who can't roll up the Ottomans. I've learned the great value of cavalry in those scenarios but I tend to build "highways" of control and am constantly up against those "Why can't I move there moments" far, far behind my lines.
7. The CPU buys a ton of artillery. Far more than I do. They use it constantly in barrages all along the front. I have fewer tubes but concentrate it where I'm gonna attack. I'm trying to figure out if the massive investment in artillery and barrages is worth the damage they cause. It doesn't seem to be but maybe the CPU understands something I don't.
8. Airpower can be frustrating since I apply a unit to a "Front" but still can't use it - and I mean ones I should be able to use. Air units committed to the Italian front can't be used it seems past the Italian border hexes. There appears to be an invisible line in German that stops the TE from using "Western" front airpower around, say Hannover or Wilmshaven. I've never been able to get Russian airpower to appear in the Caucuses and the same thing for Mesopotamia.
9. The R&D tree I have not mastered yet. The TE's are not a good choice since I can focus on everything, more or less, but with the CP's what are really the key items? I do not have a feel for the relative value of Assault vs Tanks for example. ASW, because subs don't appear to do much, does not seem to matter all that much.
10. Can you stave off the revolution? My TE strategy was very low on Russian losses but I still got hit with the Revolution. Are the Russians really a use 'em or losed 'em ally? Should I be throwing them at the Germans to consume replacements?
11. Despite some of the quibbles above I'm now really enjoying this game since I feel like I've broken through the learning curve (mostly) and am now trying to get to the mastery curve. I see a lot of options trying out different gambits as the CP's and TE's.
