Lets talk AI.

[stormbringer3]

Even though there are higher profile WWII games being released soon, I keep coming back to this title as my next possible purchase.
My biggest concern is the AI. I know that for most games when you play enough, the AI becomes easy to beat. Two exceptions for me were GALCIV and Victoria. I have gone through the AARs on the Wargamer site and I will buy the argument that the author was an expert in the game, so a new player will not achieve the same results in the land war at first. However, a comment in AAR4 has me concerned. It was said that the Italian and Spanish navies were battling and holding their own against the Royal Navy in the South East Atlantic. My reaction was huh? Since the navy part is more abstracted I find it a concern that the Royal Navy is not defeating them. The bottom line is I don't want a cakewalk after 1-2 weeks of play.
Any opinions would be appreciated.

[Mike Parker]

I haven't read the AAR your referring too, but by this I assume that Spain joined the Axis and Gibralter is now an Axis port.  If this had happened historically, what makes you think Combined Italian/Spanish sorties into the SE Atlantic wouldn't have held their own against the UK?
 
Perhaps the question to better asked would be how likely is it for a Spanish Axis?
 
In almost every good WWII game I have played the nightmare scenario for the UK is to have Spain go Axis followed by a combined German/Italian/Spanish fleet based out of Gibralter and other Spanish (and Portuguese) ports.  Second only to an Axis invasion of Spain and then not having the Spanish navy to help the Italians.
 
I know one of the things that RtV had a problem with was the diplomatic system, it was relatively easy to get Spain into the Axis, I am unsure if this is still an issue or not.

[doomtrader]

I know one of the things that RtV had a problem with was the diplomatic system, it was relatively easy to get Spain into the Axis, I am unsure if this is still an issue or not.

Should be not, and if somebody thinks/observes it is, please let me know

[Mike Parker]

ORIGINAL: doomtrader

I know one of the things that RtV had a problem with was the diplomatic system, it was relatively easy to get Spain into the Axis, I am unsure if this is still an issue or not.

Should be not, and if somebody thinks/observes it is, please let me know

Next time I fire up ToW I'll look into a Spanish Gambit with the Axis. I vaguely remember looking at the Spanish settings (50 political strength and 0 alignment I believe) and looking at my German DP points and thinking its not too hard to get Spain.

In RtV as the Axis I could Frequently do one of several strategies Diplomatically.

1) Get Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria - For help with Greece, Yugoslavia, and eventually USSR.
2) Get Spain and Vichy France - This gives you INCREDIBLE naval power, especially if you played coy with the Italian Navy and let most of the French Navy survive.
3) Get Spain and Rumania - A mixed blessing, you could then get Hungary and Bulgaria later (late 42 early 43). Not bad, but it means your not really controlling the Med without the Vichy Fleet, and your not getting all the help you could against the USSR.
4) Get Finland and maybe Bulgaria - My biggest problem Finland was set at 70-0 meaning you had to spend 210 DP to activate Finland, not very likely.

I think it will turn out that with the default setting a Spanish Gambit will still be a popular strategy, I would rather see Spain be set 70 - 0 and Finland 50 - 0, although I must admit the Finnish Border War event is pretty darn cool, and I am wondering if once its done there will be an event to bring Finland closer to the Axis side?

It also seems that one accrues fewer Diplomatic Points (DP) which might make spending the 150 for Spain less palatable. It seems to get Rumania, Hungary, and Bulgaria the Axis has to commit about 260 Total DP. To Get Rumania and Spain would be the same 260 DP or so. To get Spain and Vichy would be 360DP I believe (although I am vague on if Vichy France is 70 - 0 in ToW. I admit when Vichy was created I had already commited to a Rum/Hun/Bul strategy and didn't even look) I also seemed to be quite poor in the DP category (although I had already activated Rumania.

My gut feelings is that its likely too easy to align Spain, and too hard to align Finland. As for the Spain part, I will test that out and see how it works, for the Finland part it depends on if there is a post 'Finnish border war event' or perhaps one that aligns or partially aligns Finland once you go to war with the USSR.

[gwgardner]

With regard to the AI on land, I personally find it harder to play against than in RtV. It does several things it didn't used to do well or at all.

1) It is attentive to 'supply encirclements.' It will make good moves to break such encirclements. I'm assuming the same can be said for breaking an 'physical' encirclement, in which it has to blast through the enemy lines. I haven't played enough yet to prove the latter, but I have seen the former repeatedly.

2) It will attempt to form contiguous fronts anchored on cities. Rather than simply congregating around cities.

Concerning Gibraltar, in ToW - it's no longer a complete killer if the Axis does get Spain and Gibraltar. In RtV that used to mean doom for the British in the Middle East. Now we have ports in North Africa that keep it in play, plus transport through the Suez. I'd like to see the Axis hold on to Gibraltar once the US has a beachhead in N. Africa. Oh yeah, and Turkey now has an extra VP city. No more cake walks through Turkey for the Axis.