Europe 1933 alpha test

[ernieschwitz]

Ok,

I guess we are ready to testrun an alpha version multiplayer game of the Europe 1933 scenario that i have been writing so much about lately (see the after action reports, Europe 1933 pre alpha). So Bombur and I think we are ready for a testrun. We know there are still some things that need to be reworked, and there are probably things we don´t know about that needs a rework too.

The Scenario takes its beginning in 1933 in may, and runs as long as anyone is still interested, and no clear winner is found. The techtree is developed from 1900 to 1960. And differs from the techtree used in standard AT games, it does however resemble the Bombur mod, if anyone has tried that. There are 7 player slots, but really only 5 of them are viable to play, unless you happen to be a very good player.

The sides are (in play order):
Germany
Italy
France
Britain
Soviet Union
Turkey
Spain

The last two are the least viable. We are looking for preferably 3 other players. Bombur and I already having been nominated, by me, to play this test game. If you want to play, please reply to this thread, and we will try to include you.

We imagine this game will be a free for all, no house rules.

I have already decided i will play either Soviet Union or Britain. Bombur has second choice on whatever he wants to play.

It is a definate advantage to have looked at, or played, the 1900 Diplomacy scenario made by Tom Weber, recently, as this Scenario utilizes alot of the code from that scenario, and thus alot of the techs. Among these techs are the way diplomacy functions, production increases, and a few of the others.

In my estimation this is how hard the different regimes are to play:

Germany - easy. You have the most production to start the game, and a good production base. You are however close to france, which might be a problem, and italy is in the underbelly of your country which might be annoying.

Italy - moderate. You have a low production base, but most of it is your own people, which is good. Geographically you are in a bad position. To expand you almost certainly need to go to war with another major power. Bordering France and Germany and having a colonial "empire" that borders with the French and British isn´t too fun either. Control of the mediterranian will be key to succes with this regime.

France - moderate. You have more production than Italy, which is good, but alot of it comes from colonies, which can´t be that good. Geographically you are in a most challenging position. Your neighbors are Italy, Germany, and of course Spain. All regimes that are playable. And across the channel there is the British Empire, which is a bigger economy than your own.

Britain - easy/moderate. You have a large production, and some very good colonies. Which is very good. The economy can easily rate as good as Germanies, but you have interests all over Europe. The mediterranian is a focus area if you expect to keep your colonies, and France must be a concern, if they are not friends with you. Then again Germany is a concern too if they grow too powerful.

Soviet Union - pretty easy, you have a good production base, tho your start of production is low, you are still pretty powerful. Navy research can to some degree be ignored, and you are in a seemingly isolated area of the world, which makes start up easy. On the negative side your country is very big, and Turkey is your southern neighbor.

Turkey - Hard. You have about half the production of Italy, and your economy is in about as good a shape as theirs. Your starting forces lack most everything you would expect a modern army to have, no tanks for instance. Goegraphically you are in a not too bad position, with colonies surrounding you and the Soviet Union as a neighbor across the black sea. The balkan countries might be easy targets to start a war with once you get into gear. You might want to find a friend among the major powers who can throw some PP towards you, or you might become an irrelevant country.

Spain - Hard. Your production is about (maybe alittle more) the same as Turkeys, but less of your population is native than the Turks. So you will gain less from improving your economy by production research than any other power. However, your geographic position is of some importance. France is your northern Neighbor, and is powerful compared to you. Its colonies surround your colony, but you control the access to the mediterranian as much as the British do (they have Gibraltar, you have Tangiers). Otherwise its a big country, compared to its starting forces, and the only real neighbor that you can fight and win against is Portugal.

[82ndtrooper]

I would love to try this and help you test it. but I have 4 games going atm and that has my plate full.

[ernieschwitz]

It seems like we are going to wait a while, before we can start the test. Bombur and I are continually developing the scenario, so its not a big problem. But we would like to have someone test out the feel for the scenario, and if the combat system works properly, as well as if everything is balanced just right.

At the moment we are at Alpha version 3.03. Among things that have changed from pre-alpha are the invention of a way to simulate the depression (Bombur came up with the idea actually). The removal of the BBs, Tanks and Air forces (that last one hurts) from Germany, to give a more realistic start to Germany (Also bomburs idea). The change of diplomatic costs, to reflect if you are dealing with a regime that likes you or not, and to better model what actually happened (Bombur came up with the idea, i made some adjustments).

For Alpha version 3.04 we are considering several things. Like redoing the swiss/french/german border some. Redoing the OOBs of the sleeping regimes. Setting the starting date to march 23. 1933, the date of the enabling act (and Hitlers come to dictatorial power) from may 1 1933. Maybe even doing new OOBs for the starting nations.

But it would be really nice to have some feedback, and playtesters soon...