First Impressions

[mariandavid]

Note based on just 6 hours 'playing' some of which spent on rule reading/watching and from the point of view of a devoted WitP player who also attempts WitE and intentionally brief since I am sure others can comment in greater detail:

Ground: Very similar to WitE somewhat more complexity per unit, largely due to the ability to break-down some support units but in practice much easier because of fewer units.

Air: At first was overwhelmed but then realized that if playing in the same manner as I did in WitE (which meant very minor fiddling with the air) it is actually easier as the directive system is more approachable than the doctrine system in WitE.

Logistics: This is tougher even when just playing smaller scenarios. But a caveat - it is tougher because you can make more choices as in Husky when you decide to weight the British sector in the east at the expense of the US troops heading to Palermo. Cannot say more at the moment.

Issues: So far the only concern is with the non-directive part of the air. Thought I would try a big combined front campaign and winced at the thought of working out how to make major transfers of aircraft between fronts, commands and fields. I think it might be an idea to add to the excellent set of instructional videos that come with the game one on this aspect of airpower. And back to the computer!

[marion61]

ORIGINAL: mariandavid

Issues: So far the only concern is with the non-directive part of the air. Thought I would try a big combined front campaign and winced at the thought of working out how to make major transfers of aircraft between fronts, commands and fields. I think it might be an idea to add to the excellent set of instructional videos that come with the game one on this aspect of airpower. And back to the computer!

You can put air groups back into the reserve say from England in 8th Air Force, and the following turn you assign them from the reserve to where you want them and just change the HQ. The air part of this game seems daunting at first, but after a few turns it wasn't for me anymore, although mastering it is another thing.

[Erik Rutins]

Thanks for posting your impressions mariandavid. Glad to see you getting into it.

It's also a matter of getting familiar with each scenario, as it was in WITE or WITP. It can definitely be daunting at first for the grand campaigns, but once you get a sense of what your forces are and where they are (and how the interface works) planning strategy and implementing it becomes much less challenging. Expect the first turn for any grand campaign scenario to take a while just to familiarize yourself with where everything is.

Regards,

- Erik

[Lützow]

Didn't find much time to dig into today and since it's already past midnight here I have to call it a night. But from my very first impression it's an improvement over WITE already due to the detailed air war.

[spinecruncher]

Can we get any feedback on the Italian Campaign? This to me sounds most interesting as it was really the only region where Axis/Allies were relatively well balanced.
I presume there is no desert campaign....which was also more or less balanced unto second El Alemain (sp).

[Jim D Burns]

First thing that jumps out to me is the two phase system (first an air turn then a land turn) will require a bit of pre-planning not seen in WitE. I was a bit miffed at myself when playing the Axis on turn one when I realized too late I had forgotten to rebase some air groups out of Sicily that were in forward airbases I was going to be leaving undefended as I fell back.

So take a second to look over your airbases in threatened zones before you execute the air phase so you don’t get locked into not being able to move them during the land phase.

Personally I think there should be an emergency redeploy option available in the land phase that still allows the move, but at a cost of damaging 100% of the aircraft and a loss of 10% - 20% of the units experience. Basically a penalty severe enough that players won’t abuse the ability by leaving air groups forward to fight in the air phase and then moving them later in the land phase as a regular practice.

Jim

[PaulWRoberts]

How do the air phases and ground phases interact?

Does the sequencing mean that a unit can be softened up by a whole week's worth of air attacks before being ground attacked on what should realistically be only the first day of those air attacks?

[Erik Rutins]

Ground support, where air power supports and participates in a battle, happens during ground combat. Ground attacks (interdiction and direct attacks on enemy units outside of ground combat) happen before.

[sfbaytf]

I already like the tutorial videos. Running Operation Husky on 1 screen and the tutorial videos on a second monitor. I haven't really followed the pre-launch of this game, but I can foresee many more videos popping up on youtube like CMNO.

[PaulWRoberts]

Installed and impressioning! I haven't had a chance to do anything but fool around with the interface.

I like what I see. I'm familiar with WITE, so a lot looks familiar, but the smaller scope and the sheer fact of being in the West makes it all seem more intimate and specific. I've fiddled with the air improvements just enough to see how meaningful and game-changing they will be.

I do have one strong initial reaction: the map needs some love. The size and accuracy are impressive, but the color palate is insufficiently distinct. In NW France, clear and bocage and light woods all look too much alike; you have to look twice to be sure about any specific hex. Across Europe, even heavy woods don't stand out enough, and rough looks like it might be woods. All but the densest cities just kind of blend into the terrain. Everything on the map is just a variation of pale green or greenish brown.

Hexes are big enough that terrain should be visible around units, but it doesn't stand out enough for an impression to come across.

I know WITE's map was modded several times, and I hope someone will consider making the terrain in WITE more distinct and less bland.

[Qwixt]

Are you talking about this area?

[Erik Rutins]

The final map in that area looks like this:




It's the same style as the War in the East map. I know some prefer the modded maps and hopefully the map modders will try their hands at WITW as well for those who prefer different looks. This is the same look we had for WITE and the one we were aiming for in WITW.

Regards,

- Erik

[PaulWRoberts]

Please note that I'm not complaining, just urging a preference. I think the map is very impressive--I just wish the different terrain types stood out more. If nothing else, the bocage looks too easy!

[kartejeremy]

Greetings, Paul, Jeremy here. I did the artwork for the map in WiTW. I hear what you're saying, and I'm glad you've shared your opinion.
Our primary goal in creating this map was to emulate the WiTE style as closely as possible in this format, and one of my own primary design choices was that in some games the map art can be so distinct that it can interfere with the visual clarity necessary to see the whole battlefield, and all the units present. Nonetheless, we welcome any commentary you have to share, and all that we hear will go into consideration on future work. Thanks for weighing in.

[PaulWRoberts]

Thanks for the reply, Jeremy.

Too cluttered would be a hindrance, that's definitely true. Looking again, I think my own preference (and I don't know whether this is possible) would be for terrain elements to become more distinct as you zoom in.

Thanks for your work on this monster of a game!

[sfbaytf]

Just started Husky after watching videos over and over. I do notice some pauses during the air phase.

I think adding the air combat screen with planes like WitPAE would really add flavor to the air phase.

I let the AI do most of the Air stuff and 1 turn I lost 327 aircraft with 92 damaged, while the enemy suffered just 92 losses and 60 damaged.

I also noticed that toggling the details while in play causes pauses and the game to stop responding, so you may have to be careful doing that.

[sfbaytf]

I restarted Husky and once again the 82nd Airborne got decimated! There is a lot to this game.

Once you tweak the settings to your likings this game really starts to show it potential.

I'm still letting the AI do most of the air stuff, but I'm going to start taking over-once I get more comfortable with some other stuff. I'm playing on Challenging setting with FOW turned on.

[Grotius]

I won a narrow marginal victory in my first game of Husky, with the AI set at Normal. For my next game I'll take Erik Rutins' advice and try Challenging. But I was lucky to squeak out a marginal win; I was actually behind on points until turn 7. And I didn't make it to Messina. It was quite an exciting finish.

On air combat details: while there aren't animations, you can watch air combat "replays" if you set the combat replay to 6 or 7, I think. Just hit the 6 key, say.

After three or four turns, I was setting most of the air directives myself. I have no idea if I was doing it optimally. I had maybe a dozen directives up at any one time. I'm still not sure about how to optimize ground attack vs ground support. I need to read the manual on that stuff. Ground attack to soften up a target; ground support for the HQ that will then go in and fight that target on the ground?

[sfbaytf]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I won a narrow marginal victory in my first game of Husky, with the AI set at Normal. For my next game I'll take Erik Rutins' advice and try Challenging. But I was lucky to squeak out a marginal win; I was actually behind on points until turn 7. And I didn't make it to Messina. It was quite an exciting finish.

On air combat details: while there aren't animations, you can watch air combat "replays" if you set the combat replay to 6 or 7, I think. Just hit the 6 key, say.

After three or four turns, I was setting most of the air directives myself. I have no idea if I was doing it optimally. I had maybe a dozen directives up at any one time. I'm still not sure about how to optimize ground attack vs ground support. I need to read the manual on that stuff. Ground attack to soften up a target; ground support for the HQ that will then go in and fight that target on the ground?

Thanks for the 6 key tip. I think we all need to read the manual and when I get the hard copy I'll be reading that too. I'm really tempted to put 100% air to interdicting the Messina Straights, but know that's not a good idea.

Maybe setting the strategic air to focus on interdicting the Messina Straights and the Coastal Air to help out , while the Tac Air focuses on supporting the ground effort is the ticket...

Its getting late. I need something called sleep.

[Grotius]

The 6 key is handy! And you can switch detail levels on the fly. If you get bored watching the details with 6 or 7 selected, just tap 1 and you'll be back to ultra-fast mode. I usually go with something in between, like 4 or 5.

As the Allies in Husky, I tried an air directive for naval interdiction around Messina before I had air supremacy there. Oops. Land-based air out of southern Italy spanked me. I'm still not sure what the best way is to interdict the Messina ferry. But establishing fighter supremacy would be a logical first step! Doh.

And yeah, I need to read more of the manual. I find myself pausing and researching particular questions as they come up, first by looking at the 1-page guides, then at the manual itself. But I really should just sit and read the manual straight through once.