Some (positive) initial impressions

[Grotius]

I'm up to March 1940 in the grand campaign, playing as the Allies on Intermediate difficulty, and so far I'm loving it! I love the global scope. There are relatively few turn-based games that model WW2 in its entirety. I've played several that I enjoy: World in Flames, which is great, but takes much longer to play; Gary Grigsby's World at War, which was great fun; and beer-and-pretzel games like Axis & Allies. I'm enjoying this just as much as any of those.

Also, playing China in this game is actually *fun*, which is not often true in this genre. It's actually been my favorite theater so far. I worry it's too fun -- with US aid, China is pulling in more than 200 MPPs per turn, more than most of the other Allied nations. Even without the aid, China would be making more than the Soviets and about as much as France. Isn't that a bit generous? I'm no expert, mind you; other than casual reading about the Chinese theater, all I can point to are games like War in the Pacific and the above-mentioned global games, most of which tend to make it tough to grow an army in China in the early war. But I've mentioned to produce 2-3 corps and replace most of my losses.

I've read that people are concerned about how the AI handles the naval war. It's a bit early for me to tell, as I've had only one naval engagement so far -- I sank a German cruiser in the North Sea.

Which reminds me -- roughly what does a capital ship unit represent in this game? 3-4 such ships and accompanying DDs? More than that?

Finally, I like the way the game gives you one global resource -- MPPs -- and lets you loose to budget it for research, production, replacements, and diplomacy. It may not be as realistic as games that closely model oil etc., but it has obvious gameplay advantages: it forces the player to make tough decisions. I like that.

Great job, Hubert!

[Hubert Cater]

Thanks Grotius, very glad to hear you are enjoying the game [8D]

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Which reminds me -- roughly what does a capital ship unit represent in this game? 3-4 such ships and accompanying DDs? More than that?

Yes, with capital ships the units generally represent several of that type, with some accompanying smaller vessels. Although if encountering enemy Subs nothing beats a Destroyer unit to act as escort.

[Grotius]

So I'm in early 1942, playing as the Allies on Intermediate vs the Axis AI, and the game so far has been impressively historical.

Germany took Poland quickly but didn't take France until November 1940. Still, the Axis got back "on schedule" by taking the Balkans in the spring of 1941 and invading the USSR in June 1941. After impressive initial gains, German forces are now on a line running from Riga to the outskirts of Smolensk down to the Crimea. So roughly historical.

In North Africa, my Brits seized Tobruk early on, but after the fall of France, Italy and the Afrika Korps counterattacked and took it back from me. Since then, some fun back-and-forth fighting along the Libya-Egypt border.

For me as the Allies, China is my biggest worry. I held the line fine for the first year of the war, but in late 1941 things began to deteriorate. Now Japan is 3-4 hexes from Chungking, and I'm in full panic mode. I haven't been able to buy a unit for months, as I spend all my resources reinforcing must-hold positions, so I'm slowly losing my army. If there's any balance concern in the game, this might be it for me, though again I think Japan's progress is roughly historical. They've taken Changsha, just took Nanning and Kuelin, and they're routing me in the north. I'm still holding Chengchow but not for much longer.

Japan's Pearl Harbor attack was fun to watch, and it's made good landings in the Dutch East Indies and elsewhere. My only concern here was that Manila fell immediately, Corregidor not long thereafter. Now, I didn't do anything to reinforce the Philipines as the US because I wasn't sure about the limits on moving my navy, including transports. Could/should I have done so?

Anyway, I feel the game is pretty well-balanced, with the possible exception of China feeling a bit weak to me. Also, I'm curious -- does the AI get any special benefits? Can it "see" my units despite fog of war? Does it get production boosts or free units?

[GiveWarAchance]

Grotius are you sure China is weak? In my second game now as Japan again, they counterattacked and took over several cities cause I was going more for research than boots on the ground and it resulted in a bit of a ruckus. It was a tough fight to retake my cities while still holding the line against the hordes and I am still recovering from the attacks and was delayed in upgrading units. In my first game I did better in China cause I built tanks and troops but it left me weak when the USA came stomping in with a powerful navy backed up by the Royal Navy and a brutal amphib landing force of many troops supported by tanks, rangers and HQs. Despite the beating, I was impressed by both the USA and China. I haven't seen an AI this good since Gary Grisby's games.

You should try playing as Japan and put the other axis on AI control which does really well with them. I will try playing as China next time like you recommended.

[GiveWarAchance]

To see how historical and intelligent the AI is, look at this picture which is all AI control (I am Japan only). I haven't touched anything German or Italian except I accidentally started two researches for Germany by accident thinking I was on the Japan research screen.

In the picture, both Germany and Italy are loading up to smash Yugoslavia with beautiful formations of troops in front, tanks on the flank to deliver a roundhouse punch, and the softies like HQs and airplanes are all safely and amply tucked in behind the massed troops. And at the same time, all the axis have prepared their forces to hit the USSR and look like they did an excellent job of it.

Also note the AI really exploits gaps in lines to burst through and cause chaos as you can see in the picture. The extremely weak Yugoslav forces are very historical and the Germans only lost 193 soldiers in the real takeover of Yugoslavia cause they swooped in with great speed (actually a race between different armies) before the enemy could call up their reserves so they have few troops fielded.

https://imgur.com/6DCKmW4

[Hubert Cater]

Also, I'm curious -- does the AI get any special benefits? Can it "see" my units despite fog of war? Does it get production boosts or free units?

Most of the special benefits the AI receives can be set relative to the difficulty level in the OPTIONS screen, i.e. extra experience, extra MPPs, extra spotting and can be customized as a player desires as well.

Beyond that the AI does receive some free bonus units here and there and most are tied into the game as performance helpers. For example, if the USSR needs a bit of help to ensure the game remains interesting due to a deep and rapid Axis advance, the Soviet AI may receive some extra units to help it survive a bit longer. Not a huge amount, and typically tied into specific locations in order to keep the flow of the game feeling as reasonably natural as possible.

The Axis AI might also receive similar bonuses and all nations will receive a few bonus units to act as garrisons for optimal game play all around.

The effects are intended to be subtle and not just a matter of throwing a bunch of extra units your way and then calling it a better AI etc.

Other than that, very glad to hear you are enjoying the game [8D]

[GiveWarAchance]

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[Grotius]

ORIGINAL: GiveWarAchance

Grotius are you sure China is weak? ... You should try playing as Japan and put the other axis on AI control which does really well with them.

I'm not at all sure. Things are very precarious but my China is still holding out. Part of the issue, though, is that Mao's forces have remained neutral into 1942. Historically, they fought against the Japanese in 1940-41. Now, maybe that's my own fault for not investing in diplomacy with Mao?

Yep, I'll definitely try playing as Japan! And I do agree that the AI is impressive.

ORIGINAL: Hubert Cater

Beyond that the AI does receive some free bonus units here and there and most are tied into the game as performance helpers. For example, if the USSR needs a bit of help to ensure the game remains interesting due to a deep and rapid Axis advance, the Soviet AI may receive some extra units to help it survive a bit longer.

Fair enough -- I don't mind that at all. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the game is helping *me*, as when I've received a couple free Chinese units near Chungking after the fall of other cities.

Anyway, I am really quite impressed with the AI. It's 1942 in my game as the Allies, and the AI is scaring the willies out of me in China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.

Also, I've spent about 72 hours /played on this one game, some of it AFK; great value for my money! Although I wonder if I'm a slowpoke compared to most players.