Playing on Ver 1.06.47b

[iamjedi2]

Hi all

As my subject title suggests I'm currently playing as Axis on an older game version. I'm at the start of April 44 in the 43 Campaign and play when I can - it's taken me a few years to reach this point.

I'm looking for advice from players who have run through this version of the game and in particular around the ground war and aircraft R&D production. Can anyone advise if the ground war is pre-ordained with historical accuracy irrespective of how well I defend troops, factories, oil refineries etc? Will I be held hostage to key dates like the Anzio breakout, DDay, Normandy breakout, defection' of Romania to name a few?

Which leads me to my second query. If I'm constrained by the timings on the ground war then to have any chance of winning in this game I'm really going to have to get my skates on producing Me262s, TA152s, Go229s (are they even possible in the 43 campaign given their late 45 operational introduction in the weapons DB). Is there a direct correlation between volume of allocated resources and operational entry date? When I switched to manual production in late October 43, I allocated 40 airframes, engines and parts to 190D9 production and they became available mid March 44 many months before the historical fact. Was this a fluke or is there correlation?

Actually, when I think about it there are a couple of other things which folks might be able to help me with. In terms of engaging Baltimore V bombers, is it worth it? I seem to be absolutely battered by them no matter whet aircraft I send against them. Is this an anomaly in the game? They definitely seem to pack a very outsized punch!

Also, I find it really frustrating trying to defend the Gustav line troops with CAPs. When I try to set them it will not allow me as I'm patrolling too near enemy bases - even when a fair distance behind the front line. Is this a glitch or am I doing something wrong?

All in all, I tip my hat to the guys taking time to keep this game evolving. I've got fond memories of playing 12 O'clock High what must be the best part of 20 odd years ago now. And I never finished that game either as my HD crashed and burned and I lost my saved game!

Regards
IJ2

[simovitch]

Hello,
The dates of Normandy and Avalanche invasion (and the Eastern front/Romania events) are all hard wired. Normandy, Westwall, Gustav line, and Gothic Line collapse/breakout dates can be influenced by success or failure in the ground war. Each time you see a message about a repulsed attack or defeat of some division, the date of the breakout moves to a later or sooner date accordingly. German Divisions pounded by CAS will be more likely to be defeated in the ground war.

Regarding R&D, the quicker you build "prototypes" the quicker the research will be completed so it looks like it is working right. We made modifications to R&D in the later patches, so I'm not sure what the 1.06.47 actual parameters are for R&D.

Good observation on the Baltimores; they seem overpowered to me and I just read that the rearward firing MG's were "worthless" and usually removed after delivery. I'll ask our Data expert what to do.

CAP patrols near enemy bases are restricted, which is currently WAD. Good Point about Italy, which will also be true as you close up to the Westwall and Gothic. I might fix this to allow patrols near friendly ground units.

[iamjedi2]

Hi Simovitch

Thanks for the quick response. Sounds like I will be able to stand up a bit longer if I can delay the fall of the Gustav and Normandy breakouts. Might buy enough time to get better planes to the front line. With regards to the Eastern Front - I didn't notice any ground troops on that side of the map. How does that play out? Do ground units appear at some point?

You mentioned that R&D has been modified in later patches. Are you able to elaborate on the current parameters? I may ditch my current game and upgrade if there are noticeable differences between mine and the latest one. And not just R&D. Is there a big difference in playability between the two? I realise that might be a difficult question to answer as it could be subjective but I would welcome your qualified opinion.

There was one other thought that occurred to me and I meant to add it to my original post. I've noticed that despite assigning certain aircraft types a 'bounce fighter' doctrine, they seem hell bent on tackling bombers rather than the fighter escort I've directed them against, resulting in quite heavy losses. Insult is then added to injury when my 190 8/R7s are then cut to pieces by the same fighter escorts which should have been engaged by my 190d9s. Are there many variables in play to decide the rules of engagement here? Perhaps it's because I'm playing an earlier patch?

Again, thanks for your help and apologies for bombarding you with questions. I'm just trying to get an overall picture to see if I should bite the bullet and start again on the latest version or continue running with mine.

Regards

[JeffroK]

Its interesting how different players have different experiences. I only pay the Allies so I don't know exactly what happens. My Baltimore's do not appear to be any better than the Bostons, B25 & B26's in the Med. They also don't face a lot of defenders over Italy I also cant see that 4 x .303 are going to knock much out of the sky.

[iamjedi2]

I never even thought about it from a human Allied experience. Sounds like you're not noticing anything unusual when being engaged by Axis AI. Perhaps I'm playing differently from AI and possibly some human players (seen on the forum that a few don't defend Italy and concentrate resources elsewhere) but I have at least 6 gruppe and about 3 staffel in central Italy and about 4 gruppe and 2 staffel in Northern Italy. So reasonably aggressive on this front.

I find I need this to provide cover for the Anzio defenders and I also seem to catch bombers and escorts which took off from Sardinia/Corsica for Northern Italy raids and then come back through central Italy via Corsica to land in Southern Italy. Same happens with bombers and fighters leaving Southern Italy to bomb Austria. Strangely, the returning bombers never head to Corsica/Sardinia but often their fighter escorts do. I find engaging at this criss cross yields decent results in terms of catching fighters with (presumably) fatigued pilots and with a good 10 to 15 a day shot down in this manner for very little loss - perhaps 1 or 2.

Whether it's worth tying up so many resources is obviously up for debate. However, my overall approach to the game is pilot preservation and I try to only engage when odds are stacked in my favour to ensure a constant upping of pilot experience and a better chance of mitigating the technological inequality which I think is quite marked around late spring 44 until the autumn/winter of 44 when I will hopefully get access to better aircraft types. This approach is probably reflected in my game score at the start of April 44 with Industry damage of 9 and Terror score of 17.

[simovitch]

Hi Simovitch

Thanks for the quick response. Sounds like I will be able to stand up a bit longer if I can delay the fall of the Gustav and Normandy breakouts. Might buy enough time to get better planes to the front line. With regards to the Eastern Front - I didn't notice any ground troops on that side of the map. How does that play out? Do ground units appear at some point?

You mentioned that R&D has been modified in later patches. Are you able to elaborate on the current parameters? I may ditch my current game and upgrade if there are noticeable differences between mine and the latest one. And not just R&D. Is there a big difference in playability between the two? I realise that might be a difficult question to answer as it could be subjective but I would welcome your qualified opinion.

There was one other thought that occurred to me and I meant to add it to my original post. I've noticed that despite assigning certain aircraft types a 'bounce fighter' doctrine, they seem hell bent on tackling bombers rather than the fighter escort I've directed them against, resulting in quite heavy losses. Insult is then added to injury when my 190 8/R7s are then cut to pieces by the same fighter escorts which should have been engaged by my 190d9s. Are there many variables in play to decide the rules of engagement here? Perhaps it's because I'm playing an earlier patch?

Again, thanks for your help and apologies for bombarding you with questions. I'm just trying to get an overall picture to see if I should bite the bullet and start again on the latest version or continue running with mine.

Regards

Hi, a couple of things:
No troops show up for the East Front, you only observe the loss of territory during the course of the big Soviet 1944 Offensive all the way into 1945. Nothing you can do to stop that.

A lot of improvements have been made since .47, but saves made before version .66 will be unusable on later patches so be aware if you want to patch up. I suggest installing another separate game on your drive or laptop and download the current patch 1.06.83+hotfix and read all the documentation about what has been worked on, including R&D, and try it out.