Matrix Games Forums

Well we had to restart our PBEM multiplayer game with the new version 1.600 so Joel has given us the ok to post an AAR (and Screens!) of the new game as we go along.

here's the 4 players:

Major Power / Matrix Board Name
---------------------------------------
Germany / paullus99
Japan / bigbabyhead
Russia / Oleg Mastruko
Western Allies & China / MButtazoni

we are playing with simple supply, auto supply and no Fog of War. Simple supply and Auto Supply mean we just produce supply into a generic National "bucket" for it to be consumed as we need it, and we don't concern ourselves with moving it to the right areas.

PLEASE NOTE that this is an ALPHA product so things may change and there is also still quite a bit of artwork that needs to be done or redone.

stay tuned...

Great! Waiting for the first update! [;)]

Good stuff

while were waiting for the first turn to get underway, how about some screenshots of the opening positions...

Europe:

Asia:

Force Pool:

Unit icons are (top to bottom): Infantry, Militia, Paratroopers, Mech, Artiliiery, AA, Fighters, Tactical Bombers, Heavy Bombers, Carrier Air, Aircraft Carriers, Heavy Fleet, Light Fleet, Submarines, Transports, and Supply.

#'s are qty on Map and qty in production queue

if some of you are confused about the numbers-the big number in a territory represents the total number of units present. sometimes the rail capacity/resources/factories of the territory shows up as well-this can be alittle confusing-i tend to ignore it myself-it can be adjusted in te menu panel options.

Honshu (main island of japan) has 2 inf units not 24 as it would seem.

jc

Honshu (main island of japan) has 2 inf units not 24 as it would seem.

it does have 24 combat units though, and that's what the 24 represents. here is a screen with Honshu Units "moused over"...

- (numbers on the units are qty and range. Additionally, the carriers and carrier air have a link number to show what air is on what carrier)
- (note that Factories, Resources, and Rail are not counted in the 24 total combat units)

very impressive
looking at the first screen i can pretty much figure out the lower number is troops numbers,the higher number i dont know,must be supply Value or something.Force pool screen shows 7 German Mech units,cant see where u have them deployed.

Force pool Screen,i wonder with FOG war on is total enemy numbers are hidden,SC had same thing,no FOG as far as Intel.Other than that i do like Force pool Screen,very easy to read and well dessigned.

Map looks much better than A&A,example germany has much more ground and more options to attack Russia as opposed to Kaleria and then Moscow as mostly on A&A.So it looks like much it wont have one channel to moscow.

Asia doesnt look to much Different though,maybe a few extra zones or so until u get to India,but thats not a bad thing though as A&A was ok there but a few extra Proviences can make all the Difference.

Overall im very impressed with what ive seen.Once France Falls u get the impression the Axis will really have to think about how they want to deploy thier armies in the west and Med,whilst smashing away at the bear.
My only niggle so far would be the force pool screen,as not to display enemy unit numbers with FOG on,not a game killer but certainly a preference.The other option to simulate intel would be an inaccurate estimate at best IE a number with a ? mark.Nice to have Soviets building massive numbers of Inf without the Axis knowing the real truth.

Anyway MButtazoni thanks for the screen shots,ive email two friends this sight and told them we need this game,so we will look forward to a juicy AAR from you and you will see a new member or two visiting here in a day or two

ORIGINAL: j campbell

if some of you are confused about the numbers-the big number in a territory represents the total number of units present. sometimes the rail capacity/resources/factories of the territory shows up as well-this can be alittle confusing-i tend to ignore it myself-it can be adjusted in te menu panel options.

Honshu (main island of japan) has 2 inf units not 24 as it would seem.

jc

Could be a simple fix to avoid number confusion,as a sugggestion the two different numbers could be colour coded

remember:

- it's Alpha and no artwork/display info is complete or nailed down.
- Fog of War is Off

Still its Pretty good for Alfa.

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni

Honshu (main island of japan) has 2 inf units not 24 as it would seem.

it does have 24 combat units though, and that's what the 24 represents. here is a screen with Honshu Units "moused over"...

- (numbers on the units are qty and range. Additionally, the carriers and carrier air have a link number to show what air is on what carrier)
- (note that Factories, Resources, and Rail are not counted in the 24 total combat units)

How exactly does the range work in that map (jap heavy bomber range 4 i.e)? I assume its not just four zones to all directions. Or maybe that is the max transfer range so the max bombing range is half of that aka two?

How are the battle animations? I remember there was som.

Looks very impressive to me. I noticed the IJN sub at the bottom of the screen has 3 torpedoes. Being that you have general supply rules on, or simple ones, do these actually represent something that has to be resupplied i.e., reloaded?

I am salivating waiting for this one to hit the shelves.

Looks very nice and interesting! [:D]

I'm not familiarized by the color codes on the map, but it seems that Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg is already on the Allied side in Spring 1940, as are Italy, Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria on the Axis side. Isn't that a tad bit ahistorical?

I noticed the IJN sub at the bottom of the screen has 3 torpedoes. Being that you have general supply rules on, or simple ones, do these actually represent something that has to be resupplied i.e., reloaded?

- subs do not need supply to move, but they must come to port to reload torpedoes (every 2 to 3 turns i think)

How exactly does the range work in that map (jap heavy bomber range 4 i.e)?

- technically the factor is speed (i like range better) and it is the number of 1 MP areas a unit can move in one turn (and optionally attack). Ffor planes it's a radius of operation, return to base it automatic and not counted against the speed.

I'm not familiarized by the color codes on the map, but it seems that Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg is already on the Allied side in Spring 1940, as are Italy, Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria on the Axis side. Isn't that a tad bit ahistorical?

- Italy start sp40 (approx March of 1940) allied to Germany and controlled by German Player (there is no Italian player)
- Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria start "frozen" (politically locked) and unavailable to Germany.
- The Low Countries technically should be a Neutral instead of a WA Ally but they don't last long so it won't make much difference either way. (issue noted tho)

Fantastic! Thanks, MB. Can't wait to start seeing the AAR progress, bitter though I am at not being in testing yet. [;)]

Nice screenshots!

Some observations:
1- Italy joined the war in June 1940, so in spring 1940 it should be neutral...
2- Does ships must return in port after they spent all their movement points?
3- Germany seems to have a lot of militia but German division had a good training before 1944...

ORIGINAL: Pkunzipper

Nice screenshots!

Some observations:
1- Italy joined the war in June 1940, so in spring 1940 it should be neutral...
2- Does ships must return in port after they spent all their movement points?
3- Germany seems to have a lot of militia but German division had a good training before 1944...

The first turn goes from April to June and to simplify matters we assumed Italy will always declare war on the Allies during the first turn. Ships do not have to return to port, but with advanced supplies, they need to be sure they have supplies near them or a transport link or they will have problems.

Germany has no militia, what you are seeing is all of the Axis Allied (Italian, Rumanian, Hungarian, etc.) units, even though many of these are frozen at start.