Max Rounds Per Battle
It is possible to set Max Rounds Per Battle (MRPB) value for a scenario by using the Edit > Set Max Rounds Per Battle item in the Force and Deployment Editor menus.
This value sets the maximum number of rounds that the attacking forces will execute, for all battles, in each series of combats. The default value is 99. The minimum value is 1 and the maximum is 99.
This value can have a wide variety of different effects, particularly when coupled with shock events. Low MRPB values can minimize “turn burn” but at the cost of attacks not having enough tactical rounds to retreat defenders. Low MRPB values can also yield better results from using tactical and local reserve deployment settings. You can more safely use progressively higher loss tolerance settings for attacks, with low MRPB values, since the number of tactical rounds that stubborn units continue attacks and defenses will be attenuated.
While some scenarios will benefit from very low MRPB values, it is generally not recommended to set it lower than 3, as this also attenuates the number of rounds that artillery, naval, and air units will bombard for, at their higher loss tolerance settings, and may also adversely affect the net bonuses that positive shock values have in reducing the number of tactical rounds expended during combat. It is recommended that scenario designers using shock events generally set this value to be no less than ((highest value shock – 70)/10). Your mileage may vary. Playtest for overall effect through the campaign.
Another effect to keep in mind when setting this value, is that the chance for ending the turn by a “proficiency check” is not affected. Thus, while players may realize more sets of attacks throughout their turn, with low MRPB values, they will conversely be more likely to have the turn ended (eventually) by a failed proficiency check, since one is made at the end of each series of attacks. See Turnover, on page 58.
Scenario designers who change this from the default should indicate in their scenario briefing, the value used.
For the initial release, it will be limited to being set in the scenario editor, and once set, is in effect for both players during the course of the entire scenario. However, if it is well enough received, we might be able to talk Ralph into figuring out how to make the feature work, as a player-adjustable option, that can be changed over the course of the game, or even within a turn.
As many long term players of TOAW know, there is a problem often referred to as "turn burn" whereby somewhere on the map, units stubbornly continue attacking, tactical round, after tactical round, until all ten rounds have been used up, and the turn ends, with your units bereft of movement points and unable to exploit the successes that might have been gained elsewhere on the map. WWII desert tank battles often suffer from this pretty severely, as do many of the larger (and popular) scenarios. By placing such a "limiter" on the number of tactical rounds that each battle in a series can last, this effect can be attenuated to whatever level a scenario designer desires. Obviously, if two players are likewise agreeable, then one of them could modify the scenario before starting, to whatever value they feel comfortable using.
