Help with PBEM balance issues

[YourAdmiral]

joerock22,
 
That was indeed an awesome Sea Lion battle ... I'll post some screenshots shortly. It seriously could have gone either way, and even in the turn before I lost London I thought I had it won.
 
Right now we're in late November 1941 ... the Axis is advancing into Russia, which so far has put up little resistance other than a preemptive strike on Finland. After being decimated in the aftermath of Sea Lion (joerock22's U-boats eliminated all the fleeing British units but 1-2, including their naval escorts), the Royal Navy has returned to action in the Atlantic with U-boats of its own, sinking an Italian battleship.
 
We are now on the verge of the U.S. entering the war. But the ability of the Allies to open a front in the West is limited by the Axis air superiority, which is considerable. This one could still go either way....

[panzers]

ORIGINAL: panzers

would like to play a pbem game with someone. I am new to it si I might need few tweaks on how to do it

have been asking for a week now. Anyone at all interested?

[joerock22]

Sorry dude, but I have too many pbem games going on now as is. [:(] I'd recommend posting something over at the Slitherine forums. For whatever reason, there's a lot more activity over there than there is here. Specifically, they have a "Multiplayer: opponent seeking" thread which is pretty useful. I've gotten a handful of opponents from there, but you could also post in the general section. Make sure you say which version of the game you're using: 1.06, 1.07, or 1.12. The Matrix and Slitherine versions are mostly compatible, so you shouldn't have a problem there. Good luck! [:)]

[firepowerjohan]

I recommend updating to 1.12 since it contains the 1.07 patch as well as the Gold features and DS/PSP campaign scenarios. You get all this for FREE so do not need to buy the new CEAW Gold if you already bought the good ole CEAW. Enjoy! [:)]

[Barthheart]

ORIGINAL: firepowerjohan

I recommend updating to 1.12 since it contains the 1.07 patch as well as the Gold features and DS/PSP campaign scenarios. You get all this for FREE so do not need to buy the new CEAW Gold if you already bought the good ole CEAW. Enjoy! [:)]

Is 1.12 available for the Matrix version? If so where?

[IainMcNeil]

Matrix have had the files for a few days so I imagine they are in final testing and the patch will be with you soon.

[Barthheart]

ORIGINAL: Iain McNeil

Matrix have had the files for a few days so I imagine they are in final testing and the patch will be with you soon.

Cool, thanks.[8D]

[KingHunter3059]

Hey Panzer - I'll play you! I have 1.12 Gold - Let me know if you are intereested.

Jay

[YourAdmiral]

So here's joerock22's opening Sea Lion move. He has subs bracketing the English Channel to protect his transports from the Royal Navy ... my battleship at left found out the hard way. You can see some of his air, but he has more in Belgium. The RAF is stationed just west of Birmingham, above the screenshot. My strategy is to buy time blocking coastal hexes to prevent his landings, while my air units attack his armor on transports (you see one hit in this shot, the red 6).

[YourAdmiral]

Next turn, October 25, 1940. joerock22 gets some units ashore in the southeastern UK, but they are already damaged due to air attacks. More of the Luftwaffe shows up on his end. The Royal Navy shows up at the western end of the English Channel and starts to bash away at the sub screen.

[YourAdmiral]

Skip a couple turns ahead to December 4, 1940. joerock22 has been able to get more units ashore, but RAF air attacks followed by ground assaults are able to wear them down, and he isn't able to fully get them refitted as he hasn't captured a city yet. The Royal Navy makes progress in battering through the sub screen but itself is worn down.

[YourAdmiral]

A lesson in value of air power. You can see where joerock22's units are depleted and are being squeezed into an increasingly small beachead south of London. But he still had 1 full-strength infantry corps, and that unit backed by seven air strikes is able to capture London. With supply in place he's able to refit all his units and drive back the British infantry, which appear to have the upper hand in this screenshot. It was quite the battle.

[GeneralRiddler]

I can't believe he was able to take London attacking from a corps attacking from only one hex.. Even with seven air strikes, it almost seems impossible. At that stage of the game, I only seem to get 1:0 odds on tacs (and 0:0 on fighters). I'd love to hear how he pulled that one off. Too bad for you, Admiral. It seems you were on the verge of winning the Battle of England.

[joerock22]

ORIGINAL: GeneralRiddler

I can't believe he was able to take London attacking from a corps attacking from only one hex.. Even with seven air strikes, it almost seems impossible. At that stage of the game, I only seem to get 1:0 odds on tacs (and 0:0 on fighters). I'd love to hear how he pulled that one off. Too bad for you, Admiral. It seems you were on the verge of winning the Battle of England.

Several factors contributed to the capture:

1. The entrenchment on the unit in London was down to 0 or 1 at the start of the turn. It was either a new unit or I had reduced it with previous attacks; I can't remember which.

2. I had 8 air units, not 7. The extra one made all the difference.

3. My air units were at near full strength and they were quite experienced. A little experience can dramatically shift the odds in air-to-ground attacks. It can turn 1:1 into 1:0 or 2:1 or better.

4. My infantry unit was at full strength and hadn't seen combat in England, so it had high effectiveness. I think the air attacks took 7 steps off and the infantry was able to get the last 3. Or maybe it was 8 and 2...my memory is a bit fuzzy.

All this said, I'll be the first to admit I got pretty lucky. If I hadn't, the game would probably be close to over by now. As it is, it's Spring 1942 and I'm only to Smolensk, and the Western Allies have effectively reclaimed the Atlantic. I expect a sizeable landing in France or England within the year. The one thing I have going for me is that I conquered Iraq and Persia, so I don't have to worry about oil. Still, it's going to be a very tough fight.

[jjdenver]

Can you describe when and how you took Egypt? After Sealion? is that a reason your Barbarossa was so weak? What forces did you allocate?

Thanks!

[joerock22]

ORIGINAL: jjdenver

Can you describe when and how you took Egypt? After Sealion? is that a reason your Barbarossa was so weak? What forces did you allocate?

Thanks!

My Barbarossa was so weak because I had lost a handful of units in England and the rest were badly in need of repair. Plus I overran England so late, the extra resources didn't kick in to help me very much. I had to scramble to take Norway, Yugoslavia, and Greece. I just didn't have enough resources to both repair my units and build up a large army for Barbarossa. I sent probably about 5 Italian infantry, 1 motorized, and 1 armour into Egypt, and that was enough because YourAdmiral transported all of the British in Egypt to help defend England. So Iraq and Persia were mine by early 1942. I never send Italian troops into Russia anyway, so the Middle East offensive had nothing to do with my weak Barbarossa. I'd much rather have the Italians defending France than slugging through the Russian snow.