Operational Boot Camp (tutorial)

[amatteucci]

Спасибо! / Danke! [:)]

[AlesMrak]

Thank you, appriciated.

br.
Dr.Jones

[Pford]

Thanks, D. But I still suck at this game. I played Minsk and Leningrad on Normal six times: four draws and two (marginal) victories.

[Zovs]

Thanks again everyone.

Pford, it takes a lot of time to get really good at this game. I have done turns 1-12 as the Axis probably no less then at least 100 times. I have run about fifty (50) 1943 campaign games ranging from 12 to 60 turns during testing both as Axis and Soviets (was helping test out the AI for both sides) over a three month period. I am still learning new things, and we just put in some new features of the game and I'll be testing those as well, it seems the testing never ends...lol

All I am saying is takes an awful lot of playings and time and for me at least a lot of mistakes to learn this game.

You gentlemen are lucky in the sense that you have a manual, a tutorial, the boot camp guide I created and all the testers on this forum to help you out (I mean this with the utmost sincerity). When I started testing a year ago the manual really was just a 40 page document stating the hot keys and how to do a hasty attack and deliberate attack the rest I had to ask or figure out on my own and as war gamer what helped me learn the game was me trying to figure out what did and did not work and when it did not work beating my head on the screen and trying to figure out why.

When I started the original tutorial back in May and June it was to help me better understand the game mechanics and strategy a bit better and hopefully pass some of that on to you the players. When life intervened in August and September and after we released the game and all you had so many questions we testers had long ago discovered I realized we needed something more and thus sprang this boot camp.

Practice, practice, practice, test, test, test. One thing we testers need to keep in mind is that your first 10 or 20 games (tests) are new to you and while we may have done something for months on end many, many times we may be looking through a glass we are accustomed to. I guess a way for the newbie's to look at some of us testers is that in an 8 or 12 hour period we may have ran through turns 1-4 as the Axis four times and the developers may have released new code once or twice to fix really bad things (like a whole army teleporting to Sweden for no reason, lol). Some testers liked to keep the same file going through numerous code fixes, but I always opted (other then the long 1943 CG tests I ran) to start over each time and test things for the first 8 to 12 turns.

Okay, I am babbling and I need to go run yet another 1941 test for Pav...lol...

[Frandoxxx]

Well the game and your boot camp are amazing! Thanks so much! [:)]

[jjdenver]

dlazov - is there going to be a strategy guide released soon as you mentioned earlier in the thread?

[Gandalf]

ORIGINAL: jjdenver

dlazov - is there going to be a strategy guide released soon as you mentioned earlier in the thread?

Try reading thru the thread... You might just stumble across the link to the strategy guide PDF...

[jjdenver]

ORIGINAL: Gandalf

ORIGINAL: jjdenver
dlazov - is there going to be a strategy guide released soon as you mentioned earlier in the thread?

Try reading thru the thread... You might just stumble across the link to the strategy guide PDF...

I've read it 3 times. I see a link to the operational bootcamp - in fact 3 links to it: 1 that doesn't work - too busy, 1 that is rar, and 1 that is zip.

However I don't see a link to the strategy guide. If you see it and I don't can you tell me who posted it so I can search for their name?

Thanks

[Zovs]

Well I am working on my one sort of strategy guide currently its about 28 or so pages and I stopped work on it while testing some new stuff for a patch then will come out later on.

I'll finish up what I wrote in a few days or so. Then I'll ask the testers forum and see what people think before posting.

[jjdenver]

Dlazov - would you be willing to post what you have now? Then revise later? It'd be great to have any consolidated source of advice - even if it's not proofread or even all accurate.

[Gandalf]

ORIGINAL: jjdenver

ORIGINAL: Gandalf

ORIGINAL: jjdenver
dlazov - is there going to be a strategy guide released soon as you mentioned earlier in the thread?

Try reading thru the thread... You might just stumble across the link to the strategy guide PDF...

I've read it 3 times. I see a link to the operational bootcamp - in fact 3 links to it: 1 that doesn't work - too busy, 1 that is rar, and 1 that is zip.

However I don't see a link to the strategy guide. If you see it and I don't can you tell me who posted it so I can search for their name?

Thanks

My Bad. I was mistaking the Boot Camp download for the strategy guide. I don't think the strategy guide is posted yet.

[sandman2575]

@dlazov -- just wanted to add my "Thank you VERY much!" for the operational bootcamp -- really excellent.  look forward to your strategy guide as well.

[janbak]

First of all thank you very much dlazov!!!

I've just finished to study your beautiful Operational Boot Camp and now I've some noob questions (I refer to page numbers in the .pdf version)

- sometimes you move your divisions in two or three step instead of in a unique movement (p. 202, 208), why do you do that?

- what do I have to do when one of my division is out of supply or fuel (p. 231, 233) to fix this issue?

- what's the general rule to decide to split a division in three regiments (p. 189, 202)? ARe not they (the regiments) too weak in case a battle?

More questions will follow

Thanks again

[Zovs]

janbak,

Lets see if I can answer your questions.

- sometimes you move your divisions in two or three step instead of in a unique movement (p. 202, 208), why do you do that?

Essentially there are a number of reasons I do this; I'd like to see other possible routes, or in some cases when the map is full or the units have a large portion of MP to use I want to see how it looks on the map first before proceeding and sometimes just to gain owner ship of a hex pause and move another unit to gain some more ownership and then continue on with the first unit, warning here you movement points may eat up a bit, so it's really dependent on the situation and what I am seeing.

- what do I have to do when one of my division is out of supply or fuel (p. 231, 233) to fix this issue?

You'll have to make sure you re-gauge the rail ways first and foremost. Usually your infantry no matter how far you may move them will be able to be mostly in supply if you re-gauge and most importantly never leave anyone out of command range. I can't stress the later enough, stay in command range, you're units will receive less if not much of anything if they are out of command, you need ammo and supplies for the infantry. Motorized and Tank units need lots of fuel, so you'll have to watch that as well. If these units out run the supply lines you'll need to supply them by air as part of the first part of your turn.

- what's the general rule to decide to split a division in three regiments (p. 189, 202)? ARe not they (the regiments) too weak in case a battle?

For the Axis and the Germans in particular, in 1941 you should not have too many worries about being weaker as long as you maintain cohesion and command and control and too get too crazy with splitting up units. In 1942 it gets tougher and 1943 even more so (in fact I won't split infantry in 1943). I don't have a hard and fast rule its sort of a mix between art and science I guess. Be very careful when playing against a human as well and make sure you're well supplied and if he or the AI counter attacks you'll want to have the line formed so that it bends but does not break.

[janbak]

ORIGINAL: dlazov66

janbak,

Lets see if I can answer your questions.

Thank you very very much! [&o][&o][&o]

[Encircled]

Fantastic work dlazov!!!

I followed your instructions perfectly on turn 1, and then struck out on my own, and I'm struggling!

Only way to learn though

Thanks again

[janbak]

Hi dlazov

I hope I do not diturb you with another nood question

At page 52 (.pdf version) you describe the Supply Details panel ... but it is not clear to me how to use this informations to improve my game perfromance ...

[Gandalf]

possible errata:

[drizzt73]

Thanks very much dlazov66. After trying the game tutorial and then road to Smolensk twice for 3 losses I had no idea what to do. I tried your boot camp, and continued on from where you left off and got a major victory- I completely wiped the map of the russians and took all of the objectives (on easy level)

Cheers

[&o]

[heliodorus04]

Yeah, I'm busy blowing my mind with the Leningrad scenario your work starts us on, and I think it's a really great way to learn the game while playing the game.  Very excellent job, and thank you for it.