Campaign Confusion

[Beruldsen]

I'm playing the A-A scenario and selected South. What I find confusing are my "core units". I assumed they would stay with me...or at least I could draw from them...but that doesn't appear to be the case. For example...I successfully completed the Oil Fields scenario...which was an easy victory. However, on the next scenario...my core units aren't visible and I don't appear to have nearly enough units to field ... something like 18 vs 40 slots. Am I missing some here?

If there is some strategy for managing core units...it needs to be MUCH better documented/explained.

[ComradeP]

I'm not entirely sure what the problem is.

I'm assuming you mean the A-A campaign, and prioritized Army Group South. There is no "Oil Fields" scenario, but if you mean Maikop: your forces in the next scenario belong to AGC, Maikop is the last scenario for AGS.

The campaign tree included in the manual will indicate which Army Group's forces you're using in a certain scenario.

[gids]

he prob wants to know how you easily can identify your core units and so forth

[Beruldsen]

It appears then that AGC is stripped down...did I do that when I built up my "prioritized" units?

[ComradeP]

Presumably the units you're missing are the ones you moved to AGS after Smolensk.

I'd agree that it needs to be more clear that the decision to move them is final (as far as I know). I made a similar mistake, moving many of AGC's best units to AGN.

[Beruldsen]

Yes...I'm now looking at the Campaign Tree for the first time and that seems to be the case. I'm assuming most people will do what I did ... which is to build up your forces with the best troops. Which results in a big penalty later on.

The logic of Core Forces doesn't really make sense since they aren't used in the second half and you've depleted forces you're likely to need later.

In my case, for example, after you've taken the Oil Fields (Maikop), it seems reasonable to assume some of those forces could be transferred back to be used by AGN or AGC.

I'm not one to complain much...but the logic of Core Forces needs to be fixed.

[ComradeP]

The core forces themselves don't change, but if you move your best units, you could theoretically strip one of your army groups of most of its power. That will need to be clarified. The player being able to move units back would be problematic in terms of chronology: the campaign path of one army group will end before the campaign path of the other army group proceeds.

[Beruldsen]

I understand the chronology point...but I assumed forces were allocated to the major theater (AGN, AGC or AGS) while the others were more or less on hold.

When units are selected (from the reserve) can you tell what group they were from?

Since you have to revisit all the groups ... and will presumably need the troops ... what is the point in transferring troops?

[gwgardner]

ORIGINAL: Arne Beruldsen


In my case, for example, after you've taken the Oil Fields (Maikop), it seems reasonable to assume some of those forces could be transferred back to be used by AGN or AGC.

Perhaps the scenarios you are now doing in AGC are considered to be happening at the same time as those you already did in AGS, thus those units not available for transfer.

[Beruldsen]

Understandable...then why transfer?

[ComradeP]

I guess the "trap" that's easy to step into currently is that the game offers a fairly substantial number of transfer slots. Whilst a small transfer can be a good idea (for example: moving some of AGC's Panzers north helps a lot), moving numerous units can quickly reduce the effectiveness of other army groups. Maybe the limit needs to be adjusted, or at the least a clear warning needs to be given.

[Beruldsen]

I like the idea of "Core Units" ... similar to PC ... but I think the expectation is that they would follow you through the whole game. That's not the case with this game. When you get to the decision tree...the player needs to have some sense of what's ahead. At the moment...I'm guessing every player will do what I did (transfer best units) only to be surprised later.

I play a lot of war games but I'm still at a loss as to what to do at decision time regarding unit transfers. Perhaps if there was some guidance (armor for the south, arty in the center, more bombers up north). How is a player suppose to make an intelligent decision?

[Erik Rutins]

We tried to make this more clear in the game and documentation during the beta test process. It sounds like we need to add some more guidance for the player at each potential transfer point as far as the future consequences of those decisions.

Regards,

- Erik