Commander Europe at War Grand Strategy 3.0 Out Now!

[Philkian]

Grand Strategy 3.0 for MILITARY HISTORY™ Commander – Europe at War is now available for the PC and Mac! The new version brings many features and improvements created by the community for the community, available to everyone who has a copy of MILITARY HISTORY™ Commander – Europe at War.

The v3.0 update a range of bugs and changes such as supply through the Gibraltar port into Africa, changes terrain in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Tobruk and Mareth. The update also adds rail depots in France, changes retreat rules, naval movement and expands the Naval combat in many ways.

Grand Strategy 3.0 also features a simple player handicap system. When playing HotSeat, PBEM, or TCP/IP
games the advantage buttons on the main menu selection screen will allow one player to
receive a handicap of additional PP’s per turn.
Grand Strategy 3.0 is comprehensive and will bring your version up to v3.0. To get the update, download it from its official downnload page.

Check below for the full changelog:

v3.00 changes


* Added graphics images for the Slovak corps. It is also needed for some of the later scenarios.
It was omitted in the PC version.

* France surrenders if Paris is vacated after June 1940. This could cause the Allied AI to lose
France prematurely. Changed code so the check is only made if the Allied player is not AI.

* Players got a message about Allied aggression when the Axis attacked Holland if the
Allies had earlier attacked Belgium. Now they won’t get this message.

* Lowered the Morale loss to UK when the Garrison requirement is below 8 when the USA joins
the war from 20 to 30. Also when Russia joins the war the morale loss will be 0.

* Canadian reinforcements used to spawn when Belgium was conquered. This was intended for
the Axis attack on Belgium, but forgot the situation where the Allies attack Belgium in
September 1939. Then the Canadian reinforcements would arrive early and not when the Allies
are on the run in Belgium. This is now fixed so the Canadian reinforcements will only arrive at
the end of the Axis March 19th 1940 turn if the Allies attacked Belgium first. If the Axis attack
Belgium first the Canadian reinforcements will arrive when Belgium surrenders as before.

* The game would show a chance for Italian early activation if Belgium was attacked, but not
conquered. This message will only show if there are not enough Allied naval units in the
Mediterranean and Belgium is conquered.

* Rail gauge conversion could happen between friendly countries like Persian standard gauge rail
being converted into Russia. This is now fixed so Allied controlled standard gauge rail heads
can’t convert rail into Russian controlled broad gauge hexes and vice versa unless Russia is
conquered.

* Fixed a bug regarding Russian rail head movement.

* Increased the number of rail depots / cities needed in Finland / Estonia from 2 to 3 so Finland
would never ask for armistice unless Russian troops have captured at least one city / rail depot
in core Finland. Change is done because rail depot of Tartu in Estonia was added before and
number of cities was not increased because of the addition. This is now fixed

* Let the UK southern lend lease route be stopped if London is Axis controlled. Then the 15
PP's will be kept by the UK and not sent to Russia. UK would not be in a position to support
other major powers with lend lease if they have barely enough PP's to stay above 0 (without
convoys).

* Make sure that Free French forces won't be placed on the map as units that can't move if
Vichy France is DoW'ed when USA is still neutral (controlling power of the Free French). Instead
these Free French units go to the US force pool so they can be safely placed once USA join the
war.

* Fixed a vanilla game bug regarding supply level 5 flowing through the Gibraltar port into Africa.
Other rules prevented supply level 4-5 in French North Africa and Libya, but not Egypt. Germany
could suddenly get rail supply in Egypt if they had a contiguous like from Egypt to Gibraltar.

* Changed terrain around Tobruk and Mareth to allow better movement around those hexes.

* Changed terrain in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Moved border lines between Persia, Iraq, Russia, and
Turkey to correct some deficiencies. Added river Karun in Persia. Yerevan was added as a Rail
Depot in Russia on border with Turkey and Persia.

* Altered terrain in UK. Added forest and clear hexes. Glasgow was moved 1 hex. Clydebank was
added as name for the Glasgow port. Devonport was added as name for the Plymouth port.
These were 2 of the main naval bases in UK during ww2.

* Map was altered concerning the congested nature of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Northern
coastline of Egypt was altered to better reflect the terrain of the Nile Delta. The two branches
of the Nile were added. Cairo and Alexandria moved 1 hex North. The Suez Canal moved 1 hex
North and 1 hex East. The port of Suez was added to improve movement through The Red
Sea. Loops in the Red Sea area were moved to reduce blocking of movement. Basra was
moved 1 hex North to simulate the location along the Euphrates river. The protectorate of
Kuwait was added, this includes Kuwait City with port. Kuwait will activate when Egypt and
Trans-Jordon does. The loops in the Gulf were moved to allow units coming through the loops
could appear in the port.The Persian Gulf was widened to add Sea hexes for playability.

* Belgium, Holland and Germany terrain changed adding Forest hexes. Changed some hexes to
clear. Moved Antwerp and port inland, Added the Albert Canal, moved the Maas river to the
East of Liege. Shorten the Schelde river to West side of Brussels. *

* Added rail depot in France called Calais. This will later become a fortress as one of the Atlantic
wall fortresses.

* Island of Sardinia the shape was altered with added Rough and Forest hexes. The port was
moved South of The City of Cagliari

* The islands that belong to Greece close to Turkey have the supply level lowered to zero.
This allows capture by enemy air units. Changed the distance (ie. range) that air units
may capture these types of islands (supply level <2) on the map.

The range is same as para jump range. (ie. FTR combat range) The range may be increased by
Tech advances in Strategic Operations. The ranges are 6, 9, 11 hexes.

* In the event of Sealion, UK forces in Egypt, Iraq will fully activate to be available for the
defense of Britain. Italy will also activate. If Sealion occurs in 1939 or 1940, once Axis forces
land anywhere in Britain, 2 GAR will form in the forcepool. If Sealion occurs in 1941 4 GARs will
be available for defense of Britain.

* When German forces land in Libya, UK forces in Egypt and Iraq will activate.

* Control of the Kiel and Suez Canals have been changed in v3.00 . In previous versions control
was the ownership of a single city. The city of Kiel determined who controlled the passage
through the Kiel Canal by the travel loops in the game. Port Said determined ownership for
Suez Canal. Now hexes on both sides of either canal determines if the canal provides passage
or is blocked because both sides have forces along the canal could attack vessels moving
through the canal. The side that controls all of the hexes on both sides of a canal then can
use the loop to transfer naval units. Neutral hexes do not block control.
Players that have forces controlling any hexes adjacent to the canal hexside, then neither side
has control and passage of naval units are blocked.

* The Red Sea to Persian Gulf loop is designated as Neutral and is open to both sides. Both
Atlantic to Red Sea and Atlantic to Persian Gulf are open to the Allied player only. Axis units
are prohibited from using those loops. The reasoning in the discussions was Axis units did not
have naval bases in Southern Atlantic and along Eastern coast of Africa. The players can agree
to change the behavior of the loops by both players using an altered general.txt for that game
for playing that game. Please remember to save a copy of the original for games where you do
not use the altered values. Changes to the general.txt will cause ckecksum errors to
opponents who do not have the changes.

* Added new icons to show ownership of loops and how many units have entered or present
inside the loops.

* Updated message system at start of turn to provide historical images from the war and more
space to explain the various events from Combat operations, Political events, and Surrender of
nations.

* Updated the begin turn weather information dialog box to show the weather zones and how
they affect land and Sea areas

* Added weather overlay that can be displayed over the map in game. Can be toggled on or off
by pressing the letter 'w'. Default can be set in game options.

* Changed retreat rules. Air units will always retreat from most resource hexes. Naval units may
now retreat during combat. Subs and convoys start with 0, BB's, CV's start with 10, DD's with
20, Transports with 30. For each step loss below 10 on the defender the chance goes up by 5,
the retreat chance may go down by 5 for each step loss below 10 on the attacker. Defenders
will not retreat from ports.


* Naval movement change -
Transports hidden by FoW will block movement of naval surface units. Transports that are
spotted will not block naval movement. Transports will block retreats because of naval combat.
Transports loaded will perform a spotting move prior to movement.
A sub that becomes visible by attacking a naval unit, ran into by a naval unit (sub ambush), or
revealed by ASW search will block movement like any other naval unit unit. Because it is a sub it
may only be attacked by up to two (2) air units that have not moved or attacked a unit, and by
any adjacent naval units that have not moved or attacked.

Naval combat expanded.

* New ASW rules.
a) Surface vessels after movement, the player may click on an ASW search icon to look for
hidden subs.
b) ASW searches that are successful will attack the first sub revealed and reveal any other
subs in hexes that were searched.
c) The hex where the ASW search icon is clicked on, has 2times the base probability depending
on unit performing the search.
d) Base Probability - Convoys and subs is 0 (ie cannot search), Transports 15, BB's 40, DD's
55, and CV's 50 . Search chance is raised by 8 (ASW) and 5 (Radar) for each tech level
reached. Search chance is lowered by 10 by Rough Seas and by 8 for each enemy sub tech
level achieved.
f) Player may press 'm' to have units remain in hex and perform an ASW search instead of
moving or attacking. The ASW search icons will appear. Click on the one of the hexes to
start the search. The hex clicked will have 2 times the base probability to find a hidden sub
depending upon unit type performing the search. Once 'm' is pressed you are committed to
perform a search or not. You cannot change your decision.
g) If a surface unit stops movement on top of an enemy sub on Sentry ('Zzz') the enemy sub
will be moved to the nearest empty hex. The surface unit may then perform an ASW
search. The sub moved in this manner will remain on Sentry(Zzz) until revealed using
ASW search.

* New Sub rules.
a) Subs that are hidden will stop and attack (ambush) any enemy vessel that
runs into the enemy sub hex. Rule same as previous versions
b) Subs that attempt to move into an opposing sub hex will be bounced as
before. This behavior is the same as earlier versions of CEAW-GS.
c) Subs may be placed on Sentry ('Zzz') by pressing the letter 'z' or 's' or before the
player’s turn has ended by Right-clicking the sub.
d) Subs on Sentry ('Zzz') will allow any surface vessels to travel over the hex.
Enemy ships will not be stopped or attacked (ie. Ambush).
e) Subs that are revealed by ASW search / attack and or attacked may evade
the attack with no losses. A sub that becomes visible by attacking a naval unit,
ran into by a naval unit (ambush), or revealed by ASW sweep will block
movement like any other naval unit unit. Because it is a sub it may only be
attacked by up to two (2) air units that have not moved or attacked a unit, and
by any adjacent naval units that have not moved or attacked.
f) Sub evade base probability - BB's - 65, DD’s - 45, FTR’s - 65, TAC's - 55, CV's,
SB's - 50. Evade chance is raised by 10 for Rough Seas. Each sub tech
level acheived the evade chance is raised by 8. Evade chance is lowered by 8 for
each enemy ASW tech level and 5 for each enemy radar tech level acheived.
g) Subs that use the swap function will be invisible after the swap.

* When Turkey is invaded by Axis forces, Russia will go on a war footing once an Axis unit enters
Turkey.

* Added some changes to technology for naval units. Subs get +1 anti aircraft at SUBMARINES
tech level 2 and 6. DD’s, BB’s and Transports receive +1 anti aircraft when Surface Ships
tech level 5 is achieved. Transports receive +1 survivability at Surface Ships tech level 5.
CV’s and BB’s receive +1 Survivability against sub attacks at game start.

* Italy will receive extra production when Port Said is captured by Axis.
The extra production is set to 4 PP's and is modified by war effort. Italians will
receive a +5 Max Morale boost if Athens is Axis controlled. Italy will receive a +5
Max morale boost if Port Said is Axis controlled.

* Calais will convert to a fortress in 1943 as part of the Atlantic Wall. The fortress
captured by Allied forces will revert back to a rail depot.

* 1944 scenario was updated so that the Combat Operations event named Bagration is now
controlled through hex locations instead of automatically trigger at the start of 1944
scenario.

* Unit setup was changed for Libya, Sardinia, Egypt, Holland and Belgium for 1939 and 1940
scenarios. The changes for Sardinia required unit relocation for later scenarios.

* The Sea transportation loops in the South Atlantic were moved North from the bottom
edge of the map.

* Starting in 1943 and beyond, the first time Allied forces are in a Germany core hex, 6
German Volkstrum GAR’s will be placed in the forcepool.

* Destroyer build time reduced to 5 turns.

* Expanded spawn area of Northern convoy. Northern convoy Max raised to 100. Central convoy
Max lowered to 100

*Air units that use rail or at a later time can be placed on Sentry (‘Zzz’) using Right-click.

* Raised research cost for ASW tech and Submarines tech to 25. Raised research cost for Dog
Fight to 35, Close Air Support to 30. Dogfight Tech changed so that level 2 and 3 are swapped
so +1 SURV moved to tech 2, +1 Air Combat moved to tech 3. Moved 1 Air Combat from level
5 to level 6. Added Tactical Bombers to Close Air Support level 6.

* Sub units cost raised to 55PP’s

* Spotting range is updated at beginning of the turn when weather impacts changes to the
spotting range.

* Change - added supply level 1 to the resources Oil, Mine and Rail Depot.

* Version 3.00 has a simple player handicap system. When playing HotSeat, PBEM, or TCP/IP
games the advantage buttons on the main menu selection screen will allow one player to
receive a handicap of additional PP’s per turn while the opponent plays at the ‘Even’ at game
values. The PP’s can be increased due to War Effort. Each side can receive extra PP’s per turn
depending upon the level selected. Minor will receive 4 PP’s, Moderate will receive 8 PP’s, and
Large will receive 16 PP’s.
The amount is divided amongst the Major powers on the side given the handicap.
Minor bonus of 4, Germany bonus 3, Italy bonus 1. Allies given handicap, UK Bonus 1,
France / USA bonus 1, USSR bonus 2.
Moderate bonus of 8, Germany 6, Italy 2, Allies handicap bonus UK 2, France / USA 2,
USSR 4.
Large bonus of 16, Germany 12, Italy 4, Allies handicap bonus UK 4, France / USA 4,
USSR 8.
The level of handicap can be checked in Statistics.


Please note that Grand Strategy 3.0 requires a Commander Europe at War serial number and this means very old versions of CEAW without a serial are not compatible.

Get more information about MILITARY HISTORY™ Commander – Europe at War on its official page.

[baloo7777]

Downloaded Grand Stategy 3.0 to my WIN 8 computer and it is working well. Playing a game vs AI, and so far like the upgrade. No issues. Thanks!

[pzgndr]

Ditto. +1. I didn't even know v3.0 was in the works so the announcement was a pleasant surprise.

Now, if only something like this could be done for CNAW for the Napoleonic crowd!

[lparkh]

I'm presuming no improvements to the AI? Essentially the same AI as originally came with the game?
Thanks

[Peter Stauffenberg]

There are no AI updates between GS v2.1 and GS v3.0. The Grand Strategy expansion was designed for PBEM and Hotseat mode and not AI mode.

It would be a huge task to get a much better AI for GS. The existing AI is not very good. That effort is probably better spent in making CEAW 2. Lordz have indicated that they are working on CEAW 2 with Slitherine / Matrixgames. I don't know the state of that development. All I read was that they first have to port the game engine made for CTGW into MAC / IOS before using the engine for CEAW 2.

[gdrover]

Downloaded this and am enjoying it immensely.

Questions:
1) What does a 'T' mean on a unit icon?
2) How do I load my units onto amphibious landing craft instead of transports?

Thanks!

[gdrover]

OK. I figured out the amphibious assault and the (T) symbol on the units.

Playing through my first game as the Axis. Winter '43 right now and I'm in good shape.
Conquered Great Britain in '41 and started Barbarossa a little late and weak, so not much ground gained in '41.
Captured Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev in '42, as well as Egypt.
In '43 cut off a very large Soviet force in the southern Ukraine and destroyed many other Russian units elsewhere, essentially crushing Soviet military power. Captured Palestine and Iraq as well, securing a decent supply of oil.

Not sure if the Americans will show up, but they haven't yet. I'm building up my navy just in case.

Things look pretty good for an Axis major victory.

[VegasOZ]

Is there any difference between the C: EAW Gold version and the Military History: C: EAW versions?

Are they the SAME GAME?

They have two different names.

If I buy the Matrix Store version is that the current, correct and updated version?

Thank you

[siddious]

Hi

I bought this game(non gold version) many years ago and never realy got to grips with it (i think i was side tracked by some other game at the time ) and is now lost on an old discarded cpu hard drive ,however its a game that keeps croping up from time to time as "one to get ".interest grew by the fact it turned gold ( still on "my games list at the members center btw.)

However i was never very sure if by gold it meant that it had to be modded?which is something ive never realy got into.Also the game always seemed more to do with slitherine?and i only buy my game from here on matrix .I wonder if a couple of thing could be cleared up here 1/is this a one or two player game?2/ is the method for updading the game the same as all other game here on matrix.?

Oh and another thing that is of importance to me,i take it the game has gone through many changes over the years ,so is there a maual (up to date that a newcomer would understand?)PFD that comes with the download ?

Thank in advance

[henri51]

Siddious, the Gold version is the "standard" version (improved from original). The Grand strategy 3.0 patch makes many changes described on this site, but the AI is still essentially the same and so-so, like im most if not all strategy games. Someone from Slitherine said on the Steam forum that if you buy the game now, you get the 3.0 version. You can install the 3.0 patch on the Gold version, but you need to have a serial number to install it (I did it yesterday).Some very old versions of CEAW do not have a serial number so cannot use the 3.0 patch. Someone here said that the 3.0 version was designed mostly for multiplayer, but the description of the patch does not say that.

IMHO it is the best grand strategy game of WW2 that is reasonably simple - unless you want to go deep down into complexity with War in the East or Hearts of Iron III.

Henri

[sPzAbt653]

Is a hard copy of the manual for this game available ?

Edit: I think I found the answer - there is a box set that seems to include a manual.

Edit: Nope, the manual does not come with the box set. [:(]

[gravyface_]

Help a brutha out to get this installed? After speaking with tech support, I now have a Commander: Europe at War GOLD 1.12 installer (CommanderEuropeGoldPC.exe), which I've installed to the default path of C:\Program Files (x86)\Slitherine\Military History Commander - Europe at War GOLD

I just downloaded CommanderEuropeAtWarGrandStrategy-UpdateComp-v310.zip from the "Official" site and am now not sure if I should install this into the above directory or to a separate directory, and copy specific files and folders into the GOLD 1.12 installation directory. I seem to recall reading something about doing the latter, but that might've been for an older version of Grand Strategy.

Do I need to grab Grand Strategy 3.0 or earlier first?