FBD General

[SchnellerHeinz]

Playing the full default campaign, I'm puzzled as for why my FBD 2 (HGC, initially placed in Gumbinnen) refuses to convert x61/y50 (hex exactly east of Vilnius; this is the first non-baltic rail hex). FBD 2 has full MPs and there is a continuous rail track in its hinterland.

[morvael]

I guess you missed one hex where the rail turns SE then back NE.

It's 59,51.

[morvael]

And you didn't repair hex at Kaunas too. As you can clearly see train will not pass from one hex with rail to another hex with rail just because they are next to each other. The rail itself must connect the two hexes.

Between Kaunas and Vilnius you have a repaired but disconnected piece of rail.

[charlie0311]

Several other "mysteries" about rail repair!

I'll never tell!!

Ok, Ok, Just making it up:) Lots of guys have missed that particular spot

[SchnellerHeinz]

Oh, I see! I was operating on the as-long-as-it-is-an-adjacent-hex-everything-will-be-ok-doctrine. So you really have to take those pituresque drawings of the rail track into consideration. This doesn't follow by itself in a game of heavy abstractions. I will report in as soon as I have repaired the two hexes around Kaunas as morvael kindly suggested. Thanks guys.

[HITMAN202]

I inquired the same in late 2013. Sorry, that puts you in bad company.

[SchnellerHeinz]

Since I've ran yet into another FBD/rail-riddle, I took liberty to change the thread title into something more general concerned with rail questions. Do please give me a hint what stops my FBD 4 from converting the first non-baltic-rail hex in AGN when having 8 mps still available. (See picture)

[charlie0311]

Looks like computer is thinking you are trying to repair a fifth rail hex, only four per turn in non-Baltic areas.

[morvael]

Too far away from working railhead, this puts natural limit on conversion in the Baltics.

[RSGodfrey]

This hex esotericism is what makes me ambivalent about buying this and WITW.
I am really attracted to the idea of playing these theatres, but don't like the idea of being
bogged down in this minutiae instead of concentrating on strategy and tactics.

Richard

[morvael]

Seems natural that you can'r repair rail if too far away from active railhead.

[SchnellerHeinz]

Charlie0311 & Morvael: Yes, well, the 'last working railhead' in my picture is Valga. In the RTL scenario I definitely was able to convert more than 4 hexes in one go. What gives?
RSGodfrey: I do actually like the details. What I really don't like is exception to a rule after exception to a rule. I do encounter more and more of these.

[morvael]

When doing a line parallel to one already working, you would be able to convert more hexes. Distance to working railhead is measured "as the crow flies", not along the track.

More details warrant more exceptions [:)]

[morvael]

The core rule says repair costs 3 and may be executed when below 5 hexes to a repaired rail hex that is connected to supply source at the edge of the board by a line of unbroken rail hexes.

The only exception to the rules in this case is lower cost of repair in the Baltics in 1941.

edit: thanks to exception it's easier to bump into the limit imposed by the base rule, which doesn't happen in case of slow (3 hex per turn max) repair not in the Baltics.