Well, it has been roughly 20 years since I started playing East Front. The buggy Talonsoft game always prevented me from completing a campaign. The early release of MCS' version also had a few bugs that prevented me from reaching the end.
The years went by and I hung in there, kept on playing, kept on being unable to finish (That's what she always said...).
I even ended up making a deal with the Higher Powers to let me just get through one campaign and then I can die in peace.
It still took time, and the determination of Jason, et al., [&o] whose unending efforts finally (!) got me there. This is my very first forum post, and perhaps my last having already ordered my coffin. Fitting, that, I think.
My heartfelt Thanks to everyone on the support team for allowing this long-anticipated moment to arrive!
For those who also may have had problems getting to the end, just to see that last screen, to know what in the heck the damn thing would look like, I have tried to upload a pic of what I saw, in that moment. Let's hope I was able to finish that too....
Attachments
CompletedCampaign.jpg (251.58 KiB) Viewed 461 times
"I may disagree with what you say, but I will Defend to the Death your Right to speak such Lies!"
Many thanks for the kind words. I can't tell you how many false starts I had before I was able to make it this far. I just love this game. Considering it took four times as long for me to finish as it did for the entire war...Well, for me, just to be able to see that final screen was both a reward and a relief. Albeit sort of disappointing that there were no trumpets, there was no fanfare, and not even a last word from Von Rundstedt.
And Jason! I could not have been able to get there without your help, even though you didn't know you were providing it at the time. That fix you posted to get around the strange text spacing (open CCD, control+H, two spaces, save...) was what kept this campaign going. Though once I got into April of '45, that fix no longer worked, don't have a clue as to why not. I watched as each new mission pushed the text further left on each commander's counter (playing in 3D) and thought NOoooooo!!! They are going to stop me just before I get to the end! A Conspiracy, I said. I actually was hoping I would have few missions left in the campaign just to get past that bug. In the end, the last mission, where the text was completely on the left of the counter, with no where else to go, I thought I would be forced to start yet another East Front Campaign. But, as you see, that mission was the last. Again, my sincere thanks.
For the record, I played with default settings, except for 'computer with FOG of War', and I did use the 'armor facing' option. I know that is a disadvantage for the AI when playing against the computer, but all those previous campaigns had me all but wiped out once the T-34s arrived on scene. That facing option gave me a chance to advance with having at least some of my armor still in play.
I started with a Battalion, accepted all promotions and reinforcements, keeping those that the reinforcement brought down the morale level way down in the rear, until mission by mission, the morale would increase enough to put those units back into the fray. And, Big Ivan, I kept 'myself' out of harm's way as I had been killed as well during previous campaigns. Bummer, that. I hope for better success should you attempt one of these again.
So what did I learn from playing a DLC as the Germans on the East Front? Even in the latter missions where I was mostly on defense, and well dug in, it was Attack! Attack! Attack! Recon units pushing forward on the flanks ( took a lot of damage to those, but it needed to be done ), forcing the Soviets to drop their artillery and other mounted troops earlier than I think the AI wanted to, and moving armor and grenadiers up as soon as the initial enemy thrust was dispatched.
One last word for Jason. From reading the forums, DLCs are not the most favored among posters, not being historically accurate. But I liked the promotions and medals...))) What I wanted you to know is there was another bug I encountered. Though the campaign CCD and OOB showed that I had been issued upgrades for my Mark IV F's to Mark IV H models, I never saw them. I ended up with a few Mark V battalions, but the rest were showing on the map as Mark IV F's, and operating as Mark IV F's, and not as simply being displayed as those and actually operating as the Mark IV H. That being my fate, I used the battered Mark IV F's in a supporting role to the Panthers. Made for more of a challenge, but I thought you may want to know.
All in All, a fun time for the last couple of decades, bugs and all. And as I salivate over the thought of East Front III, I find that though my intent was to get away from this game for a while and play some WWI flight sim, or maybe some Shot and Pike type games, I found myself starting yet another East Front DLC. Just a sucker for punishment, I guess...
Big Ivan, thanks again for your words.
And Jason, well, what more can I say? I have never been one for 'hero worship', and at my age, I find humanity in general rather...Uh...I will edit myself here. But some individuals stand out, even in my small reality. And you, my friend, are one of those. May seem trivial for some to pay homage to someone who devoted himself to fixing and keeping alive a computer game, but your efforts made at least this one old man happy for many, many years. Thank you, sincerely, very, very much indeed!
Janusz
"I may disagree with what you say, but I will Defend to the Death your Right to speak such Lies!"
Thank you, Crossroads! And please accept my apology for not responding sooner...[:(], I have been negligent in the past month on keeping up with emails, forums, et al. Wretched kidney stones have kept me from attending to many things. If there is indeed a God, and I am allowed to see Him/Her/It and granted but one question, it will not be about Life, the Universe and Everything, it will be more along the lines of "Just what the F*** were You thinking when You came up with the idea of Kidney Stones??? Really?"
Okay, that was two questions, but the intent is clear. This is stone number seven for me, with one more in the left kidney and three in the right awaiting their turn. Such fun to look forward to.
Probably more info than you needed or wanted....and off-topic..[:-]
So, I wanted to say thanks for taking the time to drop me your kind note.
It was a Team effort. Could not have gotten there without everyone's support here.
Janusz
ps: Been calling it a DLC when if fact it is a "DCG". Sorry, all. Just write it off to early signs of dementia.
"I may disagree with what you say, but I will Defend to the Death your Right to speak such Lies!"
