ORIGINAL: gwgardner
The other criticism that the AI has too many units so quickly is a matter of either tweaking the config files for production, or simply playing on hard or hardest level.
I would agree with you if I was playing a fantasy game but this is supposed to be an historical simulation so I would agree to play at hard level to balance out playing against the AI (me at hard level and the AI at easy level) but not the other way around as here I would need to have Germany play at hard level to compensate for his abundance of troops. This is a reversed situation and it bugs me.
In my present game with the Allies the German already have way more troops than the French, while in reality it was almost at par with a lower number for the German troops against France, Great Britain, Belgium and Holland.
ORIGINAL: gwgardner
The criticism that the early Russian attack should have crushed the Germans is flawed, because Germany has several advantages early on - higher war economy level, higher war training level, greater SMP level, better commanders, more armored units in being. Plus the Russian still takes the early war shock, reducing its effectiveness, I believe.
Totally agree with that statement and this didn't bug me at all.
ORIGINAL: gwgardner
I just wish players would quite posting such things as 'playing the AI is a waste of time' or 'multiplayer is broken' or 'uber Panzers ruin the game' and so on, without trying to examine all the many, many, interrelated factors in the game that come into play. And no one seems to remember that in order to really balance the gameplay, it takes time and lots of input from players to get the config files right.
Sorry for that but shouldn't a game be tested before being released? if I need to buy a game for it to be played so the producer can tweak the game to perform normally it doesn't feel right. And sorry but here there is a lot that wasn't tested at all.
Examples besides playing the USSR and facing hordes of Huns[;)]
Now playing with the Allies and I see those non-sense:
- Convoys: I can't trace convoys from Great Britain to Suez to supply North Africa, it will go through the Med. I can't but imagine the pain and losses with the Italian navy at first. I would agree on the one to supply Malta or transporting troops to save time but come on, the British navy was smart enough to take the long road to avoid losses.
- Canada: where is it on the map? convoys all come from the South while historically Iceland was seized by the Allies to help controlling the North Atlantic Ocean.
- U-Boats: besides sending them all with the Kriegsmarine on a suicide run I don't see a trace of one in the Atlantic. Historical feel? zero!!!
- Kriegsmarine: the whole of the German navy was send to the door of the British colonies to destroy my convoys... not one or 2 raiders but all of it including Scharnhorst, Gneiseneau, Graf Spee, Admiral Hipper and so forth[X(] Not mentioning the impossibility for them to be fueled to do that trip but they would never do that against the British Navy and never did.
- Sinking the German Navy: so I did send my 6 carriers and a bunch of BB and CA to destroy the Kriegsmarine which I managed to do with Air Strikes from the CV and the kind of surprise screen telling me I hit this and that for 2 HP losses. Speaking of naval battles I must have shot 2 hundreds time at those to score 2 hits maximum... ludicrous. Now there is one German CA left and he evades me all the time with those 25% chance... against 6 CV??? is this a joke? The Bismarck was sunk because of one lucky torpedo from 1 CV. Anyway no more Kriegsmarine.
- Invasion of Norway: what, who, when, where??? Germany declares war and no invasion so I'm taking over with British INF Corps and position the Royal Navy to thwart any invasion. Why declare war if not to invade? any logic?
- Winter War against Finland: I'll post a SS later as Finland already took over part of Leningrad and captured 2 russians cities... come one guys, how can this even be. I rolled over Finland in a few weeks with Russia.
- Western Front: Germany took over 2 hexes from the Maginot Line in Winter 1939 and did nothing till March 1940 and right now there are Belgian troops destroying German divisions each turn. That should make me proud being Belgian but just make me smile as we were rolled over literally. We tried to resist but there was no way we did push back the Germans. See this SS of the front lines in France... unbelievable while there is French INF Corps protecting Brest and Bordeaux.
ORIGINAL: gwgardner
I can't take all the gnashing of teeth seriously, when I have played the game against the AI and against humans, and in many such games have had a great time. My AARs are testimony to that.
Well good for you and no denying the game is fun to play but I'm looking for an historical representation of WW2 which can make me feel I did play something making sense... and that game is just not cutting it for the moment.
I really do hope something is going to be fixed but today I had no fun playing with the German as it was WAY too easy, no fun with the USSR even accepting to have the lower hand for years but not facing hordes of Huns so now testing with the Allies just to have a whole round flavor. So far not looking good. (for info I let the AI handle the French, will try that next).
Again I'm sorry to come hard on this game but this is not a fantasy game, it's an historical game and because of that there can't be such non-sense of declaring war to Norway and never invading as a plain and simple example.
