Division level 1939 - 1945 Scenario

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USXpat
Posts: 381
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:20 pm

Division level 1939 - 1945 Scenario

Post by USXpat »

The latest project I've been working on is getting close enough to completion that it may well be ready for the upcoming patch. I've not named it yet... but it runs from May 39 to May 45, and runs on the same scale as the 42-45 scenario: 15 km / hex, 1 week turns, predominantly division level.

The map is an expansion of the 42-45 map, adding a bit more depth to Russia, adds Spain, the rest of NW Africa, covers the relevant areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and Iran in detail, along with a small portion of the Soviet Far East. Other areas are abstracted to some degree.

Some of the key components:

1. The scenario starts small, focusing on the Nomonhan Incident between the Japanese and Russia in the Far East. The consideration is that if the Japanese were successful there, it could have influenced the Japanese in taking the Army's Northern Strategy vs. the Navy's Southern Strategy which would eventually lead it to Pearl Harbor.

2. Dynamic Axis oil supply. The Axis player will have a standard supply level for static/defensive periods, but can use oil stocks to better support offensive operations, or ration oil supply during quiet periods to generate enough oil to support future offensive operations. All the way around, the Axis has a finite capacity to engage offensively.

3. Political Points. Each side has at least 20 different political options available to it, but will only be able to act on a small number of them - 3 - with the possibility of gaining more over the course of the war. Some are nominal in effect, others more profound but either require additional events to come into effect or involve major trade offs. The Political Points can be treated as an optional subset - they don't have to be used and if not used will have no impact on the game.

4. Strategic Warfare - carried over in part from 42 - 45 where the implementation worked fairly well, gets some refining. Covers the Soviet Factory transfers, Axis reserve systems, industries and rail transportation.

5. Each country has its own replacement pool for the vast majority of its equipment.

6. Same, though slightly simplified, upgrades of units as in 42-45.

7. Expanded US/CW/SU LendLease routines and Axis Aid packages for minor powers.

Anyways - trying to cover as many angles as possible, variable supply points, equipment conversions, more weather effects, more legitimate choices and decision points as I can complete with the 10,000 events available -- while aiming to keep it not much more difficult to play, or too much longer per turn, than 42-45.

I learned a lot from working on 42-45, suffice that 9000 extra events is more than adequate to addressing a lot of the earlier limitations. At the same time, I learned earlier to keep event routines as simple as possible, sticking to ones proven to work.

The only thing with this scenario is that it will be pbem or hotseat only. I'd like to think that I have the time to work with the PO to show what it could do, but I don't. 42-45, the PO held up reasonably well for about 30 turns, but even then an experienced player would be able to run circles around it simply by finding 1 hex gaps.

Anyways, this is what I've been working on -- insane, but I enjoy it. I've played so many other games and been disappointed with almost all of them, but continuously find TOAW and the scenarios that so many on this board have created such a joy to play... any day, especially Human to Human, that I think it is worth investing the time to stretch the boundaries of what TOAW is considered capable of.

Some argue against anything this big, but Ralph has evolved TOAW into something far more than it was. 500 Events? Heh... 10,000? Now, we're talking! Bigger is not necessarily better, but for the same reasons some people play WOW for a decade plays into why some people enjoy monsters. These kinds of monsters aren't over and done with joining the dozens of others that fade into memory. Play testing of 42-45 is just now wrapping up, the latest test started last November or December...

Will post further as more gets complete.
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