Rommel wrote:As far as I know, you absolutely need cards. Look at them like additional forces given to you by the high command. Or additional info. And unpredictability, as you never get the same cards for the scenario
Ultra for instance shows the entire map for a turn. Recon planes do, well, recon. The bombers are useful as they spread havoc among the exposed land units. Mind it, it is not wise to bomb the city, as it could end as a ruin. And ruins are perfect for defense. Just ask Russian in Stalingrad or Germans in Monte Cassino. Trucks are great as they are giving you additional supply point, and supply is a king in this game, while paratroopers, well, they are especially useful in later scenarios.
There is much more, like naval bombardment or SHAEF (which gives you an opportunity to buy extra units/steps)
So, consider cards an essential part of the game, not an option.
HQs are also essential. You can unlock many things, which are a must if you want to progress further. To start there is the upgrade of movement points, so HQ can move further in a turn. That will come in handy once you get to big maps. But more important than that are the upgrades that allow you to do setpiece attacks (must when sieging), artillery, and in the later scenarios you will absolutely need to get the option to cross the river, and an amphibious landing.
The game will warn you if you do not invest. So, the answer would be. Some of those options are less important than others. But in general, the game is developed to be played with cards, and HQ options. Both are essential and welcome mechanics.
Hopefully, I answered at least some of your questions. If you have more, feel free to ask
Thank you Rommel....so, with this other second comment made below by juoc, let me focus my questions strictly on the HQ. Am I right then to understand that units now progress forward? Or at least the HQ? This was one of the unique features of UoC1, to me, and perhaps the most ahistorical, that I was encouraged to use my troops to their very destruction because the next scenario would load with fresh troops. So, if the HQ at least goes forward, then prestige spent now will pay off later?
I don't understand yet (and note, I have plans to read the manual fully through this coming week...yes, I am that old that I actually like to read rulebooks; I still remember fondly getting my next new AH game and taking the 50-75 page rule book on trips to read through things) how the "elite" thing works. In that first scenario, I was told I got one, but I could determine if some unit just "got it" or if it somehow ended up in a HQ unit that I was then to distribute. Could it be that HQ units cannot distribute such unless they have some upgrade?
And on a side note, every turn there were notes that appeared in brief, sliding down the left hand side of the screen. They looked mostly like little envelopes, so I took that suggestion to mean I could click on it for more info. Nope. I looked and looked, yet saw nowhere to review the notes from what had transpired. Surely that location exists, right?
On the set piece attacks you mention, some of my units could do that in the first scenario but others could not. I assumed that was something connected to the unit, but is it really something to do with the HQ? And, if so (or maybe just in general), are the upgrades for HQ units ONLY done prior to the start of the scenario?
Are unit points (can't think of the term right now...but when you add a point back to a unit for fighting) linked specifically to HQ, or general? In UoC1, it was general and you could add them where you saw fit. I couldn't tell fully (took me several turns to figure out where I could buy a point, let alone just points to give out in reinforcement), but it seemed like it was tied to the HQ. And at one point, I had what seemed to say 2 points of armor and 2 points of infantry, but after giving just 1 point to one armored unit, the options grayed out. Is that something connected to the HQ?
Sorry for all the questions, but thanks in advance to anyone who answers. I just know the HQ is a vital part of how this new version plays. Again, the set piece to reduce the enemy fortifications while taking no damage is clearly vital in any static defense scenario. I could just tell as I played that I didn't fully understand and most likely didn't use the units to their full capability. I did finish the campaign, and achieved most of the objectives (missed one of the turn 3 ones), but was playing on normal (second from the bottom, just above easy), and thought that had I been playing on a harder level, I would have easily been defeated.