Newbie totally out of his depth!

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MrBenevolent
Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:04 am

Newbie totally out of his depth!

Unread postby MrBenevolent » Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:17 am

I always wanted to get into strategic wargames, but always found them a little dry and impenetrable and thus they remained tantalisingly out of my reach...

Then along came UOC and all the reviews from my favourite sites suggested it would be just the thing to cut my teeth on.

I downloaded and played the demo and the two starting scenarios, liked what I saw and purchased the game...at which point the wheels came off!

I can't even get past the first campaign mission, let alone any of the scenarios. Games always seem to go the same way - I get cut off from supply in the first few turns and then stay cut off until the game ends, most of my troops reduced to an inert part of the scenery for the duration.

I fight a bitter war of attrition and when it gets to the point where I am starting to dominate, numerically at least, I hit the turn limit and it is game over.

I must be missing utter fundamentals here, but I just can't put my finger on the right strategy - it always seems that the enemy's supply lines are a little out of my reach to begin with and, with the exception of the armoured units, all my infantry seem inferior or at best, doomed to a stalemate in attack.

Any ideas on where to start?

Cheers!

ABS_beginner
Newcomer
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:00 pm

Re: Newbie totally out of his depth!

Unread postby ABS_beginner » Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:11 pm

MrBenevolent,

I too am trying to obtain victory (any) in the first campaign mission. Then again, I had this same problem with Panzer General. I could beat the intro mission (tutorial?), but the following mission, I would (to use this game's terms) brilliantly lose.

The first (really playable) scenario (Crimea), I can get decisive victory and I have (with some luck) achieved brilliant victory. But 2nd Kharkov... cannot even get a minimal victory. I barely get a city before the AI counterattacks and wipes me from the map.

Anyone else out there have this problem? Is there anyone who had this problem and overcame it? Help?

Thanks!

MrBenevolent
Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:04 am

Re: Newbie totally out of his depth!

Unread postby MrBenevolent » Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:02 am

Well I managed to get through the first mission and on to the second axis campaign mission...which oddly was much easier than the first as I didn't find it hard to complete that one..problem is, I still feel like I only got through on luck and having odds in my favour rather than by design.

Of course now I am stuck on the next one; Case Blue. :D

Is there any way of turning off the turn limits? It seems to be this more than anything else that is my downfall. With the arbitrary turn cap, it seems more like a puzzle game to me, with a limited number of moves to achieve a specific outcome and a small range of given "solutions" per level rather than a tactical/strategic challenge!

RambOrc
Captain
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 3:20 pm

Re: Newbie totally out of his depth!

Unread postby RambOrc » Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:14 pm

Instead of starting with the campaign, try beating scenarios one by one. If you can't succeed in a given scenario, just drop it and try another. Some are more about strategy, others are indeed more of a puzzle, so just find one that fits your gamestyle and try to win that.

As for weak infantry, buy them a specialist step from reserves if available. If you have a choice, mouse over the different available specialists to see which has the best attack value, while also not forgetting two other relevant factors: armor shift (at least 3 different specialists have it) and negating enemy defenses (german engineers only). Reinforcing units so that they don't drop to a lower status also makes quite a difference.