Update 12 feedback from newbie

[the_flyingdutchman]

When I completed my first campaign before, I always asked;Although I successfully completed Market Garden, why I should follow historical path?
So after Update 12, I decided to replay whole campaign again(I play on normal level).

Reports from AFHQ

Lombardy-Liguria: Not so hard. Just capture bridges before Italians destroy it. It`s easier than 'Road from Rimini'. US 10th mountain div is a quite nice unit(although they appear 'same time'in Ljubljana Gap).

Final Vienna Award: Don`t underestimate Hungarians. They were stubborn than I think. And If you want to breakthrough western mountain path(near Linz), be aware of German panzer divisions. And If you captured all VPs, you will get Maori battalion. So if your Maori btl was destroyed in Rimini/Ljubljana scenario by airstrike, don`t worry about that. You can also liberate Vienna with Polish 2nd corps. Again 1683.


Reports from SHAEF

Fortress Holland: Medium-easy level scenario. You just need place a pontoon near Utrecht before the first turn. And let the mighty 1st Polish armored to make bridgehead. Be careful of a SS panzer division!
(Although they were attached to 51st Highlander division, I think it will be better with Free Dutch Army unit, Princess Irene Brigade. Maybe there are some people who like liberate Paris with French 2e DB and liberate Brussels with Piron Bde, for symbolical reasons.)

Push to the Ruhr: German Panzers around Enschede are quite DANGEROUS. You need to keep watch them. But don`t use all of your airstrike card in this scenario. You will need to keep them.
(If you don`t have airstrike cards during last conference, you will be shocked in Herbstnebel scenario)

Saar-Vogues Offensive: After 'Race Across France', US 3rd army successfully encircled Metz, while US 7th army/ French 1st army assault Lorraine/Belfort. It's a medium level scenario, but it's also huge/enjoying scenario. You can liberate Strasbourg with 2e DB while FF 1st army encircles 'Tiny Colmar pocket'. The only thing I worried is HQ upgrade objectives(Metz/ Remagen bridge). In historical scenarios, you can upgrade your HQs with destroying enemies in Lorraine/capture the Colmar in Belfort Gap. But it this scenario, Both HQ upgrade objectives are on the 3rd Army`s route. It could be re-balanced.

Herbstnebel(Autumn Mist): It's an nutshell. During conference after Market Garden, I was received lots of Ultra/Shaef replacement/Para units, but never received ANY airstrike cards. with only one airstrike asset, it's quite hard scenario. You need to make defense line in the forest near Enschede. And when I make fortifications in there, US airborne divs spawn(maybe intended to represent redbull express). This scenario needs more airstrike assets(maybe add airstrike asset objectives in last three scenarios).

Other scenarios
-Most of alt-historical scenarios don`t have enough airstrike assets(especially Liberation of Bohemia). For whom doesn`t get airstrike assets, some more airstrike asset is needed.
-Alpine Redoubt was an easy scenario, but map is too big for one HQ. And I noticed French Far Eastern Colonial Divs(DCEO) has Foreign Legion(FFL) specialist. I think free french has two major FFL units(13th demi brigade of 1e DFL and Marching Regiment of Foreign Legion of 5e DB). Was it intended to freen french commando force/etc?
-Dash to Berlin was hard, but enjoyable scenario. Scenario of the Patton, by the Patton, for the Patton.
-I`m still in early stage of Unthinkable scenario. You need to get bridges around Kustrin by airborne troops to encircle soviet forces in Berlin. And I noticed some soviet units(4th/28th/29th GRC of 8th Guards army, which were part of 1st Belorussian Front) are assigned to wrong Front HQ.

Etc
-Specialists were changed. For special forces, they became minor version of engineer. Maybe some special force steps need to be buffed(British Marines to remove river/beach penalty, French Goumiers to remove mountain penalty)
-Soviets are great. With 7-steps with experiences, they are quite strong. There Heavy Tank/Artillery steps are strong. Look forward to soviet DLC.
-Polish 2nd 'Warsaw' armored bde(later division) does not appear in Ljubljana/Vienna scenario, and reappear in Bohemia scenario(as bde). And it appear as 'division' in unthinkable.
-If you clear Lombardy-Liguria and follow historical route in Western Europe, some FF units (1e DFL, 27e Ddm) should appear in Rhin et Danube(also, if you captured all of Atlantic ports in Normandy Breakout, 2e DB should appear)

Great work. I`m waiting to full release of Update 12. Thanks for watching!

[Danielefc]

Hey man and thanks for the feedback!

Sorry for the late reply, but here goes:


* Royal Marines should already be "amphibious" ie. they should already have less naval landing and river crossing penalties. Please let us know if this is not working
* 2nd Polish Armored Brigade/Division - I'll look into if this can be streamlined. Good catch.
* your idea regarding Goumiers negating mountain penalties. Good idea! However it's doubtful it can be implemented currently as it would be a new mechanic and we are a bit strapped for time.
* regarding the Soviet units attached to "wrong" HQ: Do you mean this in a historical sense or in a location sense? If it's in a historical sense, then it is intentional: Some units have been reshuffled.
* HQ objectives in Saar-Vosgues on 3rd Army's route is intentional, since Dash to Berlin needs a "good" US 3rd Army.
* "not enough airstrikes". Also intentional to force the player to balance his cards (this alt history branch is supposed to be harder)
* "Alpine Redoubt too big for one HQ". Also intentional since you need HQ actions both in the north and south... forcing the player to shuffle around his HQ and plan accordingly. I tried having the US 7th Army involved during testing. But scenario got stupid easy then .
* Regarding french foreign legion. Alt history unit re-shuffleing and also representing "other" special forces. But good points still

Cheers!

[JBerg2021]

* your idea regarding Goumiers negating mountain penalties. Good idea! However it's doubtful it can be implemented currently as it would be a new mechanic and we are a bit strapped for time.

This might be a good place to make a plug for the Gurkha soldiers in the Indian Divisions. This might be a nice specialist to add to those divisions, specifically the 4th and 8th Divisions, which had Gurkha battalions. The 4th was also skilled in Mountain warfare, and considering the Gurkhas were Nepali soldiers, giving them a mountaineer bonus might be appropriate as well.

[Danielefc]

Yea, the poor awesome Gurkhas fell by the roadside due to a lack of time. It was planned to add them and I think I even promised to do so during the beta. In a perfect world the Gurkhas would be added and there would be some sort of negation of mtn penalties for them and the Goumiers. But the honest answer here is that we don't have the time to make even more big new additions and content changes. QoL improvements and bug fixes will continue for as long as needed of course.

[the_flyingdutchman]

I had a exam, so I finished my entire campaign yesterday. This is last reports from AFHQ/SHAFE(Jan-Aug 1945)

Reports from SHAEF

Ruhr Assault: After failure of Operation Herbstnebel, damaged Allied divisions received elite replacements. And New year`s day of 1945, Allied forced launched major offensive to capture Ruhr industrial zone. BR. 6th Airborne parachuted behind Leverkussen while US 17th Airborne jumped into forest near Siegen. US 1st Army advanced to Siegen and British armored divs aimed east of Dortmund to cut the German`s supply. US 9th Army built pontoons to aid river crossing. After German supply disrupted, regular divs mopped up Germans and get experiences. not so hard;Use 9th Army HQ to build bridge at initial phase of scenario.

Battle for Bavaria: It`s very helpful to capture Freiburg in 'Saar-Voges Offensive'. While US Armies involved bitter battles around Mannheim, FF 1st Army expended Freiburg bridgehead to Stuttgart Area. The most annoying thing was supply;To manage supply well, I have to crack German fortresses(Mannheim,Wurzburg, Stuttgart, Ulm). Hard scenario. I tried several times to capture Munchen in time. Need to nerf German garrisons in city or put 3rd army`s bridgehead around Remagen.

Operation Stapler: It is hard to maintain supplies in Denmark/ Kiel Area. I used Cdn.4th Armored to capture Airport(you will need pontoon!) while Infantry formations of 1st Cdn Army capture Kiel. Send armored divs to capture Bremen as quickly as possible. You also have to spam pontoons to advance through north German Area. Hard. If you finished to capture all objects in time, you will get SOE card. DON`T discard it. It will be very useful in Unthinkable scenario.

Alpine Redoubt: As I mentioned, not so hard but quite big for one HQ. It`s hard to earn HQ experience. FF mountaineer formations are good to breakthrough into Alps Mts, so use them effectively.

Dash to Berlin: Rivers are major obstacle to Patton`s advance. Consistently move HQ to front. Be aware of German Panzer reinforcements in turn 4(To prevent German counterattack, I destroyed bridge near Rathenow. Than panzers entrenched in berlin). I used two armored divs(4th,10th) to capture Erfurt/ Reach Treptow and NE parts of Berlin(also need elite infantry div). I prefer to capture NE suburbs first. Its very important to cut their supply. Although I dropped 101st in supply source NE of Berlin, but I think you should keep them. Liberation of Bohemia is very hard.

Reports from AFHQ

Liberation of Bohemia: You need to be lucky. In US 5th Army Area, German Panzers will trying to recapture Wien. Retreat US 1st Arm/ 92nd across the river and destroy the bridge, to delay 2 SS panzer divs(also SA 6th to entrench). Use rearguard wisely;I fall back my troops in Wien and order rearguard to 1st Arm(guarding bridge east of Wien). And I deployed US 91st in the south hex of bridge. When three panzer divs across the river, let 91st crossed the river, preventing Germans to retreat. On north side, two SS Panzers will across the river. If you are lucky enough, Germans will not rebuild the bridge even though SS panzers crossed the river. You can destroy those panzers with some units under BR.8th Army. Then advances to the north to capture object.
In BR.8th Army Area, US 10th mtn. div need to capture Budweis quickly. German PzGs will trying to disrupt your supply, so you need to keep your supply line. If you managed to destroy german PzGs(to capture objects easier, you need to destroy them), advance to Plisen(1-2 units) and Prag(main force). Prag is hard to crack, so you need to good divs(eng, arty). Germans always try to destroy bridges, so advance quickly(capture two bridges south of Prag/Pardubitz quickly). If you have airborne unit card, use them to capture objects in time. Very hard. I think it is harder than Berlin.

Unthinkable-War with former comrade

It`s a really, REALLY HUGE and HARD scenario. You will be quite surprised by its size and strong soviet units. You will need to beat them with your mostly Veteran Units(some Elite units like US 9th, 28th, 34th are not appear;It`s so bad). It is IMPORTANT to have 1-2 SOE cards(and airstrike)

Initial phase
In north of Berlin, Part of BR. 2nd Army are encircled by soviets. US 1st army need to cut off soviets(with 3rd Army`s armored units), so create pontoons and redeploy HQ near 35th div. In Kustrin, Frankfurt an der Oder area, you will see three soviet bridges with encircled US. 8th div. US 3rd Army(with Its Polish units) deployed near soviet bridgehead in Grunberg. And US 5th and FF 1st Armies are faced with huge amounts of soviets. FF 1st army has many regular/ early veteran units, so they are vulnerable with soviet counterattack. So I redeployed my supply hubs to rear.

Early stage-Minimize casualties, Destroy/Capture bridges, Kustrin Airborne Operation, Annihilate soviet bridgeheads
At first, capture Frankfurt an der Oder with your units. If yo are lucky enough, you can link up with US 8th div. Send some armored units of 3rd Army to support. And, as I mentioned, you need to use SOE card. destroy pontoon north of Kustrin. And drop your airborne divs(keep one to use Grunberg) to capture kustrin . Its quite bloody; If you have Ultra, hit airstrike in Kustrin and drop an airborne div to capture there. You can minimize airborne casualties...If you are lucky. It`s hard to watch my units being wiped out. And east of Berlin, fall back US units across the river.
In BR.2nd Army area, relive encircled units(escape them from pocket with motorized/rearguard). Rather than advance to south, I prefer to aim Stettin(I captured there in turn 2) to cut off soviets from supply(bridge at Stettin, pontoon at its south). If you succeed to capture/ destroy all of five bridges, congratulation. You need to destroy soviets In pocket.
In US 3rd Army area, capture Grunberg In turn 1(with an airborne div) and relieve Polish 1st Army of the east. Also annihilate soviet bridgehead SE of Grunberg. Don`t let soviets across the Oder river.
In US 5th/ FF 1st Army area, fall back your divs to rail line. Soviet tank corps(TC) will try to pursuit, but you can keep your divs unscratched. In turn 2-3, use airstrike and pour your elite/veteran armored formations to attack soviet TCs(like Kursk, it`s a close combat of armored units). than reach Breslau.

Middle stage-Across the Oder River
In this stage, you have been successfully destroyed soviets around Berlin. Use pontoons to make bridgehead in forest, because soviets are strong at plain. Also, you can send some armored div to make bridgehead near Kolberg(with 4th Indian). US 1st Army need to expend Kustrin bridgehead. Use forest around Kustrin/Landsberg to keep your units unharmed. Than, use your armored divs to envelope soviet forces in eastern bank of Oder.
I set Warta river(river flows near Poznan/Kustrin) as a 'border' of US 1st Army(north) and 3rd Army(south). Soviets will withdraw their troops in forest near Grunberg. I sent US troops to capture large forest in north of Grunberg while Polish established their bridgehead east of Grunberg. And mop up soviet forces north of Grunberg and encircle soviets around NW of Breslau. And let Polish units to capture Poznan.
US 5th has lots of things to do, they need to make bridgehead north of Breslau, and aid 3rd Army to encircle soviets. With FF 1st army, they need to advance eastward, inflicting heavy damage to soviets. Some FF units are very weak, so be careful. Let three French armored divs to capture bridges near Ratibor.

Final Stage- Capture all objects
In the north, BR 2nd/ US 1st Army need to push to Danzig. there are at least one very strong TC around Danzig/ Gotenhafen, so be careful.
While most of 3rd Army reduce soviet pocket north of Breslau(with infantries of 5th), I sent Polish units, which recently captured Poznan, to Warszawa. In my case, Warszawa was empty. Polish liberated their capital with no loss.
Some Infantry formations of 5th army participated to reduce soviet pockets north of Breslau, most of them moved to encircle soviets around Gleiwitz. FF armored divs liberated Krakow, and lone armored div entered empty Sandomierz. After Gleiwitz pocket destroyed, I could capture over 200 soviet prisoners, too.

[the_flyingdutchman]

After finishing campaign

-Is airstrike should fixed? I don't think one airstrike can destroy Foreign Legion/Maori Btl... Rather than kill specialist steps, It need to kill/suppress unit strengths.
-In alt-history campaign, you will play lots of 'huge' scenarios. Although it consumes lots of hour, It`s quite fun. You will have to move your supply hub/ HQ to front CONSTANTLY. With some new mechanics(sea transport/evacuation, airborne troops can conduct another airborne operation), I think we can create Very huge scenarios(like Normandy to Ruhr). But It`s hard to earn HQ exps, when map is too big. Also need more turns for large scens.
-Because of huge map, HQ upgrade need to be more easier, like if you captured stragglers to earn HQ exp, lower target XP, elite units get more XP(3-5 exp). Maybe player kills/captures certain amounts of enemies, he can receive HQ upgrade...
-AI is very smart. They always try to disrupt my supply(like Normandy Breakout/Battle of Bavaria). Sometimes I`m surprised to its move.
-I also think adding Gurkha is nice idea(with remove/reduce mountain/hill penalty). Also considering that Indian divs involved many mountain battles during Tunisia/Italy, it`s great idea to adding Indian mountaineers. These will be suitable for North African Theater, too.
-For Airborne division cards, If you keep and not use it, you will see 11/13th airborne divs(11th deployed in pacific, 13th in ETO but never saw in combat) in Push to the Ruhr/Herbstnebel. Maybe make 11/13/44th as a card will be more historical(like;To success Operation Market Garden, Supreme Command give you a 44th Indian Airborne form Burma theater)
-There were some units changed its name/reformed there formation(L force and Ddm Constantine in Wadi Akarit later became FF 2e DB and 3e DIA, like 1st SA Infantry div transforms into 6th SA armored. In this case, unit`s exp should be reflected). It`s also important for represent soviet guards unit. If this is reflected, this game will be better!

I really enjoyed playing campaigns. I`ll wait for fully release of update 12 and DLCs. Thanks for reading!

[Danielefc]

Thanks for more very extensive feedback

As always, we read everything(!), but sadly don't always have time to give a comprehensive answer.

Cheers!