Hi there!
I have been working away on a new version of Dictator recently, having remade the thing from
the ground up about twice already. Being the perfectionist that I am, I was determined to apply
the tricks I learned from making Bitterfrost III. I wanted to use the units in a way that made
playing as the Axis harder and harder, with the protagonist German civ trying to win against
the ever-growing Allied/Soviet war machine.
I think this one will have the best balance yet, and also I am going to liven up the Pacific
theatre with Japan making historical grabs at the Dutch East Indies, Midway and Australia. The
fearless Oz nation too will be now a playable civ, as will the tireless nationalist Chinese.
What's more, as the Soviets you will have to weather Barbarossa for five grueling turns
before being able to turn the tide of the fascists, crush them and then getting the chance
to invade Manchukuo and kickstarting a communist China!
Events are about to be typed, but much of the text body is done, just new co-ords
and invasion scripts to write up. The prospect of repelling invasions and skin of
the teeth battles are what is needed to keep things exciting. Seeing if you can
survive Operation Overlord will be a real challenge!
Battles like operation Torch, Avalanche and Leyte will all be there of course, along with
some random Allied/Soviet invasions within Europe and the Pacific to keep the Axis twitchy!
Also you can now take part in a proper Stalingrad battle. If the city is taken, a race
against time begins, as the Germans try to research a victory tech while being pounded
by endless waves of Soviet troops and tanks...Playested this, and it is a hoot!
Some units are non-buildable (SS Panzer Div, SS Grenadiers, Brit Sherman, Red Guards, Commandos)
and are events-awarded for completing research, achieving victories, or capturing enemy cities.
Graphics are as good as done, the map is laid out, as are the units, save for tweaks.
New oil and urban terrains help with overcrowded Europe and poverty-stricken Russia.
So this leads me to the part where I ask the community here for some input.
I have one empty slot in the units list, denoted by '***********'. I am wishing
to know if there is one particular unit you all think should be there. I have the
benchmark that a unit should be one that was widely used, or could have had a big
impact if it had been developed...Hence the Me262 and Tiger II.
There is an opening too for simply 'cool' units...Nothing wrong with some fun...!
So let me know if you have any suggestions...I was toying with these:
Meteor (Britain)
Helldiver (USA)
MXY7 Ohka (Japan)
Me264 Amerika (Germany)
Elite Airborne (USA)
So, let me know if you have anything else that should fill that empty slot!
Below are the current units, with the '*******' slot.
Slave Workers
Engineers
P-40 Warhawk
P-38 Lightning
P-47 Thunderbolt
P-51 Mustang
A6M2 Zero
Ki-61 Hien
US Infantry
Red Army
Grenadiers
Riflemen
Navy Marines
Troopers
Motor Troops
Pz Grenadiers
M5 Half-track
M16 MGMC
I-16
Il-2 Sturmovik
La-5
Yak-3
Tank
Field Gun
Katyusha
PaK 88
M40 GMC
Spitfire
Bomber
AA Gun
Bf-109
Fw-190
Me-262
Ju-87 Stuka
***********
Type XXI U-Boat
Freighter
Destroyer
Cruiser
Battleship
Super Battleship
Submarine
Carrier
Troopship
V2 Missile
B-29 (Atom Bomb)
Militia
Paratroopers
Parachute Troops
Supplies
Panzer IV
Tiger
Panther
Tiger II
T-34
IS-2
IS-3
Mk.III Valentine
A.22 Churchill
A.41 Centurion
M3 Lee
M4 Sherman
M26 Pershing
Sherman II
SS Pz Division
SS Grenadiers
Commandos
US Marines
Soviet Army
Guards
People's Army
Nationalists
Ju-88
D3A Val
Typhoon
Mosquito
Lancaster
Sunderland
B-17 Fortress
B-24 Liberator
BTW, the hopeless 1941-era Red Army unit is replaced in early 1942 with the grimly determined Soviet Army.
This represents the relative ease of the first phase of Barbarossa, which bogged down into a slog by the
winter, and I hope to recreate the effect of the Axis having great success to begin with, and then being
battered by a new wave of fanatical patriot commies. No more getting into Moscow by late summer!
Last edited by curtsibling; February 24, 2007 at 03:56.
A little screenie to give you an idea of how things are looking!
The Luftwaffe prepares to face British might!
I'd go for the Okha, myself. The whole Kamikaze mentality was the only thing that scared several US admirals about Japanese tactics.
Indeed, I was giving that unit some serious thought.
Often in these types of scen, there's a majority of units for the 3rd Reich anyways. Something japanese would be cool, espeially a somewhat cheap kamikaze unit.
Though I must admt I'm a fan of the 3rd Reich "what if" units.
A Go-229 or Me-264 would be a nice joker in the pack...!
Forgive my ignorance here,but aren't the B17 and B24 so close in performance and use, that one unit could serve for both? That way you could have both the Kamikaze and a Wunderwaffen.
I have to admit, I like Exile's and Case's ideas on units in this kind of scenario. Why not use more strategic/generic unit names, but still use the same icons? Just a (obsessive) opinion.
I guess I wanted to make more use of fairline's lovely American WW2 units!
I prefer to use named unit types, and allow them to represent the various squadrons, divisions.
For this scenario, I also wanted to give the strategic bombing angle some evolution.
The B-24 in the scenario is the most long-ranged and hard-hitting of the US bombers,
while the tough old B-17 represents the impact of earlier US air campaigns of 1943.
The British Lancaster outfights both of them though, a real nightmare for the Axis!
Ah, yes, the Lancaster. My grandfather was a belly gunner in one of those beasts.
Really? That is impressive!
The belly gunner had the worst place to be if the crate had to crash-land.
I have nothing but respect for the gunners.
...
From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
(...)
He must have been either a tail, nose or top gunner, 'cos they didn't have belly turrets.Originally posted by Patine
Ah, yes, the Lancaster. My grandfather was a belly gunner in one of those beasts.
I wonder if we can get a complete Lanc crew together here: my mum's uncle was either a flight engineer or wireless operator (she wasn't sure which) on a Lanc.
Thats beautiful Tanelorn
My vote would also have to go to the Japanese Kamikaze super weapon.
Regarding B17/B24s, I also like to try and represent all major units and weapons but the civ engine is a bit limited. I tried to get around it with graphics changes but generic units are easier, the hardest decision is which ones to leave out
Indeed - I just wish there was 200 units rather than 80!
The Ohka seems like the option that makes sense here.
Would you be up for it, fairline?
This would be the final request for D6.
My grandfather, who I spoke to for the first time ever a few days ago (a story for another time), was a Lancaster pilot and ran an airbase in the SE of England later in the war.
This one is a bit tenuous but my great aunties first husband was an air gunner and was shot down over Germany in 1941. He was missing and she looked for him for many years, even after she remarried my great uncle she was trying to find his grave. I now have all the letters back from the Red cross which are very sad and eventually tell her to give up the search!
Very sad.
So many unsung heroes are forgotten today.
Soldiers who gave the maximum, and were never seen again.
I recall an chap who lived in a street near my Grandmother, when I was a mere youngster.
As a kid I was a real warplane freak, making tons of Airfix WW2 aircraft models. So you
can Imagine my surprise when I found out this elderly gent was a Hurricane pilot in the
1940-41 era! It was funny, he was just an old retired gent who lived with his wife and
would usually be out pottering in his garden.
He seemed chuffed that a young lad was interested in the war, and I see now that he was
also pleased that the hard times he had lived through had been appreciated by at least
one person of a new generation.
He told me that air operations were long periods of boring flight, and then some very fast
snippets of combat, where it was hard to know what was going on at times. I got the feeling
he had a victory or two racked up, but like most old soldiers he did not like to give more
details about the violence of war.
The old RAF man is dead now, many years, but I feel obliged to keep the memory of these
people alive. Once their generation is all gone...The stories are also gone forever.
I think it is so important to keep these legends alive. We must never forget.
I think there were heros on both sides of the war.
When i think on the most famous General von Stauffenberg who made an unfortunately unsuccessful assassination attempt on Hitler. Or all the others who fought in the underground against the nazis, in occupied Europe as well as in Germany.
What about a resistance unit, only available via event?
There were many resistance during the war in occupied Europe, especially in France, on the Balkan and Russia.
The partisan factor is interesting too.
Having them pop up in enemy areas and blowing up weak trade/worker units would keep players guessing...
I might think about that one!
I agree with civ2units about Partizans. The Yugoslavian ones especially tied down huge amounts of German manpower and actually managed to liberate themselves for the most part. In Russia too the Partizans effect on the stretched German supply lines were a major problem and tied up lots of troops.
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