A Playtest Too Far

[curtsibling]

First Impressions

Some of the WW2 nicest units I have ever seen by Tec and Fairline!
The ToT engine really was made for this kind of thing.



I notice missing sounds and icons, but obviously many things are still to be added.

The trees sort of suit the dimmed WW2 colours, but I think they make things a bit cluttered.
Also, some of the old-skool resource icons are not sitting well with the more realistic units.
The terrain feature should be more subdued to let the player focus on the action.

Terrain aside, the units really are the stars of the show here!

Now for a look at...

Combat

Things are well balanced and the units are well-placed
to spill out of the starting line and form useful stacks.

For my first turn, I took over Valkenswaard with ease;
Noticing the clever balance of units, in that only certain
Allied SP guns have a chance to beat the evil 88mms.

The enemy AI moves in and seem to surround your task force with dire intent - good stuff.

*Do I assume the 17 pdr AT and such are purely defence units?*

The tanks are realistically beset by infantry, forcing defence tactics to survive.

Hey - I love the canal bridge implementation.
Only troops can wade across, leaving tanks to seek a crossing point.

Also the (very pretty) aircraft are a boon, allowing the player to
scout the battlefield and scare the lurking SS forces in the undergrowth!

The typhoons are awesome for beating the hell out of those elite parachute troops!

THE WAR GOES ON!

Well, it's looking like the Allied effort is going to get a royal beating outside Eindhoven,
as I can spot elements of Stugs and other elite forces moving in!

Victory is near - Prepare my escape plane!


I think when the extra layers of polish are on this baby, it will rule!

I will play on and report more info soon!

[fairline]

Loving it so far B.

I'll post a more detailed response this weekend.

BTW, lose the black uniformed Dutch SS and replace him with this one. They wore field grey and had this runic collar badge:

[curtsibling]

To fairline, and the other creators - Speaking as an ex-developer myself:
OMG's new WW2 ToT units are games industry quality to say the least!

Many people will say 'OMG' when they first load this scenario!

[techumseh]

Thanks guys. Glad you like it so far.

@Fairline: Thanks. I knew if I used that blackshirt you'd just HAVE to make me the correct one.

@Curt: The playtesters readme is too big for a PM and I can't get it to you by email. I guess there's no reason not to just post it here:

Readme file

Playtesters Notes.

Operation Market-Garden - playtest version 0.1

General: Play only as the Allies. Each turn is 2 hrs of real time, not including nighttime. The game lasts from 1300 hours (September) 17 to 1700 hours (September) 25 (50 turns).

Objective: Capture Deelen, north of Arnhem, AND be able to trace, at the end of the game, a path a motorized unit could take from the 2 towns in the original Allied bridghead to Deelen, without using a ferry or passing through a German unit or it's zone of control. This is a bit of a wargame style victory condition, not using the ingame engine, but I'm not sure if that could be accomplished. I've made every town along "Hell's Highway" an objective (13 in all) and even a marginal victory requires all of them to be Allied controlled at the end of the game, but if key bridges are blown the Allies would still lose and the game engine can't tell. Plus, another route is possible, though not likely. Any thoughts on this are welcome. BTW, Deelen was the real operational objective, not Arnhem. The plan was to fly in the 52 Lowland division, which was air transportable, to the airfield there once it was secured.

Bridges: there are 2 kinds, major river and canal. There's a different system for blowing each kind. On every bridge over a major river is an immobile and invisible German sapper unit. When the Allies kill it, a second Barbarian sapper unit (also invisible) is created near the bridge, usually on the north bank, at a randomized location. If you get it first, the bridge is secure. If the Germans get it, the bridge is blown. They can't be repaired, so I've taken care to add all the historical bridges, including the railway bridges, plus ferries.

Canal bridges, which can be repaired, are blown randomly when adjacent cities are captured, so stay off the bridges when attacking cities. A changeterrain event converts the bridge square from 'bridged' (passible) to 'unbridged' (impassible) terrain. Unfortunately, this also eliminates the canal (river) in the square. It's untidy, but doesn't really affect gameplay. I'm exploring using CSPL to fix it. Canal bridges are repaired by engineer units reconverting the terrain to 'bridged'. Only infantry and engineers can move onto impassible terrain, so canals can be crossed by infantry but not motorized or artillery units.

Allied Plans: Pick 'Plan A'. It's the historical Allied plan, and right now the only one which works. Select 'Plan A, 2nd Lift' next and then 'Plan A, 3rd Lift'. In practice, these techs will be given to you by events long before you can research them, though an unpredictable delay will occur between lifts, especially after the 2nd. DO NOT try 'A' and then 'B' or 'C', etc. I know my playtesters and have taken care of that loophole! in the final version, I hope to vary the timing, mix and location of airborne reinforcements, according to which plan is selected. I will also reposition the at-start German units on 6 individual scn. files. The game will select one at random when the scenario is loaded. The intent is to have 36 different combinations when starting the scenario.

Airpower: the addition of airpower seriously unbalanced the game in favour of the Allies. As an alternative to bumping Luftwaffe strength up to unrealistic levels and to avoid difficulty keeping the airpower at the right balance, I hit on a different solution. The Allies get 2 Typhoons, 2 (later 4) Spitfires, 1 Mosquito, and 1 B-25. That's all. If one is lost, it is replaced 6 turns later. German air units (Me-109s, FW-190s, Ju-88s, and Me-262s) are generated randomly. This keeps Allied airpower in balance, while still providing unpleasant surprises for them now and again. Air unit ranges are much shorter than in reality to compensate for the fact that they didn't actually operate from bases on the map. As a house rule, please limit basing air units to the 2 airfields and 2 cities in the Allied bridgehead, Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Grave and Deelen. Real airforces face many limitations on their ability to operate such as weather, supply, etc. which the shorter ranges and base restrictions help simulate.

Glider units: are immobile trigger units. They represent the landing zones for glider-borne units, including jeeps, artillery and anti-tank guns. They appear 1 turn before the units they're carrying. I'm trying to find the right events sequence so that if the glider is killed before the conveyed units arrive, they never appear. However, I've been unsuccessful so far. If anyone has any ideas, I'll be eternally grateful.

Tactics: are pretty basic, but at least there are some. Base terrain in canals and river terrain have a high movecost and units on them defend at 1/2 strength, so they're good killing grounds for adjacent defending units. Motorized and artillery units cannot enter canal squares in unbridged terrain. All cities have city walls and SAM batteries, so attacking them with aircraft or tanks is a bad idea. Infantry and artillery have the ignore city walls flag, so only they should be used to attack cities. Huge stacks are inevitable, especially in the first few turns. Be very careful near enemy units and cities, as the AI is treacherous. I'd be interested in your opinion on whether the Allies need an AA unit.

Fortresses: There are 3 fortified German cities: Wesel, Goch, and Tilburg. Don't try to attack them, the fortress unit is too strong.

Bugs: I've only found one. The AI insists on building a few units in the settler slot later in the game so I've made it into an immobile 'Dutch SS' unit. Whatever.

Thanks for your help. Please feel free to post questions, suggestions and/or criticisms on the 'Poly thread I started. The more discussion, the better. If you want to use screenies to illustrate, great. I would ask that you not post or share the unit art or the rules, events etc. files until the scenario is released. Thanks.

Techumseh.

[curtsibling]

Nice one - I will copy the text here to my PFE database -

Time to start a new game, and use the correct plan!

[techumseh]

Oops! I was wondering about the absence of references to hordes of paratroopers siezing bridges and towns. Sorry.

[fairline]

OK Tech, here's a summary of play up to turn 8; I used the default difficulty (major general) and researched the plan A route.

General comments: The scenario plays exceptionally well, with a real sense that this is a simulation of Operation M-G, rather than a generic WW2 scenario. The canal and river bridge-blowing and sense of urgency in trying to race up the causeway to secure the bridges is excellent. Forces are well balanced, perhaps with the caveats outlined below. Loved the snip of 'Bridge too Far' music and new sounds. The map is excellent. Airborne LZ reinforcement is very good, as is the constant stream of German reinforcements either side of the causeway. XXX Corps reinforcement schedule is just right, although 8th Armoured Bde had no organic anti-tank unit, so maybe lose the additional Achilles. I agree to some degree with Curt about the terrain; it's very nice but maybe a little dark and cluttered. The trees and particularly farmland graphics could be changed, although this is a matter of personal taste. The canals, bridges, roads and rivers are spot on, and I'm pleased you used the Leo/Curt cities Is it possible to have a clear canal-bridge graphic? You have probably considered this already, but you may want to change the 'gold' label to a more WW2-specific name. The number of aircraft in the scenario is perfect - you have to be pretty careful not to lose 'em and think hard about where they are best employed. Were there SS-infantry so far south on the first day? If not I'd replace them with FJ units. I'd change the name of the German infantry from 'Wehrmacht' to 'Heer'. The former was a catch-all term for army, navy and air force whereas the latter related to the German army only.

Unit stats: As you requested, I won't quote specific unit stats, just relative strengths. All the following suggestions are nit-picks and the scenario plays beautifully without any changes, but you may want to consider one or two of the following points. Armoured infantry: maybe increase defense relative to standard infantry. Sexton / Wespe: these had identical guns to the towed 25-pdr and 10.5 cm, so their attack stats should be the same; their advantage should be mobility and defense, and I would reduce their ATT and reduce the DEF of the towed guns. Conversely, I guess you could argue that the SP guns had armour which gave them an attack advantage in terms of direct assault. Give the recce units (Daimler, Sdkfz 234 and jeep) the 2 space visibility flag. Give the AT guns the pikeman defence flag versus move-2 units. Beef up the 6-pdr to Pak 40 stats, and the 17-pdr to at least 88mm stats. The paras destroyed a surprising number of SS tanks and SP guns with 6-pdrs, a handful of 17-pdrs and PIATs in reality, whereas my puny 6-pdr was destroyed with no loss to the Germans by a PzIV assualting Oosterbeek, leaving me at the mercy of the subsequent attacks by German armour. Armour and infantry stats excellent, although I'd increase the DEF of the airborne troops.

I didn't receive any 6-pdr or 75mm Pack reinforcements for either the 82nd or 101st AB up to turn 8. Do they arrive later, as the 82nd in particular could certainly use them? 1st AB could use an extra 6-pdr, or a stronger one.

TURN SEQUENCE: (I tried to follow the real XXX Corps route up the causeway, and the objectives assigned to each AB Div with the exception of 1st AB; I'm not intending to assault Arnhem - the plan is to build the perimeter around Oosterbeek. 42nd and 50th divs to hold the start line and defend the causeway.)

Turn 1 1100 17th: Gds took Valkenswaard, 42nd and 50th Divs atacked by SS and FJ across the canal. All AB took heavy losses from SS at LZ's.

Turn 2 1300 17th: Vegel Bridge blown on taking the town. Gds took Eindhoven and reached Zon. Grave Bridge taken. 1st AB assault, take and lose Wagerningan. Events for bridge blowing and appearance of German sappers worked fine.

TURN 3 1700 17th: Gds take Eindhoven and elements reach Vegel - await engineers to repair bridge. Hatert taken by 82nd. Ede and oosterbeek taken. Wagerningan retaken and ferry captured by commando. Ferry Lost to Me262. Ede lost.

TURN 4 0900 18th: Helmond taken. Boxtel taken by Gds - I've decided not to wait for the engineers, but change the Guards axis of attack west to aim for s'Hertogenbosch. Engineers arrive at start line

TURN 5 1100 18th: Gds take Vugt. 1st AB take veenendaal. 82nd take Groosbeek, but under attack from 3 sides.

TURN 6 1300 18th: Aquaduct / population warning for Groosebeek - maybe change text to something else? s'Hertogenbosch taken by Gds. Heavy assualt on 1st AB and 82nd AB, also 42nd Div west of start line.

TURN 7 1500 18th: Cullemburg taken by Gds and Bridge taken. Grave reached by Gds. 2 spitfires arrived as reinforcents - I had lost a typhoon 2 turns earlier and expected this to be replaced 6 turns later as indicated in your text file....

Oosterbeek destroyed completely after heavy assault - maybe give brits hadrians wall or increase defense stats? I 'cheated' and reloaded the save to restore Oosterbeek and it survived the subsequent assualt (just!)

TURN 7 1500 18th: Zaltbommel taken by Gds together with bridge.

'Groosbeek requires aqueduct' message pops up again

TURN 7 1500 18: Gds reach Nijmegen. I've split Gds armoured so that some are heading for Nijmegen to support 82nd and the remainder will cross the Neder Rijn at the North West of the map to support 1st AB.

TURN 8 0700 19th: Gds tanks in heavy battle around Nijmegen. 1st AB is being hit hard at Oosterbeek.

Losses so far: Allies: 7 x Airborne(1), 7 x Airborne(82), 4 x Airborne(101), 2 x jeep, 1 x 6-pdr, 6x infantry(43), 2 x Sherman V(G), 2 x Achilles, 1 x Daimler, 1 x Typhoon, 1 x commando, 1 x ferry, 2 x Horsa
Germans: 6 x pak 75, 3 x 88, 1 x Me109G, 1 x Me262, 2 x Panther, 3 x Pz IV, 1 x JagdPanther, 2 x StuG III, 5 x Sdkfz 234, 3 x Wespe, 12 x Wehrmacht, 5 x Luftwaffe, 23 x SS, 21 Garrison, Sappers 6/8/10/11/12

Bug: I cannot move my engineer unit onto the 'unbridged' terrain at Vegel to repair the blown bridge.

General comment on play so far: The scenario is perfectly balanced for a relatively quick assault. The German attacks on the AB divisions is incessant and Germans appear both sides of the causeway to attack XXX Corps; this gives a perfect simulation of the reality of Market Garden - well done! Guards armoured have a far easier time than the 82nd or 1st AB and I may reach them in time before they're decimated. If you want to extend the number of turns required for XXX Corpsto reach the AB divs I would suggest 2 things. Firstly, give AT guns either higher DEF and/or the pikeman bonus a this will slow down XXX Corps and give 1st AB more of a chance to defend itself. Secondly, increase the DEF of AB troops to allow them to last the aditional turns required before XXX Corps arrive.

BTW, I hope my nit-picks don't sound too negative, as this is already up there with El Aurens as my favourite scenario of the last few years

[curtsibling]

Good points, fairline.

I agree the recce units should have the 2 x view flag.
And the great wall wonder (for Allies) indeed would be useful for weathering those AI counterattacks.

PS
I see you defeated an evil Me262 - Not bad!

[techumseh]

Originally posted by fairline
although 8th Armoured Bde had no organic anti-tank unit, so maybe lose the additional Achilles.

I don't know how those found their way in there. Thanks.

I agree to some degree with Curt about the terrain; it's very nice but maybe a little dark and cluttered.

So am I

Is it possible to have a clear canal-bridge graphic? You have probably considered this already, but you may want to change the 'gold' label to a more WW2-specific name.

I could change the 'bridged' terrain graphic. The problem with each is that the "bridge" wouldn't necessarily point the right way. I left special terrain until later, which is now. I've also done new city graphics, which I'll post soon.

Were there SS-infantry so far south on the first day?

Yep. Both the 9 and 10 SS had contributed a motorized battallion to "Kampfgruppe Walther". One was in the line, the other in reserve near Eindhoven.

Armoured infantry: maybe increase defense relative to standard infantry. Sexton / Wespe: these had identical guns to the towed 25-pdr and 10.5 cm, so their attack stats should be the same; their advantage should be mobility and defense, and I would reduce their ATT and reduce the DEF of the towed guns.

Give the recce units (Daimler, Sdkfz 234 and jeep) the 2 space visibility flag.

Both good suggestions.

Give the AT guns the pikeman defence flag versus move-2 units.

Won't work. The pikeman flag only works against units with a 2 MF which also only have 1 HP and 1 FP. I did a little experimenting with the original game, and pikemen are not even doubled against dragoons or cavalry, not to mention howitzers.

Beef up the 6-pdr to Pak 40 stats, and the 17-pdr to at least 88mm stats. The paras destroyed a surprising number of SS tanks and SP guns with 6-pdrs, a handful of 17-pdrs and PIATs in reality, whereas my puny 6-pdr was destroyed with no loss to the Germans by a PzIV assualting Oosterbeek, leaving me at the mercy of the subsequent attacks by German armour. Armour and infantry stats excellent, although I'd increase the DEF of the airborne troops.

Are you SURE that the Brit AT guns were as good as the Germans? It's not just those UK reference books written by retired Brigadiers that you've been reading? OK, I'll change 'em.

Elite troops on both sides have 3 HPs instead of 2, plus all allied para infantry are veterans, so I'm not going to make it any easier for you there. Not yet, anyway.

I didn't receive any 6-pdr or 75mm Pack reinforcements for either the 82nd or 101st AB up to turn 8. Do they arrive later, as the 82nd in particular could certainly use them?

Historically, the American heavy weapons landed on the 2nd and 3rd lifts. Changing this will later be an option when selecting the Allied plan.

1st AB could use an extra 6-pdr, or a stronger one.

No.

Bug: I cannot move my engineer unit onto the 'unbridged' terrain at Vegel to repair the blown bridge.

I moved the Engineer unit slot, and forgot to change the second field. Here's the correct setting for the 'G' field:
00010000 ;Engineers (it's the 10th slot).

If you want to extend the number of turns required for XXX Corpsto reach the AB divs I would suggest 2 things. Firstly, give AT guns either higher DEF and/or the pikeman bonus a this will slow down XXX Corps and give 1st AB more of a chance to defend itself. Secondly, increase the DEF of AB troops to allow them to last the aditional turns required before XXX Corps arrive.

I agree that slowing down 30 Corps is a priority play balance issue, and that allowing 1st AB to hold out for the additional time is the corresponding problem. Other solutions might be to increase the chances of canal bridges blowing and adding more random resistance in the corridor. I think you'll find Nijmegen is a hard nut to crack as well. I like the suggestion you and Curt made to add the Great Wall wonder.

BTW, I hope my nit-picks don't sound too negative, as this is already up there with El Aurens as my favourite scenario of the last few years

Not at all. It's the most positive playtest review I've ever received. Thanks to you both.

[Boco]

The pikeman flag only works against units with a 2 MF which also only have 1 HP and 1 FP.

This is largely true, but I read that one of the wizards that test for the GL Combat thread found that the 1 fp requirement doesn't exist. Still, combat can get kinda whacky with 1hp and >2fp units.

[Case]

Originally posted by techumseh Are you SURE that the Brit AT guns were as good as the Germans? It's not just those UK reference books written by retired Brigadiers that you've been reading? OK, I'll change 'em.

The British 6 Pounder/American 57mm AT gun (they were exactly the same design) was a very satisfactory weapon against all German tanks other then the Panther and Tiger series.

However, the reason the 1 AB Divsion seems to have been so sucessful at Arhnem is that they'd been able to dig their guns and PIATs into urban terrain, and the Germans performed poorly, with hastily gathered units charging into battle in desperate attempts to quickly destroy the paras. When the Germans calmed down, they used their armour more sensibly, and carefully used it to demolish the Brits.

[fairline]

Originally posted by techumseh
I could change the 'bridged' terrain graphic. The problem with each is that the "bridge" wouldn't necessarily point the right way. I left special terrain until later, which is now. I've also done new city graphics, which I'll post soon.

Understand - I found this myself when I had a tinker with the gfx

Won't work. The pikeman flag only works against units with a 2 MF which also only have 1 HP and 1 FP. I did a little experimenting with the original game, and pikemen are not even doubled against dragoons or cavalry, not to mention howitzers.

Bugger! How about just increasing the DEF then?

Are you SURE that the Brit AT guns were as good as the Germans? It's not just those UK reference books written by retired Brigadiers that you've been reading? OK, I'll change 'em.

I could really bore you with comparative stats for the guns, but suffice to say the 17-pdr was a better AT gun than the Flak 88, and with APDS ammo available at this stage of the war it was a much better gun. The 6-pdr was better than the US 75mm but worse than a PaK40 with standard ammo; however, an APDS round was in abundant supply for the British at this stage, which made the 6-pdr a better gun than the PaK40. Regarding Case's point about the US 57mm being the same gun as the 6-pdr, this is true, but the Americans did not use APDS ammo.

Historically, the American heavy weapons landed on the 2nd and 3rd lifts. Changing this will later be an option when selecting the Allied plan.

They still haven't turned up on the 21st at 0900....

OK, I've got to a stage where I have secured all the objective cities by turn 0900 21; however I didn't read your house rule about basing aircraft in only the big cities.....oops.

You were right about Nijmegan being a tough nut to crack - it took a hell of a lot of turns to reduce, which is realistic. I found it much easier to take the Hedel-Zaltbommel-Culemborg route and was able to link up with 1st AB and take Arnhem easily long before I took Nijmegan. Perhaps there should be more resistance at Culemborg?

Anyway, just as I was smugly preening myself about securing all the objectives the Germans counterattacked with a load of Panthers and PzIV at Eindhoven and Valkensward - nice touch! I had 2 17-pdrs, 2 Shermans and 3 infantry defending it but all were destroyed easily in the subsequent assault. I would really have a think about the 17-pdr DEF (and AT stats generally).

Unfortunately, the mass assault has destroyed Valkensward so the game is no longer win-able I guess the Great Wall could help with destruction of cities?

The only other 'bugs' I encountered were repeated population/aquaduct messages popping up. Maybe you could re-write these with something more appropriate.

Overall - Excellent scenario

[curtsibling]

In agreement with fairline here.
I found the Allied AT units took a beating from the Germans a bit too easily.

Hey!
And I love how evil the AI is in this scenario,
helped by some great use of the events language.

ToT gives such wonderful options to recreate randomised enemy attacks in ways MGE cannot.

Very good work on the events, Tec!

[techumseh]

Thanks, guys.

I've been doing some tinkering. I've bumped up the Brit AT guns as suggested. Maybe a little more later, if necessary.

I'm also trying reduced strength for aircraft. Since the RAF has auto replace, it may as well take some casualties. BTW, are you finding too many German aircraft? I'm thinking of delaying the Luftwaffe's arrival for 24 hours to simulate the major air superiority effort made by the Allies with the first lift. Comments?

I've made all canal bridges blow 50% of the time - that is by far the best way to slow down 30 Corps.

City walls are very cheap, G. Try rush building them in key defensive cities. I'm thinking of giving the Great Wall to the Germans, so the AI controlled cities always have walls. The new city graphic shows cities without walls in flames, so it will be a good reminder to the Allied commander to put his defenses in order.

Do you guys think the Guards infantry units (and 43 div) should have a movement of 3? I know we're trying to slow 30 corps down, but right now it makes more sense to use the GAD inf for garison duty, and move north with the 101st.

I am planning some event triggers to reduce the advantage of that sneaky left hook of yours, G. Not to make it impossible or anything. More like stirring up a hornet's nest!

Speaking of hornet's nest's, I see you've run into the 107 Panzer Bde! I was the strongest armored formation the Germans had, with many more tanks that the depleted SS Panzer divisions. I'm still looking for OOB info on it. Right now it's mostly just a lot of Panther tanks - I think it also had a PzGrenadier battalion.

I stayed up last night playing with my audio editing software. Great units deserve great sounds. Using the fabulous library of noise from West Front, I made a complete set of new stereo sounds. German, British, American and Polish infantry have their own sounds, as do both British and German artillery. Tanks, armored cars, half-tracks, SP AA and recon jeeps all have new wavs. The scenario is now filled with a cacaphony of battle noise that will have you turning your volume up for the first 2 turns, and way down after that!

I'll put all this into a patch and email it to you today or tomorrow. The next steps are getting the events for plans B-F in place, and solving the glider trigger problem. How about some suggestions for alternate Allied landing plans? It's possible to use events to balance landing closer to objectives with higher risk of losses.

Thanks again for your excellent advice.

[fairline]

Look forward to the new sounds B.

Definitely reduce the aircraft ATT - Typhoons are far too useful against cities.

Hadn't thought about rush-buying city walls. Doh!

Good idea about blowing bridges more frequently.

I agree about making Gds Amd infantry move 3.

I have this OOB for 107 Pz Bde, from the Nafziger book which is the most accurate source I've yet come across:

- formed from remnants of 25th Pz Grenadier Division. Strength on 15th September 1944:

1 Panzer Flak Platoon
3 Medium Pz Companies (Panthers)
1 Panzerjager Company (JagdPzIV/70)
2107th PzGrenadier Battalion (5 halftrack companies)
2107th Pioneer Bn
-support units

Total strength 15 Sept: 36 Panthers, 11 JagdPzIV, 4 FlakPzIV37