Dictator - Rolling Into Action!

[curtsibling]

Re: A tank geek speaks...

Originally posted by fairline


The British had a confusing array of designations for their tanks. First off, all tanks had an 'Axx' designation; the Matilda II was an A12 and the Comet was an A34 as Curt has it.

Confusingly, tanks were also classed as 'infantry tanks' (close support tanks with heavy armour and slow speed like the Matilda and Churchill, which equipped the Army Tank Brigades), 'cruiser tanks' ( fast with poorer armour to equip the armoured divisions, examples being the Cruiser Mks I - IV, Crusader and Cromwell) and 'light tanks' which were poorly-armed recce vehicles.

As a result, the Matilda II was also termed 'Infantry tank Mk II' as well as 'A12'. The Cromwell was also known as 'Cruiser tank, Mk VIII' or A27M. The Comet was termed 'Cruiser tank, Comet' as well as A34.

Confused?

Gadzooks!

It's more than what the humble Tommy could get his head around!

[curtsibling]

NEW ZIP IS UP FOR GRABS!

Yep - The tweaking just never stops!
After some advice form the master-playtester, Agricola:
I have added the following changes!

*Tweaked the unit values for all bombers, combat is fairer.
*The anti-tank gun now is a decent defence unit - Beware!
*Artillery now is useful, coming in normal and heavy flavours.
*Unit graphics tweaked to make all aircraft canopies blue.
*Added city walls to Hanzong, to prevent destruction.
*Added a pip of unit movement to all ships.
*Tech paradigm now is 22 - Better flow of techs.
*The scenario now ends in 1947.

Try it and see!

Get the new version here!

[jim panse]

I will definitely give it a try

[curtsibling]

Some new unpleasant diplomatic surprises await the player in this newest incarnation!



I am now caught in a massive battle -
After invading the USA and Canada as the 3rd Reich, those evil (OK I am evil too)
soviets attacked my almost undefended East European flank, despite a full alliance!

Damn them and those commie Sturmoviks!

They were at war with Japan over the new Indian city capture
event and perhaps Stalin seen the way the wind was blowing!

And while I scrabble all the forces I can together,
the attack on the Americas is getting tough...

This is the ultimate struggle - wish me luck!

[rmsharpe]

Looks great, Curt! Would you mind if I used the updated map for WW79?

[curtsibling]

I would be delighted, please do!

[curtsibling]

And there have been a few new graphic and text changes since yesterday, small cosmetics -

But worth a download for the changes like a nice new panel backdrop and burning city unrest icon!

Check the link on the 1st post...

[curtsibling]

I made a little bug with the icon that controls the appearance of the ctrl-G grid.

I had put in a white square that made the grid hard to use.

This issue was broguht to my attention by Agricola,
who is kindly testing-out Dictator to the max!

So for all ctrl-G users, here is the fixed icon file with the CIV2 standard grid.

[jim panse]

Hey Curt, my good man! Follow this here link to access a PBEM (playtest?) at CDG of your fine work!

And: Keep up this bloody fine work!

[beingofone]

I am going to download and play this one- I really liked the Dictator I have already played.

[kobayashi]

Finally got round to playing this beast and it is very good, exactly my type of WWII scenario and I might I add the best global WWII scenario I have come across yet.

Not overly complicated in terms of units and cities - at the start giving the player some space to settle in. Plenty of flexibility because of research and events do not constrain the player except for crucial points like when the Japs, US and Russia join in the battle.

The geo-political constraints of the time (I only played up to mid 42) are well captured in the terrain attributes and unit stats as well as the layout of the map. The constraints on building new units overseas and unhappiness was well executed for the British. I also liked the concept of generic plus empire specific units. I found the Germans very well behaved, trying to bomb Britain and taking greece, bulgaria and then bombing Malta.

I will have a fuller set of nitpicks later but for the time being:

I think the (initial? there is some mention of super)battleships and generic bombers are a tad weak on the attack.

I didn't have to build any Flak city improvements and I survived the Battle of Britain pretty easily. Also most of the time a bomber can't even kill a destroyer. As for the battleships, well they sometimes can't even kill an AA gun during bombardment.

Didn't Lebenon belong to the French?
Did Japan own Rabau from the beginning?

The Axis presence in Lybia at the beginning was too weak and I wiped them out easily. Could put a AA gun or too there at the beginning to give the Axis time to build up in Africa.

Airlift as a concept is probably too advanced for this era. There wasn't any airlifting of equipment as we know it today except for a few German gigant 8-engined transporters which could carry a tank/88mm with a rocket-assisted launch. Everything went by ship in those days.

[kobayashi]

Apr 1943 and the germans and russians still at peace - continental europe is sewned up into an impregneble fortress. Seems that it is a bit dicey to depend on a singular make aggression event - why not make it a repeating event using recieved technology directly.

[kobayashi]

Originally posted by kobayashi
Apr 1943 and the germans and russians still at peace - continental europe is sewned up into an impregneble fortress. Seems that it is a bit dicey to depend on a singular make aggression event - why not make it a repeating event using recieved technology directly.

nope. I activated cheat and they still haven't researched Barbarosa Plan, even though they could have researched i a year ago. Maybe attractiveness of 7,-2 is not enough.

[curtsibling]

In my playtests the German AI is a bit odd.

He either goes for the Barbarossa plan early or waits until 1944-45.

Remember - In Dictator, after 1940 all bets are off, and anythign can happen...

PS
The late war Eastern front battle is far more entertaining...
What with Me262 jets and JS2s trundling around!

[AGRICOLA]

Originally posted by kobayashi Airlift as a concept is probably too advanced for this era. There wasn't any airlifting of equipment as we know it today except for a few German gigant 8-engined transporters which could carry a tank/88mm with a rocket-assisted launch. Everything went by ship in those days.

Yes, airlifts are an anachronism in this scen. The only thing I like about them is that they speed up the play.

I can speak only of playing Germany. Once it conquers North and Central America and gets their cities organized (mid '43), nearly half of German productive capacity is overseas.

If it were not for airlifts, the player would have to run 2 freighter chains between America and Europe to handle the volume of traffic. That requires considerable shuffling of freighters back and forth each turn, an exercise that gets to be a bit of a bore.

Actually, in the early 40's, getting a unit from America to Europe in one month by was not unreasonable.

However, as you point out, getting a Tiger tank from Chicago to Kathmandu in a month would have required a major logistical miracle in the early 40's.