Red Front: Problems?

[Mao]

I have a big problem, the Nazis are winning!

[Djugashvili]

Okay, I just remembered another thing that I have a problem with: the lack of events from 1944 onward. I know that the bombing raids require a lot of space (great idea, btw), but couldn't there be some more unique events like earlier in the scen.? Also, I would like text boxes to appear in a few more german cities when you capture them, just for some flavor. Maybe another major Operation?

And while I'm thinking about it, the US needs to play a MUCH larger role. It's never even mentioned. I don't use the transports and convoys I get in the UK; I just disband the transports and airlift the supply trucks. Maybe you could make some units actually appear in Murmansk? Also, the Murmansk-Leningrad route is impossible to maintain in the early months when you need the supplies most. Couldn't there be a larger incentive than a few extra shields to a city I always loose anyway? Is there something I'm missing?

Just some suggestions, Komrade.



------------------
"When You Kill One, It Is A Tragedy. When You Kill 10 Million, It Is A Statistic"
-Comrade Stalin

[Captain Nemo]

I retrospect I should have activated all 7 Civs when I started building the scenario but it's very difficult to anticipate where you are going to end up when you start such an effort...

Today I would add a separate Yugoslavian Civ with a capital "in exile" next to the UK and an Allied Civ also located nearby. I would also separate the Rumanians for realism when they surrender of 1944.

This would allow the Yugoslavs to recapture the cities in their country (By giving them loads of Partisans in 1943-44) and the Allied would start playing an active role early 1945 with tanks and infantry appearing in Northern Italy and Western Germany.

Regarding the convoys:
I play the game historically so I do not use the airlift command, except occasionally for infantry of Laborers... I have some routes layed out on which the "Goto" command works.
(Archangelsk > Leningrad > Tallinn, Archangelsk > Cherepovets > Yaroslav > Gorkyy, Petropavlovsk > Orsk > Uralsk > Stalingrad, Sverlovsk > Gorkyi > Moscow etc...) This allows me to move units from the Urals to the front without too much micromanagement...
I therefore have to use the convoys as intended:
1) I keep a bomber continuously holding the first spot where transports stop coming straight North from the UK.
2) I patrol the area in the NorthWest corner of the map to eliminate all U-boats
3) My convoys travel to the upper left corner then straight across toward Murmansk.
4) I keep a cruiser ahead of each convoy and sweep ahead and to the South of the convoy path.
5) I keep a transport on the upper left corner of the Murmansk minefield ready to rush out a bring in any cargo from ships that stop less than 5 moves short of the safety of the minefields.
6) I stop the convoys in Murmansk, leave the Armored infantry behind and take the Supply Convoys on the Archangelsk.
7) I send the freighters on to Novvy Port to transport units from Vorkuta to Tobolsk on the Oz river to the south. (On the way I build another city about 10 squares south of Vorkuta)
8) I send the Supply Convoys to Baku to anchor trade routes between it and all other major cities in the USSR (Mucho trade).

If I start dropping supply convoys directly in Murmansk and Archangelsk I deprive any purist of the challenge of getting the convoys through... I like your solution (Airlift) if you don't want to bother with the convoys...

[Djugashvili]

A wee complicated, don't you think, laddie?

And can't you still add another civ? I know you can at least create units from a different civ. Why not do that in Italy or where ever?

Of course, I know little about manipulating the events file...

[This message has been edited by Djugashvili (edited December 25, 1999).]

[Djugashvili]

And Nemo, once again, did you get an e-mail concerning the map from me? Because if not, I'll just screw it and post the suggestions here...

[Kull]

Killing the Field Marshall unit (Paulus) in winter '42 does not initiate an Event (and a rather important one it is, too!) I played around with the files a bit, and here's what I found:

1) Paulus is stacked with a Hedgehog and an 88, both of which have a higher defense. The hedgehog defends first, dies, and all 3 units are killed. No event occurs.

2) I changed the Field Marshall's defense to 11, and he did defend first. But even then the event was not triggered.

3) I deleted the 88 and hedgehog (via the cheat menu) and when Paulus defends alone, the event is triggered.

Suggestion: Put a fortification on the spot where the Field Marshall will be created (and don't fortify the hedgehog and 88 there!)

General Comments:

1) Loved Darth Veda's "mud" suggestion. It should only take you a few more months to create THAT terrain! Seriously, it's a great idea but probably a lot of extra work.

2) Rostov and the "bridge" - The bridge definitely made holding Stalingrad a little tougher. This time I was able to hold onto Rostov, and that seemed to mitigate the damage. Running reinforcements in from Stalingrad wasn't too hard, I just sheperded them along using air units to eliminate the "zone-of-control" problem.

3) Voroshilovgrad - The key to retaining Rostov is to hold onto this city through the winter of '41. It's very doable if you load it up with T-34's, AA, and NKVD units. Then just before the summer, empty out all your good units and fortify them in Rostov.

4) T-26's - Don't waste these babies! Save as many as possible and make them veterans via carefully planned attacks on lone infantry units. Make SURE they'll have enough movement points left to retreat after their victory. The payoff is when they get converted to T-34/85 Guard units in Winter '42!

5) OK, Nemo...these house rules are REALLY getting annoying! I can live without building wonders in the UK (except for the Convoy Wonder. It BELONGS in the UK!). I can live (barely) with no airlifts out of the UK. But no pillaging of the roads!!??!! Arrrghhhh!!! I'm doomed, DOOOOOMED, I say! Oh well, I'll try THAT one in version 1.3.....But even there you have to allow us to at least destroy the ones leading up to the minefields (never pillage the ones IN the minefield, as it takes way too long to rebuild them) as well as those just outside Sevastopol and Leninigrad. And even then....

6) Killing Karls - The ones outside of Sevastopol are Cruiser meat, while the one near Leningrad marched into a swamp (intent on taking out the pillbox near Narva) where it was easy pickings for my anti-tank guns. In three games, they have yet to cause me any serious heartache. Oh yeah, and when they die while stacked with other units? Yep, no event is triggered!

7) Yugoslavs - One benefit to their "barbarian" status is you can see them in action. If they were a separate civ, you'd never have any idea what they were doing.

8) KV1 - Research these as fast as you can! Personally I find them to be critical to a solid defense.

9) T-34 Upgrade - This has to be the Worst Wonder of all! The first time I built it, I had 15+ veteran T-34/75s turn into non-veteran T-34/85s. Definitely NOT a good trade!

[Djugashvili]

Strange, the 'Paulus killed' event worked with me, even when he was stacked...

[Kull]

Djugashvili: Out of curiosity, are you playing Red Front with FW or MGE? I'm using FW.

[Djugashvili]

FW, Komrade Kull.

[Kull]

Another theory down the drain........

[Captain Nemo]

Great feedback Kull!

-The house rules are for my own challenge, nobody else needs to follow them. Winning is everything! I do pillage the roads around cities that I will defend, as in building tank traps, minefields etc... In the real world it's kind of difficult to "pillage" a road... maybe cut a bridge, maybe mine a road to slow down the enemy temporarily but "removing" a road?

I do pillage all the roads in the minefields otherwise those Germans get into my cities...I use the river out of Moscow to resupply my army when it starts moving in 1943-44. (You can "un-mine" the terrain too) I bypass Stalingrad through Rostov and build a road through the Fortified Battery south of Leningrad (That's the best option, all minefields, except one Fortified Battery with a road through it!)
My events have always worked perfectly also. When 2 or more laborers are killed I get 2 or more identical messages... Same with a stacked "Karl" unit and Field marshal Paulus...There must be something different about your version of FW. The fortress idea is good though... Can you build a fortress via events or do I have to locate it from the beginning of the game?
Someone here mentionned that you can create units via the events for Civilizations that are not in play? Is that true??
I have changed the "T-34" wonder to "Weapons upgrade program" so it will also upgrade Laborers to Labor Brigades, KV-1s to JS-2s... But you are right trading veteran T-34/76s for rookie T-34/85s isn't that good a deal... I guess that happens in "Classic" Civ play too?

[NickC]

Yeah, I never really understood that either, Captain Nemo. I always thought they could blockade the road with wooden planks, stone walls, etc, but that would be more in early WW1 and the American Civil War. A panzer division could break through that blockade like a hot knife through butter.

------------------
Nick Crown (Greek.)
Yasou!

[Captain Nemo]

Djugashvili:
I still did not get your notes about the map... I looked at Riga and Astrakhan that you mentionned...Riga looked right on the spot, except maybe for the river that is to the North should really go though the town... Astrakhan is maybe 3-4 squares too far South and should definitely be on the other side of the Volga estuary.
I know myself that the Orel-Kaluga-Kursk-Kharkov sector is too compact and a few cities could be moved a square or so to improve the map... There are also a few good size towns missing.
I hope you leave your feedback on the subject here as I'm working on version 1.3 and would definitely incorporate those types of comments right now.

[Captain Nemo]

Regarding the road "pillaging" strategy I could circumvent it easily by giving the German Panzers all-terrain capability in the summer of 1941... Then there would be no incentive to destroy the roads!

[Djugashvili]

Okay, Nemo, this is the gist of what I have been trying to send to you:

-Something with Riga, either the city itself needs to be moved, but I think the river will do
-Astrakhan is fixed
-The Aral Sea I think needs to be alot smaller in comparison with the Caspian and moved eastward a bit
-A few squares of land need to be added to the bottom edge of the map where the Black Sea is to show Turkey and give the sea a little 'hump'
-Italy needs to be removed to make the Balkans slightly wider, or at least make an event that triggers her surrender in '43(Italian Troops?)

Other than that, everything is fine.