[WarInEur] strategic surprise rule - more lipstick for the piggy! ;)

[sgminfo]

The caveat is, as always, change only one thing at a time as you 
experiment, moving the goal posts in 3 dimensions simultaneously is apt 
to give unexpected results as players find new ways to exploit your new 
environment to the limits. Moving many variables tends to leave you with 
a new game and a heap load of playtesting to sort out the unexpected.

..as the beta test group have found...


-|steve|-

Chuck Sutherland wrote:
> Oh its actually pretty easy, just allow the Russians to build units 
> each turn instead of every four turns and lower the number of units 
> built except for 1-3 and 1-4s to 1. Historically during the active 
> campaign the Russians lost between 3.5 and 4 million men in 41. Based 
> on the starting OOB and the militia that is added, you have to be able 
> to produce about 320-350 1-4 to match the manpower on the eastern 
> front. So in about 4 production cycles you need about 20 training 
> centers pushing out 1-4s if you were using the normal production rules.
>
> Thus my conclusion is the Russian 1-4 cannon fodder production is way 
> down, the reason is to compensate for the lack of mobility and the AEX 
> OOS supply effects.
>
> Every suggestion that has been talked about, is a bandage of sorts for 
> the flaw in the combat system and the lack of mobile combat that is 
> partially made up by parachute units. So the current combat system has 
> the Paras as the most important ground unit for taking territory 
> instead of armor, because armor can be stopped by 3 points worth of 
> defenders or less if there is a river involved!
>
> So we can apply a small bandage here and there like was done 
> originally aka lower then historical Russian production, over modeled 
> parachute effects and continue to past and plaster adding additional 
> lipstick to the pig in the hopes that something pretty will finally 
> show up, or you can bite the bullet and take apart the combat system 
> and restructure it so that is models historical results.
>
> Right now even with surprise, you can't model France 1940, you can't 
> model Russia 1941 on, and because France is broken you can't model 
> North Africa because Sealion is not as big a threat as it would be in 
> middle of summer 1940.
>
> Unless you can drop France in six weeks and take Minsk on turn one of 
> Barbarossa you have not modeled the historical abilities of the German 
> army in early WWII! Does the optional rule allow this to take place????
>
>
>
> sgminfo wrote:
>> Given that Chuck points out the 'hazards in terms of implementation, 
>> i.e. additional work on ob and counter sets, nothing need be said on 
>> that poont...but a consideration that might be useful in the 
>> implementation of such a rule.
>>
>> Painting the extreme case,
>>
>> the penetration and exploitation of a line, without the defender 
>> being able to physically react because of the strictures of the game 
>> turn (alternate phase sequencing)...one might consider reaction 
>> movement, or a variation thereto.
>>
>> i.e. The Arnhem situation, where airborne land and XXX corps  double 
>> match throught the German line, and past a SS Panzer division, 
>> through Zocs and into a link up...
>> Instead of the German division being totally passive, and the zoc 
>> being totally fluid, one might have the ability to enmesh someone in 
>> a zoc, such that they have to stop...
>>
>> This might thereby allow well found and rested reserves to really act 
>> as a 'firebrigade ' style unit as operational reserves tend to do...
>>
>> There might be a trigger die roll, based on the strength (attrition) 
>> and training (crt number) of the units in reserve, that modify the 
>> capabilities...so an Italian 1-4 on crt 4 might not have reaction 
>> abilities, or reaction abilities are resytricted to mechanised and or 
>> elite units...
>>
>> But it is an idea to think about...
>>
>> The key element is allowing the defender not to be so unhinged (given 
>> a moderately balanced situation), that he is in defeat before he can 
>> roll with the blow and punch back...
>>
>>
>> -|steve|-
>>
>> Don Lazov wrote:
>>> Chuck,
>>>  
>>> Are your combat on the move ideas similar to OCS during movement 
>>> overruns?
>>>  
>>> For those not in the know, in OCS during your movement phase (or the 
>>> enemy's reaction movement phase) you may overrun units, in this 
>>> sense overrun is just like combat but you do it in the movement 
>>> phase by expending MP to overrun a hex, you may not even take the 
>>> hex, but cause losses (to both your self and his forces).
>>>  
>>> Again in OCS the only units that have a ZOC are units in Combat mode.
>>>  
>>>  
>>> -- 
>>> Don Lazov
>>> ~Best Regards
>>>  
>>
>
>