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The missions are different, but that's about it. There's a Caen, Kursk, and Africa campaign in (one of) the 2nd game.
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Mar 15, 2015 15:51
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The campaign so far quote:After a long period of the 'Phony War' when Britain and France had declared war on Germany following German invasion of Poland but neither side had yet committed to launching a single attack, on May 10, 1940 the German troops took the initiative and invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The French campaign was aimed at occupying these countries and forcing France to abandon the war. The German command planned to carry out combat operations in two stages (Operation 'Fall Gelb' and 'Fall Rott'). Luxembourg capitulated without any resistance. The Netherlands and Belgium declared war on Germany. In the Netherlands the Army Group B under the overall command of General von Bock consisting of 26 Infantry and 3 Tank Divisions was engaged. The Allies sent their troops in to Belgium and Holland but on May 14 the Dutch Army surrendered. By May 21 the German troops approached the French cities of Amiens and Arras having knocked out most resistance by the Allies. The French Army needed to stop advance of the German troops by direct action. Mission 02: Confrontation  quote:May 21, 1940. Four armored brigades of the German 16th Army approached Arras. To close the breach and prevent the city from possible capture, the British allocated the 5th Tank Brigade. The French command, upset with the state of things in this sector, has also deployed tank groups belonging to the French 6th Army. Deployment forces and reserves  KYOON is already in the deployed list. unwanted is in the reserve list. For some reason our infantry is taken away from us for this mission. Where did they go? Will we see them again? I have no clue  We also "lost" some other troops/vehicle crews since they have not carried over. (This is a major reason why I want to skip to the sequels. I'd forgotten how often the game spirits away some of your men.) Despite the loss of some of our men, we have gained one very important upgrade. The Somua S35, arguably the best tank in France's arsenal by the start of the conflict, it packed a good gun with good armour and mobility. It's armour was composed mainly of cast, sloped parts which gave it good defensive qualities at the cost of time and extra money. One small issue that should be noted is that the cast armour pieces were bolted together. These bolts were a weak spot in the design. Even with that small flaw, it was more than a match for opposing tank designs, foreign or not. It carried a 47mm cannon, which could theoretically penetrate all German tanks, at the time, as far as 400m away, and also had an MG mounted co-axially. In combat, it gave a good account for itself however it was hampered by poor decisions from the chain of command that ultimately limited its effectiveness. Somua S35    
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Mar 18, 2015 07:38
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France Mission 02 - Confrontation Few men go in, few men come back
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Mar 20, 2015 13:56
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The Campaign So Far quote:As the result of the Nazi Panzer breakthrough to Abbeville on May 20, 1940, Allied Army Group 1 (10 British, 18 French and 12 Belgian divisions) became cut off and pressed to the sea in the vicinity of Gravelines, Arras and Bruges. From the west and the southwest they were in the advance line of the Army Group A forces under the command of General G. Rundstedt (tank groups of Generals E. von Kleist and H. Hoth, and the 4th Army), from the east and the southeast the Army Group B under the command of General W. von Leeb (18th and 6th Armies) was advancing. The British Command had already made the decision to evacuate their troops on May 20. Mission 03: Covering Fire  quote:As a result of many days of combat the French army has sustained grave losses aggravated even more by the constant bombing by Luftwaffe aviation. But even with such losses, our troops continue to try and hold the line and allow the other Allied forces to embark and retreat back across the English Channel. Today the main task is to contain the German troops and prevent them from breaking through to the evacuation areas along the coast. Deployment and reserves  Total Points: 1000 Remaining points: 40   JcDent's eclaireurs have come back!  unwantedplatypus' Panhard 178 crew is still alive and could be moved into another vehicle should the need arise. Bacarruda's AMR 35zt crewmember Valentin Perret is alive and well and also available to be placed.
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Mar 22, 2015 02:27
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Not criticising you, Jobbo, but God-drat does this game look boring in comparison to say Men of War or CoH. Does it get better in the later games?
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Mar 25, 2015 21:35
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JcDent posted:Not criticising you, Jobbo, but God-drat does this game look boring in comparison to say Men of War or CoH. Does it get better in the later games? It gets better in later missions, later games are paced better/have more action. The French get a lot of slower missions where it takes time to build up or, even worse, units are pitted against eachother but can't quite get the upper hand. The Matildas + French tanks vs Germans is a really good example. It's tense if you're playing it, especially so when trying to minimize casualties, but you get so few units and their firepower isn't so great so you stand around bouncing shots at each other. In any case, I'm going to be editing down a lot more.
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Mar 26, 2015 01:33
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Mission Video: France 03 - Covering Fire Notes: We didn't get any "taken" reinforcements so no point showing off / asking for point allocation The German command vehicle is actually a "Kleiner Panzerbefehlswagen" and not what I said. Function is still the same, however. New Equipment - France 03 Char de Bataille B1 bis       The Char de Bataille B1 (bis) was a very well armoured vehicle. Originally designed with a 75mm cannon in the hull, it was eventually modified to carry a turret in order to reflect the changing times and the need for more anti-tank capabilities. Unfortunately for the B1, the modification meant that it would be forced to use a one-man turret which ultimately limited the performance of the added gun and crew efficiency. It was also a complex machine, and very costly, taking up a large portion of the infantry's tank budget. All that aside, it should be noted that it could withstand almost anything the Germans could throw at it; the German 88mm gun could destroy it, but it was hard to move them as they were meant for stationary AA. There are many stories of B1's going out and repelling German attacks, or simply absorbing many hits before returning home safely. Aside from the previously mentioned Somua S35, the Char de Bataille B1 was one of the best tanks in the French Army's inventory. Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Mar 27, 2015 |
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Mar 27, 2015 00:48
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The Campaign So Far We've been retreating for quite some time, and the loss of France is all but assured.  Guess what, it's another defensive mission! Deployed   Reserves    To speed things up a bit, I'll be skipping asking for people to take units. It may be because the game constantly removes them from your lineup and may or may not return them...
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Mar 27, 2015 04:35
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France Mission 04: Heart of Resistance The game, as is usual now, has us on the defensive and expecting large concentrations of German troops. Thankfully, we don't have to deal with any massed Panzer IV's. It's pretty safe to say that there's no hope saving France but we can at least put up a fight!
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Mar 31, 2015 14:03
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Jobbo_Fett posted:France Mission 04: Heart of Resistance You mean France, unlike Poland, isn't going to crush the Reich?
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Apr 1, 2015 11:42
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Veloxyll posted:You mean France, unlike Poland, isn't going to crush the Reich? Well, actually...  Yes, it's the exact same ending. No, it's not an April Fool's Joke. "Winning" the campaign goes straight to the victory video which is really funny as, by the last France mission, Germany effectively have control over everything but Western/Southern France.
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Apr 1, 2015 22:39
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The Campaign So Far Germany basically controls the entirety of France, who is on their last ropes just trying to survive the onslaught. France Mission 05: UNDER SIEGE  This mission is a clear misuse of the title and of available resources. There is no boat, and no Steven Segal. Unfortunately for us, there are also barely any points for us to use with the massive reserves we've acquired. The objectives are pretty much the same thing from the last 2 missions, defend a point valiantly until the Germans decide to give up for the day. Currently deployed  With only 400 points, there's not much you can really add to your fighting force. An artillery gun would do nicely, but the game's briefing are lacking in one critical piece of information: Height. Our position is on a hill, and the exposed nature of it is deadly for such guns. As it stands, one or more tanks will usually serve you better. And speaking of... Current reserves     Lots of reserves, few points  We'll just have to manage with what we have...
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Apr 8, 2015 21:55
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At least there is still one Char 1b to use though it looks like that would eat up way too many points. Is it worth taking a ln expensive tank that is hard to kill, or more cheaper units that die easier?
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Apr 10, 2015 15:05
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jadebullet posted:Is it worth taking a ln expensive tank that is hard to kill, or more cheaper units that die easier? Personally, I go with the more expensive but harder to kill units. The only real reason to skip the B1 over say, the Somua S35, is because if the Char gets tracked you lose a lot of its firepower with the limited traverse hull cannon. Once we get to the 2nd game, unit selection (Among many other things) is so much more improved I'm surprised the game doesn't have more recognition.
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Apr 10, 2015 15:48
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I have to say that the game looks pretty fun and I might end up picking up the steam pack if it goes on sale. I play a lot of MOW:AS2 with the German Soldiers mod so this seems like something I would like. (Not that I am very good. I tend to get into stalemate meatgrinders when on the offensive though that is pretty fun in and of itself) You have a good point about getting tracked with the 1b. The hull gun traversed only via tracks. Shame we can't get a Char 2c.
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Apr 10, 2015 16:11
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jadebullet posted:I have to say that the game looks pretty fun and I might end up picking up the steam pack if it goes on sale. I play a lot of MOW:AS2 with the German Soldiers mod so this seems like something I would like. (Not that I am very good. I tend to get into stalemate meatgrinders when on the offensive though that is pretty fun in and of itself) MoW:AS2 differs in that you've got a point/buy system that lets you replenish forces, whereas ToW plays out with mechanics similar to Ground Control. You pick (more often than not) a deployment force, set up, and receive reinforcements either on a timer or due to depleted forces. Generally, it works well but some missions (and bad luck) will screw you over eventually. But as I've said before, most missions aren't bad and the all the variables really make for interesting results.
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Apr 10, 2015 16:45
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MoW in general seems more advanced. The ground is a lot less sparse, so the soldiers have more options than just hugging ground (like hugging shrubs). And there usually seems to be a lot more action going at any time. What both games have in common is reliance of recrewing stuff with soldiers that are in no possible way trained to use it 
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Apr 12, 2015 08:41
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Haha yeah, using crew in such unlikely situations is always interesting and/or funny. At least with Theatre of War, unskilled or untrained crewmembers don't perform as well which tries to balance that out. As for infantry in general, the level designs didn't really take infantry into account. There's very little cover, and even less that is directly usable in the same way as MoW or even Company of Heroes. Infantry AI isn't optimized either and it leads to some units dying in some pretty stupid ways like having a machine gunner jump out of his trench to take a shot at an enemy charging his position only to get shot and then dive back into his hole in the ground. All in all, infantry is more of an afterthought, taking a back seat to AFV's and even support "powers". Infantry had some of the more useful improvements in ToW-2: environments had more natural cover, cover mechanics worked better, buildings were occupiable boosting survivability, and if I remember correctly they were much better in combat. You still need to micromanage them but at least they aren't completely useless. The next and last video shows how pointless infantry is.
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Apr 12, 2015 09:56
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France Mission 05: UNDER SIEGE http://youtu.be/fpQCLN0Fpu0 And thus ends France's campaign. Next up, Theatre of War...2! Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Apr 15, 2015 |
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Apr 15, 2015 04:30
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Choose Wisely Voting ends Sunday
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Apr 15, 2015 17:51
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I vote ZEE GERMANS 
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Apr 15, 2015 21:59
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RULE BRITANNIA 
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Apr 16, 2015 00:01
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Obligatory By jimmeny, you guys would have lost the world without us!  Murrica vote
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Apr 16, 2015 09:26
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UK is my vote.
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Apr 16, 2015 19:01
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Veloxyll posted:Obligatory By jimmeny, you guys would have lost the world without us! I'm going with this one as well.
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Apr 17, 2015 15:53
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1943 Africa? The only possible vote for me is the UK.
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Apr 18, 2015 22:55
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Looks like the UK takes it. Let's see if we can push ZEE GERMANS out of Africa!
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Apr 20, 2015 05:08
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Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 https://youtu.be/Efo5kkoz4y8 Released some 2 years after the first game, Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 is a massive improvement over the first game. Firstly, it used a new engine, much nicer graphics and revamped the interface to remove some of the guess-work in or out of combat. Despite this, there are some... interesting differences between Africa 1943 and Kursk 1943, which itself was released just a year later and with even more additions to how the player can view important information, or personalize it to their heart's content. It's interesting because both games are virtually identical, and it received criticism by the gaming community as having been one complete game split into several to increase revenue. It's especially strange considering how varied and long the first game was. Whatever your opinion is on the split and the lack of retrofitted additions, Africa 1943 is still a fun, if flawed, game. Since the :uk: won the vote, we delve into their first mission briefing and the troops we can deploy. The Last Step To Victory  Early in the morning of February 19, 1943, around 5:00 am, Major Richard Stevens was ordered to advance to the Kasserine pass and establish a defensive position. A great battle was coming. The Afrika Korps commanded by Erwin Rommel was rushing to Thala. Better trained than the Allies, the Germans were smaller in number. A U.S. unit commanded by Colonel Stark had already arrived at the pass. It was compulsory to establish a defensive position behind Stark's group by the evening of February 19, 1943. The high command believed that such a disposition would provide for the necessary depth of defence. The time to deploy was very limited, but they had to manage. Otherwise, a breach of Stark's line of defence would seriously threaten the Allies. Having left his tent, Major Stevens shivered. The air was damp, the wind was strong and it was drizzling ice-cold. Stevens issued the necessary orders and got back into the tent. It was warm here, firewood crackling in the stove. Memories rushed into his mind. Richard spent most of the childhood in India with his parents. His father was a career military serving in the colony. After moving back to England, it took a long time for Richard to get used to the new climate. He spent many free hours with a book by the fireplace. Having lived long among the military, he couldn't think of another profession. Having successfully graduated, he joined a military academy. At that time only service in the colonies could provide for a quick promotion. So, after graduating, 24-year old Richard Stevens left for the East. Palestine, Constantinople, Cyprus and, finally, Egypt. There he was caught by the war. The first weeks proved the incompetence of the British colonial troops, as it was the first war for most officers. But, accustomed to the hardships of colonial life, they quickly adapted to the new circumstances. The new style of warfare executed by the Germans was a tactical surprise for the British and all other armies that were opposing the new German war machine. The eperience of defeat during the first months of war helped the Britons to work out new tactics, better suited for the new conditions. This was on the mind of Richard Stevens while he was looking at the fire burning in the stove. One hour later the adjutant came in and reported that all orders had been executed and that the troops were already on the march. The Major asked for a breakfast. A toast, some porridge and tea, this set hadn't changed for nearly 10 years. Conservatism and something of a superiority complex were distinctive features of many British officers who served in the colonies. Having served many years away from home, they considered themselves professionals. U.S. personnel, from privates to generals, they considered green, inexperienced novices. So, at first there were serious misunderstandings in the Allied command. Some British officers ventured certain remarks regarding their American Allies that drew a wide response both among personnel and in Washington. The conflict might have grown to international dimensions but was suppressed in time. The Kasserine Pass - Deployment and Reserves  Remember when I talked about improvements? Good. Because here's a frigging great one! The game finally tells us how many units, based on type, we may bring into a mission! :whoop: Units also have the same information as the last game in a more streamlined fashion(?). Let's take a look at our "Staff"  Staff is just another word for personnel. Here we see the individual soldiers in each squad or vehicle, along with what they are carrying. Vehicles (and soldiers) once again carry different ammunition types within their inventories, and we'll see more of that later on.   For now, however, we are limited to 1340 points, 3 infantry detachments, 4 armoured cars, and 5 tanks. Note that, depending on points, filling up on one unit type may still not be possible. A healthy mixture of units sometimes does better than brute strength alone.
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Apr 20, 2015 20:04
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So how effective are infantry here then, did they get a boost to their effectiveness or is it not really worth putting too many points in them? I'd probably put some Valentines in though, having about 60mm of armor seems like a drat good idea, especially since this is after the Germans learned to put long-barreled guns on their Pz3/4's. Does angling armor work in this game? From what I can see, we can have a mix of infantry, two Daimlers and about three Valentine 2's if we want that. Koorisch fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Apr 20, 2015 |
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Apr 20, 2015 20:53
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What kind of guns are the Daimler and Valentine II packing? And what's the difference between a regular Infantry and an Infantry Command besides the 3 extra people for ten points?
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Apr 20, 2015 20:59
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Koorisch posted:So how effective are infantry here then, did they get a boost to their effectiveness or is it not really worth putting too many points in them? Infantry are slightly smarter. It's been a while since I really paid any attention to exactly how they interact with the world, how they are affected by pathfinding, etc. but infantry become VERY deadly in any town/CQC situation. Tanks are hindered by limited vision and its not uncommon to see infantry (with AT assets) take them out. We get to see some AT weapons for them that aren't anti-tank rifles. Although, if my memory serves me correctly some infantry get issued with AP rounds for their Lee-Enfields  And angling definitely works in this game. It worked in the last one too! Unfortunately, one of the coolest additions Battlefront did for Kursk 1943 wasn't added to Africa 1943  so we'll have to wait until then to see it.For others: I should note that since I can't personalize stuff all that well in this game  voting will be kept to our total unit composition, like Koorisch's post.
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Apr 20, 2015 21:04
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Davin Valkri posted:What kind of guns are the Daimler and Valentine II packing? And what's the difference between a regular Infantry and an Infantry Command besides the 3 extra people for ten points? Well, both of them are packing 2-pounders (40mm, not the Pom-Pom version though.), sadly the earlier Valentines didn't get the better guns like the 6-pounder (57mm) and the 75mm until the Valentine VIII and Valentine XI for some reason. The Infantry Command I'd guess is something like an officer, radioman and the likes, possibly they can call in artillery? (I'm just guessing with that since I have no idea if it's right) Also, if we pick a Sniper, Infantry and a Command squad plus two Daimlers and three Valentines we get exactly 1340 points! 
Koorisch fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Apr 20, 2015 |
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Apr 20, 2015 21:20
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Davin Valkri posted:What kind of guns are the Daimler and Valentine II packing? And what's the difference between a regular Infantry and an Infantry Command besides the 3 extra people for ten points? Daimler Mk.I  The Daimler Mk.I packs a bit of a punch considering it's an armoured car. Great for reconnaissance and light combat duty, it can hold its own against smaller opponents, but commanders should be wary to commit them against any organized defense or against enemy medium or heavy tanks.  Speaking of punch, the Mk.I uses:   We can see that, even at 500m it can punch through 47mm of armor. The Daimler also has an MG for infantry/suppression:    Note that the BESA machine gun can use AP rounds for a meager 10mm. It's better than nothing. Valentine Mk.II  The Valentines available to us are the Mk.II variant. The valentine, for the most part, is well suited for combat in the desert with very heavy armor.  The Valentine Mk.II has the same armament as the Daimler Mk.I Infantry differences  Above is the regular infantry Below is the command company Several things stand out. Firstly, the command company have 2 snipers at their disposal, as well as higher leadershp. The grenade icons indicate what type they carry. The stick-like grenades signify an offensive type, while the egg-shaped icon signifies defensive grenades. The regular infantry also has an MG and a SMG unit. From a quick look and examining their inventories, it appears that regular infantry are best used to attack enemy positions. Command squads are better suited for defense.
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Apr 20, 2015 23:51
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Koorisch posted:Also, if we pick a Sniper, Infantry and a Command squad plus two Daimlers and three Valentines we get exactly 1340 points! Gonna go ahead with this.
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Apr 21, 2015 14:16
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I was gonna say that that looks like a decently balanced force. I dunno why, but I have always liked the Valentine.
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Apr 21, 2015 16:34
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jadebullet posted:I was gonna say that that looks like a decently balanced force. I dunno why, but I have always liked the Valentine. It's pretty well armored for a early tank, it's really tough against any low caliber/short barreled guns like the early Pz3/4's. If they field Flak 88's or long barreled 75's it's not going to be fun, it's possible to angle hits but it's a bit harder once they get those since their power and penetration is way better. I sure hope we'll see Crusaders, I've always liked that line of tanks (Cruiser IV-Coventanter-Crusader) because they look so neat.
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Apr 21, 2015 16:39
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Koorisch posted:It's pretty well armored for a early tank, it's really tough against any low caliber/short barreled guns like the early Pz3/4's.  
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Apr 21, 2015 16:48
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Apr 21, 2015 17:11
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No AT guns? For that matter, do the infantry squads available have AT assets? Or is that mostly down to the armour?
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Apr 22, 2015 08:05
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:33 |
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Veloxyll posted:No AT guns? For that matter, do the infantry squads available have AT assets? Or is that mostly down to the armour? No AT guns for this mission. Infantry with dedicated AT assets would be labelled AT Infantry in our reserves. For now, High Command is happy to give us a very detailed look into some Major's life, but not what the combat zone will look like, where the enemy is expected to attack from, or potential enemy force unit composition.
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Apr 22, 2015 16:25
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