Maelstrom (Allied Corps) - US Campaign

[El_Condoro]

BLOG
I added a blog if anyone is interested in progress. A bit late in the process...


(Opening screen by bebro)

This is the first instalment of historical scenarios for Maelstrom - the name I am giving to my Allied Corps mod. I assume that an official Allied Corps will come out one day so the name is to avoid confusion later on.

This campaign is played as the US. A British campaign is a future project.

The campaign tree is in the link here: Campaign Tree

INSTALLATION
The GME installer files are here: GME installer files
Install to your GME custom mods folder and enable the mod.

The custom files for the campaign are here: Custom campaign
Install to your custom campaign folder (usually My Documents\My Games\Panzer Corps\Mods)

Requires:
Massi's terrain tiles
Sound Mod
Allied Corps graphics mod by Bebro (Recommended)
Other mods are installed with Maelstrom.

SCENARIOS
Note that only the following scenarios are done:
Salerno (Avalanche)
Anzio
Anzio Breakout
Gothic Line
Po Valley

Do not take any of the options that Decisive Victories might give to go anywhere else!

You can play on to the hypothetical Red Dawn scenarios where you will take on the Soviet Army.

Credits to follow, but VPaulus, Razz1, rezaf, bebro (see the great opening screen!) for starters.

I am interested to hear comments, suggestions, etc. Although it is an historical campaign it is not slavishly so. However, I am interested if I have got something glaringly wrong.
Cheers.

[massi]

yeah is a great work!

[bebro]

Played the 1st scn (colonel). I didn't know what to expect, and didn't think ahead so much, so my first turns were pretty amateurish.

Those German counter-attacks were pretty well set up, and their units were often quite hard to destroy, even when reduced to size 1 or 2. Without the air force things would have looked quite bad for me. I bought one Sherman tank for my core, he had a hard time, got mauled quite a bit, but survived. In the end I got an MV, did not make it to the most northern objective.

Overall it is leaving a very nice impression, I found no problems or 'bugs'. Otoh you can trust the AI to make stupid moves, but that is of course nothing modders can change. All in all a very good job, I'm looking forward to play more

[El_Condoro]

The northern objective is quite hard to get and you need to send your ships to it early on. I had one game where it rained 4-5 turns early on and that made it impossible to get to. The difference between an MV and a DV is about 250 prestige so it's not meant to be a biggie. I have found the 'hold' units with zero movement are an effective defence - they hold their ground and fight back!

[El_Condoro]

A couple of the new units in Maelstrom.

To try to get closer to US armored doctrine, the tank and the infantry have been combined into a single unit. The unit is switchable so that it can fight simply as a Sherman or a Sherman with close infantry support.


Similarly, infantry do not need to dismount from their M3 half-tracks to assault targets - the M3 and the infantry are combined, albeit with a reduced MV of 5. This unit is also switchable to act as a normal M3 half-track for faster movement (and weaker attack).

[VPaulus]

Interesting.
And the animations and sounds? Like AT and AA mode?
And the initiative in close terrain?

[El_Condoro]

Animations and sounds - move is vehicle; attack is infantry.
All values are the best of both worlds (it's only an M4 so the attack values against armor are not great!), so in CD the units act as infantry - in the open as armor. Of course they cost more (300 for the half-track and 500 for the armor).

[VPaulus]

Couldn't you make it switchable like AA and AT mode? With two different icons?

[El_Condoro]

They have two different icons - one with and the other without the infantry in them.

[airbornemongo101]

I will say that is great and innovative way to represent the US Army's Regimental Combat Team/ Combat Command system El Condoro that was used up to the Korean War.

Excellent work...simply excellent

[El_Condoro]

Thanks, airborne.

We don't want the AI to feel neglected, so panzergrenadiers have the same functionality (and they pack a punch, too!)

[El_Condoro]

GME download has been changed so that Bebro's Allied Corps graphics mod can be used separately. The campaign will run without the mod but it adds much more to the immersion if it's used.

Thanks to bebro for his efforts.

[massi]

fantasticorps!

[HBalck]

1. Very nice Intro rendering ! I like it ! Good new allied ingame menu graphics !
2. I dont't like the old and "new" unit graphics.
3. 1st scenario map looks like my old Salerno map in PG3D (PGII). Good - but the map isn't enough detailed - please more details and fine tuning.
4. The Divisions are correct, but where are the regiments names !!??


H.Balck

[El_Condoro]

1. Very nice Intro rendering ! I like it ! Good new allied ingame menu graphics !
2. I dont't like the old and "new" unit graphics.
3. 1st scenario map looks like my old Salerno map in PG3D (PGII). Good - but the map isn't enough detailed - please more details and fine tuning.
4. The Divisions are correct, but where are the regiments names !!??


H.Balck

Thanks for the feedback, HBalck.

1. Bebro has done a good job.
2. Can you explain what you mean here - I don't understand.
3. It is based on the PG2 map - what 'fine tuning' would you like to see?
4. Regiment names appear sometimes and sometimes not. The reason is because for game reasons they are not always separated. For example, a map may have a lot of divisions represented and each division may have 3 regiments - to make the map less cluttered I will reduce them to 2x 12-13 strength regiments. I'd prefer to have them all separated out and their names correct but maybe in a future version. Sometimes my sources are not as good as they could be; for example, a source said their were 5 cruisers at Anzio but I couldn't find their names anywhere!

[HBalck]

1. Bebro has done a good job.

I hope, he will follow me in the future and we can work together than !

2. Can you explain what you mean here - I don't understand.

Sorry, but I don't like the old PC unit style - I f you like it I can give you all my new units to see a better graphic. For now I will finished only the packet I (39/40) in 1/2 weeks. Than I will work again on Packet II (1941/42) and you will see all new US and UK units for the fights in Torch and Kasserine pass.

3. It is based on the PG2 map - what 'fine tuning' would you like to see?

Back in the days - I' am working also for SSI's PGII - the Salerno map is one of my last works for this old game. I dont like to see the same hills, also you can give every city a better chance to looks very good - Massi have all graphics done for that - to show us an better map view like you - take his city graphics more detailed.

H.Balck

[El_Condoro]

I must admit I took less care over the Salerno map than the others and will certainly fix the uniform hills and make more of the city hexes sexier. I would like to make a version that uses your icons, too, but that will happen when they're all done to keep consistency. I have focused more on how the scenarios play than how they look, although I like that, too, so let me know how you go against the AI (which is so hard to get to act intelligently!) Especially with this scenario it is so frustrating - I can almost guarantee the AI will put the HG Panzer Regt Tigers in the foothills to be annihilated.

[airbornemongo101]

El Condoro I know positvely about the Brooklyn and I'm pretty sure about the Philly

The USS Brooklyn was one of them. I'll search for the others tommorow,,if I'm not hung-over.

She was a light cruiser.

I think the USS Philadelphia was there also.

She was a heavy cruiser


Back to my drinking 'cause it's St. Patricks day

[El_Condoro]

To be sure, to be sure!

[airbornemongo101]

Ok,,,headin' out for more frolicking,,but I checked a book that I have

HMS Penelope was another

She was a light cruiser..she was sunk by a U-boat while heading to Naples for resupply

HMS Spartan was another.

She was a light cruiser sunk by a glide bomb

Talk to ya' all tommorow