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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:22 pm
by CoolDTA
GabeKnight wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:43 am They even tried to shoot down my strat. bomber! Strat. bomber! When does the AI do that? They've lost more planes doing that than with my AA. :lol:
Nice tactics with the Greif. :D Can't remember AI targeting my stra bombers probably ever (?). So the patch brings us Fw 190 G, too. Great, tho I guess both F and G still have too good air combat values. Better than even Dora?? Yeah, right. :roll: Once again following PzC would have been more realistic.

Now what really puzzles me is that those images show there are still enemy units left at the end. :shock: We all know Gabe leaves no one alive. No one. :wink:

(okay, I know you played at lvl 5)

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:49 pm
by GabeKnight
CoolDTA wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:22 pm Now what really puzzles me is that those images show there are still enemy units left at the end. :shock: We all know Gabe leaves no one alive. No one. :wink:
:lol: Well, to my defense, Cool, it's my first time around in the campaign with no core import. The first scens in a campaign are always hardest IMO: you'll have to build a core force from scratch with almost no experience (granted, the preplaced units had 2.5 stars in the beginning). And you have to get the "feel" for the right flow of the campaign, so to say: In Endsieg, there are many infantry aux. units already present, so that I could concentrate on heavy metal in my core.

And to be honest, the second mission went quite bad for me, RP- and HP-wise, I mean. I made some mistakes in the deployment phase that cost me dearly. And I hate to retreat for any reason, giving as little ground as possible to the enemy. So, I had to pay for that.
Maybe that was one of the reasons for a more cautious play... and remembering the last engagements with the Soviets I kind of expected endless waves of conscripts again and less what really was coming at me... :lol:

And as this is kind of a beta test also, I chose to use a more diverse core, buying units which I wouldn't normally. Like mobile arty or the Ferdinand/Nashorn-AT types. At the moment I have kind of one from everything, except 2xFW190G and 2xStuG. You just can't take my StuG away! I can't deal with those 88's. :mrgreen:

Reading Andy's, Mojko's and the others' AAR's I would do exactly the same usually. Lots and lots of 17cm arty and Nebelwerfers for defense, with heavy AT-support. Probably a couple of Sturmpanzers, as hardly a mechanised AI unit would ever attack those when backed up with AT. Almost not a scratch on my unit and catastophic return damage to the enemy, sometimes even insta-suicide with 13HP :lol: And those come at 5 (in words: FIVE) CP - which IMO should be more. Dogfighters or ground-attack planes only, some AA against the overwhelming enemy airforce. Business as usual. That I already know, it's time to test some tactical variants. And if it turns out to be a mistake, I can always fall back on the things I know. 8)

Now, I'll try to keep my word and hold on to Fastov:

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PS: Just don't let your low efficiency Sturmpanzer get attacked by flanking infantry, as I did :roll: :oops: :wink:

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:13 pm
by CoolDTA
Good reasons all of those. :) Didn't know you were playing with the default core, but imo it is not bad at all and there's at most only one exp star missing (transferred units can have 3.5 if in full exp lvl). I guess the only thing you truly long for is your favoured unit and the personal transport of Generalfeldmarschall Gabe: the armoured train. :mrgreen:
GabeKnight wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:49 pm And I hate to retreat for any reason, giving as little ground as possible to the enemy.
Yep, I tend to have that thing, too. :oops:
GabeKnight wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:49 pm Probably a couple of Sturmpanzers, as hardly a mechanised AI unit would ever attack those when backed up with AT. Almost not a scratch on my unit and catastophic return damage to the enemy, sometimes even insta-suicide with 13HP :lol: And those come at 5 (in words: FIVE) CP - which IMO should be more.
Agreed and it is very much OP as of now. I have mentioned this earlier probably more than once. Btw., good idea to use a more diverse core for this run. I especially shun those SPATs with a big gun and cardboard armour, but they are good when only supporting and not fired upon.
GabeKnight wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:49 pm Now, I'll try to keep my word and hold on to Fastov:
I'm sure you'll prevail. :)

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 4:34 am
by GabeKnight
CoolDTA wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:13 pm I guess the only thing you truly long for is your favoured unit and the personal transport of Generalfeldmarschall Gabe: the armoured train. :mrgreen:
True, it has been with me since BK's Yugoslavia, I think, and I did deploy it every time when possible, even in PK. :D

But the real treat is waiting for me at Anzio, I guess. I saw it in the units file already and even resisted the temptation to try it out in the editor. If I understood Bruce's explanation of the campaign tree correctly, I have to have a minor outcome event or a draw at Novgorod to get into that branch. Can't hardly wait now. The range of that thing must be incredible... :twisted: 8)
CoolDTA wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:13 pm I especially shun those SPATs with a big gun and cardboard armour, but they are good when only supporting and not fired upon.
I was quite pleased with the Ferdinand TBH, expensive (320RP) but with a nice performance there. Some aux. infantry backed up by one of those decimated the Soviet heavy armour like it was nothing... :D

But yeah, units like the "Sturer Emil" are completly useless in direct attacks. Always losing health that way and they're incredibly expensive to repair (plus they have the "SlowRepair" trait).
GabeKnight wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:49 pm Now, I'll try to keep my word and hold on to Fastov:
I did, but a smaller perimeter would have been cheaper. Those three extra health points with the enemy are indeed costly. Every time one of those 13HP units attacks out of the blue with full efficiency, it just hurts real bad. :? :D

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My core at the moment:

1x inf, 1x Gebirgsjäger, 1x eng, 2x heavy inf
1x PzIV/H, 1x PzV/A, 1x PzVI/E, 1x Sturmp.
2x StuG/G, 1x St.Emil, 1x Ferdinand
2x 17cm, 1x Nebelw, 1x Wurfrahmen
1x AA 7/1 (from the first scen, never deployed since)
1x FW190F, 2x FW190G, 1x He177 "Greif" (didn't know that nickname, I like it, and will change the units name in the language files)

WaffenSS: PzV/A, PzVI/E, 17cm, Hummel (with only 12CP :roll: :wink: )

And I got the following captured units so far: BA-10, T34'40, KV-1.
Did I miss something on the way?

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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 6:07 am
by hrafnkolbrandr
T-34 '43

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:31 pm
by CoolDTA
GabeKnight wrote: Mon Dec 31, 2018 4:34 am But the real treat is waiting for me at Anzio, I guess. I saw it in the units file already and even resisted the temptation to try it out in the editor. If I understood Bruce's explanation of the campaign tree correctly, I have to have a minor outcome event or a draw at Novgorod to get into that branch. Can't hardly wait now. The range of that thing must be incredible... :twisted: 8)
Oh yeah, that one. :D Just remember, no complete victory over the Soviets then, but it should be ok for this run, yes?
GabeKnight wrote: Mon Dec 31, 2018 4:34 am I was quite pleased with the Ferdinand TBH, expensive (320RP) but with a nice performance there. Some aux. infantry backed up by one of those decimated the Soviet heavy armour like it was nothing... :D
Well, Ferdinand does have real armour and more than enough. :lol: In OoB it is imo too fast which makes it an ok buy though it is very expensive.
GabeKnight wrote: Mon Dec 31, 2018 4:34 am And I got the following captured units so far: BA-10, T34'40, KV-1.
Did I miss something on the way?
Like hrafnkolbrandr mentioned, there is a T-34 '43 to be gained in Smolensk. But it is rather hard to get and you are very likely to lose couple of strength points from your units and then it is no longer worth it. That's why I didn't go for it.

Thanks for posting your core!

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:41 pm
by GabeKnight
And there's a 76mm/m1939 arty bonus reward unit in Novgorod.

Whatever else might have been said in the past, Artistocrats, a big THANK YOU for this: :!: :shock: 8) :twisted: :mrgreen:

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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 5:28 pm
by GabeKnight
But I'm not proud of my result in Italy at all. I'm kind of glad that I can go back to Novgorod for the Major Victory route. :oops: :cry: :oops:

I may have to revert my tactics back to the roots. Catastophic losses during this mission, Kondi probably loves this scen. :P

Reminded me of Op. Cannibal, that was similarly difficult for me the first time around. Borderline frustrating. Tight turn limit, no straying from going after the objectives allowed. And how many Allied planes were that? 10, 12? Against three of mine... No wonder they've lost the war... :wink:

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I wish you all a Happy New Year! :D

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:34 am
by bru888
GabeKnight wrote: Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:41 pm Whatever else might have been said in the past, Artistocrats, a big THANK YOU for this: :!: :shock: 8) :twisted: :mrgreen:
Not to mention the images that they come up with to go along with the popups. They deserve credit for those, for sure.

Happy New Year, Gabe and everybody.

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:44 pm
by GabeKnight
Back to the main branch, Novgorod and Vyazma were quite straighforward battles again. The first one defending along the river/forest lines, the second with careful advances backed up with heavy AT-support vehicles. No "Tabulae Rasae" here, but mostly because of the turn limit or early victory conditions.

Yeah baby, the Jagdpanther is my new StuG. Where have you been all my life? :mrgreen:

turn 5
turn 5
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Deployed core at Vyazma'44:

Wehrmacht:
- 2x Gebjäger, FJ, heavy inf, eng
- PzIV/H, PzVI/E, Sturmpz., Flammpz., KV-1, Elefant, Jagdpz.IV/70, Jagdpanther, SV-85 (bonus)
- 2x 17cm, Nebelw
- 2x Storch, Me410, 2x FW190G, Me262, He177, Ju87D
W-SS:
- Inf, eng, PzV/G, Hummel

Why does the Waffen-SS have no Gebirgsjäger?

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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:18 pm
by terminator
GabeKnight wrote: Tue Jan 01, 2019 2:44 pm Why does the Waffen-SS have no Gebirgsjäger?
Because of the Wiking Division bonus unit (Waffen-SS) ?

Historically, there were Waffen-SS Gebirgsjägers : the 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord" (6. SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord"), a German unit of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North). The division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941. It fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It fought in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945, where it suffered heavy losses. In early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the U.S. forces near Budingen, Germany.

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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:47 pm
by GabeKnight
terminator wrote: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:18 pm Because of the Wiking Division bonus unit (Waffen-SS) ?
Thanks for the info. Cool pic.
Yeah, right, now I remember the discussions. Well, I got it at BK, so I would've needed to import the core to have it. And there's no upgrade available to them, right? Then I guess, they would be completely useless in Endsieg by now anyway.

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 4:43 pm
by Mojko
Finished Antwerp. This was a pretty straightforward scenario, I have a just a couple of notes here:

- air force split: two bombers, rest are fighters
- don't overextend at the start as the frontline is quite long, pull back your units and lure the enemy within your artillery range

I had a good time on this one. On to Cailas!

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 4:53 pm
by Erik2
Funny, I restarted and played Antwerp in 7.1.5b. Got a major win and the campaign ended.
I didn't even know there was a Calais scenario :oops:

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:50 am
by hrafnkolbrandr
GabeKnight wrote: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:47 pm
terminator wrote: Tue Jan 01, 2019 3:18 pm Because of the Wiking Division bonus unit (Waffen-SS) ?
Thanks for the info. Cool pic.
Yeah, right, now I remember the discussions. Well, I got it at BK, so I would've needed to import the core to have it. And there's no upgrade available to them, right? Then I guess, they would be completely useless in Endsieg by now anyway.
They were barely useful in Panzerkrieg. Somewhere during Panzerkrieg I converted them to regular infantry.

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:35 am
by Oetting
Mojko wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:34 pm
- Heavy artillery, Elite infantry and lot of Engineers is the key
- remove transport from your infantry to free up supply

How do you remove transport from infantry except buying new ones?
You are talking about elite ones :idea:

The 7x 17 K18 is another story :shock:

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 5:05 am
by GabeKnight
Oetting wrote: Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:35 am How do you remove transport from infantry except buying new ones?
It's waste of RP in my opinion, but you can hit the "upgrade" button and then choose "no transport" as option.

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:29 am
by Oetting
Well thank you 8)

Sometimes someone can not see the forest because there are so many trees :roll:
GabeKnight wrote: Wed Jan 02, 2019 5:05 am
Oetting wrote: Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:35 am How do you remove transport from infantry except buying new ones?
It's waste of RP in my opinion, but you can hit the "upgrade" button and then choose "no transport" as option.

Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:08 pm
by Andy2012
Okay, I'll guess I continue where I left it. Holidays are over.
Hurtgenwald is straightforward, I think. It is a defensive mission, so I emphasize Nebelwerfers and my 2 K17 long range arty. Also, I recommend taking more AT (Jagdpanthers) than tanks.
I fell back in the west and temporarily gave up the two primaries in the west and northwest to consolidate my line out of the US arty range. When you feel their strength flagging, counterattack and retake the two objectives, done.
In the south, rely on your Nebelwerfers to shellshock the attackers, rotate damaged units for repair and recovery to the rear. Rely on all fighters for air cover.
Summed up, I played this a bit like Kiev - fall back to favorable location, kill them all, advance.
To the Ardennes, then. 8)
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Re: Mistakes vere made, mein Fuhrer - Endsieg Review and Discuss

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:07 pm
by Mojko
FInished Calais. Here are my notes:

Dunkirk pocket:

- make sure to move your flak in the open terrain tile next to the city
- this will act as a retard magnet for the enemy artillery (flak is almost worthless at this point)
- make sure to repair all damage done by enemy artillery on this unit every turn
- move the AT gun to cover the middle bunker
- move the infantry to the forest in the south and help destroy enemy engineers
- after enemy engineers are destroyed attack enemy infantry to the east and push them south behind the river
- this pocket can be easily saved without any losses

Other notes:

- make sure to complete the Kriegsmarine bonus objective as soon as possible (I managed to do it at turn 3)
- surprisingly Stukas with torpedos are almost completely useless against enemy capital ships
- they are more effective as bombers, but only after the enemy ship has already taken some damage
- I'm not sure why maybe torpedo mechanics have changed
- take out enemy ships with your ships, support them with bombers
- push the front in all areas to the center and fend off the enemy counterattack
- once again 8 artillery units (7x 17K 18 and 1x Armored train) are the MVP of the battle
- I upgraded the tank destroyer units given as a reward to Flak 88 as it's more useful
- Enemy Strategic bombers have a tendency to attack units near your Flak 88 which are able to inflict heavy damage on the bombers (6+) if you have related specialization
- Pathner tanks are adequate when dealing with enemy tanks most of the time
- the only exception is some special fancy units the enemy has
- these are completely useless as they are slow and until they get to attack they will undergo heavy artillery bombardment and can do nothing
- overall I deployed 3 bombers and rest were fighters


This concludes the final scenario of this campaign. I find the campaign overall very enjoyable and I'm looking forward to next DLC. Good job with the scenario/campaign design.

Random suggestion:

Could we please allow Engineers and Bautruppe class units to repair fortifications such as foxholes, bunkers, and concrete bunkers?