Locarnus Addon 2025-05, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

[Locarnus]

The Battlefield Europe mod by McGuba is a true masterpiece and significantly expands upon the traditional Panzer Corps experience! A lot more strategic decisions are available, like prioritizing whole fronts.

With some spare time, I originally made some minor modifications to this great mod. Trying out some ideas like cross class upgrade options, multipurpose aircraft and different topographical and unit details.
However the "modding of the mod" continued to grow in scope and it is now a full addon to BE 2.4.

The Afrika Korps DLC campaign is rebalanced by the Addon (see "How to start the campaigns" section in this post)


And the Grand Campaign East is now also compatible with Battlefield Europe + Locarnus Addon equipment and rebalancing




Changes made by the "Locarnus Addon" mod
(for the Battlefield Europe mod, Afrika Korps DLC, as well as the Grand Campaign East)

Unit changes
+ Chassis based upgrade options and families (eg Panzer I upgradeable to Panzerjäger I and Sturmpanzer I)
+ New units (eg 15 cm sIG, 8.8cm Bunkerflak, Jäger light infantry, Tiger P)
+ Many more variants and versions of existing units (eg Flammpanzer III, Sturmtiger, Fw 190 Sturmbock)
+ More switchable units (eg multipurpose aircraft, direct fire mode for many AA and Arty, recon mode for light tanks)
+ Cross class upgrade options (eg all fighter, tac and strat bomber Ju 88 variants are in one upgrade family)
+ Rebalancing of many units (eg taking early T-34 ergonomic failures into account)
+ Early heavy tank versions start understrength until production ramps up (eg early Tigers in 1942)
+ Experience levels give more balanced boni

UI improvements
+ The crucial rate of fire stat is now displayed to the player (especially important for artillery)
+ Special icons showing the state of switchable axis units
+ Unit family separators for the purchase and upgrade screens (eg "Panzer III chassis, see screenshot")-
+ Slightly larger font size for unit info panel on the right side (ammo, entrenchment)
+ Custom unit names can now be considerably longer (just do not have a long word in the middle of the name)

BE 2.4 main scenario rebalancing
+ Purchasable strategic transports (air, sea, trains) and smaller warships (DDs, submarines)
+ More realistic topography in several regions
+ Some rebalancing, eg tougher Soviets & preventing Axis ship stranding in the middle of the Med
+ Rebalanced transition from early BE scenarios to main BE scenario (no prestige crossover)
+ More player choices => Read difficulty and house rules recommendations section
- Unfortunately no support for the multiplayer scenario of BE 2.4

Afrika Korps campaign (separate from BE & grand campaign)
+ Major rebalancing of the whole campaign, as well as individual scenarios (based on extensive player feedback)
+ Many topography fixes (eg less flat land south of the Caucasus, Indus river not flowing through Thar desert)
+ Primarily balanced for "rule of one" => Read difficulty and house rules recommendations section
+ No special SE unit slots, core numbers increased to compensate (SE are not feasible with all the additional units)

Grand Campaign East
+ Primarily intended for "rule of one" => Read difficulty and house rules recommendations section
+ Bonus units mainly represent the weaker units within a class (standard infantry, slow AT & captured tank conversions)
+ Only the very first scenario (Poznan) had to be adjusted for compatibility reasons (starting core, Recon Rudel)
+ New challenges, like some horse drawn arty for Poland



A screenshot of a small portion of the massive Battlefield Europe scenario from the start of Operation Barbarossa.


Battlefield Europe purchasing screen (note the upgrade family separators and different versions for desert terrain).




German heavy tanks are initially available in limited numbers (understrength units), until production increases and teething problems are fixed. This is also intended to limit the ahistorical "Tiger and Panther" spam, as soon as those become available.




Difficulty recommendations and house rules

For the Addon + Battlefield Europe:
Since Panzer Corps has an old, somewhat unfinished engine, there are many workarounds and quite a few issues that can be exploited (in the base game as well as this mod). I strongly recommend some house rules:

1. Battlefield Europe is balanced around the "General" difficulty for first time BE players.
If you have already won the BE scenario (and thus are not playing it "blind" anymore), I strongly recommend the "FieldMarshal" or Rommel or even combined custom difficulties. Also note that player prestige reductions are much more punishing in BE than in other campaigns (prestige is much tighter to begin with and you do not have cheap deployment phase replacements during the main BE scenario)!

2. I highly recommend "normal RNG", so that the player has to deal with full unit losses, not just the AI.
"Dice Chess" considerably reduces RNG, which mainly reduces expensive player casualties. A higher general difficulty is thus recommended if "Dice Chess" is used. Eg a 30% reduction in player prestige (player prestige 70% instead of 100%) to offset the "Dice Chess" setting compared to the "Normal RNG".
"Chess" without randomness at all is not recommended for the Battlefield Europe experience, it distorts the unit balancing a lot.

3. The Battlefield Europe map is at a much different scale than vanilla PzC, which brings range balancing issues.
3a. Eg paradropping extremely far behind enemy lines is possible, exploiting the poorly implemented range/fuel mechanic. My house rule is, that I do not drop paratroopers in unreasonably far away places or in bad weather where the enemy AA and fighters can not intercept at all.
3b. Also, keeping artillery ranges somewhat tactically consistent between models allows you to shoot at England with normal artillery. I recommend the house rule of not shooting at England with artillery from the continent!
3c. "Hunting" enemy aircraft with AA units might be fun in the usual Panzer Corps campaigns, but in Battlefield Europe this practically takes out much of the Axis challenge from the strategic bombing war over Germany. I thus HIGHLY recommend to NOT USE AA against enemy aircraft over Germany AFTER MOVING your AA unit!. This house rule is very important for an enjoyable, balanced experience! Even though it might appear harsh when coming from normal PzC campaigns, making no exceptions here improves the scenario feel and balancing so so much! Especially for the aerial "bomber" war over Germany, while the rule can be relaxed or even ignored for the more standard frontline fights, if it feels too harsh.

4. And then there is the other more obvious stuff like exploiting the phased recon move mechanic for resupply, or exploiting the 0 minimum prestige limit. Or simply disbanding the fixed Axis units that are visible at the map edge of the Libyan desert in order to free up the transports instead of paying for them...



For the Addon + Afrika Korps as well as the Addon + Grand Campaign East:

1. I highly recommend a house rule of "1 unit per unit version" (except for basic infantry). This "rule of one" provides far more historical gameplay variety and interesting choices. Especially in combination with limited player prestige (eg Rommel difficulty) and the chassis based upgrade families unique to this Addon. Eg try to only have one "Panzer III J" unit. If you want another tank you could choose eg a "Panzer III H" (previous version) or a "StuG III B" (same chassis) or even a "Panzer IV F" (different chassis).

2. I recommend less player prestige (eg "Rommel" difficulty means 50% player prestige) for experienced players trying my version of Afrika Korps, and "General" difficulty for less experienced players. The Grand Campaign East is surprisingly doable with 25% player prestige setting for veteran players, even in combination with "Field Marshal" player experience reduction. Due to AI not being able to spam units and no prestige soft cap, so you do not have to save up a mountain of prestige for GC 44 and 45!

3.The "Dice Chess" option reduces RNG and thus mainly player casualties, a complimentary combination with a higher difficulty is therefore recommended. Eg having player prestige reduced to 70% when playing on General or FM difficulty with "dice chess". Or reducing player experience to 70% when already using Rommel difficulty.

4. Activating the game option to "reform units" keeps unit losses expensive (in terms of lost experience), but not devastating (in terms of kills/heroes and prestige, which is important for FM, Rommel or combined difficulties).



This Addon for BE is balanced around those "house rules". Though of course these are just my personal recommendations.
BE itself tends to go the other route and restricts or cuts some stuff that is too easily exploited (like long range arty and paratroopers). The BE approach is crucial for fair multiplayer, but comes at the expense of unit variety. Imho both are valid approaches and it is up to personal preference.




For an idea of the unit variety with Addon, here is a GC 39 & 40 time frame unit stats & availability spreadsheet (dropbox.com with preview 2025): https://bit.ly/3DQiLCL
Screenshots from the 2025 version of that spreadsheet:











There are no bonus SE units for Afrika Korps (core slot limit has been increased instead). So this library table showing bonus SE availability only applies to the Grand Campaign (where bonus SE units are worse instead of better than the normal core units to encourage unit variety instead of Tiger hordes):



How to start the campaigns

The Grand Campaign East can be started as usual, by selecting GC 39 from the extra campaign folder in the bottom right.

Make sure your language is set to "English" for Battlefield Europe, other languages might appear fine at first but then issues will most likely pop up, perhaps hours into the game (see Install instructions step 5 of 5)!
Afrika Korps, the Grand Campaign and the still somewhat experimentally compatible original campaign will probably work with german and russian language settings as well. As far as i know, the french translation of PzC did not extend to the campaign texts, but at least the UI texts are in french? If issues with german, russian or french arise, please default to the english setting.

The separate Afrika Korps campaign can be started from the bottom left image in the campaign selection screen.
The Africa Corps campaign tree can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ ... =244331746

Unfortunately the Battlefield Europe multiplayer map is not supported by the Addon. Only the single player BE map and campaign are supported.
It is highly recommended to start the main BE scenario from the bottom right campaign picture instead of the scenario list (1941-1945 picture, "1941 - Barbarossa" title when clicking on it).
The earlier BE campaign start from the top right picture is adjusted for 6 core units only. And for balancing reasons, neither reserve units nor prestige does carry over from the early BE campaign scenarios to the main BE scenario.





Install instructions:

1 of 5: Prepare PzC for modding by first updating to PzC version 1.32
I strongly recommend that you follow the step-by-step preparation guide linked here, you only have to do this once (due to PzC itself not being updated anymore), enabling you to play this and every other PzC mod without issues.
Detailed Preparation Guide: viewtopic.php?f=147&t=106604

If you do not follow that detailed guide, make sure to first update Panzer Corps with the correct PzC 1.32 patch (the early version of this patch has a serious bug):
Panzer Corps 1.32 for Steam (bug fixed): https://bit.ly/43Wb2KY
Panzer Corps 1.32 non Steam (bug fixed): https://bit.ly/3P2wE4h

And start the game from the /nocache shortcut, that is described in the detailed preparation guide above and in the Battlefield Europe 2.4 thread from the next step below!


2 of 5: Download and install Battlefield Europe version 2.4 mod with the desired optional addons (eg using JSGME, see step-by-step guide above)
The BE 2.4 version and the optional addons (eg blue axis strategic symbols) are available in the first post of McGuba's Battlefield Europe thread (the differently colored strength plates are already included in the Addon):
viewtopic.php?f=147&t=47985


3 of 5: Download and install the 2025 base version of the "Locarnus Addon" to BE 2.4 (eg using JSGME, see step-by-step guide above)
The Addon base version is named "Battlefield Europe v2.4 Locarnus 2025" and can be downloaded here with this link:
https://bit.ly/4a7Nnvv
The base version of the Addon has to be "activated" after BE 2.4 and any optional mods in the JSGME (see screenshot below).


4 of 5: Download and install the "Locarnus Addon" update on top of the "Locarnus Addon" 2025 base version (eg using JSGME, see step-by-step guide above)
The latest Addon update has a month suffix and is named "Battlefield Europe v2.4 Locarnus yyyy-mm" and can be downloaded a few paragraphs below (top entry of the version history). The Addon update has to be "activated" last in the JSGME (see screenshot below).


If prompted by JSGME that it modifies existing files, click "yes", since there can only be one relevant equipment.pzeqp file and so on. The Generic Mod Enabler should look like this when everything is done correctly (and Panzer Corps itself should be version 1.32):




5 of 5: Make sure that you have your language set to "English"!
Make sure to switch to "English" language on the start screen (left most "British flag" icon among the flags at the very bottom).
Battlefield Europe campaign and scenario are not compatible with other languages.
Some measures were taken to make the other campaigns (original, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign) compatible with non-english language options, but those campaigns were not yet tested with those other languages. If you do test them, please provide feedback! (Also note that Afrika Korps? and the Grand Campaign were only translated to german and russian in the base game, as far as I know.)




Your in-game start screen should then look like this (for the 2025 base version, it should say 2025-01 with the 01 update):




Thank you to all contributors

Standing on the shoulder of giants, I thank McGuba himself, as well as goose_2, Uhu, Marginaldefeat, faos333, George_Parr, hugh2711, PeteMitchell, uzbek2012, JimmyC, Duedman and HerzogSieg for their feedback on Battlefield Europe.
"Kanthe" for his museum, providing inspiration for new units, and the whole Panzer Corps community still working on this 10 year old title.
Also thanks to faos333, for the early encouragement, as well as uzbek2012 (in his various incarnations) and sbpc1 for all the inspiration in this forum of near silence.
And nikivdd for the many great campaigns over all those years and Uhu for his Italy campaign inspiration.
The unit rebalancing is based on the work of deducter, McGuba (BE) and Messmann (Amulet mod), with some inspiration from Akkula's "Modern Conflicts" mod.

Thank you very much goose_2, guille1434, JanD, jeffoot77, uzbek2012 (in his various incarnations), eskuche, seperon, caesar67, thejf, RobertCL and everyone else for the direct feedback to the Addon.
The youtube playthroughs of Afrika Korps & Grand Campaign by goose_2 himself helped tremendously with the feedback, development and balancing.
The AAR replays by JanD (AAR forum), as well as his detailed lists of error and inconsistency reports, are invaluable for balancing and bugfixing, especially concerning the equipment file!
The youtube playthrough of BE + Addon by Duedman led to a great many improvements, both for that huge scenario as well as the Addon unit roster!
The youtube playthrough of Grand Campaign 39 by Richard Martin helped a lot with polishing the early WW2 Addon balance.
The Grand Camapign core and feedback reports by eskuche and thejf provided enormous insight and motivation for bringing the library up to date, and movement and GC balancing!
Those playthrough reports have great effect on further development, both in terms of feature implementation as well as motivation to work on this Addon!

Special thanks to the modders who provide free unit icons and camo schemes to the community:
For example the StuIG33, Eisenbahn-Flak, BuFla, Sturmpanther, Jagdsturmtiger and many, many other icons from the great "guille1434" himself: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36536
And the 105mm Leichtgeschütz 42 icon from "phcas", as well as eg the Flakpanzer I and Panzer II H icons from "AKRebel", both co-authors of the incredibly detailed PAK mod: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92787
While the PAW graphic and Char B arty conversion was made by Birgeria: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=103166
The Panther F, Lorraine Schlepper arty and several more base icons for DCS from "flakfernrohr": https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42725
From zombiehunter1977 came the sIG graphic: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27244
The AMULET mod from Messmann has many great graphics with masks, eg the Wespe in AT mode graphic: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63616
Dwight's Camo Sprayshop by "rezaf" was invaluable and used to great effect (eg for later german heavy tanks): https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33526
"The Grand Armory" thread by "rezaf" also helped a lot for unit inspirations: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46156
And of course "Rudankort" himself, who made all this possible with his work on Panzer Corps and even provided patches years later to unlock new possibilities for modders (patch 1.32)!



Downloads and version history:

Panzer Corps version 1.32, BE 2.4 & "Locarnus Addon 2025" base version are required to be installed in that order, before installing the latest Addon update on top of all three of those (see install instructions above).
Make sure you have the right version of patch 1.32 installed
(there is an old PzC v1.32 which has a bug, see install instructions above).


2025-05 Update "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/4jCKXsy

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already on top of BE 2.4 and the bugfixed PzC patch 1.32 first. All previous updates to the 2025 base version are included in this one.

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- GC Non-imported starting core compositions for 40-45 adjusted
- GC Chapters 40-45 show Addon advice message if no reserve units imported
- GC Addon advice message adjusted, mainly regarding bonus SE units (library!)
- GC All normal bonus SE units now have the "Standard" or "Std" in their name
- GC Replaced Kharkov 43 "Rough Field" functionally mountain tiles with bocage

Unit Changes:
- Late Bf 110, Me410, Ju 88 fighter bomber and Do 335 nerfed air defense or ini
- Fw 190 lineup rebalanced again, usually more ini, less defense
- Fw 190 A & D several versions have a bit better ground attack stats
- Italian G.55 fighter has one more ini
- Recon and transport planes have unified desert non-desert air movement type
- Hs 126 and Fw 189 recon planes have recon move in AK and GC (in recon mode)
- 10.5 and 12.8cm Flak guns (no AT mode) rebalanced and available in AK and GC
- Wespe arty now has wide track movement type
- Long barrel Panzer IVs a bit cheaper, Jagdpanzer IV/70 slightly more expensive
- Panzer IV J available 10 days later, Panther G available a month later
- Jagdtiger full strength available a month earlier
- Tiger I big unit picture fixed, Char B arty conversion picture added (not great)
- Fw 190 G-8 corrected long unit name



2025-04 Update "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/42oFBLk

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already. All previous updates to the 2025 base version are included in this one.

UI & Library changes
- Major overhaul of the movement entry in the library (thank you eskuche)
- Updated and corrected the German Upg Groups entry (thank you thejf)
- New Grand Campaign Bonus SE Upg Options library entry

Movement changes
- Changes to movement costs only affect new campaigns!
- Each GC chapter counts as a new campaign
- Non-train movement on rails equals countryside movement costs
- Cavalry has faster movement on dry roads, worse on muddy roads
- Frozen Lake movement normalized to frozen river movement
- Wheeled movement on frozen water adjusted
- Several minor movement cost adjustments for consistency

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE Major geography, rail and road changes around Volga, Don, Donetsk rivers
- BE Additional low str AT guns guarding the many more Donets river bridges
- BE Gorky & Ryazan cities moved one hex and areas remodeled
- BE Also rail and road changes in the Soviet rear (guarding ATs added)
- GC Kübelwagen for simple cross class upgrades for bonus SE unit roster
- GC Horse drawn 7.5cm arty as a bonus SE unit available from 1.1.1943
- GC & AK captured Soviet 7.62 ZiS-3 arty/AT gun from 8.1942 (FK 288(r))

Unit Changes:
- Changes to movement costs only affect new campaigns!
- Wespe graphics replaced with RCS modified AMULET icons!
- Soviet armored TDs nerfed ground defense on many (including SU-122)
- StuG IV as well as Stummel StuG III & SdKfz 233 now in same arty family
- Early StuG III soft attack nerfed in tank and AT mode
- Brummbär rebalanced, more graphics, late version added
- StuIG & StuH more expensive, later Pz IV a bit less expensive
- JPz IV/70 buffed GD, but also more expensive
- Late Tiger P and Elefant less expensive
- Semovente 75 & 105 versions rebalanced (eg SA in tank, HA in arty mode)
- 7.5 GebG (1943) additional late version with better HEAT ammo
- Ju 388 rebalancing (eg less ini, more vision)
- IS-2 (1944) and ISU-122S have anti air MG (-1 AA rating instead of 0)
- Some cost adjustments to T-34 and SU lineup
- German 21cm Mrs and 17cm K 18 arty costs are closer together
- Some smaller German availability adjustments for 1943
- Mid to late 1944 availability adjustments
- Me 262 split into Schwalbe and Sturmvogel variants
- Volkssturm stats closer to BE
- Toldi tanks (Hungary) have reconmove in tank mode, like recon Pz II
- Pz I B recon bonus SE unit added (before Toldi tanks)
- Experimental switchable 15cm sFH long range version added for testing!



2025-03 Update "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/41A0X8i

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already. All previous updates to the 2025 base version are included in this one.

UI & Library changes
- Movement entry back in the library (only for the basic movement types)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE Additional warning texts to use desert aircraft over the desert
- BE More upgrade versions for the Italian Bf 109 bonus unit

Unit Changes:
- Soviet 85mm gun buffed hard attack
- Most smaller and weaker tank and AT guns buffed hard attack
- Panzer 35(t) and 38(t) also buffed ini
- British 2pdr armed units drastically nerfed soft attack
- Many other British vehicles rebalanced (eg armored cars, tanks)
- Several Shermans slightly rebalanced in terms of armor
- Tiger P+ & P++ buffed ini by 1
- IS-2 (1944 version only) & IS-3 buffed ini by 1
- ISU-122 & 122S nerfed ini by 1, buffed soft attack by 1
- Jagdsturmtiger much more expensive
- Panzer III N 44 (Ostketten) added
- Do 335 later and split into A and B variants
- Short range point defense fighter Me 163 has 9 instead of 8 rof
- Bf 110 G rebalanced, corrected (nerfed) ground attack, G-2+ later, G-4+ earlier
- Bf 110 radar night fighters as well as Ju 88 radar night fighters get spotting 3
- Italian Bf 109 (for BE only) has additional improved versions for upgrade
- Italian G series fighters have their ammo reduced by 1
- Rebalancing of later German FW and Italian G fighters/fighter bombers
- Several new additions to late Fw 190 A, D & F, as well as Bf 109 G & K lineups
- (Some of the fighter additions reuse former late war tropical aircraft unit IDs)



2025-02 Update "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3EnoqAh

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already.

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE Baku and Kem (towards Murmansk) are not primary objectives anymore
- BE Soviet primary objectives are marked with (*) stars besides the name
- BE If the Soviet flag is on fewer than 4 primary objectives, no new units appear
- BE Several Caucasus Soviet units weaker (7 instead of 10 strength)
- BE Several Caucasus Soviet units removed, many minefields much weaker
- BE Soviets get more British tanks near Baku, if Africa is near abandoned early
- BE Germany gets a SdKfz 250/11 halftrack recon unit in early 1942
- GC 3.7cm Pak with horse added as an early crossover for bonus SE Inf to AT
- GC 2cm Flaks added to bonus SE, first towed, then self propelled from 1.6.1940
- GC Toldi tanks/recons added to bonus SE unit roster, per goose_2 special request

Unit Changes:
- Major big gun and big tank rebalancing, especially initiative!
- Big tank/gun advantage is bigger in open terrain, smaller in closer terrain
- Big soviet tanks rebalanced (late KV, IS series, ISU-122, SU-100)
- Panther & long 88 units rebalanced, more ini, less HA, some less GD
- BuFla and Nashorn rebalanced, but less ini due to size and no armor
- Jagdpanther rebalanced, also 3 months later and much more expensive
- Tiger P++ and Elefant 3-4 months later, some rebalancing for the line
- Jagdtiger 10 strength version later, pretty much too late for the war
- Panzer IV late versions increased ground defense by 1
- StuG III G, StuH and StuG IV versions rebalanced and late additions
- StuH is now in the 10.5cm leFH arty upgrade family
- StuIG 33B considerably nerfed hard attack
- Pershing, Wolverine and Jackson buffed
- Sherman (76) variants buffed HA, but Firefly buffed ini
- T-34-85 again has 10 instead of 9 rate of fire
- Puma and Pz II Luchs 5cm have more ini and ammo
- SdKfz 250 and 251 lineup rebalanced (including earlier recon variants)
- SdKfz 221+ and 250/11 less initiative due to 2.8cm gun range limitations
- Semovente 47/32 and Italian M tanks nerfed hard attack
- Cav units that can switch to recon class have 8 rof there, instead of 7
- Hungarian Toldi tanks rebalanced, can all switch between tank and recon



2025-01 Update Only "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/40dQFc4

This is only an update to the Addon and requires the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon to be installed already.

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE British recon info for Northern France (French Resistance Liaison)
- BE Malta gives a bit more prestige again (300 instead of 100)
- BE capturing Tobruk activates a script that makes it German flagged for purchases
- BE Libyan desert no-cheat transport markers updated with the new graphics
- BE identified many more soviet heroes with the glowing strength plates
- GC german captured SU-122 is primarily in tank class (no range heroes)

Unit Changes:
- GebG in AT mode are NOT in the standard Pak(AT) upgrade family anymore
- German captured SU-122 (GC) is primarily in tank class (no range heroes)
- SU-122 reduced HA both in arty and tank mode by 1
- SdKfz 7/2 late version added with improved 3.7cm Flak
- Hummel 1944 version with Ostketten added
- Pz IV Möbelwagen SPAA cheaper
- Sherman late versions back down to 3 close defense
- Soviet Naval Transport nerfed (lower movement, defense)
- He 111 some some buffs to H-11 and H-20 (renamed from H-21)


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2025 Base Version "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/4a7Nnvv

This is the 2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon. It has to be installed third, after first updating PzC to the bugfixed 1.32 (see install instructions above) and second installing BE 2.4. From now on, updates to the Locarnus Addon have to be installed on top of this base version (fourth).

UI changes, thanks to caesar67 for the request!
- Moved the A, B, C, $ map markers a bit away from the center of the hex
- This makes those markers more visible with move indicator or unit on top
- Added several markers, used for the Battlefield Europe scenario
- Three rail graphics corrected (wrong connections even in the vanilla game)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- GC & OC scenarios now ALL have at least 1 black cross marked upgrade city
- GC compatibility KV-85, IS-1, IS-2, M4A2(76) unit ID switcheroo
- GC unit ID switcheroo between german captured KV-1S and T-34-85
- GC Bonus SE Marder III H added, Marder III M moved several weeks back
- BE trigger conditions for soviet Valentines added (no spawn if Sealion)
- BE Leningrad defenders beginning strength increased
- BE Leningrad siege faster (90% chance every 5 instead of 6 turns)
- BE Leningrad capture gives prestige reward again (500)
- BE Minsk cauldron surrender changed to new zone 189 (includes Minsk)

Unit Changes:
- Unit ID switcheroo between german captured KV-1S and T-34-85
- Soviet KV-85, IS-1, IS-2, M4A2(76) unit ID switcheroo for Grand Campaign
- IS-2 split into early and late version, early IS-2 graphic thanks to guille1434!
- ISU 122 range in arty mode increased from 2 to 3
- German SU-122, SU-85 & SU-100 nerfed soft attack
- StuG III F/8 and E+ have 13 instead of 14 ground defense
- StuH 42 tank mode & Panzer III N+ have 1 less HA
- Marders are more expensive, Grille is less expensive
- German Ostwind SPAAG available much later, Ostwind II added
- Minor changes for some very late german aircraft (eg Do 335)
- Panther G and Jagdpanther available a few weeks earlier
- Some late german heavies (Elefant, Tiger II based ones) have higher GD
- Tiger I (non P) has 1 less GD, Panther has 1 more GD
- Big german TDs with camo in AT mode have only 1 movement in AT mode
- Fw 190 F & G series aircraft rebalanced (nerfed), F-8+ and G-8+ added
- He 111 H-11 version added for Stalingrad Docks
- Switchable cavalry for Hungarians, Soviets and others
- All switchable cavalry can attack in recon mode, but rof reduced to 7
- Panzer III M & Wurfrahmen 43 version have camo thanks to DCS!



Older version history moved to the third post of this thread (below), the version history stretching back even further is now included in the download (LocarnusAddon-Info.txt file).

[moonwalker]

Very nice and precise work.
It would be a dream to play your mod with the giant map from hinryu70
and play the whole game with over 200 turns.

Regards
moonwalker

[Locarnus]

edited in older version history:
(I reached the character limit of this post, so the rest of the history dating back to 2021 was removed, I'll add it as a text document at some time)


2024-12a Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/49FoS8N

UI changes, thanks to caesar67 for the request!
- Basic font size increased from 11 to 12 pixels (hex info & right side unit info panel)
- Right side unit info panel can better display longer unit names and unit type names
- Custom unit names (Alt + n) can now be 27 characters long, instead of 20

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- GC only german bonus SE cavalry can attack in recon mode, but rof reduced to 7
- BE 300 extra prestige for the Axis as emergency 1941 winter relief program
- BE Axis additional towed sIG arty unit available from the start, near Lvo
- BE Axis additional towed 7.5cm arty unit available from the start, in Paris
- BE Soviet additional towed 7.5cm arty unit around Moscow
- BE one AA unit in France changed from 2cm to 3.7cm
- BE Leningrad big arty starts out passive instead of "fire", but 1 higher strength
- BE Leningrad mortar "fire" mode, higher strength, but also reduces with siege
- BE more starting experience for some expensive scripted units (eg Tigers)
- BE Mannheim (city) fixed, removed the "+" before and after name
- BE Kübelwagen cross all classes ground unit price increased from 100 to 120
- BE german SU-85 & SU-100 can now switch to camo AT mode

Unit Changes:
- Turretless TDs and towed AT guns have higher initiative, but lower hard attack
- Nashorn AT mode has camo, BuFla movement reduced for no camo AT mode
- Big turretless TDs (eg Elephant) have no camo AT mode
- Jagdsturmtiger much more expensive
- Panzer III M reduced hard attack by 1
- Jagdpanzer IV/48 available a month earlier
- German T-34 and SU (GC only) lineup price reduced
- Late Ju 87 defense values and G-2 availability adjusted
- Lorraine GW (with 15cm sFH 13) renamed and added unit picture
- 7.62cm FK36(r) and 7.62cm Pak36(r) added unit picture



2024-12 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3ZmCBfI

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE more german cities required for victory & draw (including Danzig, Strassburg)
- BE fewer german cities required for scripted reinforcements (eg "+ Dortmund +")
- BE Baku is primary objective, "other" Caucasus cities are secondary objectives
- BE Leningrad siege reworked, 90% prob of defender str reduction every ~6 turns
- BE any tank to Panther D special upgrade option now in München instead of Kiel
- BE two additional special upgrade opportunities to Panther A from October 1943
- BE Maxim Gorky, Krasnaya Gorka & Brest defense values buffed
- BE campaign, "Before BE" scenario more prestige & overstrength on default 6 units
- BE main map only, some topography changes along southern & eastern Baltic
- BE changed Don river between Rostov & Stalingrad (swamp instead of lake)
- BE additional german moored mines along German Bight and Skagerrak
- GC Karl-Gerät is now the historically later range 3 version for compatibility
- Several updates to the in-game Library concerning upgrade groups

Unit Changes:
- ALL Infantry and dedicated towed AT units close defense buffed by 1
- Many towed artillery units defense values (GD, CD) normalized
- Alpine and Light Infantry movement types rebalancing (only new campaigns)
- Jäger vs Gebirgsjäger and Bersaglieri vs Alpini rebalancing
- Wehrmacht 42 upgrade also back to March 1942 (only non bonus SE)
- Axis infantry 43 versions cheaper, nerfed attack & later, but 44 unchanged
- Flamm B2 (converted Char B1) buffed soft attack
- 1944 Pz III & Pz IV tank & TD versions with Ostketten (wide tracks)
- Hummel, Nashorn and Pak 43 available later
- Several 2cm Flak 38 armed units buffed ground attack values
- SdKfz 250 & 251 transports buffed soft attack values
- Kavallerie & Kradschützen some versions ground defense buffed
- German T-34 and KV-1 units more expensive
- Lancia da 90/53 buffed rof in AT mode (back from rof 9 to 10)
- HA buffed only for arty mode of armored self-propelled guns (eg SU-122)
- Soviet tanks with big guns rof nerfed again
- Soviet fighters ground defense nerfed
- 1943 & 44 soviet La & Yak, as well as german Fw 190 fighters rebalanced
- Air attack per experience level increased for tac and strat bombers
- Early Hs 129 B-1 drastic stat nerfs and available later, B-2 also later
- Soviet T-90 SPAAG range reduced to 1
- Karl-Gerät unit IDs swapped between 1940 and 1941 versions
- SdKfz 232 late version now uses updated BE 2.4 graphic by McGuba
- StuIG 33B unfortunately available a few weeks later



2024-11 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/4htYWQV

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- GC upgrade options SU-85 (GC 44) and SU-100 (GC 45) activated for captured SU-122
- GC 1942.4 Sevastopol fortresses "fixed" (rebuffed), BE unit IDs adjusted accordingly

Unit Changes:
- Wide Track movement type removed from Tigers, Panthers, SU-100
- New Unit IDs and switching for Maxim Gorky and adjacent IDs
- Fixed Karl-Gerät rate of fire (was 3 should have been 4), buffed attack
- Some availability shifting and adjustments for units introduced in mid 1942
- 7.62cm FK 36(r) and Pak 36(r) available as normal towed AT units
- Kradschützen 42 upgrade back to 19.3.1942 availability date
- Several larger Semovente buffed, mainly rate of fire
- StuG IV buffed rof in arty mode, StuG III G 44 available much earlier
- He 177 much later and rebalancing, A-5 version added
- Corrected bugs with switchable minor nation aircraft
- Tiger I E a bit cheaper, some T-34 fuel values nerfed



2024-10a Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3BJ9487

Bug Fixes & Unit Changes, thanks to goose_2 feedback:
- Fixed Char B2 arty typo, which switched it to KV-5 instead of just tank mode...
- Buffed Char B2 Flamm ammo and GD



2024-10 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download:

Optional PG Style Strength Plates mod from McGuba
- Extended with the SPECIAL glowing border plates from vanilla PzC
- Integrated into the Addon for compatibility reasons (see below)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- BE big scenario historical hero units now have "glowing" strength plate
- BE big scenario many hero boni increased, though Marseille gets a -1 to defense
- BE big scenario Studekamp added in 1942 & Hartmann now only joins in 1942
- BE campaign some adjustments to default unit types of the 6 core units
- AK historical heroes rebalanced and they now have glowing strength plates
- AK Gazala Line more italian aux units, compensating no StuG III F available
- GC 42.2 Kharkov scenario the 4 aux Pz III L are now Pz III J (shorter 5cm gun)
- GC additional bonus SE arty to anti-tank conversions for 1942, thank you Birgeria
- GC Marder I bonus SE unit available later, new bonus SE 5cm mounted on Sd10
- GC German SU-85 and SU-100 upgrade options for captured SU-122
- GC Char B1 bis captured unit upgrade options to Flamm and arty added

Unit Changes:
- Lorraine 15cm sFH 13 arty added, thanks to Flakfernrohr graphic & Birgeria
- Char conversion to "10.5 leFH auf B2" arty added (GC), thanks to Birgeria graphic
- Char B1 bis more ini & costs, also german "Flammpz B2" conversion added (GC)
- Brückenpioniere nerfed ini and slightly increased costs
- 3.7cm Flak soft attack increased by 1
- Infantry hard attack upgrades much later in Nov 1942, except Jäger/GebJ/FallJ
- Tiger I, early & mid Tiger P and Ferdinand available later, late Tiger P available earlier
- German JPanther higher GD & costs, Soviet SU & ISU rebalanced GD
- Matilda II (no HE) and SU 85 & 100 (no MGs) soft attack nerfed
- Some T-34s higher GD, mid T-34/42 lower CD
- StuG III F higher GD, but later available in June 42, StuG III G 1944 version added
- JagdPz IV get the switch to camo AT as well
- Pz III late M & N versions as well as late Pz IV GD buffed
- Pz III, StuG III & Pz IV availability adjustments for versions with skirts
- Pz IV some graphics reassigned, new "Pz IV J PzBeWg" (Pz IV J with 3 spotting, 9 rof)
- German SU-85 and SU-100 upgrade options for captured SU-122 (Grand Campaign)
- Bf 110 G-2 & G-4 separated into early and late versions
- Ju 88 fighter bomber versions and some Me 410 & Bf 110 G buffed ground attack
- Hard attack buffed of aircraft using cannons against ground targets
- British Hurricane, Beaufighter and Mosquito rebalanced
- US/Soviet P-38, P-39, P-40 and P-63 rebalanced, Yak-9U buffed
- Karl-Gerät strength 8 instead of 10, rof 4 instead of 3 (for better GC compatibility)
- Soviet 7.62cm arty guns with shields have higher defense stats



2024-09 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/47H9Mib

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- New GrandCampaignNoSpam mini mod version 2024-09! (early prep for GC West)
- Some preparation work for potential future changes (eg localization compatibility)

Unit Changes:
- Hs 126 and Fw 189 as Kübelwagen like class switching units for german airforce
- General initiative rebalancing of all thin skinned tank destroyers, some values fixed
- StuG III long barreled versions can now experimentally switch to camo AT mode
- Panther back to less ground defense, but price reduction for later models
- Minor price reduction for later Tiger I models
- Italian L3/33 now has camo trait and recon move
- Renault UE rebalancing (but only dedicated tankette unit), more rof in camo mode
- Semovente 47/32 available June 1942 (historically reached front lines in August 1942)
- 2 cm FJGeb FlaK 38 buffed a bit, more expensive and a few days earlier available
- Corrected some rate of fire information in unit names, no actual value changes
- Removed "smudges" artifacts near AT switching symbols (visible in editor)



2024-08 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3Yztud4

Do not install this patch during an ongoing older Battlefield Europe campaign (Poland to BE scenario).
(Only ongoing BE campaigns started with version 2024-06 or 07 can be updated to 2024-08)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- Original PzC Wehrmacht campaign basic compatibility established
- Orig PzC campaign AI can't spam units, but there are more units and they are less passive
- "5 Pak 38 /UE" bonus-SE unit changed to new captured soviet "4.5cm Pak 42(r) /UE"
- Hans-Joachim Marseille added as a hero for Afrika Korps (joins during Brevity)

Unit Changes:
- Prestige for surrendering enemy units increased from 50% to 100% (new campaigns)
- Soviet KV-1S takes unit ID from soviet paper KV-5, so that KV-1S will appear in grand campaign
- German KV-1S introduced, taking over unit ID of captured KV-85 (which gets new unit ID)
- German captured KV line buffed to full strength units from Feb 1942 onwards
- Soviet KV-2 potential unit ID issue corrected
- 45 & 47mm towed AT guns now have 2 movement (like 3.7cm Pak)
- 7.5 Pak 97/38 rebalanced, 7.5 Pak 40 variants more expensive
- 5cm Pak mounted on SdKfz 10 available from June 1942, thank you guille1434 for graphic!
- 7.5cm GebG and 10.5cm GebH ammo reduced, 10.5cm GebH can now switch to AT mode
- Adjusted ground defense rating of some soviet, german and italian aircraft
- Re.2001 split into earlier and later version
- IS and ISU units have lower air defense rating
- All BK and some MK armed aircraft have higher hard attack
- Hs 129 another rebalancing pass (mostly buffs), but also more expensive
- BK 5 armed aircraft rof reduced to 9, Hs 129 B-3 version rof reduced to 8
- Semovente 47/32 has movement 2 in camo AT mode
- Some availability shuffling around Kursk timeline (eg self-propelled AA)
- Several max availability dates adjusted



2024-07 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3xNFlJC

Do not install this patch during an ongoing older Battlefield Europe campaign (Poland to BE scenario).
(Only ongoing BE campaigns started with version 2024-06 can be upgraded to 2024-07)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps, GC & original PzC campaign compatibility
- Original PzC Wehrmacht campaign basic compatibility established until end of 1943
- Tsimlyansk Reservoir between Stalingrad and Rostov removed, thank you Finz
- GC Somua now really in the Panzer III upgrade family (fixed typo, thank you goose_2)
- Some GC bonus SE units availability extended to end of war (eg captured towed 4.7cm Pak)

Unit Changes:
- Kübelwagen introduced, as a switchable cross class upgrade path for ground units
- Movement table adjustments, mainly regarding frozen, mud for wheel & all terrain
- US Fighter ID switcheroo based on availability dates (like for Soviets in 2024-03)
- Soviet Bomber ID switcheroo based on availability dates (eg Tu-2 instead of Pe-8 in GC)
- Renault UE(f) tankette available as a crossover between tank and recon class
- 3.7cm Pak on UE(f) unit type reactivated (can switch between tank and AT class)
- German Pak & transports rebalanced, pak towing Sd10 & 11 movement buffed
- Opel Blitz buffed move, RSO from Sd10 to Sd11 transport category
- German T-34/40 one less initiative, SdKfz 233 nerfed considerably
- Italian 75/46 AA back down to range 2
- Some buffs to several earlier Fw 190 versions, as well as Bf 109 G-6 and G-6+
- Some stat changes to later Soviet Yak fighters (eg Yak-3 and Yak-9s)
- KV-85 captured upgrade version available months earlier
- SdKfz 250 recon vehicles rebalanced, now in "mobile" upgrade family
- Hs 129 unit ID switcheroo, new in-between version and rebalancing (rof, fuel, etc)



2024-06 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3z3I1Db

Do not install this patch during an ongoing Battlefield Europe campaign (Poland to BE scenario).
(The BE campaign structure had to be changed, to allow for compatibility with the original PzC campaign)

Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps & original PzC campaign compatibility
- Most BE scenarios renamed, BE campaign is now started from top right campaign picture
- Very slowly on my way to GC West compatibility, I'm also working on base campaign compatibility
- Still lots of work to do for both, not sure if I can find a workable balance for them
- Original PzC campaign with Addon unit rebalancing now starts from top left picture
- Though this original PzC campaign is not yet fully compatible, in-game warning is shown!
- Decluttered the campaign/scenario selection screen (incompatible DLCs hidden)
- Semovente 47/32 added as bonus SE unit for GC from 10.5.1942 onwards

Unit Changes:
- Somua now in Pz III upgrade family! Less close def & picture corrected, lowered fuel value
- Muddy terrain penalty higher, for wheeled vehicles in clear and countryside terrain (only new campaigns)
- Major tank rebalancing across nations, overall smaller ini and rof differences, armor adjustments
- French Char and British Matilda II buffed again, make sure to prepare for them with heavy AA etc.
- Big guns (Soviet 122 and German 88) initiative nerfed, Italian 75/46 Flak buffed to range 3
- Some T-34 buffed, Sherman rebalanced, later Pz IV nerfed and availability adjusted
- Several later German tanks and tank destroyers nerfed, Panther and Jagdpanther buffed
- German HEAT ammo another ~7 weeks later (short 7.5cm gun), He 177 available 2 months later
- Char B1 buffed ini and hard attack, significantly lower fuel value
- Hungarian arty fixed for GC compatibility, German BA-64 unit icon fixed
- Bonus SE unit availability adjusted (only 1942 and later units), Italian inf stats unified
- Ju 87 gets fortkiller trait (except G variants)
- Some additional late war paper units (for ahistorical USA and GC West scenarios):
- Added Panzer VII "Löwe", Pz IV K, Fw 190 D-12, readded Go 229, and so on



2024-05 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/44qnMeA

This 2024 Addon version is incompatible with campaigns started on 2023 & 2022 Addon versions!
(But each Grand Campaign chapter like 40, 41, 42East and so on counts as a new campaign, just with imported core unit roster)

Grand Campaign compatibility
- Belgrade fixed 75mm arty, thank you for reporting goose_2
- Metaxas Line fixed greek cavalry and 3.7cm AA
- German bonus SE infantry for Grand Campaign does not get trucks in 1943 anymore
- Italian bonus SE infantry for GC gets initiative buff and has pack horse transport available

Unit Changes:
- All german -jäger infantry have mountain transports available (pack horse & later Kettenkrad)
- Reduction of transport categories (eg Sd7, Breda, 32M, STZ replaced by "8ton", Sd8 by "heavypull")
- SdKfz 233 gets range 1 in arty mode, sign added for arty upgrade family
- Fixed leG upgrade families ("GebG" for arty and standard "pak" for AT class)
- Sahariana in same upgrade family as other elite italian infantry, as requested by goose_2
- Su-122 ini and hard attack nerfed in tank mode, switch icons added to unit graphic
- Some german T-34 and KV graphics adjusted
- Corrected double unit ID and wrong switch ID entries



2024-04 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/49m6u34

This 2024 Addon version is incompatible with campaigns started on 2023 & 2022 Addon versions!
(But each Grand Campaign chapter like 40, 41, 42East and so on counts as a new campaign, just with imported core unit roster)

Unit Changes:
- Unit ID swapped between Fw 190 A-4 and A-5
- Unit ID swapped between Bf 109 G-2 and G-6
- 10.5cm sK 18 long range arty available much earlier on 18.09.1939 (same upgrade family as 15cm sFH)
- 17cm K 18 has different range in Battlefield Europe (range 5) compared to usual PzC campaigns (range 6)
- Different ranges for BE and non-BE also for railway guns "28cm K 5" and "Schwerer Gustav"
- Some Panzer I units have more movement (except PzJ I and Bison I), Flakpanzer I no more recon move in AA mode
- Ferdinand TD movement increased from 3 to 4 (now same as later Elefant version)
- Elefant TD a few weeks later (Nov 1943), Tiger P++ version months later (Oct 1943 instead of July)
- Some balancing changes to several british armored cars
- Char B1 gets one more hard attack back
- Brückenpioniere have one less air defense, but 1942 and 1944 versions added
- 8.8cm Flak 41 introduced (so far stats only)!, 7.5cm Pak available 2 weeks later
- 2cm Fallschirmjäger Flak better air defense, but less ammo
- 2cm Flakvierling nerfed rate of fire, buffed air attack value, for towed and SdKfz 7/1 mounted variant
- US MGMC "quad 50 cal." some rebalancing, later version rof reduced by 1 but attack values buffed to compensate
- German aircraft ammo rebalancing across the board (more grand campaign balancing focused)
- Hs 129 better ground defense, later versions better air defense, B-1 version available earlier
- Ju 87 D-1 much earlier (Oct 1941 instead of March 1942), D-3 and D-5 availability two weeks later
- Ju 87 has generally better hard attack (except for R variants), some other minor changes
- Ju 88 fighter series (C, R, G) split up (so far stats only), some balancing changes also to related P variant
- Bf 110 E-1 & Me 410 initiative buffed, Bf 110 G-2 two weeks earlier, Me 410 A-1/U4 and B-2/U4 added (so far stats only)
- StuG IV, Sturmtiger, arty Semovente changed so that their arty mode is primary (allows range heroes to appear)
- Pz IV E, F1, F1+ hard attack nerfed (another shaped charge ammo availability revision, very hard to get info on this)
- StuG III A and C/D, E, E+ and Pz III N hard attack nerfed, Pz III N+ available later (same reason as above)
- leG (leichtGeschütz) now in GebG upgrade family, early ones nerfed hard attack in AT mode, but also new upgrade option
- 7.5cm GebG and Obice 75/18 (italian, also buffed stats) can switch to non camo AT, and have upgrade options
- Unified Italian AT families, 75mm AA in same upgrade family with 90mm AA, Italian Inf available as bonus SE infantry
- Semovente 75 and italian M tanks considerably buffed
- SdKfz 233 split into early and late version, can now switch to arty mode
- Non-bonus SE cavalry purchasable in recon class
- German and Hungarian Hetzer switch icon added to unit graphic
- KV-1 models up to 1942 rate of fire decreased from 10 to 9, T-34-85 rof decreased from 10 to 9
- German T-34/41 purchasable in early 1942 (so that the T-34/40 has an in-family upgrade)
- Some changes to early Soviet fighters, just to mitigate game engine quirks with regards to combat calculations



2024-03a Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3wVD5iy

This bugfixed Addon version is a complete single download replacement for 2024-03, although only the equipment file has really changed

Game Breaking Bug Fix:
- Capturable British and US tank units fixed (clicking on them in the last update would result in a crash to desktop)

The fix only takes effect when starting the next scenario after this update has been installed
So if you have this issue in an ongoing scenario you either need to:
1) Load an earlier save from the end of the previous scenario, after installing this fixed Addon version
2) OR you do not capture the objective that rewards the capturable US or British unit in your ongoing scenario
The affected units have been made purchasable for this Addon version, as compensation if you have to choose option 2.
So you may buy them afterwards and use cheat/debug codes to reimburse you for the prestige costs.

I apologize for that stupid modding mistake with those units.



2024-03 Complete "Locarnus Addon"

This 2024 Addon version is incompatible with campaigns started on 2023 & 2022 Addon versions!
(But each Grand Campaign chapter like 40, 41, 42East and so on counts as a new campaign, just with imported core unit roster)

GC, AK & BE compatibility
- Unit ID swaps for several Soviet fighter planes (see "unit changes section below")
- Those swaps keep the original "unit ID" bound to the rough "availability time frame" from unmodded Panzer Corps
- And then I assigned the proper fighter models to those "availability time frames"
- The logic is backwards, but this way I only have to adjust the main BE scenario & AK Caucasus, instead of dozens of GC scenarios
- US fighters and many Western Allies Lend Lease units switched to being aux units in the main BE scenario
- Afrika Korps and BE scenarios adjusted for italian unit ID changes

Unit Changes:
- Another rebalancing pass for Soviet fighters, with the Grand Campaign in mind
- Soviet Lavochkin fighter family are not bonus units anymore (which they were in BE), for GC compatibility
- Unit ID swapped between Yak 7 & Yak 7B for GC compatibility
- Unit ID multi swap between La 5FN, La 7, Yak 9U & Yak 3 for GC compatibility
- Unit ID swapped for two "Fw 190 F & G" normal and "BE bonus" variants for GC campaign compatibility
- Unit ID swapped for all "Semovente" units (except 47/32), between normal vs desert variants
- Unit ID swapped for italian "L3/35", "P26/40" and "M15/42", between normal vs desert variant
- Unit ID swapped for many capturable British and US tank units, between normal vs desert variant
- Capturable British and US tank units can switch between normal and desert variant, for compatibility
- Breda BA.65 split into normal and desert variants (so far only stats, not graphics)
- Bf 109 E-7 a bit more range again due to drop tank availability
- Bf 109 F-4 until G-4 have one more initiative
- Early Bf 110 models better air attack, very early models weaker ground attack, some availability fine tuning
- Bf 110 & Me 410 split into more sub versions and variants, making 2 concurrent ones more viable with "rule of 1"
- StuG III short barreled variants rof buffed from 10 to 11, but only when switched to arty mode
- Pz III N and StuG III E+ close defense buffed, Pz III N+ air defense buffed
- 2cm Flakvierling air attack nerfed from 13 to 12 (including SdKfz 7/1)
- StuIG 33B back up to 5 movement, ISU movement reduced to 4
- 47mm AT gun buffed (France), and French best fighter has 1 more ini
- Italian AB recons cheaper, new AB 44 upgrade, thank you Birgeria for the great icon!
- Several units availability date changed across the GC (usually some weeks), more for some Bf 110 & Jagdsturmtiger

Incomplete balancing and ToDo List:
- Bf 110 fuel values not yet balanced
- Big unit icons are incomplete and partially incorrect regarding "non-upgrade" information, especially for captured units



2024-02 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3uoLKJr

This 2024 Addon version is incompatible with campaigns started on 2023 & 2022 Addon versions!
(But each Grand Campaign chapter like 40, 41, 42East and so on counts as a new campaign, just with imported core unit roster)

BE compatibility, thank you laubbaum13 for bringing it to my attention!
- Hid the BE multiplayer scenario in the scenario list, since this version unfortunately does not work properly with Addon

AK campaign
- Palestine scenario adjusted based on feedback, airfield added (thank you faos33)
- Palestine glider aux units changed, I went with a more mobile, variety composition

Grand Campaign
- Heavier French tanks back to 10 strength, from 8, it got a bit too easy without AI unit spam (thank you goose_2)

Unit Changes:
- Char B1 nerfed (rof 8 instead of 9, and lower initiative)
- Adjusted some Bf 109 and Fw 190 fuel values, though more balancing work is needed there (thank you faos333)
- Bf 110 F available several months later (now Februar 1942 instead of August 1941)
- Me 410 B available several months later (now April 1944 instead of October 1943)
- Italian Re.200x series buffed when switched to tac bomber mode



2024-01 Complete "Locarnus Addon" Download: https://bit.ly/3RJJqo5

This 2024 Addon version only works for new campaigns, it is incompatible with campaigns started with earlier Addon versions!
(But each Grand Campaign chapter like 40, 41, 42East counts as a new campaign, just with imported core unit roster)

Savegame breaking movement table changes
- Movement stat normalized to 1 movement value = 1 tile on clear and/or desert terrain (especially wheeled units adjusted)
- Major rebalancing of movement table, especially tracked, half-tracked and wheeled units for road usage and mud & snow conditions
- Dismounted, towed movement type 4 provides no movement hero benefits in difficult terrain & muddy conditions (away from roads)

Grand Campaign DLC compatibility
- No tracked transport options for SE bonus infantry anymore
- Cavalry available as SE bonus unit from the start
- 3.7cm Pak 36 towed by captured UE and mounted on UE available from 1.6.1940 onwards as SE bonus units
- German 7.5cm Pak available later as towed SE bonus unit, captured 7.5cm Pak fills the gap until then
- Marder I available as SE bonus unit for 1943, switchable between tank and AT class, thanks to unit graphic found by Birgeria!
- Non-SE Captured Soviet 7.62cm USV arty available for purchase and upgrade in GC 1942 (in-family with 7.5cm FK 16 nA arty)

Unit Changes:
- Bridge engineers better ini and ground defense, only needs 2 movement for river (so now benefits from movement hero)
- Axis towed AT units are now in the infantry class, when switched to transport mode
- Axis lightly armored tank destroyers are now in the AT class, when switched to camo/AT mode
- Nopurchase trait removed from the above two categories, as well as cavalry in recon mode
- Panzer 38(t) E/F version gets recon move trait for 1941 already, like G version has for 1942
- Buffed german and polish 3.7cm pak and flak guns
- Pak with RSO transport available a bit later
- German half-tracks buffed
- Panzer II C less soft attack, C+ version earlier (Norway instead of France)



Original third post of this thread:

Very nice and precise work.
It would be a dream to play your mod with the giant map from hinryu70
and play the whole game with over 200 turns.

Regards
moonwalker

Thank you! I have seen this great map! There really needs to be an enhanced edition of PzC, doing away with all those game engine limitations and providing a more modular approach to scenario editing.

Some more info on the stat changes:
I wanted to give the player a bit more agency regarding strategic decisions, including unit production like special weapons. After all the player is now coordinating more than the military itself. But for now I mostly focused on the Axis (player) units, to keep the work manageable.

I also added the rate of fire (thus number of attack rolls) information to the unit name, eg unitname r6 means that this unit has a rate of fire of 60%, r14 would mean a rate of fire of 140%.

Changed upgrade paths, including "cross class upgrades" through switching mechanic (eg cheap, organic upgrade option between Panzer I, Panzerjäger I tank destroyer and Sturmpanzer I artillery).

a) Infantry (1939, 1942, 1943, 1944 versions for many of those), Jaegers are more expensive, especially Fallschirmjäger
- Regular: Wehrmacht Inf, Grenadiere
- Cav: Cavalry
- Jaeger: Fallschirmjäger, Brandenburger, Gebirgsjäger, Skijäger
- Engineers: Pioniere, Brückenpioniere

b) Tanks, which now includes "tank destroyers". Those are generally more expensive now (prestige cost)
- Pz I: Panzer I tank variants, Panzerjäger I tank destroyer, Bison I (Sturmpanzer I) artillery
- Pz II: Panzer II tank variants, Pz II recon variants, Marder II family, Bison II (Sturmpanzer II) and Wespe artilleries
- Pz 38(t): Panzer 38(t) tank variants, Marder III and Hetzer tank destroyers, Grille artillery and Flakpanzer 38(t) AA
- Pz III: Panzer III tank variants, StuG III assault guns (includes all TD and arty variants)
- Pz IV: Panzer IV tank variants, Nashorn and Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers, StuH 42, StuG IV, Hummel and Brummbär assault guns/arty, as well as Möbelwagen, Ostwind, Wirbelwind flak panzers
- Pz V: Panther tanks and Jagdpanther
- Tiger I tanks
- Vk4501 chassis Ferdinand and Elefant
- Tiger II (King Tiger) and Jagdtiger in same upgrade path

c) Recon, no relevant changes beyond the Pz II recon vehicles being upgradeable through the tank class

d) Anti-tank
Self propelled anti tank units are now part of the tank class, so that they do not receive the unfair +3 initiative.
You can now upgrade along the "gun paths", eg 3.7cm Pak 36 with one transport to a 3.7cm Pak 36 with another transport.
Or you upgrade along the "transport paths", eg from a Opel Blitz towing a 3.7 cm Pak 36 to an Opel Blitz towing a 5 cm Pak 38.
The transport paths are still simplified, so Krupp Protze, SdKfz 10, SdKfz 11, horse and RSO still share the same upgrade path.
And the UE upgrade path is still lacking.

e) Artillery upgrade paths are usually based on the weapon system, except for StuGs and StuHs which are still chassis based even in artillery mode.
Artillery values were rebalanced, especially rate of fire and max strength on the higher range weapons, which are now available for purchase again (eg railway guns). Some costs changed. Also some self-propelled artillery now have a historical "tank" mode (direct fire), where they can use their big guns like the Soviets used their eg SU-152.
- leFH (light field howitzer): 10.5 cm leFH (not the 10.5 cm sK!), Wespe
- sFH (heavy field howitzer): 15cm sFH, Hummel
- Nblwf (Nebelwerfer): all towed and self propelled Nebelwerfer units
- sIG (heavy infantry gun): Bison I and II (Sturmpanzer I and II), Grille, Brummbär
This means, that eg you can cheaply upgrade from Panzer I to Bison I artillery (in tank mode), switch to Bison I artillery mode, cheaply upgrade to eg Brummbär artillery (artillery mode), switch to Brummbär artillery tank mode and then cheaply upgrade via the Panzer IV upgrade path to a Jagdpanzer IV(70) or a Wirbelwind flakpanzer. Far fewer upgrade dead ends!

f) The anti air units are somewhat rebalanced as well, smaller calibers rate of fire nerfed a bit, larger caliber rate of fire buffed a bit (from the nerfed 70% to now 80%). Putting a towed AA unit in alternate mode still makes it an AT class unit (thus providing bonus initative against attacking tanks and recon).

g) The other units are hardly changed yet and the old order and upgrade paths are still in effect.

While most of the changes only effect Axis units, some Soviet units had mostly rate of fire nerfs. Especially the early T-34 variants because of their 2-person turrets and generally bad ergonomics. As well as the units using slow loading two-part ammunition. For example the 122 and 152mm calibers. This brings them in line with the units of other nations, using similar calibers.

[PeteMitchell]

I like map adjustments to reflect the historical setup more accurately.

[PeteMitchell]

Will changes in upgrade paths require different amounts of available prestige to be given? I understand this was also somehow linked / balanced?

[Locarnus]

I like map adjustments to reflect the historical setup more accurately.

Perhaps I have gone a bit overboard with the rail and road connections (experimental). I tried to get a more pronounced contrast between central european connectivity (which also has downsides when defending) and eastern european conditions at that time. Though I wish we could have another road type, one which deteriorates to near uselessness during rasputitsa...

Will changes in upgrade paths require different amounts of available prestige to be given? I understand this was also somehow linked / balanced?

A lot of stuff has been changed, many things only partly (air force nearly untouched, allied forces pretty much only rough artillery adjustments). This is still very experimental and I hesitate to dig deep into the fine tuning at this early stage.

Some changes which affect balancing in terms of fighting power and prestige:

1. Upgrade paths and opportunities
Fewer dead ends and cheaper upgrades results in better Axis units for less prestige. But on the other hand, upgrading takes time (shuffling back, upgrading, deploying to the front again). More upgrade opportunities may result in less actual fighting power at some stages. It is easy to focus too much on the upgrade minigame and get distracted from the frontlines. Also there are fewer expendable units now, which might result in a less risky (and fast) approach.
=> Though overall the effect should be positive in terms of fighting power and prestige.

2. Unit costs
While some units got cheaper (eg some arty), "elite" infantry and most tanks also got more expensive (eg by about 100 prestige).
=> Since tanks and infantry take more casualties, this should be a negative in terms of prestige and fighting power (overstrength costs).

3. Unit stat changes
- Some towed units have their movement changed and are now unable to fire after moving (17cm artillery, Karl and so on).
- Heavier artillery has been somewhat improved in terms of hard attack, but got rate of fire nerfs (eg 150mm/6inch artillery rate of fire from 90% to 80%). This provides a better distinction between the smaller caliber "suppression" role and the heavy artillery "destruction" role. Generally the similar caliber guns have been brought closer together across nations.
- More Axis self propelled artilleries (especially 150mm ones) have a direct fire mode, comparable to the Soviet SU-152. Providing them their historic effectiveness for finishing off suppressed enemy armor (not so healthy against unsuppressed ones).
- Soviet units relying on 2-part ammunition have their rate of fire nerfed. Eg SU-152, IS-2 and so on. They still hurt when they hit, but they take time to reload. While there has been an ammunition capacity nerf for eg the SU-152 and ISU-152, it is still above historically warranted levels (20 rounds historically is just not great).
- Early Soviet T-34s rate of fire nerfed (eg to 80%), due to their 2-men turrets and generally bad ergonomics, targeting and communications. The 80% is still generous for gameplay reasons.
- German Gebirgsjäger and italian infantry buffed a bit. The italian infantry buff is experimental.
=> Overall a buff for the Germans and a nerf for the Soviets. It should result in more historical outcomes on the unit level. To keep the balance on the strategic level, some of the AI nerfs can be rescinded (units holding position without fuel instead of actively fighting). Testing will show. To evaluate that, I built a little nasty surprise into the scenario (based on several historical incidents), hopefully the AI is at least somewhat able to use it.

4. Special unit availability
Quite a few nopurchase units have been reintroduced, with rebalanced stats. So far the maximum strength in combination with nopurchase and noupgrade traits have been used to keep special units from being overpowered. Imho this made the "special units" too squishy, especially on higher difficulties. The max strength restriction does not scale well.
So I removed most max strength limits and replaced them with rate of fire nerfs. Giving the units more staying power, while usually keeping the low hitting power (a bit like the soviet units which use big guns). Some units seem obscenely OP at first glance, eg buyable railway guns firing 6 hexes, especially against the UK. But once prestige is as tight as it is supposed to be, their prestige efficiency is questionable. No firing after moving, low rate of fire, low ammo capacity and so on. For impressive prestige costs.
Fallschirmjägers can be bought again, not sure how exploity that can be.
=> Imho the special units make the game more interesting and it is worth the balancing experiment. Might be overpowered, might be prestige sinks. Will be interesting to hear feedback on those.

5. Scenario changes edit: This section has been adjusted to the 2021-08-04 version.
I tried to somewhat balance between a scenario start and a campaign start.
I considerably relaxed the core slot limit (from turn 2 since 2021-08-04). Imho it is an important strategic decision if you want to put prestige into the fleet rebuilding or overstrength (not good before first winter), or new air force units, or more artillery or save it for bad times or whatever. For that reason I had to remove the 1000 prestige point loss on the end of the first turn, it would have hurt the savers too much (I lowered the initial prestige from version 2021-08-04). I tried to take away prestige from the campaign starters [...].
=> Overall the Axis from scenario start has a 300 less prestige and campaign starts get another 500 deducted). (1000 more prestige before 2021-08-04, rest of the paragraph is irrelevant as of 2021-08-04 version).


Overall in this experimental version, the Axis got perhaps buffed (edit: less so in 2021-08-04 version). Even though the higher replacement costs for some more damage prone units will be felt as casualties increase during the first winter.

Feedback is needed on how much this affects the balance of power. Imho it is most likely that this will allow the unshackling of some Soviet forces from artificial restraints. And PzC 1.32 offers many more zones than the 32 ones currently used, allowing for more scripting. Which in the long run hopefully results in a more dynamic campaign in the east.

[PeteMitchell]

This sounds all very interesting. I am really curious to hear what McGuba will think about all these ideas / suggestions!

[jeffoot77]

nice improvment ! the more strategic options there are, the more awesome this mod (battlefield) is . My dream in this excellent mod is that player could attack Turkey and Spain ( to attack then gibraltar by land) , and aslo all neutral countries(like swiss) as Hitler could have planned it .

[McGuba]

This sounds all very interesting. I am really curious to hear what McGuba will think about all these ideas / suggestions!

For sure, I will have a closer look later but for now I am busy at work for the time being.

Just out of my head now, I think some map adjustments make sense. But for example I was also thinking about adding the Curonian Lagoon just north of Königsberg (today Kaliningrad) as you did, but the problem here is as it is clearly seen in your screenshot that it would mean that some ground units would be standing on water hexes in turn 1 which looks weird/unprofessional in my view. Which is something I would like to avoid and due to the lack of room in that area to place those units elsewhere I just opted to leave it for now. The Vistula Lagoon looks nicer (between Danzig and Königsberg) and should not cause such problems so that may find its way into the next release, just as some more railway connections.

The various unit stat/upgrade changes are much more complex and may affect the well tested balance of the mod greatly. I also understand the logic behind providing more freedom to the player by allowing him to have a greater control over what to produce and in what numbers but my original idea was to find out what were the chances for an Axis victory by using more or less the same equipment that was historically available. By allowing the player to have e.g. more railroad guns or more self propelled artillery as early as in 1941 and relatively easily, would push the mod more towards fantasy and away from the historical realities in my view. But of course if this is what somebody wants, why not? The vanilla campaigns of PzC1 and PzC2 also contain a number of unhistorical things and units and most players seem to be happy about them as long as they can win more easily. It is just the thing that in this mod I tried to recreate the historical realities as much as possible within the limitations of the base game which may or may not be the right way.

Another thing I am not sure is whether if it is a good idea to move tank destroyers into the tank class. I think these are fairly well modelled in the base game and they rightfully get a bonus when on defense as these were mainly used in ambushes and/or in static defense and were less usefull in attack due to having a fixed turret. With this move you are making a significant game rule change as players are used to the current system. I am not sure if everyone will like this, to be honest.

Finally, since you are only focusing on the single player "real+" version, some changes may unbalance the multiplayer or the other versions, further complicating things. E.g. players who get used to these new rules may find themselves in trouble if they try the multiplayer version later, unless it also gets the same treatment (and testing of course, which is probably the hardest part).

So in a nutshell, all I can say is that I think it requires a lot of testing and some of the changes may not stand the test of time, but nevertheless I wish you all the best of luck with this project!

[Locarnus]

nice improvment ! the more strategic options there are, the more awesome this mod (battlefield) is . My dream in this excellent mod is that player could attack Turkey and Spain ( to attack then gibraltar by land) , and aslo all neutral countries(like swiss) as Hitler could have planned it .

With the additional 1.32 zones, this should be somewhat possible, though there still is the issue with the amount of units. Unfortunately my time is fully taken up by the current changes, even that will take quite a while. Not to speak of all the fine tuning that went into BE itself, including multiplayer. McGuba really created a masterpiece, and I can only reiterate that it is something I would gladly pay money for in the form of an official DLC.

This sounds all very interesting. I am really curious to hear what McGuba will think about all these ideas / suggestions!

For sure, I will have a closer look later but for now I am busy at work for the time being.

Just out of my head now, I think some map adjustments make sense. But for example I was also thinking about adding the Curonian Lagoon just north of Königsberg (today Kaliningrad) as you did, but the problem here is as it is clearly seen in your screenshot that it would mean that some ground units would be standing on water hexes in turn 1 which looks weird/unprofessional in my view. Which is something I would like to avoid and due to the lack of room in that area to place those units elsewhere I just opted to leave it for now. The Vistula Lagoon looks nicer (between Danzig and Königsberg) and should not cause such problems so that may find its way into the next release, just as some more railway connections.

The various unit stat/upgrade changes are much more complex and may affect the well tested balance of the mod greatly. I also understand the logic behind providing more freedom to the player by allowing him to have a greater control over what to produce and in what numbers but my original idea was to find out what were the chances for an Axis victory by using more or less the same equipment that was historically available. By allowing the player to have e.g. more railroad guns or more self propelled artillery as early as in 1941 and relatively easily, would push the mod more towards fantasy and away from the historical realities in my view. But of course if this is what somebody wants, why not? The vanilla campaigns of PzC1 and PzC2 also contain a number of unhistorical things and units and most players seem to be happy about them as long as they can win more easily. It is just the thing that in this mod I tried to recreate the historical realities as much as possible within the limitations of the base game which may or may not be the right way.

Another thing I am not sure is whether if it is a good idea to move tank destroyers into the tank class. I think these are fairly well modelled in the base game and they rightfully get a bonus when on defense as these were mainly used in ambushes and/or in static defense and were less usefull in attack due to having a fixed turret. With this move you are making a significant game rule change as players are used to the current system. I am not sure if everyone will like this, to be honest.

Finally, since you are only focusing on the single player "real+" version, some changes may unbalance the multiplayer or the other versions, further complicating things. E.g. players who get used to these new rules may find themselves in trouble if they try the multiplayer version later, unless it also gets the same treatment (and testing of course, which is probably the hardest part).

So in a nutshell, all I can say is that I think it requires a lot of testing and some of the changes may not stand the test of time, but nevertheless I wish you all the best of luck with this project!

You are right, it looks kinda weird having that tank in the sea/lake. I'm somewhat ok with the coastal battery, worse but somewhat similar to Kronstadt in front of Leningrad. For the next version I moved the halftrack flak to Königsberg and put the Panzer in its spot. Not great, not terrible, the additional roads also partially make up for it by increasing the mobility in this sector.

Yep, the balancing went back from "fine tuned" to "prototype" for this version. Imho it is just a matter of perspective. For the first year or so BE 2.3 feels more like playing all Generals at once, with the power to assign industry output to reinforcements, but not new units. While I'm aiming more towards the replacement for the political and military "leader", with the power to create new units. Though obviously it all abides by game engine limitations. For example the player can't refuse to declare war on the US. And as soon as the first turn is done, imho it all becomes some sort of realistic fantasy. The player can decide not to invade the Soviet Union at all. Maybe not meeting KV-1 tanks or capturing Bazookas for a long time. So all the tech availability beyond the starting date would be affected by the players actions and there is a wide spectrum of reasonable approaches to those causality issues.

About the special weapons, imho those make the game more realistic. Germany historically spent a lot of resources on special projects, sometimes those were effective, but they were rarely efficient in terms of result per effort. I wanted to have those options available, but it will depend on balancing efforts to make them "interesting but probably not too efficient".

I thought a lot about the tank destroyers, especially considering the German/Soviet turretless approach and the US turreted approach compared to rather standard tanks. What I really dislike about the original PzC approach is the fact that tank destroyers get a bonus for something that is not a vehicle specific characteristic, but rather a tactical decision on how to deploy the vehicles. There is no vehicle specific reason why a tank destroyer should get an initiative bonus when attacked by a tank. This becomes even more problematic when the American turreted tank destroyers are considered. Why does a Hellcat get a bonus but a Sherman does not? Both can be used defensively from prepared positions.

My original idea was to make every tank/tank destroyer a switchable unit. In tank mode they get the normal stats. But in AT mode they get drastically reduced movement, simulating some time to setup defensive positions for which they get the initiative bonus. I'm not sure if this is worth it, the whole switching around for so many units. And then there are the units which already have 2 modes. I also considered the other way, putting tanks into the TD class, but that would make them better defensive weapons. Not sure how to procede, but I really dislike that units get arbitrary boni, which are in no way based on the characteristics of the unit itself.

I'm still working mainly on Germany, but I'll eventually spend more time on the Allied units as well. I found it quite intimidating that you have essentially 4 versions of the same scenario. Thus if I wanted to change stuff at all, I had to pick one, and it appeared to be the most complex and popular one. Especially since PzC2 only left the die hards for PzC. Not sure about the multiplayer, this experimental version is way too young for such levels of balancing and fine tuning. I hope that for the time being it is different enough to avoid confusion . The small "switch mode" symbols beneath some units may provide enough of a visual indicator that it is not the fine tuned BE itself.

[PeteMitchell]

Please allow one question: have you thought of working together with McGuba, e.g. like the Pak-mod team?

Not sure two very similar mods will fly in the end...

There was also a suggestion, besides many others over the time, to add the Spanish Civil War prior to the Poland scenario?

[Locarnus]

Please allow one question: have you thought of working together with McGuba, e.g. like the Pak-mod team?

Not sure two very similar mods will fly in the end...

There was also a suggestion, besides many others over the time, to add the Spanish Civil War prior to the Poland scenario?

Collaborations/teams are imho great for long term projects. For short term experiments and trying out new stuff, imho there are advantages in having more agile "brainstorming" versions and then trying them out. I remember many ideas from different projects, where I was very sceptical when discussing them theoretically, which were amazing or at least interesting when actually using them. McGuba released his work under "attribution, non-commercial" license and thus I will follow that for my work on this mod. So perhaps some of the ideas I try out with this experimental addon do not work well for BE, but perhaps another mod could use them? With this they are out in the open and available for the whole modding community.

After so many years, BE evolved from a tinkerer and tuner mod into a fine tuned masterpiece. Imho this experimental version is like a tinkerer and tuner version of the mod, exploring options that might not fit the general taste. And perhaps some of the experimental stuff makes it into the bigger version, but of course the audience shrinks with each specialization. For example on youtube there are far more people trying higher difficulty playthroughs of the official campaign than there are BE playthroughs. (Though BE youtube videos seem to have a larger audience )

In the end, this will most likely be a fun and sometimes annoying experiment, and then after some time McGuba decides what aspects have value for the long term BE project.
Spanish Civil War sounds interesting, but I have only limited time. And I'm still focused on the whole units/upgrades/switching aspect, as well as some scenario tinkering and keeping it all at acceptable balance.

So, new version from 2021-08-04: (download link in original post)
- Corrected some errors from last version (30cm Nblwf range, missing Limassol port flag)
- Added Wurfrahmen 43 vehicle variant
- Lowered initial prestige and shifted core slot increase to second turn (allows purchase of new units, but prestige for that is not abundant)
- Changed experimental deployment zones (when from campaign path) back closer to original ones
- Changed Batumi/Poti relevance
- Shifted 4 Soviet unit positions a few hexes (non-frontline), 2 of them regarding Batumi/Poti
- Shifted 3 German frontline unit positions in Prussia, so that the tank does not start on a lake/lagoon hex

[PeteMitchell]

Thanks, makes a lot of sense and sounds great!

[Locarnus]

new version from 2021-08-06:
Probably the last version for a while
- All TDs from all nations changed into tank class for consistency (no reason why US Hellcat should have extra bonus over Sherman)
- Arty/SPArty has spotting range 2. Increasing consistency, preventing class switching for recon purposes for player and buffs the AI which is not so good at recon
- "Nasty Surprise" nerfed a bit
- Novorossyisk area changed a bit (stronger defense)
- Heavy flak now shows rate of fire for AT and AA mode in name

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uqw1duqk4eb86 ... 06.7z?dl=0


I removed the "experimental" from the thread title, since at this version the balance and consistency is quite good afaik.
There are still experimental aspects, like the buffed italian infantry or the special unit availability. But overall the prestige situation in the realistic + scenario, which is the one that is changed by this addon, is quite tight and thus limits any exploit potential.

I would love to hear some feedback. Eg testing the first 6-12 turns.
The cross class upgrade possibilities give quite a few new options and make the older but experienced tank units more valuable (less prone to sacrificing).

[goose_2]

wow the modder world is the future of Panzer Corps. This game will keep me in the pink for the rest of my life.

[criscarlucci]

Hi Locarnus... Simply question by a new gamer

I have to use your MOD over the BE v.2.3 or on a vanilla version of PzC?
Thanks

[Locarnus]

wow the modder world is the future of Panzer Corps. This game will keep me in the pink for the rest of my life.

Yep, unfortunately modding (making the mods and installing mods) is a bit cumbersome. I made a new step-by-step guide for it, since the video from PzCorps Mods is a bit outdated (using only patch 1.31): viewtopic.php?f=147&t=106604&p=937685#p937685

Hi Locarnus... Simply question by a new gamer

I have to use your MOD over the BE v.2.3 or on a vanilla version of PzC?
Thanks

Over BE 2.3. I just wrote a more detailed guide on how to prepare PanzerCorps for modding:
viewtopic.php?f=147&t=106604&p=937685#p937685

Then install BE 2.3 and the desired optional mods (I personally use BlueAxisSymbols and PG Style Strength Plates as shown in the screenshot in the updated install instructions, see original post of this thread).
On top of that, install BE 2.3 Locarnus yyyy-mm-dd from the link in the original post of this thread or the link below:


New Version:
2021-08-08 I had some unexpected time yesterday and did another consistency pass
- "Big gun" consistency with earlier rebalancing improved (eg StuH42 also uses 2-piece ammunition, decreasing its rate of fire)
- Close defense values for various vehicles somewhat rebalanced (especially "fixed turreted" ones)
- StuH42 upgrade path corrected to PzIII

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oc91dyb1k0txy ... 08.7z?dl=0

[Locarnus]

New Version 2021-08-13
Major update
- Map errors corrected (eg no flag for Civitavecchia, wrong terrains)
- Upgrade cities reduced again, closer to original (original + Batumi, Athens, Haifa, Leningrad and various Axis minors)
- Various equipment file errors corrected
- Rate of fire adjustments for German small caliber flak, closer to original
- German recon units have rate of fire nerf (20%) in recon mode, but Defense +1 (using terrain, survival is priority), does not affect PzIIs in tank mode
- Rate of fire stat better visibility (long unit name closer to other stats in purchase and upgrade screen)
- New units (Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B on Pz III chassis, Leichtgeschütz 40 artillery for paratroopers), thanks to the unit modding community!
- Most axis minors now have 43 and 44 infantry versions
- Upgrade paths for paks and transports adjusted

Download: https://bit.ly/3xKlIfs

[faos333]

Good work, now is needed some testing, has anybody tried this add-on yet?

[Locarnus]

Good work, now is needed some testing, has anybody tried this add-on yet?

I started playing for an AAR yesterday, but instead I made a last updated before going on holidays. Especially fixing my bugs which prevent upgrades in some German cities.

The plan was to start a kind of "succession" type AAR, where someone plays for a few turns and then someone else picks it up from there.
For example, I wanted to start and play 6 turns, write a short AAR about those first 6 turns and then upload the savegame at the end of Axis turn 6 (so the next player can analyse the situation and the AI response, to get into the game).
In terms of roleplay, this would have been a leadership change after 3 months .

The advantage of such a succession type of game would be:
1. Every new player needs to deal with the situation left behind by the previous players. That is especially interesting with respect to strategic decisions.
2. No one has to commit for a long playthrough, but everyone can experience a part of it (either by playing or by reading others experiences).
3. Since the savegames every 6 turns would be public in the AAR, it is possible for AAR readers to really analyse the situation, instead of being restricted to images and text of the written AAR.
4. Or even two players doing the same 6 turn interval and then discussing tactics and strategies.

Unfortunately I had to prioritize the patch below, but if anyone is interested in starting such a succession AAR, I would be more than happy to take over some 6 turn interval after the holidays.

2021-08-14
Last version before holidays
- Fixed my bugs that prevented upgrades in some German cities
- Minor map changes (connection Bremen-Hanover, around Linz and Lviv)
- More axis minors now have 43 and 44 infantry versions
- Some more switchable arty units have adjusted icons (gun aiming horizontally)
- Tropical versions of some additional units (Hummel, Brummbär)
- Basic german 1939 and 1942 infantry versions are switchable between normal and tropical icon (visual, no non-functional upgrade required)
- Flammpanzer III missing bigunit image added

https://bit.ly/2VTu2MM