Soviet Grand Campaign (DLC 42 v1.00)(28/03/24)

[nikivdd]

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[nikivdd]

Finally i found my old flowchart program again. Flowcharts will be added in every future updates. In the meantime the scenarios Fredericus and Pinsk are made and tested. That leaves 7 scenarios to do for the next update. Two scenarios will be what-ifs and they're will be the introduction of a new hero. I have not made up my mind completely yet but i think i will go for one big scenario in Stalingrad. I think three scenarios as in the German GC is too much. Now, if someone can tell me, which axis minors were defending the Northern flank at the Don river and which ones at the Southern flank? Where there also Axis minor units fighting at Stalingrad? I want to make DLC 42 a fat one in terms of scenarios and hopefully a sufficient variation in mission objectives. There is still time for your input while i create scenarios of action along the Don river and the Caucasus; thus before Stalingrad and the Russian encirclement of Von Paulus' army. There is still a long way to cover, with the hint GC 37-46. It might not be the right time to work on this project but this is ww2. This is a game with a hardcore fanbase. Dzieki Bogu i po prosze koniec wojna.

[Locarnus]

Great to see the progress, looking forward to the full campaign!

This map gives a good overview of the situation before Uranus:
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:S ... Uranus.png

In the "Notes" on that page, there is also a google spreadsheet linked, which provides more information about the units involved. The (german) article that uses this map also has some information, which should be accessible with a translator extension.

Oh, and about flowcharts: I recommend https://app.diagrams.net/ (formerly draw.io).
edit: The black text on red is a bit hard to read in the image above, draw.io imho provides better results.

[captainjack]

I've just completed the latest DLC 37 to 41 and thoroughly enjoyed it, even when I had alternate mud and snow for pretty much the entire scenario near Vyazma.
Well done.

[nikivdd]

This is how things stand atm. Imp and I are having a constructive exchange how to improve some of the scenarios, especially on the challenging department. I do have to keep in mind that each scenario should be doable to win on a normal level of difficulty. Naturally, the player can always up- or downscale the difficulty between each mission.
This week was rather hectic, so i had little time to do anything. I do hope to test Voronezh this weekend. This is how the flow chart looks like for 1942 so far. You can always try to guess the blanks.

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[nikivdd]

Besides scenario creation, testing is also important.
For instance, at the Voronezh scenario, the city must be held for a certain number of turns. So, the first test is to check if the "loss" trigger works when the city is lost within that certain number of turns.
You can check out this "loss" test in the short video i posted today on youtube. For this reason, i did not deploy my army, i wanted to see first hand how the AI deals with its attack on Voronehz. In the meantime i also assessed how the northern and southern pincer attack of the AI is correctly scripted. Of course, during actual gameplay the player has the liberty where and how to fight the enemy and even perhaps go for the gratifying "i cleared the map".
It is also interesting to see how the forward Soviet auxiliary units are being destroyed, but it does give some valuable intel about some of the enemy units.
https://youtu.be/giX_Oa9Zu9M

[nikivdd]

Female power! A new hero for DLC 42

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[guille1434]

Thumbs up! Also, the new portrait is being made...

[nikivdd]

Progress update and news.

Besides the German localization, there is now Estherr helping with the project to provide the Russian localization. Logically, the 37-41 part of the campaign will be translated first.
Two new scenarios have created but have not been tested. The campaign will not be so linear as originally planned, so there will be a "Stalingrad" and a "Caucasus" path. I'm first concentrating on the "Caucasus" path. This will take time.
Some updates will just be the flowchart uncovering more of the scenarios.

I have finally compiled the list of heroes that will appear during DLC 42 (Guille made the hero pics):

Pavel Belov: SE guard cavalry
Nadezhda Popova: Il-2 Shturmovik
Sergey Kachusov (TBD: an AT gun class unit)
Vassili Zaitsev (TBD: an infantry class unit)
And for the enemy Ed Harris as Erwin König

More info as the project moves forward.

[imp44791]

Very happy to see Popova included. Even happier to see she will fly an IL-2 and not the sewing machine (Po-2)

Ah Konig, that completely real and fully substantiated historical figure

Patiently waiting for the next installment. I've started playing US corps again in the meantime.

Zaitsev makes sense as a Mountain Infantry, perhaps with a good movement bonus (a little like that super Oleh Dir German unit in the stock DLC39). Not quite a sniper, but at least something different than a bog standard Guards unit. Or perhaps a Ski? That would also make sense for a Siberian.

For the AT I think a normal 76mm but with a movement bonus so that the player is not tempted to immediately upgrade to a ZiS-30. Which he probably will after all, so perhaps put him on the ZiS anyway and let the player wait until SU-152s come in.

[Vano2004]

There were quite a few heroes in the former USSR, from pioneers to a partisan general
https://en.topwar.ru/18334-paru-slov-o- ... ovpak.html

http://www.wio.ru/ww2a.htm

[nikivdd]

There were quite a few heroes in the former USSR, from pioneers to a partisan general
https://en.topwar.ru/18334-paru-slov-o- ... ovpak.html

http://www.wio.ru/ww2a.htm

When i begin working on DLC 43 you can pick two heroes.

[nikivdd]

The development continues..slowly but surely. But still a mountain of work is waiting . At least i can show you a slightly updated flowchart of DLC 42.
I'm currently creating the scenario Ordzhonikidze, the third in the Caucasus part of this DLC. Then i can finally test four scenarios, mainly for balance and trigger checking and suitability to play these scenarios on colonel level of difficulty.
Then i pass it on to my friend imp44791 who has been helpful to give that something special extra to most of the already made/released scenarios. Then i will create three scenarios for the Stalingrad path, and then possibly i will release an update with the new stuff. An earlier update might come too, as soon as i received the Russian localization of the first DLC.
Depending on spare time, i might post another update sometime next week.

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[Erasermarek]

Ordzhonikidze... i found this town on Crimea. Its wrong?

[Estherr]

Ordzhonikidze... i found this town on Crimea. Its wrong?

Nope, not really. There used to be atleast four notable locations bearing this name during soviet times:
1. City in Ossetia region, Russia, now Vladikavkaz;
2. Small town south-eastern Crimea;
3. City west of Nikopol, Ukraine, now Pokrov
4. City in Donetsk area, Ukraine, now Yenakiieve

plus bunch of small villages all across the Soviet Union.

[Erasermarek]

Ordzhonikidze... i found this town on Crimea. Its wrong?

Nope, not really. There used to be atleast four notable locations bearing this name during soviet times:
1. City in Ossetia region, Russia, now Vladikavkaz;
2. Small town south-eastern Crimea;
3. City west of Nikopol, Ukraine, now Pokrov
4. City in Donetsk area, Ukraine, now Yenakiieve

plus bunch of small villages all across the Soviet Union.

Well thats a lot. Ok and where is location of the last scenario?

[Estherr]

Well thats a lot. Ok and where is location of the last scenario?

Oh, my bad, forgot about that last night.The first one, city in Ossetia. Germans aimed at it during late 1942 stage of Battle of the Caucasus.

[nikivdd]

Well thats a lot. Ok and where is location of the last scenario?

Vladikavkaz (Russian: Владикавка́з) formerly known as Ordzhonikidze. In early November 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany tried unsuccessfully to seize the city but were repelled.

This scenario will be a meeting engagement, similar to that scenario from the German GC DLC39.

[nikivdd]

The DLC 37-41 has been updated to v 1.32. It now includes the first draft of the Russian localization files of every scenario of this DLC. Big thanks to Estherr.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/clhzv7
The download link has been updated in the first post of the thread as well.

Updates for DLC 42 and the version that combines all DLC's will come soon.

[nikivdd]

More updates!

DLC 42 v0.03: (update list further down)

01.Gorky (vs Germany)
02. Demyansk42 (vs Germany)
03. Izyum (vs Germany/Hungary)
04. Rzhev-Vyazma (vs Germany)
05. Fredericus (vs Germany/Hungary)
06. Pinsk (vs Germany)

https://www.sendspace.com/file/8em7ta

Soviet Grand Campaign 37-46 v0.02. For use with GME.(update list further down)
Includes all scenarios from the separate DLC's up to date.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/dcog0r

Updates for DLC 42:
German localization files for all scenarios released in v0.02
Two new scenarios: Fredericus and Pinsk

Updates for Soviet GC 37-46:
German localization files for all scenarios released in v0.02 of DLC42
Russian localization files (first draft) for the scenarios from 1937-1941
Two new scenarios: Fredericus and Pinsk

A special thanks to Guille, imp44791, Estherr, HHT1 and Vano2004. If i forgot someone to thank, it was not on purpose.

Most likely the next update will add seven more scenarios to the campaign, but it will take time. Currently four are ready to test, three are still on the drawing board.