Potzblitz V24.2b JAN 1st 2024

[Tomek801]

Hi munt. I'm glad you're interested in MP. I have written you a private message.

[Umeu]

Hey Robotron! Thanks for the awesome mod. Very challenging.

But I ran into a bug/crash. I'm on turn 33 and the Arab Uprising popped up in the pool, but when I choose it, it crashes the game.

Arab Uprising Bug.rar

(154.03 KiB) Downloaded 16 times

Hope you're still around to have a look. Thanks!

[Robotron]

I thought I fixed that Arab Revolt bug ages ago, seems I was wrong about that.

Here's the bugfix which everyone should install (should be safe to apply to campaigns already in progress):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ah17lD ... sdLnR/view

[Umeu]

Cheers! Working now

ps: not sure if it's WAD, but when I take Mecca with the Arab uprising, and then end the turn, the war is finished. I was winning, so not sure if that's because it was the straw that broke the camel's back, or if it was something else.

pps: tried to take Mecca in an earlier save, and then the game didn't end, so I guess I won but seemed a bit abrubt. Anyway, nice mod!

[Robotron]

According to the stored values within the savegame you posted, neither of the CP nations was even close to surrendering (all 60+ morale) at that point, so unless you took Medina much later in the game the capture of Medina was not the cause for a chain-surrender.

And thanks for the laurels, when I started this project I had a very close look at all the suggestions made by players about how to improve the basic game and your IMBA thread was a major inspiration.

[Umeu]

That's very kind! But you have done far more with it than I ever though possible haha.

I'm trying the CP now, tinkering around with the Schlieffen plan (which was the main reason I wanted to try your mod, because the base version of the game basically made the Schlieffen plan impossible by the way they set up the French army. Your event that locks the French army in place is very elegantly done lol. And on top of that, as Entente you can redeploy the army :O)

But anyway, I thought I could move that reserve corps to the eastern front and be fine... turns out that one corp is crucial to the Schlieffen plan, as without it, you have no unit to hold namur, unless you leave behind one of your crack army corps, which of course means you can never take Paris. I was pretty amazed when I found that out lol. Had to restart and do it right XD

[Umeu]

Noticed that Finland doesn't have a production tab (nor a diplomacy tab, but might be WAD), and the DoW_Finland is just a placeholder, though I don't really mind that.

[Robotron]

Not "working as designed" but rather "working in the only way possible", let me explain:

In order to be able to produce units/have a diplomacy tab a nation needs a capital on a hex that's defined in the map files (those files in Data/Maps) to be originally belonging to that nation. Unfortunately those map files can't be edited using a normal editor, rather this would require the tool with which the map files were created.

Slitherine failed to deliver a map file editor after the game was abandoned by the original coder who left the game in a partially unfinished state.
When I worked on the Russian Civil War expansion I tried to find a stable way of overruling the map files using the LUA scripts to be able to include 2 new nations that needed to be able to produce units and do diplomacy: Bolsheviks and White Russia but after trying for months I gave up in frustration and scrapped the project as it was simply beyond my LUA skills.

The missing Finland DOW message is caused by a typo, I've attached a fix to this post, apply it just like an update.

[Umeu]

Cool, thanks for that!

Question about the PDF that came with the mod, are some of the events outdated? I tried the Kaiserslacht event, and according to the PDF, it was supposed to boost and heal the infantry in France, but when I picked it, nothing seemed to happen. Perhaps it has been nerfed?

Anyway, still enjoying your mod

PS: What's the idea behind the Rupprecht plan? Is it to challenge experienced players or to add some variety? Or was it seriously entertained back then? It seems so much worse for the Axis XD I suppose which is why they never went for that plan, but still

[Robotron]

The reason why you did not see any changes in unit health is that for some reason the displayed unit health is not updated until the start of the next turn when the repair is triggered by events rather than "manually" via the repair command. I've never found out why this is.

Rupprecht Plan is really just included for variety reasons and as a somewhat "crazy" plan. In fact, I stole the idea from AGEOD's "World War One Gold". I don't think it was ever considered even remotely practical by German general staff back then.

[Umeu]

Damn, the Rupprecht plan game has been one of the most tense I've played haha.

I smashed Switzerland pretty fast, capturing most of their hexes in 1914. But I struggled to contain Russia, losing Tarnopol and Gumbinnen pretty early. Normally I lose them late or not at all. Along the Metz-Strassbourg line (French-German border) I managed to contain the French army pretty easily as usual, but unlike with the Schlieffen plan, I couldn't break through the French lines as the slow movement through the Alps meant they had enough time to build their defenses. In Russia, things stabilized, though it looked dire for a moment, with the Russian advance stalling 1 hex before Koenigsberg, and threatening to surround Thorn fortress. German morale plummeted to 40% Along the Austrian-Russian border, things went smoother, apart from losing Tarnopol early, the Russians did not get anywhere.

Turkey was the first to join the Axis after shelling Sevastopol, and because Britain didn't sail without Belgium being invaded, I had ample time to set my affairs in order. Russia invaded, triggering Enver Pasha's army, and I managed to encircle and then capture Sarikamish quite early. Somewhere in spring 1915. But other than that, Turkey was all about stockpiling and preparing for war with Britain.

Just as I started thinking of advancing along the eastern front, a freak Russian cavalry charge bypassed my lines and captured Breslaw. I cut them off afterwards, but with weak reserves, and the Russians managed to break through to relieve Breslaw. However, reinforcements were coming in from all corners of both empires now, and I reestablished the siege. However, my units were too weak to recapture the city while also defending the line. This severely set back my offensive plans.

Serbia held out until summer 1915 as usual, until the typhoid epidemic wrecked the country and I finally managed to capture Belgrade. From there, a slow and crumbling defeat ensued, which did not end until they surrendered in late 1917.

By that time, Britain had sailed already, and quickly turned Kuwait and captured Riyadh. However, they had left Port Said undefended, and it fell within a turn of Britain declaring war. Winter of 1914-1915 just came to an end then, and my Turkish reinforcements got stuck in the desert, resulting in fort Ismailla being strengthened and holding out until early 1917. Warfare there was fierce, and I brought in 2 artillery pieces to slowly grind the Britons to dust. In the meantime, Russia launched a fierce counter attack for Sarikamish, and I was forced to pour in troops to hold the line, as well as strengthen Basra to make sure the Kuwaiti and British didn't overrun the place.

In 1916, Russia finally started collapsing when I managed to cut off huge parts of their army that were besieging Koenigsberg and Danzig, when I sent a string of 3 army corps to destroy an armoured train that was guarding the Russian supply lines below Lotzen. It took me 3 turns, and somehow Russian high command did not decide to retreat. As Russia retreated to cover the German advance in the north, Austria launched a summer offensive and quickly, Russia lost city after city, with an Austrian armored train supported by cavalry and an army corps, managed to capture Kiev, and a German armored train captured Riga, Pskov, Novgorod and Petrograd in quick succession.

On the Western front, all was quiet, and it looked like I was winning the war easily. Until Italy decided they wouldn't take no for an answer when I rejected their claim for Trento, and invaded. However, the German army there was ready, and with Serbia on the retreat, the Austrians could pull their weight as well. Turin was first to fall, then Venice, Udine, Verona, Monte Verena, Bologna and Ancona. Britain had gotten their war economy in order finally though, and started streaming troops into Italy and France, and a tank destroyed army corps after army corps, until it found itself cut off and surrounded just outside Trento. A combined attack by airplanes, zeppelins, some infantry and a home guard unit managed to finally destroy this menace. With artillery in place and more reinforcements coming in, I captured Milan, but by then, my armies were hopelessly overstretched in both the West and the East. And though I managed to somehow keep my battered armies alive in Italy, Russia launched a counter offensive in late 1916 or 1917 (I don't remember) and almost overwhelmed me. I lost a cavalry corps that had advanced to Kiev and was unable to return to the main line, ditto with an army corps. Cut off and massacred. The armored train held Kiev firm though, and it's still there to this day.

I thought Russia was dead, Rasputin murdered, in supply crisis and protests breaking out left and right, but they kept coming in Georgia, attacking Sarikamish with a vengeance. The beat back my advancing troops around Vilna and again infiltrated my lines to capture Brest-Litovsk, Pskov and Dvinsk back. I could cut off Brest-Litovsk and maintain the line there, but the other two cities remained outside my reach. All I could do was sit tight and wait for the onslaught to end.

Finland came to my rescue, revolting against the Russians and I managed to stabilize on all my fronts, but I started running out of supplies and Turkey and Austria were almost out of production points, with Germany unable to supply Turkey. I needed Bulgaria to join, but sadly, Belgium joined the allies first, swinging momentum back in Allied favor. Fortunately, the turn after Bulgaria and Romania joined at the same time. And this meant I could start driving back Russia, with Romanian forces capturing Kishinev and surrounding Odessa while helping to break Russian resistance around Vilnitsa. A turn later, Serbia surrendered as Austrian troops were about the batter down the gates of Tirana, but not long after, the Army of the Orient arrived and I could not pull many Austrian troops from that front to help elsewhere. Instead, Bulgarian troops were rushed into Italy and Germany to plug the gaps in the line there, as Germany was overstretched and unable to defend both Italy, Switzerland, France and the Belgian border. British troops rushed through Belgium, threatening the Ruhr. I had to shorten the line in the Alps to defend, but it was too little, too late, and the Ruhr fell. The Allied victory did not last long though, as the next month, 2 German tanks were operational, and they recaptured the Ruhr immediately. However, industrial output had been reduced with 75%, and German production almost halted.

Things looked brighter in the Levant. Persia had joined the war not long before Belgium did, and helped prevent Basra from falling. However, a rogue Kuwaiti cavalry regiment managed to capture Baghdad and Ctesiphon before falling. Eventually the British lines started to crumble around Basra and their force was routed in Egypt when the locals revolted against British rule. Suez, Alexandria and Cairo fell within a turn, and I could free much of that army to be sent into Greece, where Bulgaria was struggling to contain the Army of the Orient after most of their infantry had been sent to the Italian and Western front, as well as freeing up supplies to keep Enver Pasha's army alive.

With some scheming, I managed to turn Cadiz while keeping the US out of the war, in part due to High Command's decision to focus solely on land warfare. A single submarine made it to Boston and returned with much needed supplies, but other than that, the seas were quiet and the navy got bored. Although, they did see action in the Baltic, destroying Russian navy supported by French and British submarines, while also supporting Finland. Russia, though weakened, continued to play cat and mice, thwarting an organized advance by continuously managing to sneak units behind my lines and capturing fortresses. Portuguese troops started showing up in the Alps, and they seemed to be the only fresh army left in the war, but not for long. They did help free up space for Italy to launch a desperate offensive, cutting off Milan from the rest of the line after obliterating a severely weakened reserve corps that I could not rotate out of the front line.

1918 is around the corner, I have never made it so late into the game before. Usually, the enemy is vanquished by 1916 or early 1917. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I don't actually know if I can win. If the US joins somehow (timer says 10+ turns), it might be game over.

1918 started disastrously. Strassbourg finally fell, with Germany unable to rotate exhausted troops out of the front lines, and reinforcements from Bulgaria arriving mere days too late to prevent a French breakthrough. Tanks were pulled away and redirected to stop the line from crumbling all together, home guards were rushed into the front lines, anything to just hold on for a few more weeks. In Egypt, victory which had seemed a matter of time, proved elusive as a Turkish army core got outflanked and cut off from supplies by two Italian reserve corps out of Tunis. It managed to retreat in time to Siwah and restore its supply lines, but the advance faltered. A Portuguese offensive killed the Crown Prince, as he valiantly led his troops in the defense of the Alps. And to make matters worse, USA declared war not after 10+ turns, but only 3.

Still, it might be true that the night seems darkest just before dawn. And light loomed in the east, as a combined Persian-Turkish force marched on Kuwait, almost surrounding the British army which hastened in retreat. The Russians were forced back as well, with Persian cavalry retaking Tabriz and capturing Baku before being halted near Tiflis. Sevastopol fell instead, captured by Bulgarian cavalry, and Kerch was soon to follow. The Romanian army brought its artillery to Odessa and started the siege. While the Austrians avenged the death of the Kronprinz by slaughtering Russian commander after commander. Russia seemed finally broken, as Moscow fell to an armored train in April 1918. They surrendered the turn after. In the same month, Ireland rebelled against the British, but it came to naught. India revolted not long after though, and that seemed to cripple the British Empire more, leaving it unable to defend Kuwait.

In Italy, things went back and forth, Milan was relieved, but Bologna fell, only to be swiftly recaptured the next week. And from there, Bulgarian reinforcements pressed the attack, streaming into the lands between Milan and Rome. Russia's surrender came just in time, freeing up armies from the east to move west. Reserve corps were disbanded, army corps transported east. The Americans were sailing, and time was running out for the Axis. The Kaiser, heartbroken by the loss of his beloved son, demanded slaughter. With India in turmoil, Kuwait lost, Egypt conquered, British morale shattered, but their armies in the west were still a menace, once more threatening to recapture the Ruhr. But in the Alps, the lost commanders and armies turn after turn.

The French army failed to break through entirely, and tanks, airplanes, artillery and Austrian reinforcements pushed them back. They clung to the fort of Strassburg in a desperate attempt to keep their hope of ending the war alive. Protests crippled Italy, and Holland started to run out of food. Yet, in summer 1918 the war showed no sign of ever ending.

A Portuguese offensive nearly captures Turin, but 1 regiment of elite infantry holds out, the rest of the army is destroyed, suffering a staggering 90% casualties. Meanwhile, a daring Bulgarian attack captures Genoa, but can they hold it? They are swiftly cut off, though another offensive attempts to restore communications with the outside world, but fails. Soon, the Bulgarians in Genoa surrender. Greece monarchy is restored and Venizeles assasinated, but Greece remains neutral. The admiralty, afraid of what the Dutch might do once they start to hunger, sends two marine corps to the Dutch border. A new tank corps joins the fray, but the stalemate remains in tact. The Kaiser decides to visit the front, wondering why his slaughter fails to materialize a victory.

in August, protest against the war seize London, and Britain surrenders! American troops are yet to be seen at the front. Can the Axis pull it off? Spain promises to prepare for war in aid of the Axis, mayhaps the USA won't be the decisive factor after all. The British protests prove contagious, as mobs in Paris and Rome also take to the streets, shattering the already fragile Italian morale. However, the French are more resilient, and with a sneaky flanking manouver, manage to retake Ancona. The price they pay is leaving Florence weakened, and it eventually falls. The British surrender leaves huge gaps in the Allied line, proving fatal to the Portuguese expedition army, as well as the Belgian one. Wesel is recaptured and Liege falls soon after. The tank corps that occupies the fortress makes contact with a strange army not seen on the field of battle before. They wear cowboy hats and sing yankee doodle into battle. But they have come too late. The turn after, Italee surrenders, and the war is won. But at what cost?

WW1.JPG (16.23 KiB) Viewed 429 times

Germany suffered over 7 million dead, missing and wounded. Followed by France with over 5 million casualties and Austria-Hungary nearing that number. Russia suffered even more, undoubtedly, though the real number of their dead may never be known. And the same is true for Britain, who must've bled more than Johnny Turk with over 3m casualties.

[Robotron]

Very nice AAR. You really should also post it in the AAR subforum for posterity, it would be a shame if such a nice write-up would get buried here by further discussion about bugfixes etc.

How was CPs situation with collapse point & morale at the end?

[Umeu]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

Morale was good, everything above a 100%. Turkey usually led, with morale around 125-150. Germany plummeted to 40% at start, and then slowly rose throughout the game, though I used the shackled to a corps event to balance them and Austria out to about 80% each. They then both went above 100%, but Austria went down to 80 for a bit after I ceded Transylvania. I think at the end of the war, they were around 100 again.

Collapse points, both Germany and Austria had 5, though I think each had at least 1 removed through events. Turkey had 1.

btw, when you use the original Schlieffen plan, do you ever DoW on the Netherlands? Or just move through Belgium with the extra unit?

[Robotron]

I've never attacked the Netherlands in singleplayer as it only creates more problems: a new front that must be covered and a diplomatic hit on all neutrals. I've had an opponent do that in multiplayer but it did not work out well for him as he lost the momentum in France.

[Umeu]

yeah, that was my thought as well, though it does feel as if the Dutch 1914 army is perhaps too strong in the game, compared to it's strength in history. But idk.

[Umeu]

Btw, when I land troops in Salonika, the Macedonian front does not open. Though it works for the AI.

OstMarsEntente22.rar

(145.53 KiB) Downloaded 12 times

Also... wtf is up with Cadorna he keeps ruining all my plans XD

[Robotron]

The Macedonian front is not supposed to open up automatically once you land troops in Salonika but only if Serbia is severely threatened, which in your game is not the case.

Cadorna is working as designed, there's an event to replace him with Diaz once he screws up Italian morale too much. The "Italian offensive failed" events are triggered by attacking too often with Italian units.

[Umeu]

Ok, I didn't know that about the Macedonian front. Makes sense.

As for Cadorna, I did know it's WAD but haha he's a menace XD though I don't think I was attacking much with the Italians at all, it seems to be happening rather almost every 3 turns. All I was doing with the Italians was artillery battles, the infantry was too busy repairing after yet another failed Cadorna to attack I don't mind it though, it adds a layer of challenge. I shipped in French infantry to hold crucial parts of the line.

BTW what does the Russian Civil War expansion entail/do?

[Robotron]

BTW what does the Russian Civil War expansion entail/do?

Nothing, it never was completed.

[Umeu]

Oh man, when you think Cazzorna is bad, wait until you meet Zum Kotzendorf

PS: what's the fastest anyone has ever captured Paris (in turns), in Potzblitz.