AO 1946 feedback

[Bee1976]

I just finished 1946 on Generalissimus (fun fact: steam says 0,0% of all players did this ??!) and wanted to share some feedback
I picked no other neg traits or challenges besides the highest difficulty


The main things first:
- i spend 17 bucks on the DLC and its totally worth it, i think i will have a lot of fun time with this one, to be honest i still consider it "underpriced", there is a lot of content in it, a lot of work
- I enjoyed the storytelling
- the amount of enemy nukes is an evil little surprise, i lost some of my precious core units to this, and that was fun (for me), 1946 is not just running around in highly defensive formations, USA will bomb them to the ground and then ambush them with fast tanks
- Verdeja 3 (!!!)
- Enemy heros and hero combinations!
- Big fat battleships on the move!!

So that was a good and worthy last (?) DLC for the Axis Operations.

But there is stuff i didnt enjoy and stuff i would change. But dont get me wrong its a great DLC!

Stuff to change:
- The difficulty gap
I know difficulty is something hard to balance, because it depends on the players experience, playstyle, traits and challenges, but in this first playthrough it felt like some maps were way more difficult than others.

- too many Nukes to earn for the player, im pretty sure if you earn and save all nukes, the battle for Washington will be way too easy, they are highly mobile and 1 fast steamrolling tank can benefit a lot from a well placed atomic v2
I would reduce their mobility

- The amount of enemy aircraft is nice, but i would raise it even higher or add some "lightning attack" heros, 3-4 strategic antiair saves the day in every mission i played

- the amount of ground troops
The US used to have 16 million soldiers during WW2, but there are only a few infantry units on each map. There should be way more infantry units and way more special units.


Stuff i disliked:
- Unit variation
To be honest i havent used the new german units at all, i imported my coreforce, and there was no need to used "cheap" (slotwise) new E units. Even in the Washington map i used 204 coreslots of 300 and well i didnt had so many reduced slot (3) or zero slot (4) non special heros.

- reward variaton
No caches ( ) and elite objective rewards were kinda underwhelming ( get a nuke and some Loewe...)

- I picked industry connections and well, that was a wasted point. I was hoping for some real fancy new units, but i recieved nothing at all from it ??? All new units were available from the start.

- no 45/46 infatry versions and still the old "Kradschützen"

- i had hopes for some more difficulty options, like a lever for David vs. Goliath

- The strange feeling that is isnt over yet. And that some evil Kerenksy will tease us with a 1947 DLC. I mean there is potential! Soviet Union is still there, Usa is still there, Great Britan is nearly unharmed oh and of course the japanese are begging for a lesson! Oh thats no a dislike point, i would appreciate a final final DLC.

- No zombie mode


ok but just to repeat myself, its a great DLC, the biggest thing is industry connections with no reward. Which means that Retrograde in 1946 will be free points in future playthroughs aswell.

[heinz1803]

Also finished 1946 today on Generalissimus. At least a few made it to the end. For me, 1946 is the worst DLC released till now. Story telling and Marvel Comic warfare. Why not placed "Kapitanski Amerikanski" as special US unit in the game? Guess I will never replay 1946 till rework is done by a mod.

At the end, I had to force me to do the last two mission to finish the game. Thanks god, no 1947 is planed (Fighting with Mega Landkreuzer vs Godzilla from India till Japan)

[seco1]

I found 46 enjoyable! Having played this type of game since PG1 came out years ago I found it a nice change. Going in Knowing it’s fictional the new maps and units to me just meant have fun and get a new challenge instead of the same battles that must be added you have played many times in many games. Also the add hero slider was great! I had it add 2 hero’s and got some hard combos! Next time I’ll add more.
Thanks for putting this together and hopefully we get more content on the way!
My main suggestion would be to look at PG3 and 3D and how they added hero/generals and new units. It would add a bit more variations to the game.

[DefiantXYX]

Why not placed "Kapitanski Amerikanski" as special US unit in the game?

Haha, good one

- I picked industry connections and well, that was a wasted point. I was hoping for some real fancy new units, but i recieved nothing at all from it ??? All new units were available from the start.

Well, it is hard to create a new DLC and completly new units if there are no templates. You remember what happend in Game Of Thrones seasion 8?

There are a few new units and models but tbh they are just clones. The amercians got now meteors...japanse got Me-262 and so on.Or they look like alien stuff, feels like Independence Day. Germanys is able to attack the USA and the industrie can bring up some really new stuff?

- no 45/46 infatry versions and still the old "Kradschützen"

I guess you should use the japanese infantry from the rewards. Its the first thing I do after any map ==>recycle all the alien stuff and japense units. Why should I use that?

[robman]

I’m still mid-campaign and enjoying it immensely. Needless to say, it demands a fair amount of suspended disbelief—I completely understand why others won’t enjoy it as much. My main complaint thus far is the lack of any consequences for exposure to radiation (forgive me if that’s coming!).

[robman]

P.S. The atomic bomber is overpowered. It should either have a “cool down” period of several turns, or be limited to only one atomic attack in a scenario.

[DefiantXYX]

Just remove it. Germans are the good ones now, making peace in europe and only fighting the USA to stop the atomic warfare. If the german got a bomber with umlimited atomic bombs they could just make peace in. Something like a cold war, someone remembers?
And its breaking the game, with 1-2 heroes its like a cheat code.
Give us some nice heroes instead or german wunderwaffe. I am so bored of all the elite objectives, you just get crap all the time I instantly recycle.

[Bee1976]

Hmm, did i miss an Elite reward ? i checked my last save and there is no german atomic bomber ?
Or is it a reward in the other path (i played op teufel)

or do you mean the american nuclear bombers @robman ? my answer to this problem was recon recon recon and sometimes just taking and tanking the hit. maybe ill tryout aux force trait in future playthroughs, just cheap throw away aux units in front to lure out the enemy bombers ? might work. but a fast rebase fighter is enough to take out the bombers once they show up.

To show the effects of nuclear fallout i will pick "army of cowards" next playthrough and i will consider the lost strength points as dead soldiers from radiation not deserted soldiers. that might fit from a narrative perspective.
but imagine, a turn based pc2,5 with some civilisation aspects. like building up cities, cleanout fallout, and so on. and of course zombie mode

Well, it is hard to create a new DLC and completly new units if there are no templates. You remember what happend in Game Of Thrones seasion 8?

Comparing this DLC with GoT 8 is mean! And remembering me on the epic fail from HBO is mean aswell....jesus this was a bad season....

At the end, I had to force me to do the last two mission to finish the game. Thanks god, no 1947 is planed (Fighting with Mega Landkreuzer vs Godzilla from India till Japan)

Well i can understand your point. I enjoy historical wargames aswell, and playing missions like Stalingrad or Kursk or Warshaw is still something special for me. Visiting historical theatres of war is enjoyable for me aswell.
But it was clear from the start that 1946 will be a pure fantasy DLC, and i have no problems playing stuff like this aswell, as long as it is fun for me on a tactical level.
So i completly understand why you dont like that DLC, but i would play "Mega Landkreuzers vs. Godzilla (and zombies
)" aswell, as long as the game is fun on a strategic level. I dont need too much historical correctness to enjoy a ww2 wargame.

@Kerensky im pretty sure i asked you this, or i wanted to ask you this, but are you named after the "Exodus Battletech Kerensky" or after the russian politican ?

[robman]

Operation Flugelstutzen/Battle of Los Angeles
Objectives
Silencing the Forts in Flugelstutzen and destroying the Army Bases in Los Angeles grant basically the same thing: An Atomic Bomber Gift Unit. The G10N3 Fugaku A for Flugelstutzen and the Horten H.XVIII A for Los Angeles.
They basically serve the same purpose, giving you a reusable variation of the Atomic V2 (Just keep in mind the primary target only loses 90% Strength, not 100%.)

[robman]

Sure, you could just not use the atomic bomber. But in the spirit of constructive feedback, here’s my suggestion: Make the bomber switchable and provide a certain number of nukes for each scenario. The number could vary and could change in either direction mid-scenario. This would capture a 1946-1947 conflict where the supply of nukes was limited and unpredictable.

[VirgilInTheSKY]

Sure, you could just not use the atomic bomber. But in the spirit of constructive feedback, here’s my suggestion: Make the bomber switchable and provide a certain number of nukes for each scenario. The number could vary and could change in either direction mid-scenario. This would capture a 1946-1947 conflict where the supply of nukes was limited and unpredictable.

That's basically what the nuke V-2s do.

[robman]

That's basically what the nuke V-2s do.

It would depend on implementation. If you were to get a set number of nuclear bombs per scenario, get them all at the beginning, and be able to "roll them over" if unused, then yes--this would be like the nuclear V-2s. But I had dimly in mind something less predictable: the scenario might begin with an estimate of the number of nuclear bombs expected to be available, and perhaps some estimate of timing, but random chance would affect both their number and the timing of their arrival. The bomber could either be switchable (conventional vs. nuclear), and thus able to attack every turn, or it could be nuclear-only, and so have to sit unused until a bomb is available. Fodder for thought for future mods or other what-if campaigns.

[Kerensky]

It's easy for someone who thinks the Atomic Horten or Atomic Fugaku is 'too much' to place it into reserve. 1 button click and your problem is solved.

It's not so easy for someone who enjoys blasting away with the new atomic AoE weapons that are the showcase of the DLC both mechanically and visually and lore-wise to re-configure a unit with limited uses per scenario or other such arbitrary restrictions to be able to use it as a normal unit once per turn.

We make rules for everyone to enjoy as much as possible. We didn't make new atomic toys for people to NOT play with them.

After that, it's up to the players to further fine-tune what they would prefer. Not using your atomic bomber, or giving yourself a house rule of only using it a few times, or swearing off all atomic weapon use entirely are all options available.

The content was not balanced around the required use of atomic weapons. A deeply imported force can certainly handle the content without their use. We didn't make 1000 strength units that are only killable with atomic weapons.

[Retributarr]

It's up to the players to further fine-tune what they would prefer. Not using your atomic bomber, or giving yourself a house rule of only using it a few times, or swearing off all atomic weapon use entirely are all options available.

The content was not balanced around the required use of atomic weapons. A deeply imported force can certainly handle the content without their use. We didn't make 1000 strength units that are only killable with atomic weapons.

Question?: Will the "Player" be able to restrict the number of "Atomic Weapons"... or even to completely turn off "Atomic-Weapon-Usage... for "Both Sides"!".

[VirgilInTheSKY]

It's up to the players to further fine-tune what they would prefer. Not using your atomic bomber, or giving yourself a house rule of only using it a few times, or swearing off all atomic weapon use entirely are all options available.

The content was not balanced around the required use of atomic weapons. A deeply imported force can certainly handle the content without their use. We didn't make 1000 strength units that are only killable with atomic weapons.

Question?: Will the "Player" be able to restrict the number of "Atomic Weapons"... or even to completely turn off "Atomic-Weapon-Usage... for "Both Sides"!".

Just edit the map files and remove all atomic units.

[truth80]

I have already finished the 1946 DLC twice, and I pretty much like it! I prefer the large scale scenarios and in this DLC there are many. Basically, I like all maps but it think the Texas side missions have the best feeling.

I like the new tanks, I used a combination of Maus, E-100 and Löwe and the Verdeja 3. The E75s are too weak, they get destroyed quite often. However, I missed new infantry, recon, antitank (maybe sg. like a faster Jagdtiger) and new soft & heavy arty units.

I pretty much liked the nuclear toy features however, the unlimited atomic bombs are really overpowered. I would also recommend to set a max. for each mission (e.g. starting with 1-2) and the bonus objectives could provide some additional load (beside the prestige). For the balance, the US should also use more nuclear strikes and not only one per mission. It requires good tactics, I used crap recons to bait the strike but this may vary between the missions.

I´m also fine with the Landkreuzers, they are not super-overpowered. The 3 Ratte don´t make much sense, as the Landkreuzers are unique anyway they should all have at least different name (e.g. Hamster ) and if possible, slightly different stats. It would provide a great diversity. One of them could be even a powerful AA.

I did all elite objectives, the ideas are great I enjoyed the struggle for them. The rewards are less interesting, I could have imagined something more useful.

The tac bombers became very vulnarable, they are not worth for use apart from a few exceptions. I lost two of my old units.

For the landing in US I expected naval battles also using submarines and strat bombers. I assume it will be the part of the Pacific Corps DLC.

I can now see how you may connect the story of this DLC with the upcoming Pacific Corps. I´m looking forward to the news for that!

[DefiantXYX]

It's easy for someone who thinks the Atomic Horten or Atomic Fugaku is 'too much' to place it into reserve. 1 button click and your problem is solved.

One the one hand you are right, on the other hand it is not the players jobs to balance the game. Afaik you never changed anything concerning traits, options, units and stuff. The forum is full of feedback and solutions, the modding guys already implemented some good options to balance the game.
For 1946 you could have done a small reset. Select 10 of your best units and heroes, the rest has to stay in europe...blabla.
Would have been far easier to balance it.

[kverdon]

I have found SO 1946 an intense disappointment. So many things just don't make any practical or physical reality sense. A land based 18 inch turret is just absurdly, well stupid. It would have made much more sense to invade Nevada and capture Area 51 and have alien technology lead the way. THAT would have made more sense. The narrative in the opening battles does not even match the gameplay. Akagi and Yamato, well protected and with 75% health are magically declared "flaming wrecks". Even the maps don't make sense. Really? Whoever did the map work for the Oregon Coast could not have taken time to use Google Maps and recognize the fact that the Oregon Coast line south of the Coquille River at Bandon is sheer 50 bluffs and the Coquille River is not even on the Map. This also ignores the fact that invading the Oregon Coast in the 40's would have been a joke as there were very few roads and most of the communities, Bandon included, were serviced by Steamship.

I have to really ask WHY there had to be a SO 1946? The story had an ending with 1945 that would have sufficed. Extending it to 1946 makes it look like someone has a German National Socialist lovefest that they just can't give up.

[Retributarr]

I have found SO 1946 an intense disappointment. So many things just don't make any practical or physical reality sense. A land based 18 inch turret is just absurdly, well stupid. It would have made much more sense to invade Nevada and capture Area 51 and have alien technology lead the way. THAT would have made more sense. The narrative in the opening battles does not even match the gameplay. Akagi and Yamato, well protected and with 75% health are magically declared "flaming wrecks". Even the maps don't make sense. Really? Whoever did the map work for the Oregon Coast could not have taken time to use Google Maps and recognize the fact that the Oregon Coast line south of the Coquille River at Bandon is sheer 50 bluffs and the Coquille River is not even on the Map. This also ignores the fact that invading the Oregon Coast in the 40's would have been a joke as there were very few roads and most of the communities, Bandon included, were serviced by Steamship.

I have to really ask WHY there had to be a SO 1946? The story had an ending with 1945 that would have sufficed. Extending it to 1946 makes it look like someone has a German National Socialist lovefest that they just can't give up.

"kverdon"... I am with you on this argument of yours!. To make AO 1946 really work, much more "Player-Input" would be required... to revert this creation from a "Non-Sensical-Game"... into a "Sensible-More Realistic-Game".

And also... i think your statement... "It look like someone has a German National Socialist lovefest that they just can't give up." ... "Has Some Concerning Merit!".

[kverdon]

Thanks, AO1945 provided a very “Rommelesque” end to the series that I could accept. I’m not a huge Rommel fan (and I’ve read Attacks and The Rommel Papers) outside he saw the writing on the the wall in 1943 in that Germany could not compete industrially with the UK/USA alliance. Carrying the series into 1946 tends to provide a glorified whitewashed version of 1940s German National Socialism that I find disturbing in other Slitherine titles.