Panzer campaigns mindset assistance

Outlaw Josey Wales · 01-31-2009, 12:24 AM,

I agree with LBouton also about the team games. They may take longer, but like he said you only have a portion of the units to move while still being a part of the whole campaign. Plus, if you can get in with some of the more experienced players, you can learn a few things from them. And then still do a couple smaller scenarios. You can play many more campaigns than 1vs1s with the time saved.

Lowlander · (This post was last modified: 01-31-2009, 01:48 AM by Lowlander.)

You've gotta keep scribbling notes otherwise you'll forget things.
This is a must during the replay.

Small scenarios are OK but some opponents might be too familar with and have a favourite one for unsuspecting cannon fodder !!!.

Campaign games are the way forward as you can afford some mistakes as you have a lotta units.
Also they are great value for money.
Has took me just over a year to play Sgt Fury's Belorussia mod for the Minsk campaign of 147 turns.
But usually a result is achived before the end.

Team games, sorry it's only my opinon but I've only played the one and never again, you have a good target for airstrikes and find your team mates have used them all.
And if we all watched the replay !!!.
Then you have hols, sickness , PC troubles and family commitments etc.
And the more players the longer it takes to pass the game file around.
But again it's only my veiw.

Also I play War in the Pacific which is bigger than any HPS game and I've never seen a team play this husky.

jward · 01-31-2009, 04:13 AM,

Thanks for all the great replies - they've been very helpful.

I've settled in on playing Sicily '43 as it starts off a bit slow and then builds up a bit.

I also want to avoid getting so familiar with the games that you end up playing with a set strategy. There's nothing like facing the onslaught for the first time and trying to adjust on the fly.

Jeff

FLG · (This post was last modified: 01-31-2009, 06:43 AM by FLG.)

jward Wrote:Dear All,

I've been playing some of the HPS games that've been sitting on the shelf for awhile. As a former board gamer who played some of the monster games, I'm surprised to find the larger scenarios in these games intimidating.

For example, the full campaign in Bulge '44 seems mind boggling. Now, I do like detailed games and have no problem with the smaller scenarios, but how do you all mentally approach something like the full operational battles?

Thanks!

The best thing to do is just pick a campaign and dive in. It can seem very daunting and this is not uncommon. I have seen many posts from people in your position. When I bought War in the Pacific it took me over two months before I could get the right mind set to play such a monster. The amount of detail was overwhelming.

Lots of people have offered good advice. Do try to have a plan, even just a high level one. And it helps to take notes to help you remember what you wanted to do. But at the end of the day you just have to bite the bullet and start playing.

I can guarantee by turn 7 you will be well into the swing of things and it will all just start to flow naturally.

Oh and it doesn't matter if you make a mistake. You have hundereds of turns in a campaign, more than enough time to bring things around if they start to go astray.

**Mr Grumpy** · 01-31-2009, 07:25 AM,

Lowlander Wrote:Team games, sorry it's only my opinon but I've only played the one and never again, you have a good target for airstrikes and find your team mates have used them all.
And if we all watched the replay !!!.
Then you have hols, sickness , PC troubles and family commitments etc.
And the more players the longer it takes to pass the game file around.
But again it's only my veiw.

I am afraid you have been unlucky here, it takes a few attempts, but once you find reliable opponents for a teamgame they can be the most enjoyable games you can play, also i find watching a replay using F8 (slowing to view action with F6) does not take that long.

Lowlander · (This post was last modified: 02-01-2009, 01:24 AM by Lowlander.)

Yes I won't disagree with anyone, as I pointed out it's only my opinon, everyone is different and playing at various skill levels.

These games are so informative with the oob's and map etc, we should all be thankful to HPS and the dedicated staff who have worked so hard to produce these masterpieces.

And not forgetting the wonderful mods and scenarios by so many others, thanks for sharing your work with your fellow wargamers.

**Mr Grumpy** · 01-31-2009, 10:53 PM,

Lowlander Wrote:Yes I won't disagree with anyone, as I pointed out it's only my opinon, everyone is different and playing at various skill levels.

These games are so informitive with the oob's and map etc, we should all be thankful to HPS and the dedicated staff who have worked so hard to produce these masterpeices.

And not forgetting the wonderful mods and scenarios by so many others, thanks for sharing your work with your fellow wargamers.

Indeed!

von Waldenburg · (This post was last modified: 02-02-2009, 03:34 PM by von Waldenburg.)

At the beggining of the campaign I like to grasp the structure of the forces at my disposal, fronts or army groups, then armies, and then corps to begin with (the bigger the campaign the more important I consider this in my play). As game progresses practicing with your units lets you time to study names of divisions within some corps or other details that will help you more tactically. Think strategic, then tactically.

As I move probably the most important formation I'd say is the corps (several divisions). And it's also an easy way to divide your duties ;)

These kind of things eventually, after some turns 10 or so, begins to create a rich picture of the fight in your head.

c00per · 02-04-2009, 12:53 PM,

LBouton Wrote:"team" games. Larry

Playing one now, and I must admit this is a great option. Liquid sky and I have played many board games from Europa to ASL and I find campaign team games the way to go.

Hank · 03-31-2009, 05:02 AM,

I am currently playing the Kharkhov campaign scenario against the AI. I'm trying to develop some techniques for playing these big scenarios and found the posts here helpful.

In regards to using the AI features and tools to make gameplay in campaigns go smoother and faster (but not necessarily better):
I use AI Movement occassionally and if I want an all out "mad minute" (or mad hour) for that turn I'll occassionally use AI Fire AFTER I've made all the moves and fire (and assault) orders I feel are needed to accomplish my goals. The AI movement and AI fire are in the AI pop down menu. You don't have to use the end of the turn to execute AI commands if you don't want to.

I use the other "organizational movement" technique to move divisions from point-A to point-B (for lack of a better word - since I'm not at my gaming 'puter to check the proper term).
This is the move order where you click the hex a unit(s) resides (do not select a unit), hold down the Alt key and click on the hex you want them to move to. Very nice especially for road and rail movement; except you need to check the units (primarily at the tail end of the column) and see if they have more movement available. The AI sometimes stops short of a trailing unit's full movement allowance I assume because of hex stacking limits.

The main question I have about the AI: I've heard how the AI is not good at campaigns over the duration of the scenario. I've found the AI to be pretty good in the first quarter or third of the game.

How far into the scenario does the AI tend to become less effective? Is it half way or 3/4 way through the battle? (or is each Title's AI different? ... i.e., Kursk vs Bulge vs pick any battle)

I suppose I could keep running through the turns until I notice funny stuff from the AI.

Correct me if I'm wrong about the AI. I've never played a full campaign against the AI so I have no past experience to share. In fact I've never played a full campaign pbem either.