Beta release of Bolt out of the Blue V10.0.

Jarin · 05-16-2022, 06:01 AM,

Any news when this one will be official? Dont want to start with this awesome monster yet just to restart again :-)

nukkxx · 06-12-2022, 06:41 PM,

June 2022 - and I think it's still beta ... (?)
Would be interested to know as well. Or if the beta version is enjoyable, and enough reliable to start a PBEM.

2-81 Armor · 06-16-2022, 12:08 AM,

(05-16-2022, 06:01 AM)Jarin Wrote: Any news when this one will be official? Dont want to start with this awesome monster yet just to restart again :-)

I'd say you're on pretty safe ground if you start a game.

I was one of the original testers who got a beta copy of version 10 to test prior to WDS including it in a game update. Trust me when I say that was long before the WDS update came out, and the designer (Tazaaron) stopped communicating with us after a short time. I don't think anybody has heard from him since.

Aaron is very talented, full of innovative ideas, and does great research. He used to, years ago be quite a prolific poster here at he Blitz, but now has more or less gone dark. No one knows why, but I hope he's OK.

So, smart money says there won't be any version 11, or a version 10 update anytime soon, if ever. (Now that I said that watch one pop tomorrow!)

nukkxx · 06-17-2022, 06:40 AM,

And do you recommend the beta 10 or the regular Bolt out of the blue scenario from the stock game ?

2-81 Armor · 06-17-2022, 07:35 AM,

(06-17-2022, 06:40 AM)nukkxx Wrote: And do you recommend the beta 10 or the regular Bolt out of the blue scenario from the stock game ?

I'd go with beta 10. Aaron reworked it so that units from both sides are starting at their respective home stations. The map was enlarged, and now covers an area from the Oder River in the east, to the west bank of the Rhine in the west. He also re-did helicopters so that they now function like regular air support, no longer on map.

nukkxx · 06-17-2022, 07:59 AM,

I noticed many units are fixed in the beta scen in the early game. Is it not an issue ? Doesn't it take too long before they unfix or is the game interesting rapidly ?

2-81 Armor · 06-17-2022, 10:46 AM,

(06-17-2022, 07:59 AM)nukkxx Wrote: I noticed many units are fixed in the beta scen in the early game. Is it not an issue ? Doesn't it take too long before they unfix or is the game interesting rapidly ?

I suggest you use the scenario editor, and have a look at things. You should be able to get all of the information you need that way.

nukkxx · 06-19-2022, 02:41 AM,

Well, I don't know how the editor is working ... And I don't really want a spoiler.
I'm just confused that 90% the WP units are fixed at the beginning. So what am I suppose to do ?
I don't want to attack with just a few disseminated divisions. So I will sit there and wait that my units un-fix. I'm not sure to understand the point. In the vanilla version of bolt, nearly all units are available from turn 1, which makes sense to me. But in beta 10, they are all frozen (fixed).
Would appreciate your views on this ...

Outlaw Josey Wales · 06-20-2022, 12:39 AM,

It doesn't make sense that WP is unfixed while Nato is fixed either. I was in West Germany 80-82 and there was no way WP could have a build up without Nato knowing about it and doing nothing. Anytime WP moved a unit, it was closely monitored. Any time Div or larger, we went on alert.

2-81 Armor · 06-20-2022, 02:20 AM,

(06-20-2022, 12:39 AM)Outlaw Josey Wales Wrote: It doesn't make sense that WP is unfixed while Nato is fixed either. I was in West Germany 80-82 and there was no way WP could have a build up without Nato knowing about it and doing nothing. Anytime WP moved a unit, it was closely monitored. Any time Div or larger, we went on alert.

I was also there 3 times between 1971-1985, and I do agree fully that Bolt Out of The Blue style scenarios, while apparently designed to give the WP an initial advantage and make things more "fun" are not totally realistic. In my experience NATO worst case planning was based on only having 48-72 hours warning, and best case 5-7 days of a possible attack. To do such a scenario using the Tiller modern system would require a house rule that enforces a mobilization period, since there is no other way to do it. (The TOAW system, and of course board games like SPI's Next War with the "Tension" scenarios do support this.)

Wargame scenarios/books that feature anyone blasting out of garrison and rolling into an all out attack with no preparation and deployment may make exciting reading and game play, but I sincerely doubt they could have happened IRL. (We're all lucky we never had to find out!). Just my personal opinion here, and while I'm at it, why is everything in this genre centered around 1985? Beyond sexy, "modern" weapons systems what's the attraction? For a real challenge (when it comes to NATO readiness/training), maybe something based on a crisis during the 1973 October War might be a little more "realistic"?

I don't regard using the editor to look any scenario over as spoiling things. If you disagree with a scenario designer's way of depicting things, you can always make changes. With a monster sized thing like Bolt it's a ton of work, taking a very long time, but it can be done. Units can be "unfixed" as one sees fit, and the releases can be eliminated or modified too. It's just a question of ensuring there are no conflicts or contradictions when doing it.

I'm not anticipating anything new beyond graphic changes, and bug fixes in the Modern Campaigns series. It seems to be complete, and more or less in maintenance status. Nothing at all wrong with that.