Unity of Command Black Turn DLC (Dec 2013)

[steve58]

Available 12/10/13

http://unityofcommand.net/blog/2013/11/07/black-turn-operation-barbarossa-1941/

[Apocalypse 31]

Can't wait.

Love this game! It is, in my opinion, the best challenging wargame out there. Not to mention that it looks and plays great.

[Anguille]

Instant buy...great news

[Gusington]

Will also be getting this. Am i correct in reading that our very own ComradeP designed the DLC scenarios??

[BanzaiCat]

I have the Stalingrad Campaign, but not Red Turn. Is Red Turn good as well?

[ComradeP]

Gus, I designed the Red Turn DLC scenarios and the majority of the ones for the upcoming DLC although numerous things were tweaked by Tomislav during the beta.

Banzai_Cat: How much you'd like Red Turn probably depends on how much you liked the Soviet campaign in the original, as there are few German scenarios (just like there are few Soviet scenarios in Black Turn). I guess there might be a DLC bundle at some point in the near future, those things inevitably happen particularly as it'll also release on Steam, so you could wait and get both in a bundle at some point.

[Gusington]

Ladies.and gentleman, the indefatigable, rhyme animal, ComradeP, groggy game designer to the stars.

[Philippe]

To ComradeP:

I'm still working my way through the scenarios but love the game system.  Everybody involved with that series of games should be congratulated.  I've even come to prefer the (not-as-cute-as-people-say-they-look) head and shoulders icons, though I'd never want to see them used in another game.

I'd really love to see a scenario covering the abortive Soviet offensive against Rzhev in 1942, and I have a funny feeling you're the person who could design it.

Any chance I can persuade you to put together an Operation Mars scenario?  It would have to be designed for Red Tide because of where it takes place, even though as a precursor to Stalingrad/Uranus it is part of the first game's time frame.

Operation Mars is on my radar because I've only done a partial mod of the HPS/Tiller game using Volcano Man's (partial mod).  If I ever get around to owning the game I'll know which HQ unit images to replace with my upgraded symbols.  Volcano Man, sadly, probably has too much WWI on his plate to be likely to get around to putting together the _alt scenarios for Rzhev (though if you're into the Great War as much as I am, that cloud has a silver lining).

Having said all of that, the appeal of Operation Mars is that it is a battle that was almost written out of the history books because it didn't fit the Party line.   That, and the fact that it shows a Soviet offensive going horribly wrong should make it an interesting subject for a scenario.

[BanzaiCat]

Banzai_Cat: How much you'd like Red Turn probably depends on how much you liked the Soviet campaign in the original, as there are few German scenarios (just like there are few Soviet scenarios in Black Turn). I guess there might be a DLC bundle at some point in the near future, those things inevitably happen particularly as it'll also release on Steam, so you could wait and get both in a bundle at some point.

Thank you, sir. I've had my eye on it and with this upcoming release, they're both on my 'to purchase' list.

This franchise has so much potential!

[GJK]

More bubble-popping goodness! 

[ComradeP]

Philippe: I'm afraid it's unlikely that there will be a good Operation Mars scenario for UoC because the scale would be too difficult to get right. Too many units in a too confined space for the engine to handle, as it doesn't allow for stacking. It's the same reason there's no Kutuzov scenario in Red Turn even though I did design it: you're literally attacking through a wall of German units, not much fun and it looks silly.

There's also the issue that UoC currently only has "entrenchment" to represent dug-in/fortified units, which give a negative shift modifier to the attacker, and not really fortified positions that make an attack that much harder. Combined with how you can still get good suppression at low odds, it makes attacking dug-in units reasonably simple (though still costly for the Soviets).

It's a problem in many wargames: forts are often represented only by some modifier in the shape of somewhat increased protection for the defender in the form of a percentage bonus, fort levels that multiply defender CV like in WitE, a negative shift modifier for the attacker in UoC or SSG games, or in the case of Panzer Campaigns: changing the target type to hard. As they just influence the formula used in the attack, it can still be too easy to crack fortified positions in those wargames.

I believe Operation Mars using the Kharkov:DotD system was one of the final games SSG was working on, I alphatested it years ago. Sadly, it's unlikely it will be released.

Then there's the matter of available time/scenario duration compared to the capabilities of the attacking units. The longer a scenario becomes, the more vulnerable it gets to the "extreme" outcomes of a system. Taking Panzer Campaigns as an example again: if you have 70 days at 6 daylight turns per day to get somewhere, you're likely to do a better job than your historical counterpart because you have all the time in the world to significantly improve/optimize your unit placement compared to the initial dispositions.

Parts of the community complains that games like Panzer General and UoC offer puzzle-like scenarios with limited freedom of action for the player. What they forget is that a designer offering them a "puzzle" in the form of a fairly short scenario presumably gives them a much more enjoyable experience than giving them a really large scenario where they'll inevitably have a huge advantage over the AI simply because humans are much better at creating a functional long term strategy.

The average AI has issues with defending in a competent manner for the next player turn against a good human player, it has no chance in a ~30+ turn game most of the time. If the designer gives the player a puzzle, still with multiple ways to achieve victory, at least he can make sure the scenario is balanced.

For Black Turn, even though I was initially against it, Soviet step strength has been increased compared to how high it should be historically to make sure they have a chance on the defensive/to balance the scenario. It works well, but it took me some time to get used to doing it as I am fairly strict about historical accuracy (one of the differences between how Tomislav designs scenarios and how I design them is that Tomislav approaches scenarios with a more open mind when it comes to how strong units need to be in order for the scenario to be balanced. I tend to test whether I can make the historical setup work in a way that the attacker can achieve a BV with at most only a limited amount of changes first).

Taifun/Operation Typhoon, is one of the longer scenarios in Black Turn. It's huge in UoC terms and the impact of the weather can be really variable, so it was difficult for me to balance the turn limits for objectives. Obviously, if you get good weather for the more important turns of the scenario (the opening and when you're approaching Moscow), the scenario will be much easier than when you get lots of mud. The Germans being better in terms of attack strength than their Soviet counterpart to an extent that's also difficult to counter for me also makes a German breakthrough more likely. To compensate, you have to capture Moscow to win.

It's an exciting scenario, certainly, but I know some people won't like it because I guess it could feel artificial if the weather cheats them of their victory. As it's a lengthy scenario with a lot of units (in UoC terms), I've tried to minimize the chance that some bad weather in the final turns can make victory impossible. The regular victory limited is quite generous, it's the brilliant victory limit that's fairly tight (but quite possible).

[JasonPratt]

UofSQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

{ahem}

...I may or may not purchase this in the coming future, perhaps...

[ComradeP]

Did Grogheads review Red Turn? I can't seem to find any review using the search function.

If there's an interest in reviewing the game, just PM me and either a file or Steam key will be sent.

Somewhere in roughly the next week or so, there'll also be a Three Moves Ahead episode where the 3MA guys and Tomislav and myself discuss the game. For the people who moved here from the Wargamer, it might be somewhat interesting to hear what I sound like.

[Ubercat]

Did Grogheads review Red Turn? I can't seem to find any review using the search function.

If there's an interest in reviewing the game, just PM me and either a file or Steam key will be sent.

Somewhere in roughly the next week or so, there'll also be a Three Moves Ahead episode where the 3MA guys and Tomislav and myself discuss the game. For the people who moved here from the Wargamer, it might be somewhat interesting to hear what I sound like.

I may have to avoid that Podcast. I don't want to risk having my fantasies of how your voice sounds ruined.  :D

Actually, I've been taking a real close look at UoC the last couple of days. I want to take advantage of the Matrix Holiday sale and UoC is one of the finalists. Am I right in assuming that it's strictly based on campaigns involving small scenarios that only cover part of the map? That would be opposed to something like DC: Case Blue which has the entire front line in the game all at once.

My other contender for purchase is Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. Coincidentally, it sounds like both games have some of the best AI you can get in a game.

[Grimnirsson]

UoC is a great game - highly recommended :)