Here are some reports & suggestions from my current testing campaigns.
Nota Bene - Disclaimer : Newcomers with doubts on the game should assume that i personnally think that this game is already really good, is playable, is not full of bugs and will be even better and better... so what follow is not for them or for trolls looking for feeds
Although i agree that many things need to be done to improve the manual & guides for beginners and their translations.
If SEPRUS agree with any of this concept/proposals, i'm ready to help if you need volunteers (PM me)...
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Political events & features :
The Komuch faction (mostly SR) and/or the promotion to High command of "pro-liberal-democratic" generals in each White faction (South, Siberian, North & North-West) should be a key for the Whites' players to get on a middle & long term a much better support from the peasants and from the western powers :
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About the Komuch, i suggest that the end of the komuch faction should be declared only when all 4 of the main upper Volga towns fall (Samara, Saratov, Simbirsk & Kazan). Then it means :
- the Omsk Directory creation happen and trigger the Koltchak coup event as random (with 50% possibility each turn),
- no more Komuch units, leaders & replacements available,
- the Special Operation "Reform" in the ledger should not be anymore available for the Siberian White faction (Without "right" SR support, Whites loose their last bridge of communication with the peasant world which will really not trust them when/if they ever pretend to agrarian reforms),
- it set events with many strong desertions among the Komuch faction units (WH2 units)
- more conscripts to the Reds, since most of the Komuch leaders and their reamining infantry forces join the Reds, especially after Koltchak Coup.
Untill Komuch sub-faction, as a kind of russian republican provisionnal government & parliament, is still alive :
- Tchekish legion and Foreign intervention in Siberia evacuate much more later,
- It help a lot the promotion of Wrangel as a South White faction High Commander (and even more if there is a Rostov-Tsaritsine-Saratov-Samara-Omsk connexion established on the map, see after)
- The French-Greek fleet and expedionary corps in South Ukrainia (Odessa,...) stay much longer too.
- The event if Koltchak is killed (evt_nam_CMN_KolchakKilled) should of courses not decrease the Siberian White NM by 50...
- the Stavropol-on-Volga revolt event should not occure(evt_nam_Renforts_CMN_VolgaInsurrection). Volga area should still be subject to normal green revolt probability if Green faction get over 51% loyalty.
- BTW : the flag's faction in the game is maybe not the good one : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comit%C3%A9_des_membres_de_l%27Assembl%C3%A9e_constituante (and they were also using the Red flag...)
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About the Koltchak Coup, i suggest :
- it happen randomly (with 50% possibility each turn) only if the Directory event happen, so if Komuch faction is no more (see above),
- it give more British support, better command & generals statistiques (but more corruption & hard occupant abilities) for White siberian faction, it really decrease the Tchekish, French & USA support (less units/replacements available, more locked units,
- it makes it impossible to Wrangel to be promoted High Command of the South Whites (Koltchak would always prefer a Denikin-like subordinate and oppose all possible alternative policies Wrangel may choose. So it makes the alliance with Finland & Baltic states or Ukrainia impossible until Wrangel is in High Command of the White cause (Koltchak and other "right" generals where opposed to give regional autonomy to non-russian peoples, as well as giving independance to Ukrainia, Baltic States & Finland),
- it increase Green & Red loyalty in Volga & Siberia areas,
- it creates local nationalists rebellions (green) east Oural if more than 51% green loyalty or Reds controled rebellion if more than 51% Reds loyalty (if the Reds reach it, investing in their historical "Nationalities policies" Propaganda, using the game's Propaganda regional decisions tool).
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About Wrangel :
Wrangel can be promoted as High Commander of the Whites with the same conditions like currently (South White faction NM should be <50), but :
- If the Komouch faction is still alive (and so if no Koltchak Coup happen) : the required NM value is <60.
- Till a connexion is established on the map between the South White and the Siberian White factions (Rostov <=> Tsaritsin <=> Saratov <=> Samara <=> Omsk) : the required NM value is <70.
- If Denikin is captured and executed or dead in fight : it is allowed without conditions.
Only Wrangel as High Commander of the south Whites should bring this new political options and feature :
- It allow the South White faction to use the Special Operation "Reform" in the ledger. There is no way that Denikin as High Commander could do it. He never even think about it...
- It allow the diplomatic options to be allied with the Baltic States and/or with Finland. Again, before with Denikin and later if Koltchak, it would never happen.
- It allow a niew diplomatic option : Till the polish-Ukrainian war occure (from november 1918 to july 1919) and if the Bolcheviks or the Whites/French occupy all Ukraine east from Kiev-Odessa line, the Ukrainian Nationalist may accept an agreement with Wrangel, the South White player could then ally with the Ukrainian Nationalist faction in Ukraine : Ukrainian faction became playable by WHI faction to fight Bolcheviks and anarchists in Ukraine. Of course it have similar but less NM & EP cost like being allied with the Baltic States or Finland.
I know there such an Option to ally with UKR as WHI in the file RUS F5 Diplomatic Options WHI-DOWs.sct, but it obviously don't works, in my campaign, i only could ally and play with the Baltic & Finland states, no options to do the same for Ukraine was proposed.
NB : If still not established in early 1920, this alliance should not be anymore available, since Poland will get the Ukrainian alliance, like in the History, just before Poland attack Russia.
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About Janin :
If the Koltchak Coup happen before the appointed Russia's Allied High Command general Janin arrive in Omsk, Janin refuse to take its command of all the allied forces in Russia and he stick to its last mission which was to coordinate the Tchekish Legion evacuation (so he should not be a field officer able to command forces in the game like currently but a "political" leader like the Lenin unit). He would never lead White siberian forces like it is possible now in the game (and especially Koltchak's troops after its Coup...), I mean : even the British don't have Leaders in Siberia to lead Whites divisions and they were much more involved than Janin ...
I would let him only few special abilities like the military advisors units and merge it in the Tchekish garrison along the transiberian railroad.
If the Koltchak Coup still don't happen when Janin arrive in Omsk :
- He should then be able to lead freely foreign-only troops in Siberia, like the British leaders in Mourmansk & Arkangelsk.
- he would support for sure the Komuch parliament/government or even the Directory leaded by the "republican" general Boldyrev if already created. Since Janin was send as the High Allied Command in Russia, Koltchak Coup should not may happen anymore in the game because even "right" white generals admitted they need foreign help (pro-Koltchak British advisors may not listen to Janin as usual but would not oppose to him and support a Coup if he is there, especially without clear orders from London for a Coup, which never existed).
- All the events like "evt_nam_WH3_JaninDoubleFace", which decrease everywhere all the siberian White troops cohesion, should not happen anymore (BTW i think this events are not fair, since they probably give a role Janin had never enough power to play).
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About White factions getting closed
Till there is connexions established on the map in 1918 between the South White and the Siberian White factions (Arkangelsk <=> Kotlas <=> Perm <=> Omsk and Rostov <=> Tsaritsin <=> Saratov <=> Samara <=> Omsk), it should increase their political unity and give them advantages, as well as changing major geopolitical facts :
- It should give more EP & NM to the Whites
- It should help the promotion of Wrangel as High commander.
- If Komuch sub-faction is still alive, it get politically stronger (more linked with the western liberal democracies via Black Sea) : maybe more logistic support (WS, Money, Supply and its first artillery units), and after all if White controled, Tsaritsin is added to the list of the 4 Volga towns the Reds should controled to "kill" the Komuch sub-faction.
- It delay the evacuation of all the foreign interventions.
- If the Tchekish legion is still in Volga area, it concentrate its forces there instead of all along the transiberian and start to evacuate via Tsaritsin & the Black Sea or via Kotlas & Arkangelsk, according to the connexions established, instead of all along the transiberian railroad.
- No more Tchekish in Siberia from 1919 will change the linked events (later if Koltchak is High Commander after its Coup, he have less chance to be arrested and executed, Transsiberian railroad defenses are much weak, US troops leave immediatly Vladivostok, etc.)
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About ruling the country side
To improve the fact that the country side should be controled to get food, fournitures & conscripts (not only the towns and the railroads axes inbetween like currently played) :
- Regional policies in the ledger (F7) should be available only when a player control (51+% MC) more than 2/3 of the area's regions. A mouse cursor information explaining why a player still can't performe a regional policy should pop in the ledger (F7).
- The green & anarchist faction AI should focus on occupying all the empty regions of an area (so it should avoid to attack non-little forces they see). It should be made up with partisan-only units/forces which use ambush order systematically and do not need supply (not only regular or milicias units with supply chariots which make them so visible like now). This should force the players to fight around the Greens/Blacks in the country side if they really want to realize any regional policies (conscription, reforms, repression, etc.).
In my GC, all the anarchists died. I never meet them with the whites till july 1919, then i switch the sides and i took the reds but i have still no anarchists faction in my hands, although i can choose the option "Stop alliance with the anarchists" in the ledger. It's like if they never had been there. About the topic, i said also before : "As soon as the Melitopol div. pop up, we can order it to march to the anarchist depot of Huliaipole, which is empty of defenders. No Makhno army in late january 1919 ? Although the event which annonce the arrival of the Tachankas warfare from the anarchists in the game..."
The Green, Anarchist & Ukrainian factions need also a good realistic AI, because it concern also PBEM players which need it (yes, i speech for my selfish cause...), but i understand it's maybe not a priority.
So i will suggest at least something simple and efficient : this factions should get only units which never need supply.
- Military Control should increase automatically by 1% each turn to the faction which have more than 80% loyalty in a region. This simulate the local scale civil war activities in a region.
- The food should not be produced only in towns (which is absurd, especially in the Russian Civil War, were the struggle for the urban people to get food was amazing and explain why the Bolcheviks had to organize regular food expeditionary brigades to the country side) : i suggest that only each clear/woods/prairies region (including the ones with towns) should give few food production points. That's all. Then players really have to care of the food regions. I suppose the current Supply system will still work, towns gathering the food from around and if with depots, sending it elsewere.
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About the Frenchies in the South
- The French-Greek expeditionary corps arrive in front of Odessa only in march 1919 : according to the biography of its generals, this corps arrived in Odessa in december 1918... and leave in april 1919 as soon as the Red army arrived in a neighboring region to avoid mutinery among its troops. During this short time they pushed away the local Reds along the sea coast, but in the game, Odessa and all Ukrainia is occupied by the nationalist ukrainians, so the player can use, probably not in a realistic way, this foreign forces in a deep big campaign against the Ukrainian faction instead of the Reds which are not here at all (as well as the anarchist faction which let empty its 2 depots of West & East Ukrainia and which forces i never meet at all, as a South White player)...
As Red player, i even face French Corps in Tula, i stoped playing before they entered in Moscow... which is not realistic of courses (or it means radical alternate historical conditions, like a still alive Komuch government supported by the French government and a still there Tchekish legion on the field. Even with that, most of the "Front d'Orient" French soldiers wouldn't accept to go deep in Russian territory after already 4 years of WWI spend OUTSIDE France in the Balkans...).
Maybe it would be better to pop up the French & Greek forces only in the 3-4 locations they landed and then lock them in this regions, and remove them according to other events. And all Ukrainian Nationalist units in this locations should be moved elsewhere.
See here for more details : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_War_of_Independence#Resumed_hostilities.2C_1919
- Berthelot Corps was not in Ukraine or Russia like in the game most of this times ...but in Hungaria. There could be also a simulation of the Revolution in the Hungaria region during the year 1919 (with a high strategic value there, the Red player could care of Communist Hungaria and the White player the French Corps (Romania territory is open but Romanian troops stay locked. The White South Russian player could then choose to engage there its Berthelot French Corps (to get Hungaria objective and/or not to loose Roumanian objectives) ...and use it later freely in Ukrainia if he finished the job before end summer 1919. Or send it directly to Ukrainia and give up with Hungaria, with a very high EP/foreign help cost..., but he would then get an unlocked French Corps able to go deeper in Ukrainia.
It could be also an interesting challenge for the Red player to try to help the Hungarian revolution...
- Finally, all French-Greek reinforcements arriving could be unlocked but theyshould get regular mutiny random events which block them (like evt_nam_WHI_French&GreekMutinery) and it should be also very strong desertion events if they ever go out from Ukraine (like evt_nam_RED_RedArmyDeserters).
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About the transiberian railroad
- It would be interesting if each railroad region between Omsk & Vladivostok get a VP value (1 or 2) to push the partizan to cut the railroad and give a reason to the White garrison to clean between the stations. Except to drive fiew bonus supply units coming from Vladivostok, the white player currently don't care if the railroad is cut or not.
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About early ammunition production
I read that the Reds had huge problems of ammunition production during the year 1919, they had sometimes to move back whole corps/front because of that. Maybe it could be nice to have 2 events opening and closing this period were the Reds controled towns would get a very low ammo production ? So the player have to try to save and spend carefully the number of battles he starts.
The Whites depend also totally on the foreign help, not on local production.
To simulate this, i would remove all ammo production in the towns of the map, except some in the fiew big main towns.
- When players build manufactures in the options' ledger, they will get WS and now much more ammo production there.
- When Foreign interventions arrive, all their usual coastal towns they control will get ammo production. It will also show much better the strategic control of the transiberian railroad supply line for the Siberian White faction.
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About ghost events
All the events which stay unknowned by the players are useless and bring them confusion and more difficulties to understand the rules !!
This events should be removed or should have a proper displayed event information during the game :
- evt_nam_RED_LoseVPWHI (-10 VP if reds loose Ekaterinodar)
- evt_nam_RED_LoseVPWH3 (-10 VP if reds loose Omsk)
- all the events like evt_nam_WH3_JaninDoubleFace (-5 cohesion for all units in all theatre... common...i understand now why i was confused when trying to understand the abnormal changing cohesion of my units in my last game...)
- many options/events in the file RUS F3 Options Reinforcements.sct ( like evt_nam_RED_PartialMobilizationXXXX) never diplay the information that players get many different replacements added to the official hundreds of Conscripts (so players can't know that this policy is in fact much more interesting that is said) and after all, many times, the events' Conditions evaluate an amount of EP required which is superior to the amount of EP that is substract, so players won't understand why the option they choosed the turn before didn't activated...
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About Lenin :
- Lenin assassination event (evt_nam_Flavor_CMN_LeninAssassination) is not a scientific fact, it should be random, as well as its results :
- it may happen from early 1918 till the end of the game (but not anymore again after it happen).
- If it not happen, the tcheka policy regional decisions shoud anyway be available at the end of the year 1918.
- if it happen, a random chance is he die, then the game should have an alternate scenario : what would be the consequences ? it could be :
- Reds loss 50 NM like in the current events where Lenin is captured and executed...
- a triumvirate with Trotski and other leader would be created, changing the leaders seniority order
- other consequences ?????
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About Tcheka military units & Political Commissar units :
Tcheka military units were used mainly to food requisitions, police & fight against local rebellions, military police reducing the desertions in the Red army. So i would rather give them abilities which :
- improve their fighting values against all kind of green, black or whites partizans/irregular/milicias units.
- improve their police & patrol values to simulate their role to control a region (best used with the concept of food production extented to clear/prairies/Woods/ regions without towns).
- allow the regional decisions Tcheka Policy to be activate in the area were they are (if no Tcheka military units, no such policy could be implemented...).
- plus their current ability against desertion (BTW, how it is working ?)
The Political Commissar main role was more to control the military hierarchy and be sure they will follow the orders of the government, not to hunt deserteurs in the woods.
To not make a double feature with the Tcheka military units, i would remove the current ability against desertion the Commissar units share with the Tcheka military units and replace it with abilities which :
- improve the command capacity and/or the strategic/att/def values of the leader of the force were they are.
- stop a new feature which could randomly lock or delay the movment (like the ships in AACW) of a basic force without commissar. A solution to lock them a turn would be this event's code (but it need an other Attribute than the one here ("PoliticalUnit") only the Political Commissar would have... :
Code: Select all
SelectFaction = $RED
SelectRegion = $Moscow
StartEvent = evt_nam_RED_RedArmyPolitKoms|999|1|NULL|NULL|$Moscow|NULL
Conditions
MinDate = 1917/12/01
Probability = 50
SelectSubUnits = Families $famRegular $famMilitia
EvalSubUnitSel = NULL
Actions
AlterCuSubUnits = ApplyToList;SetFixing 1;Attempts 1;SkipAttribs 100 *PoliticalUnit*
DescEvent = evt_desc_RED_RedArmyPolitKoms
EndEvent
This will makes also more sens to buy VOKhR brigade type unit to get the both combinated abilities/features of Chekist lines unit and VOKhR battalion.
- Reds should also have a more limited amount of Political Commissar, VOKhR and Cheka military units, and it should have a political cost. Since it was most of them members of the Party, i suggest that all the ledger options "Party Members Join the Army" (in the file RUS F3 Options Reinforcements.sct) don't only give 50 basic conscripts anymore but increase also each time it is activated the number of this political units available in the unit building pool. This options should also cost also 20 VP each and some EP (many of this workers will die and it is the main political support of the Bolcheviks among the population).
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Various reports :
- Check if after the end WWI demobilization events, it still not exist their Army unit & command (is the General Syrovy unit as Tchekish Army unit still there ? He's not listed in the event's code lines (evt_nam_WH3_CzechCMNDemobilizeA). It happen in my game that the Tchekish Legion army unit staid all the game, but i'm not sure if it's still runing like that after all the patches.
- When merging Tachankas unit in a combined unit, it don't change the value of Initiative of any units in the statistique board (the fire support ability says +1 initiative points for all elements of the unit). Is it WAD ?
- In my GC, i noted there were a Red naval force in front of Perm which survived on the icy river all the winter 1918-19, without any attrition and stoping all that time the crossing of earth forces (although it can't be attacked).
- there is problem with the number of days forces need to enter an icy river/lake/coastal region. It's far too much : sometimes it is much longer than going in the region wich is behind the river.
- Around march 1919, there is no more any North White replacements in the ledger (F2). Troops are getting in attrition.
- Early april event : 2 British armored car units appear in Persia, but from South White faction, so they can't be used in this white siberian area.
- If not already done : it miss a railroad connexion in the region of Talsi (Lettonie, close to Ventspils port).
- There 2 river regions in Ukrainia which stay locked and "not playable in the scenario", even after German evacuation : Psel Confluent & Upper Donets.
- The naval zone "Kronstadt Approaches" is "oceanic" instead of "coastal". It block many ships (North-West Whites can't bring their Pskov river ships to upper Volga if Petrograd fall). Is it WAD ?
- There is no message which say if ships are bombed by coastal forces with artillerie like in AACW ? (e.g. Kronstadt let the British fleet naval blocking Petersburg, obviously without bombing it...).
- The abilities of Lenin may won't work at all : since he's the kind of game's leader wich can't lead a force on the field, its both abilities Propagandist & Charismatic (which work only if commanding the force) will never work.
- This 2 regions North from Kursk are obviously designed to be "Woods", but they are currently "Clear" : Fatezh & Kromy
- The Tatarsk region (Omsk district, Siberia) is locked and display "Not playable in this scenario" for the Reds. Is it WAD ?
- i wonder if the event "Denikin killed" (evt_nam_CMN_DenikinKilled in RUS FlavorEvents.sct) can happen if its condition is "evt_nam_CMN_KornilovDies", because i never saw this event about Kornilov.
- evt_nam_Flavor_CMN_LeagueOfNations (it miss description of the event, and maybe any effect ?)
- evt_nam_Flavor_CMN_TreatyOfVersailles (idem)
- evt_nam_Renforts_GRN_BlackSeaInsurrection (maybe set more regions where it can appear than 3 to avoid gamey blocus, why this insurrection happen ? Should be linked with the green loyalty of this regions/area)
- evt_nam_Renforts_CMN_VolgaInsurrection (idem)
- evt_nam_WHI_USLeaveRussia (should happen earlier if tchekish legion evacuated via black sea)
- evt_nam_CMN_TambovUprising (it should happen only if the Whites are east to Omsk and in Crimea or Odessa or Kouban, except if the Komouch is still alive, then conditions could stay like this.) => the peasants historically did waited that the reactionary whites be defeated to revolt against the Bolcheviks, so it can't happen if the Whites are still in Russian inlands !!!
- evt_nam_CMN_KronstadtDefy (i have read that Reds loose -5 NM each turn till Kronstadt is hold by anarchists/bolcheviks rebels, but i wonder if it really works with the current code, it's look like a one shot -5NM only).
- All the "X Army near Y" events of the file RUS All Includes.sct have a huge value (EvalSubUnitCount = >=;100). Maybe 60 elements could be better because armies with 100 elements seems very hard to gather and not common to me in RUS (not like in AACW)...
- In the file RUS All Scenarios.sct file, the event about deserters (evt_nam_RED_RedArmyDeserters) cover the whole period of the war. I would split it in one such event per year which period cover only the historical period of massive peasants desertions, like each early spring and late summer periods, i believe.
- I would create such desertion events for the Whites too ! Escpecially after some events : Koltchak Coup (which distrust many peasants when seeing the very end of right SR influence among the White side), etc...
- The ledger options "Prisonners Recruitment" text says it brings bad effects among the army, but i don't see any bad effect from this events (in the file RUS F3 Options Reinforcements.sct). Maybe they should cost some VP.
Thank you for your long attention if you're still there...
!!
sorry, i don't understand you very well... 
