Posts made by allboxcars

Arty firing from adjacent territories?  
Did Gerald Bull make this house rule?  :-D

IMO 25 km is probably maximum fire support for heavies. If they ain’t following me then they ain’t helping me for long.

@mwindianapolis:

@allboxcars:

personally I’m hoping the new game breathes some new life into these fora.

Yes I am an FNG but still - looking around and just reading some threads more or less at random - this place seems to be stagnant with something wavering between indifference and dogma.

COOL!!! My first Karma point! Negative naturally…

Well, it seems to me if you are going to kling to the same basic game (axis and allies) then not much can be done to send fresh air in. Just how much new stuff could be done…like start trek, they have been there and done that…many times over!

Actually it wasn’t the game I thought needed “fresh air” but this place.

@Upside-down_Turtle:

@Imperious:

no its too many pieces and ideas to keep track of.

agreed

and yet, if I saw you in a desert….

@Emperor_Taiki:

@allboxcars:

But…… if you wanted a shortcut and kept it simple… hmmm

How does this reflect history?

your industrial production does not translate at all to having more veterans in your army
this just does not make any sence, adds very little strategy, what is the point?

well like I said, it was a shortcut that might make an otherwise unwieldy and confusing veterans rule playable.

So yup. I agree 100% that IPC level doesn’t connect with veteran production.

Since every variant and house rule set I’ve read still entails monitoring your IPC income and we know the ceiling for IPC the 1:10 ratio means FMG (or whomever) would only need to make… 10 Veterans per player maximum.
And IMO that’s far more practicable than tripling or quadrupling the number of pieces so that each one can be upgraded for surviving every fight.

I guess you could just give everybody 10. Just ditch the linkage to IPC altogether but still avoid having a bizillion pieces.

As for strategy: generally limiting any “improved” unit and then leaving it up to the player as to when it goes on-board would have to add to the strategy, I’d think… more so than the more realistic rule where every survivor gets upgraded.
No?

For example: I’m returning my five surviving infantry from the battle board and I’ve got one more veteran infantry piece set aside that I can place… do I make one of those surviving infantry “veteran”?  (Pooling veterans rather than flooding it with recruits.)  Or do I hold that last veteran piece off-board until another combat is resolved on another front…

Anyway, again rather than try to make this work-able or discussion worthy…

@allboxcars:

… mind you, no matter what, keeping tabs on battlefield experience is just a “bookkeeping” nightmare unless you have a myriad of sculpts.

@Imperious:

no its too many pieces and ideas to keep track of.

:lol: honestly, too much to keep track of?  this is nothing compared to some of the rules on infantry production, IC costs, strategic movement… oh the list goes on!

but thanks, always appreciate the open-minded approach of a moderator  :wink:

@Imperious:

Well to make it exactly like AARHE, you would need one difference:

The first round only attacking infantry fire, then in other rounds all other land units can fire.

Also, we allow retreats and each unit doing this is converted to infantry and reembarked.

Naw, not a fan of my arty and armour sitting on their hands for an entire round.
But I do like the Dunkirkian feel of the infantry conversion.

@Imperious:

Secondly you cant damage a second BB before you sink the first BB. That makes more sence, so these auto hits actually cost a BB if you really want to sink it you can.

IMO, not seeing the realism or sense in that. And whenever a rule dictates where the owner takes his casualties it’s a step not taken lightly.

@creeping-deth87:

I’m confused… I’m new here, but in the A&A50 rule book there’s no mention of allowing you to use escorting fighters or to use fighters around your I.C. to defend against incoming bombers. It clearly just says ‘after resolving any anti-aircraft fire, surviving bombers each roll one die’.

It’s an Official optional rule.

You can find it here.

http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/bb2/viewtopic.php?t=1759

(and if that doesn’t post as a link, my apologies)

OK.
For effects, how about each bomb:
1. makes any VC in the target territory count towards the attacker’s possessions
2. destroys any IC and AA
3. kills d6 units (owner’s choice)
4. reduces the IPC of the target territory by d6
5. makes the owner hand over d6 IPCs to the bank (emergency relief $$ out of your war production economy)

With regards to 1, I was originally tempted to suggest just stripping the city of VC status but then you’d have to re-calculate what is required to maintain the 15/18 victory conditions etc.

Anyway, this leaves the politics of surrender within the player’s call but really makes continuing the war unfeasible.

Beyond this I can only suggest, after the second bomb, subsequent bombs will:
6.  permit opposing players to descend on the resisting defender and give him a wedgie and devour his beer / snacks until he agrees the game is over.

But…… if you wanted a shortcut and kept it simple… hmmm

Have one different sculpt of infantry (for example) and cap your veteran formations at 1 veteran unit per 10 IPC income so you’re not going to have an army of all veterans and run out of sculpts.

Maybe have a minimum of 2. Anyway, these go into a player’s pool.

So, when removing surviving infantry (to stick with our example) from the battleboard the player can substitute them for a veteran sculpt as long as he has some in his pool.

Killed veterans will go back into the pool provided the number in the pool doesn’t exceed the 1:10 cap. Otherwise once “in play” they cannot be exchanged for non-veteran pieces: veterans only go on & off the board thru combat.

If at any time you have more in play than you’re entitled (because your IPC level drops) you’re permitted the excess… cuz chances are you deserve the break… and attrition will ensure you comply with the cap as your veterans die off.

As for advantages… I’d be tempted to make them 2 hit infantry. Their additional hardiness reflecting coolness under fire, wisdom / wariness, resilience and familiarity with auftragstaktiks / SOPs of those who have seen the elephant.

It won’t recognize all combat survival but it does save the in-game paperwork.

OK kicking around ideas for how I see Amphib Invasion…

1. Sea battle if required.

2. AA

3. Air battle until only one side has fighters in the target territory (defending fighters permitted to retreat).

4. If no sea battle but defending subs are present, defending subs may elect to surprise strike or remain submerged… even if only “attacking” naval unit is transport.  In this case, transports are considered unloaded after first cycle of sub strikes.

5. If no sea battle, offshore bombardment.

6. Defending artillery fires with casualties removed immediately (no return fire).

7. First round general ground combat: all non-infantry land units attack at 1 less than normal and no 1:1 arty bonuses.

8. General ground combat occurs as per normal, no blitzing…

So in other words, aside from my air supremacy thang in step 3 and  U-boats off Dieppe in step 4, the rest of the steps try to:
(a) give defending arty the chance to punish those little ankle-biters suddenly swarming your pre-sited kill zones, and
(b) reflect that offensively, initially you’re just trying to sort out where’s… well pretty much anything and how did sand get in there!!  Forget about returning effective fire and all arms cooperation.

mmm thinking if you’re talking local defense it’s part of the infantry D.

Larger scale minefields… well, maybe a fortress / blockhouse piece would include them. (If we had such a piece.)

@Cmdr:

Now, admittedly, I think in most games submarines are virtually useless.  They’re more of a way too keep your opponent honest and protect his transports than anything else.

Sadly I think the key to unlocking the proper value of submarines as a strategic weapon is tied to realizing economic warfare… which in turn requires a much more complex and broader set of house rules, re-drawn sea zones, possible ownership of Das Boot…

@squirecam:

Some pics of the event are here.

http://www.geocities.com/headlesshorseman2/Origins.html

Thanks for posting the pics…. looking at the one captioned “AA50 Big board” looks like somebody left the water running in Rome…

Traditionally, tanks have been considered limited on the defence unless supported by infantry.

OK, yes we ALL know that each piece represents a combined arms formation, still… thinking about reducing armour’s D to 2 unless paired up with an infantry unit in which case the tank is D3 on a 1:1 basis.

Make anyone re-think the cannon fodder role of infantry?

I’d add the rule that before using the piece, the owner must first loudly declare “I’m going commando!” to activate it.

Commando attacks get +1 bonus for each opposing player who does a “spit take” in reacting to the announcement.

Heavy…. as in obese?

hmmm… A1 D1 Move 0.5 Cost $6 (double rations) and they have the “special attack” of reducing IPC income from wherever they’re posted as they convert the war economy into fast-food outlets.

And another question if they were in a formerly Neutral territory would they be “bipartisans”?

@Upside-down_Turtle:

Maybe you could make units “upgradable”.  Say after a unit goes through so many battles, you can pay a few IPCs to turn it into an elite unit.

mmm I dunno. Seems that buying the upgrade detracts from the Veteran aspect… mind you, no matter what, keeping tabs on battlefield experience is just a “bookkeeping” nightmare unless you have a myriad of sculpts.

@Bjergmose:

We like to play with nobs  :wink:

Makes it more interesting  :-o

is that a dice tower or are you just happy to be allies?