After having played 1½ games of P2V I’d like to say that I really like the feel of game-play regarding both Russia and China, and more specifically the german and japanese conquest thereof. You guys have done a very good job!
In OOB it is just a simple max throttle towards Moscow getting that train into motion for a secure capital take-down á la Crushia. After having done it 2-3 times it becomes rather boring. Like an overly prolonged opening. Japan can go for a J1DOW which spices things up, but otherwise has not much more to do than getting into position and send punches on China.
In BM3 play is much richer and heading more towards the long-term economic game. I like it, but still view Russia and China as a ather single-minded approach with pretty much similarity to OOB. Of course with some apparent differences, like that an early sack of Moscow is not easy to execute at all.
With P2V I get a much more a sensation of strategic goals and gains. In Russia there are now actually atleast two pretty divided fronts. Russia is super-strong, but also has to handle heavy pushing from several directions.
Think I read something that @AndrewAAGamer wrote before commencing his first game in P2V recently, namely that he’d plan to focus on the Atlantic instead of pushing against Russia because he wouldn’t be able to take the capital swiftly. It’s true, but also only half the truth.
I think it’s still very viable to make that Barbarossa-endeavour, but it will just look a bit different in P2V. Mechs are rather expensive all of a sudden, so much more bulk of the army has to be inf and art. Progress is slower, but still strong if patient.
I really like it when Germany pushes strongly both north and south. They have to make a lot of choices. Something that however also applies to Russia. In the previous maps it was a rather just simple recipe of first hold Bryansk, then hold Moscow. Of course with a lot of skirmishes in between, but still. Should be so much more fun to play a Russia like this!
The same goes for China. It’s stronger in P2V and thus has the potential of playing a more important role. Not that it was truly insignificant in previous versions, like the French, but still more limited.
In P2V Japan has to choose more strongly whether to unleash towards China or UK-Pac. The latter is likely prefered, but yet, the northern territories are more easily contested in the early game and does carry with them some lucrative bounty. Also, if unchecked the chinese will be, as usual, a severe pain in the ass!
So, towards the middle-ground and maybe some constructive feedback. I experience that the simplification of the Russian-Mongolian Pact is not making the game better. As it stand there’s no real biggie with provocation there.
Japan could happily make a sweep towards Sibiria already J1 if they were not more importantly occupied elsewhere. The 8 inf is a deterrent, but the Land Lease NO in BM3 makes Japan to really think twice when or if they should DOW on Russia. Without it Russia also has almost no incentive at all to hold back on a DOW and intrusion.
Maybe it’s for the better. I’m not sure. I believe it does make early DOW in the north pretty much standard with Russia as the common aggressor, while especially in BM3 it wasn’t certain. For me, I like the trickier decisions and strategic tension better.
