Spanish Civil War ToT

[McMonkey]

In my last (MGE) game vs Jerec I played as the nationalists. I lost that game due to the brilliant strategic generalship of Jerec. However some of his tactics, though perfectly within the game rules, were unrealistic in a historical context. Namely they were the use of the (Alpine) Milicianos as go anywhere Partisan raiders to create havoc in my rear areas and the policy of road pillaging which slowed my Nationalist armies to a virtual crawl. As I say, I'm not dissing his tactics, they were perfectly legitimate, but they make an unhistorical situation!

My solutions:

- No road pillaging

- All Infantry units have the Alpine flag so that more of the map comes into play

- Stackable terrain (perhaps)

This would lead to a more historically accurate game in my opinion.

My new mod will address these issues as well as expanding a lot on the original but that is still a way off completion.

[cupcoffee]

Fine by me. Could you upload the mod here?

[McMonkey]

I just need to make a few more alterations to the rules file. Should be ready by tomorrow.

[McMonkey]

Sorry for the delay, there is a good reason. This morning I made some really good progress on the tech tree for the proper ToT Modification. I thought that I might have a beta version ready by this evening to play instead of the original with some tweaks. If you are willing to wait a couple of days I will go all out to get a working version ready so we can test the proper version! The main thing I need to get finished are the events. I have them all planned out but it might take a little while to actually make them. I hope that's Ok by you Cupcoffee?

[cupcoffee]

No need to rush, take the time you need.

[McMonkey]

Thanks. It makes more sense to use our game as a playtest for the modified files. This puts a little bit of pressure on me to get on with things which is a good thing!

[McMonkey]

The mod has been slightly delayed. I have recently been seconded to cover for my immediate boss until the new year when I'm hoping to get the job on a permanent basis. This has meant that my extra work on the scenario at work has halted and I am coming home quite tired after learning a lot of new stuff each day. Hopefully I will soon be acclimatised to the role and will have a bit more energy to work on the project. It has not been abandoned, I'm pretty close to having it ready but you may have to bear with me for a week or two!

[cupcoffee]

Unacceptable!
You have to put this game before your real life no matter what!

Just kidding, like I said before, no need to feel rushed, take your time.

[McMonkey]

I always fall into the trap of being way too optomistic with my time scales. The rule of thumb is to times whatever I say by at least three and you will be half way there I think this one will be well worth the wait though. Some of the changes are really going to improve the overall gameplay!

[cupcoffee]

Let's see, two weeks times three, which is six and that's supposed to be half of it, so we take that times two and we've got twelve, which is three months.

So I can expect this to be finished by January then?

[McMonkey]

I promise nothing I don't think there is a huge amount of work left to do really. Its just a case of finding the energy to work on it. When I have the energy I think I can have it finished in a day or two.

[Ingvar]

Whats the news on this one?

[McMonkey]

I would say it is 90% complete. I have just been so busy with work recently that I have had little energy left to work on Civ2 design. I fully intend to finish it soon as I'm convinced it will be an epic two player game. The MGE version I played against Jerec a few years ago was excellent, but this version has a load of major improvements that I hope will improve it a lot. I also have Bonaparte IV about 50% finished and that should be a major improvement over Bonaparte III. My other projects (Fortress Europe, Aeterna Civitas III and The Balkan Wars) are all in the finishing stages. The final touches are always the hardest to get done for some reason, especially if you are a perfectionist!

When I get back from my skiing trip I will try and finish this project off!

[Ingvar]

Where are you going to ski?
Also, how is your work going? I read the British economy is having difficulty getting out of recession. (Much like every other economy.)

[McMonkey]

I'm going to Bansko in Bulgarian Macedonia. Cheap and cheerful with good slopes for a novice like myself. There is about 14 of us going so we should have a good laugh!

I'm fortunate enough to work for the local electricity distribution company (we maintain the network of underground cables, overhead lines, substations etc...) so the economic problems have caused me no problems whatsoever (touch wood!!!). We recently purchased E-On's two Midlands distribution businesses and increased our customer base from about 2.5 million to 7.7 million so things are really interesting right now as we are sudedenly the largest distributor in Britain. Our parent company PPL, based in Pennsylvania USA, also purchesed E-On's US company which operates the network in Kentucky.

I think the pain of recession depends where you live in the UK. I know many areas have suffered badly, but Cardiff generally seems to have ridden out the storm fairly well. I know towns in the Welsh valleys that were screwed before the current economic problems even began! Got to count your blessings and always keep in mind that things could be a lot worse.

How are things looking in Iceland?