It was a total surprise, as they never thought we would go that far and only realized that they were caught as the tanks began firing. We fought from daybreak that morning when we could hardly see, until late that evening. As it started getting dark, we knew we needed to get out of there. From the plan, into action! Leading the US or the Soviet Union military through the Cold War means that conventional combat orders are given usually on the army, air force or fleet level. First and foremost a quick refreshment of what combat orders are in your terminal.

Issuing Combat Orders

Combat orders are given to military units and either involve maneuvering (moving or attacking) a unit or making use of a unit's Activated Abilities. The following are always considered to be combat actions:

• Direct attack or any combat with a military unit
• Disembarking (Surface Fleet ability) an Army Command in a non-friendly region
• Disembarking into an empty hostile region (controlled or dominated by the opponent) will deplete all actions of the land unit and the Surface Vessel and set the region onto a war zone footing.
• Disembarking into a region occupied by the opponent will immediately fail, with the Surface Vessel entering combat and the opponent's Army Command unit reorganizing.
• Disembarking into a hostile region occupied by an opponent's engaged unit will immediately succeed (positioning the enemy in withdrawal) and will deplete all actions of the land unit and the Surface Vessel and set the region onto a war footing.
• Issuing Carrier Operations (Carrier Fleet ability)
• Any action by a military unit that shifts Influence towards your faction

Sometimes the tide can turn and that is when you need to urgently bring in reinforcements into a theater. Naturally, you can always deploy more military units ending your turn but newly deployed units take a turn to get Combat Ready. Fear not! There are other ways to keep the initiative.

Cross Theater Maneuvers

If you need to shift the theater of a non-air military unit, placing it in a region adjacent to your desired theater allows for it to maneuver across theater borders when Combat Ready. Simply select a colored arrow in your destined theater and press the icon of the unit type you would like to maneuver.
Example: The USSR can maneuver Combat Ready non-air units from regions bordering Yugoslavia in the Eastern Europe theater. Select the target Yugoslavian region to execute the order and the unit will immediately carry out the order without you having to redeploy it or return it to the Command Reserve. If you instead hold your mouse cursor over the target region and Press + Hold for 2 seconds, the terminal will try and calculate the chance for success.

Withdrawal

Should you have gotten your unit defeated in a non-controlled region you can try to make an escape. Displayed within a hollow icon, Fleets and Commands that have not been destroyed but have been set for withdrawal may withdraw from combat into a friendly region ending your turn and be set as Engaged. If you lack the turns or desire to ignore withdrawing, the unit set for withdrawal is removed from the map and safely retires instead to the Command Reserve.
Example: The US Carrier Fleet's position in Italy is untenable due to the arrival of a Soviet Submarine Fleet into the region. Without a Surface Fleet to defend the position against the subs, the Carrier Fleet is set to withdraw and will be retired by the Military unless given a withdrawal order by you. This is not the worst thing that can happen but should things look really terrible then there is now one last desperate option at your disposal.

Surprise Assault

Achieved by purposefully deploying a unit from Command Reserve directly into a region with a visible enemy unit(s). With regular combat rules applying, this action will end your turn and result in a combat defeat by your hastily deployed assaulting unit. The benefit though is that it will Engage one enemy unit for four (4) turns. That will keep them busy and buy you time to organize defensive deployment or perhaps even a counterattack.
Example: With Communism spreading into Western Europe and Italy controlled by the Soviet sphere, the US has deployed a Carrier Fleet in the region that we must suppress, otherwise it will simply destroy any friendly sea units deployed in Yugoslavia, as they require one turn to become Combat Ready. Sending a Surprise Assault with a Submarine Fleet will instead engage the enemy Carrier Fleet for 4 turns buying enough time to allow a defensive deployment to take place in Yugoslavia with a second Submarine Fleet. Best Regards, Gellert Keresztes ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) NEW tutorials are in productions and the official MANUAL is in print! Expect the first rollout in the coming weeks! II) KIM IL-SUNG: A Communist Ideologue and Supreme Leader will rise to power like the living Sun to establish a People's Republic like never seen before and the first Communist dynasty. Or will his life be cut short and his reign curtailed by US regional power? The rise of North Korea is in BETA testing. III) Finalize UX/UI overhaul and optimization: 1. Finalize decluttering of the screens by removing elements that are not in use or are not primary to the task at hand 2. Add further clarity to the screens by the use of color and highlighting to direct the attention of the player 3. Complete testing of the designs and validate that they have the impact we seek

CHANGELOG

AI

• Fixed an issue where the AI would be too aggressive and would potentially bankrupt itself in search for a quick victory with Policies

GAME

• Updated combat rules
• Fixed an issue that would cause Save Games not to function properly
• Update to theaters and repositioning for better clarity
• Fixed some Maneuver arrows that were rotated incorrectly
• Updated Influence map values in the hierarchy that could cause some to be improperly displayed
• The timer will be updated and starting the next patch will show minutes and second

INTELLIGENCE

• NEW Created and implemented design for US/Soviet risky missions for DLC Eyes Only
• Removed a possible People cost for False Flag
• Improved the notification text for US/Soviet intel missions

DECISIONS

• NEW Created and implemenented a set of decisions for US intelligence
• Updated a text in to clarify McCarthy's relationship with Anslinger

MAP

• Updated all theater maps including the Arctic to better match the design going forward

OTHER

• DLC button no longer available in Options Menu
• Updated icons in Options Menu

[ 2019-11-21 20:06:08 CET ] [ Original post ]