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misterbean, how would you execute the invasion of Norway? Would a corps of mountaineers be enough, in late summer?
 
all your questions will be answered in due time. so much has changed, I'm not going to speak up right now because I might lead you down the wrong path.
patience, my eager padawans, patience. :)
 
all your questions will be answered in due time. so much has changed, I'm not going to speak up right now because I might lead you down the wrong path.
patience, my eager padawans, patience. :)
I'm still using FtM, so, any ideas you had that are valid for this version, are okay.
 
I'm still using FtM, so, any ideas you had that are valid for this version, are okay.

right. well, let's see. I take it you're talking about Germany invading, then. you need 2 divisions for every port. at least 1 or 2 infantry corps for repelling the inevitable British landings. all of those in the south. send the full mountaineer corps to Narvik. It will take a long time, but you'll get there eventually. the major pain will be the British. I guarantee a landing next to one of Norway's major ports.
I'd go with 4 infantry corps and 1 mountaineer corps. with Barbarossa still longtime away, you don't need to keep everyone in Germany for over a year. just be sure to either get them back home before the big show starts or get transit rights from Sweden, allowing you to freely move troops to Finland (note that this is not in the tutorial, so you'll have to adjust the OOB on your own).
 
right. well, let's see. I take it you're talking about Germany invading, then. you need 2 divisions for every port. at least 1 or 2 infantry corps for repelling the inevitable British landings. all of those in the south. send the full mountaineer corps to Narvik. It will take a long time, but you'll get there eventually. the major pain will be the British. I guarantee a landing next to one of Norway's major ports.
I'd go with 4 infantry corps and 1 mountaineer corps. with Barbarossa still longtime away, you don't need to keep everyone in Germany for over a year. just be sure to either get them back home before the big show starts or get transit rights from Sweden, allowing you to freely move troops to Finland (note that this is not in the tutorial, so you'll have to adjust the OOB on your own).
I do wonder how many transports do Brits have. I've been aggressive with the Kriegsmarine, and sunk a bucketload of CL-s, CA-s, 6-7 TP-s, 6-7-BB-s, 8-9 DD-s... Only one CVL, though. Can they invade at all?
 
I do wonder how many transports do Brits have. I've been aggressive with the Kriegsmarine, and sunk a bucketload of CL-s, CA-s, 6-7 TP-s, 6-7-BB-s, 8-9 DD-s... Only one CVL, though.

they start the game with 13 transports and don't routinely build any more unless they get sunk. so you could be safe. on the other hand, if they land in Oslo before you reach Narvik, you're doomed. You'd be amazed just how fast troops can be ferried back and forth if need be.
 
In homage to my teacher...

misterbeantitle.png

It was a cold New Year’s Day in Berlin, 1936. The crowded room contained the highest ranking generals, industrialists, and Nazi party members in all of the Germany, gathered in one place to hear the words of one man. The Field Marshal only known as “Misterbean” was an enigma to them all. From some quiet obscurity this man had caught the Fuhrer’s eye and now his words rang as gospel. His real identity was a closely guarded secret, but whoever this man was, he was the architect of the Reich’s future.

The men assembled listened and took careful notes, for the Field Marshal laid out the details of what would be needed. Everything from infrastructure improvements, technologies to research, troop strengths, and division compositions were dictated in precise detail. Whole battle plans were envisioned as well as their timetables. Espionage objectives, trade routes to pursue; it was as if the man did not speak of the future, but intended to be its very author.

Destiny touched this man's lips and his spell ensnared each and every one of the men in his presence. The Third Reich was in its infancy and its very fate lay before it. Their Finest Hour lay ahead.
 
I am aboslutely speechless! Thank you very much for this marvelous token of your esteem. with a picture from the famous Battle Of Britain movie, if I'm not mistaken.
 

CaseWhiteBuilds.png

I've been feeling very inspired to make an AAR based on my experiences with Misterbean's tutorial. I've been running a game with TFH to see how feasible/workable the current tutorial is with the new expansion. I'll be out of town this weekend, but I will post this chart up with my status on for the Germany on September 1st, 1939.

I used less Leadership for spies in my attempt to keep up with research, which seems to take longer. The penalties for ahead of time research are massive now. I also tried to prune the research plan because I simply cannot keep up, as shown by the chart. DD techs were eliminated entirely and if I did it again, I might drop BB techs as well.

I also ran up to a point where by late 1938, my IC need for upgrades was nearing 190. As such, I starting dumping as much IC into upgrades as I could afford, while still sticking to the units required to build in time for Case White. I still have a massive upgrade deficit, but it could have been General Model riding A7Vs into Poland instead of Panzer IIIs!

I hope this proves enlightening and I will post more information when I get back.
 
yeah, TFH does require a revamping of the system. I noticed that myself. A few preliminary suggestions:

1) infra works are now a lot faster and cheaper, so you can upgrade all the eastern provinces to lvl-10 in one go. I would leave the lower-infra provinces bordering France and Chechoslovakia alone, for added natural protection.

2) you generate a lot more spies now than in FtM. I've had the LS slider at 4.11 all the time during 1936 and 1937, while sending spies to Austria, Poland, Chechoslovakia, SU, France, UK, belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. by that time I had over 99 free spies waiting for an assignment.

3) as noted, research takes longer and the ahead-of-time penalties are HUGE: trying to research 1940 tech in late 1936 resulted in a projected end-date of mid 1941. you now have to really make some hard choices on what to research and what not: do you go for battleships and destroyers? carriers and light cruisers? submarines? an all-cruiser fleet? BTW, I noticed that carriers no longer seel capable of hitting warp-10 while Battleships are left limping around on Impulse drive. they just MIGHT be a bit more vulnerable now.

4) I have yet to actually fire the first shot, but the new combat system changes how you build divisions. the armour/penetration factor works as follows: each unit has an armour stat and a penetration stat (think of it as Armour-Piercing shells verus High-Explosive rounds). A division's highest PEN stat is compared the the opposing division's ARM stat. If PEN is at least equal to ARM, then your shots hit home. If PEN is less than ARM, they just bounce off. while realistic, it does mean you can no longer send infantry with artillery against tanks without having AT guns present. with 1938 Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons researched, I can barely damage Larm brigades, let alone the French' Char tanks. you NEED AT tech and guns up-to-date when going up against any medium armour or heavier.

5) trade: the AI has been completely revamped. it would seem to be impossible now to get the kind of resource pools I had in the Tutorial.

6) I have come across 2 posts in other threads where the Chechs refuse to hand over the Sudetenland in the Munich Accord if you don't have the place surrounded as if getting ready to invade. that means the OOB has to be reworked as well.

so where does that leave us?
production, espionage, OOB, battle planning, trade and research have all made my tutorial kind of obsolete. The general strategies used in the various invasions were based on simple, real-world logic and should still be valid for the most part. The "how" part of it all can be thrown out of the window, it seems.
don't get me wrong, I love what they did. using covert ops to simulate German attempts to seize the Meuse bridges or bypass the Dutch border patrols, the fact that Shermans are no match for Köningstigers, possibly needing USS North Carolina in the Pacific to protect US carriers, all that has given us a huge leap forward towards realism, while the new CG game mode means even I can be an amateur modder. the perfect blend for "realistic WWII"" adapts and "sandbox" adapts.

my final conclusion: the tutorial is no longer valid for TFH.
 
I have the same feeling 'snif snif' but what do you think that's the best infantry division now? 2xinf+AT+ART or INF+AT+ART+AA or even INF+AT+ART+ENG? Perhaps it would be better to make the corps composition out of 2 div with ART and 2 div with AT to have the armor piercing?
And what to do with the armor divisions?
 
at its most basic level, combat still works in the same way. both sides fire at each other and their respective defenses determine the number of casualties. the minimum required, IMHO, for any frontline division would still be 2 combat brigades. Infantry with just 1 inf brigade is just plain too weak to take any kind of sever punishment. right now, my thoughts are to keep it at 3+1, but the main difference would now be at the corps level. with a maximum of 5 divisions, it would be very easy to include 1 AT division and/ or 1 AA division.

80-90% of your opponents will still be soft targets. this has not changed. so the focus should still be on keeping the corps art-heavy. heck, you could even go so far as keeping spare AT and AA brigades attached directly to the HQ and switch them out as needed, though that strategy would mean tons of micromanagement.

so many choices, so many fun little experiments to run!

there is a thread with this very discussion ongoing right now.
 
Omg and i was following the tutorial still then now downloaded the new update ahhh oh no:-(. Damn thats ruined that. And misterbean after you reignighted my love of the game. Please help us poor sods half way through. I will have to start again but will you please do another tutorial but under the new updated. Im desparate for you help as im sure others will be......
 
you do know that you can still play FtM, right? you just have to get into the game files and change the exe. so, you could still finish the tutorial.
 
I am playing another game as Germany 1936(TFH) I don't follow the tutorial exactly....but close.

Czechs will NOT fight if you mass divisions along their borders. When you threaten War you must be serious about it.

In general OOB is fine just where and when you place it.

Trading is harder.No more multiple resource trades any more.(can only buy/sell one resource per agreement)So you need more Dip and time to get all the resources.AI also cancels trades more often.AI countrys(USA especially and to some extent SU), IC Whore thus eating up the resources you normally trade for.Metal seems to be in short supply.

Just about to start Invasion of Poland......
 
I am playing another game as Germany 1936(TFH) I don't follow the tutorial exactly....but close.

Czechs will NOT fight if you mass divisions along their borders. When you threaten War you must be serious about it.

In general OOB is fine just where and when you place it.

Trading is harder.No more multiple resource trades any more.(can only buy/sell one resource per agreement)So you need more Dip and time to get all the resources.AI also cancels trades more often.AI countrys(USA especially and to some extent SU), IC Whore thus eating up the resources you normally trade for.Metal seems to be in short supply.

Just about to start Invasion of Poland......

oh great now trading is harder. Wth this new update i forsee Babarrosa being much more harder. I hope our fieldmarshall misterbean will be able to bring us all victory :)
 
An essay of my time following the "Misterbean" plan:

Diplomacy:

Right off the bat, I could only trade single resources at a time. As such, I traded rares with the US and the Soviet Union, making additional trades later for the metals. The trading required additional upkeep as time passed. Trades would end and I would have to secure a few rates here and a few there. The major metal trades with the US and the Soviet Union were never ended, but I played a game of selling power for cash when I could. Under FTM, I easily gathered maximum power, metals, and a massive stockpile of rares by the September 1939. Even with all the trouble I had in maintaining cash flow and having power in the red, I reached the war with 26k power, 75k metal, ~58k rares and over a 1k in money. Using the baseline of major trades with the US and the Soviets right off the bat still acquired a massive amount of material for my war machine.

My influence on the other hand, reacted slower at first and was much more successful later. I was able to get Italy, Hungary, Romania, Japan, and Brazil to join the Axis prior to the war. I also successfully annexed Austria early in the latter half of 1937. This is all while leaving the Diplomacy leadership at 2.05 and influencing one and only one nation at a time.


Spies:

In DI:G, I could NEVER get Austria annexed early. I also skipped supporting my party in Romania, which I also felt was unnecessary. Going into TFH, I had a poor opinion of spies, but I did enact the Austrian party support. This paid off well with a nice early annexation. Raising threat on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union also went according to plan, though threat generation as a whole was a lot slower. I skipped Romania, as I had in DI:G, because I desperately needed that leadership for research. Overall I used 4.11 for the first few months, dropping to 2.11, than 1.31 and staying there. I never amassed a huge amount of spies, but I was able to maintain my four pushes, as per the Field Marshal's plan. France (disrupt unity), UK and Soviet Union (threat), Austria (support our party).

One other note is that spies can have multiple priorities. The 10 spies in Germany needed to have a level 1 priority in Increase National Unity as well as a 3 in counter espionage. This kept my Unity stable, because without any modifiers, Germany is actually in a minuscule RED for Unity. Furthermore, for security purposes, I used level 1 counter espionage in France, UK, and the Soviet Union to keep my spies a bit safer. Whether this helped as intended, I cannot say.


Politics:

Under the plan, after the Graf Spee is finished on January 5th and post Reoccupation of the Rhineland, Germany switches to Three-year Draft and Consumer Goods Production. The Graf Spee does not complete in a few days in TFH, and Consumer Goods Production is already going strong without a need to switch. Thus after the Reoccupation, I switched to the Three-year Draft and that was that.

For Ministers, I went with the old standard of Schacht, especially because unit IC requirements is higher. All other ministers were in accordance to the plan.


Research:

It goes without saying the research is a new game. It takes longer and researching ahead of time in plain not possible with massive penalties that defeat the purpose. They are simply punishing. I wanted to research Capital Ship Armament (1938) tech in early 1937, so I could get to building the Bismarck and Tirpitz. The tech would not finish until August 1938. Wait, what? Yes, doing the tech at the beginning of 1937 would not net me its completion until after half of the correct year was complete. Even more irritating is that I decided to wait until December 1937 to start the tech. From there, it finished in July 1938. A net gain or one month, but I avoided wasting research for over a YEAR on the tech.

I dumped all DD related techs (net gain, 10 techs not researched). Militia Support Weapons have to be researched twice now, and Operation Level Organization cannot be ahead of time, so it was inserted into its correct years. In the end, despite throwing far more leadership into research than what Misterbean called for and pruning techs, I was basically at the correct level he asked for.


Production:

The biggest headache was trying to squeeze in all the units needed for the plan. IC use was higher across the board and everything took longer to build. The major exception was Infrastructure, and Airfields. Both of these seem to build in half their original time. Furthermore, the province infrastructure in Germany is very different in TFH with many more provinces at less that 100%. I easily queued infrastructure improvements for NE Germany, as well as all provinces east of Breslau along the Polish border. I also improved the two "Saar" and Pirmasens provinces on the crook of the border with France. I improved the airfields at Koln and the province next to Bitburg to level 10. All of this was easier to do than under the original plan.

NOTHING else was. Upgrades seem to take much longer and build up more quickly when tech research is completed. I struggled getting every unit needed in time for the invasion, not because I could not fulfill it via IC or time, but because by late 1938 my military was fielding obsolete equipment with an upgrade need racing towards 200 IC. As such, I had to stall and start upgrading, eventually throwing 175 IC at the problem and cringing as each day passed and the level stayed the same. I prioritized upgrades for the panzers, especially when a check of the army in early 1939 showed A7Vs in the medium tank division under General Model. I could not send such a unit to war. At the eve of war, I still have nearly 130 IC needed for upgrades, even after months of heavy production stalling. My units simply seemed to crawl towards upgrading and I felt the stress of being unprepared for war.

The upgrades hurt in a secondary and in my opinion, worse way as well; the lack of creating the units called for to be completed in time for Case Yellow. My queue is missing the units I need to be building right now, and I have no estimate how long these upgrades will take. I believe I did a great job sticking to the "Misterbean" plan, but I also believe I failed it by not being able to juggle its needs and that I cannot keep pace post Case White as 1940 draws near.