Carnage Al Dente - A CptEasy multiplayer AAR

[richelieu1628]

congrats all around

Well, I'd record it as a draw, or, as German football fans would say, Axis are the champion of the hearts (a bit tasteless considering the subject, but oh well)...

 

[Darth Moose]

A well played game all around. Zid's mastery of the seas was very important. The flawed game mechanics aside, the Soviet Union had a very hard time against the Axis team.

Too bad the Italian soldiers will not get to enjoy their Black Sea dachas anymore...

Looking forward to the next Carnage game.

 

[skuxy]

This is by far the best AAR I have red by now, looking forward to the next one.

 

[Daffius]

Sad it's over and looking forward to the next one!

Also kudos to the russian player. Keeping Russia alive against the a human german player in the 1938 scenario is a big challenge. Add to it that he was caught with his pants down at the point and it is actually a great comeback, keeping Stalingrad and the front relatively intact (even with the fall of Moscow).

I too am putting my bets on Cpt playing Russia. I'll be curious as to who plays which other country though and the house rules as well.

 

[Lamahorse]

Fecking unbelievable man. Best AAR to date. It's a real treat to read these every weekend after I get off work.

It seems with every new game, new things come up. The random massive invasion/withdrawal invasions need to be house ruled. The invasions of Romania are very gamey. All said, the Allies really played to their strengths. With the Med open, they could do anything.

For the next game, please stick a human player in China. Nat China should suck up Japan for more than a few months. Hopefully a human player can survive against Japan in multiplayer.

And finally, Patriotic Carnage... I really look forward to Cpt. playing in the meat grinder of the east. Keep up the AARs! I still want a USSR/Allied showdown if Axis get beat sometime!

 

[unmerged(142503)]

Amazing game. Nothing more to say, really, as everyone else has said about the same that I've been thinking.

 

[Sachaztan]

With a player on nat china and the speed on 3 the war should drag out a LONG time

 

[jju_57]

Really enjoyed reading this AAR. It was a great game. And at least everyone learned some things. FTTBE, pupput rules and a few other minor issues should all be worked out. While the Allies won I would classify it as a win based on PI's game mechanics. Not that there is anything wrong with that. They took advantage (even unknowingly) of the mechanics and won because ogf them. I think the biggest fix that needs to be done is the puppet/supply rules. PI should address this issue.

 

[Alfred Packer]

Well done you guys...fantastic AAR. I enjoyed every bit of it and I'm looking forward to your next game!

 

[Testy]

That was magnificent. I love reading MP AARs because of the element of uncertainty, and this was the best I've ever read.

 

[unmerged(361238)]

The axis won and everyone knows it. A terrible end to a good AAR. The allies won using cheap tricks such as the automatic supply loss caused by puppet creation and abusing Russian events and forcing the axis to beat Russia twice. Absolutely ridiculous in my opinion.

 

[friget234]

These guys play together all the time and are good friends. I'm sure that the allied players didn't intent for many of these things to occur. They may not have even know how the supply loss by puppet creation worked or how the Russian surrender events work. Even if they did hate the game not the gamer.

 

[Sachaztan]

The axis won and everyone knows it. A terrible end to a good AAR. The allies won using cheap tricks such as the automatic supply loss caused by puppet creation and abusing Russian events and forcing the axis to beat Russia twice. Absolutely ridiculous in my opinion.

If anything it would have been the other way around if they chose to end it at the axis "victory". Making USSR surrender by giving them a few more VPS? O'rly? As to the other "gamey" elements, friget234 lays it down far further to the truth than you.

 

[ROMMEL_HSQ]

what do you guys think..?

I think your team won the game twice already, time to let the allies win the last

This AAR was really great, I really liked also how the UK managed his resources.

Next time you should play the USSR as others said

 

[friget234]

I think your team won the game twice already, time to let the allies win the last

This AAR was really great, I really liked also how the UK managed his resources.

Next time you should play the USSR as others said

Yes please play USSR you fight against them all the time!

 

[daphne]

The problem is that strategically the situation of the Axis is bad, because they cannot realistically hope to knock out any of their major enemies within a reasonable period of time. Moscow will not be enough to cause the SU to surrender and Stalingrad is far away. That means that the Axis will probably be forced to conduct various minor operations and won't be able to do much else, unless sth strange and unexpected happens again.

Here is why I believe that the Axis cannot score major victories:

1. They need not only to take Moscow, but also Stalingrad and even then they need to hold other Soviet VPs or the Soviets won't be defeated. Supply problems deep in Russia and the length of the frontline makes this option unlikely, although it may still be the best shot the Axis has.

2. Japan has no chance of defeating the USA for obvious reasons. In fact, they are now so overstretched that I expect that their actions will mostly be restricted to various counter-moves. The good thing is that Japan has a navy, but they still can't be everywhere at the same time.

3. The UK has high-lvl radars and naval superiority, which makes ninja invasions unlikely and a "real" non-gamey Sea Lion infeasible.

4. If the Axis concentrates on the Allied forces in Italy, the Allies will simply evacuate and attack elsewhere. Cpt may destroy some of their ships and the Axis may overrun or encircle a division or two, but there is no real chance of destroying the bulk of the Allied forces there IMO.

That leaves attrition warfare, sth which the Axis cannot win.

German player from this game here with some final words from my perspective. Not much to say - I believe Cybvep summarized the endgame situation quite well some time ago...

It all started the right way. Poland and Denmark were taken quickly, allowing me to put full focus on France which fell after Paris was taken. Barbarossa was initiated as soon as the ad hoc HR allowed, with immidiate success. Leningrad and Moscow fell quickly. Even the naval battles against the RN went well initially. Up to this point, the only failed operation was Gibraltar, which was a disappointment. And the RAF was a constant pain over France, although not a critical one.

Then things started to go wrong.

U.S.S.R proved to be a formidable opponent, even after the enormous territorial losses. They were aided by several factors, including: 1) The "Move industry" event (not sure how important it is though); 2) The severe supply situation for the Germans; and 3) The 100% NU HR introduced after the "surrender". Things were especially troublesome in the North (the campaign to seize Arkangelsk took forever) and in the South (supplying troops in the Caucasus proved extremely difficult). In France and elsewhere, Zid developed the "Flying Circus" concept to perfection. Initially I did not want to yield control over the English Channel provinces, which cost me several divisions. In addition, rares were the main limiting factor for my industry. I had not played much as Germany before, so this came a surprise. MP obviously had to be watched closely but was never limiting builds.

It all got down to an exciting race against time - whould we be able to take the 12 VCs before the Allies grow too mighty? It was a close call, after all.

I want to thank all readers for comments and interesting input. The game is even more enjoyable knowing that the critical and most knowledgeble community is watching every move

 

[Selzro]

I've been following this AAR from the start and had previously read all the previous Carnage AARs with pleasure. I salute the ending of a true Great War, with so many twists and turns, unexpected tactics or gameplay mechanics, reports from both sides of the conflict, moments of genius or of despair (I may have actually gasped when the Regia Marina was destroyed by those carriers that just happened to be passing by...). Its ending may have come out of frustration (and the recognition that the Axis cause was pretty much lost long-term) but what a game it was until the end!

 

[CptEasy]

Thanks for all your praise. Really cheers me up :laugh: Really motivates me to find ways to make the AARs as good as possible with the limited time I have available.

It’s a shame that “Grande Italia” didn’t get to fire any shots. Who got the silver and bronze medals?

Mm... yes. I think so too. On the other hand, it would probably have been her last. Allies guarded my waters quite carefully at the end. I started to build her before the big naval dissaster and as my practical was so low, it did not cost much to finish her, although I doubted it would be of much use.

We only play for gold Saying that, I was so happy of getting a game surviving into 1943 the loss did not feel too bad...

I vote to see CptEasy on USSR. I don't recall if he was in a previous game, but I'd like to see a much more detailed eastern front. I think it be interesting to go from the maybe the slowest to busiest majors.

judging by the name I'm guessing next one is Soviet or US? Would prefer soviet due to the face that there is more to do for an AAR but i'd read you playing Tibet at this point

My money's on the USSR; WWII was the Great Patriotic War after all

I too am putting my bets on Cpt playing Russia. I'll be curious as to who plays which other country though and the house rules as well.

And finally, Patriotic Carnage... I really look forward to Cpt. playing in the meat grinder of the east. Keep up the AARs!

Yes please play USSR you fight against them all the time!

As I guess you have seen by now - you were all right. If you have missed it, check out the new AAR Sudden Patriotic Carnage

 

[Paglia]

A was late in my reading and just ewnt from page 54 to 64, to make up for the lost time.

Great game.

Obviously, PI should review the puppeting / out of supply impact to allow for something more realistic. Maybe they will address that in their upcoming "Finest Hour" (probably not, but we can wish they would).

Will follow your next adventures.

On the BB vs CV thing... well, you definitaly need NAV and INT to strike them before you get in. But there is still something not adding up as CV always seems to retreat. I guess PI could also try to address that in heir next expansion.

I agree Italy is a tough nation to play. You can't make mistakes, even small ones do haunt you. You are the weak spot and Allies feel safe to hit you. I still think Allies going against Italy instead of GER is a mistake as the stronger just get stronger while Allies self-pinned themselves down in Italy.

 

[Marshall Daub]

Finally just got caught up with the thread. I'd be lying if I said I was anything other than disappointed with the ending. The game had been so riveting to this point, masterfully played by all parties, and I truly expected the ending to be nothing less. To have it end so quickly and so anticlimactically was a heart-breaker.

A fine job by the Allies finding every weak spot and exploiting it to the maximum, and realistically it was a well-executed victory. However, weighing the war as a whole, the Axis are the victors in my eyes. Not only were they able to beat the Soviets - twice - they were also able to cripple them in the final battles. Moreover, Italy was still very much in the fight and contributed heavily to the Axis war effort, France was still under Axis control, and Japan had unchallenged control of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

All that aside, I thank all the players for a vastly entertaining AAR and am looking forward to reading the next one which has already started. Onward to Victory!