Eams said:
I kind of lost interest in this a while back when I read that the ridiciously over-rated Otto Skorzeny would be the one getting his very own special update (Seriously, we have a talented writer here who could churn out gold about Salazar, Churchill, Jean-Paul Sartre as the young leader of the french extreme left, Kim Phiby and his dad, agents and diplomats plotting over swedish metal and finnish minerals suited to fuel the rising forces of France and Germany, etc. But instead we get Old Otto, the Austrian Alsatian!)
But even he is made interesting in this story.
First, thanks for the compliments ! I hope the latest updates have rekindled your interest.
As for Old Otto, you'll have seen by now that I do not like supermen or übermenschen - or their opposites - as I think they tend to kill suspense and water down the story. Skorzeny will be given the same treatment as the others on this respect. I'll do my best to show him as a mere mortal, prone to rise as well as to fall, and to make mistakes as much as to do the right thing.
Having spent some of my weekend poring over the "History" notes of my saved game, I do have plans for Philby senior and Junior (having read 'Treason in the Blood' three or four times), and both Salazar and Caetano are just
bound to appear in the story considering this week-end's game !
Also bound to appear at some point will be General Metaxas, Robert Schuman, Stepan Bandera and quite a few others.
Atlantic Friend, how many times exactly have you restarted the game that this AAR is based on? I saw the number three mentioned earlier, is that it or are there more restarts?
I had to restart the game three times.
First time because I didn't get custody of the computer when me and the soon-to-be ex-wife parted ways.
Second time because of technical problems with my brand-new computer which had to be replaced after one month of sterling service.
Last time because I made a mess of everything when I tried to install Armaggeddon 1.1 - I finally succeeded, no small thanks to the patience of the Paradox and GamersGate hotline technicians, but at the cost of my every saved file. Good thing is, I have now a much better idea of what the Crossfires geopolitical situation should be in 1936, and I'll perfect the saved game should any of you want to try it, as France or as another nation.
As a result, the story as told differs from the current game's "History" records, even though the differences are more or less limited to similar events occuring at different dates, and also the units built are not 100% the same (I'm working on this one). I had to load as Germany to make the Anschluss not happen - because that was the result I honestly got in the previous game - and I loaded as various countries to stir things up in those places where usually nothing much happens, but apart from that the game is entirely genuine.
On grounds of historical realism, there are two "cheats" I may use at some points throughout the game :
- First one will be to load as some of my allies to make sure they liberate some of the countries they control if, and only if, it seems ludicrous to think said ally could have maintained absolute control over these nations. Example : if I am allied with Greece and they conquer Albania, then tough luck for the Albanians, they're part of Greece now. If I am allied with Albania and "they" conquer the whole of Yugoslavia because all Allied attacks origintaed from Albania, then Yugoslavia will become an allied puppet, possibly with some territorial reduction if the game allows it, and then be released as a fully independent ally. Not only does it feel more realistic, the France I'm playing isn't into world conquest.
- second will be to force my allies to accept some province sales, if, and only if, it seems ludicrous for said ally to cling to these provinces. I'll pay each province 5,000 units of every resource, including money, and I may end up giving away some French-controlled provinces