Not really obvious in that it was a bug and has been fixed in the release we submitted to Apple last week for approvalÂ…
Gregorit Tip #4: Battle Preparation In traditional board gaming you can easily calculate the probability of 'success' because there is full transparency into all the mechanics and outcome tables. In iPad Battle of the Bulge, it's a little trickier. What I'll outline here is how I approach critical battles; armed with the knowledge of the possible outcomes, I can then make more informed decisions as to whether or not to even engage in the battle. To illustrate my quantitative approach to assessing a potential battle, I will use a specific real-battle example that comes up fairly frequently: It is 17AM and the Germans have to assess whether or not to attack Trois Pont which is defended by a two-strength Allied armored unit. This unit sits squarely astride a main route to the Meuse in very defensible terrain. There are two ways of attacking it and what I will now present are the odds associated with 'success'. In this case I am arbitrarily declaring success to be the elimination of this unit. What will it take to eliminate this US unit? Because of the woods, the US unit will be able to 'reduce' the hits against it by one. (Forest normally reduces hits by two but because the defender only has a strength of two, this modifier is capped at one.) Because retreating also reduces damage by one, I know that I will have to inflict a total of FOUR hits. If I inflict only three hits on the US unit, it will lose one pip and retreat to Spa. The first approach is to do the two space move with the 116th Panzer unit currently located in Vielsam. While the attacker, at five strength, is weaker than the 1st SS, there is no river defense and it preserves the threat of the 1SS unit. My Attacker Hit (AH) value is five. (Four for the base, +1 for Elite armor, -1 for defending armor.) The chance of inflicting four hits is 8%. The Defender Hit (DH) value is 4. The German unit has a 51% chance of taking 1 or 2 hits. The chance of 'success' is so low that I would not count on the 116th doing the job. The second approach is to attack with the 1SS Panzer in Malmedy. This will be a direct assault across a river but this unit has a large strength and is elite. My AH is five. The chance of inflicting four hits is 50% with the defender having a 64% chance of inflicting one or more points of damage. Note that the DH value is 4 because all attackers are crossing a river. Using the 1st SS seems like a better way to achieve success as I've defined it. Once it has been determined that the chance of success is best met by the attack of 1SS, the next question is whether or not this activation should occur NOW. One needs to look and see if the defender can move away, if it can be reinforced, or if there is a more pressing German move to make. Assessing these kinds of factors will be saved for another post, but at least you now know what the odds are of being able to achieve success in one particular battle. A diagram of the battle situation is also provided.
Update just hit the App Store! -Game Center achievements -Bug fixes, including supply check for early victory -AI fixes, including better awareness of supply lines.
No extra content? Sorry that probably came across wrong. Thanks for the patch but are there any plans to expand on the content of this particular game?
I would think not, it's based on a board game and all the content seems to be there. That's just my gut instinct though, I have no idea if the devs have other plans.
Board games aren't static and locked, we've spent more time playing custom set ups and rules with wargames than vanilla typically. I would like to think we'd either see a couple of non historical scenarios or (more pie in the sky than anything) a custom scenario editor where you have access to create basic scenarios on the provided map, resupply, units available and so on. If not, cool. But an idea from the dev on future intention would be good either way.
Finally! The game is available in Germany. Just downloaded it. Now I restart my first gen iPad and hope it will run.
I may be biased, but if you like strategy games at all this one is a no brainer! Nearly perfect representation of a classic wargame on iOS.
Thanks Emos, just hit the buy button after your comment made me watch all the videos. So much dedication to detail has to be rewarded, so I won't complain about the price... Just hope that it is not too difficult to turn me off. Time will tell.
You are in for a threat. While it's a very deep game (MUCH MUCH more than it seems at first glance) it's imho the PERFECT game to start wargaming. It's fast, you can check everything with one look, and it's very very easy to get into.
We are still discussing our overall plans for this and other games. We also prefer not to promise anything until we know when we can deliver it.
Yes Pitta, I just realized that. I already finished the tutorials and just now, my first Meuse Campaign as Axis. Although I lost, it was a lot of fun. I just love the amount of detail and historical research that is present in this game. Congrats to the developers. Left you guys a favourable review on the austrian app store. Off to hone my skills some more...
Thanks for the game Emos, it was absolutely EPIC, really enjoyed it. This game is soooooo tense...it is now my top mp game, hands down. BTW the update patched every (minor) quirks about the game I had (especially the sound bug). I have now just two minor requests for future updates: 1) Tapping on the score should show the VP thresholds for the current day, instead of time of the day (which can remain if you tap on the day). 2) I would love some sort of async chat in the form of a telegram. Besides that, game is perfect for me.
Yes excellent playing Pitta...the moment you crossed your panzers off screen I knew it was a lost cause for the Allies and I was tempted to resign, but I still played it to the end! Yes the improvements you suggested would jist be icing on the cake, I wouldn't be surprised if in game chat via telegram would make it into a future update.
Gregorit tip #5: The Mistakes I Make I don't mind making mistakes. ONCE. Unfortunately, in the heat of battle tapping, I sometimes forget what I learned. I'm going to write them down, as much for me as for everyone else, in the hope that 'transcribing my mistakes' moves the lessons in to my long-term memory. 1) I spot a great move and move a unit from a stacked area and then launch my devastating counter-attack. In my haste, I neglected to move the other units in the source area and basically wasted their turn. 2) I spot the flaw in my move but find my finger on the "commit" button. Argh!!! I have since learned NOT to lift my finger from the button but, instead, slide it off of the iPad sensing surface to the nearest edge. 3) I build a MASSIVE tank stack and throw it into heavy woods against an Allied Armor unit. The combination of terrain, my losses, his replacements, and mediocre luck often means I'll be locked in combat for NUMEROUS days. I should have tried to flank the unit or gone for weaker units in less defensible terrain. 4) In the Race for Arlon, I sometimes forget to garrison the space. Just when I think I've 'won' the race, my German opponent double moves 12/20-12/21 into the space or even launches an attack to get a breakthrough and I'm staring at Patton being delayed. Garrison the space! 5) And, most importantly, when I have a great move to make, NOW is not always the time to make it, particularly if it's not near the end of the day! This game is all about prioritization but one need only 'rush' those great moves if they are otherwise blockable.
I'm honest...I thought my game was desperate till I opened Wanze and manage to amass high pips divisions in it. TBH I feared till last 'pass' you could destroy some high pips division of mine and kick me back below threshold....when I would have had really HARD TIME to survive another day, especially after Montgomery arrived. Anyway, the game is awesome.
