Braunschweig 7.1 bug & fix

[Kraut]

I am playing a game of Braunschwig 7.1 and my opponent Baiqi discovered a bug in the event mechanism, I was able to validate his observations and found the bug.

What's supposed to happen: if the germans choose the maximum effort variant and activate the 11th army on the crim the soviets will get a TO to bring in the 3rd tank army immediately as soon as the germans capture T'Bilisi.
What happens: the TO appears but instead of immediately deploying 3rd Tank Army it will only enable the sheduled deployment at turn 40. That's clearly a bug because if the germans choose to activate 11th Army this turn 40 deployment of 3rd Tank Army is already enabled!

Fix: open the scenario in the editor, select Edit/Events and scroll down to event 295. Change the activated event from 297 to 296. Done.

[Baiqi]

I should not take the credit. I noticed this bug when I was reading Bloodstar's AAR, and was able to verify it. By the way,
the 3rd tank army is not strong IMO, and I feel the 'maximum
effort' scenario favors German player because of this.

[Kraut]

yes yes, really weak, just about 1000 tanks (of which roughly 800 are T34) and supporting infantry and artillery... hardly worth to mention :nuts:

[Baiqi]

This is what I saw on turn 40:
Rybalko
182nd Eng
319th AA
470th AA
71st AA
1172nd AT
1245th AT
62nd Gds Kat
197th Tk Bde
48th Gd RD
399th RD

Do I miss anything here?

[Kraut]

Yes, you missed

15th Tank Corps
12th Tk Corps
3rd Tk Corps
10th Tank Corps
9th Tank Corps

all part of 3rd Tank Army :D

[Baiqi]

Ah, there is 5th tank army right beside it. Maybe I messed up with that one...

[06 Maestro]

Has anyone heard any news about an update for Braunschweig? I recall reading a post a while back in which D. McBride said that an update was planned. Perhaps if a short list of bugs were compiled here, Mr. Mcbride could be swayed to do a quick fix of the existing version.

This is really a great scenario, but would like to see it updated before starting another game.

Bug 1. Rumanian supply rates of 6%.

Braunschweig fans; add to this and lets see what we can do (other than making sporadic changes ourselves).

[viridomaros]

i think curahee from the blitzkrieg ladder has a lot of information regarding braunschweig, you should try to get in touch with him

[06 Maestro]

I will do that-thanks

[Ben Turner]

Mr. Mcbride could be swayed to do a quick fix of the existing version.

Dr. McBride. Don't let him hear you say Mr. :)

Bug 1. Rumanian supply rates of 6%.

You mean because of low formation supply levels? I could be wrong- but this doesn't seem like a bug. I would think it's intended to represent the fragility of the Axis minors over an extended period of heavy action. Certainly the Rumanians were largely judged to only be useful for defensive operations by this stage in the war.

[Stauffenberg]

Dr. McBride. Don't let him hear you say Mr. :)

I can't let that go by. I have never, repeat never, used or implied that my graduate degree has anything whatsoever to do with my passion for military history and the scenario design work I do. I went so far as to ask the Fire in the East crew to drop the title for the above reasons. They left it as is--their choice.

In any case, for those wondering about Braunschweig, its next on my list to do. I've been wanting to get back at it for ages. I pop in here now and then, but feel free to email me with suggestions etc.

Daniel

[06 Maestro]

Stauffenburg; I'm glad to see that you still check this site.
Despite what was said above about the Rumanian supply, I'm certain there is a bug/error. Some Rumanian units have supply rating of 50 or 60 percent; certainly there is no intention of having some with 6%.
I recently finished two games of this great scenario (one for each side). I ran into a couple of oddities; such as the German navy not being able to move to the Caspian Sea, and no apparent supply loss for the Soviets uppon the loss of Makhachkala. The German flotilla ran into an impassable hex at 84-63.

I am aware that you are woking on another large scenario for the east front in 1942. I hope that you can find the time to do a minor update for Braunschweig.

Thank you for your work-the detail is amazing.

[RhinoBones]

[QUOTE=Ben Turner]Dr. McBride. Don't let him hear you say Mr. :) [QUOTE]

Dr. Daniel

I see Turner's posting with a "Happy Face" as the quotation mark. Do you know the meaning of a "Happy Face"?

If you do, an apology is in order.

Regards, RhinoBones

[Ben Turner]

I can't let that go by, especially not from this TDG shill. I have never, repeat never, used or implied that my graduate degree has anything whatsoever to do with my passion for military history and the scenario design work I do.

Note that a) I ended the line with a smilie, and b) I proceeded to defend one of your design decisions.

I'm sorry you didn't feel the joke was in good taste, Daniel.

I went so far as to ask the Fire in the East crew to drop the title for the above reasons. They left it as is--their choice.

Ah- I knew I'd seen it somewhere. Checked the briefings of some of your scenarios. It would seem you're right. Sorry about that.

Incidentally, you can make this about me, but don't make it about TDG. We're not like some sort of Borg collective. Any action taken now or in the past by members outside of the site has been their own perrogative.

[Mantis]

Glad to see that misunderstanding cleared up. Room for all at the inn these days, boys!

[06 Maestro]

So, now that that is all cleared up; back to the game. Everyone who knows of a specific bug with this scenario should post it here.

[rasmus]

Hey, there is nothing wrong with being a doctor... :(
Except when you are a passenger on an american airliner, and the stewardess makes this call:
Is there a doctor on board we have a very sick lawyer in row 3! :)

[rasmus]

as for bugs. I suggest a delay on Rostov as a sudden death hex.
I managed to lose in three turns as the germans because I by passed a few russians that reoccupied Rostov. :o

[Menschenfresser]

-Foggy and I ran into a bug that prematurely ended the game, but never deduced what caused it. So unless it was something specific to us, there's a timebomb in there somewhere.

I'm glad to hear Stauffenberg's got this next on his list.

[Stauffenberg]

Just to be quite clear on one thing before we move on--no disrespect towards TDG was intended; I have friends over there, some of whom are acknowledged in my design notes on various projects, and I am glad for any work that keeps TOAW alive and that certainly includes theirs. It would be nice to feel that this is reciprocated...

Maestro, Menschenfresser, I appreciate the interest in Braunschweig. I've been meaning to get back to it for years. The events need to be rethought and rewired, OB updated using a book by Glanz that wasn't available at the time, and TO&Es for both sides completely redone. But the map... its a beaut in my humble opinion and not much to be done there. Something about this scenario makes it my own personal favorite. Perhaps because it is the last, relatively unknown, German "drang nach Osten", a blitzkrieg into Asia no less.

By all means list out problems, fatal flaws, blown triggers, whatever. I'm keen to redo it.

Daniel

[Ben Turner]

By all means list out problems, fatal flaws, blown triggers, whatever. I'm keen to redo it.

Since you ask, I'll make one suggestion.

Here, as with a lot of scenarios (by a wide variety of designers), you've represented German infantry divisions as Regimental Combat Teams. This is fine- but at this time and map scale, and given the vastness of the theatre, I would personally have kept the recon assets of the divisions seperate. These could then race ahead of the infantry- as would be their role- converting hexes from Soviet control. The Axis player would be discouraged from sending these too far ahead since their small size would make them vulnerable to quick counterattack.

Concerns over unit congestion can be dismissed because with regiments at 5km/hex hexes very rarely get filled. Whilst in smaller theatres there might be enough armoured recon to be at the front of every advance, I think in the case of the German advance into the Caucasus the Germans need all the fast-moving recon they can get. Obviously not a "fatal flaw" but I think this change would improve the scenario.

Let me know what you think.

[Stauffenberg]

at this time and map scale, and given the vastness of the theatre, I would personally have kept the recon assets of the divisions seperate.

Yes I had that planned. I just posted a remake of my Bulge variant and I will pretty much follow the same pattern for the Germans in 1942 as I have for the Ardennes '44--separate recon, 150 & 105mm as separate art units. I'm undecided about rendering divisional AT as a btn. In 1944 these were substantial units, with Volksgrenadier AT btns often having 12 Hetzers, but spreading AT guns amongst the rgts in 1942 is my inclination until I hear a good argument as to why they should be separate. The TOE for the Axis and Soviets will be completely redone, along with unit and formation values. Axis OB is quite solid I think, but some major changes are due for the Soviets.

D.

[Ben Turner]

Yes I had that planned. I just posted a remake of my Bulge variant and I will pretty much follow the same pattern for the Germans in 1942 as I have for the Ardennes '44--separate recon, 150 & 105mm as separate art units. I'm undecided about rendering divisional AT as a btn. In 1944 these were substantial units, with Volksgrenadier AT btns often having 12 Hetzers, but spreading AT guns amongst the rgts in 1942 is my inclination until I hear a good argument as to why they should be separate.

Yeah, I'd agree with this. Whilst in the field one might have the AT battalion running around responding to enemy tanks here or there, in TOAW this doesn't really work, so the guns are best split between the regiments- except as you note where there are self-propelled guns.

The TOE for the Axis and Soviets will be completely redone, along with unit and formation values. Axis OB is quite solid I think, but some major changes are due for the Soviets.

Sounds about right. The Germans are generally a lot easier to pin down than their opponents. In my Poland scenario I find myself constantly fiddling with the Poles, whilst the Germans largely stay untouched.