SGS Afrika Korps News

• A quick fix to solve the 'Nike' effect on the Massive Air Raid card of the Commonwealth.
  
• Other cards effects improved, and localization texts changed.
  
• Improved AI on the defensive air phase (might be slightly longer in proceedings now)
  
• Minor scenario fixes (setups, cards in hands)
  

Save compatible.

After a little more than a month from launch, the game has received a warm welcome from players. We have taken note of quite a few remarks and suggestions and are pleased to bring now, just before Xmas, this major update to you.

[h2]IMPORTANT:[/h2] The improvements and additions below are not compatible with the previous version of SGS Afrika Korps, so can’t run saves made in the original version or allow continuation of ongoing PBEM in the older version. Make sure you don’t do the update if you wish to play on with an older game.


[h3]*** IMPROVEMENTS ***[/h3]

• (UI) Reduced Height of mini map.
  
• (Battle Summary) Added tooltip indicating how units were damaged.
  
• (Air battle) Implemented Air Supremacy: side parameter + associated effect to enable/disable for the specified side.
  
• (Air movement) Added scenario parameter to disable strategic bombing movement for scenarios that don't need it (no economy in AK, so useless here).
  
• (AI) Improved calculation of region's AI interest score.
  
• (AI) Increased mobility of AI-controlled units.
  
• (AI) Reduced chances that an AI-controlled stack retreats on a region whose terrain does not allow supply.
  
• (Aerial AI) Much improved assignation of Air Stacks for Attack and Defense moves.
  
• (Battle): Added a special Panzer phase, when German armoured units are present in clear terrain, they receive an extra and exclusive pre-battle fire phase (representing better tactical mastery).
  
• (Battle) Obstacles units are now destroyed at the end of the main round (will avoid a single barbed wire to delay a whole division in case of bad dice rolls).
  
• (Quick battle) Fixed pursuit phase.
  
• (Units and DB): revised some units values (e.g. 88mm AA guns) or strength (most Brigades have now less hit points, and those are based on a mixed of number of troops and quality of them). Air units have most of their factors revised, to match with new AI and better usage. Some graphics have been changed or improved.
  
• (Localization) Updated Italian localization and added Portuguese localization.
  
• (PBEM) Saves that are not playable by the local player are now greyed for better readability.
  

[h3]*** FIXES ***[/h3]

• (Mouse cursors) Fixed some mouse cursors that appeared scrambled on some systems.
  
• (UI) Fixed mini map overlapping with phase windows.
  
• (UI) Fixed issue where opening Structure info window would block the rest of the UI without allowing to close this windows.
  
• (Summary phase) Fixed bug where regions won would keep green stripes on subsequent phases.
  
• (Cards) Fixed bug where the move range of a stack was not immediately updated after playing a card that changes it.
  
• (Cards) Fixed game freeze due to cards being simultaneously deactivated and drawn.
  
• (Cards) Fixed bug in card play conditions that resulted in some cards never being playable.
  
• (Cards) Fixed the ‘Nuke’ effect on the Massive Air Raid Commonwealth card.
  
• (Aerial interception) Fixed issue that resulted in a very low probability of aerial interception/discovery test success.
  
• (Aerial interception) Fixed issue where an interception stack was incorrectly supposed to have radars.
  
• (Air combat) Fixed bug where air combat modifiers were not removed from units after battles.
  
• (Camouflage) Fixed bug where structure units where not taken into account when deciding what happens if a an enemy unit removes its camouflage and no allied stack is in the region itself.
  
• (Movement) Fixed issue where regions were incorrectly inaccessible through automated movement (right-click on stack).
  
• (Auto Move Mode) Fixed bug that missed a part of Regions accessible to the selected stack.
  
• (Auto Move Mode) Fixed bug that allowed to perform auto-move while still playing cards in the movement phase.
  
• (Battle) Fixed freeze while units are shooting (often happening with Elite units).
  
• (Battle) Fixed bug affecting all SGS Games where the first battle dice was always 0.
  
• (Retreat) Fixed bug where land and air units could be merged in a single stack, causing the destruction of air units because they cannot retreat with the others.
  
• (Retreat) Fixed bug that could cause retreating units to be destroyed although they had valid retreat destinations.
  
• (Retreat) Defender cannot retreat through enemy lines anymore (e.g. retreat in or behind a region from which attackers came).
  
• (Localization) Added missing localization in unit tooltips.
  
• (PBEM) Fixed a bug that prevented the "Send save" button to be displayed at the end of the turn, the game would continue as if normal and not PBEM.
  

[h3]*** SCENARIOS AND CONTENT ***[/h3]
The main focus in scenario content was brought to the 1941 and 1942 Grand Campaigns, although all the above new code and database changes also apply in all (other) scenarios.

• (Scenarios) Added a new Operazione E scenario starting with the Italian Offensive in September 1940. The former scenario of same name starting in November 1940 is now renamed Compass (from the British operation name)
  
• (Map) Added quite a few extra sea regions (will help AI and also prevent using short-circuit travel over seas). Added the famous Halfaya Pass east of Sollum. Improved visual distinction between roads and trails.
  
• (OOB) Added new units (e.g. Desert forts, some Italian artillery, more AA units, USAAF units in 1942)
  
• (Events) Added weather events to cover the extreme heat situation in the Summer months of July and August (with extra losses in deep desert)
  
• (Events) Added Supply Disruption events against Axis to better represent the key role of Malta (will immobilize units on the Axis side, will give more Malta-related cards to the Allies). In the same spirit, more LRDG cards are regularly drawn by the Allies.
  
• (Events) Added Offensive Halted events, where in exchange of severe limitations in movement your side receive a larger influx of replacements.
  
• (Events) Added more historical events, such as extra defense to Tobruk, the Axis recapture of key Cyrenaica locations, or the Pedestal Operation. Fixed some of the already existing events, with a more historically-realistic timing.
  
• (Cards) Convoys for the Allies, more defensive cards, various improvements and fixes. Cards offering advantages in land battle now usually require a minimum of 3 lands units to be involved to be playable.
  
• (AI) Improved Strategic AI for the campaigns, in particular helping it with better relocation of air forces. Major work effort from our main Historical Advisor and Playtester, Lodilefty.
  
• (Game Balance) Added more events for a better flow of replacements, and extra free draw of useful cards (repairs, new units, rest, etc…). Added also events that will reconstruct over time some useful units lost in combat (mostly Armor units) to avoid unbalancing the campaign.
  

For those of you who read my stuff, you know I'm a big fan of Phillipe Thibaut's computer wargame designs. With his new SGS design studio via Avalon Digital, last July he dropped Winter War on the Russo-Finnish War of 1939, and now follows this success with Afrika Korps, another game with a distinctly Wars Across the World on steroids pedigree.

It is truly the best example of how games can accurately simulate high level military operations using a common set of core rules across multiple time frames and environments, with only a minimal amount of tweaking. It means learn one game and you can easily play the rest, and so it is with Winter War and Afrika Korps.

Which is another way of saying that I am not going to discuss detailed game play mechanisms - like turn sequence and the like - because I've been there, done that. Instead take a look back at my review of Winter War and especially Jim Cobb's review on Wars Across the World if you need a refresher on those particulars. Instead what follows is a discussion on what changed, what hasn't and whether the game lives up to the history it replicates.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:


Winter War Review

Impedimenta: Feeding the Iron Behemoth - Logistics & Supply in Hearts of Iron

Review: Assault on Arnhem

https://www.facebook.com/strategygamestudio

After months of Beta testing, the game is now ready for launch. Enjoy playing the famous Afrika Korps and other Axis formations or repulse them with the fabled Desert Rats of the British 8th Army, with many small scenarios, medium campaigns and a grand campaign 1941 to 1942