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Cauldrons of War - Stalingrad News

Stalingrad at last!

Stalingrad, September 14th

The Germans made a final push against a battered 62nd Army and the Volga is only some hundred of meters away.
Could the soviets resist just one more day until the 13th Guards Division could cross the Volga?
The seasoned veterans of the 71th german Infantry division are confident: the end of the campaign is at hand...




[h2]The Stalingrad Scenario enters its BETA stage.[/h2]

It describes the fightings for the center of Stalingrad from September 14th to September 25th.

The Cauldrons of War system have been totally reworked to offer you a deep dive into the hell of Stalingrad.

What changes compared to your regular Cauldrons of War scenarios?

-The scale is the company, not the Army
-1 Turn is one day or 1 night
-You fight for blocks of buildings, not for operations

[h3]And yes, you can already play it![/h3]

==> type "C" + "S" while on the main menu to unlock the scenario.*

For the moment, some options are desactivated, like the save system, the hot seat, the PBEM and the soviet side.
But you can enjoy a full solo experience as the German.

Have fun!

Maestro Cinetik





*(not on the scenario menu, and I said "C", not "Ctrl")

The HQ Management patch

[h2]You can now transfer ressources between your Army groups or Fronts.[/h2]

This may not succeed however :

Generals were constantly asking for reinforcements and those had to be taken from other Army groups whose general would fight not to let their assets go...

You can now too play this petty games.
Click on your Fronts or Army Groups : you will see a new HQ icon along your armies. This icon gives you access to new actions :
- Ask for more trucks
- Ask for more reserves
- Ask for more aircrafts

If playing as the Axis, you ma be offered the possibility to activate Army Group Crimea if it isn't active.

This new transfer feature has been playested in the previous days and seems to work fine. I hope you will enjoy it.

[h2]Other minor features[/h2]

-Turkey can now directly besiege Batumi
-Giant Pockets have been added to the western part of the Caucasus
-A new Axis event have been added in the case the Army Group Center destroys all the soviets units in Rhzev or Orel.
(Some of these features have been added since a week or two , but they are now well tested and debugged, so they make it to the "official patch")

[h2]Become a bug buster[/h2]

In the menu, I've added a "bug report" button : this feature will greatly facilitate my bug hunt.

Here is a list of some of the recently killed bugs:

-Some Buggy operations have been fixed : Narva, Kharkov, The Caucasus Giant Pockets
-You now really score points as the Soviet for taking Kharkov
-If you send aircrafts to "briefly" help Model, you won't lose them next turn.
-You no longer spend 2 Command points to fight partisans in cleaning operations.

Many other minor bugs have fallen, but I just keep track of the "Star Bugs".


[h2]The Stalingrad City Scenario[/h2]

Still in progress...
I am testing a lot of ideas... and discard a lot of them.
But I am starting to get satisfied.

Have fun!

Maestro Cinetik

Quality of Life Patch

Here are 2 features you were waiting for :

[h2]Display units on the map[/h2]

German symbols for Armies, Corps and Divisions will now be displayed on map if you choose so (use for that the new button on the bottom left of the screen).
A glance at the map is now enough to evaluate the balance of power.

[h2]The minimap on the operation screen[/h2]

You can now replace the illustration by a minimap when you are on the operation screen.
Even better : hovering actions that send units to other operations will display that minimap and center it on the concerned operation : isn't that great?
You won't have anymore to switch between screens to figure out where you should send your armies.

[h2]And what about the new map I promised?[/h2]

It is still a work in progress, BUT :
try that cheat code "C"+"S" when you are on the map screen.
That will change the current map for the futur map.
(Borders are pre war, some cites are not well positionned etc..., but at least you will have the same feeling that the futur map will ptovide)

Once that map will be out, I will certainly suppress all other maps.


[h2]And what about the Stalingrad Scenario?[/h2]

The game system does not suits well to urban fightings at company level...
So that scenario will be a whole different game in the game.
I would say that I've done 20% of the work.

2 game systems in the same game may not be a good designer's practice, but I just don't care ^^
(I hope you won't mind neither)

Have fun!

Maestro Cinetik


Cauldrons of War Stalingrad - some new features, some bugs erradicated

Hello gamers!

[h2]New content[/h2]

New action tooltip
You have been asking for a long time for a better "tooltip" feature.
You can now display tooltips when hovering actions. The delay before displaying the information may be too long, but I though that a too short delay would be annoying : tell me what do you think.

A new map button to display supply capabilities
The map may be overcrowded with all those informations, so I guess you will only use it from time to time.
If you press that button you will display local and HQ's rail points, and the number of HQ's trucks left.
If an operation is a remote battlefield or an isolated operation you will also know it at quick glance.



[h2]Bugs killed[/h2]

Among the many bugs that annoyed you, I am pleased to announce that the bug who left operations with zero command points is now in the bug's hell in good company.
(That bug infested frequently Army groups B, Don, Crimea and South West Front)

Is that damn "southern approach to Stalingrad" bug really dead? Or will he rise again? : After intensive testing I couldn't trigger it... So I guess it is fixed now. (I knew that calling an exorcist was the right solution in this case).

[h2]Game Balance[/h2]

As the german you need to destroy less soviet armies in Fall Blau to earn victory points.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Features and contents to come


[h2]The Stalingrad City scenario[/h2]

The work is still in progress.
The first scenario will be about the fightings in Stalingrad Center from September 14th to September 28th (final dates may vary slightly).
Weary but confident germans will start the scenario by pushing towards the Volga, only slowed by remnents of broken soviet units.
Only to be pushed back by the powerful 13th guard division that just arrived.
As the scenario progresses, new urban fighting tactics are experimented and the battlefield gets more and more destroyed.
At scenario end, taking a single block of buildings will only be possible trough carefull assault planification.


[h2]A new map, more "General staff" style[/h2]

I am working also to get information about your forces displayed on the map, using german symbols.


[h2]On the to do list for who know when[/h2]

-Some more operations for the Turkish Army (towards Tbilissi and Batumi)
-Some rework of western Caucasus operations with the possibility to create german pockets there
-A Stalingrad city scenario about the fightings in the Factory sector (if ever you liked the central Stalingrad scenario)


Have Fun!

Maestro Cinetik



First patches, game tips and what's next insights

First patch content]


[h3]Bug fixing[/h3]

I was suprised by how few bugs you've reported. That "pre release" polishing week was finally worth it.
Among the fixed bugs here are the nastiest I have erradicated :

-"The leningrad saved game vanishing" bug : RIP little angel gone too soon
-"The Long Campaign lasting just a few turns" bug: You won't miss us naughty boy
-"The never ending Uranus campaign (german side)" bug: Farewell and never come back!

I have also made some Cheat code tinkering.
-Cheat codes now triggers a nice "powerup arcade game sound" (this is all that you deserve you shameless cheaters)
-The Aircraft cheat code was bugged for the german side : this is fixed now
-I have added one more cheat code, but it is so powefull that I hesitate to talk about it for the moment...

[h3]A community internationalization modding tool[/h3]

Some of you asked me where to find the language files to translate them. I facilitated the process. You can now generate a single file in a simple format (not even one of those XML or CSV things) : just text you can modify using your notepad.
For those using different fonts, I've made a test for chinese fonts : this shall work well.


How to play and how to win?]


I know that many of you are struggling to unlock that long campaign.

Here are a few tips and a strategy that should help you getting those 8 points.
This is not the 11-20pts strategy, just the 7-8 points prudent strategy.

First, let's pick some limited objectives.
I propose Stalingrad, Leningrad and Maikop

[h2]The Drive towards Stalingrad [/h2]

Pro tip 1 : Do not try to take Voronezh, or you will just end being bogged down just enough turns to arrive too late at Stalingrad.
Pro tip 2 : Don't lose command points by shelling : just attack and progress
Pro tip 3 : those romanian cavalry units are very useful to progress in an empty steppe
Pro tip 4 : You don't need to spend all your Command points for Stalingrad, you need also to progress fast towards Rostov. If you are not disciplined enough to do that, I suggest you split your Army group South
Pro tip 5 :Don't spend to many points to protect your flanks too early.
Pro tip 6 :When asked if you want Stalingrad as a 3pts Objective : say yes.

[h2]Taking Maïkop [/h2]

Pro tip 1 : You will need a Panzer Army there. You may pick the Millerovo choice or send one Panzer Army using your command points. Do what you want, but the 17th Army alone will be too slow to trap the ennemy and get to Rostov in time.

Pro tip 2 : Rush Maïkop and take it fast, or the soviet will bring there too many reinforcements. Once Maïkop is taken you will be proposed by event to bomb the Grozny and Baku oilfields : accept it!

[h2]Taking Leningrad [/h2]

Pro tip 1 : Leningrad only counts in Victory conditions if you choose so by sending the 11th Army north after the fall of Sevastopol

Pro tip 2 : Just shell Leningrad with your Siege Giant Guns during 3-4 weeks, then assault.

You should have at the time :
1 Victory point for controlling the Don-Volga isthmus.
3 Victory points for Stalingrad (if you followed the above tips, you should have get to the city in time and have taken it before the soviet brings in too many reinforcements)
2 points for the bombing of Caucasus oil fields
2 points for Leningrad (or may be 3 I forgot)
==> 8 points
If you don't lose ground, that will be enough

The Historical Gamer made some great videos recently : you can certainly learn from his successes and his mistakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xOz-M9iz1w&t=7

What's next]


not necessarily in that order :

-Some more operations for Turkey (Towards Batumi and Tbilissi)
-Some more display buttons for the map (you may want to see the strengh ratios for each operations)
-The Urban Stalingrad Scenarios
-A rework of the map (Again!)


Have fun!


Maestro Cinetik