Bolt 5.0

[Aaron]

Gonna update Bolt out of the Blue to 1.02 with some changes, any ideas or issues nows the time. Gonna try to be done by next weekend.

I posted some info in the Mod threads above.

Aaron

[Elxaime]

Gonna update Bolt out of the Blue to 1.02 with some changes, any ideas or issues nows the time. Gonna try to be done by next weekend.

I posted some info in the Mod threads above.

Aaron

Hi and thanks again for your amazing mod. Some observations from playing it several times on either side:

Predictability
I realize this may be rather a reach, since the scenario already imagines the near-impossibility of strategic Warsaw Pact surprise, but as a game freshener it would be great if the pre-game included a set of strategic options for where the Pact would weight its attack and then a set-up of forces based on the Pact player's strategic choice (e.g. north, center, south or balanced). It need not involve a wholesale redistribution, but rather be like the current Berlin options, which involve where to place a division. Having several Pact starting divisions line up in different places would add an air of uncertainty to the early game for NATO.

Helicopters
I like the increased vulnerability of helicopters, but I am wondering if it shortchanges them too much. You may want to slightly tweak the defense values of the more heavily armored or agile models. I also still wonder why some of the Pact and NATO members didn't have combat helicopters, e.g. the Poles, Netherlands, the Danes, the Belgians, the Austrians, the Italians. Was it really only the US, Soviets, West and East Germans and the Czechs who had them?

[Aaron]

Gonna update Bolt out of the Blue to 1.02 with some changes, any ideas or issues nows the time. Gonna try to be done by next weekend.

I posted some info in the Mod threads above.

Aaron

Hi and thanks again for your amazing mod. Some observations from playing it several times on either side:

Predictability
I realize this may be rather a reach, since the scenario already imagines the near-impossibility of strategic Warsaw Pact surprise, but as a game freshener it would be great if the pre-game included a set of strategic options for where the Pact would weight its attack and then a set-up of forces based on the Pact player's strategic choice (e.g. north, center, south or balanced). It need not involve a wholesale redistribution, but rather be like the current Berlin options, which involve where to place a division. Having several Pact starting divisions line up in different places would add an air of uncertainty to the early game for NATO.

Helicopters
I like the increased vulnerability of helicopters, but I am wondering if it shortchanges them too much. You may want to slightly tweak the defense values of the more heavily armored or agile models. I also still wonder why some of the Pact and NATO members didn't have combat helicopters, e.g. the Poles, Netherlands, the Danes, the Belgians, the Austrians, the Italians. Was it really only the US, Soviets, West and East Germans and the Czechs who had them?

I havnt tweak defense but i raised movement to between 30-40 from 24-28. This should help to get it in and take the shot and get out a safe distance. Thats the theory anyways. Ive also eliminated all recon helos from the game so there are less. Belgium, Dutch and such had very few helos, the ones they had were mostly outdated and only for observation or liaison. The poles, chechs and egermans do have a few and there at armie level. Thats all they had, the soviets didnt trust any Pact members with the hind so they only had a couple dozen each.

The Austrians were not even allowed to have ATGMs, helos would have machine guns only. I dont think there air force got there first AAM sidewinders intill the wall came down. Old school jets with guns. No SAMs either

edit.( i can see buffing up the defenses of the attack helos 2 points) it helps a little but not alot. I still think the movement is key if you use them right, if you keep them hovering on the front they wont last long

As far as more surprise like you said its already push at limits if not past. If given time to set initial units it would have meant even more troop movements before the attack which in turn would have raised alerts in nato. The reinforcements are set up so you can concentrate divisions coming in to push your attack where ever you want.

Nato tank values have gone down, the big loss is anything with the 105mm gun, the 105mm round could not penetrate the front arc of a t72 and up intill 1989 when a new round was introduced that most tanks couldnt use except the original M1. Along with defense going down on most of these same tanks its gonna help that initial push. Your Leo1s and M-60s and such took a hit

Aaron

[JDR Dragoon]

I also still wonder why some of the Pact and NATO members didn't have combat helicopters, e.g. the Poles, Netherlands, the Danes, the Belgians, the Austrians, the Italians. Was it really only the US, Soviets, West and East Germans and the Czechs who had them?

Easy. They were very expensive, very vulnerable, had limited loiter time and could not physically defend or attack a given piece of terrain (they could of course dominate it by fire). These facts meant, that most of the above nations took a long hard look at the funds available and decided that they would rather have more ATGM launchers on some kind of vehicle instead of on helicopters.

The danish army decided to procure an AT-Helicopter company for the Jutland Division in 1987 (to match the germans who had a similar unit for the 6. PzG Div. and because the terrain on the Jutland peninsula and the likely task of mobile defence meant, that a very mobile ATGM equipped unit would be useful). The helicopters (12xAS550 equipped w. 4xTOW each) was procured by 1990 and the company ready in 1992. But by then it wasn´t really that important anymore.

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Belgium, Dutch and such had very few helos, the ones they had were mostly outdated and only for observation or liaison.

Not necessarily outdated, but yes

Thats all they had, the soviets didnt trust any Pact members with the hind so they only had a couple dozen each.

They trusted them plenty. But by the 1980s the soviets wanted cold hard cash (preferentally western cash) for their hardware, and the various satellites often couldn´t afford too many of the expensive items. Attack helicopters and modern jets like the MiG 29 is pretty much as expensive as it gets (East Germany definitely wanted more of the latter to replace MiG 21s, but simply couldn´t afford it in the short term).

Nato tank values have gone down, the big loss is anything with the 105mm gun, the 105mm round could not penetrate the front arc of a t72 and up intill 1989 when a new round was introduced that most tanks couldnt use except the original M1. Along with defense going down on most of these same tanks its gonna help that initial push. Your Leo1s and M-60s and such took a hit

You might want to qualify the above a bit. The statement is very much dependent upon which type of ammunition is being fired from the 105mm gun against which type of T72.

Salut!