S/O Options

[Ricky B]

I understand your point, and agree in part, but I think it depends on the situation and what the strategy is representing that really determines how "fixed" the decision time should be. In some cases, as you say, the choice could be delayed, but in many cases, these was no choice on the timing - the units are arriving and have to be sent immediately to where they are going, or there won't be transport to move them any longer. So I am okay with the strategy choice being locked in timewise.

On the reinforcement side of things, once a choice has been made, the units are added to the reinforcement list as if they were always there, and are treated as normal reinforcements then. Your issue there is with the reinforcement process, rather than the strategy choices. I imagine the program could be changed to treat these reinforcements from a strategy choice differnetly from other reinforcements, but your comments really apply to all reinforcements anyway.

As to that, again I see the situation as being complex and in some cases once a choice was made it couldn't be stopped, in others it could though, and I would tend to say that it would be much more common that reinforcements in the game could be committed when appropriate rather than they would be showing up no matter what. In your example, the airborne drop was only a forgone conclusion once the planes took off, and even then there might have been a way to stop them - I don't know about that though. But up until the take off time, the drop could have been cancelled due to weather, etc. Same thing in Market Garden, where the Polish drop was delayed for days due to weather, but could have been delayed due to the situation on the ground, if appropriate.

As it is, the current system is too flexible, I imagine, but locking all reinforcements into their set timeframe is way too inflexible and I would not like it at all. It is too easy already for an opponent that plays, as Hiroo says he does, to study the release/reinforcement tables and prepare for them, making entry of reinforcements a death trap in many situations in the games, if they can't wait for a more opportune time.

Regards
Rick