Volcano's Alternative Scenarios preferred?

[Mr Grumpy]

Apart from the titles that were created by Ed (Volcano Man) himself there is a VM _alt version of almost every stock scenario, one main difference is that the _alt scenarios use the same optional rules regardless of what title is being played and also the combat values of the units are standardised over every title, you have to remember that the 30 odd PzC and MC titles were designed by several designers and so they use a vast range of optional rules and combat values which some players can find confusing.

So if you "buy" into the _alt scenario system and gain a understanding of how the optional rules effect the way the scenarios play, you can carry that knowledge/experience into any title with _alt scenarios.

Also using several years of playing feedback (which of course the original designers didn't have access to) many _alt versions of campaign scenarios have benefitted from that community feedback and have been tweaked in many ways to create an improved balance for PBEM play or to iron out issues with the original scenarios that the community felt through years of play testing required altering, as Ed says the _alt scenarios are a "community project".

For example I personally worked on the _alt Market Garden campaign scenario to allow the British Airborne forces a chance to seize Arnhem even when the German player knows what is coming, in the stock scenario "historical hindsight" allowed a competent German player to block all approaches to the bridge at Arnhem and made his job of defending there and linking up with German units defending Nijmegen much easier than it was historically IMO.

There are also a number of smaller _alt scenario that have been tested by the community to improve PBEM balance, details of these can be found in the TOC Mod scenario sub forum above this main forum, I personally worked with Ed on several of these and they are a great play.

Like Ed I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with the stock scenarios per se and in the past I have also played both stock and _alt scenarios and enjoyed both, the _alt scenarios are just an alternate edited version of the same scenario, but personally I particularly like the standardisation that the _alt system brings to all the scenarios in the PzC/MC series and the additional tweaks that have been added through community feedback.

In case anyone is wondering the _alt scenarios have there own entry in the scenario DB for reporting games to and earn the same ladder points as the stock scenarios.