France '40 4.00 Map Errors

[jonnymacbrown]

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Thanks for pointing this out. The game designers seem intent on making the French Army as weak as possible so they may no longer be interested in map questions. jonny
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Hi Johnny,

Thank you for sharing your concerns.

We are intent on trying to represent the campaign as authentically as possible within the constraints of the game engine. To this end we are very concerned about balance and trying to ensure that the various units perform similarly to their historic counterparts. The coming update will include several changes to morale values. The only French units whose morale has been lowered are tank units. French armor had built in disadvantages - the "overburdened commander," lack of radios, inefficient sights on the SOMUA, etc. These factors played a huge role in that French tanks could not coordinate in the way that the Panzers could and in tank vs tank action partly nullified whatever advantages the French tanks may have had in armor and firepower. None of this is represented in the unit values themselves which only account for more tangible factors like armor and firepower.  There also many other changes to the OOB and scenarios - many French infantry and some artillery and cavalry regiments have increased morale, there are larger unit sizes to consistently account for the battalion weapons companies which especially favor the French (and Belgians), additional French units not previously represented, and additional fortifications. The reduction of French tank morale has made some scenarios (especially Hannut & Dinant) more competitive and the Germans now have a more realistic chance to accomplish what they historically did, but given all of the changes I do not see the French Army as a whole much weaker in the coming version than it was before, if at all. Certainly what we have done cannot in any way be described as "making the French Army as weak as possible." 

The mega update in October will not likely be the last time we revisit France '40, and certainly if, as we continue to study results on the Blitz, receive feedback  from players, and continue to the play the scenarios ourselves, we may re-assess and make further changes, perhaps putting some morale values back to what they were. You are certainly welcome to use your OOB editor to change morale value as you see fit in your copy of the game.

-Mike P
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Mike. I know how much work you have put into this game and playing the campaign right now I know it's a great game. My only worry is that by making the French tank divisions "D" instead of "C" the Allied players just don't have any good units and when that happens the game just isn't any fun. The Dutch Army is all D and E rated except for a few C's. The Belgian Army is pretty much all D and E except for the Ardennes cyclists. Now all (and practically the only) good units in the French Army will be rated D. The German armor is all A. French armor rated D can't stand up to slugging it out with A rated panzers; they are gonna lose and quickly be disordered and decimated. The only thing the French have is artillery and if you play standard arty rules that allow the German player to stack a mile high with infantry and armor with no density penalty, the French have no chance, and I mean zero. The campaign is 259 turns and it's gonna take at least 100-150 turns to figure that out and won't won't be any fun at all for the French player. I hope it all works out because the map and oob are really outstanding. jonny