Bolt out of the Blue 5.3

[Aaron]

Well guys, shooting for a Sunday post of Bolt 5.0. Checking 2 more things in game and wanna run through the oob one more time for errors. I could sit here for 6 months and make a small adjustment everyday but its come down to is it doing anything. I think ive reach that point where only time will tell with multiple games and months down the road of playing to know if any more adjustments need to be made. I will say its not the same game as 4.7. We like it, we like it alot. I think and hope you do as well.

Aaron

[Midge]

Just curious. Will version 5.0 alter the digging-in, mine-laying or bunker construction probabilities? Being able to construct some bunkers, even in the time frame of the game, could be useful, especially for the NATO in the Jutland area.

Digging in is now 25% so that makes eng 75% and mine probability is 20%, no bunkers though. Jutland is 10 times better now for nato but still going to be tuff just because of the open terrain.

Just curious why no bunker-building capabilities? Is it a play balance issue? I am no engineer, but my lay-man's thought is that by 1989 a military engineer could do things much faster than his 1944 counterpart. It would add a nice element of strategy since building even a small bunker line can provide a useful pivot for gathering reserves.

While we are at it, a question on Deception units. Is it an appropriate house rule to require both sides to deploy them once they arrive on-map? In some games, I have noticed players keep them undeployed and use them to both fight and cause casualties and also to spot for air/artillery. Then, once the enemy is closing in - poof - they deploy. This seems iffy to me. Also (and I admit to guiltily doing this myself) if they appear close enough to the front you can deploy your SpecOps units back onto hexes occupied by your own side. They reappear undeployed at the start of your next turn and then can be deployed again further back in this way, out of enemy range, to serve as a reserve secret weapon to deploy if the enemy breaks the line. This also seems iffy, although I have done it myself. So - any suggested house rules on Deception units with Bolt 5.0?

Just to add to what Aaron has said:
Modern Engineering assets are capable of adding to a defensive position quickly, but these positions in essence are IP or at the most Trenches. The various values tweaked allows these things to be built pretty quick especially if you have an Engineer Company in the hex, pretty much one turn and you have an IP. The defensive benefit from both IP and Trenches have also been improved slightly. A little tip for any potential Nato Players, dig and dig quick!

Deception Units: They are marked as Partisan which means you get the Deception benefit without having to deploy them and you can also use them for raiding which would be high up on the list of priorities for these SF in reality. Both sides SF trained for these "deep raids" on command C3 targets and other important targets such as Nuke launch platforms. Note, as they're marked as Partisan they can't call in Arty or Air, slightly unrealistic I know as these SF would call in airstrikes on any juicy targets they found. In the tests I did with Aaron as the Sov player I managed to hit two or three Nato HQ's with Spetznaz raids destroying the 3 Pz Div HQ completely. We have the attack values of these units set quite high so you are able to raid a "soft target" and cause considerable damage. If you hang about though you will die. You also have the option if you wish of just deploying them into Deception Mode and forget their raiding potential, your call.
Personally I prefer the raiding option, it can have a marked effect on Command and Control, especially for WarPac as their Command is not as numerous and flexible as Nato's. Its a WarPac weakness that Nato needs to take advantage of as they'll need all the help they can get, trust me!

[Aaron]

Bolt out of the Blue 5.0 is posted, link on the first post of this thread.

Aaron

[Elxaime]

Hi - looks wonderful. However the Pact 34th Artillery spotting issue seems to have resurfaced. If the Pact 34th Division is used, as it is commonly, around Berlin, the organizational grouping there cannot spot for the guns...

[Midge]

Hi - looks wonderful. However the Pact 34th Artillery spotting issue seems to have resurfaced. If the Pact 34th Division is used, as it is commonly, around Berlin, the organizational grouping there cannot spot for the guns...

May be an oversight. The consensus was the 34th Arty Div would be used to punch a hole through Nato's frontline as opposed to being used to turn Berlin into a pile of rubble. It may be Aaron forgot to remove the Berlin Strategic Option for this Arty Div.

There are considerable Arty assets already around Berlin. If you wish when elements of 149 Arty Div from Sov Northern Group Forces comes on you can move some or all elements south. If you've chosen the Strategic Option to use the East German 1st MRD around Berlin this Division can call in 149 Arty Div firepower.

Hope this helps

[Aaron]

Hi - looks wonderful. However the Pact 34th Artillery spotting issue seems to have resurfaced. If the Pact 34th Division is used, as it is commonly, around Berlin, the organizational grouping there cannot spot for the guns...

Its not that it has resurfaced it was never mentioned to me but as soon as i got halfway through your sentence i knew the problem. The download has been updated with a knew .scn file without the berlin deployment and for those who have already downloaded is below a couple posts or on the first post.



Aaron

[Elxaime]

Thanks - that was super fast.

My initial sense so far is this version will play VERY differently that the prior for at least four reasons:

1. The ability to move through ZOC at least one hex will help attackers
2. However the raising of Trench effects to 50 percent will help an established defense
3. Warsaw Pact can no longer rely just on grinding attrition due to having a recovery rate 1/5th of NATO and no replacement rate
4. On the other hand, the improvement of infantry assault values, especially versus armor, will help the more numerous Pact overrun attempts by NATO to deploy a few AFV to delay them

On the strategy guide, looks spot on. I like the fact that Hamburg is again a potential hedgehog with the addition of a supply source. I haven't scouted the whole map but there seem to be more of these, making hedgehog defenses more viable. This makes sense - I always thought it strange that NATO troops would immediately feel isolated effects when a road was cut to a heavily garrisoned prewar base - at least in the time frame of this scenario. I also think it is great to move the victory locations closer to the Federal Republic of Germany border, as it was too easy previously for NATO to apply a politically disastrous early retreat strategy.

Looks like fantastic work. Now I just need to find an opponent willing to undertake the time and commitment to finish this monster!

[Aaron]

You forgot one, movement speeds. Big change on the game. As the WP though u can still rely on attrition, that is your main advantage is numbers. While Nato yes has higher replacement they have to be pulled out of the line to do so and while this is happening theres a fresh WP division rolling onto the map every 12 hours for 9 days to keep the pressure on.

Yes you have the potential as Nato to hole up in towns and cities and watch the WP go by..

Aaron

[Aaron]

For those who have downloaded Bolt 5.0 today (8-19-13) you need this new .scn file. This both eliminates the Berlin option for the 34th ART DIV and places the US Harriers into not available till the 16th.


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[CarnageINC]

Hey Tazaaron, I have done every thing I can to download this file but your site won't work for me. Is it possible to repost to a different file share provider?