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First Module to Buy - Highway to the Reich or The Cauldron?

Which is better Highway to the Reich or The Cauldron


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  • Poll closed .

Metalogic

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Hi - I downloaded the free Core Command Ops 2 and have been enjoying the tutorial scenario and am now interested in purchasing one of the paid-for modules - I've narrowed the choice down to Highway to the Reich or The Cauldron, as Market Garden and the North Africa battles are my two main areas of interest for operational games (though it's a shame The Cauldron doesn't also cover the earlier battles, such as O'Connor's 1940- offensive and Rommel's initial sweep through Cyrenaica).

Are these both good modules, or is one significantly better than the other? I can't find any reviews of The Cauldron, though the original version of Highway to the Reich seems highly regarded. Could anyone who owns The Cauldron let me know what they think of it, especially if they own both? Thanks
 

simovitch

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Welcome to the best operational level WW2 computer game available. We looked at the early desert battles you mention but the maps were so large and the campaigns so fluid that we felt our time would be best spent on the more set-piece battles pre-Gazala.

Both modules have smaller beginner scenarios and both have sweeping airborne operations where the system really shines. Why not get them both?:D
 

Daz

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I would go with Highway to the Reich.
The smaller scenarios give you a lead in to the huge, From The Meuse to the Rhine scenario, making this a great pack for a beginner, because you can start small to get the hang of things then finish big.

They both play very differently due to the terrain and time period, so are both great investments.
 

Daz

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The units themselves are the usual mix of Coy sized for most line units, Platoon size for Bn support units and Bn size for large Artillery units.

This is the unit count list, not sure if that is actually what you meant?
Scenario-packs.jpg
 

Daz

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I would go with the Highway to the Reich pack if only to play From the Meuse to the Rhine!
IMHO it is the best scenario in the entire line up. (not played any of the new pack yet, waiting to see what Santa gets me ;))

Simovitch is the designer of From the Meuse to the Rhine scenaio by the way.
 

simovitch

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I also designed "Clash of Armour" in the Cauldron pack covering Sidi Rezegh and Totensonntag battles which could be considered a mini-monster I suppose...
 

john connor

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Ah! But it's still only Halloween.

As to which pack to buy, I would agree with Daz about HTTR, though I've enjoyed the desert battles too. The Westwall pack is my current favourite though. Really excellent accurate maps and a great force mix, plus a mix of scenario sizes.

Peter
 

Metalogic

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Ah! But it's still only Halloween.

As to which pack to buy, I would agree with Daz about HTTR, though I've enjoyed the desert battles too. The Westwall pack is my current favourite though. Really excellent accurate maps and a great force mix, plus a mix of scenario sizes.
Peter

Whilst Market Garden does interest me, I'm much more interested in the Desert War theatre, my only concern is whether the Cauldron module contains a reasonable number of smaller scenarios that are good for learning the game system on.
 

john connor

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The two original desert (Crusader) scenarios (that were originally in CO1 CotA) are superb and I always think of them as small and manageable (perhaps irrationally) because the maps are very simple, relatively (obviously - it's desert), with no clutter, so you can see your OB and click through it very easily, see the salient geographical features and your objectives, and cover large distances quickly. They're great to learn with. Both are also challenging, if played as Allies. I'm talking about 'Clash of Armour' and 'Trial by Combat.'

Peter
 

Metalogic

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The two original desert (Crusader) scenarios (that were originally in CO1 CotA) are superb and I always think of them as small and manageable (perhaps irrationally) because the maps are very simple, relatively (obviously - it's desert), with no clutter, so you can see your OB and click through it very easily, see the salient geographical features and your objectives, and cover large distances quickly. They're great to learn with. Both are also challenging, if played as Allies. I'm talking about 'Clash of Armour' and 'Trial by Combat.'

Peter

The scenario lists posted above suggest that Clash of Armour has a unit count of 302 and Trial by Combat has 90 - the former sounds huge! Does this mean it has 302 counters or does "units" represent something else?
 

john connor

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The scenario lists posted above suggest that Clash of Armour has a unit count of 302 and Trial by Combat has 90 - the former sounds huge! Does this mean it has 302 counters or does "units" represent something else?
Probs 300 odd counters, yes. It's quite big, but easy to manage. The system doesn't require you to give orders to all counters and if you do so - as if this were a traditional turn based hex type game - then you would end up overloading the staff and suffering a much longer delay in getting anything done. People find different comfort levels of mixing micro management and standing back, but I think most order essentially at Batallion level, which would roughly mean an order for every 5 or 6 counters. For a scenario with around 300 units the highest level HQ (who you are meant to be) might have a command load of around 40, roughly, and it will generally work out well if you only give around 40 orders. All very rough guide this. I have found both these desert scenarios easy to manage.
 

Metalogic

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Probs 300 odd counters, yes. It's quite big, but easy to manage. The system doesn't require you to give orders to all counters and if you do so - as if this were a traditional turn based hex type game - then you would end up overloading the staff and suffering a much longer delay in getting anything done. People find different comfort levels of mixing micro management and standing back, but I think most order essentially at Batallion level, which would roughly mean an order for every 5 or 6 counters. For a scenario with around 300 units the highest level HQ (who you are meant to be) might have a command load of around 40, roughly, and it will generally work out well if you only give around 40 orders. All very rough guide this. I have found both these desert scenarios easy to manage.

Okay, thanks - 40 sounds a reasonably manageable number, 300 just sounded overwhelming!
 

Metalogic

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BTW I actually bought Highway to the Reich in the end (today!), as there seems to be more coverage about this, which I thought may help with learning the game. I may pick up The Cauldron later, once I've grasped the essentials better!
 
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