Hey Guys,
I
Please keep any issues or praise coming. This edition are to be consider a final walk through before final release. So keep them coming.
Hello,
Great job overall!
A couple of constructive comments: the new WT melee rules remove one of the weirdest aspects of the prior version, namely that a tripod MG crewed by a 0 FP half squad had a "3" melee value, whereas a WT with the same weapon only had a "1", and could not counterattack. I submit, however, that this leads to overrating WTs in melee: 3 guys manning an MG 42 would have a value of "4" in melee, as much as 3 Soviet squads + 1 LMG. This strikes me as odd, since the time-honored tactic for taking out an MG nest is to get close and lob a grenade into it (i.e.: melee). I would propose amending 1.6.1 and 1.7 so that tripod MG DO NOT add their FP in melee (they are too unwieldy to be effective at very close range) and that ALL WT (MG or not) fight just like a "0" FP squad. This, to me at least, makes sense: a weapon crew is still a crew, complete with sidearms, and they can fight back (especially when attacked by a weak squad).
Likewise, I very much like that artillery can now affect closed vehicles. I would propose however that buttoned tanks use their HIGHEST armor factor, capped at 8, whereas open, and open topped vehicles, use the lowest value. I have been testing this house rule for some time and it works well.
For rally, I would make it clear that linear terrain (walls, bocage) gives the '2' bonus only when no enemy, not shaken unit, has an unobstructed LOS into the hex.
Regarding to hit modifiers, I would add that all AT guns benefit from the -1 for being open, except when firing from a bunker.
I would also amend 1.6 to state that SWs that use the OFT can be fired from buildings BUT that, if they do so, the TM drops to (not by) +1: there are always rooftops, building corners, etc., that one can fire from without being incinerated by the backblast. Otherwise, urban areas become, paradoxically, harder places for infantry units with Bazookas or Panzerfausts to find good firing solutions (except if one artificially adds rubble hexes).
All the best,
Nicolas
