From: Nich Hills Subject: COMP: The Ardennes Offensive (LONG) Review of The Ardennes Offensive Publishers: SSG/SSI System Requirements: Pentium 90 running Windows 95. Mouse and CD ROM drive. 8 Mbytes RAM. About 18 Mbytes of hard drive space. TAO is the first computerised wargame I've played for a long time that has me thinking: "so *that's* why they invented computers". TAO feels more like a boardgame than any other SSG game I've played, but has a number of neat features that would be too difficult to put in a real boardgame. NEAT FEATURES An odd thing about boardgames is when a unit moves from a rough to a clear hex and expends one movement point. However, when the unit retraces its path, it pays 2 MPs to return to the rough hex! In TAO, this problem is overcome - a unit moving from a rough to a clear hex pays the MP cost of the average of the two hexes; that is, half the clear MP cost and half the rough MP cost. A minor detail, but a satisfying one. Another standard gripe of many boardgames is the attacker moving faster against light opposition than no opposition, thanks to advance after combat. In TAO, combat and movement are integrated. A unit can move-fight, fight-move or move-fight-move. The computer keeps track of movement points (called Operations Points in TAO) partly expended. You can partly move one regiment, fully move another regiment, fight a battle, then continue the first regiment's movement where you left off. There are some restrictions. A unit can only attack once per turn. Fighting a battle causes 'combat residue' slowing units passing through a vacated defender's hex. There are a few other features that slow movement ZOCs slow movement, with 'real' units having the stickiest ZOCs, anti-tank and engineers having a medium ZOC, and artillery having an almost negligible ZOC. Supply is neat too. Being cut out of supply does not instantly reduce the fighting ability of units. Movement ability is usually reduced straight away, but units retain an Attacking Combat Capability (ACC) and a Defending Combat Capability (DCC). An out-of- supply unit is allowed *one* attack. If it breaks the encirclement, good. if not, no more attacks until it is relieved. An out-of- supply unit is allowed *one *full-strength* defence. After that, it has lost its DCC until it is back in supply. A unit without DCC always has to retreat after combat. A CRT mandated retreat becomes an additional loss. If the CRT calls for losses, the losses are increased by 1. A D1 (defender loses 1 step) result becomes a D2R (defender looses 2 steps and retreats). A D1R becomes a D3R - ouch! There is a neat feature of combat. For a 'big' battle (generally 3 defenders in a hex) the computer rolls two dice and applies both results. This allows up to double the maximum losses of a normal combat. (Which is as it should be. If three regiments attacking one regiment can inflict one loss, why shouldn't nine regiments attacking three regiments inflict higher losses, despite the same odds?) MECHANICS TAO is for the most part a regimental game, with some non-divisional battalion units such as anti-tank and tank-destroyers. Most regiments have three steps. When the final step is lost a strong- point can be formed. The strong point is weak and immobile, but still must be destroyed. A unit can take reinforcements provided it still has at least on step left. You cannot give a reinforcement to a strongpoint to bring the dead regiment back. Stacking is three high. Each turn is half a day. TAO has divisional integrity rules in the form of a bonus. The bonus varies between divisions, and represents the value of divisional assets other that the three regimental counters of a division. 9th Pz has a bonus of 50% whereas 246th VG division has a bonus of only 20%. To receive the integrity bonus on the attack, all regiments of a division must be stacked together. The bonus on defence is available when all regiments of a division are within two hexes of another regiment of the division (so regiment-space-regiment-space- regiment gives the defender the integrity bonus. There is a 'concentric attack' bonus (called a Tactical Shift in TAO). The way it works is as follows. The defender gets an intrinsic shift of four odds columns leftwards! The attacker gets rightward column shifts for each non-river hexside from which the attack comes. The first two non-river hexsides are a two columns shift each, subsequent hexsides are one shift each. A defending unit, entirely surrounded, gets the 4 left shifts + (2x2 + 4x1) right shifts, for a total of four odds column shifts to the right. this would change a 2:1 attack into a 6:1 attack. (And yes, TAO uses a CRT.) This leaves the attacker with a tough choice. Do you keep your divisions stacked to gain the integrity bonus, or unstack to maximise your Tactical Shift. Note: Not only do units attacking across a river not get Tactical Shift, but their attack strengths are halved! Half attack strengths *and* four left shifts make it hard to break a strong river line. INTERFACE The interface, if anything, reminds me of SSG's Warlords. Moving stacks or moving individual units is fairly straightforward. The valid movement paths of units or stacks is highlighted, as in SSI's Panzer General You can adjust your counter markings in one of three ways: icons (pictures of tanks, guns and soldiers), NATO symbols, or divisional symbols. I generally play with divisional symbols as divisional integrity plays such a big part in the game. The game allows you to play against the computer, two humans to play head-to-head, the computer to play the computer, or you the human American to play against the computer controlled British and Germans. I say "against the British" advisedly. If the computer controls the Brits they always move *after* your pieces. It's frustrating to see the Brits walk away from the defensive positions they were in, with nothing you can do until after the Germans have moved. There are also various internet, network modem and play-by- electronic-mail options for playing against a human on another computer. I'm too much of a luddite to have tried these options. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE I have found the AI capable and opportunistic. I had overwhelming superiority as the Germans in the Bastogne Scenario. I was using a weak AT battalion to gain an extra hex worth of Tactical Shift on a stack that I was also attacking with two divisions. In the American turn, a force jumped out of a nearby defensive position, bushwhacked by battalion and scuttled off. I realise the game's sequence of play *allowed* the Americans to do that, but I didn't expect an *AI* to 'think' of that. Reports on the internet from players stronger than me suggest a capable human can always win, although the AI puts up a good fight. There are two levels of handicapping you can give the computer. these involve boasting the computer's supply level, and giving the AI favourable die-roll modifiers. SCENARIOS There a three part-map scenarios, and four full-map scenarios covering different phases of the campaign. There is also a full-map campaign going from December 16 to January 16. SWASTIKA FREE GAME Although the game has lavish artwork and photographs, there are no swastikas visible in the game. Generally a Maltese cross is used where you would expect a swastika. With pictures of German combat aircraft, there is a featureless diamond on the tail of the aeroplane. I assume this is to allow the game to be freely sold in countries where the display of Nazi symbols is illegal as well as offensive. OVERALL This game will not give you the same experience as, say, being taken apart by Harry Rowland in a face-to-face game of TAHGC's Russian Campaign. It does give you a realistic, detailed and easy-to-play game. The AI is, as mentioned, capable. You can play against a human player, but you won't get the experience of picking up units with your tweezers and moving them across a 22" x 34" map. And there are no counters to clip :-( -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Nich Hills Email: nhills@ActOnline.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------- From: Tom Kassel Subject: Re: COMP: The Ardennes Offensive (LONG) In message <33F1C054.590F@ActOnline.com.au>, Nich Hills writes >Review of The Ardennes Offensive >TAO >feels more like a boardgame than any other SSG game I've played, but >has a number of neat features that would be too difficult to put in a >real boardgame. > I agree about the boardgame feel to TAO. I was particularly surprised by the coarse-grained damage reduction. Most units have three steps, with some weaker one and two step units. There is no consideration of fatigue, disorder, or morale. When a replacement step is assigned, the unit loses its attack opportunity for that turn but can still move at full speed. This leads to odd effects. Panzer divisions can keep attacking every turn, just omitting the odd weakened regiment from the attack for replacements as required, while a defensive line can keep falling back, replacing losses as it goes. As unused replacements are lost, the pace of the offensive is dictated by the number of replacements available next turn as much as anything else. > >TAO has divisional integrity rules in the form of a bonus. The bonus >varies between divisions, and represents the value of divisional >assets other that the three regimental counters of a division. 9th >Pz has a bonus of 50% whereas 246th VG division has a bonus of only >20%. To receive the integrity bonus on the attack, all regiments of >a division must be stacked together. The bonus on defence is Not quite. The units only have to be adjacent to the defending unit which is much more easily achieved. Furthermore, not all units need be committed to the attack. You could move a division adjacent, attack with one of its units, then move the division adjacent to another defender and attack with a previously unused unit. >available when all regiments of a division are within two hexes of >another regiment of the division (so regiment-space-regiment-space- >regiment gives the defender the integrity bonus. > > >There are also various internet, network modem and play-by- >electronic-mail options for playing against a human on another >computer. I'm too much of a luddite to have tried these options. > I'd be very interested to try an E-mail game when you get bored of the AI. > >ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE > >I have found the AI capable and opportunistic. I had overwhelming >superiority as the Germans in the Bastogne Scenario. I was using a >weak AT battalion to gain an extra hex worth of Tactical Shift on a >stack that I was also attacking with two divisions. In the American >turn, a force jumped out of a nearby defensive position, bushwhacked >by battalion and scuttled off. I realise the game's sequence of play >*allowed* the Americans to do that, but I didn't expect an *AI* to >'think' of that. > >Reports on the internet from players stronger than me suggest a >capable human can always win, although the AI puts up a good fight. >There are two levels of handicapping you can give the computer. >these involve boasting the computer's supply level, and giving the AI >favourable die-roll modifiers. You can also increase the computer's replacements. Possibly even more usefully you can play against hidden units while letting the computer see your own units. This might help the computer deal with strategic threats that it otherwise ignores. After thrashing the AI badly as Germans in the northern scenario and Americans in Bastogne, I'm playing Americans in the 64 turn game. By turn 13, my northern and southern counterattacking forces have met, cutting the supply lines to seven panzer divisions who are flailing around to little purpose in front of the Meuse. The computer is fooling about with infantry attacks on the extreme flanks, while neglecting to defend the shoulders of his penetration. >OVERALL > >This game will not give you the same experience as, say, being taken >apart by Harry Rowland in a face-to-face game of TAHGC's Russian >Campaign. > >It does give you a realistic, detailed and easy-to-play game. The AI >is, as mentioned, capable. You can play against a human player, but >you won't get the experience of picking up units with your tweezers >and moving them across a 22" x 34" map. And there are no counters to >clip :-( I have my doubts about realistic and the AI doesn't offer much of a challenge, but the game is certainly easy to play and quite good fun. I look forward to playing an opponent capable of actual thought. -- Tom Kassel From: Nich Hills Subject: COMP: The Ardennes Offensive: Corrections G'day, Thanks to all who privately e-mailed me since my review of The Ardennes Offensive yesterday. Two corrections to make: 1. The divisional integrity bonus on defense is only available to regiments that are within *one* hex of the other regiments of the division. 2. The effect of being OOS on movement (Operations Points) is slightly more complicated than I suggested. When a unit is out of supply it doesn't lose any Operations Points, it just doesn't get any more from the supply network. Because units which don't use all their Operations Points automatically place unused Operations Points in reserve, an encircled unit can potentially have a full move in the turn after being encircled. Cheers! -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Nich Hills Email: nhills@ActOnline.com.au -----------------------------------------------------------