xthetenth posted:

Slim Jim was one of the most useful people on the French staff and he didn't command a brigade, there's a lot of roles for people like that.

Also you'd be surprised how many people messed up with the rules.

spectralent posted:

Shucks, if you can join in without having to learn the ruleset first I might as well give it a pop. Is either side short?

Bacarruda posted:

To clear the air for a moment. Speaking for myself (and I think for the whole French team), this was a very fun game to play. Trin did a HUGE number of things right. The scale of the map and the relative force size was excellent. The speed of updates was great. I’m amazed at how fast Trin was able to process so many complex moves with basically no errors.

Trin created a scenario that passed the single biggest test of this kind of game: it was fun. I enjoyed it greatly and look forwards to the next time around.

But like every other red-blooded goon, I enjoy having a fighting chance at outright winning. And looking back on things, I do feel that, given the roads, the deployment zones and the objectives – the French team’s path to victory was fundamentally narrower than the German team’s.

Could the French have won? Sure. But to do so, the French had to pitch a perfect game in the face of some very real difficulties. The Germans had a much easier go of things.

Firstly, the location of the objectives heavily favored a team deploying in the NE corner of the map. The roads gave the German team a direct route to Saint Croissant.

Would anyone like to seriously dispute that getting the Saint Croissant first was not extremely advantageous to the Germans? And would anybody with a ruler and a map like to contend that the French could have the gotten there first?

Given the terrain, the French were going to have to assault Saint Croissant, while the Germans would have the luxury of defending it. And that is the crux of why this battle favored the Germans.

Secondly, there’s an imbalance between offense and defense inherent in c.1914 warfare. This is historical and it is one thing the Spearhead rules simulate extremely well. Whoever gets to strategic ground first will probably keep it.

A) Machine guns and heavy artillery are king at this point – and they are tools well-suited for the defense. The Germans, as they did in history, had more of both. That let them chop up every French infantry attack against them.

B) Urban terrain, wire, and entrenchments give the defender a big advantage. By getting to Saint Croissant first, the Germans could get into cover and concealment in town. Every hour the French spent waiting for a "better time" and marshaling a large-scale attack meant the Germans had more time to dig in, neutralizing the power of the French's limited MGs and 75mms to support such an attack.

C) Organization and communication favor the defender, not the attacker. In Spearhead, attackers have to create detailed and highly coordinated plans built on guesswork and exacting timetables. Defenders get to sit there and shoot.

I don't mind being the underdog. I just like knowing I'm the underdog beforehand, something I hope future games will be a little more open about. Unless this round was some kind of Kobiyashi Maru scheme on Trin's part.

Trin Tragula posted:

Seconding that non-playing staff officers who want to restrict themselves to one thread and give advice and opinions without having to command their own brigade are more than welcome.

LLSix posted:

This was a ton of fun when GH ran it, looking forward to seeing how it plays with Trin at the helm. Are there sign up sheets or anything so I can tell which side needs more commanders and join them?

Trin Tragula posted:

makersley.com/war , send me an email via the contact page, mourn for the lost time that means I'm still struggling to get any kind of update schedule together

my dad posted:

We can always use more people. Consider this an invite to join the Entente.

spectralent posted:

If this is still open I'd be honoured.

my dad posted:

Absolutely. Welcome aboard. Post in the thread, make a roll20 account, and then post the username in the thread to get GMd.

my dad posted:

feedmegin posted:

Hai can I get in on this how do?