Iron War - Official Thread
-
@Frostion
Right on ! Looks like a lot of fun ! -
I have downloaded the map, but getting an error message:
triplea.engine.version.bin:1.9
games.strategy.engine.framework.startup.launcher.MapNotFoundException
at games.strategy.triplea.ResourceLoader.getMapResourceLoader(ResourceLoader.java:57)
at games.strategy.util.LocalizeHTML.localizeImgLinksInHTML(LocalizeHTML.java:87) -
@Swampy - I think there were some problems with the download that was caused by mismatching names and stuff. NOW the map seems to be both downloadable and working. I already did a small fix. The kamikaze planes can now land on carriers.
PS: Maybe you actually have to go to your map folder and delete the “iron War BETA” zip and properties file you downloaded, and then redownload the map. (Probably in the directory C:\Users\YOURNAME\triplea\downloadedMaps )
The new working and updated map is called v2 in the download screen and v0.1.1 in the map selection window. -
I haven't ever read of any suicidal planes landing or taking off from carriers (I mean, excluding the ones that were not meant to suicide).
-
@Frostion Thanks, that seemed to work. This looks like a great map. I will check it out and report back!
-
Looks cool!
Side note. I was playing tribes vs A.I the other day and I noticed that stalemates seem to be glitching. When ever a defender loses to the stalemated attacking army, the unit dies as per normal but the territory doesn't become owned by the attacker. I have to move a unit in on the attackers following turn to take ownership. This then frees the remaining army to be allowed to move the same turn. This never used to occur with the old one. Is this an update and what you had originally intended? Or a glitch?
0_1491050543008_aot glitch brits2.tsvgIf we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future! Sir Winston Churchill
-
@Cernel Idid not think of Kamikaze planes needing to land either, but as I played Iron War as Japan the other day, I wanted to fly my Kamikaze unit from Japan to my fleet and attack with it the next round, but the unit could not land on my carrier, and that was a bit lame. I think it is OK to have Kamikaze units able to land on carriers as they also may land on land.
@prastle I think that I have seen this happen a few times. Some times territory ownership seems to be affected by battles not ending in the first battle. Perhaps it has something to do with the map xml having a battle round limit? Or is it something that relates to (some) territories still having "original owners"? Or a mix of circumstances? I don't know, but I will look at the save and write an "issue" if needed and try to find out whats wrong.
-
@prastle Come to think about it, I think I on purpose changes the "territories may be taken over immediately" to false in the last Age of Tribes update, as this was the only way to prevent a game killing java error that sometimes occurred when air units attacked sea territories with ownerships/trade centers. When I change this xml setting, the error does not occur. Do you think that this could be the cause of your experience? Maybe with this new setting, the game would NOT hand over ownership, after a stalemate, that would lead to the defender fighting you a second time in his own turn and losing. You should probably stand or walk into the territory in your own turn to get the territory handed over. With the previous setting "territories maybe be handed over immediately" true, players could probably get ownership at any time. This would be optimal, but not if this also leads to game breakdowns.
-
@Frostion never had the problem till the update so that makes sense. Guess we edit in a magic troop when it occurs?
-
@prastle Can't you just edit and change ownership of territories during play when you think it would be needed?
I think the approach to fixing this unfortunate update and rules could be me making an "issue" post containing an Age of Tribes error-making xml and save that points out the original problem; that being that errors occur when air units attack a sea territory with ownership, and when "territory ownership is handed over immediately" is true. At least that is how I understand the problem. -
@Frostion if you have a save of your original air problem with the original xml. I overwrote mine with the update. Yes multiple ways of fixing by edit are available i just found it neat that i could use an extra troop. No worries.
-
WOW didnt try yet , but that looks somewhat awesome . Great Job .
Cheers Day -
This should really be a flagship game for tripleA. Its easily the best thing I've seen in a long ass time. Excellent work!
Even the opening reel from the very start, really reminded me of one of the cool elements from the old cd, when they'd do those little news clip images at the close of each round.
Showcases what is possible in tripleA for a WW2 setting, on a map with a very large scale. I don't think the extra phases are really all that crazy. And the political system seems more intuitive than say G40, so there's more room to think about other rules. D10 is easy enough to adopt when playing digitally like this. The supply concept is pretty quick to grasp. The unit roster is gloriously detailed. Map still looks clean at 75% and 50% (I still wish there was quick tab or hotkey that would scale the map to those values automatically with a single click somewhere front and center. I always seem to cycle between those too on the larger maps. Also just discovered the rule book, very nice.) TripleA is truly glorious lately.
This map is legit
-
@Black_Elk Truer words have not been said.
-
Yeah I'm pretty blown away at how slick it is. Totally next level.
One thing that I think it might be nice to have though, would be a game like this, but at much smaller scale. I mean a game that uses the same combat/production mechanics and basic unit roster (same unit graphics and UI organization etc), but aimed as an introduction for the larger more elaborate Iron War game. I'm pretty comfortable with G40 and the other WW2 style games for tripleA, but this one is a major leap with a lot going on.
I can imagine people taking one look at this and saying "oh shit! Lets cannibalize it and use all these dope graphics!" probably for some simplified A&A clone that doesn't even come close in ambition or scale. Maybe it would be better to get ahead of that? Like just create an Iron War "light" or a starter set, where the transition from say Revised or v3 or v5 or would be a little easier to handle? Something that creates more familiarity, even just on a visual level with units using the national roundel rather than national colors or D10 combat, but also for learning the resource and movement system, all the associated icons, or for units the basic values/abilities/pricing, things of that sort scaled down, as way to ease it in. Maybe doing it on a theater level? Like Europe with heavy Barbarossa focus, Lend lease to Russia, G trying grab the ore and black gold where it can? Just from like the Baltic to the Black Sea/Caucasus with a narrower field of play? I don't know exactly, but a smaller scale game that uses the exact same mechanics that this larger one does. So the the one can lead into the other naturally, the way v5 is supposed to lead to 1940, but using the Iron War system instead of A&A.
I mean when we have something this cool as an original work, I can't see any real reason to keep looking back at A&A for guidence. Not when the resource system presented here solves so many intractible issues present in A&A since forever ago. We could just rep this one as the gold standard going forward, for WW2 on tripleA.
That said TripleA still needs a solid original (but simple) WW2 game, that is easy to pick up and play in one session. A small map, for 5-6 player nations ala Classic, or even just a 1v1 easy to grasp and really accessible, but one that looks clean as hell like this one does. Clearly Iron War will more than satisfy any player who wants a game like HBGs Global War 36/9, or A&A Global 1940 taken to its logical extreme. But what would really seal the deal, is if there was a version of this that could do the same for players coming at it from a board more like Classic or 1942 second edition, where people could be introduced to the whole concept of resources and D10 on a map that more closely mirrors the scale of those boards. That's the only suggestion I have at the moment, otherwise it's just kicking ass and taking names all over the place. Beautifully done!
ps. the soundwork is killer! I keep grinning through the turns. Even if I forget to move Italians in Ethiopia because I'm so entranced haha.
Also this is the first tripleA map I've played where even single player vs fastAI feels really enjoyable, because there's just so much more to do. Like a total war stomp fest, where you can beef up one of the minor powers for kicks. It has all the same appeal as a world domination CA TW type game, but its better, since you can actually see and understand exactly why everything is happening. All the stats and mechanics are out in the open.
I just played my first run through past 1945. Germany and Italy are crushing (Moscow and Africa are ours for the moment) but Japan is stalled up on the water. Just bought a carrier only to watch the Americans send it to the bottom of the sea! I kept it going until 1948. Part of me thinks it might be more fun for SP to push these dates out a bit. It felt like I could have just as easily imagined it was still 1942 or 43 by the time the 10th round arrived, were it not for the reel telling me the war should have been over a few years ago by now haha.
This is the best handling of China on WW2 map I've seen. I love the choke point at the center.
I wonder about Canada, whether it might be cooler to call the British player "British-Canadians", or something like that? Since the rest of the Commonwealth is given it's own representation (with all the little flags and such), seems like it might be a bitter pill to swallow for the gang up north, who having been griping for a while that Canada never makes it into these games. Even if it needs to be attached to UK for the map to work as intended, maybe a nod in the name would be enough? Haha
Just dropped my first nukes...
0_1492173189176_39 Iron War Elk vs Fast AI J13 Aid.tsvg
I spammed infantry for the most part, and took quite a few turns just getting my bearings, but by the 1950s, Germany is still on the rise heheh. Fun map
-
@Black_Elk @Frostion ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW !
Side note make sure @all you uninstall any previous versions and use in game dl.
-
@Black_Elk We Canadians demand more than a simple token offering!
-
@Hepps Yeah their absence is a little conspicuous, what with Britain, British-Colonies, South Africa, British India and Anzac all getting their own turn+flags+units.
Maybe just bump up the British home islands so England, Scotland etc are worth more? Newfoundland and Labrador could help pick up some of the slack for income and resources. Or some of the smaller territories like Jamaica could maybe be worth a tiny bit more.
Another simple solution might be to add the British-Colonies to the British directly. As a way to offset the inclusion of Canada as a separate power, while still maintaining some substance to the British turn. I think that could be fun, since right now the British do feel pretty stretched relative to the Italians in Africa. I don't know that the British-Colonies would really be missed, with so many other Dominions getting their own slot in the sequence.
I'm currently playing my second game as Allies. I had to restart after the first few turns. Unlike the Axis (where I let the FastAI handle everyone but Germany, Italy and Japan) it feels a lot more important to take direct control of the minor powers as the Allies to get anything serious going, so that's what I did when restarting. Still feels like the British could use a bit more to stay relevant. Especially in Africa and the Med. I've been sending them max aid each turn, and it's pretty tough to make a breakthrough, since G smokes their Atlantic fleet right out the gate. Oil hasn't been a problem yet, since I don't have anything to move haha. But I'm hungry for Steel! Been building up the RAF, until more arrives.
-
Noticed something in this latest game as Allies. Not sure if its helpful, but seems that the South African territories are going over to the French when they take them from Italy. Most of Africa turning blue...
0_1492217286473_39 Iron War Elk Allies vs Fast AI British-India round7.tsvg
So far Allies seem to be holding their own, but I'm having some trouble pulling together a proper Trans-Atlantic invasion force. The main issue I ran into was the inability to grab a production center for the Americans closer to Europe. I guess next time I'll make a b-line for Libya, since it seems to the only sensible spot to drop a first factory. I make the mistake of trying to get something going in Normandy, but with it going back to the French I got a bit stuck. Similar kind of situation with the UK. I guess I should have brought up more out of ground fodder out of Halifax early on, because by the time I need them I think it's probably too late. Not having a build option out of Scotland keeps it pretty tight. I should have starting ferrying sooner I guess, and doing the same on the other side of the board with Australia. By the time I realized there's no real lilly pad for a production build, I was too far behind. Russia is beginning to fold up a bit, as the Italians and Japanese keep chipping away. I got backdoored a bit on account of Mongolia and a surprisingly belligerent Shah hehe. Should have dealt with him right away. German's are about to unlock the Nukes, so it's probably time I wind down for the night.
Good times though!
ps. Got in another 6 rounds with a new game. This time the Allies seem to be doing a bit better. Or at least, the expeditionary force is ready to roll. This time we put Perisa to bed with a quickness. But the Italians invaded across the water, and the Shah is back! Now Stalin is staring over the brink.... Those German's moved fast!!!
Here it is on USA5, when we finally established a foothold in North Africa... That felt pretty damn sweet
0_1492224758043_39 Iron War Elk Allies vs Fast AI USA round5.tsvg
Did I mention how much I dig the soundwork haha. The Soviets are taking inspiration from Red October, or any hymn to calm the nerves. Save mother Russia! Hopefully it doesn't all collapse before we make 1945.
I think you could probably get away with two rounds per year instead of one, (like just showing the date clip twice if necessary), and it'd feel just about right to me for what I can accomplish in WW2 campaign terms during the time allotted. Something tells me taking down Germany in 7 rounds is way beyond my pay grade heheh. But maybe in 14 I could pull it off?
Also, here is something else I came across that is maybe just the interface glitching out on me because there are so many different unit types involved? When I go to make a suicide attack vs the Germans with my entire Russian Moscow force, the battle window gets all wigged out, and it won't show the dice unless I maximize it. If I don't maximize it won't show the casualty prompt, because it's like off screen. Not sure what's up, but figured I'd let you know, since it took me a sec to figure out what was going on...
0_1492225536996_39 Iron War battle bug.tsvgThis is what HardAI did during the first round using tripleA 2.0. I had the computer take control of everyone except Brazil. I was pretty pleased with the attack pattern that they employed since it looks very much like 1942 at this point. The computer moved for the most part according to the historical attack plans. HardAI Japan didn't sink the US battleship/Transport at Pearl but did pretty much everything else I was hoping they would. Note how they didn't slam all up into the Soviet Far east, but instead focused on Philippines and such with a Battan attack. Positioning vs China also pretty nice for a J1. I think Pearly could be incentivized with another pair of subs at Truk or something of that sort. Anyhow, it was pretty close I think for a 1941 vibe, with some polish and a little tinkering I think something like this could work. What do you think?
-
Stood them up!
Ok made it to the 8th round as Allies. Not sure if the war will be over by Christmas, (what with the Americans forgetting to issue orders to half their troops) but at least the miracle of Moscow delivered the Soviets from certain doom. Brilliant!
0_1492232129246_39 Iron War Elk Allies vs Fast AI Russia round8.tsvg
I think now that I have a better grasp on where the main production hubs are, its been a little bit easier to develop workable plan with the Allies. Still nowhere near breaking any of the major Axis nations (and Germany has nukes again) but at least the Allied minors are starting to make their presence felt. British India and Anzac and rolling up the South.
Probably going to call it a night here. Sorry to flood the thread with saves, but its a great map!
Take it easy all, and thanks again man, for making this one. Been waiting for something like this for a while!
Ps. Next time I'm going to take a different approach with British India. Maybe an early naval purchase can help me to contain Italy in Africa, instead of going for tanks?
I like how the limits on total steel guide the gameplay options. The relatively high starting amount allows for an interesting degree of purchasing variety at the outset, but it really forces you to adopt a broad strategy early on. Last time I used it all for tanks and gunned towards Japan. But I think transports might be more bang for the buck, since British India seems to have the best chance of doing something about those Italians before they go monster haha.
Still not sure what's up with their territories turning French when conquered. When I took Italian Somaliland with British India, it went blue too.Will try again after the weekend
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login