gringoesteban
Senior Consul
BACKGROUND
I would like to commend Sarevok and Rocoteh for creating the Barbarossa Mod for Civ3 Conquests. The original thread is here:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=97038
The main downside, as acknowledged by Sarevok and Rocoteh themselves in their thread, is that although their Mod is historically accurate and well balanced, it is way too easy for a Human Player to defeat the AI. For example, the computer does not stack artillery, it does not load units into Armies, it lacks an understanding of basic military strategy, etc.
To make the game more challenging, I created the attached Scenario to be played as the Germans against a much stronger Soviet Union run by the AI. I would like to extend my appreciation to Rocoteh for giving me permission to mod his mod. Without the foundation created by him and Sarevok, I would not have been able to proceed.
SUMMARY
The Barbarossa_Germans v2.1 Scenario re-creates the War on the Eastern Front between Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. The original Barbarossa Mod has been deeply redesigned to be played only as the Germans against a very strong Soviet Union. The Soviets receive many advantages in this updated Scenario, such as cheaper and stronger units, extra Wonders, better factories, etc. Winning as the Germans should prove difficult, even for experienced CIV3 players.
CHANGE CONTROL VS. THE ORIGINAL BARBAROSSA SCENARIO
The Scenario has been deeply redesigned in all areas. The Civilopedia has been completely overhauled to accurately describe all units, city improvements, Wonders, and governments. Please consult the Civilopedia for details. Here is an overview of some of the more significant changes.
Many new units have been added, for example Ju-87G Tank Buster, Panzerfaust Battalion, Guards Tank Army, and the invisible Partisan Band. The Scenario also includes six Soviet super units with huge hit point bonuses to help offset the AIs inability to properly use Armies.
New Wonders, City Improvements, and Resources have been added. Most of them convey substantial advantages to the Soviet Union, and/or force the AI to build the structure in the appropriate location.
German units have lower attack/defense stats and higher shield costs. Later in the war, German units cost population points to represent increasing casualties.
The Germans cannot draft units until they discover the Manpower Losses technology, and they will only be able to draft one unit rather than two.
To help illustrate their long supply lines and logistics difficulties, the Germans may not build the Battlefield Medicine or Forbidden Palace small wonders in this Scenario (but the Soviets can). Also, for the same reason, neither side can build railroads.
The Scenario was cut from 236 turn to only 140 turns which will save over fifty hours of game time for somebody who plays to completion.
The Player can research 35 techs during the game, assuming the Player keeps the tech research time to the recommended four turns each. (Unfortunately, I did not have the software to change the arrows in the tech tree diagram that pops up when you consult the Science Advisor, so that particular screen looks pretty bad).
A Domination Victory can be achieved by the first side to control 85% of the population, so it is no longer necessary play all the way to a Conquest Victory.
Several bugs have been fixed such as removing Tankograd from Berlin and the Army Headquarters from Trieste.
Minor map updates.
Etc., etc., etc. Again, please refer to the Civilopedia for details.
HINTS
The game was play-tested and balanced at the Field Marshal setting. Do NOT change the difficulty level. If you change the setting to an "easier" level, it might actually make the game harder to win.
The Germans should keep the Nazi government throughout the Scenario. Never enter revolution/anarchy or change government types.
Basic foot infantry units do NOT require support. However, all other units (e.g. workers, tanks, mechanized infantry, aircraft, artillery, and specialized infantry like paratroopers and mountain divisions) DO require support. You should be able to capture so many Soviet cities that military support never becomes an issue, but in the event your military starts to be a drain on your economy, switch your production to foot infantry units.
Feel free to use the Power Bar to clear pollution from German and Soviet territory. There is no way to turn off population pollution in the CivIII Conquests software, and in this Scenario the Soviets cannot build Workers. It is not "cheating" if you clear Soviet pollution every time you clear German pollution.
Be aggressive. The Soviets outnumber you and will outproduce you. Your only hope of winning is to stay on the offensive. Force the AI to react to you rather than vice-versa. Take as many cities as you can, as quickly as you can. As the war progresses, Soviet cities ramp up production. Also, several Wonders occasionally spawn units in every Soviet city. Bottom line -- the only way to win this Scenario is to capture Soviet cities.
Do not lose air superiority. Manufacture lots of ME-109 and then especially FW-190 fighters. Use your fighters in bombing missions to aggressively attack Soviet ground forces. This will eliminate the Soviet interceptors that rise to challenge you, thereby clearing the skies for your bombers. Just as importantly, keep numerous fighters on air superiority missions in your border cities, and quickly move fighter units into newly conquered cities.
Use Artillery and Bombers. The Player's main advantages over the AI is that the AI does not properly use its artillery and bombers. To keep your casualties to a minimum, redline Soviet ground forces with artillery and bombers prior to finishing them off with your tanks and infantry. Head-on combat with Soviet ground forces is suicide. Even if you trade one of your units for say 3 or even 4 of theirs, that is a path to certain defeat. You must maintain an extremely high kill ratio, and the only way to accomplish this is to use your artillery and bombers effectively. Soviet cities have strong antiaircraft defenses (not to mention that bombers cause collateral damage) so NEVER attack Soviet cities with bombers. Bombard cities with artillery, not with aircraft.
Build infrastructure. Build multiple production improvements (oil drills, steel mills, coal plants, various types of factories, etc.) in all of your cities. The tank and mech infantry units that become available later in the Scenario are quite expensive. Also, the German Factories city improvements will eventually become obsolete. You cannot hope to compete with Soviet production, but nevertheless you must get your cities' shield output as high as possible. Build a Secret Police station in every city as soon as you can. The Propaganda Office, Medical Center, and Major City Center city improvements are vital, too. Despite the fact that each of them costs more than a German Infantry Division, build these improvements in all of your cities. Use Workers to build roads (to enhance trade) and to clear forests (to increase food production and to get the one-time shield boost).
Keep tech research time to four turns. Better units become available later in the tech tree, and if you fall behind in your research, your forces will be crushed by more modern Soviet forces.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
To play this updated scenario, you will first need to go to the original Barbarossa Mod thread and install BRB 1.2 Art& Text by following the instructions at the bottom of the first post.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=97038
Next, assuming you have the standard path from the Civ3 Conquests installation disk, copy the attached Barbarossa Germans v2.1 FINAL biq file into
program files/infogrames interactive/civilization III/conquests/conquests
Then copy the Civilopedia and PediaIcons text files into
program files/infogrames interactive/civilization III/conquests/conquests/EAST/text
Note that this procedure will overwrite the Civilopedia and PediaIcons files from the original Barbarossa Mod. My revised text files are NOT save game compatible. I encourage you to make a copy of the original Civilopedia and PediaIcons text files from the conquests/EAST/text folder and store them somewhere on your hard drive in case you want to play vanilla Barbarossa in the future.
I have also attached a save file from the start of turn one. This file is optional, but I recommend using it since I selected production for all German cities and also fortified the city garrison units. This should save you about a half hour of tedious micromanagement on the first turn, plus loading a save game file is the fastest way to launch the game. Save the Start_Save_v2dot1FINAL.sav file to:
Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Conquests\Saves
then launch Conquests and choose the option to load a saved game. (Note that even if you are using the save game file, you must install the BRB 1.2 Art& Text, BIQ, Civilopedia and PediaIcons files as described above).
Previous versions deleted after 228 downloads.
I would like to commend Sarevok and Rocoteh for creating the Barbarossa Mod for Civ3 Conquests. The original thread is here:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=97038
The main downside, as acknowledged by Sarevok and Rocoteh themselves in their thread, is that although their Mod is historically accurate and well balanced, it is way too easy for a Human Player to defeat the AI. For example, the computer does not stack artillery, it does not load units into Armies, it lacks an understanding of basic military strategy, etc.
To make the game more challenging, I created the attached Scenario to be played as the Germans against a much stronger Soviet Union run by the AI. I would like to extend my appreciation to Rocoteh for giving me permission to mod his mod. Without the foundation created by him and Sarevok, I would not have been able to proceed.
SUMMARY
The Barbarossa_Germans v2.1 Scenario re-creates the War on the Eastern Front between Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. The original Barbarossa Mod has been deeply redesigned to be played only as the Germans against a very strong Soviet Union. The Soviets receive many advantages in this updated Scenario, such as cheaper and stronger units, extra Wonders, better factories, etc. Winning as the Germans should prove difficult, even for experienced CIV3 players.
CHANGE CONTROL VS. THE ORIGINAL BARBAROSSA SCENARIO
The Scenario has been deeply redesigned in all areas. The Civilopedia has been completely overhauled to accurately describe all units, city improvements, Wonders, and governments. Please consult the Civilopedia for details. Here is an overview of some of the more significant changes.
Many new units have been added, for example Ju-87G Tank Buster, Panzerfaust Battalion, Guards Tank Army, and the invisible Partisan Band. The Scenario also includes six Soviet super units with huge hit point bonuses to help offset the AIs inability to properly use Armies.
New Wonders, City Improvements, and Resources have been added. Most of them convey substantial advantages to the Soviet Union, and/or force the AI to build the structure in the appropriate location.
German units have lower attack/defense stats and higher shield costs. Later in the war, German units cost population points to represent increasing casualties.
The Germans cannot draft units until they discover the Manpower Losses technology, and they will only be able to draft one unit rather than two.
To help illustrate their long supply lines and logistics difficulties, the Germans may not build the Battlefield Medicine or Forbidden Palace small wonders in this Scenario (but the Soviets can). Also, for the same reason, neither side can build railroads.
The Scenario was cut from 236 turn to only 140 turns which will save over fifty hours of game time for somebody who plays to completion.
The Player can research 35 techs during the game, assuming the Player keeps the tech research time to the recommended four turns each. (Unfortunately, I did not have the software to change the arrows in the tech tree diagram that pops up when you consult the Science Advisor, so that particular screen looks pretty bad).
A Domination Victory can be achieved by the first side to control 85% of the population, so it is no longer necessary play all the way to a Conquest Victory.
Several bugs have been fixed such as removing Tankograd from Berlin and the Army Headquarters from Trieste.
Minor map updates.
Etc., etc., etc. Again, please refer to the Civilopedia for details.
HINTS
The game was play-tested and balanced at the Field Marshal setting. Do NOT change the difficulty level. If you change the setting to an "easier" level, it might actually make the game harder to win.
The Germans should keep the Nazi government throughout the Scenario. Never enter revolution/anarchy or change government types.
Basic foot infantry units do NOT require support. However, all other units (e.g. workers, tanks, mechanized infantry, aircraft, artillery, and specialized infantry like paratroopers and mountain divisions) DO require support. You should be able to capture so many Soviet cities that military support never becomes an issue, but in the event your military starts to be a drain on your economy, switch your production to foot infantry units.
Feel free to use the Power Bar to clear pollution from German and Soviet territory. There is no way to turn off population pollution in the CivIII Conquests software, and in this Scenario the Soviets cannot build Workers. It is not "cheating" if you clear Soviet pollution every time you clear German pollution.
Be aggressive. The Soviets outnumber you and will outproduce you. Your only hope of winning is to stay on the offensive. Force the AI to react to you rather than vice-versa. Take as many cities as you can, as quickly as you can. As the war progresses, Soviet cities ramp up production. Also, several Wonders occasionally spawn units in every Soviet city. Bottom line -- the only way to win this Scenario is to capture Soviet cities.
Do not lose air superiority. Manufacture lots of ME-109 and then especially FW-190 fighters. Use your fighters in bombing missions to aggressively attack Soviet ground forces. This will eliminate the Soviet interceptors that rise to challenge you, thereby clearing the skies for your bombers. Just as importantly, keep numerous fighters on air superiority missions in your border cities, and quickly move fighter units into newly conquered cities.
Use Artillery and Bombers. The Player's main advantages over the AI is that the AI does not properly use its artillery and bombers. To keep your casualties to a minimum, redline Soviet ground forces with artillery and bombers prior to finishing them off with your tanks and infantry. Head-on combat with Soviet ground forces is suicide. Even if you trade one of your units for say 3 or even 4 of theirs, that is a path to certain defeat. You must maintain an extremely high kill ratio, and the only way to accomplish this is to use your artillery and bombers effectively. Soviet cities have strong antiaircraft defenses (not to mention that bombers cause collateral damage) so NEVER attack Soviet cities with bombers. Bombard cities with artillery, not with aircraft.
Build infrastructure. Build multiple production improvements (oil drills, steel mills, coal plants, various types of factories, etc.) in all of your cities. The tank and mech infantry units that become available later in the Scenario are quite expensive. Also, the German Factories city improvements will eventually become obsolete. You cannot hope to compete with Soviet production, but nevertheless you must get your cities' shield output as high as possible. Build a Secret Police station in every city as soon as you can. The Propaganda Office, Medical Center, and Major City Center city improvements are vital, too. Despite the fact that each of them costs more than a German Infantry Division, build these improvements in all of your cities. Use Workers to build roads (to enhance trade) and to clear forests (to increase food production and to get the one-time shield boost).
Keep tech research time to four turns. Better units become available later in the tech tree, and if you fall behind in your research, your forces will be crushed by more modern Soviet forces.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
To play this updated scenario, you will first need to go to the original Barbarossa Mod thread and install BRB 1.2 Art& Text by following the instructions at the bottom of the first post.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=97038
Next, assuming you have the standard path from the Civ3 Conquests installation disk, copy the attached Barbarossa Germans v2.1 FINAL biq file into
program files/infogrames interactive/civilization III/conquests/conquests
Then copy the Civilopedia and PediaIcons text files into
program files/infogrames interactive/civilization III/conquests/conquests/EAST/text
Note that this procedure will overwrite the Civilopedia and PediaIcons files from the original Barbarossa Mod. My revised text files are NOT save game compatible. I encourage you to make a copy of the original Civilopedia and PediaIcons text files from the conquests/EAST/text folder and store them somewhere on your hard drive in case you want to play vanilla Barbarossa in the future.
I have also attached a save file from the start of turn one. This file is optional, but I recommend using it since I selected production for all German cities and also fortified the city garrison units. This should save you about a half hour of tedious micromanagement on the first turn, plus loading a save game file is the fastest way to launch the game. Save the Start_Save_v2dot1FINAL.sav file to:
Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Conquests\Saves
then launch Conquests and choose the option to load a saved game. (Note that even if you are using the save game file, you must install the BRB 1.2 Art& Text, BIQ, Civilopedia and PediaIcons files as described above).
Previous versions deleted after 228 downloads.
.
, I'll give it another try tonight.
