Dictator II is complete!

[CurtSibling]

Due to some more changes and additions,
here is the latest update for Dictator II.

Thing that are fixed/changed;

1 Germany gets the first move,
2 Kobenhavn, Oslo and Trondheim now occupied,
3 Different array of forces in Norway, including Fallschirmjägers,
4 Events changed to avoid unit overflow,
5 Govt change offered to Allied and Eastern empires via events
6 Fixed wrong icons in rules.txt
7 Fixed some events

Heres the new patch,
Just copy the new files into your Dictator II zip or folder!
They overwrite the old Rules and Events...

download for increased WW2 mania!

 

[CurtSibling]

Here is a pic of a mighty UK task fleet, with heavy air support!

 

[CurtSibling]

Here is an in-game shot of a mental attack by the Panzerwaffe!
This is the kind of opposition you can expect when playing as
the Soviet Union!

 

[CurtSibling]

Also If you want a nice chunky, industrial WW2 look to your Civ TOT,
It wouldn't hurt to give this City.bmp and Dialog.bmp a try.
The city pic makes your display more business-like.
The dialog, everyone should have, because it rocks!

I'm not sure who the city and dialog authors are,
but if you designed these cool files, check in and be thanked!

Here's the link;

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/D2-City.zip

And here's a sample of the screen in action.

 

[CurtSibling]

Hi again, warmongers!

On a whim I decided to make some desktop wallpaper using
some Dictator II artwork I had made.
There is one for Allies and Axis.

I was going to make a theme for all the empires in Dictator II,
But I might or might not get around to this...

Included also is an alternate Title.gif for the scenario.
Just overwrite the Title.gif you already have with D2.

If you like cheesy wallpaper or are very bored,
you can download my wallpaper here:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/D2-wallpapers1.zip

Here is a preview, of the Allies desktop;

 

[CurtSibling]

And here is a preview of the Axis Wallpaper;

 

[CurtSibling]

Oh, and here is a preview, of the new Title.gif;

 

[insurgent]

You know, Curt, I'm really sorry, but I won't be playing Civ for a while.

For the next week I won't be able to reach my computer, and then my exams are coming up. I probably have to spend a lot of time reading for a while, but then, in the summer holiday, I will be playing.

You might know, I am producing a number of scenarios of the Israeli history, and that also has to be done. Then I'll be making a scenario of Unternehmen Barbarossa and critical points during the Russo-German war. And then I'm considering a number of other ideas. I will play your scenario intensively when the summer holiday begins...

 

[CurtSibling]

No problem,
I look forward to those scenarios,
and if you need any Title.gifs done, gimme a call!

PS
Good luck in the exams!

 

[insurgent]

thanks, and I will make use of your "title service" .

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Hi Curt,


I started playing Dictator II last week. I chose to play as the USSR so that I could compare notes with my experiences with Dictator I. Here's a brief summary of my progress so far:

Installation was flawless with no bugs to report and all graphics and sounds working properly. It is important that users follow the readme to the letter to ensure success.

Played the scenario so far from 5/1940-9/42 and noticed no bugs or crashes.

The map is beautiful. I missed the amount of cities that were in the first Dictator but things seem to work smoother in Dictator II.

Germany launched operation barbarossa on schedule on 6/41. The USSR took a pounding exactly the way it happened in real life. I lost every city within Germany's grasp except Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad. It's taking me some to to accumulate a decent defensive/offensive force but we are holding the line despite ferocious attacks by Germany.

As in Dictator I the USSR can only hold diplo talks with the Eastern Allies, USA, and "the other Allied nation" (forgot their name)

Germany has conquered the UK. The UK has also lost the middle east and Germany has linked up with Japan in India.

The USA tends to go to war with the USSR but not as frequently as in Dictator I.

That's it for now. Will report later.

 

[CurtSibling]

Thanks, Moff Jerjerrod!
I have every confidence that you will hurl the facsist forces back!

I hope you noticed your honourable mention in the D2readme file!

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Hi Curt,

Yes I noticed and thank you for adding me to your credits!

I can't thank you enough for Dictator II!

I still continue to enjoy the scenario and don't worry, Mother Russia will prevail!

 

[Ayatollah So]

Curt,
I started playing a few days ago and have these notes and questions. First, to anyone downloading the game, download and read the readme first. There are some important associated files you will need.

I'm playing the USSR and watching helplessly as the Fuhrer gobbles up the Western world. Meanwhile Japan crushes China as if it were nothing. The Nazis attacked me in July of 41, I think, and I was surprised not to crumble right away. That's the only sign I have, though, that play balance is not out of whack. Or is this result due to my difficulty level? That brings up another issue.

What difficulty level = what? I tried to choose "General" which seemed to be the equivalent of "Emporer", i.e. second-from-hardest. However when I saved my game it said I was playing on Sargent. Huh?

If I choose an easier difficulty level, will the Brits stand up better?
--Paul

 

[CurtSibling]

Originally posted by Ayatollah So
Curt,
I started playing a few days ago and have these notes and questions. First, to anyone downloading the game, download and read the readme first. There are some important associated files you will need.

I'm playing the USSR and watching helplessly as the Fuhrer gobbles up the Western world. Meanwhile Japan crushes China as if it were nothing. The Nazis attacked me in July of 41, I think, and I was surprised not to crumble right away. That's the only sign I have, though, that play balance is not out of whack. Or is this result due to my difficulty level? That brings up another issue.

What difficulty level = what? I tried to choose "General" which seemed to be the equivalent of "Emporer", i.e. second-from-hardest. However when I saved my game it said I was playing on Sargent. Huh?

If I choose an easier difficulty level, will the Brits stand up better?
--Paul

Hi there!
Well the way the AI plays is kind of odd.
In my last game, the Germans got a kicking. (I was Allied Nations)
The Axis failed to take London,
Wasting tons of valuable units that they should have kept in store for Barbarossa.
Anyhow, by 1945, the USSR was pushing back into Germany,
while the west was being pounded by a fleet of US battleships.

The AI in Civ2 leaves a lot be desired, and you cannot rely on it to do what you expect,
That said, I always play on The top skill level to urge the AI to be evil.
The bug you experienced with the skill level is odd,
I have never came across that in Civ.
The default is Monarch (sarge) maybe this is something to do with it...

I plan to release a open season version of Dictator soon.
Would you prefer me to scale the German's power back a little, Ayatollah So? I will if it is ruining gameplay...
How easy do find it to fight back?

I gave the Allies the ability and tools to fight back, especially the USSR.
I can edit unit powers if that is the general feeling,
anyone else got any comments on the gameplay issue?

 

[ptorek]

Thanks Curt,
I can't tell you whether gameplay is unbalanced until I play the Axis. I figure in my current game so far, the USSR (me) is doing a bit better than historical, but every other non-Axis power is doing much worse. If the unit values are unbalanced, I should be able to kick everyone's butt as Adolf. I'll let you know.

I understand completely about the unpredictable AI. And you have to work within the Civ2 framework. Maybe you could provide some mechanism to make invasions harder. Consider that there's no such thing as supply lines in Civ2, and unlike the historical situation, the chance of intercepting and sinking a transport before it unloads its cargo is virtually nil, no matter how powerful your navy.

Should I have been taking land from the Eastern Allies et al while waiting for the ax(is) to fall on my neck? Or did I do the smart thing by building up my infrastructure, churning out some units, trading tech like mad with USA, and giving freebee tech to the minor powers in the foolish hope they'd slow Hitler down?
--Paul, supreme fanatic

 

[ptorek]

I'm Ayatollah So, but when I post from home I'm just me. Hope that's OK. If there are any moderators out there, if you'd prefer me to be just one person, tell me how.

 

[CurtSibling]

Hi ptorek!

I look forward to your feedback,
I should note that Dictator's emphasis is on fun, and not strictly
Historical accuracy.

After 1940, anything can happen, I put in the historical events,
But as you know, there is no telling what the AI will do!

So don't feel obliged to stick to history when playing, have fun!
I found playing as the Soviets was always the most challenging
In the early versions of Dictator, but it was cool to fight your way back into Germany.

I have added D-Day and Italian invasion events, which should
Cause the Allied AI to unload a hardcore amount of units onto Axis areas,
They are protected by Mustangs and Spitfires that appear above the Invasion fleets...
If you are playing as the Germans next, could you post a report on how hard you found the Allied opposition?

I would be grateful!
Thanks a lot, Ayatollah So!

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Hi all,


I finished a game of Dictator II last week as the USSR.

Initially I lost every city in the west to germany except for leningrad, moscow, and stalingrad. After holding my own I built up a decent army and struck back. However by the time I entered danzig, vienna, and prague the scenario ended. All this was on general level.

I found during the game that the UK fell like flies to Germany. Japan rampaged all over china and india. The axis powers were able to link up in the middle east. USSR was virtually surrounded. I waited and waited for the USA to do something to turn the tide but all they did was bombard coastal cities with battleships. If it wasn't for the USSR most of the world would be under axis control. I liberated china and eastern europe and then the scenario ended.

I found that bombers can blow through AA guns with ease. Fighters do not fell enemy planes easily and are best used in defensive roles only. The powerful JS and SU-152 tanks have no effect against the Panthers and Tigers of Germany. But when they attack me we always win. Artillery has no effect against anything except infantry units.

I haven't played as the axis yet so not sure if there is an imbalance.

I have played as the UK, and then as the USA. I found that the model for their govt. much better than previous versions of Dictator. (i.e. sending units out of cities doesn't cause as much unrest as it did before.) No matter which nation you play making money is a very difficult task but with careful planning can be done.

I have also tried to play a hotseat game by myself. I chose UK, USA, and allied nations. I played a few turns as all these nation before the game crashed. This happened to me twice before I gave up. I'm not sure though if this is a problem with windows xp or if it is indeed something wrong with the hotseat game. Single player had no crashes.

Hope this helps.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Sorry forgot to mention that I like the combat engineer unit in Dictator II.

Now that we can build roads and other improvements I find that trade income increases dramatically. The benefit of being able to connect cities now with roads doesn't need any explanation.