The only previous attempt at this topic I recall was YEARS ago (it might have even been on Apolyton) by a poster with the handle name, "Blackhawk," (maybe a qualifying number) who had a map and some system of CIA covert supplies to the Mujahadeen. Then they disappeared, and I never saw them log in again. It will be great to have the subject matter see the light of day. The, "Soviets' Vietnam," as Colonel Troteman called it in Rambo III.
According to Wiki and a few other areas, the DRA had a few crappy MiG-19's and MiG-21's IN THEIR POSSESSION. But I can find very little on their operational usage, and they may have just sat on the tarmac, for all I know.Thanks JP, but unfortunately the Soviets do not fly any MiGs in principle, but I think that perhaps we could try to make the player play as the Afghan Republic (who do have a MiG) and the Soviets at the same time, with the main protagonists being the first ones who would remain after the Soviet withdrawal... but I have not been able to generate that idea and therefore the only protagonists are the Soviets (I think they are the only ones who cannot be AI). Also with LUA it could be possible to allow Soviets and Afghans to occupy the same squares, which would prevent the road from being blocked or allow the "barbarian" warehouse not to impede the passage either... Perhaps there are more units to include or look for other developments. And as a demonstration of the contradiction of thinking one thing and doing another, I include the beta version of the scenario, which is not finalized, it is in process. Hoping you enjoy it even if there is no explanatory pdf or the added texts have been checked among other things...
Antonovs should only be used for troop movement, mainly infantry that have few movements. To prevent the convoys from being able to ride on the Antonovs, it could be made so that they could not go to sleep... Another thing that could be improved.I've played only a few turns so far, but it looks very well done. I really like the sweeping and mountainous terrain and thinking about how to defend it. There are attacks all over, and the Soviet high command
I appreciate the Antonov transports; they're great for flying the supply trucks over the guerrilla ambushes- so you're going to need a house rule there. But I don't know what to do with the trucks - apparently they are supposed to destroy themselves attacking some Warehouse (barbarian) unit. But I can't seem to find one. You might want to write a short play tester's Readme, just to give us an idea of what to look out for.
This seems to be well developed as a non-Lua scenario, but it seems to me it could be significantly enhanced with the help of Lua. Supply and attrition, and developing the interrelationship between the Soviets and the Afghan Communists would be a couple of primary candidates, imo.
I will forge ahead and give another update later.
I remember that there was even a Rambo, but I don't remember if it was this same map...The only previous attempt at this topic I recall was YEARS ago (it might have even been on Apolyton) by a poster with the handle name, "Blackhawk," (maybe a qualifying number) who had a map and some system of CIA covert supplies to the Mujahadeen. Then they disappeared, and I never saw them log in again. It will be great to have the subject matter see the light of day. The, "Soviets' Vietnam," as Colonel Troteman called it in Rambo III.
The Soviets also initially used MiGs, but they proved ineffective because heavy bombing was needed to damage entrenched forces in mountainous areas and helicopters proved much more useful in these areas for less heavy attacks.
They are all good solutions and perfectly doable... Without a doubt the AI causes unpleasant things, especially with allies, and it was happening to me, but until relatively recently, it caused me problems when having to detour through the hills, but it was within the possibility of traffic jams in reality and even made the game more difficult; But over time, they began to fortify themselves on the road (which makes no sense) and what is worse, a unit was positioned between two mountains, which completely stopped the pace and with this it became evident that changes had to be made. I had thought of the simplest thing: the movement of Afghan troops every X turns (moveunits) from certain spaces towards the mountains, to ensure transit. But I agree that generating a single civilization would be the best solution and solves all the most serious problems...I've played a few more turns, and I find the Afghan Communists (my beloved allies), to be pretty annoying to be honest. The terrain creates narrow corridors for movement (as it should), but the AC units frequently block me - usually just preventing goto movement, but also sometimes entrenching on the road and blocking my movement altogether. Perhaps this interference is historically accurate and intended, in which case I will carry on, all the while cursing my erstwhile allies.
If not, I can think of two possible solutions: a) make the Soviets and the ACs one civilization. Treat the Soviet units as reinforcements that are added through events and then gradually withdrawn. It's not ideal for sure, but it would make the scenario more playable. Or b) you can use Lua to automatically move AC units out of the way when Soviet units try to enter their tile. Prof Garfield created some Lua event language for my 1937 scenario that moved American subs out of the way when Japanese air units unknowingly entered their tile. It works very well, and may be the perfect solution here.
I remember, when I first started my Korean War scenario - ages ago, it seems - I originally had the UN and South Korean as separate, because South Korea to fall to the North Korea before serious UN pushback from the Pusan Perimeter. But, that ended up not working quite like clockwork, so I merged the two. And, among the advice I gave Eivind over Skype, in the day, that he incorporated into his remade version of First Strike was to merge the U.S. NATO and European NATO players into one NATO player. So, I do agree tech has definite wisdom, here.
The villages are essential because the mujahideen do not have cities. They are the ones that allow them to exist, since they have a Settle function. I will limit it further, but the only way to reduce external intervention is to put an end to their foci or bases in the country, from where they reorganize and launch their attacks. In this function, the revolutionary unit will be fundamental, since if you can "buy" the village, you will have a fortified point where the enemy cannot generate units and that will allow you to control the area. On the other hand: can all the villages of a civilization be destroyed? It could, but the cost of forces would be too enormous, perhaps except for the south of the country, and we must have an average of 6 to 8 villages for each one. In relation to costs, I think it is important to weaken the enemy, creating fortified points and trying to destroy and occupy the most strategic villages.
Victory is to hold the cities and weaken or destroy the enemy forces, seeking to control the mountains and the desert. This is a scenario of attrition and survival, with tasks to be fulfilled. It remains to be seen how to represent the attacks on the economy, destruction of schools and so on by the rebels...
The aesthetic changes, although important, I have not focused on it... yes, the glaciers will have to be white and the rivers will have to be finished, which I had not noticed, and although it is easy to generate with Keu's CivRiver, I hope it does not cause problems with ToTPP, but a priori I do not find it worrying.
Yes, in the latest version the Soviet-Afghan civilizations are already unified into one. Patine, can't think of what civilization it might include? On the other hand, the flags of the events will reduce the contribution of Soviet units in relation to the historical facts, what I do not see how to do is the total withdrawal of the existing units... When the protagonist was the Soviets I had thought of a technological development, but with the Afghans I do not see it as important.
You are absolutely right, when playing it is clear that it could not be like that, I had made last minute changes, improving the civilization of the Afghan Democratic Republic so that they could build airports. I have also made changes so that they can create workers, but I will have to see the development of the technology. I also included the glaciers as impassable...
