New Axis & Allies Global War Variant (free map)


  • Last Week’s Goals Review. April 2nd

    1. Finalize Vichy
    Finalized Discussion closed.

    2. Start Sea Zones discussion
    Still Open for discussion.

    3. Convoy Boxes
    Still Open for discussion.


  • but wait i missed this post:

    Vichy France

    The arguments that Vichy should not be financing the Germans are valid but…

    I have major concerns about the following:

    If we just make Vichy France and its territories neutral we are forcing the German/Axis player to attack Vichy on the first turn to A) get the income, B) to reinforce the territory to keep the Allies from invading.

    This is not acceptable, I do not want to force any player’s move, the map should allow for various styles of play and tactics.

    So… if we can come up with a solution to this problem I will gladly change the color.

    The problem: How to discourage both the Axis and the Allies from attacking Vichy early.

    The best ideas that I have at the moment are these:

    The Axis & Allies can’t enter/attack Vichy territory until the Allies have declared war on Vichy or When turn X has passed.  Allies can only declare war during the “Check for Victory” stage of the turn.

    OR

    Can we treat Vichy in a similar manner as China?  Let another player (Axis) control its forces and maybe give them very limited production similar to China or none at all.  This way they are not financially supporting Germany but the Axis have some control over what happens to them.

    Just some thoughts.

    Any other ideas?

    Vichy Territories:
    Vichy France, Algeria, Northern Algeria, Tunisia, French West Africa, West Africa, Morocco, and Madagascar.

    Vichy Color Samples
    http://www.mediafire.com/?dnrz1jxmahh

    Please let me know which color you like.

    I prefer the second one with the diagonal stripes because it looks like an old history map that was in the old william Shirers’ Rise and Fall of the third Reich

    And it also shows that Vichy is neutral, but really a vassel of what was a German conquest, because it shares part of the German color and has the white stripes of neutrality.

    If you made a 1939 map … then the first (french blue) would be much more appropriate.

    The pale colors found under the bottom two are not pleasant at all.


  • Another project sugguestion, deepblue.

    I didn’t realise your first post isn’t the first post of the thread.
    You might want to put a link to our first post in your signature then.
    Makes it easier.


  • The Vichy Topic has been discussed at length.  The compromise that is reflected on the fifth draft is the final resolution to this topic.


  • This Week’s Goals (April 9th)

    1. Finalize Sea Zones
    2. Finalize Convoy Box locations
    3. Hopefully finalize the map itself (I am not referring to things that go “on” the map such as IPCs, Ports, etc.)


  • Craig,

    First off I didn’t move the Alaskan CB or for that madder any of the US CBs in the pacific.  If you have a problem with their location, that’s fine.  Where did you want them to go? What is your solution/suggestion?

    I think the Alaskan CB is in a good spot myself.

    The one out in the middle (near Marshall) I guess is for the supplies to the Philippines.  Again I did not put it there.

    I never like the one near the Line Islands but I got such a response when I suggested removing some CBs that I left it.  After I gave it more thought, can it really hurt?

    The only argument I can see for having the US CBs where they are in the Pacific is that it pulls the US quicker into the pacific.  The Japanese can strike them without hitting the mainland, I kind of like that idea.  It keeps the “turtle” US players from just sitting back.  This will force him to protect his assets.

    The other argument for CBs near these islands (Line, Gilbert, Marshall) is that it adds value to the islands.  Without the CBs this area is void of value.  I like this idea too, adding value to the region.

    On the same note some people have suggested that the CB near Wake Island be removed.  I will use the same argument here, without the CB these islands (Wake, Iwo, etc.) have no value.  This gives the area some value.  (By the way this is another CB I did not add.)

    The current set up in my option will force more navel battles to take place in the pacific.

    Second,

    I don’t think the map needs to represent convoys that moved up and down the coast of the same nation that is pointless.

    So… the US convoy in the Atlantic, can’t it represent goods going to Britain and later troop/supply movements when they land in Europe?

    CBs should be a bit of an abstract concept.

    Do CBs need some work? Sure, I’m open to suggestions.


  • Positronica:

    Can you address the issue about the lines surrounding the land masses? I find that particularly in the Mediterranean that the lines (e.g.waves) detract from the sea zone. I propose that you take a look at using only 3 lines rather than 7. Is it possible to make a test to see the difference?


  • I am not the creator of the “waves” nor am I going to put in the tremendous amount of time it would take to remove individual lines (waves) from the map.  I defer you to Positronica (wave maker) on this request.

    Unless I get an overwhelming response from this group to the contrary, the Vichy topic is final.


  • You have a good number of CBs, they will help action in the seas. 
    I like the SZs, more streamlined around the North Atlantic and North Pacific.
    For the size of the Philippine SZ, it could be split in two (north/south).  If New Guinea is 3 SZ, why not 2 for Philippines.

    for the sake of mention but discussion down the road…
    @deepblue:

    The only argument I can see for having the US CBs where they are in the Pacific is that it pulls the US quicker into the pacific.  The Japanese can strike them without hitting the mainland, I kind of like that idea.  It keeps the “turtle” US players from just sitting back.  This will force him to protect his assets. 
    The other argument for CBs near these islands (Line, Gilbert, Marshall) is that it adds value to the islands.  Without the CBs this area is void of value.  I like this idea too, adding value to the region.
    On the same note some people have suggested that the CB near Wake Island be removed.  I will use the same argument here, without the CB these islands (Wake, Iwo, etc.) have no value.  This gives the area some value.  (By the way this is another CB I did not add.)

    I would suggest that we keep the CBs and also add some small value to the islands themselves (even if it is just 1 IPC).  Too often I see games where the US/UK forces bypass the islands without value for the ones with some value, even if it means by-passing a few INF or not being able to use their fighters for another round on the way through Island hopping.  just log it away for another week…


  • @Imperious:

    Positronica:

    Can you address the issue about the lines surrounding the land masses? I find that particularly in the Mediterranean that the lines (e.g.waves) detract from the sea zone. I propose that you take a look at using only 3 lines rather than 7. Is it possible to make a test to see the difference?

    Redrawing the wave lines would take a decent amount of work.  They’re not a seperate graphic on the map.  To redo them you’d essentially have to redo every bit of water on the map.  I’m way to busy with work and school right now to do that anytime soon, not to mention that I would need Deepblue’s updated version of the map even to attempt it.  Maybe once Deepblue has the map finished and redistributes the file in layers I’ll attempt it, but I can’t make any promises.


  • I was looking over the map somemore, and there’s a few little things I noticed…

    1. I don’t think Iceland should fall on the border of several sea zones.  Small islands, especially if you’re going to put an airbase symbol on them, work much better if they’re surrounded by a single sea zone.  If you’re not familiar with A&A:P, the way airbases work is that friendly aircraft flying into or out of a territory containing an airbase don’t have to count the sea zone adjacent to the airbase when determining their movement.  On the map, the airbases are generally placed along the border of a territory and the sea zone they are supposed to apply to.  With Iceland now touching three sea zones, you would be in the akward position of having to put several airbase symbols on the island to tie it to each of the seperate sea zones.  Another thing is that by having it touch three sea zones, you’ve basically given Iceland three seperate routes that make it vulnerable to amphibious invasion.  I think that’s far too many invasion routes for an island the size on Iceland.  I would definately suggest putting Iceland back within its own seazone.  If need be, you can slide the island a little to the south-east to give you more room to work with.

    2. You might want to think about reworking the shape of the seazons in the Mediterranean so that Sicily also isn’t being bordered by so many sea zones.  I would say that having it bordered by 2 sea zones would be better than the current 3.  The Axis and Allies: Europe map might be a good place to look to get some ideas on how to rework the Mediterranean.

    3. Its a little unclear if the sea zone between Madagascar and Africa touches the sea zone to the south east of Madagascar or not.  Its also unclear if the sea zone to the south east of South Africa touches Madagascar or not.  I would say to just move the line between Madagascar and Africa a little to the north, similar to where it was on the original map.

    4. You’ve added a few spots where four sea zones come together in a squared corner.  Namely the area north of Scotland, the area south-east of the Philippines, the area north of the Caroline Islands, the two area west of Hawaii, and the area north-west of Midway.  You’ll notice that on the official Axis & Allies maps, sea zones are never laid out like this.  They are always staggered so that corners never come together like that.  I think it leads to more natural movement of units upon the board, and it makes it easier to visualize the placement of your fleets at a glance.  Think of it somewhat as the difference between a game that uses a square combat grid versus a hex grid.  I would highly suggest changing the layout of the all the four corner areas I listed above.

    5. The UK capital symbol has been moved away from London and up onto the border between Scotland and the Great Britain territory.  Was this intentional?  And if so, why?  The German capital symbol should also be moved a little more into Germany so that no one gets confused and thinks that West Germany is also somehow part of the capital.

    6. Its hard to tell if the sea zone west of British Columbia actually touches Alaska or not.  I would suggest angling the right end of the line up a bit so that Alaska is clearly shown to touch the sea zone.

    7. Don’t forget the name for the island east of Primorsky.


  • The week is almost over.

    Recap…

    There has been some debate over the CB near Wake.

    Was I able to persuade you to keep it our do you still feel it should be removed?

    The British CB in the Med.

    I like it but still have some reservations.  It seems that this CB will be really hard to defend.  One thought I had was to trade places with the Italian CB, but not sure if that would help or not.  Any other thoughts?

    America CB in the Atlantic.

    I think it should stay.  But I could move it up and over a bit (on the sea line under Newfoundland) so it is more in line with supplies going to Britain.  Let me know if you think this is better then the current location.

    Thanks for all the great input, I will try to get all your suggestion on the map for this Friday.


  • @deepblue:

    The week is almost over.

    The British CB in the Med.

    I like it but still have some reservations.  It seems that this CB will be really hard to defend.  One thought I had was to trade places with the Italian CB, but not sure if that would help or not.  Any other thoughts?

    Well isn’t that just the idea? That the CB is hard to protect in 1941/1942?  Changing it with the Italian CB would be wrong! It is fine like it is IMO.


  • Yeah, I agree.  The UK starts with a very high IPC income.  They’re not supposed to be able to easily hold onto all of this at the start of the game.  I think the British CB in the Med is a big improvement.  It will make things more interesting in that region of the map.

    @Micoom:

    @deepblue:

    The week is almost over.

    The British CB in the Med.

    I like it but still have some reservations.  It seems that this CB will be really hard to defend.  One thought I had was to trade places with the Italian CB, but not sure if that would help or not.  Any other thoughts?

    Well isn’t that just the idea? That the CB is hard to protect in 1941/1942?  Changing it with the Italian CB would be wrong! It is fine like it is IMO.


  • It’s Friday!

    The Sixth draft has arrived!

    I have made the following changes from the fifth draft:

    Added:
    Karafuto

    Changed:
    Sea Zones have been adjusted
    Adjusted British and German National Roundels

    Reminders:
    When reviewing the map please consider both historical accuracy and game play.
    The image has been reduced by 50% for faster downloads. (Makes it a little fuzzy)
    Unfinished elements have been removed.
    This is a work in progress.

    http://www.mediafire.com/?7mydyyje2jm


  • Well, I think its looking pretty good.  I can’t think of anything else that really needs to be changed on it.  I think it might be time to start figuring out where naval bases and sea bases should be put in.  After the airbase and naval base symbols are in, I think we can start working on IPC values.


  • What about Diego Garcia south of India, right about where the ship is layered in the Indian Ocean?

    info about it…
    http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/3778/43/


  • add puget sound for USA


  • uh…  actually that is already on there…

    while you could add a naval base to it (since it’s there IL), you cannot add an airbase to diego garcia.

    we could just use the place phase 2 units here box for it if you’d like. lol


  • Deepblue,

    map’s looking good.  Do you have any goals for the next week on it?

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