I’ve been following this thread since it started. It interests me alot and I’d like to see these n. advantages used in my G40 games. I hate how tech is done in G40. We all know Russians will never use super subs, like people have mentioned before. Looks like these advantages have evolved quite a bit in a short period of time, but the concept is intriguing and that’s what really counts.
There are few things I’d like to point out though that have caught my attention in a different way however.
I don’t know why the Russians currently don’t have any advantages. They clearly did in the war. You did mention the Russian Winter YG, which would be amazing. I would implement seasons, and start keeping track of them on the first round. I would apply this to the entire upper Northern Hemisphere though, like in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Mongolia, some of Northern China and maybe Manchuria.
I like to view each round as a season, or 3 months. It’s the end of spring (let’s say May-ish) in 1940 at the start, so battle of France is on the go and China’s a mess. That means things are relatively easy to deal with logistically and physically because it’s warm and there’s not much mud (spring does have mud usually though, but just bare with me). The Summer and Autumn seasons allow relative freedom of movement, so no significant impediment is there. Winter, as we all know obviously, doesn’t. An idea would be like the one you mentioned, units are severely slowed down on the eastern front, and maybe the western one if there is one. I would impede the Russians less than everyone else and let them be more adapted to it, like mech move at 2 like usual and Russians do not have any minuses to defense for any unit. Their tanks would be at a -1 for movement and attack though. Axis tanks would be at -1 a/d and are immobilized unless paired with infantry, in which case they move 1. Axis mech move at 1 in Soviet territory in the winter. Ground units need support in order to attack (which basically means you can’t send a lone unit to attack anything, even empty tts; that also means you can’t use air units to send as extra units to justify having one land unit in the previously empty tt at the end either). I’ll just randomly say 3 ground units minimum are needed to make an attack anywhere, because it makes more sense logistically (who’s gonna send 3000 men or so in the freezing cold out in the middle of nowhere with limited supplies with a good chance of a counter attack? No, you send a sh!t load with as many supplies as possible). Spring would mean all tanks and mech move at 1 and that would be it for things being a pain in the ass. So, R1 is spring (only round to ignore restrictions, all others after this first one don’t), R2 is summer, R3 is autumn, R4 is winter and rinse and repeat after that. This one can just be added at the start and have other advantages kick in later on.
Another one I thought of is the lend-lease program. Lot’s of ideas floating around for that one under this house rules section.
My last thought for a Russian one would be representing their crazy production toward the end of it. 2000 t-34s a month man… That’s insane. That on top of everything else. Either through lend-lease or crazy production, they need more IPCs man. If Moscow isn’t taken down by spring of '42, they should be given something.
On another note, there’s a few options you have there that myself and others in my group would almost never take at this point of where you’re at with this awesome project. Enigma would never be chosen over Blitzkrieg. Sea units are always bottom priority under everything else for Germany in my group’s games. Removing German subs for the U.K. would never really be considered either. Others would also be Uncle Sam and Kamikaze. I’ve never seen suicide runs in all the games I’ve played, and warbonds let’s you buy anything, instead of just 4 infantry every time… Maybe it’s just me, who knows…
I like the V rockets, but they weren’t accurate enough to cripple the U.K.'s war machine the way you might make them to right now. An auto 6 damage is misrepresentative of that. It might be what you need for balance though, so leaving it might be the better way to go for game play.
The Commonwealth Aid one wouldn’t really be used either, but that’s only because I’ve incorporated Canada into the game as a separate power (only because I think it’s awesome lol, for good reason though and they’re very good in the winter too (refer Russian Winter above :p)). I see this option being viable otherwise.
I don’t have any good ideas to add atm, but I can get back here later if I do.
