Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg FAQ

 

What is Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg?

Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg is more than just WWII Grand Strategy at its best; it is an entire game engine at your fingertips!

Set in a fully enhanced 2-D isometric environment, Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg combines the ease of play and accessibility of the original Strategic Command, while adding tons of new features including many player submitted suggestions. Bigger, better and expandable, Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg is an evolutionary as well as revolutionary new grand strategy game from award winning game designer Hubert Cater.

 

What is the Weapons and Warfare Expansion?

The Weapons and Warfare is the first expansion to the award winning Strategic Command 2 Blitkrieg game. The expansion requires that you already have the Battlefront.com version of Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg already installed and licensed to work. The expansion offers all new units, graphical enhancement and tons of game improvements! Read all the details here!

 

What is the Global War Campaign I keep hearing about?

In the recent v1.08 game patch we have added an all new Global Campaign that allows you now play the game on a brand new complete world map and adds the forces of China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and more! Complete details on this new epic campaign can be found here.

Click to see the all new Global Map in Hi-Res (4 meg image)

 

When is it going to be released?

The game has been released! Orders are now being accepted (Order Here!).

 

Will there be a demo?

Yes, the demo was just released and you can download it HERE.

 

Where can I buy SC2? What if I’m from Europe/Africa/Asia…?

SC2 will only be available from this website, www.battlefront.com and not sold in retail stores. We have two warehouses that we ship games out of – one located in the US (East Coast), the other in Europe (Ireland). Depending on where you are from, the quickest shipping route is chosen by us automatically, so no matter if you live in the US, in Europe, or in Asia or anywhere else on the globe, you’ll get your game in the mail within a few days usually.

Why is it not available in stores?

Well, that’s a long story. For some more details about the background that has lead to this decision (and to the foundation of Battlefront.com itself!), please read our About Us page.

 

How much will SC2 cost?

Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg is now just $35 and comes with a printed 150 page manual.

 

How long will SC2 take to ship?

Usually customers in the US and in Europe will get their game within 2-3 business days. You can review our order and shipping details page HERE. Right now we are taking Pre-Orders and we expect the game to begin shipping in less than 4 weeks.

 

Will SC2 come with a box and a manual?

Yes to a manual (150 printed pages), no to a box. Boxes only increase the cost of shipping (and production) and since the game is not available in retail, they serve no real purpose. Instead of artificially increasing the price for the game, we’d rather give you great gaming value for your money.

 

What exactly will the default campaigns cover and will I be able to edit them?

The default campaigns will naturally cover the major operations from 1939 to 1945 in the European Theater and yes, with the advanced Editor, you will be able to edit almost any aspect of the campaigns to suit your liking. For example, if you are not satisfied with the initial US production values, with a few clicks of the mouse you could easily add resources and/or adjust the US industrial modifier value. Not satisfied with any of the combat values, simply open up the unit Combat Target Values Table and adjust them to your preferred specifications. This and many other easy editing options are all possible. In addition to the 6 main campaigns, we have also included 5 additional "battle" scenarios which have clearly defined victory conditions and turn limits.

Can I create my own custom campaigns, and/or worlds with the SC2 Editor?

Yes, in fact, the exact same editor has been used to build all the default campaigns for SC2. In general, there may exist some natural limitations tied to the game engine, after all it has to at least make sense for a WWII grand strategy game, but other than that the only limitation really is your imagination. With the editor you will be able to change unit and country names, edit unit combat values, create custom alliances, custom maps, set weather zones, edit terrain, resource and unit placements, customize research and diplomacy rules per country, edit/create any number of scripts that can control specialty items like convoys, lend-lease, annexation and surrender rules and much, much more. The sky really is the limit!

So are you saying that I can edit just about everything in the game?

Yes :)

 

So are you saying that I can also make a Pacific Theater campaign if I want to?

 

Yes! :-)

 

So are you saying that I could even make an entire WW2 “whole world” campaign, too?

YES! :-)

 

Why are you not including a Pacific Theater campaign by default?

The reason not to include the Pacific War in a pre-made scenario is because it would entail a long process of play-balancing that Hubert rather invests in improving the game engine as such. Especially since with the powerful editor there will be tons of excellent Pacific and other campaigns on the net in no time, no doubt about it! So instead of investing time into “marketing” the game to you, Hubert chose to spend the time where it will do the most good in gameplay value.

Note: A full global campaign and map was recently added with the v1.08 patch. This Global Campaign now includes the Pacific Theatre!

 

What changes will be made to the turn lengths in SC2?

Since SC2 offers a variety of custom ability it only made sense to provide several turn length and economic options. A Seasonal turn length will still be available, i.e. longer summers and shorter winters, but now players can set turn lengths to any number of weeks as well as set each turn to be either Simultaneous or Alternate. In this case, Simultaneous simply means that the date will not advance until players have completed their respective turns. As an additional option, Seasonal turn lengths can also be set to have a Normalized production calculation. This was proposed for players who would like to see MPP collection doubled for the quicker winter turns when using the Summer turn length as the base standard for MPP collection.

 

What are some of the new unit types for SC2?

Some of the new unit types that will be found in SC2 include Engineers and Paratroops.
With Engineers, players can build fortifications to help strengthen defenses against enemy attacks and amphibious operations. While fortifications are not as strong as fortresses like the Maginot line, they will represent a substantial improvement to any foreseeable defensive situation. Paratroops will also create some new attack options, as they could be especially useful when combined with amphibious assaults and/or for securing rear areas from enemy units.

 

Will Morale be included this time around as a unit characteristic?

Yes. Morale has been introduced as a factor based on a unit’s strength and supply that will also affect overall readiness for combat. Primarily since Morale is formulated to drop over time for a unit that is suddenly cut off or low on supply, so too will the unit’s readiness.

Morale = MoraleOld (0.75) + (Strength - MoraleOld (0.75))(%Supply)

Readiness = ((Strength + HQ Rating) / 2 + Morale) / 2

 

Will I be able to keep track of the number of Battle Honors of any particular unit?

Yes. Each unit will have a list of successful campaigns it has participated in as well as a list of captured cities or resources. For example, Poland ’39, Stalingrad ’42.

 

What changes will there be for Unit Reinforcement?

There will now be two separate options for reinforcement, Regular Reinforcement and Elite Reinforcement. Regular Reinforcement will only allow you to reinforce a unit up to a maximum of strength 10 subtracted by the number of adjacent enemy units. Experience loss per reinforcement point will still occur. On the other hand, Elite Reinforcement will allow you to reinforce a unit up to 10 plus the number of full experience bars for that particular unit. While there will be no experience point loss when using Elite Reinforcement, it will of course be more expensive and will only be available if there are no adjacent enemy units.

 

What changes will there be for Transporting units?

SC2 now offers two options for transporting units, Regular Troop Transport as well as Amphibious Transport. While regular Transport will only be possible from friendly port to friendly port, Amphibious Transport will allow you to perform amphibious landings and/or assaults anywhere on enemy coastal areas. Amphibious defense planning will also have to be modified, as an amphibious assault will more likely be a surprise when executed properly. One turn for building of force, but on the next turn landings can commence at any point within the Amphibious Transports reach, which can potentially really surprise the enemy. To counter Amphibious Transport abuse, the landing supply of units will be based on the number of turns at sea, i.e. a lower readiness the longer it is at sea.

 

What changes will I find with Research and Development?

For Research and Development, one big change is that there will no longer be automatic upgrades for each research level. Players will now have the ability to customize each unit and with several research categories offered for most units, the number of customizations, and/or specializations will create some interesting situations indeed. For example you may want to have a specialized mobile Corps for penetrating deep into enemy lines with high motorization and infantry weapons levels while having several basic level Corps held in reserve for garrison duty. Or you could find yourself with a long range Air Fleet on the coast for spotting and reconnaissance while the bulk of your air power is advanced jets for interdiction or general attack. Many options and combinations will be possible.

 

What is Diplomacy going to be like?

For Diplomacy, each country will have an activation percentage as well as either an Axis or Allied major parent indicating their current political association. While general game play will still affect the activation percentages of many countries (via scripts), players will also have the option to directly influence the political leaning of any country by investing in and assigning diplomatic points. Diplomatic points represent the political efforts as well as the promise of trade, military equipment, and/or economic packages that were often used to influence another country during the war.

Once a diplomatic point has been purchased and assigned, each turn after that there will be a random chance of an increase in activation percentage towards your side where the more diplomatic points you have assigned the greater your chances. To counter this, opposing players can also participate in active counter diplomacy whereby they can effectively decrease or nullify your diplomatic efforts by placing their own diplomatic points directly against yours.

When playing with the fog of war, diplomacy and counter diplomacy will have a realistic and frustrating feel as you may never be sure of what your opponent is doing and why your diplomatic efforts may have failed. In addition, and to increase the importance of diplomacy, various activation levels will also enable other events to occur. For one example, Lend Lease between the US and its Allies will only occur once an activation percentage > 30% has been achieved. Events like this will greatly increase the importance of general game play as well as calculated diplomatic efforts where applicable. Each of these events can also be scripted, so with the combination of game play, general diplomatic actions as well as scripted events there will indeed be many diplomatic options available to the player!

 

What sort of Weather effects will there be?

Each weather zone will have Primary Seasonal Effects such as Clear, Mud and Snow as well as Secondary Seasonal Effects such as Overcast and Storms. Each weather effect can have an influence on a variety of factors such as limiting Air and Amphibious operations as well as increased costs for Operational movement or Transport. Primarily, with Weather Effects enabled, some year round operations will have to be carefully planned and considered well ahead of time in order to take the changing seasons into account.

 

What other cool things will I see in SC2?

Enhancing the game play for SC2 was always under consideration and to this end several new options and features have been included.

In the original SC, clicking on an HQ would highlight all the units under that particular HQ’s command. With SC2 the following highlights have also been added: highlighting of the parent HQ for every unit selected, as well as new intercept and attack/escort range highlights for Air Fleets. The latter highlights can be especially useful when trying to quickly ascertain the current defensive air cover of an Air Fleet, and/or to determine the strike range for general attack or escort duty.

Luftflotte I highlights its Intercept and Escort/Attack ranges in Yellow and Gray respectively

For unit movement players will notice that the potential unit movement path is now highlighted, including the applicable movement penalty costs.

The Quatarra Depression bottlenecks Afrika Korps advance options

Additionally players will now be able to specify a controlled movement path by left clicking each individual waypoint while pressing the Ctrl button. A controlled path can be set by selecting each individual movement tile or by selecting several waypoints and letting the game engine determine the paths in between.

Royal Navy on operations in the North Atlantic

While rivers are now tile sided, so too are Fortresses and Fortifications allowing players to target the softer rear areas to their advantage.

XVI Panzer targets 3rd Army from the unfortified rear of the Maginot Line

 

 

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