Update 1.0.8.9 - Combined Content and Polish Update (Experimental)

Update 1.0.8.9 is out on the experimental branch with a pair of overhauls, several other crucial improvements, and plenty of new units for Germany and the USSR in 1943! On the overhaul front, we have substantially revised Combat Engineering and totally restructured Attack Scenarios. Regarding general improvements, we have (among other things), refined air zone generation and propagation, tweaked artillery fire tables - especially for counterbattery, and made numerous user interface improvements/clarifications.

To access the Experimental branch: Right click CAOS in your steam library > Select Properties > Click on Betas > and Select Experimental from the Beta Participation dropdown.

System Updates:

Combat Engineering Overhaul:

Churchill Crocodile enjoyers rejoice! We have improved the combat engineering system to make it more consistent, detailed, and accessible.

What’s New in Combat Engineering? Combat engineering now consists of the combat engineering value of participating units + 50% of the fire/air support value assigned to the battle. Moreover, most tank guns over 95mm in bore now possess a combat engineering value proportional to their explosive yield. Combat engineering now further models the intricate details of differences in availability of breaching charges, tactical de-mining equipment, man-packed flamethrowers, and flammable oil capacity in flame tanks. Consequently, the radically different combat engineering capabilities between nations, years, and unit types are readily apparent now. See the example weapon cards below for some of the more striking differences in combat engineering capabilities. Update 1.0.8.9’s engineering update creates 3 broad schools of thought for assaulting forts, all reflective of wartime practices: 1)

The American approach

employ a few strong combat engineer regiments and backing them up with apocalyptic levels of fire support. 2)

The Soviet approach

concentrate flamethrower engineers and back them up with heavy assault guns such as SU-152s. 3) The British approach of de-prioritizing infantry engineers entirely and instead smashing forts with highly specialized assault engineering vehicles, such as the Crocodile.

There is of course the 4th option....to just barrage the fort until you crater it out of existence. But this strategy only works against level 1 forts and its efficacy is hit and miss.

Attack Scenario Overhaul:

Attack scenarios now use fixed requisition point schedules to craft a more tailored experience that divides attack scenarios into 3 distinct phases: 1) Attacker offensive. 2) Defender Counterattack. 3) Both sides attack. Defenders can now afford to sacrifice land for time and attackers must plan ahead to endure the looming counterattack. See the table below for a general overview of the total # of requisition points each side will amass by major turn milestones out to a max length of 60 turns (although most Attack scenarios will not be longer than 30). In the spirit of major Eastern Front offensive operations, the Attacker is really just the first attacker. The defender's counter stroke will arrive about 12 turns into the game, and the Attacker needs to make the most out of their initial advantage to carve out a secure lodgment.

On a game balance note, in playtesting we have generally found these numbers feel balanced on wide-open maps such as Somme or Kharkov. But we feel that they are skewed in the defender's favor on highly defensible maps such as Ardennes or Sicily. For the full update release we will likely use different requisition point formulas for different maps.

Scenario Updates/General Gameplay:

• Added Training Lock, a new scenario option that can limit or disable changing training levels. Training lock can be set to free (default), limited (training levels can be changed by +/- 1 level), or historical (no