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First, special thanks goes to William van Fleet for his original work writing
this FAQ. Secondly, I would like to thank Hein Valk for his submission.
Finally, any gamers who find discrepancies can email me at:
rcschroder@worldnet.att.net Thank you. Ray
Part I Questions & Answers Bill van Fleet
Part II Campaign Victory Path Ray Schroder
Part III Personal Notes Hein Valk
PART I
1. What is the scale of the game?
The geographical scale appears to vary from 1.0km to 2.0km per hex, depending
on the scenario being played. The majority of scenarios average about 1.5km
per hex.
Although the game's designers claim that the units represent battalions, this
does not always appear to be accurate. Rather, the scenarios appear more in
scale with the historical battles if the units are considered to be
regiments/brigades, with the exception of reconnaissance units (and perhaps
some anti-aircraft units), which would remain battalions.
The aircraft units would be viewed as squadrons.
2. Are there any bugs in the game?
Yes, here are four known bugs:
(1) The Vanishing Transport Bug: Anytime a unit that does not possess organic
transport (i.e. infantry and towed artillery, anti-tank or air defense)
receives a leader with the Recon Movement ability, the game will immediately
treat the unit as having no transport at all for the rest of the
scenario/campaign. If the unit is infantry, it will only be able to use its
leg movement ability. If the unit is towed artillery, anti-tank or air
defense, you will not be able to thereafter move the unit at all. Upgrading
the unit to provide it with new or different transport will not solve the
problem. The only known workaround to this bug at present is to upgrade the
unit to a type with organic transport between scenarios (i.e. upgrade towed
artillery, anti-tank or air defense units to self-propelled units of the same
class-sorry, but you're stuck if this happens to an infantry unit since there
are no infantry units with organic transport in the game to you can upgrade
to). SSI is currently working on a fix for this
bug in an upcoming patch.
(2) The Paratrooper Bug: Do not use paratroopers to capture victory hexes!
Anytime one of your paratroopers moves onto a victory hex the game thereafter
treats the hex as an ordinary one that cannot be captured by either side, and
you do not get credit for capturing it initially with the paratrooper unit.
You will thus lose any scenario in which this happens. SSI is also working on
a fix for this bug.
(3) The "Cowardly Lion" Bug: Occasionally, irrespective of weather conditions
or supply level a unit will not be allowed to attack in a turn (for no apparent
rhyme or reason). This bug applies to all types of units, but apparently
auto-corrects because the unit will be able to move and attack normally in the
next turn. The bug has been reported to SSI. I haven't been able to confirm
this particular bug. Ray
(4) The Amphibious Invasion-Unlimited Movement Bug: Although units are not
supposed to be able to move on the turn that they land on a beach, nevertheless
if an armored unit overruns an adjacent enemy unit the armored unit will
suddenly receive unlimited movement points (subject, of course, to enemy zones
of control) that turn. This bug has also been reported to SSI.
3. Are there any additional bugs or problems?
Yes. The following items were submitted to SSI 27 October 1997.
1. Campaign Prestige error - the prestige dialer on the campaign screen effects
the players prestige & not the computer's as indicated by the icon. I believe
ver 1.01 corrected this by displaying "player's prestige" note at the top of
the screen. Ray
2. Purchase/Upgrade error - if the maximum number of units has already been
purchased before a new battle begins, no further upgrades are possible until at
least 1 unit is deleted from the players list of core units.
3. Rugged Defense - appears to function incorrectly (or not at all) when Armor
units attack a city hex, but works correctly (or too well) against Infantry
attacks.
4. AI Aircraft Purchases - the AI purchases aircraft even after it no longer
controls any airfield.
5. AI Ground Unit Purchases - new computer units are produced in cities even
when entirely surrounded by the players units and/or zones of control.To make
matters worse, the human player is not allowed to react to these
new threats until after the AI attacks & inflicts loses.
6. Leader assignments - two players have reported that when an air and ground
unit (both with leaders) are stacked, that the leaders "swapped" units. One
player reported that the wrong attribute was displayed (a tank leader with
marksman). I believe ver 1.01 also cleared up this problem. Ray
7. Spotted Hexes Unmarked - there is no indication of whether or not any
specific hex has been spotted. This forces players to memorize/recall or "count
hexes" every turn to avoid AI ambushes.
8. Onward to Berlin Campaign - the T34/41 is "free", has zero prestige cost
Version 1.01 fixed this. Ray
9. Save Game - occassionally after selecting Save Game, the game will not
return to the game, but exit the program entirely. It has also been reported to
return to the HQ/Review screen or the Load Game screen.
Interface Limitation Items:
1. Limited Aircraft Deployment Hexes - scenerio deployment for aircraft becomes
tedious when players are limited to deploying only to an airfield. Once the
initial aircraft are deployed, the player must then stop, fly them off and then
repeatedly redeploy additional aircraft.
2. Preselected Units - at the start of each turn it is too easy to
unintentionally move/fly the defaulted (preselected) unit into an ambush or
have its turn prematurely ended if the player accidentally clicks on the map.
Request that units not be preselected by default.
3. Field HQ screen: does not return to the unit (or general area of the list)
which was being reviewed after Inspecting Units etc. (ie; the player must
scroll to the last viewed location each time the screen is redisplayed).
4. Upgrade screen: the unit designation is not displayed (only unit type) which
can prevent the player from selecting and upgrading the correct unit if 2 or
more units are simular. The player must exit to Field HQ screen and
locate/inspect each unit separately (to check leaders and unit experience),
then return to the Upgrade screen, scroll to the "memorized" unit and finally
perform the upgrade.
Additional items of concern sent to SSI the first week of November 1997:
1. The AI will continue to repair its aircraft at airfields the human player
captured.
2. Naval Attack Factors for Infantry units are inconsistent: All German and US
are "1's", however all British Infantry (except Commandos) and USSR Guard units
(and a few others) have "0" Naval Attack capability.
3. 15 Nbwf 41 has a Ground Defense of "7" while all other towed artillery are
"2's".
4. Me-109F is not available for purchase by the Germans (but is for the Finns).
4. Can I buy/keep "foreign troops" as my Core Units?
Yes. Also note that your "foreign troops will still display their original flag
(on strategic map and when capturing cities) even after upgrading to you
"normal" Core units. Your Finnish Ski Troops will still display a Finnish flag
even if later upgraded to a Jaeger Infantry unit.
5. Should I buy the Strategy Guide
My recommendation is NO! Especially if you are already familiar with the
original Panzer General or the rest of SSI's 5star series. Brows the FAQ,
print out the Victory Path and play the game. You'll pick it up in no time at
all and avoid the errors in the printed Strategy Guide to boot (especially it's
misinformation on how prestige works).
6. Sometimes I won't be able to attack with an aircraft unit. When I fly over
an enemy unit the projected combat results crosshair won't even appear.
Check the weather. Except air units with All Weather Combat Leaders, air units
may not attack enemy units when the weather conditions are snow or rain.
Why can't I attack with ground units sometimes? Are they affected by weather
conditions, too?
Ground units may still attack during inclement weather, though at reduced
effectiveness. Check the unit's ammunition supply-if it's down to zero the unit
cannot attack, and will defend at half strength.
7. How do I get leaders for my units?
Each time a unit gains a level of experience, there is a small chance that the
unit will be awarded with a leader. This percentage chance appears to decrease
as your core army accumulates more leaders-ranging from a high of about 10% to
a low of about 2%.
8. Is there a cap to the number of leaders my core army can have?
Yes. It appears that you can have a maximum of 15 leaders as the Germans in
the Blitzkrieg Campaign, and a maximum of 14 leaders in all other campaigns.
9. What are the different kinds of leaders?
Each leader will be assigned one automatic ability, depending on the unit type,
and one random ability. The automatically assigned abilities are:
Air Defense (Mechanized Veteran): The air defense unit will be allowed to both
move and fire in the same turn.
Anti-Tank (Tank Killer): The anti-tank unit will no longer suffer an initiative
penalty when initiating combat.
Artillery (Marksman): The unit's attack range is increased by one hex.
Fighter (Skilled Interceptor): The unit can intercept multiple enemy aircraft
in the defensive phase.
Infantry (Tenacious Defense): The unit's ground defense factor is increased by
4.
Reconnaissance (Elite Recon Veteran): The unit's spotting range is increased by
two hexes.
Tactical Bomber (Skilled Assault): The unit cannot be surprised ("out of the
sun") in combat.
Tank (Aggressive Maneuver): The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.
The random abilities are:
Aggressive Attack: Each of the unit's attack factors is increased by 2.
Aggressive Maneuver: The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.
All Weather Combat (awarded only to air units): The unit may attack normally
during inclement weather conditions.
Alpine Training: When moving the unit treats forest and mountain hexes as clear
terrain.
Battlefield Intelligence: The unit cannot be surprised in combat.
Bridging: When moving the unit treats passable river hexes as rough terrain.
Combat Support: The unit provides both Resilience and Skilled Ground Attack
abilities to all adjoining units during combat phases.
Determined Defense: Each of the unit's defense factors is increased by 2.
Devastating Fire: The unit may attack twice in a turn.
Ferocious Defense: The unit's entrenchments cannot be ignored by enemy pioneres
or engineers.
Fire Discipline: The unit will expend only one-half of an ammunition point each
time it attacks.
First Strike: The unit will fire first against an enemy unit if it wins the
initiative in a combat round.
Forest Camouflage: If in a forest hex the unit cannot be spotted by enemy units
unless they move adjacent to it.
Infiltration Tactics: The unit ignores enemy unit entrenchments when
calculating combat results.
Influence: Allows the unit to upgrade to better equipment at reduced prestige
point cost.
Liberator: You receive double the normal number of prestige points for all
objective and victory hexes captured by the unit.
Overwatch: The unit will fire at any enemy unit that moves within its range.
The enemy unit is automatically surprised, allowing your unit to fire first and
at the enemy's close assault, rather than its ground defense, factor. Note: a
unit with an Overwatch leader will only fire at the first enemy unit that comes
within range, not any subsequent enemy units.
Overwhelming Attack: When attacking the unit will have an indeterminate number
of the suppression points it would otherwise inflict converted to kills.
Reconnaissance Movement: The unit is permitted phased movement, just like
reconnaissance units.
Resilience: The unit will suffer 1 to 3 fewer step casualties than normal units
when attacked.
Shock Tactics: Any suppression which the unit inflicts on an enemy unit will
last the entire player's turn, not just the specific combat round.
Skilled Ground Attack: The unit will inflict 1 to 3 more step casualties than
normal units when attacking.
Skilled Reconnaissance: The unit's spotting range is increased by one hex.
Street Fighter: The unit ignores an enemy unit's city entrenchment when
calculating combat results.
Superior Maneuver: The unit may ignore enemy units' zones of control.
10. Can multiple leaders of the same type be awarded to different core units?
For example, could I have both an aircraft and a tank unit with Devastating
Fire leaders, or two tank units with Overwatch leaders, etc.?
Yes.
11. Are all types of units eligible to receive any of the random abilities?
No. All Weather Combat leaders are awarded only to aircraft units, and there
may be other exceptions.
12. How do I get a prototype unit?
After winning a brilliant victory in a scenario there is about a 10% chance
that you will be awarded a prototype unit just prior to the commencement of the
next scenario as a reward for your victory.
13. How do I upgrade units between scenarios?
The manual is a bit confusing on this. On the unit screen click on the icon
for the unit you wish to upgrade, and then click on the upgrade button (2
stars). This takes you to the upgrade screen. First click on the icon for the
unit you wish to upgrade, then click on the icon of the unit you wish to
upgrade to on the left, and then click on the little book button beneath the
new equipment icons.
14. During upgrading can I change a unit from one type to another?
No. Units may only be upgraded with equipment of the same type.
15. I've noticed a few anomalies when upgrading equipment-like upgrading from a
Bf109 to an Me109 still costs prestige points even though the aircraft have
exactly the same stats. What gives?
SSI's design team did indeed make a few errors with equipment statistics. You
can download an excellent revised equipment roster authored by Steve Strayer
(with technical assistance from Ray Schroder and others) from his website (The
Panzer General II Armory) at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sgt_stryker/pg2.htm.
Or Ray's Zerstorer page at:
http://home.att.net/~rcschroder
Also note that Steve has produced the best Pacific General Equipment files
available and the Ray has the Ultimate Panzer General equipment file (original
Dos PzGen only) available for downloading at their sites.
16. How do I deploy my units at the beginning of a scenario?
In the deployment screen, left click on the unit you wish to deploy and then
left click again on the deployment hex you want the unit to start in.
Deployment hexes are a shade darker than normal hexes (and sometimes it's hard
to tell them apart).
17. Can I view the deployment hexes from the strategic map?
Yes, but it's very difficult at times to see.
18. I've run out of deployment hexes, but I still have units left to deploy.
Now what?
Once you've moved one or more units out of an initial deployment hex, you can
then click on the "Deploy Units" button (downward arcing arrow). This will
bring up the deployment screen again and you can now place your remaining units
in the vacated deployment hexes. Note: you can only deploy further units
around supply point hexes (green and gold bordered hexes), not jump-off hexes.
This also holds true for deployment of any new units you may purchase during
the scenario. Thus, it's a pretty wise idea to save your game from the upgrade
screen just prior to deploying your forces in case you make a mistake.
19. Can I initially deploy my air units forward with my front line troops?
No. Air units may only be deployed at airfields.
20. What if while still deploying my units I later decide that I shouldn't have
deployed a particular unit in a particular hex? Do I have to redeploy all my
units again?
No. Simply left click on the unit you want to remove from the hex. The hex
will vacate, and the unit will appear at the bottom of the list of your units
for redeployment elsewhere.
21. I get frustrated when my air units can't attack due to weather. How do I
turn it off?
Hit the Alt+ W keys. Hit the Alt+S keys if you want to turn off the supply
rules.
22. Why can't I replay a turn or scenario like it says in the manual?
Although a "VCR" button was left in the interface, for reasons unknown SSI
decided not to implement this feature in the final shipping version of the
game.
23. Does it matter which I do first, upgrade or overstrenghten a unit ?
Yes, this is especially important since you have less overall prestige in PzGen
II. Always UPGRADE FIRST, then overstrenghten the unit. If you reverse this
order you'll waste valuable prestige points.
24. After the initial deployment phase, where can I deploy units I forgot to
deploy or new units I purchase?
On page 23, the game manual states that "[g]round units can only be deployed on
or adjacent to supply points," while on page 52 the manual says that "capturing
an enemy . . . supply point does not convert it into a supply point that you
can use, unless it is a port, and naval transport is available." This means
you can still deploy ground troops that you didn't place during the initial
deployment phase (or units that you purchase during the scenario) in a captured
port if (1) that port is a supply point (green and gold bordered), and (2) you
have naval transport available during the scenario. You cannot deploy troops
in captured victory hexes or non-port supply points, nor can you deploy them in
initial jump-off hexes. Rather, you can only deploy your initial ground troops
or purchased units in or adjacent to your starting supply points. Note that
this limitation does not apply to air units, which may be deployed at captured
airfields the turn after capture.
Playing the Germans in the Blitzkrieg campaign, there are two scenarios, Malta
and Novgorod, where these deployment rules are critical to gameplay. In Malta,
the Germans are allowed to initially deploy only six ground units on the island
itself. The remaining ground units in the core force must deploy in the darker
shaded sea hexes near the island's southeastern and eastern coastline. All of
these sea hexes, as well as the initial island hexes, are considered jump-off
hexes. So, if you fail to deploy all of your ground units in the initial
deployment phase, you won't be able to deploy the remainder until you capture
Vallena, on the island's northern coast.
In Novgorod, the Germans must deploy one of their ground units in their
northernmost victory hex. Otherwise, the Russians will move a unit into that
hex on the first turn of the scenario and automatically win the game.
25. I'm playing the British in the Crusade in the West campaign. Between the
Salerno and St. Lo scenarios I upgraded my tank units to Challengers with a
two-hex range, but when I start St. Lo my tanks must still move adjacent to
enemy units to attack them. Is this a bug?
No. Most of the terrain in the St. Lo scenario is bocage (a seemingly endless
series of hedgerows peculiar to northern France) which limits units' LOS to one
hex, thus requiring units (other than artillery) to be adjacent to one another
to engage in combat.
PART II
Panzer General II
Campaign Path
bv= brilliant victory v=regular victory tv=tactical victory l=lost
Battle Results Next Battle
Madrid Offensive All Results Ciechanow
Ciechanow bv,v Suomussalmi
tv,l Sedan
Suomussalmi bv,v,tv Lillehammer
L Sedan
Lillehammer bv,v Sedan
tv Thermopylae
A lose means the End of Game ( on this & all following losses)
Sedan bv,v Race to Dunkirk
tv Thermopylae
Race to Dunkirk bv Windsor
v Pursuit to Tobruk
tv Thermopylae
Pursuit to Tobruk bv,v Tobruk
tv Kishinev
Tobruk bv,v Malta
tv Kishinev
Malta bv,v Kishinev
tv Novgorod
Kishinev All victories Novgorod
Novgorod bv,v Volokolamsk
tv LOSES CAMPAIGN!!!
Volokolamsk bv,v Klin
tv Winter Storm (Stalingrad...new campaign)
Klin bv,v Windsor
tv Winter Storm (Stalingrad...new campaign)
The campaign paths for the Americans, British and Russians appear to follow the
same sequence listed in the game manual regardless of level of victory.
Hope this helps... I was one of those who thought SSI had completely separated
the two German scenarios, but that isn't true. You can continue with your
original core units into the Defend the Reich Campaign.
PART III
Some personal observations on the Panzer General II by Hein Valk.
A. Bugs Observations
- Changing abilities of a leader
In the Blitzkrieg campaign I played the Sedan Scenario and had recon car with
a leader with liberator ability waiting near the last objective city. Before
the end of the turn I gained experience with other units and a tank obtained a
new leader. When all units gained maximum experience I rechecked my liberator
recon again to make sure not to lose prestige and I saw that the abilities of
the leader now were exactly the same as that of my tank, including the
aggressive maneuver abilities unique for tanks.
- CTRL-S bug
the CRTL-S shortcut works properly only after the game functions button is used
once. If you did not use the game button before you end up in the introduction
screen.
- spotting bug
After reloading previously spotted hexes are lost. The game only uses the
current unit positions in stead of the turn history. (Haven't noticed this one,
but it wouldn't surprise me either.) - Ray
- AI spotting cheat
I had a artillery unit that could not be spotted by the enemy units, still
artillery and a tank attacked it the next turn. The only reason I can think of
is that an unoccupied enemy city was close to my unit. Do cities have a
spotting range too? It was not in the manual. (Cities have spotting ranges,
just like in the original PzGen.) - Ray
- supply point anomalies
Normally conquered supply points cannot be used to deploy new units. In the
Savannah and Malta scenarios of the Blitzkrieg campaign where the human player
does not have any supply point at the beginning it is possible to use the
conquered supply points. Also in the Phrokorovka scenario (not as part of a
campaign) I observed the same behavior.
B. Gameplay observations
- Tank Overruns
The overrun tactics is the biggest advantage of the tank units. I prefer tanks
to mechanized anti-tank units because of the overrun. After softening up the
target they can take out 3-4 units in a single turn. This is such a big
advantage an army without infantry, anti-tank units and air defense can be very
effective. Concentrate on artillery and air superiority with enough tactical
bombers and your tanks will clean up all remaining defensive positions.
- Making the best use of prototypes
Sometimes you get prototypes that have poor or unwanted performance, for
example a 5cm PaK or a Me-110e dive bomber in the Blitzkrieg. You are on the
offensive and don't need defensive units (PaK) or can already buy units with a
better performance, a Ju-87B instead of a Me-110e.
As these units are new (no experience), selling brings only the loss of the
unit, and returns a large amount of prestige points. The 5cm PaK (+halftrack)
will yield 312 prestige, good for 2 Pz IIIE's of 1 Pz IVD and 60 prestige or a
STuG IIIB and 84 prestige points. In contrast with this is an upgrade of the
5cm PaK to a STuG IIIB, which will cost you 144 prestige points! The same is
true for the Me-110e, an upgrade to a Ju-87b is free, where selling and buying
will give you 20 prestige.
Please email any comments for corrections or additions to
rcschroder@worldnet.att.net
Good Hunting,
Ray
this FAQ. Secondly, I would like to thank Hein Valk for his submission.
Finally, any gamers who find discrepancies can email me at:
rcschroder@worldnet.att.net Thank you. Ray
Part I Questions & Answers Bill van Fleet
Part II Campaign Victory Path Ray Schroder
Part III Personal Notes Hein Valk
PART I
1. What is the scale of the game?
The geographical scale appears to vary from 1.0km to 2.0km per hex, depending
on the scenario being played. The majority of scenarios average about 1.5km
per hex.
Although the game's designers claim that the units represent battalions, this
does not always appear to be accurate. Rather, the scenarios appear more in
scale with the historical battles if the units are considered to be
regiments/brigades, with the exception of reconnaissance units (and perhaps
some anti-aircraft units), which would remain battalions.
The aircraft units would be viewed as squadrons.
2. Are there any bugs in the game?
Yes, here are four known bugs:
(1) The Vanishing Transport Bug: Anytime a unit that does not possess organic
transport (i.e. infantry and towed artillery, anti-tank or air defense)
receives a leader with the Recon Movement ability, the game will immediately
treat the unit as having no transport at all for the rest of the
scenario/campaign. If the unit is infantry, it will only be able to use its
leg movement ability. If the unit is towed artillery, anti-tank or air
defense, you will not be able to thereafter move the unit at all. Upgrading
the unit to provide it with new or different transport will not solve the
problem. The only known workaround to this bug at present is to upgrade the
unit to a type with organic transport between scenarios (i.e. upgrade towed
artillery, anti-tank or air defense units to self-propelled units of the same
class-sorry, but you're stuck if this happens to an infantry unit since there
are no infantry units with organic transport in the game to you can upgrade
to). SSI is currently working on a fix for this
bug in an upcoming patch.
(2) The Paratrooper Bug: Do not use paratroopers to capture victory hexes!
Anytime one of your paratroopers moves onto a victory hex the game thereafter
treats the hex as an ordinary one that cannot be captured by either side, and
you do not get credit for capturing it initially with the paratrooper unit.
You will thus lose any scenario in which this happens. SSI is also working on
a fix for this bug.
(3) The "Cowardly Lion" Bug: Occasionally, irrespective of weather conditions
or supply level a unit will not be allowed to attack in a turn (for no apparent
rhyme or reason). This bug applies to all types of units, but apparently
auto-corrects because the unit will be able to move and attack normally in the
next turn. The bug has been reported to SSI. I haven't been able to confirm
this particular bug. Ray
(4) The Amphibious Invasion-Unlimited Movement Bug: Although units are not
supposed to be able to move on the turn that they land on a beach, nevertheless
if an armored unit overruns an adjacent enemy unit the armored unit will
suddenly receive unlimited movement points (subject, of course, to enemy zones
of control) that turn. This bug has also been reported to SSI.
3. Are there any additional bugs or problems?
Yes. The following items were submitted to SSI 27 October 1997.
1. Campaign Prestige error - the prestige dialer on the campaign screen effects
the players prestige & not the computer's as indicated by the icon. I believe
ver 1.01 corrected this by displaying "player's prestige" note at the top of
the screen. Ray
2. Purchase/Upgrade error - if the maximum number of units has already been
purchased before a new battle begins, no further upgrades are possible until at
least 1 unit is deleted from the players list of core units.
3. Rugged Defense - appears to function incorrectly (or not at all) when Armor
units attack a city hex, but works correctly (or too well) against Infantry
attacks.
4. AI Aircraft Purchases - the AI purchases aircraft even after it no longer
controls any airfield.
5. AI Ground Unit Purchases - new computer units are produced in cities even
when entirely surrounded by the players units and/or zones of control.To make
matters worse, the human player is not allowed to react to these
new threats until after the AI attacks & inflicts loses.
6. Leader assignments - two players have reported that when an air and ground
unit (both with leaders) are stacked, that the leaders "swapped" units. One
player reported that the wrong attribute was displayed (a tank leader with
marksman). I believe ver 1.01 also cleared up this problem. Ray
7. Spotted Hexes Unmarked - there is no indication of whether or not any
specific hex has been spotted. This forces players to memorize/recall or "count
hexes" every turn to avoid AI ambushes.
8. Onward to Berlin Campaign - the T34/41 is "free", has zero prestige cost
Version 1.01 fixed this. Ray
9. Save Game - occassionally after selecting Save Game, the game will not
return to the game, but exit the program entirely. It has also been reported to
return to the HQ/Review screen or the Load Game screen.
Interface Limitation Items:
1. Limited Aircraft Deployment Hexes - scenerio deployment for aircraft becomes
tedious when players are limited to deploying only to an airfield. Once the
initial aircraft are deployed, the player must then stop, fly them off and then
repeatedly redeploy additional aircraft.
2. Preselected Units - at the start of each turn it is too easy to
unintentionally move/fly the defaulted (preselected) unit into an ambush or
have its turn prematurely ended if the player accidentally clicks on the map.
Request that units not be preselected by default.
3. Field HQ screen: does not return to the unit (or general area of the list)
which was being reviewed after Inspecting Units etc. (ie; the player must
scroll to the last viewed location each time the screen is redisplayed).
4. Upgrade screen: the unit designation is not displayed (only unit type) which
can prevent the player from selecting and upgrading the correct unit if 2 or
more units are simular. The player must exit to Field HQ screen and
locate/inspect each unit separately (to check leaders and unit experience),
then return to the Upgrade screen, scroll to the "memorized" unit and finally
perform the upgrade.
Additional items of concern sent to SSI the first week of November 1997:
1. The AI will continue to repair its aircraft at airfields the human player
captured.
2. Naval Attack Factors for Infantry units are inconsistent: All German and US
are "1's", however all British Infantry (except Commandos) and USSR Guard units
(and a few others) have "0" Naval Attack capability.
3. 15 Nbwf 41 has a Ground Defense of "7" while all other towed artillery are
"2's".
4. Me-109F is not available for purchase by the Germans (but is for the Finns).
4. Can I buy/keep "foreign troops" as my Core Units?
Yes. Also note that your "foreign troops will still display their original flag
(on strategic map and when capturing cities) even after upgrading to you
"normal" Core units. Your Finnish Ski Troops will still display a Finnish flag
even if later upgraded to a Jaeger Infantry unit.
5. Should I buy the Strategy Guide
My recommendation is NO! Especially if you are already familiar with the
original Panzer General or the rest of SSI's 5star series. Brows the FAQ,
print out the Victory Path and play the game. You'll pick it up in no time at
all and avoid the errors in the printed Strategy Guide to boot (especially it's
misinformation on how prestige works).
6. Sometimes I won't be able to attack with an aircraft unit. When I fly over
an enemy unit the projected combat results crosshair won't even appear.
Check the weather. Except air units with All Weather Combat Leaders, air units
may not attack enemy units when the weather conditions are snow or rain.
Why can't I attack with ground units sometimes? Are they affected by weather
conditions, too?
Ground units may still attack during inclement weather, though at reduced
effectiveness. Check the unit's ammunition supply-if it's down to zero the unit
cannot attack, and will defend at half strength.
7. How do I get leaders for my units?
Each time a unit gains a level of experience, there is a small chance that the
unit will be awarded with a leader. This percentage chance appears to decrease
as your core army accumulates more leaders-ranging from a high of about 10% to
a low of about 2%.
8. Is there a cap to the number of leaders my core army can have?
Yes. It appears that you can have a maximum of 15 leaders as the Germans in
the Blitzkrieg Campaign, and a maximum of 14 leaders in all other campaigns.
9. What are the different kinds of leaders?
Each leader will be assigned one automatic ability, depending on the unit type,
and one random ability. The automatically assigned abilities are:
Air Defense (Mechanized Veteran): The air defense unit will be allowed to both
move and fire in the same turn.
Anti-Tank (Tank Killer): The anti-tank unit will no longer suffer an initiative
penalty when initiating combat.
Artillery (Marksman): The unit's attack range is increased by one hex.
Fighter (Skilled Interceptor): The unit can intercept multiple enemy aircraft
in the defensive phase.
Infantry (Tenacious Defense): The unit's ground defense factor is increased by
4.
Reconnaissance (Elite Recon Veteran): The unit's spotting range is increased by
two hexes.
Tactical Bomber (Skilled Assault): The unit cannot be surprised ("out of the
sun") in combat.
Tank (Aggressive Maneuver): The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.
The random abilities are:
Aggressive Attack: Each of the unit's attack factors is increased by 2.
Aggressive Maneuver: The unit's movement factor is increased by 1.
All Weather Combat (awarded only to air units): The unit may attack normally
during inclement weather conditions.
Alpine Training: When moving the unit treats forest and mountain hexes as clear
terrain.
Battlefield Intelligence: The unit cannot be surprised in combat.
Bridging: When moving the unit treats passable river hexes as rough terrain.
Combat Support: The unit provides both Resilience and Skilled Ground Attack
abilities to all adjoining units during combat phases.
Determined Defense: Each of the unit's defense factors is increased by 2.
Devastating Fire: The unit may attack twice in a turn.
Ferocious Defense: The unit's entrenchments cannot be ignored by enemy pioneres
or engineers.
Fire Discipline: The unit will expend only one-half of an ammunition point each
time it attacks.
First Strike: The unit will fire first against an enemy unit if it wins the
initiative in a combat round.
Forest Camouflage: If in a forest hex the unit cannot be spotted by enemy units
unless they move adjacent to it.
Infiltration Tactics: The unit ignores enemy unit entrenchments when
calculating combat results.
Influence: Allows the unit to upgrade to better equipment at reduced prestige
point cost.
Liberator: You receive double the normal number of prestige points for all
objective and victory hexes captured by the unit.
Overwatch: The unit will fire at any enemy unit that moves within its range.
The enemy unit is automatically surprised, allowing your unit to fire first and
at the enemy's close assault, rather than its ground defense, factor. Note: a
unit with an Overwatch leader will only fire at the first enemy unit that comes
within range, not any subsequent enemy units.
Overwhelming Attack: When attacking the unit will have an indeterminate number
of the suppression points it would otherwise inflict converted to kills.
Reconnaissance Movement: The unit is permitted phased movement, just like
reconnaissance units.
Resilience: The unit will suffer 1 to 3 fewer step casualties than normal units
when attacked.
Shock Tactics: Any suppression which the unit inflicts on an enemy unit will
last the entire player's turn, not just the specific combat round.
Skilled Ground Attack: The unit will inflict 1 to 3 more step casualties than
normal units when attacking.
Skilled Reconnaissance: The unit's spotting range is increased by one hex.
Street Fighter: The unit ignores an enemy unit's city entrenchment when
calculating combat results.
Superior Maneuver: The unit may ignore enemy units' zones of control.
10. Can multiple leaders of the same type be awarded to different core units?
For example, could I have both an aircraft and a tank unit with Devastating
Fire leaders, or two tank units with Overwatch leaders, etc.?
Yes.
11. Are all types of units eligible to receive any of the random abilities?
No. All Weather Combat leaders are awarded only to aircraft units, and there
may be other exceptions.
12. How do I get a prototype unit?
After winning a brilliant victory in a scenario there is about a 10% chance
that you will be awarded a prototype unit just prior to the commencement of the
next scenario as a reward for your victory.
13. How do I upgrade units between scenarios?
The manual is a bit confusing on this. On the unit screen click on the icon
for the unit you wish to upgrade, and then click on the upgrade button (2
stars). This takes you to the upgrade screen. First click on the icon for the
unit you wish to upgrade, then click on the icon of the unit you wish to
upgrade to on the left, and then click on the little book button beneath the
new equipment icons.
14. During upgrading can I change a unit from one type to another?
No. Units may only be upgraded with equipment of the same type.
15. I've noticed a few anomalies when upgrading equipment-like upgrading from a
Bf109 to an Me109 still costs prestige points even though the aircraft have
exactly the same stats. What gives?
SSI's design team did indeed make a few errors with equipment statistics. You
can download an excellent revised equipment roster authored by Steve Strayer
(with technical assistance from Ray Schroder and others) from his website (The
Panzer General II Armory) at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sgt_stryker/pg2.htm.
Or Ray's Zerstorer page at:
http://home.att.net/~rcschroder
Also note that Steve has produced the best Pacific General Equipment files
available and the Ray has the Ultimate Panzer General equipment file (original
Dos PzGen only) available for downloading at their sites.
16. How do I deploy my units at the beginning of a scenario?
In the deployment screen, left click on the unit you wish to deploy and then
left click again on the deployment hex you want the unit to start in.
Deployment hexes are a shade darker than normal hexes (and sometimes it's hard
to tell them apart).
17. Can I view the deployment hexes from the strategic map?
Yes, but it's very difficult at times to see.
18. I've run out of deployment hexes, but I still have units left to deploy.
Now what?
Once you've moved one or more units out of an initial deployment hex, you can
then click on the "Deploy Units" button (downward arcing arrow). This will
bring up the deployment screen again and you can now place your remaining units
in the vacated deployment hexes. Note: you can only deploy further units
around supply point hexes (green and gold bordered hexes), not jump-off hexes.
This also holds true for deployment of any new units you may purchase during
the scenario. Thus, it's a pretty wise idea to save your game from the upgrade
screen just prior to deploying your forces in case you make a mistake.
19. Can I initially deploy my air units forward with my front line troops?
No. Air units may only be deployed at airfields.
20. What if while still deploying my units I later decide that I shouldn't have
deployed a particular unit in a particular hex? Do I have to redeploy all my
units again?
No. Simply left click on the unit you want to remove from the hex. The hex
will vacate, and the unit will appear at the bottom of the list of your units
for redeployment elsewhere.
21. I get frustrated when my air units can't attack due to weather. How do I
turn it off?
Hit the Alt+ W keys. Hit the Alt+S keys if you want to turn off the supply
rules.
22. Why can't I replay a turn or scenario like it says in the manual?
Although a "VCR" button was left in the interface, for reasons unknown SSI
decided not to implement this feature in the final shipping version of the
game.
23. Does it matter which I do first, upgrade or overstrenghten a unit ?
Yes, this is especially important since you have less overall prestige in PzGen
II. Always UPGRADE FIRST, then overstrenghten the unit. If you reverse this
order you'll waste valuable prestige points.
24. After the initial deployment phase, where can I deploy units I forgot to
deploy or new units I purchase?
On page 23, the game manual states that "[g]round units can only be deployed on
or adjacent to supply points," while on page 52 the manual says that "capturing
an enemy . . . supply point does not convert it into a supply point that you
can use, unless it is a port, and naval transport is available." This means
you can still deploy ground troops that you didn't place during the initial
deployment phase (or units that you purchase during the scenario) in a captured
port if (1) that port is a supply point (green and gold bordered), and (2) you
have naval transport available during the scenario. You cannot deploy troops
in captured victory hexes or non-port supply points, nor can you deploy them in
initial jump-off hexes. Rather, you can only deploy your initial ground troops
or purchased units in or adjacent to your starting supply points. Note that
this limitation does not apply to air units, which may be deployed at captured
airfields the turn after capture.
Playing the Germans in the Blitzkrieg campaign, there are two scenarios, Malta
and Novgorod, where these deployment rules are critical to gameplay. In Malta,
the Germans are allowed to initially deploy only six ground units on the island
itself. The remaining ground units in the core force must deploy in the darker
shaded sea hexes near the island's southeastern and eastern coastline. All of
these sea hexes, as well as the initial island hexes, are considered jump-off
hexes. So, if you fail to deploy all of your ground units in the initial
deployment phase, you won't be able to deploy the remainder until you capture
Vallena, on the island's northern coast.
In Novgorod, the Germans must deploy one of their ground units in their
northernmost victory hex. Otherwise, the Russians will move a unit into that
hex on the first turn of the scenario and automatically win the game.
25. I'm playing the British in the Crusade in the West campaign. Between the
Salerno and St. Lo scenarios I upgraded my tank units to Challengers with a
two-hex range, but when I start St. Lo my tanks must still move adjacent to
enemy units to attack them. Is this a bug?
No. Most of the terrain in the St. Lo scenario is bocage (a seemingly endless
series of hedgerows peculiar to northern France) which limits units' LOS to one
hex, thus requiring units (other than artillery) to be adjacent to one another
to engage in combat.
PART II
Panzer General II
Campaign Path
bv= brilliant victory v=regular victory tv=tactical victory l=lost
Battle Results Next Battle
Madrid Offensive All Results Ciechanow
Ciechanow bv,v Suomussalmi
tv,l Sedan
Suomussalmi bv,v,tv Lillehammer
L Sedan
Lillehammer bv,v Sedan
tv Thermopylae
A lose means the End of Game ( on this & all following losses)
Sedan bv,v Race to Dunkirk
tv Thermopylae
Race to Dunkirk bv Windsor
v Pursuit to Tobruk
tv Thermopylae
Pursuit to Tobruk bv,v Tobruk
tv Kishinev
Tobruk bv,v Malta
tv Kishinev
Malta bv,v Kishinev
tv Novgorod
Kishinev All victories Novgorod
Novgorod bv,v Volokolamsk
tv LOSES CAMPAIGN!!!
Volokolamsk bv,v Klin
tv Winter Storm (Stalingrad...new campaign)
Klin bv,v Windsor
tv Winter Storm (Stalingrad...new campaign)
The campaign paths for the Americans, British and Russians appear to follow the
same sequence listed in the game manual regardless of level of victory.
Hope this helps... I was one of those who thought SSI had completely separated
the two German scenarios, but that isn't true. You can continue with your
original core units into the Defend the Reich Campaign.
PART III
Some personal observations on the Panzer General II by Hein Valk.
A. Bugs Observations
- Changing abilities of a leader
In the Blitzkrieg campaign I played the Sedan Scenario and had recon car with
a leader with liberator ability waiting near the last objective city. Before
the end of the turn I gained experience with other units and a tank obtained a
new leader. When all units gained maximum experience I rechecked my liberator
recon again to make sure not to lose prestige and I saw that the abilities of
the leader now were exactly the same as that of my tank, including the
aggressive maneuver abilities unique for tanks.
- CTRL-S bug
the CRTL-S shortcut works properly only after the game functions button is used
once. If you did not use the game button before you end up in the introduction
screen.
- spotting bug
After reloading previously spotted hexes are lost. The game only uses the
current unit positions in stead of the turn history. (Haven't noticed this one,
but it wouldn't surprise me either.) - Ray
- AI spotting cheat
I had a artillery unit that could not be spotted by the enemy units, still
artillery and a tank attacked it the next turn. The only reason I can think of
is that an unoccupied enemy city was close to my unit. Do cities have a
spotting range too? It was not in the manual. (Cities have spotting ranges,
just like in the original PzGen.) - Ray
- supply point anomalies
Normally conquered supply points cannot be used to deploy new units. In the
Savannah and Malta scenarios of the Blitzkrieg campaign where the human player
does not have any supply point at the beginning it is possible to use the
conquered supply points. Also in the Phrokorovka scenario (not as part of a
campaign) I observed the same behavior.
B. Gameplay observations
- Tank Overruns
The overrun tactics is the biggest advantage of the tank units. I prefer tanks
to mechanized anti-tank units because of the overrun. After softening up the
target they can take out 3-4 units in a single turn. This is such a big
advantage an army without infantry, anti-tank units and air defense can be very
effective. Concentrate on artillery and air superiority with enough tactical
bombers and your tanks will clean up all remaining defensive positions.
- Making the best use of prototypes
Sometimes you get prototypes that have poor or unwanted performance, for
example a 5cm PaK or a Me-110e dive bomber in the Blitzkrieg. You are on the
offensive and don't need defensive units (PaK) or can already buy units with a
better performance, a Ju-87B instead of a Me-110e.
As these units are new (no experience), selling brings only the loss of the
unit, and returns a large amount of prestige points. The 5cm PaK (+halftrack)
will yield 312 prestige, good for 2 Pz IIIE's of 1 Pz IVD and 60 prestige or a
STuG IIIB and 84 prestige points. In contrast with this is an upgrade of the
5cm PaK to a STuG IIIB, which will cost you 144 prestige points! The same is
true for the Me-110e, an upgrade to a Ju-87b is free, where selling and buying
will give you 20 prestige.
Please email any comments for corrections or additions to
rcschroder@worldnet.att.net
Good Hunting,
Ray