Bonne nouvelle pour les amateurs de wargames à l’échelle opérationnelle. Ce jeu paru il y a un peu moins de deux ans a bénéficié la semaine dernière d’une importante mise à jour v1.0.4.7, intitulée Operation Husky. Patch qui d’une part optimise le gameplay, l’interface et l’IA, et d’autre part ajoute un didacticiel et trois intéressants scénarios.
Primo, comme le nom de l’update l’indique, on peut donc se lancer pleinement dans le fameux débarquement des Alliés en Sicile en 43. Opération qui ne fut pas du tout une simple promenade et durant laquelle entre autres les anglais et américains tirèrent de nombreuses leçons pour le futur débarquement de Normandie en 44.
Deuxio, si vous aimez bien les scénarios hypothétiques, ce patch propose de jouer la peu connue opération Brimstone, à savoir un débarquement des Alliés en Sardaigne en 43, ce qui n’eut pas lieu historiquement du fait de la réussite de l’opération Husky.
Tertio, dans le même registre, il y a également un scénario sur l’opération Firebrand, qui était elle un plan de libération de la Corse, dans la foulée du débarquement en Sardaigne. Historiquement l’effondrement du régime de Mussolini suite à la prise de la Sicile ne nécessita pas ces opérations en Sardaigne et en Corse, mais ce scénario pose l’hypothèse que le dictateur italien n’est pas tombé (pour les faits historiques au sujet de l’île de beauté, voyez éventuellement cet article : La libération de la Corse, septembre – octobre 1943).
Voilà en tout cas de quoi découvrir ou redécouvrir ce jeu qui plus généralement permet de simuler de nombreux aspects de 39-45.
Je vous rajoute également ci-dessous une ancienne vidéo montrant l’opération Husky dans le jeu quand ce scénario et le patch était en développement.
Pour plus d’informations sur Combined Arms Operations Series, voyez cette page sur Steam ainsi que le site officiel. A noter aussi qu’une nouvelle feuille de route pour les futurs patchs devrait être mise en ligne prochainement.
Communiqué
Operation Husky Release (v. 1.0.4.7)
Operation Husky’s full release, update 1.0.4.7, is here! Husky features several new scenarios, a tutorial, and numerous gameplay, AI, or interface improvements, and much faster turn resolution speeds. Dive into the largest update to CAOS since launch!
New Scenarios:
Operation Husky and Variants:Recreate the first decisive blow against fortress Europe in Operation Husky and explore two hypothetical variants of the scenario for increased replayability!
Operation Husky (Historical)
The straight historical scenario with turn-1 Allied invasion beaches and paradrop landing zones pre-selected and units adhere to their historical arrival dates.
Operation Husky+
A variant of historical Operation Husky where the Allied invader can freely select their initial invasion beaches anywhere from Alcamo-Partinico in the northwest to Avola-Cassibile in the southeast.
Operation Husky Expanded
A hypothetical, expanded variant of Operation Husky that assumes the Axis had one month’s advanced warning to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. Axis forces on the island and reinforcements enroute are more numerous by drawing on reserves from mainland Italy and Greece. Additionally, the Allies gain access to 7th and 8th Army’s full reserves, including the balance of the 82nd Airborne Division, 46th Infantry Division (UK), and 1st Parachute Division. Expect a tougher fight from both sides.
Operation Brimstone July/September Variants:
Operation Brimstone was a series of proposed Allied invasions of Sardinia between May and September, 1943. Historically, Operation Brimstone was never enacted and planning for the invasion was abandoned following the success of Operation Husky. In CAOS we have modeled two Brimstone scenarios. First, the most realistic, September Brimstone plan, and a second, higher intensity July variant assuming Operation Husky was directed against Sardinia.
Operation Brimstone (September)
Hypothetical scenario based on Allied proposals to invade Sardinia using US V Army in September 1943. To bring September Brimstone to life in CAOS we combine the proposed V Army order of battle for Operation Brimstone with the carrier air cover afforded to Operation Avalanche. Initial Axis defenses mirror their historical September 8 levels, joined by limited reinforcements from Corsica and Southern France after the invasion commences. In terms of playstyle, September Brimstone strikes a balance between the grinding attrition battles of Operation Husky and the maneuver centric warfare that dominates our Desert scenarios.
Operation Brimstone (July)
Hypothetical scenario using Operation Husky’s Allied order of battle against Sardinia. To compensate for overwhelming Allied strength, the Axis defenders receive substantial reinforcement from Corsica and mainland Italy. In July Brimstone the Allies must quickly seize ports to bring their vast forces ashore before Axis reinforcements can consolidate their positions further north and force a stalemate. July Brimstone starts off with rapid maneuvers as the Allies move off the beach and then transitions to a grinding battle of attrition as Axis reinforcements enter the fray.
Operation Firebrand:
Hypothetical scenario inspired by Allied proposals to launch a French-led liberation of Corsica in autumn 1943, as a sequel to a successful invasion of Sardinia. Historically, as the Mussolini regime collapsed following the invasion of Sicily, the invasions of Sardinia and Corsica were never enacted. To bring Operation Firebrand to life in CAOS we assume the invasion of Sardinia was a success, Mussolini remains in power, and the Corps Expéditionnaire Français was activated early to liberate Corsica in October 1943.
Tutorial Scenario
CAOS is also receiving a much-needed tutorial scenario that walks players through combat orders, artillery orders, game systems such as Zone of Control, and air system, before turning the player loose to hone their abilities in a hypothetical siege of Sassari scenario.
Interface Improvements:
Movement speed now displayed on unit HUD card.
Static and temporarily immobile status now displayed on unit HUD card.AI Improvements
AI planning optimization makes turn resolution 30-60% faster, depending upon map.
Improved AI invasion landing logic.
Improved AI logic to defend and attack static supply dumps.
AI is no longer excessively deterred by level one fortifications.
Improved AI logic to assess strength of enemy defenses and their relevance to AI battleplans.
Improvements to AI air command logic to better preserve force and support ground forces when hopelessly outmatched by enemy air superiority.
Improved attacking AI deployment logic to better account for terrain, predict likely paths to secondary objectives, and generally reduce rear area traffic jams.Gameplay Improvements/Bug Fixes:
Paradrop Air bridging. Paradrops onto friendly airfields inside friendly air space inflict minimum cohesion loss and do not suffer from drop dispersion. You can now safely air bridge paratroop reinforcements to the front with good air control.
Paradrops enabled for both attackers and defenders in ALL custom Attack and Invasion scenarios.
Air command automation option. The administrative side of the air command can be automated to reduce the tedium of managing massive air rosters. Air command automation is automatically enabled in historical scenarios.
Air Interdiction can now only be conducted inside friendly air zone.
Static units no longer have stacking value or exert Zone of Control.
US Order of battle updated to better reflect organization and readiness of cavalry divisions 1939-1941.Moving Forward:
In the immediate future we’ll be working on full air order automation, to complement the air command automation introduced with Husky. Adding a back button to the tutorial, which is much needed and ironically more complex to add than you’d expect for such a simple feature, given how our tutorial message pop up system triggers, but we are working on it. And additional AI improvements, with a particular focus on improving defensive AI performance.
Beyond our near-term goals, the updated development roadmap detailing our plans to tackle the combat and systemic overhauls we have discussed over the last few updates is scheduled to go live next Tuesday. We are also working on creating the proper graphical user interface and documentation to make our editor tools player accessible.
For now storm the beaches, enjoy Husky, and feel free to let us know your thoughts on the new scenarios and features in the dedicated Husky feedback thread on the forum or on discord!
