PeG_Strategy_Guide3.pdf

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People’s General
Strategy Guide
Revision 1.0
1. INTRODUCTION
People’s General
is the latest release in SSI’s
General
series of games. The basic
game system is essentially unchanged from the first incarnation,
Panzer General.
Namely, a turn-based wargame where you maneuver various types of units across
the map, attempting to destroy enemy units and capture specific hexes. Scenarios
are linked to form a campaign. Core units are transferred to the next scenario, and
they improve as they gain experience. These units can also be upgraded to more
advanced equipment as it becomes available.
The purpose of this strategy guide is to describe each of the elements of the game
system. The idea is that if the player has a fuller understanding of how each
element functions, it will improve his play.
The guide will focus on game play in the context of a campaign against the AI. That
is not to say that this will not be of benefit in scenarios or head-to-head play, but
human opponents will not respond in the same fashion as the AI.
2. PLANNING
To succeed in
People’s General,
you must plan properly. The plan is your road map
toward a specific goal.
But what exactly is your goal in this game? The simple answer is to win the
campaign. To accomplish this goal there are a series of subordinate goals to
accomplish.
These are:
1. Win each scenario.
2. Gain prestige.
3. Gain experience for your units.
4. Build a combined arms team.
Each goal appears independent, but to achieve any, you must achieve all. To
accomplish this you will need to plan properly.
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2.1. SCENARIO PLANNING
Every scenario is a race against time. You must win the scenario in as few
turns as possible without suffering excessive casualties.
The basic method to develop a plan for any scenario relies on identifying the
following:
1. The location and distribution of victory hexes (your end points).
2. The location and distribution of deployment hexes (your start points).
3. The terrain between items 1 and 2 (your path from start to end).
The problem you must solve is to have your units move from the start points
and travel to the end points within the time limits of the scenario. Here are the
key points to consider when evaluating each task.
First, determine how the victory hexes are distributed. Identify a sequence of
movement that will allow a single combined arms team to capture a series of
victory hexes.
The evaluation of the terrain requires an understanding of its impact on
movement. Terrain can have two basic impacts on your movement plan. The
first is to channel it along a specific axis because it is the only direction you
can move with sufficient speed to achieve your goals.
You must identify this path and any nearby terrain features that a
counterattack can be launched from. Your plan should address how you will
scout and advance along this path to reach your objectives and control your
flanks.
To understand how to perform this analysis, let’s consider an analogy. Let
your living room represent the map. Based on how your furniture is arranged,
there is a natural path from one end of the room to the other. There are also
certain spots where this path is narrow, others where there is open floor.
If there was a crowd in this room and you wanted to get to the other side and
avoid a specific individual, you could probably plan a path that would move
you quickly towards your goal, and minimize the chance of you encountering
the individual by controlling the directions he can approach you from. Planning
in
People’s General
is no different.
The second impact is for terrain to act as a defensive barrier. A river is a
typical example of this. Your plan and timetable should expect that you will
need to pause and concentrate your forces at a river that crosses your line of
advance. The reason for this is that the enemy should be expected to be
defending the crossing. A deliberate assault with appropriate support will
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succeed with minimal casualties. Attempting to cross terrain barriers on the fly
can result in excessive casualties.
Once you have evaluated the terrain, you next need to determine the number
and composition of your task forces. Each task force should be a combined
arms team, but the relative size should be adjusted based on the mission
requirements.
You want to insure that you have sufficient force to accomplish the task force’s
goals, but excessive force will mean that a second task force may be
understrength. This is always a delicate balance but there are a few guiding
issues.
The minimum size for any task force is one that can defend itself. By this I
mean you must have sufficient troops to establish a defensive line of combat
troops (infantry, recon, tanks, etc.) shielding the support troops (artillery, AD
units, etc.) from likely enemy counterattacks. A task force traveling across
clear terrain will require more units to accomplish this than a task force
traveling through restricted terrain.
What is the ratio of objectives to turns? More objectives in less time require
additional forces to accomplish.
Is the objective a dead end? Will any troops sent to this objective not have
sufficient time to assist attacking the final objective? If yes, then you should
minimize this force and/or maximize the use of highly mobile elements (light
infantry, helicopters, etc.).
Is there a supply hex near or at the objective? If yes, you must anticipate that
you will face reinforcements. Adjust your force size accordingly, or plan on
shifting your highly mobile elements if needed.
Try to establish a reserve force. It is tempting to assign all your units to the
initial assault, but this is a mistake. The basic distribution of enemy forces will
probably not be clear until the second or third turn. If you commit all your
forces at the start, some may not be in the best position for your final assault
plan.
In some scenarios, your starting position is sufficiently compact that this is not
a significant issue. In others, the deployment hexes are widely separated. In
this case, if each deployment region has a supply hex, it’s a good idea to
initially not deploy a few units. Wait until the distribution of the enemy forces
becomes more clear to deploy these troops.
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2.2. SAVE GAME PLANNING
Being able to develop and execute a specific plan for any scenario can be
dependent on saving the game at the proper time.
I’m not talking about saving before you try an attack and restore the game if
you don’t like the results.
I’m referring to saving at the proper time to allow you to design and execute a
plan. One of the major failings, in my opinion, of all the
General
series of
games is that you are not allowed to view the map before entering the
deployment phase. You must make all your decisions on which attachments
are needed, which units are most in need of overstrengthening or upgrading,
and what new units should be purchased, all without the slightest idea what
terrain you are fighting over.
This is not very realistic, since an actual commander would have this
information available to him.
There is a solution. It just requires saving the game at the proper time.
I normally save the game at the first opportunity after I have finished a
scenario.
This allows two things to happen. You can exit the update screen to go to the
deployment screen to review the map you will fight over. It is then possible to
decide what modifications to your force (attachments, units, etc.) are
appropriate for this scenario.
The second benefit you have is that you can freely experiment with spending
your prestige to determine what is the optimum expenditure, without fear of
not being able to recover.
One other place I normally save the game is just before winning a scenario. I
do this because more than once I have had the game lock up on me as it
transitioned to the next scenario. Loosing a brilliant victory really annoys me,
so I do this save to guarantee that the game won’t lock up.
2.3. PRESTIGE PLANNING
Prestige is the coin of the realm. To succeed in playing the campaigns, one
must manage one’s prestige carefully. The basic issues are: how to get it, and
how to spend it.
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2.3.1. How To Get It
There are basically only three ways to get prestige. Capture flags (cities,
victory hexes, and Deploy hexes), win scenarios, or sell back a purchased
item.
You get prestige the first time you occupy a hex possessing an enemy flag.
You do not get additional points if you recapture the hex.
To maximize your prestige, you should try to capture every enemy flag.
This has to be balanced against casualties and not obtaining a brilliant
victory.
Victory hexes are worth 25 points. Other flag hexes are worth 10 points.
One important change in
People’s General
from previous games is Deploy
hexes. Deploy hexes are the flag hexes with the green border around the
flag. These are not victory hexes. You can win the scenario without
capturing them. You need to carefully look at the flag hexes with borders to
determine which are the victory hexes and which are simply Deploy hexes.
Failure to do so can cost you prestige if you capture the last victory hex
before capturing the Deploy hex.
Winning scenarios will give you prestige. A brilliant victory will award you
significantly more prestige than a victory.
When approaching the end of a game, be careful not to kill the last enemy
unit too soon. If you have killed all enemy units, the scenario is over. You
will loose the prestige value of any victory hexes not captured.
You can also obtain prestige by selling back items you already have. This
includes whole units, attachments, and overstrength levels. Overstrength
points for certain units (i.e., helicopters) can be worth relatively large
prestige (100 points and up).
2.3.2. How To Spend It
The decision on what to spend prestige on has become somewhat easier
since replacements don’t cost prestige (but do cost experience). You can
spend your prestige as follows.
2.3.2.1. Buy New Units
The decision to buy a new unit should be done with some degree of
care. To succeed in
People’s General,
you must build combined arms
teams. Any unit purchased must fill an open slot on one of your
combined arms teams.
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