On defensive profiles (again), assignation of hits after like-valued dice, friendly/hostile sea zone designation:
Imagine you’re playing LHTR setup, the USSR sub has joined the UK battleship, G1 attacks with 2 subs 2 fighters 1 cruiser against 1 sub 1 destroyer 1 battleship 1 transport. If aacalc is correct, without counting the transport there’s a little better than 11% chance Germany sinks the entire Allied fleet in one round of fire. If the USSR sub does not submerge there’s a 16% chance it hits something. Put the two together, in 1942 Second Edition, the Allies player may want to have the defending submarine fight for the first round of combat, see how many hits the defender scores in total, then allocate hits and decide whether the submarine will submerge or not on the second round. If the defenders did well the submarine may fight on, if the defenders did poorly (but weren’t entirely destroyed) the submarine may submerge. But you can’t do this in 1942 Online.
Or consider J1 sends 1 submarine 1 cruiser 2 fighters 1 bomber against US’s 1 submarine 1 destroyer 1 carrier 1 fighter. Again, hits ought to be totaled at the end of a sub-phase (here surprise strike is one sub-phase and the remainder of units another) but 1942 Online doesn’t do things that way. Japan wants the fighter that came from Japan to be destroyed, or a nearby Japanese carrier will have to be sent for the fighter to land on, then US can wipe both carrier and fighter out on the US turn. But Japan also doesn’t want to lose its fighter easily as Japan wants to win the current battle the fighter is engaged in with otherwise minimal losses. Say Japan the US destroyer and carrier score one hit. Does Japan assign the hit to its submarine or fighter? If the submarine is chosen then the US fighter misses, the Japan carrier may have to be committed. But if the fighter is chosen then the surviving Japanese submarine can’t hit the US fighter and has a lower attack value besides, so won’t be able to contribute as well to the ongoing battle. Again, in the board game, Japan can roll the dice, see what happens, then make the appropriate decision. But in 1942 Online, not so.
Players need to have the right information to make the right choices, and 1942 Online changing the game so hits need be allocated after each group of like-valued dice instead of end of sub-phase takes that away from them.
Then on friendly/hostile implementation. There used to be issues with 1942 Online (still are, I think) in that if you start a turn with enemy units in a sea zone you command units in, your units couldn’t move out (at first), then you could move all but one out (for a while) and now I think there’s something going on with submarine interactions so you’re not able to do what you ought to be able to do. But even if they do get it working without bugs, if they’re relying on “friendly/hostile” designation, if it works the way I think it does it’s not proper. I don’t just mean it’s an added cumbersome step that you don’t need to do in the board game, I mean the change removes player ability to exercise discretion.
In the board game, if I understand correctly, the decision on whether or not to ignore enemy submarines/transports is done in the combat phase. You do your combat moves, and can even resolve some combats, then decide for a particular sea zone whether you wish to fight or ignore. But in 1942 Online, you designate zones as “friendly” or “hostile” in the combat movement phase.
Suppose you move a single submarine into a sea zone with two enemy submarines and transport. If the defending submarines fight, the odds of attacker winning are 27.1% or so, not the best odds, but if you had reason to fight, you could chance the attack. Now suppose you fight another combat and see your opponent has set their defensive profile to have submarines submerge. Since you now know the defending submarines will not fight, if you perform combat in the aforementioned situation, you have 100% to destroy the transport, not 27.1%. But if you have to designate zones as friendly or hostile during combat movement, you can’t decide after getting the information as you could normally, you have to decide before. So it’s really awkward. And by the way returning to defensive profiles again, your opponent won’t like that they have to submerge in both contested sea zones, they’d rather submerge in the other area but fight here, but that’s as it goes.
These are just examples; the same rules changes impact the game in any number of other situations.
Again - I don’t like that changes were made, but I can understand that some changes were made to accommodate casual players, other changes were made so fiddly bits of programming wouldn’t have to be worked out. Sure. But the changes ought to have been openly acknowledged.
Here, as of 5 January 2021
https://store.steampowered.com/app/898920/Axis__Allies_1942_Online/
Axis & Allies 1942 Online is an official adaptation of the classic board game! Strategize your way to victory as the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, Germany, and Japan vie for world domination at the height of the second World War.
No mention of rules changes. Official adaptation of the “classic” board game. Though really 1942 Second Edition was the last of a rather lengthy series (not counting Zombies, which I think Larry Harris wasn’t the designer on?)
Why Early Access?
“For years, fans of Axis & Allies have been asking for an online option for their favorite board game. We want to ensure that Axis & Allies 1942 Online is a satisfying experience for veteran fans and new players alike.”
Veteran fans. Players that would notice changes to gameplay?
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“We expect to stay in Early Access for a few months with regular updates.”
How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“Right now, Axis & Allies 1942 Online is fully playable against human opponents, AI, or a mix of the two. As we work towards launch, we’ll be adding new features, making user interface changes, fixing bugs, and incorporating feedback from Early Access players.
We’re working towards a number of Steam features such as friends list, trading cards, and achievements as a part of launch.”
What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“Axis & Allies 1942 Online in Early Access is fully playable as a single player experience against AI, local hotseat play, or online multiplayer.”
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“No, Axis & Allies 1942 Online will be priced the same during and after Early Access.”
How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“We’ll be actively reading and responding to comments and reviews posted here on Steam and in our Beamdog forums. We’re interested in player feedback and bug reports.”
Nothing about rules changes
About This Game
German tanks mobilize in the west, blitzing into France and pushing back the Soviet Union in eastern Europe. The United States rises in response to Japanese aggression in the Pacific. The United Kingdom rallies allies as bombers menace the skies. The year is 1942, and the world is at war!
Axis & Allies 1942 Online is an official adaptation of the beloved strategic board game, Axis & Allies, and includes the 1942 Second Edition game board and rules.
Official adaptation, includes 1942 Second Edition game board (well actually it’s changed isn’t it, looks all different, you know?) and rules (but it doesn’t really, it really doesn’t!)
Axis & Allies 1942 Online accommodates 1-5 players, each controlling one or more of the Axis or Allied powers in Online Multiplayer, Hot Seat, or Single Player mode against the computer AI. Players command both their country’s military forces and its war-time economy.
Victory goes to the side that conquers its opponents on the field of battle and occupies the greatest cities of the world. Will the Axis continue to spread across the globe unchecked, or will the Allies rally to push back against imperialistic tyranny? Challenge your friends and change the course of history!
Many ways to play!
Hotseat play for 2 to 5 players
Online multiplayer allows you play with allies and enemies across the world
Challenge yourself against AI
Features
The complete Axis & Allies 1942 Second Edition experience
Not really.
Play online with your friends
Optional computer AI players
Learn to play with introductory tutorials
Asynchronous gameplay with custom defense profiles
You would think of this as an optional feature that allows some degree of fine control. Not as a limited feature that horribly limits player discretion that can’t be turned off that negatively impacts gameplay.
Selectable victory conditions
Keep informed with the action log and war diary
Over 20 minutes of all-new period appropriate music
So there we are. It says 1942 Second Edition, emphasizes it’s an official adaptation of the board game, says it’s meant to be for veteran and new players alike, says it’s the complete experience. But really? No.
The text never makes the point that 1942 Online changes the rules. If you say that’s implied from reading that there’s defensive profiles, look at the context. With repeated phrases like “for veterans and new players” and “complete experience”, one reasonably expects changes to be optional, and perhaps more fully fleshed out rather than extremely limiting non-optional “features” that negatively impact gameplay.
And more, what is the “complete experience”, really? Ever play a live game? If someone messes up on a technicality, does everyone stand around and say “nuh uh, you messed up, no takebacks?” Possibly, but even in formal settings, opponents may well shrug and say “sure, do the thing”. Or say someone wants to use house rules. Even GenCon uses a bid. But 1942 Online has no editor function to allow for any sort of house rules (not even a bid), it doesn’t even have a chat. There’s a note system that’s a bit cumbersome but it’s limited to players on your side, you can’t even say “hi” to opponents. Is that really the complete experience?
Then too, if you want details on defensive profiles, inability to use allied carriers/transports, or any of the other stuff I mentioned, you have to dig - and I mean dig. For stuff like incorrect casualty assignation, I’ve never seen the developers even acknowledge there’s a difference (though I have brought it up a few times). I understand being selective with details for marketing purposes, but 1942 Online has rather a distance between what it’s marketed as and what it actually is.
If some - or even many - players enjoy 1942 Online that’s good. But it’s not good to simply dismiss differences between 1942 Second Edition, 1942 Second Edition at GenCon, and 1942 Online. There are definitely differences that impact the gameplay in real ways.