Post by RiceCra in IRON SWELL : DIÊN BIÊN PHU - Indochina War comments

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Really cool concept. Wish we had more games covering france in Vietnam/Indochina. I enjoyed my two run throughs a lot. A lot of work went into this. With a little balancing I think it would be a lot more engaging, and heighten replay-ability. I recommend doing a balancing pass;

(I played V1.2)

Bugs

- I experienced a glitch where I had persistent recon

- Cricket never reveals enemy batteries for me, but airstrikes and the 3 AP recon did

Balancing

- You never run out of ammo or shells

- 100% fortification makes you literally invincible

- Perhaps giving the players 1 more AP combined with stricter ammo and shell counts would make the most sense

Suggestions

- I believe historically the para drops happened over the main runway, perhaps those reinforcements should feed into your central troop pool.

87Accident9 days ago

Thanks again for the detailed feedback, you were right on every point, and 1.3 is live now.

Ammo is actually consumed in combat now, so it's a real resource you have to manage. Fortifications no longer make you invulnerable: even fully dug in, a position takes losses under a heavy assault. And reinforcing an already well-fortified position costs a lot more. The persistent recon bug is fixed, and the Cricket can now spot enemy batteries in the area it flies over.

I kept the AP count at 5 for now, with ammo actually mattering, the tension comes from the resource pressure rather than the action limit. Curious to hear how it feels on your next run.

Thanks for your help

RiceCra9 days ago

I like your new intro. The balancing changes definitely make the game more challenging. I found that in the both the runs I just did I was running out of ammo frequently even when taking every opportunity to get more.

After holding every position strongly, in the last week the pressure built up rapidly. The lack of ammo resulted in me being unable to fortify, and take major losses quickly.

A lot more opportunity for different strategy now. How does the tank sortie or artillery fire work exactly? The VM Assault status seems to be reactive, so it seems that sending the tank somewhere is more of a preventative measure than a reactive one. Are airstrikes the same?

The lack of AP and bad weather makes conducting consistent recon very challenging.

Thank you for the response, I look forward to playing more.

87Accident8 days ago

Thanks for the intro! this is the logo animation that i've done for my hopefully soon to be studio.
Really glad the intro landed, and thanks for taking the time to write all this up.

That final-week collapse is actually intentional. As positions fall the pressure concentrates and ammo starts running dry. But if you were starved across two runs even while grabbing every resupply you could, then I probably tightened the ammo a notch too far. That's likely going to lead to another small patch to ease it a bit.

On your mechanics questions, you read it right. Tank sorties and airstrikes are both preventive. They cut the strength of the next assault on that position, and it only lasts one turn, so the ASSAULT status is really your cue to strike before the blow lands rather than after. Airstrikes can also turn up a battery. The one properly reactive tool is destroying a detected battery, which permanently weakens their artillery for the rest of the game.

And yeah, you're right that the AP limit and the weather make steady recon a real struggle. I'm keeping an eye on that along with the ammo balance.

Thanks again, this kind of feedback genuinely helps.

itch.io

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