New features/feature ideas for CM for the next few years thread

[mjkerner]

I personally think the GUI could better use the terrain of the screen. Most users have a wide screen monitor and there is blank space on either side of the unit information and movement button display. Instead of having 4 mode buttons to chose from for Movement, Combat, Special and Admin which slows down the process, why not have the option to spread these across the bottom of the screen to make selection of an action much quicker for those that prefer mouse clicks over key strokes. I think this should be an option as not everyone has a wide screen monitor or may prefer the current set up. Below is a image of what this could look like.

Plus 1000 for this! ^^^^^^

[Childress]

- Unit formations as suggested, line, column, staggered column, wedge, vee, echelon left and right, etc...

Please provide anecdotes or photographic evidence that WW2 units actually resorted to these formations- during combat.

It's a controversial topic:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1412563&highlight=arrowhead#post1412563

[Childress]

No, not formations - if you QUICK a team to a location, generally they will run in a line. If someone occupies the location, one burst can take out 1 to all of them.

Unfortunately, HUNT is not the go-to command for movement, mostly due to its rapid tiring of troops.

I could live with single-file for FAST since the troops are focussed on the destination, but QUICK could use some love as it's the most common command.

That seems a reasonable request. The Quick moving troops would default to single file when moving through a gap or crossing a foot bridge. Now, in order to get spread with this command, you need to give the men multiple waypoints.

[Erwin]

+1 for anything that makes gameplay more efficient and hence more enjoyable:

- Better use of the bottom of the screen for useful commands (easier for us mouse users)

- Ability to swap ammo from any other unit (within reason) in one turn (ie: without having to mount/dismount)

- Tone down the ability of moving tanks to spot better than stationary ones and buttoned armor's ability to spot leg units/guns so easily at night/in smoke as if they had night vision/infrared tech

- Color code units of (platoon/squad) formation icons to immediately show what formation they are part of, and aid in keeping the formation together and not confused with units from other formations

- Ability to click on ANY waypoint to immediately select the unit (as we had in CM1) and move the waypoints as in CM2.

- Enable a gun or HMG to move to a position from where it can see and shoot at a target - instead of the current "3rd ammo bearer can see the target but it's impossible to move the main weapon a few inches so it can also see and shoot".

Also:

- Triggers (to help scenario designers)

- For those rescue missions... How about units that do not show up visibly at set-up and only when a friendly unit has LOS to them? That way one wouldn't know the location of the unit to be located/rescued until a rescue/recon unit gets within LOS.

[Wodin]

Please provide anecdotes or photographic evidence that WW2 units actually resorted to these formations- during combat.

It's a controversial topic:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1412563&highlight=arrowhead#post1412563

I understand that..BUT at the moment the single file thing is a pain in the backside..fine for moving along a hedge or road movement..but in forest or across open fields or any time you need to sweep an area single file doesn't cut it..

I'd be happy with the current set up and a line which doesn't need to be dead straight staggered would do..but at least they shake out abit.

[Childress]

I understand that..BUT at the moment the single file thing is a pain in the backside..fine for moving along a hedge or road movement..but in forest or across open fields or any time you need to sweep an area single file doesn't cut it..

I'd be happy with the current set up and a line which doesn't need to be dead straight staggered would do..but at least they shake out abit.

Don't think a brisk jog- which Quick simulates- is the best or prescribed way to sweep an area. Not enough awareness. But, yes, I agree they could spread out Quick a little even if the majority of WW2 battle photos tend to show men advancing in rough single file.

[A Canadian Cat]

I knew was keeping a list of things I wanted to see added to the game. I found this this morning. Amazingly I forgot five things in my previous huge post.

Allow area fire on building faces that units can see (not just the ones that you can see the centre of the action square)

Oh man I cannot believe I forgot my number one issue with the play of the game. Then again I have written about it twice in detail. Please if my unit can see it I should be able to area target it. If you fix nothing else fix this.

Make Cover archs toggle able, and perhaps more transparent

Right now target arcs obscure the terrain too much. Making them more transparent might be enough but if testing shows not please make them toggle able.

Make crosses toggle able

This is the other thing that gets in the way of making screen shots. Yes, I know there is a mod to hide them. The thing is for game play I want them there but for taking screen shots I don't.

QB point system available in the editor (just the numbers not the limits)

More and more people are making their own QBs using the editor. Our lives would be so much easier if the points were displayed in the regular scenario editor as well. I suspect that scenario authors would not be against this either.

Targeting from way points should show line from the way point

It would be so much easier to figure out LOS / LOF if the targeting line was drawn from the right place.

[Childress]

Fallschirmjagers moving on Quick:

Could be improved but calling it 'single file' is a bit of an overstatement, imo. This behavior has, I believe, been refined since CMBN 1.0.

[Vark]

It would be nice to have an option to stagger the movement of troops, or let them move en masse. Too often a team or squad get wiped out because they all move together to cross open ground or toward an objective. Standard practice seems to be for soldiers to move forward individually or in pairs. That way the rest of the squad/ team can cover them and if they were targeted, only a fraction of the combat strength is removed. It also allows for far better opportunities to spot the enemy.

I'd also like a timer to show how long it will take to reach a waypoint, so fire teams do not set off prematurely and a room clearing order, to stop excessive micro-managing when FIBUA. A move when breached order would be good and a more realistic demo sequence, why a whole squad to set a charge? Coupled with a staggered move option a small team of engineers could set a charge, which when detonated was the signal for the assault troops to select the clearing option and then move through the breach.

Is there a way to have troops dismount on a waypoint, instead of having to wait for a vehicle to stop moving?

Soldiers should be able to acquire weapons and ammo from dead soldiers, not just when giving buddy aid and have the ability to restock on grenades.

[LukeFF]

Soldiers should be able to acquire weapons and ammo from dead soldiers, not just when giving buddy aid

They already do that.

[Baneman]

Fallschirmjagers moving on Quick:

Could be improved but calling it 'single file' is a bit of an overstatement, imo. This behavior has, I believe, been refined since CMBN 1.0.

That looks a lot better - is that GL ?

These are CMBN 2.01 ( as you can see, Russia is vast and HUNT would be useless in this case ). If that AT gun saw them and had a go, one shell - AP or HE - could conceivably go through all of them.

[Michael Emrys]

Is there a way to have troops dismount on a waypoint, instead of having to wait for a vehicle to stop moving?

Not at present, although that might be nice to have.

Michael

[poesel]

Running ducked (don't know the English word for that)

Our troopers never do that even under fire. I imagine that 'heads down' would be the first thing you do when you have to cross open terrain under fire.

IIRC there's a picture of an US soldier in one of the load screens where he does just that while crossing a street.

[Childress]

That looks a lot better - is that GL ?

Yes, it is. Keep in mind that it's a relatively short movement. Over a significant distance- hundreds of meters- I notice the squads tend to separate into 2-3 files. But not single file as in the earlier CM2 iterations (I seem to recall).

[Baneman]

Yes, it is. Keep in mind that it's a relatively short movement. Over a significant distance- hundreds of meters- I notice the squads tend to separate into 2-3 files. But not single file as in the earlier CM2 iterations (I seem to recall).

Ah well, that's great.

Looks like my concern has already been addressed and requires only the next patch to port this improved behaviour into BN

Optimism is always the way to go - we like to carp and moan, but it's always worth keeping in mind that BFC are in fact working hard to make a good game better.

The guy 2nd from the front in the first pic was a bit more offset when they set out, but after about 20-30m he shuffled in with the rest.

[Childress]

A British section concluding a 600m jaunt on Quick in Gustav Line:

screen shot pc

[Vanir Ausf B]

Running ducked (don't know the English word for that)

Roadie run.

[Michael Emrys]

A British section concluding a 600m jaunt on Quick in Gustav Line:

screen shot pc

You had them do 600 meters at Quick in one hop? No wonder they're tired!

Michael

[StkNRdr]

The Target Briefly command should be stackable from one location within the same turn for a unit. In other words targeting on different locations for 15 seconds each up to 4 times in a minute. Right now you can only use the Target Briefly command more than once in a turn if there is another waypoint involved for that unit. This would allow for a larger area to be suppressed by a unit.

[PanzerMike]

I see a lot of great suggestions here. Maybe BFC will chip in and comment on some of them. Maybe a bit off topic, but why do the pixeltruppen tire so quickly when using the hunt command. I understand that movement will be slow when hunting, but why the rapid tiring? I hardly use hunt for infantry for that reason.

[womble]

- Ability to swap ammo from any other unit (within reason) in one turn (ie: without having to mount/dismount)

I'd like to see (as part of a significant inventory management overhaul) realistic transfer times, rather than "shift as much ammo as you like in a minute, regardless of storage type cf intended use-system". Would mean "Acquire" being tied to a waypoint, so that "grab a bandolier each out of the ammo crate" didn't take a whole minute for a two man team.

Would give a reason to have a "quartermaster" next to an ammo dump, if passing stuff over was quicker than digging it out of the crate...

[Whiterider]

A couple of questions: Does the buddy aid cure wounds really? Do the wounded soldiers fight better after receive it? Maybe I¨m missing something but I don´t see any medic in it.

[A Canadian Cat]

I see a lot of great suggestions here. Maybe BFC will chip in and comment on some of them.

I do not think I have seen Steve comment on one of these threads before. He b

Has stated that he gets ideas from us, so I suspect he reads them.

[A Canadian Cat]

A couple of questions: Does the buddy aid cure wounds really? Do the wounded soldiers fight better after receive it? Maybe I¨m missing something but I don´t see any medic in it.

No, buddy aid does not get a soldier back into the fighting. Aside from retrieving amo it does help increase the chances that the downed soldier will end the battle as wounded in action and not killed in action.

[Bradley]

Knowing computer resources are strained but purely a wish that ALL terrain features were visible at level 4-5. Too many times I've plotted my tanks moves (unknowingly) through the vineyards with not so favorable results. This would drive immersion factor up considerably and more than anything else I can think of.