c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 TURN 50:00 to 49:00 The boring: not much action on the left. My piat team (being hounded by Panther On High) finally made it to shelter across the road. I passed one section through some bocage to put some eyes and firepower on that group Bil has near the bog. Otherwise, some slight positioning amongst the trees of the Ardennes. I -did- get a 3" mortar in position across the Dunes of Arrakis. I'll see what it can do, later. I'd like to incite Bil into attacking me there. If not, I'll just dish out some punishment. Most of the current action was on the right, in town. I'll let some pictures do the talking... The reason they were fleeing was that I'd hit some of them with small arms fire last turn. This turn, my AA tank was laying in the hurt onto the OP Bil had setup in the steeple. The fleeing guys were safe from that particular team. However, out of the frying pan and into the fire... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 ...and what better to deliver some fire, but a CS tank? I think that clears out the church. I've ordered Blue House piat team to go straight through the ground floor of the church and peek across the courtyard. They ought to get a good bead on that pesky 20mm halftrack. After the track is dead, I'll sweep the woods, then consider my rear clear. (Insert lame joke. Do it. Let me know if was funny.) I'll also sweep the church, just to make sure there aren't any hiding Germans. (I'd do it. Sacrifice a team or so to keep another team hidden. But that's the way I am. ) More town views... Let's go over to the middle... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 ...and here we are: My Piat teams are purely to keep Bil's armor away from my crunchies. I don't want them to die, I want them to kill something. However, I'll pull 'em back if I can. Kind of like a hissing mongoose. Or something. The Prowling Panther, noted above, has my interest.... So, Bil is trying to seal off the Town Center. Good. That means he wants to keep me there. I'd love to stuff every nook with Sten-armed paratroopers and have him come pry me out. We'll see... More, near the windmill, a nice juicy shot... I really hope he had some guys near that corner position. I'm creeping two teams up, one on either side of that bocage. That could cause some fun, later! (The left team has a piat.) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 Finally, my plans and outlook: Not much changed. Without my few (mishandled) tanks, my offensive punch is zero. NOT! I can creep and ooze and I will. However, I'd like to get him to come to me. On the left, I'm positioning my Tired troops among the Ardennes to defend against a push, or to ambush him when he gets tired of my sniping with a mortar. (The 3" hit pictured above was from 4 Platoon's early indirect call, not the direct fire mortar I just set up.) On the right, I need to consolidate my grip on the Town Center and slow Bil up from attacking. Here's a pic: The Town area is about to get hammered. My AA tanks are vulnerable. However, I can't back them around freely, yet, due to his 20mm track. Plus, that Panther (and other unspotted ones, too, I'm sure) want to pick off any vehicle that exposes itself. I'll try to pick out good keyhole spots, with ratlines, for the tanks. Push some more men into and around the town, then ride out the artillery and stuff Bil's counterattack. Maybe that's when I'll try a grab on my left. After he commits a reserve towards the town. You know, after I stop his initial attempt. That's how I think it'll play. Or, Bil will sit at 1,000 meters and rubble the Town one building at a time. That'll just delay the decision he'll have to make. My men will be ready, sharpening their knives. Or loading Sten magazines. Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchman55555 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I've been lurking since the beginning of the AAR, but I have to break cover. The turn when the Panther had the fortune to have LOS on your PIAT team crossing the road so far away I winced, and audibly groaned. But when I saw your "ordered path vs. actual path" diagram I had one of the best laughs in a long while. Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 But when I saw your "ordered path vs. actual path" diagram I had one of the best laughs in a long while. Thanks. Reminded me a little of the "Dance of Death" from CMBO days. A unit would try to rout toward one set of cover, then change its mind and rout in another direction, going back and forth in the open and really getting nowhere, meanwhile all the time coming under fire until it had been completely annihilated. Hilarious or heartbreaking depending on which side you were on. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 "Dance, monkey boys! Dance!" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 Nice to see that the British Cavalry sticks to their traditions, this guy would be proud Very good read, Ken. You really need to turn the battle into a knifefight - and seems to me that you're on closing the engagement range with Bil's fancy pants panzerthings. A different thing is whether Bil will or not allow you to set terms. Good luck! Thanks! It's not the cannon in front of me, volleying and thundering, so much as the ones to my right and the ones to my left. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I thought 1...does that mean I'm odd? All that can be improved. Which one feels more visually comfortable? The #1’s, or the #2’s? #1 OR #2 #1 OR #2 I will bet all said the #2’s. Artist use techniques to react with the subconscious mind that most do not realize. Compositions done in a way that coincides with the way the mind reacts naturally with what it sees feel good, and direct the eye to where the artist wants. Doing the opposite makes the subconscious mind react in an unnatural, awkward way. The #1’s feel a bit awkward because the face is looking to the left leading your eye out of the picture. Your subconscious wants to be pulled to look where the face is looking which if off the page, but you want to look in so there is this conflict that makes #1 not feel as comfortable as the #2's. The player’s eyes will move more comfortably across the UI to the information you want him to concentrate on by having the face looking in directing the eye to it improving the flow of the UI. Whether you are painting a picture, taking a photo, taking an artsy screen shot, or laying out a UI it is better composition to have things facing either into the page, or forward. Never out. My advice to BF is to take the 2 seconds to bring the portraits into Photoshop, and flip them horizontally before release to improve the visual composition in a functional way that feels more comfortable in directing the player’s eyes to the info in the UI. There you go grogs composition 101 to improve any visuals. Now back to the action! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Edouard Manet Picasso 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempestzzzz Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 He has those lumbering Panthers and Jagds-but you have the jeep. Mobility is your friend. Let speed and surprise be your armor. Tactical innovation is also an ally. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 He has those lumbering Panthers and Jagds-but you have the jeep. Mobility is your friend. Let speed and surprise be your armor. Tactical innovation is also an ally. Well, yes. I'm busy searching for a Scroll of Resurrection to chant over my Challenger. It'd be nice to bring it back right about now. Meantime, reverse slope, crawling, mutually supporting positions. And Piats. Lots of piats. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 Turn 49:00 to 48:00 I'll start on the right, Town Center, and work to the left, Two Pond Bog. I've got two piat teams and a tank performing a squeeze play on this 20mm halftrack. I'll consider it a win if I kill it with no losses. Ahhh. By the end of the turn, and my orders... more... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 ... and on the left flank, Nicely done, lads. A storm of steel coming down the road... They look invulnerable! I like opened up tanks. I'll spray down all the vehicles and hope that gives the Piats a bit of a chance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 oops, forgot the middle: My two flanking teams are still going okay. We'll see what happens. I'm moving some more stens and demo charges up. I may breach the front bocage and use the windmill to provide cover. Bil's left flank (my perspective) tank onslaught may change the timing of that. Back to the rest... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 In the middle of the Dunes... I thought about pulling them back, but why? They live for my pleasure. Giving their blood to the sands will be part of my long-term plans. Plus, there's a piat just off screen to the right, at the edge of the wheat. Bil tried area targeting them with Zephyr, but to no effect. There's a slight ridge between the piat and zephyr. The two vickers nailing the windmill will provide suppression so the Piat can get off a clean shot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddball_E8 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 He has those lumbering Panthers and Jagds-but you have the jeep. Mobility is your friend. Let speed and surprise be your armor. Tactical innovation is also an ally. I wonder... can PIAT teams fire from jeeps? This needs testing! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 End, 48:00 Here's the overview: I still need/want to get more guys in the Ardennes positioned better. It's only been 12 minutes and I pushed them hard. Only about 1/2 are "ready". The rest are "tiring" or worse. Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddball_E8 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I wonder... can PIAT teams fire from jeeps? This needs testing! Tested, and sadly they do not Nor do bazookas, but I didn't expect them too either. But not only do they not fire from a jeep, but they take several precious seconds to dismount as well. And they cannot dismount with a dismount command, they have to be given a move command. There goes my plan for mobile AT attacks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 @Wicky Am I supposed to come back and post thousands of pictures illustrating techniques as I described, but did not make up? Am I to explain the composition of all the pics you posted, as there is more at work for the most part compositionally in each one of those pics that move the eye around the picture, and create a sense of balance beyond the way the faces are looking? Do you think EVERY painting from famous artist are considered perfect, and are not criticized in color and composition classes? Am I to put out all my credentials in this area of expertise such as being a professional artist for over 20yrs who has sold a quarter million copies of my work, a BFA in painting, have had work shown in museums and compare them to yours? Are we to keep bringing this up to try to prove me wrong when everything found on good compositional techniques agrees with what I said regarding the portraits in the UI composition? Are we to keep going off topic to teach a subject that cannot be summed up in a paragraph when this thread is supposed to be about an AAR? I say again to anyone who wants to become more learned about the subject of visual composition techniques to take some classes, or read some books if you think I am making things up. Please, I am not looking to make this thread about this subject due to a side comment tip. Now once more, back to the action! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I'll be brief - as I don't want to distract from this marvellous AAR ...Never out. I'm an artist as well - A' Level A and Degree in Fine Art painting, Done the bohemian artist thing painting round Europe on a bread roll, worked commercially, and have pictures in collections etc. Saying "never" makes it seem absolute, now if you'd said "as rule of thumb" then I would have you given you artistic licence. Carry on blowing up each other.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 Artistic dispute! Artistic dispute! This can only be solved by an engineer. Carry on. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedorf81 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I'll be brief - as I don't want to distract from this marvellous AAR I'm an artist as well - A' Level A and Degree in Fine Art painting, Done the bohemian artist thing painting round Europe on a bread roll, worked commercially, and have pictures in collections etc. Saying "never" makes it seem absolute, now if you'd said "as rule of thumb" then I would have you given you artistic licence. Carry on blowing up each other.... I watched the famous Bob Ross painting lessons. I'm an artist as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddball_E8 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Artistic dispute! Artistic dispute! This can only be solved by an engineer. Carry on. Or a paintbrush fencing match! Red vs Blue! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Always nice to see a fellow artist on here Wicky, and I agree with your statement, as I didn’t mean to sound so absolute. I suppose I should have been more specific in the “never” as in a composition such as the UI where the portrait placement is on the far left edge with no negative space on the left of it. Here it acts as bookend either directing the eye into the right (which is where you want it in this specific UI composition), or to the left where nothing is (as is now), or placed looking forward such as Mord’s portraits which is neutral. As an artists I am sure you must agree in the illustration of #1 vs #2 that the #2’s are better compositionally for the UI for reasons stated. If you don’t I shall have to call one of your professors I always say talk softly, but carry a big paintbrush (well, at least to the ladies 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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