Average Learning Curve???

[Mord]

I play lots of different games for different moods and I have had no success by societal standards. Then again, I am a non-perverted hedonist, so I go by my day-to-day happiness as to how I measure it. Anything after that is extra.

 

Mord.

[DerKommissar]

1 hour ago, Erwin said:

It might be an interesting PhD thesis re difference between those who play fantasy/FPS vs tactical/strategic sims... and what does it all mean for one's success in life perhaps(?).  

"So, for our school science fair project we're going to compare how video game genres affect success in life. For this we will be playing various games through out the school year. Then we shall record the success rate of our existence out of a 100 percent."

You're a genius, Erwin.

[Erwin]

Gracias...

[37mm]

On 9/24/2018 at 12:40 AM, Michael Emrys said:

Interesting take, and not far wrong. At least they strike me that way...

"CM as a form of highly structured sado-masochism."

Michael

I recall one scenario where my pixeltruppen were repeatedly hit with mortar strikes over the course of the most miserable hour I have probably ever experienced in any "game".

Every single time I would gather up my shattered troops & think to myself "well at least there'll be no more mortars"... at which point my newly concentrated troops would get hit again by a new round of mortar strikes.

Eventually, after losing a **** load of my men crossing a bridge & getting hit by hidden machine guns, I managed to outflank the enemy position & launch my final assault.

The few remaining men, backed up with the last of my tanks, managed to capture a decent chunk of the enemy hill before the shear impossibility of the task I had set them broke them & they fled back off the hill.

At that point, my handful of wounded, shell shocked survivors were greeted with the news that they had apparently won a "TOTAL VICTORY".

As I surveyed the bloody & burnt mess that this disgusting game had resulted in I felt no joy, not one bit of joy at all, in the misery of my "victory".

 

 

 

[Michael Emrys]

2 hours ago, 37mm said:

As I surveyed the bloody & burnt mess that this disgusting game had resulted in I felt no joy, not one bit of joy at all, in the misery of my "victory".

"One more such victory and we shall be totally undone."

                                                                 Pyrrhus of Epirus

Michael

[c3k]

7 hours ago, 37mm said:

I recall one scenario where my pixeltruppen were repeatedly hit with mortar strikes over the course of the most miserable hour I have probably ever experienced in any "game".

Every single time I would gather up my shattered troops & think to myself "well at least there'll be no more mortars"... at which point my newly concentrated troops would get hit again by a new round of mortar strikes.

Eventually, after losing a **** load of my men crossing a bridge & getting hit by hidden machine guns, I managed to outflank the enemy position & launch my final assault.

The few remaining men, backed up with the last of my tanks, managed to capture a decent chunk of the enemy hill before the shear impossibility of the task I had set them broke them & they fled back off the hill.

At that point, my handful of wounded, shell shocked survivors were greeted with the news that they had apparently won a "TOTAL VICTORY".

As I surveyed the bloody & burnt mess that this disgusting game had resulted in I felt no joy, not one bit of joy at all, in the misery of my "victory".

 

 

 

That is a wonderful description of how well this game replicates tactical outcomes. Sometimes, it sucks. This obviously impacted you. That is a role of modern entertainment. You'll remember this particular battle for a very long time. The cool thing? That you kept at it...and finally got to the (miserable) end. Not every battle ends in victory.

This game produced a memorable event. THAT is impressive. 

[Erwin]

The Victory calculations for CM2 many times make little sense (compared to CM1).  In CM1, one could sense much more accurately if one was winning or losing.  In CM2, one can end a battle in terrible shape, but win a Total Victory, or believe one has met all Victory conditions and find that one has a Loss.  Sometimes, the difference between a loss and a big Win is a single man surviving.  

To stay sane, recommend that you judge your own performance and not worry too much what the game's Results page says.  However this can be more problematic in Campaigns where one may have to win to progress to the next mission.

[37mm]

Obviously I'm using a bit of hyperbole for comedic purposes... but yes I can imagine an FPS gamer/RTS "puzzzle" gamer could struggle to adapt to the Combat Mission world of "highly structured sado-masochism".

Edited September 27, 2018 by 37mm

[Vet 0369]

On September 27, 2018 at 10:44 AM, Erwin said:

The Victory calculations for CM2 many times make little sense (compared to CM1).  In CM1, one could sense much more accurately if one was winning or losing.  In CM2, one can end a battle in terrible shape, but win a Total Victory, or believe one has met all Victory conditions and find that one has a Loss.  Sometimes, the difference between a loss and a big Win is a single man surviving.  

To stay sane, recommend that you judge your own performance and not worry too much what the game's Results page says.  However this can be more problematic in Campaigns where one may have to win to progress to the next mission.

Well, the total learning curve can be long, not difficult, but long. I've been playing CM since CMBO (the first CM title). I find that I have to readjust my mindset not only for each family, but for the side I'm playing since I try to play each faction as that faction actually was used. This can get particularly difficult playing Soviet after playing U.S. or German. Soviet tactics demand that you follow the plan to the letter, and pursue victory at all costs. You might end up with three Soviet troops on a victory location with the rest of the Batallion lying dead on the field, and be granted a total victory. Each family and module can require rethinking your strategies even if their time frame is only a few months apart. That's the real beauty if the Combat Mission line.

without a doubt though, it is well worth the time and effort!