Jump to content

The Truelife* Mode PBEM DAR


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, MOS:96B2P said:
4 hours ago, JoMc67 said:

.ex; U.S. Para would be Green, High Motivation, +1 Leadership. A standard German Field Div would be Green, Normal Motivation, 0 Leadership, etc (2nd Rate Germ Div would be Green, Low Motivation, -1 Leadership)...

Interesting.  I may try this.

Yeah, and it seems to work out better in the end...Troops (including Armor & Field Pieces) are always Green as the basis with no higher then High Motivation (no lower then Low motivation) and no higher then +1 Leadership (except HQ's, or if actual Elite/Crack Units, then a +2). 

Now, you can try the above but with Regular Troops as the basis (I'm currently play testing this idea out), but you may want to degrade the Motivation & Leadership values by an additional -1 for each Green/Reg/Vet.

I would try both ways above to see what works better for you. 

I originally tried this idea with Conscripts, but the troops where way to unpredictable no matter what the Motivation/Leadership bonuses where (let alone minus motivations). This becomes an issue when a single HE round hits close to a squad, and that squad becomes ineffective for remainder of battle.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was some discussion about target orders and what we are doing for this battle. I have not given any of my men target arcs and beyond giving the 2 inch mortars target orders, all my men have been fire to fire at will. The following screens show why this is so important for a battle such as this one with no visual clues about the enemy beyond what I can see.

Minute 1:55-1:54

The men in C Company have been continuing to work their way into the town, ever closer to the objective. With most of this turn passing with no action once again in their sector, suddenly 8th platoon opens fire. But what are they shooting at?P4BkkNv.jpg

Look closely to the left of the Bakery! Some dismounted infantry are trying to get into position. My men fire, revealing their positions, but see no enemy fall.

lPM33Zd.jpg

This is the only action in C Company's sector this turn. The men will be given orders to spread out and seek more contacts. Hopefully we can do some serious damage to RH over here before he has a chance to get setup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the centre the men of 13th platoon all flee their over watch positions clearly in full view of a Stummel for better cover.

sd4IFxz.jpg

Can they all make it safely?

3OfK3T8.jpg

Everyone makes it to safety but one man. The most important man of this section, the Bren gunner. If it isn't the leader, it is always the @#$%@ lmg gunner!

cTLudUn.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

His lose was not in vain! The Staghound was watching them flee for safety and somehow managed to spot where the enemy rounds came from. Can you spot RH's men?

r11ln0E.jpg

Here, I will give you the full zoom view. Does this help?

o5Bljin.jpg

Lets try that again, but this time with the trees turned off.

DnyYc36.jpg

There he is! A marksman with a scope. Is he a dedicated sniper, or just the marksman in a PzG squad? Who know and who cares, my Staghound send him some 37mm HE love. After this round hits, the marksman disappears from view. I can only hope it took him out, but the shot appears to have hit a little low. Does the little 37mm HE round pack enough punch to penetrate the wall and cause casualties? Sure would have been better to see the round sail through the window and straight into the sniper.

n3V6fAP.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over by Sexton's house, my 2 inch mortars have started to have some effect. The tree has lost all its leaves, the wall turned to rubble and RH's men start to flee. I will adjust the aim of the mortar and hope to catch a few of his men in the open next turn.

TsAQ03p.jpg

I have two Staghounds in this area and with 10 seconds left in the turn, they get a spot.

GWS0eq6.jpg

Can it be? Please oh please be who I think it is...

bCaXNs4.jpg

HAHA! It is the 20mm AC halftrack. He is reversing again and with no time left on the clock, the Staghound fires!

uti5jJE.jpg

A solid hit again, but this time it appears to have done some more serious damage. Say, where did the driver go....hehehehe....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is now time to take this DAR into dangerous waters, unbuttoned halftrack gunners and their totally useless shields. I should be able to be dropping these guys like flies, am I right? D Company's 14th Platoon has been spotting behind a house near the church. It appears they have spotted something. One man is peeking around the corner of the house and is taking aim.

KLdjf96.jpg

A closer look down his rifle sights reveals his target, an unbuttoned halftrack gunner blazing away. Ah fresh meat.

0936Pdn.jpg

fDfvpKp.jpg

He steadies his rifle against the side of the house, takes careful aim, exhales slightly and gently squeezes the trigger.

4DrMbyl.jpg

His shot is away and somehow he manages to miss.

dktuBDI.jpg

A Bren gunner from 15th Platoon, high in the houses to the left of the church also has a spot on the gunner. He blazes away and only manages to hit the gun shield. The ricochets fly off harmlessly into the sky.

 5Ok40Dv.jpg

So what gives?? What did I do wrong?? I thought these guys were bullet magnets. I thought they died within seconds of being exposed. I thought they didn't stand a chance. I thought those gun shields were useless. Maybe it is only when they are under my command that they die like flies but when the enemy uses them they are safe? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

It is now time to take this DAR into dangerous waters, unbuttoned halftrack gunners and their totally useless shields. I should be able to be dropping these guys like flies, am I right? D Company's 14th Platoon has been spotting behind a house near the church. It appears they have spotted something. One man is peeking around the corner of the house and is taking aim.

KLdjf96.jpg

A closer look down his rifle sights reveals his target, an unbuttoned halftrack gunner blazing away. Ah fresh meat.

0936Pdn.jpg

fDfvpKp.jpg

He steadies his rifle against the side of the house, takes careful aim, exhales slightly and gently squeezes the trigger.

4DrMbyl.jpg

His shot is away and somehow he manages to miss.

dktuBDI.jpg

A Bren gunner from 15th Platoon, high in the houses to the left of the church also has a spot on the gunner. He blazes away and only manages to hit the gun shield. The ricochets fly off harmlessly into the sky.

 5Ok40Dv.jpg

So what gives?? What did I do wrong?? I thought these guys were bullet magnets. I thought they died within seconds of being exposed. I thought they didn't stand a chance. I thought those gun shields were useless. Maybe it is only when they are under my command that they die like flies but when the enemy uses them they are safe? 

OH, but in general, they are still 'Bullet Magnets'...However, the Gun Shield will give them plenty of cover vs. Small Arms with an occasional round getting through from time to time...So, just think if a Whole Squad of CW Troops were to open up at close range against that 251 HT.

Now, lets try that again vs. an M3 HT (for example) with No Gun Shield, and see how long that Gunner lasts.

To sum this up...Bren Carrier=Full Cover, 251 HT=Partial Cover, M3 HT=equals even less cover vs. Small Arms from the front.

Edited by JoMc67
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

Lets try that again, but this time with the trees turned off.

Yeah, and that always bugged me about CM...Trees fully on, and even I can't see the enemy (Zoom in-out for several minutes at a screenshot), but the AI (somehow) is able to pixelate through that Tree and find its mark in matter of seconds...Sigh :-(

I guess it's one of those CM quarks that we have to live with...

Edited by JoMc67
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Minute 1:54-1:53

This 20mm Ac halftrack.... WOW! With his drivers dying screams still echoing in his ears, he turns the gun and fires off another amazingly accurate burst of fire.

p6mJd9d.jpg

Once again striking another Staghound with incredible ferocity. I lose the driver and the radio operator. Shortly after this picture is taken, the remaining crew bail and run for cover.

cxuG0FY.jpg

Finally RH's gunner can stand it no more. Grabbing the picture of his girlfriend from near his gun, he takes one last look at his driver before bailing and seeking shelter.

YmIqYQn.jpg

I can only hope all his halftracks are not as difficult to knock out as this one was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over at Sexton's house I sneak an assault section in for a better look. They see some men still present and open fire. Other than a few rounds fired harmlessly over the German's heads, nothing happens.

mziwKLV.jpg

C Company was given orders to spread out and seek higher ground in an attempt to welcome RH's men to this side of town. Here are their positions at the start of the turn

J8hjoGc.jpg

And again at the end. The Daimler seen in this last screen shot was within line of sight and of the men who had made contact last turn. He heard their shouts of "Enemy Spotted" and their rifle fire so raced over to offer support. C Company Commander has now been made aware of RH's men in the town and begins to direct some other AFV assets under his control to help support his men.

KPmxFMv.jpg

This turn ends with little other action occurring. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

Once again striking another Staghound with incredible ferocity. I lose the driver and the radio operator. Shortly after this picture is taken, the remaining crew bail and run for cover.

Yeah, I have always thought it's alittle strange to see how accurate Auto Cannons are, especially on the move 'Snap Shots', and with only Open Sights. 

Edited by JoMc67
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

Over at Sexton's house I sneak an assault section in for a better look. They see some men still present and open fire. Other than a few rounds fired harmlessly over the German's heads, nothing happens.

Ok, and I have to ask, why is this place called, 'Sexton's House'..? I remember a user named 'Sexton' back in the Red Orchestra/DH First Person Shooter days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

There was some discussion about target orders and what we are doing for this battle. I have not given any of my men target arcs and beyond giving the 2 inch mortars target orders, all my men have been fire to fire at will. The following screens show why this is so important for a battle such as this one with no visual clues about the enemy beyond what I can see.

Yes, especially in these cases where no enemy Icons are visible, and so it's better to let the AI handle finding targets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This AAR is super - and RH has his going too now. Excellent work guys. Sadly I used up all my upvotes and still don't have all your AAR posts covered. :(

13 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

Finally RH's gunner can stand it no more. Grabbing the picture of his girlfriend from near his gun, he takes one last look at his driver before bailing and seeking shelter.

Fantastic story - love the last burst of the 20mm before bailing. I know you didn't love that but it was cool. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, IanL said:

Excellent work guys. Sadly I used up all my upvotes and still don't have all your AAR posts covered. 

Yes excellent work, and do not worry I will exhaust my upvotes tonight for them...

Edited by ncc1701e
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/4/2019 at 4:14 AM, JoMc67 said:

Ok, and I have to ask, why is this place called, 'Sexton's House'..? I remember a user named 'Sexton' back in the Red Orchestra/DH First Person Shooter days.

RH asked for this to be the name of the house. I am not too sure why but I would think he will reveal all in his thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turn 1:53-1:52

C Company's sector sees a fair bit of action this turn. These men in 10th platoon have an interesting view, let's see what they see.

3s1dwRH.jpg

The man on the left is taking aim here but it is hard to tell what he is aiming at.

BDZvpyO.jpg

If we zoom in over his shoulder, a PzG can be seen sprinting for the hedges. He takes aim and fires but manages to hit the chimney. First a wheel and now a chimney. If we survive this battle, these men are going to be spending some serious retraining time with their weapons.

go4P8zM.jpg

Over at the next window, this trooper has a house full of targets.

A3tktEk.jpg

He takes aim, and fires.

His shot sails wide by a few feet, straight towards the window with no one visible. I mean it is the proverbial broadside of the barn door but good grief fella, your aim is off four feet on a 100 yards. He can't even put his shot through the window, nope it hits the window sill and ricochets harmlessly into the sky.

hG0ByBv.jpg

At least the Daimler in support for these guys is able to see some targets of his own. His shot with the 40mm again hits low but at least it hit the building. Maybe some dust will get into his face and give him a serious case of red eye.

a7rOdVM.jpg

The MG rounds that follow the HE are on target. After this burst the team in the house are not spotted again this turn.

TTeRHIH.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the middle, one AFV was able to spot an MG team at the end of the last turn. I gave them a target light order and they spend the turn hosing the building down. 

BC5Cy1T.jpg

The rest of D company was trading a few pot shots with some of RH's men. Nothing serious happened until the last few seconds of the turn. A large HE round hit the front of the houses in support of the church. One man was hit, a guy all the way behind the house, completely out of harms way, or so I thought. I assumed a shingle fell off the roof and onto his head.

yt3wwdb.jpg

This is the situation at the end of the turn. The areas circled in red are where I know his men to be. I have started to call in some 81mm mortar fire onto his strong points and will be slowing the combat down if I can, while I wait for those rounds to come in, approximate call time of 6 minutes. I have also ordered a couple more of the AFV's to begin moving in support of C company. Hopefully the mortars and AFV's can suppress his men long enough for me to flank and then destroy them.

kq6MKQZ.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/3/2019 at 8:48 PM, Heirloom_Tomato said:

I am starting think this halftrack gunner is the basis for @Mord amazing book series on halftrack gunners.

That's Hans! He was my proof reader. He obviously paid attention to the genius in my words. Unlike some people...EMRYS.

 

Mord.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turn 1:52-1:51

Last turn we left this Daimler and his supporting infantry from C company firing away at a MG nest in a building. At the start of the turn the MG crew is spotted again and engaged by everyone who can see them.

Y3QTQdG.jpg

Within a few seconds of heavy incoming fire, one man is spotted fleeing the building. Unfortunately for me, the guy running away is carrying an MG. Too bad they didn't nail him but at least they got him suppressed enough to flee.

yjKTIQl.jpg

At the end of last turn a section of RH's men was spotted in the Laundry, lower window of the tile roof building. I gave a two inch mortar team orders to fire smoke in front of this position, to hopefully blind these men and allow me to move my men out of their line of fire. 

JWDfMZm.jpg

There he is!

3i8c8rb.jpg

While my rifle crews can't seem to hit anything, my mortar crews appear have paid attention during training. INCOMING!!

ynU4gci.jpg

What a shot! Right in the window!

rQDbQRo.jpg

The smoke rounds from the 2 inch mortars are all WP rounds. I know the manual says WP rounds can cause casualties and really hope it happens in this case. I would find it hard to believe a WP round going off in the confines of a small building would not cause some kind of injuries even if they are just light ones. If nothing else, those guys had better be suppressed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The vehicles in over watch between the companies come under fire from some sort of HE round. It falls short but causes both Staghounds to turn their attention in the direction of the shot.

 

qVY2JsP.jpg

It is a Schreck team and they come under a hail of fire from the Staghounds and flee for safety.

gmparIS.jpg

I am replaying this turn to get the screenshots and I missed this sequence on the first play through. I am glad I did not give these guys any target armour arcs or they may have been knocked out due to my neglect. It is a good thing the TAC AI knows how to look after the men, even when their commanding officer ignores them. This next picture is for you @JoMc67. While looking at this turn a second time, I found these guys. I have no idea where they came from, who took them out, or when it happened. It did not happen this turn as they are already casualties at the start of the turn. To me it is another example of how when playing with all visual clues of the enemy off, it is best to let your men have the freedom to fire at will!

t8HTnp8.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The following sequence is one of the reasons why I absolutely love the CM series. It is also the reason RH wanted to give the name Sexton House to this little building. I still don't know why, but I am sure he will explain it in his DAR. At the end of the last turn some smoke rounds were starting to fall, giving cover to my men from 15th platoon sent to clear out Sexton house. I ordered this three man section lead by Corporal Morrissey to move in and flush out RH's men. I assumed they would be suppressed and hopefully easy targets for my men. As the section closes in on the house, they see a smoke round falling and fail to spot the men laying in front of the house.

rgqVE3k.jpg

They do however, spot a two man team just behind a barb wire fence. The Germans greet them by throwing gifts....

CzEgKY1.jpg

The first grenade explodes harmlessly off to the side while both side trade inaccurate rifle fire.

3sN2JeT.jpg

Corporal Morrissey falls to a shot from RH's men and a second grenade goes off taking out the nameless private behind him.

D6ZNR4u.jpg

X4m125Q.jpg

The view from the German vantage point

kMj30U1.jpg

Private Purval has had enough and breaks for the safety of the church.

kWeh9aw.jpg

As he flees, the Germans take a shot at him. Big mistake. Private Purval feels his blood boil and stops to get some revenge for his fallen comrades, readying a grenade of his own.

uXSzHDT.jpg

His throw appears to be spot on, while the German's shot goes just wide.

5yP0D5N.jpg

Seconds later the grenade goes off,

Cpqs6re.jpg

lifting the German off his feet

rLvhv2I.jpg

and dumping his broken, lifeless body back to earth. Haven gotten his revenge, Private Purval continues his run for safety in the church.

5FqvhHH.jpg

As the turn ends, the men in the church spot the other German from this team and bring him under fire as he runs away.

DgT9BX3.jpg

Edited by Heirloom_Tomato
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very much enjoying these DARs - well done.

15 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

To me it is another example of how when playing with all visual clues of the enemy off, it is best to let your men have the freedom to fire at will!

I still maintain that this is the best way to operate regardless of how much information you have. :) Remember cover arcs are for preventing your toops from firing. Only use them if that is what you want - for them not to fire on the enemy.

 

12 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

The following sequence is one of the reasons why I absolutely love the CM series.

Oh that was just spectacular. Even when ones come out on the loosing end of the stick we should all appreciate this kind of thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...