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--SPOILER-- AAR from "Fear in the fog"


Guest Heinz 25th PzReg

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Guest Heinz 25th PzReg

Hello folks

After I got my copy of CM today, I played the scenario "Fear in the fog" as the Allies.

It was an incredible experience and I took some cool screenshots from the battle. I decided to make a little after action report.

Here is the URL to my "made-in-10min-AAR-page-" http://home.c2i.net/andhess/cm/

Enjoy!

Heinz

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"To subdue your enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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Very nicely done, Heinz. Looks like you will do well playing this game. I had the same good fortune with one of my bazookamen when I was testing it.

One of my Shermans got bogged down and I was especially glad to have his timely expertise.

Screen shots look great!

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Wild Bill

Lead Tester/Designer

Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord

billw@matrixgames.com

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wild Bill Wilder:

Screen shots look great!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Do they ever. Looks like I need to finally break down and get a real video card. Will a Voodoo 3 give quality like that?

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-Doug

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Guest Heinz 25th PzReg

Hello again guys

I am glad you enjoy my little pictures! My videocard is a TNT2 Ultra and the the resolution is 1280x1024. I dont know if you will get that good grapichs with a Voodoo3. I would rather go for the new cheap Geforce 2 MX card. It will be out in a couple of weeks and should not cost more than 119 US dollars. This is pretty cheap for such a good card.

Now I have to get back to CM.......

Best regards,

Heinz

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Hey, as long as we're on Spoiler Alert for "Fear in the Fog," I have a question for Wild Bill and anyone else who has played this scen a few times.

I've played it twice, both times as the Americans in single-player. On my first run-through, I set the AI to "use scenario defaults," and the Germans executed a very well-coordinated assault on the railway station, doing me serious damage. I actually surrendered when I saw the horrible beating I was taking. The German attack had already heated up by about turn 8. (My guys had not yet made it into the buildings to set up good defensive arcs.)

On my second try, since I knew the direction from which the Germans were coming, I put the AI on "free setup" and rushed my forces into the railway station. (Since I'd blown some of the surprise with my first try, I pretended that HQ had informed me of the station's importance, and that I was under orders to get there quick.)

Having gotten into place, I waited... and waited... and waited. Finally I started getting sound contacts on turn 16, but I didn't see any enemies until turn 19! With only six turns left, and with me in good position of both VLs, I only had to pin the enemy down. (I did lose both tanks though.)

The lesson I'm drawing from this second game is that "free setup" is not a good idea when playing against the AI on a very densely-wooded or otherwise obstructed map: the computer might wind up spending all its time just getting its units to the battle. Wild Bill, does this seem right to you? To be fair, the attack, when it finally came, was all together and not scattered, and the Germans used good supporting tactics.

On a broader note, when do you think it's a good idea to go with "use free setup"? Perhaps scenario designers and playtesters could try this feature out, and mention in the briefing whether it seems a good or bad idea.

Paul "Martyr" Roberts

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That's an interesting AAR. When I played it for the first time (Allied), I either misunderstood the briefing, or promptly forgot it as soon as the map appeared. I was thinking that the Germans were going to be coming from in front of me. So I moved out cautiously, advancing one squad across open areas before the rest of the plt, for example, basically in line abreast. I was not expecting the Germans to come from my right flank (looking back, I really misunderstood the briefing). When they started appearing, I had one platoon in that corner of woods by the wheatfield, where the sound contacts are in Heinz's first screenshot. The others were in the station, and I had to redeploy them to meet the attack. That first platoon was badly mauled, but it also tore up the better part of two German platoons. The StuG did quite a bit of damage before I took it out (I forget how, but I think it was a zook. I had trouble getting my tanks into useful positions). My reserves showed up just in time, and I rushed them into postion, sending one to my right to replace the mauled platoon, one to the center, and the third along the north-south road. That was a good choice, because the AI tried to bypass the station and cross that road. My platoon there acted as an anvil. The hammer was provided by the two tanks, 3 platoons, and arty, all pouring fire into the woods, which turned into a real Hexenkessel. There were bodies stacked up like cordwood in the corner formed by the station and the road, and the few survivors surrendered. After the battle, I was shocked to see a Panther sitting on the crossroads. It had never entered the battle. Overall, I was rather pleased with myself, since I usually have all the tactical finesse of U.S. Grant. I did make one horrible error. In my zeal to kill more Germans, I sent a somewhat shot-up platoon into the woods, only to see them wiped out in one turn.

I played this balanced. I'll have to try giving the AI advantage and see what happens. Probably won't be pretty.

-- 19 Echo

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Heinz 25th PzReg:

Hello again guys

I am glad you enjoy my little pictures! My videocard is a TNT2 Ultra and the the resolution is 1280x1024. I dont know if you will get that good grapichs with a Voodoo3. I would rather go for the new cheap Geforce 2 MX card. It will be out in a couple of weeks and should not cost more than 119 US dollars. This is pretty cheap for such a good card.

Now I have to get back to CM.......

Best regards,

Heinz<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, as I have a Mac, that isn't really an option. I'm basically limited to 3dfx or ATI (and I've generally heard bad things about the latter).

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-Doug

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Hey Wild Bill,

I've enjoyed your work since TOAW, but having played Fear in the Fog as both the Americans and the Germans I have come to the conclusion that the scenario is pro American. It would only take a few minor tweaks to make it fully balanced though. I think the German player needs about three to five more turns - and I think that maybe the German reinforcements need to come in about three turns earlier and a little farther back (closer to the board edge).

For the curious, I got a total victory as both sides - 90 to 10 as the German and 97 to 3 as the American. No, I won't reveal how smile.gif

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Interesing comments, ASL. Your total victory from both sides is very commendable.

It also is usually an indication that such a battle might to well for a PBEM confrontation.

If such a victory is achievable (though not everyone has done that well) from either side, there is balance there.

Now comes the question. Do you improve one side? Perhaps. Does this throw balance off for the other side? Perhaps.

Some more dilemmas for the scenario designer to ponder.

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Wild Bill

Lead Tester/Designer

Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord

billw@matrixgames.com

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Martyr!

My apologies. I missed your earlier post on padlocked units. Sorry! I wasnt ignoring you.

To padlock or not to padlock. I hesitate using this feature. Why? Because it takes away an option most players want.

When they start a scenario and cannot reorganize, they sometimes get pissed. And that is understandable.

I use it. I use it sparingly. Mainly I use if for fixed positions...bunkers, pillboxes, barbed wire, mines, etc.

In some instances I will padlock units that are not reinforcing but are supporting or coming in behind the front line units.

I do this in order to keep that side from having too much initial firepower.

Its a touchy subject at best. Would it make Fear in the Fog a better scenario? Perhaps.

I can't help but think that the AI is bunching up to give concentrated firepower and punch a hole in the defenses. That is an uneducated guess.

Here is a debate that will go on and on. Some like it. Some don't. If used properly, it can be a valuable design tool.

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Wild Bill

Lead Tester/Designer

Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord

billw@matrixgames.com

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