Beamup

stclark@eagle.cc.ukans.edu ICQ# 15895484 I'd love to play somebody really good so I can learn while being exterminated. In keeping with the Monty Python quotes, just a question, is the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch going to be in the game? Please say yes

Here's mine... Last Defense as US. I deploy one platoon + bazooka up by the wall, remaining units take cover in the town. The halftracks, a StuG, and the Tiger are advancing up the road, almost to the "ambush" marker I set. One of my mortars decides to shoot. I'm screaming at him, "What the **** do you think you're doing, you ****ing fool?!? I'm going to shove that thing up your *** and fire it!!!" (Out loud - startled my roomates a good bit But then his 2nd round kills the lead halftrack! All the vehicles go into a major traffic jam, and the AI, wonderfully enough, sees all this vulnerable armor about 10m from my ambush, and says "Go." Bazooka pops up... nails the Tiger with one shot, an HT with the second, and the StuG with the fourth! Meanwhile, my squads, with MG support from the town, mow down an entire platoon and the 1 crew that survived its vehicle's destruction(the Tiger's, I think). Then, job complete, I run them back to town - having sustained ONE casualty. This was incredibly lucky, I am sure - but it was REALLY cool, and demonstrated the ability of the TacAI. Must have watched the replay 20 times from different first-person views on both sides (I LOVE that feature). I still kept my promise to the mortarman about what I'd do with his mortar, though. [This message has been edited by Beamup (edited 11-04-99).] [This message has been edited by Beamup (edited 11-04-99).]

Here's a thought I just had on this issue. Suppose that you were a real WWII commander. Could you find out, at any given time, how many men were left in some squad under your command? Sure, you can just radio Sgt. Smith and ask about his squad. Could you find out immediately about all of your squads? No way. You could do it, but only with some time and effort. So, CM accurately displays how this would work. I'm a bit short on time, so I will close by saying that I personally used to be on the other side of this debate, but have now converted. I don't want a status screen.

I think it's more likely that the demo missions are just deliberately easy. I was able to get "Total Victory" my first game (Last Defense as Americans) and have never lost, even when the luck all goes against me and I make some big mistakes. Comments, Big Time? Did you make the demo missions easier than the ones in the full game will be?

First of all, just let me say that Combat Mission is hands down the best combat sim I have ever seen or heard of. I've spent about 30 hours playing it this weekend alone . I love it! But I do have a couple suggestions. 1) I've read other people's posts on this, and just wanted to weigh in myself. The targeting AI absolutely MUST be tweaked. Example situation: Rifle .45 squad, dug in in a house, is given orders to target the MG42 75m away shooting at them. LOS is checked, both with the tool and in 1st-person view with 1:1 scaling, and the MG is in plain sight. After the round starts, the squad refuses to shoot at the MG, and instead targets an infantry squad 350m away, in woods, not shooting at anybody. Now, if I'd given the 2nd order, I would have expected them to switch - but it makes NO sense to not shoot at the MG! Perhaps there's a wraparound bug? If anything would wrap around, that MG certainly would. PS: the sharpshooter in Riesberg almost never follows my targeting orders - he won't shoot at anything smaller than a squad, no MGs, mortars, etc. 2) This is more a scenario design note. In Riesberg, there's a yellow deployment zone at the front of your position, with an SMG squad, platoon commander, and Panzerschrenk team. The only cover in the zone is some trees right next to the road, but if the zone extended just 10m or so farther up, there's a beautiful clump of trees. Absolute textbook setup - the 'schrenk would have a perfect shot at the road, 80-100m, about 75 degrees off to the side. But I can't put them there, and if I move them later, they have to abandon their foxholes. Very annoying. On a related note, would it be possible to have infantry NOT dig foxholes during setup? Sometimes I want to move them outside their deployment zone immediately, and I'd rather not leave evidence they were ever there. Now for my personal Hellcat anecdote. 5 times in a row, I play Last Defense as Germans. Each time, all of my vehicles are knocked out within a minute of the Hellcats' arrival - even when I made sure to have the frontal armor facing the hill. Then I read a post here, and tried again at about a 20 degree angle to the hill. Worked like a charm, lost one of the assault guns. Did it again, lost nobody. The little things really do count, which is what makes me so LOVE this game! I am now going to place my preorder.