Goanna

Damn, should have got up earlier. All my suggestions are already added. I would like to support Beman's and Howard Jones' suggestions. The one thing that so impresses me about this game is how easy it was to learn how to work everything with little or no guidance, and how closely it brings to the computer those Avalon Hill games I grew up playing that took ages to play because they were so complicated. BTS has used the computer in the exact way I wish I could have thought of first. So basically, I like whatever designers notes and info they want to throw in as cheaply as they can. PDFs on the CD are great for me. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Berli, are you beating up on someone else besides just me? I feel, well, just so betrayed ------------------ desert rat wannabe

OK, I better weigh in here since these are my M4's Knaust is talking about. I think we have a very good case of Lady Luck being a fickle bitch here. In the first 7 turns, Knaust did knock out 4 of my M4's, but in each case, my M4s got shots off at the StuGs which were generally directly in front of him (within 10 degrees). In one case, an M4 coming through the scattered trees on the US right and above the StuG took 5 shots at the StuG before getting roasted (one ricochet). He got me after one range finder. So, my last tank is on the long hillside to the US left in front of the two story farm. How I got that StuG which is about 150 m in front of the swamp is this. First, I shot my medium machine gun (located in the US woods) at him to make sure he was buttoned. Then I moved my M4 up that hillside partially obscured by the hill, intending to get hulldown and to his right enough to be out of that 30 degree arc at the front. However, the M4 commander decided to target him while still going up the hill. He made a brief pause, cranked the turret around and shot once. it nailed him. Surely some luck in that, but what comes around, goes around. Now he is moving his last StuG up the road toward the church, and my Turn 11 orders are in. If luck stays with me another turn or so, I may not even need her from then on. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

So that's how the little mongrel did it I was wondering how the Captain saw all my StuGs first thing, he had FOW off and I didn't even check Oh well, I did manage to show him how those StuGs work anyway. He may want to retract some of the above, or perhaps ask Steve to just close the thread and lose it somewhere. ------------------ desert rat wannabe [This message has been edited by Goanna (edited 12-30-99).]

thanks a lot guys ------------------ desert rat wannabe

I'm with you. I never have gotten a bogged vehicle out of its hole before it was mincemeat. One StuG in Last Defence was stuck from trun 1 on what looked to be pretty open ground. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Thanks Fionn. Will we be selecting which type of round to use on those pesky hull down jagdpanzers (like we select HE or somke now) or will the skipper automatically know which type of AP round to use. Also, can you tell me how a discarded sabot round is better for busting through tough armour even though it loses part of its mass during flight. Does it have to do with the shape or the materials (tungsten) in the shell. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

I am just wondering (after doing a search and not finding anything explicit) if there are going to be some tanks in some missions that have regular AP rounds and some of those high velocity discarded sabot rounds that were developed (during WWII I think). ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Fionn, berli is currently having his way with me in CE (to which he refers above) and I have something hilarious to show you from that battle. A stug goes to the top of the hill on the German right and does a complete reverse pirouette under fire and backs down the hill for no reason other than he didn't quite "get" the hunt command I installed. Its pretty funny to watch if you want to see the movie. Drawing that kind of fire almost qualifies him as a new kind of hero. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

That's Fionn I'm gunning for. Remember i have been reading everything you post on tactics. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Then you have to give me a game sometime when you aren't too busy. I still have to set my benchmark to acheive. I got the Captain set up on a PBEM with me earlier today to give him something else to do but harass you fellas, so I will tell you how it goes. Luck can shine on a 16 yr old to so I won't make any bogus predictions. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Thats how I want to nail Fionn, if I ever get the chance. Double Blind. Better keep polishing my hunting skills. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Joe - I suggest you try sending your messages by AOL Instant Messenger or ICQ file attachment options. I have been doing that with PC users to avoid problems on the Mac side. No problems since I started using IM. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

To add some additional information for you in order to head off some of your next questions I will add the following. To make it easy for you, I would first add a folder called, say, PBEM in your Combat Mission Demo Folder. Inside the PBEM folder add a folder with the name of the person you are going to play. Then all you have to do is save the files received from the other player in this convenient spot. That way if any turns or movies get screwed up as you send them back and forth, you will have the previous ones. Also, all the turn movies will be there if you have a particularly good one and want to build an AAR for submission to CMHQ. Now, there have been some problems reported with units locking up, movies not playing and such. So to avoid this as much as possible, what I do on my Mac is always throw away the PBEM file created in the Combat Mission Demo folder after sending the files to my opponent each time. I also don't change the name of the file or anything else. I have had some problems with PBEM, but basically it works pretty smoothly. For you it is going to be key to find an opponent that can play several turns with you in rapid fire, becuse I think you will get bored with a turn a day. I am in Australia, so, strangely enough I would suit you well. It is the evening for you there in the US and midday in Oz. I can usually get off 3-5 turns a day if you want to set up a game and shoot it over to me (thiel@bigpond.com) Finally, if you run into problems, search through the posts before asking questions, or send them to me directly. The lads at BTS are doing some pretty important things for all of us, so make sure you only ask them "new" q's. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Well I can give you the blow by blow from Oz as the turn over occurs on the board if you like. Unless there are some Kiwis looking in, we are the first "developed" country for Y2K to hit. I say developed for the facetious benefit of those of you who have actually been here. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Or, if you use a Mac, use the Command-Shift-3 combination to take a picture (it will be called Picture 1), and it will be on the base volume of drive that has your system folder on it. Cha ching, Macs win again with no added software or fuss! Sorry, don't mean to start a flame war. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Hey this is WAAYY off theis game subject, but do any of you folks in the know have any idea where I can get some historical info on battles taken place on Tarawa in the Kiribati islands. I have to go there for work in the next few months and want to take some time to check out the landscape and possibly dive some wrecks if possible. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

Rock on MaddMatt. Those of us who pay attention love your work baby.

I think it would be the corporal. I always had to carry the damn thing when I was in. The squad leader would probably always delegate this, but I would defer to a grog.

Oh, my god. I have got to have some of that. Captain you want to play 20 turns right now in the next 4 hrs as fast as we can? Thanks for all the posts. I read em all and am trying to keep from wetting myself. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

but I bet they'd surrender quicker, unless they wanted to do the Butch/Sundance trick.

Matt - I continually have difficulty finding things that are referenced by you or others on the TGN site (like the movie above). In the future can you supply the full link to the item you are discussion or tell us which area it is "New Features", "Heroes" etc. to avoid the frustration of having to search the site each time for items of interest. Thanks man.

Im in. I live in Sydney, so I am 16 hrs ahead of the east coast of the US time wise. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

I agree with Fionn and Major Tom. I had my ass kicked repeatedly by the Shermans early on in CE when trying to go one on one with them. Since then, I try to give the AI plenty to look at when I am ready to engage an M4 with a StuG. If I can't get another StuG pointed at him, then I pop up with schreck or close assault some troopers at the same time to try and confuse him (her?). This has tended to be pretty effective. As far as a bit of luck goes, I like it in the way it is. There are a number of documented stories from books I have read of tank commanders talking about their incredible luck, and I tend to think it balnces out. I have won CE with the Germans even after loosing all my armour early, even though I thought I was gonna get trounced. I did this by going back to basics in my army training. What is the army there to do? Take the land. When I took the land I could get ahold of early, and then made those SOBs come and take it from me, I finally won out using ambushes and surely some luck, given that one schreck team hiding in the rubble of a building got 3 M4s. Let me tell you that that fella is wearing and iron cross in my book, be it luck or skill. I often say in my work "I'd rather be lucky than talented most days" and it turns out to be true. ------------------ desert rat wannabe

I'd like to climb on that bandwagon for a bit of whoop ass from Fionn. Nothing like setting a benchmark early to compare other players to. I just hope I can run into some of the 13 yr olds who handed me my ass when I started trying games like Starcraft on-line. Yeah, that's right, rush on in here you over-hormoned, jolt swilling little swine. ------------------ desert rat wannabe