Henri

In a TCPIP game over the weekend, I had the following strange thing happen: my 2-inch mortar got a top hit on a Wespe, but the game indicated. The label hit said "Top hit, no damage", and my opponent said that there was some flaking.Now I had been targeting this vehicle with my 3 two-inch mortars hopint that hitting the vehicle would destroy it for sure, which caused me to lose the game. Now since the Wespe is an open-topped vehicle that HAS no top, it seems to me that a top hit on a Wespe should fall right inside the Wespe, getting the windshield all dirty with guts and stuff.. I suspect that the "top hit" algorithm doesn't model whether or not tanks are open-topped, is this correct? In another TCPIP game, five times out of six incidents, in a scenario with heavy fog, when my unbuttoned German tanks met oncoming US tanks from the frontal arc, the US tank fired first and killed my tanks (independently of whether I or the opponent or both was hunting). In one of the cases, an enemy STUART killed a STGIII a Hetzer, passing straight in front of the Hetzer at 20 m and then killing it from the side.In the only case did any one of my tanks fire: I had two STUG's meeting an oncoming Sherman, and although one of my STG's killed the Sherman, he simultaneously fired and killed one of my tanks. So out of the 6 incidents, five times the US tanks fired first without getting any return fire, and in the other case fired at the same time. Now there is a 1 in 64 chance of a 1/2 probability incident happening 6 times in a row, but still I am wondering: am I just unlucky or do US tanks have in advantage in heavy fog? Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by GriffinCheng+: Yesterday, I had a online game against Henri. I think I had a 81 mm motar scoring on his M4A1 and it had a label "Gun damaged" on it but in no less thatn 3 turns, his main gun was firing. It is a FoW issue or is it a possible bug. Griffin. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes Griffin, as I remember, that was a gun hit, but without causing any damage. Although this was the nicest victory in a while, I also got my ass handed to me a couple of times over the weekend... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ibucephalus: I waited seven weeks and then declared it MIA in the mail. Battlefront sent another copy super-quick though.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I took a couple of weeks. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by coralsaw: Anybody saw similar things with the latest version? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, just last night in a pbem game, an infantry unit was being clobbered, and he began to run towards the nearest cover in the direction of the enemy lines, which happened to hold the nearest unit that was firing at him. He didn't make it... There were only friendly units behind him and there was heavy fog, so he could easily have retreated. I believe I read that there is a certain probability that a panicked unit will run towards the nearest cover whether or not it contains an enemy unit, so maybe I was just unlucky. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jäger27: Done. Three votes to CM.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Duh...can we vote more than once for the same game?...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mannheim Tanker: Yeagers sounds like fun. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> It's none of my business, but... I don't think Yaeger's farm is very good for 2-player: there is too much open terrain for the attacker to cross,and I found that the scenario strongly favors the defender (I forget whether that is the Germans or Allies).Yes, I was the attacker and I got pounded into the ground... Good scenarios for 2-player I have played are Bridgehead at Benicourt and Road to Wiltz, among others. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hilltopper: I am assuming if one has several "old" version PBEM games going on, they shouldn't install the 1.1 version yet. Has got PBEM games going on the "old" version and upgraded the v1.1? And if you did upgrade, did it mess up your PBEM game(s) you had in process? Thanks<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No problem, I just continued my old version 1.1b24 games with 1.1 and did nothing special except asking my opponents to upgrade.The "save etc" procedure is only necessary if you were still playing with 1.05. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: Doesn't "W+" stand for Woosh Plus- "not only a woosh, but a Ronson. Lights on the first time, every time? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Are you sure? I thought that the + meant that it had been recaptured after being captured by the Germans who had painted the German cross on the tank.(In both cases, the tank was captured intact because once the crews realized what they were riding in, they abandoned the tank as soon as they saw something threatening -a squirrel would suffice)... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ciks: Another thing: maybe it can be programmed so, that AFTER tank had rotated its hull to deal with spotted enemy unit (on flank), and the unit is knocked out (or out of tank's LOS), tank rotates hull BACK to ORIGINAL direction? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I thik it already does -or at least Wittmann's Tiger did it last night after killing a Sherman, when I retried the Villers-Bocage scenario with 1.1. although all my German tanks were knocked out, I did not observe one instance of "unreasonable" behavior by any of my 4 Tiger tanks throughout the game. A few times, the Tiger dis switch targets, but the latter were moving in and out of sight, and I don't consider that behavior unrealistic. Let me add that although I have locked horns with BTS muself on a few occasions, this time I think that they are being unjustly criticized, based on behavior that is mostly pure speculation. If specific unrealistic behavior can be established as a fact, BTS have shown that they will correct it if possible. But some0 of the requirements for programmed intelligence being proposed here are beyond what any AI can accomplish. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aka_tom_w: How could you program the AI to "Just pick one and Deal with it now Damn it!" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well Tom, let's face it: if you find yourself with two equally dangerous opponents on opposite flanks, either you have stuck your head into the meat grinder or you have been outflanked. In both cases, the best thing to do is to realize that you are in deep doodoo and to reverse to try to get out of there as soon as possible. "...Duh...Sir, there's a Panther in front and an AT gun on the right, sir..." "Turn the hull towards the most dangerous one, you idiot!..." "Errr, which one sir? They seem equally dangerous to me, I mean, even from the front, that AT gun would..." "The gun, the gun!..No no, the Panther!, ...hmmmm...yeah, maybe we should gitdahell outta here..." ...BOOOM!... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bruno Weiss: Where's my lawyer? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You get a court-appointed lawyer, ant it is Steve Henri

Anybody who jumps out without warning when things get sour is an asshole; if one wants to quit, he can always surrender or request a ceasefire. When playing someone new, I always poit this out. If you put time into the game, at least you deserve to know what the ending situation was. Henri

First of all you should know this: any wide-open map without some cover, give equal points, favors the German player because of the better optics of German tanks; so if you opponent always insists on this kind of map, he is really asking for an advantage. IMHO, the counter to his strategy is to get a bigger killer than him: a Jumbo shou ld do it, the Hetzer's shells should bounce off the front armor of the Jumbo, although the Jumbo's shells may do the same...A super Pershing should also do a job on the Hetzer, the problem being that for the same cost, he can get a number of Hetzers. Another way (possibly combined with the above) is to get a whole bunch of M8s, whose gun can kill the Hetzer from the side or rear, and to flank the bastard from both sides. If the Hetzer is immobilized it will be useless and easily killed, and it has no turret so it has to rotate to shoot at the flank, exposing its side to enemy tanks. When it starts to rotate, you can uncover anotehr tanks in the front to knock off the Hetzer. The M8 moves so fast that it is practically impossible to hit while moving, has a high rate of fire and it packs a good punch.In a recent game, in 2 minutes my opponent knocked off two of my tanks, 2 Wespes and a Hummel with a single M8 rampaging behind my lines.The Hellcat is a bit more expensive, but is is also very fast and packs a bigger punch. But the best advice still is: if you opponent insists on playing the GErmans on biliard-pool-table maps, insist on having a lot more points to even things out. To find out what you need, play both sides on a map like this to try out vrious tactics suggested above and in other posts. Then b eat the crap out of your opponent and kick him while he is down... If nothing else works, insist on taking the GErmans yourself half the time and either give him a taste of his own medicine or watch how he does it to beat his own game... Henri

Well, if we're going to be ridiculous, how about the one where Jerry Lewis joined the Navy? I'm still laughing at the scene where he is forgotten swabbing the deck of a diving sbmarine and he grabs a hold of the periscope. He is making all kinds of grimaces into the periscope with his face pressed into the glass, which leads the captain to think there is some kind of sea monster on the scope, so he keeps dunking it to wash the monster off, which of course only stimulates Lewis to make even worse faces. Not the high point of WW2, but it was funnier than the closing scene of Saving Private Ryan... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JessRobinson: 2. Shouldn’t MY friendly troop quality affect their ability to determine enemy unit quality? If I have green troops spotting the enemy, shouldn’t they be less able to determine enemy quality than my more experienced crack troops. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You had to be REALLY green to be fighting against the 12th SS and to not be aware that you were fighting sgainst fanatical young Germans led mostly by crack veteran officers... Henri

I don't recall Allied squads, but a couple of days ago, I took out a Jumbo with a German Pioneer squad while it and another jumbo were firing at the squad with everything they had; of course the infantry were armed with Panzerfausts, which no doubt helped first to immobilize the Jumbo, then to kill it. Henri

For those interested in Wild Bill's "Bridgehead at Benicourt" scenario, or those who have read my tale of woe here in the thread "How an M8 ruined my day", I have just posted a long four-part AAR of the complete two-player TCPIP battle on the war-historical usenet forum. Note that there is a very differently played AAR against the AI on Wild Bill's CM site. This scenario offers one of the best defensive terrain arrangements I have seen, and the uncertainty and scale of the reinforcements make playing this scenario a nail-biting experience.There are a number of interesting lessons to be learned from this game about how to set up a deep and flexible defense, the importance of a reserve, how to castrate an opponent (or rather his force) on the first few moves, how to lure your opponent into premature attacks, and how to turn certain defeat into brilliant victory (or a draw) by sandbagging the opponent with unexpected tactics. Henri

For anyone interested in this particular battle (Bridgehead at Benicourt), I have posted an AAR of the complete battle on the war-historical usenet forum. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Olle Petersson: Strategy is the art of avoiding a fair fight... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Wow! That's the best one-liner I have seen all year! Did you invent it? Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DEF BUNGIS: I just finished playing 4 combined arms and 3 armor scenarios with various settings and troop level expirience. I don't really understand the debate of this thread. 1.1 runs fine, hull rotation and all. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You are not qualified to participate in this discussion, since you have actually tried it out and therefore know what you are talking about Henri

Since I started this thread, I had better make a few clarifications. First, I was in no way complaining that the M8 was too strong, nor that the way that my opponent used it was gamey; as a matter of fact, as I said, I thought that the way that he pulled a draw out of a sure loss impressed me mightlily. Second, there are circumstances that favored the M8's incursion: my opponent simultaneously launched his last-ditch offensive at the same time, which led me to target his attacking infantry with my artillery, instead of turning around to face the oncoming M8. And the infantry through which he went without being shot at had just finished expending all their AT capability immobilizing and killing a Jumbo while being shot at by it and another immobilized Jumbo right behind it, and were in the process of trying to move rapidly to the center where they had abandoned their position as a reserve in order to deal with the Jumbo.Although I don't remember for sure, the nerby MG was possibly ordered to fire on the infantry instead of at the M8. I did not recognize the M8 as a serious threat until it began to kill my backfield, being too focused on repulsing my opponent's threat to the victory flag. My opponent exploited my over-confidence by a well-coordinated and well-timed attack that caught me off-balance and exploited my over-confidence that for all practical purposes, the game was already over. Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by engy: Topi-- Ok, since you twisted my arm (ouch!) about it, I'll mention my SMG troops... Henri-- I was just about to mention how glad I was to see you posting again around here, but then you bring up this court-martial business. Off to the wastelands with you again... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Errr, after due process, you have been found not guilty and awarded the Iron Cross (you WERE playing the Allies weren't you? As far as pbem performance goes, I am an expert in pbem losses, having lost something like 8 pbems in a row... (but now, NOW, I am a lot better -I got a draw last week Henri [This message has been edited by Henri (edited 01-10-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jasper: Mark Twain. I wouldn't call this a 'fact' but it makes a fun story: the space inside the initial T-34's was so cramped that the Soviets gave preference to smaller people to crew the tanks. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> So did the Germans: Michael Wittman was practicaly a midget... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Juardis: *CAUTION - I HAVE NOT TESTED WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY, BUT...* I'm thinking that once you install 1.1, 1.05 will no longer be since it will be overwritten. So any PBEM games you have going now you need to open with 1.05, save it with 1.05, then install 1.1, open your saved PBEM game with 1.1 and continue on your merry way. But you have to do all your saves with 1.05 before you install 1.1. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Boy, am I confused: why the hell would you need to open a file you previously saved with 1.05 and save it again with 1.05 before opening it with 1.1? People keep repeating this and it doesn't make sense to me.If i were playing a game with 1.05, presumably it would be saved already with 1.05... Besides, who is still playing with 1.05? Everyone I know is playing with 1.1b24! So can someone knowledgeable le please clear up this confusion and tell us what we need to do if we are playing pbem files with 1.1b24? My guess is that it is nothing except replacing the executable, but I would like to be sure... Henri

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aka_tom_w: it is my understanding that in the game Hide as it relates to Tanks ONLY idles the engine making a sound contact alot less likely <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> What? I thought the HIDE command as applied to tanks was an order for the tank to take a hull down position Henri