John Kelly

One eliminates this problem if one stays away from Quick Battles. Play historical or fictional scenarios and operations. Test them out first or play them blind. There are so many great ones to pick from. John

Obviously, the ladder has evolved separately from Combat Mission. Don't join the ladder if it offends you, or simply stick to user made historical scenarios. Cheers, John

Unfortunately not. I don't think roadblocks can be removed..not even by engineers. Be careful how you place them in a scenario or operation as the playability may be compromised. John

I liked the "Cross of Iron," but it is out of print. Amazon.com will attempt to locate a used copy upon request. I borrowed the book years ago. The movie with James Colburn doesn't do the book justice, but it is a great war film nontheless. John

With the panzerfaust, you must be very close (15-25m)or the squad will not fire it. On the other hand, the panzerschreck can make shots from close to 200 meters, although a hit is a rare occurance at that range. The warhead is commonly referred to as HEAT (high explosive anti-tank). It is a shaped charge that shoots a molten jet steam as it strikes the target. Side skirts were used to defeat this ammunition. It is not subject to range deviations as with solid shot. Therefore, the penetration value remains reasonably constant.

Too much porn for me. Every day with ICQ there is some solicitation for this smut. No thanks, I'll stay with MSN. John

Gentlemen: I appreciate the dialogue my question has generated. From what I've read, Germany had lost over a million men at the point our beloved game begins with most of those occurring on the Russian front. If that is true, then it stands to reason men and machines were precious, and should; therefore, cost more than similar Allied formations. Yes, No? Cheers, John

Gentlemen: I appreciate the dialogue my question has generated. From what I've read, Germany had lost over a million men at the point our beloved game begins with most of those occurring on the Russian front. If that is true, then it stands to reason men and machines were precious, and should; therefore, cost more than similar Allied formations. Yes, No? Cheers, John

A search of this topic revealed early threads regarding overall point/resource concepts. I want to know why German infantry is cheaper than American infantry in November 1944. I am always outnumbered in combined arms quick battles when I play as the American. Thanks, John

A search of this topic revealed early threads regarding overall point/resource concepts. I want to know why German infantry is cheaper than American infantry in November 1944. I am always outnumbered in combined arms quick battles when I play as the American. Thanks, John

I have a dear friend in Shanghai and I love to play by email or over the internet with him. The outcome of the game is unimportant. Yet I also play on a team with this friend and I place a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to...what else, win! Yes, win at all cost. I will accept a surrender and if I am beaten, I will surrender. When I play competively, my attitude is totally different. With the arrival of each file, my heart beats a little faster and my palms begin to sweat. The anticipation of a tank duel is quite nerve racking, but when my tank wins, it's euphoric. My wife doesn't understand it, but I'm just a competitor. Therefore, when I play for fun without the RD ladder involved, it's much more enjoyable. John

I made a similar inquiry a few months ago. I am creating an operation and thought it should be possible to call for daisy chain mines somewhere other than the initial "on map" setup. In my particular operation, I timed it to the 3rd reinforcement force. I thought the bridges I had created would need to be defended hastily. Well, I settled for pre-placing anti-tank mines during the onmap phase. I think it makes perfect sense. John

Wow, I never heard of such a thing. You mean it is possible to win or draw without holding the victory locations? If I know I'm beaten, heck, I lay my sword at my opponent's feet and say good game. Are you talking about meeting engagements or scenarios? Perhaps I have learned something valuable here tonight. John

Rexford, I notice that you use a particular modifier to calculate effective armor thickness based on slope. How does the modifier change when you consider both armor slope and angle of attack? For instance if a tank superstructure is 80 mm with a 60 degree slope, you use one number, but what happens when this superstructure is hit from an oblique angle of say...45 degrees? John

Planes add a great diminsion to the game. The experience of the pilot makes all the difference. John

I have played TCP/IP, operations and faced halftracks. Nothing described has thus far manifest itself on my machine. Operations work great and planes arrive when the weather is clear, halftracks die when struck by rifle grenades, bazookas, panzerfausts and schrecks. I had an entire platoon on my opponents side in one operation, but he still managed to push me back. Let's move on to CM2, shall we? John

Don't be so quick to count them out. I agree that sequels are seldom as good as the original, but these guys (BTS) defied the odds with the original which is a testimony to their vision. I have no doubt the second installment will surpass all expectations as well. It may take some tweaking, but with the grognards input, it shall be done. I have never kept a game on my hard drive this long. With the mod community and scenario editor, the game never gets stale. Just like the Energizer Bunny, "it keeps going and going..." John

Whilst playing operations, I usually take the opportunity to avoid combat during the night. I am currently play-testing an original operation with a friend, and I have successfully avoided an evening battle with the Americans. Fortunately, Battalion released a small reserve which may sustain me until my reinforcements arrive. Without the break during the night time hours, I would not have even had another battle. Come to think of it, I have never accepted an evening engagement. So, I don't really know what it's like. Cheers, John

I believe I mentioned that nothing is invunerable. I am currently engaged in a life or death struggle against Jarmo. It's a team game and he is the Axis. He just destroyed a hull down Jumbo with...well, my fog of war indicates an assault gun. It could be nothing less than a jagdpanzer IV/70, but I'm afraid to consider the other possibilities. You'll have to ask him, but I will attest to the fact that it did a number on my Jumbo's turret front. Thread closed I suppose. Cheers, John

Gentlemen: I too am a member of the Red Army team, and we often debate tactics together. I am a crusader for the "unrestricted" setting. I wrote to my comrades and lamented the combined arms setting in a 1500-2000 point game. I complained that 300-400 armor points was woefully inadequate. Comrade CDIC boasted that 300 points was all he needed to whip my behind and he challenged me to a game. As he is the Alpha male in our clan, I had no choice but to obey. I believe I got his attention and now he supports the unrestricted setting. This not only allows the German player to exceed the combined arms armor allowance but also adds another fog of war component. I still believe one must procure assets based upon a sound combined arms doctrine, but a couple of points here and there won't completely change your decision. As for the Jumbos, nothing is invunerable, but CDIC is now mulling the merits of the King Tiger. Cheers, John

Rexford, I'll be your first customer. What is the anticipated cost of the booklet? John

If you are faced with American Jumbos, you better buy a King Tiger and place him in a hulldown position on an "overwatch" role...escepcially if it's late in the war and the probability of tungsten exists. Sorry, that's my opinion. John

I for one believe this is the setting of choice for Quick Battles from the German perspective. It adds another diminsion to the fog of war and eliminates artificial boundaries imposed by the program. I believe anyone who deviates from a sound combined arms strategy will lose more than he wins. However, there are times when purchasing a vehicle might cause you to go over the limit by a couple of points if using a "combined arms" setting. Unrestricted solves that little problem nicely. It will not drastically change my force selection, but the additional fog of war is welcomed. John

The "hunt" command is your best bet for attaining a hulldown position. Unfortunately, the game only supplies information about your target, but if your gun has to pivot down or your bow machine gun is obstructed (unable to fire), then you are most likely in a hulldown postion. John

The only words of wisdom I can offer is to maintain a safe distance and place your tanks in a hulldown position. I would take my chances with a panther or tiger from 1,000 meters in a hulldown position against anything. It's not foolproof, but that's all you can do. John