Michael Emrys

Great discussion, with some wonderful finds as a result! As for the link. Dr. NIcola Pignato was the dean of Italian AFV studies even back when AFV G-2 was in print in the 1970s. Concur that mislocating the photo by an entire country was a big gaffe by the translator, who had a fail safe in Frosinone, but didn't check that, either. Dust certainly is present, but the image is so sere ( also screams hot) that I really do believe the paint has bleached out considerably on these AFVs. Believe the top paragraphs at link will privide some insight on things which make OD wash out, turn colors, etc.

http://www.desertarmor.com/DAK2/Painting_OD.html#15

Here is a really weathered Sherman turret top. Not even close to OD


This one's ex-IDF and really shows the sun bleaching I was describing. Looks like IDF Armored Force Museum at Latrun. Early M4 with almost no add-on armor but full sand skirts.


Regards,
John Kettler

Proof that it will rot your brain.

Michael

Ask and it shall be given. While looking through the list of QB maps, my eye fell on one labelled...guess what?...CMBS Demo. Yep, there it was hiding in plain sight. I must have overlooked or disregarded it before. If you are interested, set the selector for LARGE and it will be the third title on the list.
Michael
PS: I still think it should be suitably modified for the time span and included in Red Thunder at some point.

I would say that for me the thing that made the game hard to get started in was first of all learning all the different factors that interact within the game, of which there are many, many, many, and then creating a model in my mind of how they interact with each other. This, of course, tends to be a characteristic of almost all complex endeavors.
Michael

Not only that, but I have noticed things getting lighter if I take much time in a Command Phase. It resets to the correct time as soon as you hit Go.
Michael

I recall that when "Battle for Normandy" came out there was much moaning over how steep the learning curve was (much of it my own, by the way). So, you pays yo nickel and you takes yo ride.
Michael

Right. Ninety-nine percent of what it takes to be a good leader never enters the game at all, mainly because most player would find it tedious as hell, and after all, we play for entertainment.
Michael

Depends on what you needed them to do. During the period covered in CM games they were not going to penetrate the armor of tanks and similar vehicles, but they could do some serious damage to lighter armored vehicles like halftracks and Panzer Jägers. And even for tanks, sights, periscopes and similarly vulnerable components, like tracks could be damaged. And if the shooter had good aim and got lucky he might put a bullet through a viewing port with possibly serious consequences for equipment or whomever was behind it. Any softskinned vehicle foolish enough to wander within range of one or more was most likely going to become dead meat right soon.
Michael

Worth quoting with a hearty "Amen"!
Michael

Oh goody! Now I get to mock Elvis until the end of time.

Michael

Hmmm, I can't find this scenario anywhere in my BS folder. Not under battles and not in the campaign folder either. You sure it shipped with BS?
Michael

It might cause fewer casualties, but since more bullets would be whizzing through the enemy-occupied AS, it might do a better job of keeping their heads down. Furthermore, if the enemy got tired of laying there and decided to run off, the act of standing up would put them back into the line of fire. Since I haven't tested this, I don't know how it actually plays out in the game. I'm just hypothesizing.
Michael

What about targeting an AS behind the AS you want to effect but can't see? Not a circumstance that would arise very often, I suppose, but I've had it happen in games I was playing.
Michael

But their aim is...well, let's just say I wouldn't be inclined to let Steve shoot an apple off my head.

Michael

But their aim is...well, let's just say I wouldn't be inclined to let Steve shoot an apple off my head.

Michael

But their aim is...well, let's just say I wouldn't be inclined to let Steve shoot an apple off my head.

Michael

I must admit that I too was a bit surprised at how well they fight. I would have expected them to arrive a little less fit (due to hunger and exhaustion), with poor morale (due to being cut off from their parent unit) and lacking some equipment and especially low on ammo. These effects might be randomly distributed, but they should be present it seems to me.
Michael

+1. Can't much argue with that as a player. As a historian—albeit an amateur one—I do have a problem with the player having better control of his subordinates than any RL officer could hope to have.
Michael

I would expect that spotting would be drastically reduced as well as rate of fire if the main gun, but I have no idea how the game handles this. Also, all MGs but the coax should be inoperable (presumably no one to fire them).
Michael

There have been no plans announced, and unless BFC does a compete turn around on their schedule, I wouldn't expect to see coverage of that period for many years. A pity; there have been many calls for such a game, although I am not sure that there would be a large enough number of sales to return the investment.
As for mods, I fear that a mere mod would not come even close. The equipment and its performance had evolved so much in the four year gap that it just wouldn't work. Somua S35 vs. PzKw III is not the same as Sherman vs. Panther.
Michael

Interestingly, I was thinking of this just last night. This has always been my favorite list, and item #2 is my favorite of them all. Happy to see this again.

Michael

I'm no East Front maven, but I think mostly this. The mortar itself would likely set up somewhere where it would not receive fire from the enemy's direction, and a member of the crew would move forward to a position from which he could observe and call back corrections. Also, I would guess that they would have some means of communicating with the company commander (maybe quickly laid wire/field telephone). The Soviets also used a lot of signal flags to send messages. Doesn't really answer your question, but maybe some directions to start thinking.
Michael

Oops!

Michael

Sourpuss. You're just jealous that you don't have one.

Michael

That thought has been echoing around my brain as I have been reading this thread. The real problem I believe lies in we megalomaniac war gamers belief that if only we had perfect control over every action of each of our troops, the world would be forced to concede that we are the greatest general who has ever trod upon his defeated enemies. I watched this kind of micromanagement craze begin and then flourish wildly during the heyday of paper games in the 1970s and 1980s with the growing profusion of "monster games" which reached its apex with The Campaign for North Africa...or whatever it was called. You know, there is a reason why armies have chains of command. There are fairly strict limits on just how much one man can think about and respond to. Generals do not generally concern themselves with the conduct of platoons, that is the job of lieutenants. You have to be able to trust that they in fact perform those jobs adequately. War is chaos, you just have to hope that it is worse for the other guy.
Michael