Preacher

FWIW, Fionn, your statement regarding the grammatical "incorrectness" of Capt's statement is, itself, grammatical incorrect (poor punctuation). Give the kid a break. He's 16. He'll never be 16 again. Preacher

Personally, I love long movies. In fact, I tend to gravitate toward the 'two-tapers' when in the rental store. I do this because I have found that movie length is - generally - directly proportional to character and plot development. In TTRL, however, this is not the case. I can see no reason why this movie does most of the things it does. I agree wholeheartedly with what Bauhaus said earlier: It seems that TTRL was trying to be a modern Apocalypse Now. Or, more accurately, TTRL was trying to be what Apocalypse Now became. In other words, AN became a classic because it successfully (brilliantly) fused an unsurpassed psychological weirdness with robust development of some pretty complex characters. OTOH, TTRL failed, IMHO, to develop anything. It had plenty of weird, psychological stuff, but nothing else. Heck, Friday the 13th had plenty of weird psycho stuff, too. In short, i think it is a poor movie. Great cinematography, but a poor movie to have to watch. Again, IMHO. Preacher

I'm 4 Actually, I have a wonderful wife that sees my hobby(s) as my only outlet from a stressful, time-consuming career. Like SuperTanker above, I had a great Christmas. My parents gave me two HASL Modules and the wife set me up with SPR video and other wargaming niceties. What a wonderful woman. Oh, almost forgot, I'm just shy of 31. 2 kids. Preacher

Gotta figure out all these new smileys. [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 01-13-2000).]

just checking.... Preacher

So...for those of us that had other commitments and could not make the chat (minor things like work, etc.), what's the hubub? What was learned? Preacher

For some reason I feel moved to post here... Preacher

I can't seem to DL the movies. When I click on the link, a text file opens with the title "Play By Email Data Follows This Line." Then there is a bunch of nonsensical characters. How do i do this?? Preacher

Then it must be Stonewall. (i think ) Preacher

No. Corinth is in NE Mississippi, east of the River. Is the answer to your question Longstreet? Preacher

Was it Longstreet, Matt? Preacher

Scott, FWIW, in a real firefight, ALL the data one would want on friendly troops AND the enemy is there for the taking as well. Ammo levels, casualty lists, morale status, etc., etc. All the commander has to do is go get it Its just that some of it is VERY hard to get to. Sure i can get casualty reports from that seemingly mauled squad in the line, if I'm willing to do what it takes to get it (crawl my way up there under fire, risking my skin, etc.). I can even get enemy info if I'm REALLY brave and willing to do what it takes to get it, too. Point: it's a lot of work to get that info in real life. So, in the game its not 'readily accessible in one easy-to-use list.' That's the way BTS designed it, and it seems it is going to stay that way for now. Steve has already stated on numerous occasions that some form of OOB list is being considered for future releases. So there we have it. Let's move on. Just my .02 Preacher

You are correct in stating that a commander that doesn't know his forces isn't worth his salt. However, in the midst of a firefight I seriously doubt that any commander - particularly 50+ years ago - was able to discern minute-by-minute the status of each of his units. There is (was) an art to this. I believe BTS's philosophy is to encourage us to develop this art. Watch, listen, react. I love it, personally. I know some folks don't, and that's ok. What we ALL need to realize, however, is that BTS is being very cooperative and open-minded about making changes/adjustments to the game - as long as those changes do not betray the overall design philosophy. My .02 Preacher

I thought it was interesting that he pointed out that his 88s killed '5' Shermans. That told me a lot about the time he spent with the demo. I like Chown, et al. I hope he posts an updated preview after digging a little deeper into the game. Preacher

I had an SS Mot troop do the same thing to me. However, he chucked a grenade right through the open top and took me out. Taught me a lesson Preacher

It is FOW. The first time I played Reisberg was as the Allies and I spent the entire game thinking I was facing 75s (or whatever). It wasn't until the scen ended and i went back to look at the map that I realized they were 88s. The next time I played as teh Allies, I advanced some infantry w/in 30 meters and the graphic changed from the smaller, grey colored gun to an 88. Remember, an emplaced or hidden gun is VERY hard to spot, much less identify. Preacher

I am not ashamed in the least to admit that i just replayed Last Defense from the German side (for the 4th time - the only side/scenario i had yet to win) and used a massive smoke mission to secure the victory. I know, i know, prior knowledge. But, hey, it was GREAT practice for using 81 and 105 smoke. I began the scen by disembarking my 105 spotter in the rear wooden building, setting him to call a smoke mission atop the hill. A few turns later and the entire enemy side of the river was a cloud. I moved one Stug III (late model) around the bend in the road and used it to flatten the two 'ambush' houses with HE. The house on the left obliged and dissapeared into a pile of rubble. The one just past the wall on the right caught fire, driving a bazooka team ("there you are!") out into the wheat field. From there he launched his full load of ordnance befoer going to ground and dying. Meanwhile, I moved the other Stug III up to the bend in the road and began pummelling the objective house and wooded area on the German left. The Tiger entered the fray as well, set to hunt down the road and search for MG positions. My HTs remained loaded and moved to the edge of the woods on the left (hide and wait). B and C platoons crept thru the woods on the right, with C being on the extreme flank. Things went well (as they should since i've played this scen many times ). The Stug III and Tiger made short work of the 2 squads around the obj house on the left while the other Stug hunted towards town. The last 'zook caught him halfway between the demolished house and the edge of town. He missed and one HE blast destroyed him. He then moved to the edge of town off the road on the left with his gun JUST laying to the right side of the large building on the left. The other Stug continued his demolition duties on the left while I prepared an 81 smoke mission to cover the open ground between the woods line where the HTs were and the obj house (there was a very stubborn squad in there). I actually timed the disembarkation quite well (to my surprise). It coincided nicely with the arrival of the smoke. D platoon then advanced unscathed across the open ground just in time to catch the stubborn Ami squad as they were withdrawing from the obj building. Bad news for them. I lined my HTs up on the road on the left flank in order to hide them from the hill and to have them in a position where they could quickly move and provide suppressing fires for D platoon. Soon an M18 appeared on the road, having advanced in front of the smoke screen. The Stug next to the building fired and missed. The M18 did the same. 2nd shot from the Stug penetrated the lower hull. Dead M18. In the asme turn, however, another M18 was skirting the hilltop to my left. He caught my other Stug out in the open ground on the left and fired a few rounds. Both missed, so i reversed the Stug behind the 81 smoke screen. Whew! At the start of the next turn, the 3rd M18 appeared between the 1st two and acquired the 'hidden' Stug. His angle was JUST such that he could glimpse the Stug around the smoke screen. BOOM! one shot-one kill. I then hunted my remaining Stug around to the left side of the building he was using for partial cover. He eased into the scattered trees there and, after wasting a .30 cal at point blank range and surviving a few tossed grenades from who knows where, he acquired the M18 (the one who killed his buddy) and fired. He missed, the M18 missed. M18 missed again! Stug didn't! 2 dead M18s. He hunted about 2 meters farther forward and acquired the final M18. He missed but the M18 didn't. 2 dead Stugs. And, much to my dismay, shortly before my Stug acquired him, he had brewed up my Tiger. My 'armor' now consisted of 4 HTs. I used the Hts as overwatch for D platoon from the objective house all the way to the stone wall and into town. They performed well. D platoon took the large buildings on the left of the town. From there, they pummeled all american infantry in sight, whether coming or going. on the right flank, b and c platoons had eased up thru the trees and behind the wall (respectively) in order to prepare to enter the town. C platoon provided suppressing fires for b platoon as they took the two rightmost house in the town. Next C platoon went sq by sq into town, each overwatching for the others (with a little help from teh HTs). Once in town, b and c plats consolidated their positions (church) and prepared for the assault on the final obj (the large bldg to the right of the main road. This flank was well protected by 2 squads in or near the small wooden house on the far right, so i used b plat to roll it up. Using some errant smoke from the earlier 105 mission, I advanced b plat squad by squad into a small patch of trees. Once there, 2 squads established a fire base while the 3rd - and strongest - went in for close assault. It worked well and the 2 squads were overwhelmed (they were quite depleted already). Having secured c platoon's flank, i turned my attention to the assault on the objective. As far as i could see, there was only a .30 cal holding the objective with a rifle squad in the trees nearby providing support. I concentrated all of b platoon's fire on the rifle squad while using c platoon to suppress the MG. The rifle squad withdrew under withering fire (i've always wanted to say that! ), allowing me to turn my full attention to the MG. After 2 turns of heavy fire, he finally went to ground (still, though, he hadn't lost a man!). Using the same technique as earlier, i sent my strongest squad in. The MG lost 2 men to a grenade and decided he'd had enough. Obj taken. C platoon consolidated on the objective and rested. Go ahead and ask: Where were the HMGs? Instead of trying to get them to the front like i have tried in the past (unsuccesfully), I kept them back in the woods near the bend in the road. From there they did a magnificent (!) job interdicting the Ami reinforcements. Their role was key, in my opinion. Nothing could cross the road from left to right without crawling (or dying). This bought me precious time to maneuver into position and properly execute my assaults on the right flank (the most important flank in this instance). The reinforcements that did arrive were somewhat 'weary' from the journey, too. The last few turns were spent trying to round up POWs. There were several that I thought I could 'influence.' I got a few, but also lost 3 of 4 HTS in the process Great fun. And I'm not ashamed of what I did It was a good learning experience. Question for Steve, Charles, Fionn, or whoever: How long does smoke last? It seems that some of it began to dissipate near the end of the fight. Or am i crazy? Preacher P.S. I hope this makes sense. Sorry for the length, but this game really intrigues me! [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 11-02-99).]

Ok, Steve. I trust you. I'll chalk it up to coincidence. Preacher

Guys. Check out the "Lack of Feedbac" topic. BTS has spoken. There will be NO status report of any kind at this time. Read Steve's explanation. Makes a lot of sense. I'm with Richard, personally. I think it goes against the spirit of the game and the BTS philosophy. My .02 Preacher

I love this game. It's the best there is. Period. I would call it revolutionary. Having said that, let me say this: Someone (Fionn, Moon, et al) please convince me that the AI has absolutely NO knowledge of my setup. It just seems too coincidental that the AI's 88s in the Reisberg scen always seem to be in the perfect position in relation to my armor. I've experimented with various placement areas for my Shermans and, so far, the 88s ALWAYS end up on the same flank as my tanks. Maybe it is coincidence. However, i need convincing here. Preacher

To M. Hofbauer: I disagree with your assessment on "plinking." I agree that a sniper with a scope concentrating on one man will usually be able to determine if he has hit or not. Other than that, it is VERY difficult to determine 'human' damage from your fire. At very close ranges, maybe. However, when you throw in all of the mitigating factors involved: sight distance, intervening cover, weather, light levels, firefight intensity, adrenaline, fatigue, etc., etc. i say it is impossible to determine hits or misses. General effects? yes. Actual casualties inflicted? no way. Only in a vacuum could this happen. Targets don't always topple or crumple when hit (Hollywood?). Maybe with head shots they do. Good luck achieving those in the midst of a firefight Just my 2 cents. Preacher [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 11-01-99).] [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 11-01-99).]

I love it. 'Nuff said. Preacher

Yep. I had a Hellcat push his (burning) buddy backwards off the map edge. Cool. Preacher

I must concur. I've had SS PG units in the Last Defense scen open up on targets 200+ meters away when I had them targeting a squad 90m away. No broken LOS, no greater threat. I DO want the AI to determine in some cases to switch its fire to another target. However, it seems w/o any rhyme or reason at this point. (btw, i had the 88 thing happen, too, except in my case it fired at a mortar team and discouraged the Sherman - that was almost in LOS - from moving any farther) It's not a game breaker for me (i love this game - unbelievably so). i would liek to see it addressed, however. Preacher P.S. sorry, i tend to be quite wordy on Sundays

re: death charges. My opinion is that the AI is just one teeny tweak short of being solid in this area. I've experienced several of those and think that the AI is trying to do the right thing but coming a bit short. What i mean is this. He softens up a position before assaulting, then moves in. Simple tactic. Sometimes, however, he fails to soften adequately (could be realistic), or he incorrectly perceives the level of threat. Either way, i think the AI is REAL close in this area. I wouldn't want him (it?) to have a perfect record in close assaults anyway Btw, try close assaulting and see how, when properly executed, it works well. In the LAst Def scen i was playing the germans and HAD - i mean HAD - to take an enemy MG out. He was in a stone house. I maneuvered a PG platoon up to close range, and had two HMGs firing into the house from different angles. (Hagen, pay attention here ) I saw the MG go to ground (that last part, Hagen ) and then - and only then - ordered 1 squad to charge directly at him. guess what happened? He withdrew - the right thing for him to do. I lost 0 men out of the squad that charged. They caught up to him, btw...poor sucker... Preacher P.S. I lost that scen. close, but not quite. P.P.S. Been reading Small Unit Actions again...The Singling portion, IMHO, would make a GREAT campaign. I'll do what i can to help, but i really tend to suck at creative stuff [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 10-31-99).] [This message has been edited by Preacher (edited 10-31-99).]