Supertanker

Some more anecdotal evidence regarding the effect of artillery on tanks (in this case American). This is from Combat Lesson #6, under Armored Notes: "Stay in Your Tank Another suggestion strongly stressed by Lieutenant Zachman: 'During an artillery barrage, it is safer to get into the tank than under it. In some instances, crews inside our tanks have been uninjured even in cases of direct hits by 120mm mortar shells.' This advice is corroborated by another experienced Tank Battalion Officer: 'Men are apt to abandon tanks when under heavy artillery fire. They should remember that the tank affords excellent protection against all artillery fire except a direct hit by a heavy shell.'”

I think the best sigs around here are the ones taken from posts to the board. Just keep your eye out for a good line. ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

"Dr Alimantado *flash of brilliance in his eyes* "ahh but why is his mouth open!?"" Because he is in the middle of saying, "Scheisse, this is heavy! There is no way I can run with it!" ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

Steve hit on the point that came to mind with me - does the seller actually own this stuff? Do you need some sort of export license? Is there some law of antiquities or regarding war trophies that would apply? Is it legal to export or import tank parts without government approval (like an arms license) on both ends? You would think that some element of the Polish armed forces would like it for a museum. Regardless, that glacis plate would make a helluva coffee table, wouldn't it?

The AI is not all that bright on the attack (insufficient recon, sometimes outruns its infantry, etc.), so its tanks will have a hard time against you infantry. Playing defense with infantry against the AI's tanks is one of my favorite quick battles. Last night I had five platoons of Brit regulars (no engineers), 6 PIATs, one Vickers MG, eight 2" mortars, a 3" mortar, one each 3" and 4.2" mortar observers, and 3 20mm Daimlers defending a village against the AI's 7 MkIVs, a Panther, 3 halftracks two HMG42, two Panzershrecks, and two platoons of infantry. I killed or captured the entire German force - not even any crews escaped. I lost about a platoon of infantry, one Daimler, and two PIAT teams (37 total casualties). A few bits of tactical advice for these fights. Pick positions that are not exposed to long-range fire, so you make them come to you. Don't leave your AT teams isolated or exposed so they aren't the only thing to shoot at, so they aren't immediately suppressed, and can continue to fire after they reveal themselves. Use ambush points to force your men to wait until the enemy is within 100m (or closer if you have the nerve) - my opening ambush bagged the Panther and two MkIVs. Good hunting. ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Admiral: Can anyone translate? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Here's how the Babelfish translates it: "S'il fulmine ou schneit, si le soleil rit nous, que ce soit gaiement le ciel ou finster de la nuit -- les visages sont chargés de poussières, mais notre sens, notre sens sont heureux: Il brasse notre réservoir dans le Sturme là. Et nous sommes alors toute à la lutte uni, avec le moteur tonnant près à l'ennemi! Ne laissez alors seulement, pas seulement le camarade dans la lutte! Si stosen nous profondément dans les Reih'n hostiles. Et dans le passage la chance treulose nous laisse alors, et ne retournons pas dans la patrie, la boule de décès, nous appelle nous rencontre le destin , destin, alors nous le réservoir devient une tombe ehernes." Oh, you probably meant you wanted it translated into English > : "Whether it storms or snows whether the sun us laughs, whether cheerfully the sky or darkly the night -- dust-laden are the faces, but glad our sense is, our sense: It brews our tank in the Sturme there. And we are then all to the fight united, with thundering engine near to the enemy! Then do not leave the comrades in the fight alone, not alone! Thus we stosen deeply into the hostile Reih'n. And to us in the pass then the perfidious luck leaves, and does not return we not to the homeland, meets us the death ball, recalls us the fate, off fate, then us the tank becomes a ehernes grave." ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

I heard about the Alpha AAR somewhere, I think a mention on combatsim.com (in the armor forum?). As I read through it, marveling at the screenshots (which comparatively look like crap, now), I kept making my wife come look and saying, "Someone is finally making it! Someone is finally making it!" Buying the game was a foregone conclusion at that point, and the beta and gold demos just hammered that home. I actually went back and played the beta demo the other day - BTS has come a long way! ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Elijah Meeks: Super, How'd you do that??? Mine is set up that way by accident and I cannot, regardless of anything I try, change it back. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I assume you mean ignoring font sizes? In IE 5, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options. There will be a button marked Accessibility down near the Cancel button. Click that, and then check/uncheck the appropriate boxes. For font size changes, either hold Ctrl and use the mouse wheel, or go to the View menu, and click on Text Size. If those don't work, I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe Windows' accessibility settings?

Many of us know your pain, Freak. Check out some of the threads from the time of original release, linked below. I certainly did my part to contribute to the keening wails that erupted around the world: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/006331.html http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/006512.html http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/006476.html Hang in there! ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

Bold, shmold, there is an easier way. I've got terrible eyes, so I have IE set to ignore font sizes and use a type size of at least medium. Sure, it screws up the layout of some pages, but it beats squinting. ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CaSCa: The points about getting together are good, but you can still have that fun. Just buy a hub and some NICs and haul your machine over to your buddy's house for some LanParty action. My friends and I have been doing that every month or two for the past couple of years, sometimes for 3 or 4 days running. We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This gave me such a good laugh, I've decided to drop Madmatt's declaration of love for hamsters and adopt a new sig (see below). At a gaming convention in 1984, I participated in a HUGE Squad Leader game based on part of the Battle of the Bulge. The guys that created it had researched correct OOBs, and the board was about 40' on a side with 14 height levels. It took all of us (about 25 or 30 players, IIRC) 18 hours to set it up. Another 24 hours or so of play, and the Germans carried the day. I held my sector (thanks to fresh snow hiding most of my positions and a resulting plethora of ambushes), but was ordered to withdraw in order to maintain the line and protect various flanks. It has only been 16 years since then, so I'm still grumpy about it > (edited because I momentarily forgot how to count - getting old, you know) ------------------ We eat like kings, drink like czars, and game like fat drunken king-czars. - CaSCa [This message has been edited by Supertanker (edited 10-04-2000).]

I've had very good results from the jabos. When I use them, I tend to hide in my assembly areas, or advance very slowly, so that they have time to arrive and work over the Germans a little bit. Think of them like self-guided Nebelwerfers - they can find targets you can't see, but stay far away from the strike areas! I've seen far more bombs wasted on knocked out, but not burning, German vehicles than I have seen coming in as friendly fire. I don't know how much of this is coded into the game, but it seems like once they are around a bit, and get a feel for where the Germans are, you can move in closer proximity and not worry about friendly fire. If you are intermingled when they show up, or well into the German lines, you stand a better chance of being hit yourself.

The largest maps are big enough to give you two or three clear avenues of attack, and makes success on one flank an issue that can result in a good pincer movement. I had a 5000 point game against the AI where one of my task forces was being held up by a Hetzer. My task force on the other flank had broken through, and I have a screenshot showing a Sherman 76 of mine getting a kill on the rear of that Hetzer at 2083m. I also lost an 1800m duel between a Panther and my Firefly on a similarly large map. The problem with these large maps is that the AI spreads itself too thin in an attempt to defend all of the victory locations.

I would like to be able to specify some specific units, and then have the AI pick a plausible OOB from there. For instance, give the AI at least one King Tiger, or give me at least one Churchill Crocodile, and the rest picked at the AI's discretion. Sometimes I want a fight against a particular unit, but picking the units for the AI completely destroys the FOW.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by crossfire: This one is correct unlike the ones above which sound like American propaganda broadcast <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You're all wrong. People always forget that the term is mostly Canadian. For example, CCCP stands for Canadian Christian Concert Page: http://www.freenet.carleton.ca/~eb281/cccp.html . In certain situations, it might stand for Canadian College of Clinical Pharmacy instead: http://www3.sympatico.ca/cccp/ . [This message has been edited by Supertanker (edited 10-02-2000).]

There is a preview of CC5 available at Beta Bites (this story/link shamelessly shanked from Blue's News): http://www.betabites.com/features/closecomb/closecomb2.html I didn't find the writing helpful, but the screenshots were nice.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hundminen: Internet play.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I agree. I also used to have a lot of fun playing an hour or two on the Zone with CC1 and CC2. I have played all of *one* PBEM game, and it got me in trouble with the wife because it took far too much hovering at the computer to get it done. It wasn't an enormous one either, only 1200 points. When I can bundle all of that up into an hour or two of TCP/IP play, I will be set, and CC will become but a pleasant memory.

Unless I'm desperate, I don't use anything less than a 155 on tanks - you get far more value pasting the infantry with it. You don't always need a kill to get benefit from the shelling. The other night in a QB against the AI, I was desperate, and fired 4.5" (114mm) at the last StuG (the only armor remaining on the battlefield). I had sent some infantry up one flank, it turned away from tearing apart my main attack to engage them. They were running, and as it was turning to catch up, with its nose pointed a harmless direction, the barrage started to hit and a shell immobilized it. That's as good as a kill, and it turned the tide of battle. The next turn, the crew bailed, and my flanking infantry cut them down as they ran for cover. It was in the snow, so their revenge was served cold.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pillar: The Bob Semple was armed with 4 machine guns, it was 12 feet tall had had a crew of 8 men.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's funny, *I'm* 12 feet tall and armed with four machineguns *too*! What a small world! For looks, I've always liked the M10 for some reason.

I would be happy if they would just clear the fog of war on the kill numbers. I enjoy moving around the battlefield after the game ends and checking on the surviving units, seeing what/where the enemy units actually were. That seems like it shouldn't take much, but I don't know how much coding it would actually take.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maximus: Hasbro's Squad Leader game is nothing more or nothing less than Soldiers at War 2 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Right. My somewhat rambling point is that if they are going to all of this effort, it seems more beneficial to use that effort to build a new brand. By using SL, they anger the existing fanbase, have to tear down those expectations (generating lots of negative buzz) and then rebuild on the ruins. If they started from scratch with a new brand, used a movie license (SPR or BoB, to repeat my examples), or even stuck with the SAW2 label, they would avoid the negatives and end up with the same positives. If they are looking for mass Wal*Mart sales (and they are, from their comments related to the unforgivable cancellation of M1TP3 - whoops, I mean Tank Platoon!), it seems like a recognizable movie license would be the way to go. None of this means I won't try the demo. I want a good X-com style WWII game, just don't call it Squad Leader.

Here is a link to the page on ebworld: http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/categories/products/product.asp?pf_id=179308&mscssid=8FN5WFGACT1V8M9PP3DT5SME3UKV2US9 It is a pretty nice box, but Gunship! had a nice box, and CM has no box, so the box art is obviously not indicative of the quality of the contents. This game looks more like The Saving Private Ryan Game, or The Band Of Brothers Game, and now I really don't understand why Hasborg is pimping out the Squad Leader name/license. They're not following the game design (so they lose the grog vote), and not following the box art (so they lose the people that might recognize it by sight), so what sort of brand recognition do they hope to have? They are starting from scratch with the name and rebuilding it into something else, but why bother? They could use anything for that! Dammit Hasbro, get your filthy hands off my baby!

I have to agree that the current explosion is much better than the lack of explosion in the beta. Also, remember that the "shockwave" is meant to represent the expanding dust cloud, and it does not carry any damaging effects. Could it be better? Probably. Would I rather see TCP/IP done first? Yes. Do I care if they ever change the house explosion graphics? No. Not having blown up any houses with a cannon, I will defer to Sgt. Morgue on the perception of durability. With regard to casualties, RTFM, as the one story buildings represent a one or two story building, and the two story buildings represent a three or four story building. If your men are in a four story building when it collapses, they are in for a world of hurt.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>So putting all game related type questions, do you or do you not think that a vehicle has an inherent worth that should be factored in?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes. The vehicle either adds speed or durability (usually not both in the case of cheap units). Speed is a force multiplier, and if the vehicle can carry another unit, then it is even more so. This is offset by the fragility of a light unit. For example, if I really need support for a position, I need the durability of a heavy MG team, and I'm not parking an MG jeep near it. If I want to get an MG into a position ahead to suppress movement across an area (denying a position to the enemy ahead of my main advance), I am sending the speedy MG jeep & not the slow MG team. I find halftracks to be a good middle ground between the two, as they have some protection and some speed.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Simon Fox: We don't begrudge you your MGs: you need them.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> We are getting way off topic, but honor urges an excuse, err, I mean a response. The US Shooting Team is about 80% rookies, and favored in few events. Come talk to us again about 2008. Have a look at Sports Illustrated's predictions; there are few Team USA shooters on the list: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2000/olympic2/si_picks/3/index.html#shooting I'm not sure what the problem is with Olympic shooting in the US. I think practical shooting draws off a lot of the best competitors, as there is some money in the sport. Other events, like End of Trail, capture the imagination of the casual shooters, and the Olympic events seem quite dull comparatively.