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Phil, The tank was buttoned ( i.e. All hatches were close ).

While playing as the Germans in the " One Long Cold Day" scenario the following happened: I decided to try to take out an immobilized Sherman Tank with a panzerschreck team by moving them to a position behind the tank. As my guys were moving into position, the tank began firing its MG at them, even though the hull & turret were facing forward. I suffered one casualty, but managed to take out the tank. I'm thinking maybe one of the tank crew "popped out" & fired at me?? BTW, I did several replays to make sure the fire was comming from the tank and another Allied unit.It definately came from the tank. Any comments??

If this is your first wargame the first thing I would recommend is to grab a beer, sit down and peruse the excellent manual. Please don't think I'm being a smartass. Reading the manual will give you some valuable insights that will help you master Combat Mission. I'm 56 years old, been playing wargames since I don't know when. Combat Mission is absolutely the best game I've ever played -bar none! It's not an easy game however. As mentioned in one of the previous replies, you've got to hang in there through a couple of loses, try to use "real world" tactics, while at the same understanding the "rules of the game". This game puts a premium on "Command and Control" (keep those C&C lines red!). As you probably found out, your troops will not move instantaneously, there's usually a delay time. Basically keeping your troops in C&C reduces the delay time. On board mortars, if in C&C of a HQ unit, can have that unit spot for them. You can "hide" the mortar unit and use the HQ unit as its "eyes". There are so many thing Combat Mission incorporates it would be impossible to list them all. One other thing you could try would be to play as the DEFENDER. I found this is an excellent way to " get into the game ". Keep your manual handy, access this forum ( these guys do know what ther're talking about )anf HAVE FUN!

regarding the " + / - " keys: Would it be possible to arrange the order Units are accessed via the " + / - " keys as follows?: 1.Battalion / Company Hqs (A0,A1,etc) 2.Platoons (B0..B3,C0..C3,etc.) 3.Teams (T1,T2,etc.) 4.Vehicles (V1,V2,etc.) I can't figure out how the Units are currently queued for access via these keys. For example, during the " Ham & Jam" scenario Para Platoon "I" was in inverse order ( i.e. Using the " + " key; Platoon I3 was 1st, then I2...finally I0 ).Also, Teams are accessed in the middle of your platoons. Since they are assigned to the team with the closest C&C, I think they should be listed seperately, not "within" a specific Platoon. I think this would make it a little easier to access a specific Unit. I read the thread concerning a "UNIT LIST" and the ability to jump to any Unit. I think Steve indicated some form of this may?? be included in the future. If this happens maybe my request is a moot point.

Here's my 2 cents worth regarding what I think are the two main topics of this thread: 1.Fog of War impact on player controlled units. 2.Player controlled units out of C&C. 1.I agree with df. IMO the "fuzzy" logic used by CM for player controlled units is excellent. Player controlled units should not act as robots, but as rational / semi-rational (when the shooting starts) soldiers. If I'm not mistaken, the game manual mentions the possibility of player controlled units refusing to obey what they perceive to be "suicide orders". Here's an example: while playing the Aachen scenario as the Germans I ordered a panzerschrek? to move to the rear of a building and attack a Priest SP gun. After completing its movement the Panzerschrek? just sat and watched - IT DIDN'T FIRE. Why? Because the stupid German Commander (ME) wasn't paying attention; the Panzerschrek was actually a SHARPSHOOTER (Hey I said I was stupid) who probably refused to attack the Priest with a rifle. I realize there may be occasions when my guys will refuse to carry out my orders, but as df stated earlier, this also happens in the "real world". 2. I may be in the minority here, but I don't think its necessary to temporarily place units out of C&C under Computer control. Here's my reasoning: The human player assumes multiple personas in CM. You or I could "be" any of the following: - Company / Battalion Commander ( A0, A1, etc. ) - Platoon Leader ( B0, C0, etc. ) - Squad Leader ( B1, C1, etc. ) - Team/Vehicle Commander/Individual soldier ( T1, V1, etc.) My thought is that when a squad / team is out of C&C, I am still that squad leader / team / soldier. However my effectivness as a combat unit is reduced by longer delay times, no Leadership benefits, etc.. In addition there may be times when I want to place units out of C&C ( e.g. Point / Recon ). I know this is risky, but the decision is up to me ( I may get an early warning, but at the risk of losing my squad). IMO CM does an excellent job of penalizing unit capabilities when they are out of C&C.

Should'nt the After Action Report tell me which British Unit killed my tank??

I'm just curious, but has anyone had Wittman's tank knocked out by unknown forces? Before my reinforcements arrived, I was mixing it up with the British forces when my tank began taking hits. I had no idea where the fire was coming from. After the tank was knocked out, I surrendered so I could take a look at the map to see where hidden unit was. I pulled up the kill info on all the displayed British units. None of them indicated they had any kills. WHO or WHAT KILLED MY TIGER??

OK, I'm playing a delaying action (as Germans ), against the Poles ( I forgot the Scenario name ). I'm holding off the Polish infantry & Sherman V's with 4 Panzer Mark IV's & 2 Panther VG's, while the rest of my force exits the map. Here's the really good part; one of my Mark Iv's & a Sherman get involved in a one on one "gunfight". My first shot misses ( Hurry up & reload dammit! ). Second shot penetrates the Sherman's turret causing it to Brew-up. BUT BEFORE I COULD CONGRATULATE THE CREW, A ROUND FIRED BY THE SHERMAN ( A millisecond after mine?? )BLEW MY MARK IV TO BITS!! Several replays confirmed this. Just thought I'd share a " Combat Mission moment"

Moon, Thanks for the info. Man, what a sorry state of affairs.But at least I found this Website so all is not lost.You WILL have my support and that of anyone I can pass the word to.

If I'm not mistaken, a previous thread stated that CM will only be sold online at the Battlefront Website, and not thru any of the retail stores such as Electronic Boutique.I guess may question is...why? Is this decision by choice or necessity (i.e. No distributer ). I mean here's probably the best WWII combat game ever developed and as far as I can tell it's getting very little, if any publicity. I'v read one mention of this game in either CGW or PC gamer when it was known as "Beyond Squad Leader. I heard about CM thru the Panzer Elite WEB. I'm not a Marketing expert, but I would think selling this game on-line only has got to have a negative impact on sales. I've told all my gaming friends about CM and this WEbsite. I'm suprised by the absence of any coverage of CM by the major game magazines. Can you provide any insight / info on this?

Elvis / Mark, Thanks for your comments & suggestions. Next time I Close Assualt I'll note the morale status of the units involved.

This may have been covered before, but I have a question regarding "Close Assualts". Playing the Germans in LAST DEFENSE, I moved 2 squads into the same building with an American unit ( Only 1 icon on the screen, so I assume it took some casulaties).Anyway, after trading several shots both units just stood there & looked at each other for at least 30 secs. The next turn I manually targeted the American unit & my guys wiped them out. I thought Close Assualts would be decided fairly quickly, especially when one side is vastly outnumbered. Am I missing something, or does this need to be tweaked a little? Ps This is without doubt, the best WWII game ever!!