jwright

Greetings, Congratulations Matt and Dan. You gentlemen have done outstanding work for the CM community, and it is heartening to see your efforts rewarded in such a splendid way. Keep up the great work! Regards, John Wright

Greetings, <SPOILER> Just got done with "Fear in the Fog" as the Americans, thought I'd throw out a couple of interesting points I saw. <UL> <LI>Had a <U>very</U> rough start as one platoon and my Sherman were overrun (3 turns, all dead) by the Germans. I tried falling back, but they came out of the fog too damn fast. <LI>I usually don't have much luck with Bazookas, but this time I had one team take out both the Panther and the Stug in one turn! It was the most consummately perfect CM moment I've ever witnessed. I laughed, I cried. Fog works both ways apparently... <LI>To the North of the Railway I setup a platoon across the road. I watched an entire full German squad get killed trying to rush across. <LI>Playing in the fog makes for a very, <U>very</U> violent game. When you do finally stumble into the enemy (or they into you) the casualties start racking up pretty quickly. <LI>I had a hard time employing my artillery spotters correctly in the fog. When they were close enough to accurately spot a position, they were close enough to get shot up. If they spotted somewhere out of their LOS I had 105mm shells dropping all over the place. All in all, a very enjoyable scenario. I can't wait to try tinkering with the Fog option for other battles. It really increases the entire sense of blindly groping for the enemy. I forgot to mention, I did win the game (even after my first terrible losses). Had a total victory by turn 25 with all the German surrendering. I really expected more Germans out there though... Regards, John Wright john.k.wright@worldne.att.net [This message has been edited by jwright (edited 06-30-2000).]

Greetings everyone, Just adding my name to the "no copying" list. In fact I'm getting my buddies to buy copies, the PBEM is a great way for us to wargame on our tight schedules. Regards, John Wright john.k.wright@worldnet.att.net

MadMatt, You and your compatriots are doing an excellent job with the mods. The additional tweaks and mods you are making will only make CM look even more impressive than it already is. The level of dedication and hard work displayed by your group and other like-minded individuals show the caliber of all those involved with the game and the community. I think wargamers of all ages can consider themselves fortunate to be seeing a new renaissance for their favorite hobby (livelihood). This rare combination of revolutionary game-design, eager and interested designers, and a mature and highly knowledgeable CM community is truly wonderful. Again, thanks. Sincerely, John Wright john.k.wright@worldnet.att.net

Greetings, Played again last night, with the Germans at 75%. Boy were there a lot of StugIIIs! The simply amazing this was, I killed SEVEN without losing a single Sherman. The very last Stug hid behind the woods by the church, trembling with fear (or so I thought). Now for the embarrassing part. I lost all of my Shermans! My tanks were atop the hill, confidently smashing away at German infantry hiding in the woods by the church. That damn Stug wiggled a shot through the woods and took one Sherman out. Fine. Then a Panzershreck team in the big woods knocked out another – quite a shot(!). Still the Stug was working its way around. Then a small group of infantry dashed out from the small woods by the church and fired off their anti-tank weapon…killing a third Sherman! Aarrggh! Just as the Stug was coming around the woods smoke rounds started falling all around my Shermans, blocking the LOS for one of them, the Stug fired and killed the fourth Sherman. Minutes later, that DAMN STUG KILLED MY LAST SHERMAN!! Somehow I ended up immobilizing that Stug and winning the battle, but things certainly got hairy for a bit. I could have retreated my tanks off the hill, but I was simply amazed at how smoothly the AI worked to get rid of my armor. Dropping the smoke on the hill as the Stug cleared the woods – perfect. While I expected to lose some tanks in such a forward position, I was curious to see what the AI would do. Boy, did I find out! Now I’ll switch sides and go up the scale against the Americans. Eek. Regards, John Wright

Greetings all, Thanks for your replies. Sounds like 75% certainly cranks up the competition. Usually after I kill the StugIIIs it's just a matter of sitting back and slaughtering the German infantry. Then I roll up the right flank (past the church) and eventually end up attacking the large woods from three sides. I'm curious what would happen if I'm left with only my infantry. After I suffer a loss at whichever percentage I plan on switching sides and going up the scale again. My gut tells me I'll have a much harder time against the Americans as they scale up. Regards, John Wright john.k.wright@worldnet.att.net

Greetings, What has been a good percentage to give the Germans in the meeting engagment? Also, I'm trying to see if anyone else has run into this - increasing the troops for one side but then not seeing any real increase. In the meeting engagment scenario I've tried to see by what % the AI Germans would need to win this battle. At both +25% and +50% I've been able to stop them with minimal losses. The thing I've noticed is the total troops and vehicles doesn't seem changed. Has anyone gotten to fight against more than just three stugs? On the other hand, when I play VoT as the Germans and give the allies +25% I'll run into almost twice as many tanks(!). And have quite a fight on my hands (to say the least). I acknowledge the rules state how the percentage increases are implemented can vary widely between games, but shouldn't I notice (at 50%) at least more ground troops? Maybe FoW is keeping me from realizing the difference, but I'm now keeping close eye on the totals at the end of the game. Just curious (and on to +75% tonight)! John Wright john.k.wright@worldnet.att.net

Greetings, 27, married, computer consultant, officer in the reserves, longtime wargamer. John Wright

Greetings, I played VoT again as Germans last night, looking forward to another easy victory. I setup my deployment almost identical to my last game, and planned the same ambushes that worked so well before. Lo and behold! This time the US attack works significantly better! I watch as my ambush kicks off without a hitch, but falters as the US pulls back and starts in from an entirely different direction. To add insult to injury, the US brings down a massive artillery attack on the now exposed platoon. My bunker kills off the two 105 Shermans, and one reinforcing Sherman before biting the dust. Many long minutes pass as the Shermans pound the living heck out of my positions. My Panther G only kills one more before taking a flank shot (LOS fluke, but I reviewed multiple times and it was legitimate) and getting knocked out. A brave Panzershreck team kills another, stalling the armored thrust (not that I told them to fire or anything!). I end up with an Axis Minor victory and a greater appreciation for the game. Regards, John Wright … by the way, just because that Sherman just looks like a big US symbol does NOT mean they can’t see you!

mike_in_texas, In my reccomendation you're better off concentrating your 105mm fire on the wooden bunkers or strong infantry positions. I plastered all my rounds (both mortar and howitzer) from two spotters against one concrete bunker with no effect. Admittedly, smoke missions against the anti-tank bunker isn't a bad idea. Especially if you're trying to reposition your vehicles. I've had better luck taking out the anti-tank bunker with my 105 Shermans. It takes time; move forward a bit, shoot, pop smoke and back up. Repeat for five to ten turns and eventually you've got a dead bunker. Just my 2cents Regards, John Wright

Greetings, Computer consultant (VB, Cold Fusion, COGNOS), XO for a USAR Company, long-time wargamer. And after excitedly explaining how my attack worked successfuly in VoT to my wife, a helpless geek. Regards, John Wright

Roger, Out of curiosity, how fares the development of Reach For the Stars? That's one game (besides CM) I am eagerly awaiting. Regards, John Wright

Greetings, Played Movement to Contact again last night as the Americans. I used four Shermans to Fast move a platoon to the Church (1st min forward, 2nd min Platoon gets into building) and then lined up all five Shermans behind the hill. Next turn all five crested the hill as the same time and in 20sec knocked out all three Stugs! I merrily blew the rest of the German forces apart afterward. Only had 5 KIA (!). Moral of the story: Speed, speed & introduce massive firepower at the same time (shock). Regards, John Wright

Greetings, Here's a couple of tactics that might extend the life of your tanks. * Renaud had an excellent point - Unbuttoned is a very useful state to be in, try to keep your tanks that way as much as possible. Be careful though, if your TC gets picked off you'll be permanently buttoned up! * Fast Move - Don't be shy about getting your tanks up to advantageous firing positions by running them forward. Make sure they cover the most likely avenues of approach. In fact use this acroynm - OCOKA Observation, Cover & Concealment, Key Terrain Features, Avenues of Approach. * Hull-down: Fast move to before the crest of a hill and hunt forward a little bit. * Hiding! When you're outnumbered you're better off letting the infantry find out where the enemy tanks are and allowing you to manuever your tanks for a flank shot. * Don't worry about range - you're tanks will start blazing away the moment they can. * Ye olde Red Herring. Run tanks up one flank and hide them. Leave another off to the other side. Your goal is to wave the one tank at the enemy and lure them into range of the other two. Use woods, hills, building as a way of reducing their chance of being seen. * Combined arms. Use machine guns, mortar fire to cause the enemy tanks to button up. Then make your move with your tanks from the flank. You should get the first round off unanswered. * Know when to retreat! Usually it's too late (I've seen over five tanks knocked out in one minute during Move to Contact) once the action phase starts but always plan for a way out! Summary: Get to firing positions which hide your tanks from view and provide a good firing position. Take your time engaging enemy forces, pick the time you want to attack. Hope this helps! John Wright

Greetings, I've seen the AI make particularly good use of smoke both defensively and offensively. In VT playing the US my Shermans both would take a shot at the AT Bunker, pop smoke, and back away. When playing VT as the Germans the AI would cover my bunkers with smoke when things started heating up. I was particulary impressed with my tanks popping smoke on their own accord. I really couldn’t have asked for better performance out of them! Great game! Regards, John Wright john.k.wright@worldnet.att.net