lucero1148

WW2 STEEL Great job recreating the CC3 maps for us. It has the right feel visually but as far as the operational play I think a lot of tweaking could be done here. Would you mind if I fool around with the unit set up to try and make it more playable? when I have the time to do so and finish my version I'll send it to you first with my reasoning. All best Patrick

At the Scenario Depot. General Brief - Cossack's Blade June 1944 just as Operation Bagration is launching its attack against the German hedgehog defense of Army Group Center a smaller operation is testing the lines down on the steppes of southern Russia. With wide expanses of empty terrain to defend it wasn't feasable to maintain a contiguous defensive line. Strongpoints were defended but in the case of a major attack a mobile fire brigade would be rushed to where it was needed the most. This fictional scenario is an attempt to recreate what might have happened when a lone German outpost is attacked by an independent armored Cossack brigade and for the fun of it to see how effective close air support can be. Ideally this should be played as a PBEM game with the stronger player commanding the Cossack charge. It takes a lot of nerve to cross the steppes head first into the guns of the enemy so there are some tactical decisions to be made. Either to re-enact the "Charge of the Light Brigade" or to look for an alternative plan. Against the AI it will be most challenging as the attacker, but it's a blast playing as the German defender as the AI can easily handle the task of being a Russian steamroller as it slow rolls across the plains. Either way it should prove entertaining. Any suggestions or feedback you may have please post it at the Scenario Depot. Your comments and reviews are appreciated and helps designers fine tune there creations. All best Patrick Lucero

Well just to add my 2 cents, I would say most designers make ambiguous statements in their briefs to represent fog of war. I usually give a situation brief stating objectives and expected force strengths on the ground but never in 100% detail. Reinforcements are always in detail but exactly when, not. Otherwise it would be giving the game away. Briefs are important and if you don't read the details given its the equivalent of leading your troops blindly. In a sense when people do so they advance without thinking and you can't blame the designer for that can you. Besides once the battlefield appears on your screen you still have to assess the situation on your own. You are the person on the ground so to speak and must make your judgmentas it exists. Nonetheless your posts on the matter is very insightful as it tells me I shouldn't be careless in making up my briefs! all best Patrick

Berli, What's not fun about CMBB tank battles? I always find them challenging if the scenario/operation is balanced and tactically challenging. All best Patrick

Junk2drive Hey that sounds like a nice op. Do you remember what operation that was? All best Patrick

Junk2drive Hey that sounds like a nice op. Do you remember what operation that was? All best Patrick

I personally like short 2 or 3 battle operations since they are much easier to compete as a PBEM. A good op though has all the qualities that the others above mentioned especially when it comes to testing ones tactical ability. Usually a good map with diverse or even subtle terrain features can provide multiple tactical solutions when combined with the force selection. For example the use of on board and FO artillery in the op may be the crucial aspect in defeating a offense/defense. Likewise with the units you're given to maneuver with. Do you attack with speed or go slow with the turns given each battle. I have an interesting operation at the Scenario Depot "Winter Sword" that covers these aspects. It's playable against the AI. Most challenging as the German vs the AI but as the Russian defender against the AI its also a tough fight. All best Patick

I checked the ROW thread in CMAK but couldn't find any reference to what happened tothe RD tourney. I scanned all 11 pages. Would be nice if you could summarize what happened to the RD site? Also it's a pity that no one from the RD site bothered to inform their members. A simple closing down would have sufficed. All best Patrick

Anyone else making 2 battle operations out there? If so what's the name of your operation so I can download it from the Scenario Depot. thanks Patrick

To replace the tracks on their own wouldn't make much sense. Cost time and money to manufacture steel tracks from sratch I owuld think. allbesPatrick

Long ops are ok if you've got the time, but some of them are tediously slow to get any action started. When I design my ops I always try to make sure the action will be sooner than later and that the attacking player must show initiative in order to win. So far the reviews I've gotten have been pretty positive although I wish more people would put in their 2 cents. All best Patrick

It's great other people are making 2 battle ops. I usually get stumped when I see an operation may have 5 or more battles to slog through since I don't have the time to play as much as I'd like. All best Patrick

Is there any interest in short 2 battle operations? I've made a series 4 separate operations with a length of batles each. short and sweet ops to play quickly and still get a feel of what and how an operation plays out. Operations available include: North Sword; South Sword; Winter Sword and Partisan Sword. Get them at the Scenario Depot. All best Patrick

The tournament is still ongoing. Why would we switch to cmak if this is a cmbb tourney? As for the scenario's being used I hope the next one is faster paced. The current and the last one in the marshes are both slow and time consuming. Meaning you don't see any action until the 7th or 8th turn. Personally I'd prefer getting into the battle sooner as the battles can be over with in a quicker fashion. All best Patrick

I'd be glad to playtest and give my comments. email them to me at: lucero1148@netscape.net All best Patrick

I was a big fan of the original Panzerblix and I'm very impressed wit what you did in transfering the game to CMBB. Thanks really excellent job. Patrick

Tools will be in Asia for the next 6 months! All best Patrick

All sounds pretty exciting but how about adding a little refinement to Hq units ability to spot. As it is the Hq unit can only call in fire support limited to a range of 400 or 500 meters. Plus the fact that when he calls in fire support he's actually firing his personal small arms at the enemy he's spotted which gives him away within a turn or 2. Can't the Hq unit call in fire support frm on board mortars without shooting? All best Patrick

Marcus You must be on the jet to Bangkok by now. Drop a line when you get over to this side of the world. Look forward to seeing you in January as I'm sure there's a few girls at the G Point pining away for you!! Hehehe! Hope you bring a cd with your mod on it as it looks like CMMODS will be down for awhile. Are you going up to HK as well? All best Patrick

Marcus Didn't think you'd be able to get your mod finished. Very sharp and with beautiful detailing I've not seen on most mods. A real work of art. All best Patrick

Thanks! That puts things into perspective. I guess my friend had a pretty strong point there. Panzertruppe, that's an unusual twist to a scenario. I'll have to take a looksee on that one. Just goes to show there's a lot of ways to re-invent a senario so it doesn't become run of the mill. All best Patrick

Recently I've had a discussion over how much detail should be included in a brief. In an operation I designed "Break at Glukhov" he suggested that tactical orders especially for the German side should be given. To the effect that the player would know that he is supposed to use his light recon armor to actively search and engage Soviet recon forces in the area. to give some perspective Glukhov is a fictional op of the collapse of Army Group Center. A small convoy consisting of a landser platoon and 75mmAT gns are mounted on trucks and tractors to speed them away from pursuing Red recon armor. The German set up zones has nearby the convoy 4 AC's (2-20mm's, a heavy AC with short 75 and a Puma) in addition he has the option to include a MK III to his defending mobile response force. the reds have 2-B64's on the road searching for the convoy and nearby another lt armor force of 3 T70's and 3 Stuart's with a recon squad mounted on halftracks making up the search and destroy force. I prefer to keep briefs informative but not to the point where I write out the tactical orders for the starting moves of a game. It amounts to being a spoiler of sorts and limits the tactical options for a player who'd like to think up his own moves instead. Any feedback on this thought? All best Patrick

Has anyone mentioned main roads with curves in them? At present mainroads are straight lines or 90degree turns. No way to make gradual curves or rondabouts. That would add realism to city maps. Case in point is a map on the Reich Chancellory and the main road isn't straight at all but has a gradual bend in it. My 2 cents. Patrick

Is it just me or is there a problem downloading the file from the scenario depot. Your scenario sounds very enticing. All Best Patrick

Back to what to use as far as sending out PBEM try either Yahoo or netscape mail services. Both are free services with Yahoo giving you 6MB's and Netscape a 5MB mailbox. Both allow you to attach files up to 3MB's in size and I regularly send files from 1 to 1.8MB in size. The largest so far has been 2.4MB. So if you're looking for cheap and easy to use try those. All best Patrick