Cueball

*punt*

I ran a test to see if I could create a non-reciprocating hull down scenario. It turned out to be quite easy. I created a flat map and put one unit behind a wall.

Mine came two days after it shipped, and USPS delivers on Saturday. There is hope....

I've played operations before. At the end of the first battle, it should advance to the second battle (same map, perhaps shifted). At the end of the second battle, it advances to the third, etc. We were in the middle of the second battle when it ended abruptly by a cease fire. Were the battle to complete (15 turns), it would have continued to battle #3. Because of the cease fire, it *did not* continue to battle #3 of the operation, but stayed on battle #2. I want to know if this was intentional or it is a bug.

My friend and I are playing a PBEM Operation. On the second battle out of 5, we declared a cease fire. I had expected the operation would advance to the next battle, but it doesn't. On the operation summary, it indicates that *one* battle has completed out of five, readjusts our lines, and continues with battle #2. Is this because the cease fire was declared or is this a bug?

I struggled through the post as well. There is another valid point that was mentioned. I had the computer assign me my forces several times, then went through each unit and added up the point totals. Often times it came up short. Not 20 or 30 points, but sometimes 200 in a 2000 point game. I couldn't even attribute that to air support, as Axis air support is 300+ I don't really mind it so much, as the variance makes it interesting, but there could be a bug with the automatic force selection process. For 200 points, I could have had another Panther [This message has been edited by Cueball (edited 08-30-2000).]

I concur. It would be a great idea. My previous suggestion was to have a choice on the scenario setup screen. In the field "Map Size", change the label to "Map Type", and in addition to Small, Medium, and Large you would have "Existing Map" or "File". The cool thing about doing this is that the map could have pre-designated units on it. This would allow a combination of random + fixed in a scenario.

Yep, Panthers can be tough vehicles. I had one duke it out with two hull down M10's at 700+ meters, and it survived no less than 14 hits, several turret hits indicating "internal armor flaking" before it dispatched them both. BTW - The maximum range of a Panzerschreck is 225 meters.

But something that might be cool would be if sometimes the squad split, then half ran and half stayed.

IIRC, the bazooka's penetration is about 92mm of armor. The Tiger's front is 100mm, and it's side and rear are 80mm. However, if there is any angle off horizontal to the firing unit, these values will effectively increase. It's worse with a Tiger II, because while the side and rear armor are the same as the Tiger I, it is marginally sloped. Bottom Line -- Taking Tiger out with a Bazooka is not a sure thing. I wouldn't even plan on it happening with great frequency.

Did anyone notice that the "Tigers" used in Saving Private Ryan were the same ones used in Kelly's Heroes?

The Cromwell is surprisingly annoying. I play Axis against my usual PBEM partner, and bases on my ASL days I used to consider it an easy mark. Granted, it doesn't have a whole lot of armor protection, but it's superb agility is modeled quite well in the game. That plus it's fast turret means you shouldn't underestimate it. In a PBEM game I just played, my opponent kept two of them reserve. Halfway through the game, they suddenly appeared out from behind some trees, zipped along the map and caught some of my units by surprise. The Churchill comes in various flavors (as does the Cromwell). Later models are impervious to the standard 75mm/L48 found on the PZIV and it's kin, and even a Tiger I's gun has no guarantee of a kill. You still have to watch out for Panthers though and anything with a long 88 (King Tiger, JagdPanther, etc.)

I know this has been mentioned before, but what I'd like to see as part of the quick battle is a method for loading a pre-made map. As part of the setup screen, on "Map Size", have "Small", "Medium", "Large", and "Select". Choosing "Select" would pull one off disk and skip the map generation screen. This would allow you to create a map, predesignate some units, and then use for quick battles.

Aside from reliability, there are three things to consider when looking at cross-country mobility -- * Ground Pressure * Horsepower to Weight Ratio * Gearing I don't have the game in front of me right now, but I would be curious what the HP-WGT ratio of the Panther is to some of the Shermans. Gearing is likely not represented in the game, but HP-WGT is (IIRC).

Highlight a vehicle, press <enter> and look at the ground pressure -- The lower the better. Wide tracked vehicles are better in soft ground conditions. Under these conditions, it's my advice to keep your vehicles on the roads if possible, or at least to a point where you wouldn't mind them bogging down.

This has been corrected in the upcoming 1.03. For those individuals that have 1.02 from the new CD, it may be corrected there as well

One of the the things to consider is misidentified units. I just finished a PBEM game and my opponent misidentified a PZIVH as a Tiger. If you're counting points, then you've just figured 180 points instead of 122. Do that a few times and you'll suddenly be quite surprised when your opponent has more than you bargained for, like another "Tiger" Personally, I wouldn't bother. Too much trouble for the small gain you might obtain. You'd be better off focusing on the battle as a whole and enjoying the immersive nature of the game.

Why certainly! However, you *must* order it from this website. You will not find it anywhere else.

If you want to fight Hellkitties, take a Wirbelwind or Ostwind. They're cheaper than a JagdTiger, and have a MUCH better chance of hitting them, and can get through their thin armor. You'll almost have enough left to buy a couple of Hetzers too.

Open topped vehicles are prone to all sorts of problems -- - Close Assaulting infantry kills them..Easily - Mortar rounds can kill your vehicle. Even little 60mm are sufficient...I know - Be careful when you drive down a street, men on the second story can kill your crew. While some of the OT vehicles are quite nice, and are a good bang for the buck, in some scenarios you have to be *very* careful with them. They can be quite vulnerable.

They also work quite nicely on open topped vehicles.

If I understand this correctly, it's essentially a "Move until target point visible". I can see many uses for that other than achieving hull down status. Sneaking around a building, or moving infantry inside a large building until they can see another building comes to mind.

One of the things that would result if squads were involuntarily split due to running would be more use of transport -- HT's, Trucks, etc. Currently, I find it a better use of my time to have to troops run, even on a significantly large map. If they had to walk or suffer some other inconvenience, I just might buy more transport.

I'd have to go with the quad 20mm as well. Their chance to hit is excellent, even vs moving targets. I just finished a PBEM where my opponent took 10 of the little M20 armored cars. The Wirbelwind shredded 4 of them, 3 in one turn. Chance to hit a hull down moving M20 -- 57%

On a large map, put a Panzerschrek team in it, and zip it up to a stand of woods or a house way ahead of your front lines, unload it and hide it. Your opponent will be quite surprised when you kill one or two of his tanks so early, and it will likely halt his advance thinking you are deployed further ahead than you really are.