Bonxa

I'm having a great time in CMMC2 right now. There has been, and probably will be more, waiting. It's worth it though because the battles mean so much more than your average QB or PBEM. We've got all skill levels too and the training might teach you a thing or two. Hop on!

Good one!

Though the usual apply: It's done when it's done. My guess is we'll have to wait into 2006.

As a note to those who feel their complaints on CMX1 hasn't been addressed while other small stuff has been added: please remember this is a computer program! Programming is far from easy, some things might be a piece of cake to fix while others require a complete overhaul. I think Steve has been saying this quite a lot too. Let's just drop the CMX1 stuff and move on to discuss a new wargame. CMX1 may well inspire but we should rather think backwards from the "ideal" than forwards from what we've got (no matter how counter intuitive this sounds with backwards being the good alternative it's really stuff ). Go, go Battlefront! You're the best!

Regulars do just fine most of the time. For infantry I don't see why you should spend extra points to get vets. Better spend those points on support weapons. For tanks I'm not sure which way to go. If you handle your tanks well regulars should do but in some cases it might be a good advantage to get vets. Think about what reaction time you need from your units, that's where you gain the most from going up in experience. I have tried to use high experience thin skins with good guns (ie Marder) but it's hard to really rock with them. Since they are cheap to begin with it doesn't cost too much to upgrade them.

Yes, just drop in, have a look around and type in your favourite tactic/tip. If everybody help out a little on this we will have a great resource in no time. There are discussion pages for all topics in case you don't agree with what has been written previously.

Use covered arcs to keep your men from firing until you are 100 meters off or so. Use short advances (20-30 meters) and let people rest and recover morale inbetween. Also save your support fire for the last push when you have a decent idea of where the enemy is. This has been discussed before as Sergei pointed out. It is tedious but if you have more men and preferably a few morale boosting HQs in the front line it's doable. Arty and HE chucking stuff is your worst enemy, you'll just have to soak it up. Have fun!

Hey, I just found that CMdb today because of a post in the CMMC2 forums. I then found your poll and answered in the positive. Is it a lot of work to start up a wiki? Personally I like the wiki concept very much and I think it might grow into something very useful. We do lots of people who like to contribute in the community and there are still many questions about info on tactics and the like. A wiki would also be a good place to collect all the links related to CM, WWII, maps and other scenario creation stuff. I say go for it!

Thanks Steve for the comments on the full movie playback. I will keep the good karma flowing and hope that you can make it work. If you make the movie saveable, not only will there be a scenario depot and a mod depot but also a movie depot. Wouldn't that be nice?

Well one thing I just have to ask is if Full Movie Playback is on the must have list? I think it will add a whole new dimension to the game as has probably been discussed to death elsewhere. This thread seems to answer a whole lot of questions so why not this one too?

That infantry guide was very useful Redwolf. I would have loved to read something like that when I was new to CM and it cleared up some things for me even now. Should be linked from the Tips & Tricks useful posts thread.

And I'd drop the paved roads and substitute them with dirt roads. Some of the dirt roads should go too. People did not have cars at this time and didn't need big fat roads. I concur with what Philippe said above. The train station might have some houses "around" it though since it probably spurred on the development of the settlement.

Go down to view level one or two and really check out that terrain. Start out with rather small scenarios. With proper knowledge of the terrain you should be able to keep you armor out of sight from the enemy tanks. Keeping out of LOS keeps them alive. They might be able to shot up some enemy infantry while "hiding". This hopefully forces the enemy tanks to move and maybe you can then get the drop on them, say a side shot with an ATG or another tank. The key here is to attack the enemy tank when it's occupied and to hit it with many guns from different angles preferably. Keep in mind that you don't have to play on the enemy's terms. Keep your force alive by staying out of sight (goes for both infantry and tanks) and wait for the bad guys to screw up (both the AI and live opponents tend to do this sooner or later). Use your infantry to probe the enemy positions and force him to commit units. The infantry is much more resilient than tanks really. Just some thoughts to get you on your way. Keep fighting in inferior tanks and you will get good eventually. Then apply the same tactics when you get good tanks and you'll be a tough opponent. Drop me an e-mail if you want to do a PBEM sometime and I'll try to analyse your style of fighting.

I think most of the proposed is already in CM. Infantry will engage each other in hand to hand combat when in 20 meters (I think) of eachother. Listen for the sound effects and you'll notice. Infantry will take out tanks with grenades and the like given that they are not supressed and the tank is within 30 meters. I have had succes with this many times in all three CM games. As to pillboxes and bunkers I think BFC has admitted it is a weak point of CM and that it is something they will work on to improve in CMX2. It is still viable to attack them with infantry as long as you stay out of the firing arc (only 90 degrees after all). Bazookas (from the rear) and demo charges work wonders but I think even grenades will do the trick. So I'd say it's a good idea that has already been implemented.

I found out about CM when 17 years old, back when the Alpha AAR was the hottest thing. What I have found to be of most hindrance to new players I have tried to introduce to CM is their lack of interest in the era and finer details of combat. It's just too much for them to learn about OOB's, reading the terrain etc. I think one has to have a genuine interest for WWII and combat in general to be able to appreciate CM in it's full glory.

The scenario designer has the most influence over this I would say. Sometimes it might be out of the time scope as you suggested but giving the defender some reinforcements 20 turns into the game might be a good way to simulate a counter attack. I've played many interesting scenarios wherin the battle turns into a better form of meeting engagement due to the timely arrival of reinforcements.

And don't be scared off by the low activity just now. There are still lots of players still waiting for this to get up to speed. Just post on the forum and you'll be greeted.

Cheers to BTS, BFC, CM and it's wonderful community! Along with all others I still warvel at CM, it's simply the best.

The pincer move is almost SOP for me if the map is suitable. Feels a bit gamey though since you move pretty close to the sideline. But the defender should also be aware of the safety of the sideline and promptly set up extra defenses there to counter.

Well, I expect the enemy to sit in every little bush or scrub on the map. That way you won't get surprised most of the time. It has happened that I've misjudged where the setup zones might reasonably have been or some such which result in mild surprises sometimes. I blame those failures more on myself than on my opponent though. What you should concentrate on is to pull off sneaky moves yourself. It's rarely doable though since LOS is so good on most maps. But I have managed to pull some nice tricks once in a while (like one in twenty PBEMs), mainly in scenarios with low force densities. Those rare occasions are the best CM memories I have though. Well worth all the mediocre PBEMs in between.

An appetizer you call it? :eek: If you decide on the battles Sergei (operations anyone?) we'll be going to need several return trips with the ferry to complete the tourney, with lots of vodka of course.

I would think that a trench behind a wall on a small reverse slope is the best possible position you could have, no? You rarely get that lucky though. Exposusre ratings might be better in woods and the like but they are susceptible to treebursts which is very bad. What I haven't checked though is the effectiveness of fences and hedges. Are they anywhere near the walls?

I would have thought the gun crews dig in just as everybody else in the army, no? And if you have ever been out in the terrain trying to spot anyone/anything you know it's damn hard because of all the undergrowth and stuff in the way. Concealment is not cover but it's certainly very helpfull against the enemy infantry so long as you don't move anyways.

Don't forget some arty as well. It's a real killer in wooded areas and can break up conentrations well. I have just found out the evil in a defence in depth . It might not be to easy to pull of in a smaller battle but it will stop anything but the most determined attacker. Place those trenches on reverse slopes (the smallest will do, search in view level 1), preferably behind walls or fences and not in trees (because of the potential airbursts).

Okay, I'll do that... time difference shouldn't be a big issue between Finland and Sweden. </font>