Sublime

ok. good to know. at least now that I know it is a problem I wont let the tank sit there too long. Now my next weird issue is that sometimes, especially with ''gunners'' be them tank gunners or HMG/LMG often will fire and then 'wait' or pause while targets are clearly in the open. Oftentimes they begin firing again, sometimes though they let the rest of that squad get to the other side of the road and out of LOS... I can live with this, but I wonder if its a bug or just part of playing a game with heavy AI interaction. To be fair to the game designers the AI is brilliant for an AI.

Yeah I read the post above. Its not that though. Im familiar with the grey line, I see it most often when some members of a squad can see a target but not all. However in this case, it was definitely a clear blue line, so the game was telling me AFAIK that the tank had clear LOS to the target. Often it can be confusing with Shermans because the commanders .50 cal mount gives GREAT LOS for the commander but the rest of the crew cant see what he does. However the tank was unbuttoned as well..

Funny this has been mentioned. I came up with a similiar situation recently. I was doing a US attack on a small town near Montebourg and my shermans came across some Stugs. They opened fire of course, knocking out one. They took return fire which missed and I pulled them back. Shortly thereafter I crept one of my tanks up to a row of bocage and had them nose up to it. Direct LOS to the StuG. I targeted..and waited. nothing. The tank sat there for a looong time until it got spotted and shot.. by the StuG. All this time it had a target order on the StuG. it wasnt blasting away at other targets, or whatever. Ive randomly seen this happen before as well. It seems to often happen with the main gun on tanks.

Not necessarily Boche. I agree that the modules will add a lot to German campaign possibilities, especially because the lions share of armor was facing the Commonwealth and Brits at the outset of Normandy. But OTOH anything company sized or a little bigger or smaller is really unlikely to affect a front. Though the Germans were largely on the defense at this time in the war, thats on the operational/strategic level. Tactically, there were all sorts of attacks/counterattacks/etc. Anything can really happen on a company level that wont affect a whole front. I think something like the Devils Descent with a few platoons of PzGrenadiers and a Pz IV or two would be awesome! The ability to put in AI plans opens a lot of possibilities as well. With imagination a lot of ideas could come out for a scenario. For example if you look at the end to the Road to Montebourg campaign, Paper Tiger has a few battles where you seize an objective and hold it against a counterattack. I think these are awesome for AI play because the counterattack can come from a lot of avenues and the human player has to take an objective and defend it first, not the same as positioning troops to defend from the outset. Its harder. ALSO the trick I believe LemuelG came up with, by putting down foxholes or trenches and placing bocage over the fortifications, it makes much more realistic bocage defense lines like you'd hear about the Wehrmacht using. This could also be applied the other way on US troops to make for a more sturdy AI defense.

-sigh- I offered to play it for you FM Blucher. so why doncha send it over huh? Ive played every CMBN campaign and the German one and Road to Montebourg twice. Ill burn thru that German campaign of yours in a day or two =) Devils Descent took me an afternoon...

IMHO those 120mm mortars are one of the most effective weapons the Wehrmacht has ESPECIALLY with a TRP or two.

I'll gladly playtest any of these scenarios and I'd really love to playtest a campaign as well. Anyone else needing play testers I'll try it out too. I've played the CM series since CMBO beta demo in the spring of 2000 and I usually play BN RT, veteran difficulty. PM me or email me at jpclark@bhcc.edu or spankythamajikmunky@yahoo.com

I know what you mean Pak. I just tried a new strategy (ill describe below) in Road to Montebourg, I won a total victory in Orchard Hill with 6 kia 4 wounded, vs 61 kia 23 wia (or something like that for the German wia) with a Wehrmacht surrender. I play RT on Veteran. In fact the Road to Montbourg and the abundance of US campaigns have actually honed my Allied tactics and led to my development of my current DF/mortar use, etc. When I play as the Wehrmacht Im often dismayed at how poorly I do. But then again if I had a couple of 16 mission mega campaigns I'd be a lot more experienced with my traditional side. What Im toying with now is assaults emphasizing speed and shock. So more often than not that means NOT calling in strikes with FO's or the support button. What it DOES mean is preplanned arty on likely lines of defense, with troops advancing quick to each hedge or objective, supported by lmgs, hmgs, and mortars in DF. If I spot an enemy HQ I target that first, with MGs or guns coming in second. This method can work brilliantly and not only that, but you can advance pretty quickly with this method, which can play hell with a lot of defenses. Of course this hasnt been tried against a human player which makes a gigantic difference obviously. Sometimes I do wait for called in 81mm off board strikes, but thats not a bad wait and usually only when it's a major threat, or if its a threat spotted ahead of my troops I can get LOS to, then I plaster it and continue my advance towards it.

Often I use my XO teams as mobile medics on the battlefield. However I've also taken to equiping them (When playing as the US) with bazookas if I have extra ones on vehicles. They make great AT squads in a pinch. Of course as the Wehrmacht, inspecting any halftracks or trucks you have at the start of a scenario is essential, as each usually has one panzerfaust! Making sure your distribute these around to your troops can make a huge difference...

Im actually glad you posted this. I almost always issue 'face' orders at the end of movement for my troops, and Ive noticed as you said that this helps them line up against walls/windows/hedges/etc. However I did not know that the EXACT spot you click on is relevant, often I click in just the direction I want them to face, whether a spot 20ft in front of them or 200m in front of them. Interesting though - Im going to try clicking on suspected enemy positions (where Im expecting them to have to fire at) Also FWIW I've noticed that you often will get erroneous LOS especially from HMG teams when in movement. When they're up and running they can often see things that when theyre down and the MG is setup they cannot fire on.

The winds may be exactly what it is. High winds especially. I dont have a lot of experience off the top of my head with high winds, but if you think of how a mortar works the round dropping after it reaches the apex of its arc would certainly seem to be affected by winds. Mortars drop a lot slower than artillery, if you move the view to up high in the game you can definitely watch the mortar rounds fired arc and fall onto whatever target you're aiming at. I'd also assume that 60mm mortars would be even more susceptible because their light weight.

Agreed. Initially I wondered if it was just the 60mm mortars because of their small size, but this works very well for me with 81mm mortars too. Even with the Germans too. But especially with the Americans, I advance my troops, when they get to a hedgerow my mortars are close behind them. Extremely effective at destroying MG positions, AT guns, etc. Definite game changing strategy when theyre used in this way. And splitting the squads as well. I do this with the Germans as well. I almost always split my squads once theyre in a position I plan to hold or where I think they'll be in combat. When advancing, I have a few scout teams taken from squads to spring ambushes etc. When defending, I split the squads to minimize losses to bursts from artillery or direct he fire. Also if I split a Wehrmacht squad, Ill usually put the MG42 half on the top floor of a building, with the smg/rifles on the ground floor (if Im defending buildings) But like he said, the splitting squads tool is very effective once you learn how to use it properly. The big american squads are great for this, if they have a bazooka you can easily detach an AT team and still have a large infantry squad left. FWIW..

An interesting point. There has been much established research by the U.S. Army post WW2 about soldier's reluctance to fire their weapons. I hesitate to claim exact figures because I dont have a source at hand, but I do remember a suprisingly high proportion of troops wouldn't fire their weapons. In fact I thought this had something to do with assault rifle development as well as training post WW2. However I dont know how this could realistically be simulated, especially in the scope of cmbn. Nor would that make for very enjoyable gameplay, I find it maddening enough when my mg gunners status goes from 'firing' to 'waiting' in the middle of an ambush while some enemy squad scrambles to cover.

spoiler alert ********** I used a couple of the recon squads and crossed the road on the right side of the map (if you're facing the american lines from your own) On both the left and ride sides of the road splitting the Ami lines in half theres a large field bounded by hedgrows. My Aufklarung crossed the road, and set up position on the hedgerow on the right side of the large field to the right side of the road. (The one before the farm buildings..) After a few minutes Ami troops moving in to occupy the road front lines and some troops moving out were spotted. One split squad of troops moving out came to within a few meters of my troops so they were ambushed and killed. Fire was exchanged for a few minutes before I pulled my troops out and pulled back. Even if you blunder into the lines and get massacred in this mission it does serve its recon purpose - if you plot pre planned artillery fire in the next mission on the discovered American front lines its easy to punch through the dazed remnants..

Excellent campaign. I'd request the creators to continue with the story and/or make a Axis campaign with a similiar storyline. I played it through on veteran. Very enjoyable, though not too difficult. Maybe next time increase the difficulty a little somehow? Once again though great campaign

I've been playing combat mission since the demo in 99. I remember reading the AARs before the demo was even out - fascinated. I usually lurk... but im coming outa the cave to say that the new game is awesome. Papertiger - All of your CMSF campaigns were SUPERB. The combination of how you make maps, the scale, briefings, ambience, and force size just suit me very well for whatever reason. So Im BEGGING you to continue making campaigns for CMBN (yes I know you already made one) ESPECIALLY a German vs. Allied campaign. Great to see Combat Mission alive and well...

Brereton, everything else you said aside - the V2 rocket thing I really doubt would have worked. The V2 wasnt that accurate at all. Good for cities or something but I dont really see it being very effective against troops in the field.

I'd agree Jason, the south was the correct choice in '42. Do not forget it's been well-documented that the Soviets also expected the German summer assault in the Moscow front. Hindsight may be 20/20, but this just further reinforces the southern move option.

I did the marching in a straight line thing on 'The Bitter End' Stalingrad scenario as the Soviets once and won a major victory.. lol

Firstly, I just got outta jail and I had to get a new computer. I havent played CMBB in like a year so I could use a few recommendations on the best terrain/vehicle mods Second Anyone wanna PBEM? Third Do cannibals eat clowns? because you'd think they taste funny... Edit:because im an idiot and cant even use correct grammar on post titles [ November 30, 2005, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: Sublime ]

20 been playing since the cmbo beta demo in 99

I remember when I first got CMBB I played B&T's Forgotten Front and it still remains to this day one of my favs para...

Indeed and I started war games VERY young. (But Im biased b/c I was born in Germany and I come from a military family) I started CM at 14 but that was only because thats when the beta demo was out for CMBO. I started playing war games with Steel Panthers and Panzer General (dont laugh - selection wasnt great back then)

I've been playing the CM series since fall of 99. I turn 20 in March. I'd have to agree with djohn on the size issue. I do see the point of large battles spreading into several smaller battles, but its all just waaaay too tiring for me to do. It just grows old after awhile and using mass orders makes for ****ty positions for my units (especially infantry) I second the request for good company sized scenarios. There are a good amount for CMBO, but I really would like some company sized or smaller scenarios/ops for CMBB. Anyone..?

I noticed falcons response too Im 19 years old I was introduced to CMBO back in the fall of 99 with the demo but it definitely not the first wargame I ever played... Geez Im not even sure exactly what the first one was... hmm It'd prolly be like Panzer General or somefink way back when though I really cut my teeth on Close Combat 1 and 2 and East Front I and II Also other wargames though not strategy like Aces Over Europe, Aces of the Pacific, Aces of the Deep, etc etc etc.....