weta_nz

Hi Guys, I really enjoyed CMFI and Gustav line. But I'm not sure if I should be excited by this module. I'm not a history buff - so I was hoping someone could inform me of what sort of things I might expect?

Kevin, that sounds like a great idea to limit one of the big advantages we have over the AI which is our god like view of the battlefield and our ability to react

First I'd like to thank the qb map makers and ai script writers. Quick battles are some of my favourite battles i've had some really good 'infantry only' tiny - med probe type battles with me as the attacker. I generally choose my own troops and have had some surprisingly fun battles where (probably more by chance) the ai script reacts in a very realistic way counterattacking just when i'm pushing a little too much. Having said that the ai can't really follow up any localised tactical gains so normally i can reorganise and 'win' the scenario. However, i generally have a few rules i follow when playing the the qbs against the ai to make it more interesting: 1) Role play a bit, so i can't just totally change a plan 2) only area fire at enemy units with my units which have at least a ? (the exception is dense forest as it is almost impossible to advance without area fire) 3)-10% to 20% points which in small scenarios means avoiding unnecessary casualties is very important

haha!! ROTFL That is awesome. Well done

Hi Womble - for my mortar problem, yes trees were overhead. However the mortar seemed to be able to shoot from that position as I was able to area fire around the scout car but not directly at the scout car.

Bit off topic now but... Hi IanL, yup the mortar was definitely deployed. I was able to re-create the problem when I restarted the scenario (turn based this time) and when I positioned the mortar in the same place I got the same result e.g. The mortar would hold it's target line but no aiming or firing occurred. When I moved it a few meters forward - the soldiers aimed and fired the mortar correctly. So I've concluded it's not a bug - just a weird sighting issue where some of the mortar team could target the scout car but the soldier who aims and fires the mortar could not.

Re my query above. I retried the scenario and got the exact same problem. But this time I moved my mortar team a few meters forward and then it did 'direct fire' onto the scout car. I think I had one of those weird targeting issues where maybe some guys in the mortar team could target the scout car (PSW 234/1) but the 'gunner' couldn't.

Not sure if this is related. Playing the scenario 'December Morning' real time - I had a 60mm mortar refuse to direct fire at the German scout car in. Range was about 370m. I could set the target line but it would not aim or fire. I could area target all around (just in front, just behind etc) the scout car and the mortar would aim and fire correctly. No save game sorry

Thanks for the info - I can live with it.

yep same here

Hi, I had a problem playing real-time as the US in the training mission. One squad got 'stuck' in the woods near the attack route objective. I could issue orders normally (fast, move, crawl etc) but they would immediately disappear and be replaced by the 'face' command - the men would squirm around to face the direction but could not move from the 'action spot'. Just a guess but it seemed to me like a tree might have been at the center of the action spot and thus the terrain was 'impassable'??? If I gave orders to move to another unit to move to the spot where the stuck squad was the mouse icon would turn to the icon which tells you that you can't move there. I saved the game and kept playing and found another squad got 'stuck' in the same way in a similar spot with the same terrain. cheers

Hi, I just had a Stuart tank reverse through the bocage - a minor bug maybe? It's has probably been raised before but I haven't seen it mentioned.

Hi, What about infantry squads automatically deploying smoke when they get nervous / panicky if they have it. In much the same way as tanks do already. The good think about it is they will hopefully put it between them and the shooter. I find when i manually do it it doesn't seem to go where i want.

Great read, i enjoyed every panel and well done!

Wow - this just occurred to me, i started playing cmbo demo in my mid twenties and i might still be playing a version of Combat Mission when i'm in my fifties! Pretty amazing the longevity of this game created by Steve and co. Thanks guys - looking forward to cmfb in the near future and more to come in the long term!!

Thanks again Skwabie for the lowering TC download

Hey Skawbie, Well done! I'm sure quite a few of us who generally play against the computer would like to have the 'lowered' tank commander. Even if it means worse visibility I think it would be great to have as I always forget to button up when I get close to the enemy. Even if it is just for the Tiger tank shown - do you have a download for that too? cheers

As a challenge against the AI I find it quite good fun to be the Italians. They are very different to the other nationalities as you can't split the squads and I have to be more methodical in my approach. However in the weekend I tried a Quick Battle against the Italians thinking it would be fairly easy to win. I must admit I sent my Canadians in fairly piece-meal and with split squads which turned out very badly. At close quarters, in tree cover and sloped terrain, the Italians chewed up my split squads with grenades . I have not tried a PBEM game with or against them though.

On a similar note - play as the Italians against the Germans or Allies in an infantry only battle in CMFI! As other posters have said you really learn to use your HMGs.

That was a fun read! Thanks for taking the time to do produce it

Wow - great stuff. Thanks for a very informative post(s)

Thanks JonS , I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious or some little trick to get it too happen. Hopefully Battlefront can get some more options for the AI scripting in the future.

I don't want to hijack the thread but as there are some scenario design guru's giving excellent advice here I have a question. Is it possible to get the AI to use smoke after the first turn? I've tried but failed to get the AI to use smoke after the first turn. I set up one (or more) Support targets in the AI plan and chose smoke from the drop down menu I have tried a few different things e.g bring the arty in as a reinforcement. I've tried off-board arty and on-board arty. I can get smoke on the first turn but the AI never seems to use it after the first turn. If it's impossible - it would be a nice feature for the a future version as it would make AI attack and assaults a little more like a human IMHO cheers

I'm not sure if this will work but have you tried a target arc command to stop them firing at the IG?

That is some great info about snipers. thanks RockinHarry