ASL Veteran

Yeah, it's not a bug but rather a limitation with how the AI plans are put together. Which side of a wall the pixeltruppen will occupy is fairly predictable, but the designer has to play through the scenario to make sure the pixeltruppen are doing what the designer wants them to do.

Keep in mind that only soldiers that get a 'brown' base after being hit have been immediately killed by whatever it is that got them. Soldiers with the red base are severely wounded and buddy aid will put them in the WIA category. If you don't perform any buddy aid on your red base casualties there is a good chance they will be counted as KIA at game end. You can't just take the end of scenario tally and use that as your guideline if you aren't religiously performing buddy aid on your troops (and it's a lot more difficult to do it when you are retreating). It's been my experience that brown base KIA are relatively rare. Also, keep in mind that wounded AFV crewmen will not exit the vehicle as they could do in reality. Wounded crewmen will simply disappear within the vehicle when the vehicle is hit.

Items that aren't in a setup zone can't be deployed by the player in the set up phase. That applies to everything not just mines. It's just the way the scenario designer set it up. There is no trick and it's not a bug. It's just the way it is baby . Oh, TRPs are the only exception to what I just said

I have found three AARs on YouTube A short but very well done one for Surrender Invites Death A very long one with no commentary for Ramparts of the Palikoi Another very long one with no commentary for Hot Mustard (by the same guy who did the Ramparts one)

If you are a beta tester, then why are you bringing this issue up out here rather than on the beta boards? :confused:

I've got about 40 hours on this game and I never played the original, but this tactic is completely unnecessary. If you don't want someone to come on a mission then you just don't take him / her. Not possible at the moment. The only option to launch when UFO is detected is to launch an interceptor. Once the UFO has been shot down the game then gives you the option to send in a strike team. Not sure if you mean friendly or enemy installations. You currently only have one base and the aliens don't invade it. When assaulting enemy bases you will have to come to the aliens. No laser tanks are in the game as far as I can tell. At least I've never had the option to build one You only have one base - you can't build any others They have SHIVs in the game so yeah, you could do something like that in the game if you wanted to. They have soldiers with rockets so you can fire rockets at Aliens if you want to. There is usually a 90% hit chance although one of my guys managed to miss once! :mad:

Unfortunately you can't put anything under the shelter. I tried putting lettuce boxes and milk containers under the shelter one time and it just didn't work. You can move them under it initially, but when you reload the map the stuff under the shelter will all disappear IIRC.

Is that a British leg poking out from under the tank?

The game makes no distinction between dead or alive. It's also not a sound contact but a 'contact', the contact being a reported contact. Squad A sees an enemy unit (dead or alive) and reports that through the radio net. Squad B doesn't see into that area but because squad A reported something there they get a 'contact' marker in that spot. So in the exact same spot Squad A sees a destroyed enemy truck and Squad B sees an unknown enemy contact. Until Squad B actually looks at the enemy unit itself the contact marker that Squad B sees in that location will never firm up to a destroyed truck (at least I don't think it will, although it's possible that over time it might). I'm not trying to defend the behavior or tell you that you need to like it. I'm just explaining what's happening in the game.

This isn't any sort of mystery. It's the result of relative spotting. Until a unit sees an enemy for itself it only gets that information through the information sharing between units that are in command and control. This frequently results in contacts for one unit if they don't have eyes on something even though another unit has fully spotted the destroyed enemy in that location.

I'm very interested in picking that book up, but when I see the price my eyes start to water .

It's possible that might happen, although it would have to have unique terrain features and or TO&E in order to work. If you just made scenarios with the base game and had nothing unique in the 'pack' then all you would have to do is have one guy buy the pack and then he can e-mail all the scenarios to his friends. I have seen loose talk of 'Battle Packs' that were scenario focused but I haven't seen anything concrete yet so you never know.

Perhaps, but I think that QB players and Scenario players in general terms are different. A QB player is focused on the force he selects and how that force selection matches up with different combinations that your opponent can throw at you. In other words, the QB player is all about the force selection. Many QB players then try to tailor that force into an unbeatable combination for the purposes of competitive play. Their tactics and outlook tend to be focused on maximizing the strength of the force they can select as compared to other force combinations they may encounter. A scenario player, by definition, has no control over the force he has to work with since the force and situation is unique to the scenario. Therefore the scenario player has to adapt their tactics and approach to the force and situation that he finds himself in as outlined in the scenario they choose to play. A QB player could play twenty games all commanding the same exact force (quite possibly on the same exact map) since they will purchase what they want to command. A scenario player who plays twenty scenarios will have twenty unique situations to try to adapt their tactics to. It's a completely different mind set to playing the game.

I thought every scenario on the CD had a briefing for each side as well as an AI plan for each side? What is it that you are looking for exactly in a head to head scenario? If you are looking for "Tournament Scenarios" then you probably won't ever get something like that from BFC.

Yeah, I was wondering about that. I saw some photos with the sleeve rank but many with no insignia of any type at all. In WW2 the sleeve ranks were probably still yellow chevrons rather than green and black. Most of the Vietnam pictures still have the soldiers wearing the black strip with "US Army" in yellow above the left pocket though so I don't think it's the color that's bothering them. It's probably rank that's an issue because of snipers but a little color on the shoulder probably wouldn't mean that much one way or another if you are running about in the middle of Nijmegen. I once told a Vietnam era medic that since I wear glasses I was always worried about reflections from the sun giving me away. He told me something to the effect of 'It doesn't really matter what you do cause when it's your time that's when it happens. It's completely out of your control'.

You should probably keep in mind that many WW2 photos and video have had the divisional insignia obscured or removed by a censor. Modern US soldiers still wear their divisional insignia on their uniforms, although the insignia is all green and black now instead of multi colored. I don't believe the US Army switched to the green and black divisional insignia until sometime after the Vietnam war. I think the insignia is now attached by velcro, but when the patches were sewn onto the uniforms it was done with a specific number of stitches as per regulations (I know because I had to count them!). The divisional patches were very difficult to remove once sewn on and a determined effort to remove it might leave a hole in your sleeve. I did a quick search through some Vietnam pictures and it appears that the colored divisional patches were phased out sometime in 1967 or thereabouts. It's pretty hit or miss as to whether soldiers were wearing any insignia at all - even with regards to rank. They probably switched to the collar rank insignia about the same time they switched to the green and black divisional insignia. It seems like the 1st Infantry Division were the most consistent in wearing their divisional insignia though - First Cavalry Division was the least consistent or so it seemed from a quick photo search. Here's a nice shot of an infantryman from the Big Red One http://www.pbase.com/d_berry/image/111026576

The National Socialist Workers Party was a 'left wing' organization not a 'right wing' organization. Don't let Stalin's post war posturing fool you (Stalin, chomping a cigar 'wow, wouldn't want to be associated with those guys - better call them right wingers so nothing sticks to me. Oh, don't look at all those Ukrainians - nothing to see there). No, the Nazi Party was not communist but Fascism holds many 'community' and 'collective' based foundations. The collective being the state as opposed to the proletariat.

That's always a tough call because some players like less information and some like more so it's a bit of a balancing act. The US conditions are spelled out fairly well on the US tac map and OP map but many players probably just skip through a lot of that 'yeah yeah, when does the shooting start'. The US briefing also tells the US player not to worry about terrain and to withdraw if enemy firepower becomes too heavy. The US has no terrain victory points so they can hide anywhere on the map that they want, while the German has two terrain objectives so their direction of attack can be predicted with some level of certainty. The terrain is a bit rolling too so the American should be able to get off some Bazooka shots and set up some deadly ambushes on reverse slope defensive positions. The 57mm can definitely take out a Tiger as well. If your opponent threw in the towel at the thirty minute mark then I'm guessing he / she didn't follow the briefing advice. Even with the victory condition tilt, it's still a tough game as the US and that player will probably still have to take more casualties than most average players are probably willing to accept and continue playing. If you had Cease Fired rather than just stopping then it probably would have read as a Total US Victory or something along those lines (they also get a victory point bonus)

The victory conditions are heavily slanted to the US side, so while the US gets pummeled, it's supposed to be more difficult to gain points as the axis. So yeah, the battle will not play out in a way that is equal, but hopefully that is compensated for with the victory conditions. Out of curiousity, when you hit cease fire what was the score in the game? And no, it's not meant to be played as Axis vs the AI only. The victory conditions make it playable head to head - the superior player would probably want to take the US side. There is also a full Axis AI plan if someone should want to play as Allies vs the AI. There are 1000 worth of variable points that are easy for the US to get and hard(er) for the Axis to get (a 2000 point swing). The casualty points the US can gain are front loaded onto the first German infantry battalion (it's worth three times as much as the second battalion). It's not just about how the battle plays out but how the points are scored. The US player also has to be talented enough to conduct a fighting withdrawal. If the US player just sticks his jaw out and lets the Tigers pummel it then he's going to have a tough time of it.

After inspecting our target, discussing possible danger spots and driving tactics, we mounted and informed Arno, our gunner, Karl, our loader, and Egon, the radio operator. Their first combat action was now before them. Ready to go, ready to fire. ‘Panzer March!” Our nerves tight to the breaking point, each alone with his thoughts, complete silence inside the vehicle, only the engine was humming. So we crawled and crept slowly toward the hill top. What was waiting for us on the rear slope? Otto was standing in his hatch. ‘Slowly, a little higher! Stop! Turret three o’clock, aim at the edge of the woods! Again, nothing, Helmut, let’s go, march!” I geared up and opened the throttle all the way. We crested the hilltop. I spotted the edge of the woods and steered toward its left corner. We wanted to go around it so we could see what was behind it. Then, a violent rattle on the outer walls, machine gun and rifle fire. Our turret MG was firing. I recognized a rapidly firing enemy machine gun, spotted the flat helmets. De clutching on the right, aiming the hull MG, firing – all that happened in a flash. There, at the corner of the woods, enemy soldiers moving a gun into position! Report to the turret again aiming the hull MG. Our gun was firing with the Panzer moving at full speed. ‘Stop! Stop! Back! Back! Faster!’ Otto shouted that order. I knew the engine was at full speed, it could not go backward any faster. I turned toward the instruments, we were way past the maximum allowable number of revolutions, the time was sixteen minutes before sixteen hours. Just as I was about to look out of my sight slit I was blinded by a flash of light. There was a bang as if a soda pop bottle had smashed into a stone floor. Hit to the forehead, alive, those were my thoughts. Then, the Panzer was shaking as if in the grip of a giant fist, brightness, howling, shrieking noises, totally inhuman. Smell of sulfur, complete silence. Then Otto’s voice: “Bail out, Panzer’s on fire!” I unlatched my hatch, pushed it open, it moved only a few centimeters. Flames immediately blazed through the opening. The turret skirt sat above. I saw how Egon, our radio operator, pulled his legs from his hatch. That was the way. Across the transmission, the radio, my breath stopped, it was getting so hot, I had to get out, I could not take it anymore. Far away, a face. Arms stretching toward me. Shouts: “Helmut, get out!” Pulling, ripping, fresh air. I was outside, jumped off, letting myself drop. Egon had come back and pulled me out. Thanks comrade! Egon helped me to get up, I was standing again. Bullets whistled by and hit the hull. We lept to the side away from the enemy, there was Otto. What about Arno and Karl? Otto pointed to the turret, its side hatches were still closed and yelled: “Both were killed outright, I was still inside!” I could not believe it. Arno Eltus from Konigsberg in East Prussia, my gunner. Since Hasselt we had been together with Otto, always in the same Panzer. We lived through our first actions, victories, always the three of us together. Now he was gone, just left inside the turret. What a terrible realization. Dark smoke billowed from the open hatches. We ran into the direction of our front line. Suddenly I heard: “Helmut, you’re on fire!” I rolled on the ground, Otto and Egon helped extinguish the flames. Again, machine gun bullets were whistling by us. We ran and ran. Finally we reached the rear slope, found German soldiers, houses. A squad of soldiers addressed us but I did not hear or comprehend anything. I could see but not recognize , felt pain, severely burning pain. Then it turned all black around me and silent.

The main problem with the BAR is that it only has a 20 round box magazine and it loads from the bottom which is less convenient than the top feeding 30 round box magazine for the Bren if you are firing from the prone position. You are almost guaranteed to lose your aim when reloading a BAR. I don't think the BAR has a barrel change either, although I'm going from memory on that.

Besides, the correct terminology according to General Patton is Spaghetti Benders not Spaghetti Eaters. Let's try to get our disparaging remarks correct first before becoming offended by them.

I doubt that any of the yellow level wounded are counted as 'wounded' in the after battle stats. The wounded in the post battle stats are probably all 'red' wounded while the killed would be the brown 'KIA' plus a percentage of the red wounded who didn't receive buddy aide.

Typically after a crew bails out they are subject to some form of shock or confusion. Just getting out of the tank is a dicey affair. Sometimes, for example, if a Mark 4 has it's turret turned just the wrong way the skirt will block the driver and radioman's hatches from opening and they have to attempt to exit through the turret. After surviving the exiting of the vehicle the crew are almost always unarmed since the first reaction is to get out of the vehicle before suffering from a fiery death. Crews don't typically spend time taking weapons off the racks before getting out. In fact, I've read several accounts where a German tank commander gets tangled up in his throat mic and has a lot of difficulty bailing out because of it. One guy was even dangling on the side of the turret hanging by the throat mic while enemy infantry were shooting at him. That should give you some indication as to what tank crewmen's priorities are when bailing out of a tank. After a successful bailout, the crew will typically look to assist wounded crewmembers and then attempt to run for cover if there are any enemy infantrymen nearby. I've read one account of a driver who got out and it took several seconds before his comrades even realized that he was on fire! After reaching cover the crew almost always heads back to the workshop or company headquarters / rear area if possible. A particularly motivated commander may mount another vehicle if there is one nearby in order to continue command of his unit, but that's certainly not always going to be the case. This seems sensible to me because after surviving a near death experience it's probably not normal for a human being to put themselves right back into danger unless they are highly motivated. Incidentally, I've also never read of a situation where tank crewmen switch places to continue the fight after a penetrating hit kills a crewman. If a crewmember is killed and the other crewmembers notice it (from a penetrating hit) the tank will almost certainly retreat out of danger and possibly even return to the workshop where the tank is examined for damage and the body of the dead crewman is removed. Japanese tank crewmen, on the other hand, will not bail out of their tank if the tank is in direct LOS of the enemy even if the tank is on fire. If the tank breaks down or immobilizes out of the LOS of the enemy the crew will dismount the vehicle removing any MGs that can be carried and they will continue to advance as infantrymen. I have read some accounts of Japanese tank crew and they are in a class all by themselves.

Ahem, rescuing crew members of a disabled tank and cramming that crew into an already manned tank is a distinctly different situation than having a crew look upon an abandoned tank, jump into it, and start driving around fighting the enemy. One would also presume that such a tank that was filled by both it's inherent crew and a rescued crew would be compromised in it's ability to function during combat. I would expect a vehicle filled with two crews to head to the rear so that the wounded men could receive aid and the extra personnel be offloaded in a safe area. Regarding an abandoned tank on the battlefield let's run through some common sense logic here shall we? I see a tank on the battlefield that doesn't appear to be moving. Is there a crew inside? Maybe or maybe not. Unless there is smoke coming from it or obvious damage then it wouldn't necessarily be apparent that the vehicle is even abandoned. Assuming that you have determined that the vehicle is abandoned how are you going to know that all the systems are working? Does the gun fire? Is the radio working? Does the vehicle move or even have fuel? Does the engine work? So you and your comrades decide - yeah, even though the tank is under fire by Soviet HMGs and there is an AT gun nearby and we have no idea what condition the tank is in, I'm just going to jump into that bad boy, fire it up and start kicking some Soviet a$$. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't even pass the smell test. John, I have read more personal accounts than I would care to count - many of which are directly on point with what is being discussed. I've never read an account where an abandoned tank gets remanned in the middle of a firefight. Ever. Not even a single time. Have I read where a crew abandons their tank and happens across another tank on their way back to the workshop area? Yeah. The dead crewmembers were both inside the tank and on the ground nearby. They checked out the vehicle, inspected it for damage, tentatively tried to start it up and were surprised it ran - and had fuel. They drove it back to the workshop to have it looked at. No, the enemy was nowhere to be seen. Have I read where individual commanders will join an already manned tank so he can continue to command his unit? Sure, but even in those circumstances the commander waits until the opportunity presents itself so that the switch can be made safely.