phil stanbridge
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Posts posted by phil stanbridge
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I'd be happy if guys in opened topped vehicles (and bunkers) stopped disappearing when they get nailed...maybe throw them to the ground or something if it's too hard to have them stay within the vehicle. I don't know if that constitutes as an animation but it would help with immersion and knowing (especially with passengers) what happened to the squad that was sitting in that half track five turns ago.
Mord.
Absolutely agree. Whilst on the subject of immersion I'd love to see that k98 sound appearing.. One can wish!
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oooh that new screenshot is tasty! What the hell is that WW1 style armoured car though? Bet that doesn't last long!
I wonder if BFC will throw in some new animations like they did with the modules in SF.
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This is fantastic news if accurate. I was hoping for much more variation in the campaigns and it sounds like they have listened to user feedback.
....As the player progresses, he gets the opportunity to add unique forces – a section of engineers, a Lynx, a pair of King Tigers etc.I'm not entirely sure how this will work - Do you get a chance to 'add' specific units? This isn't TOW
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Really looking forward to this. What are folk most looking forward to? I hope to see some larger battles with loads of British armoured units and masses of artillery. I'm also hoping for a decent, less-linear campaign. I'm also looking forward to seeing how the SS compare to the 'uber' SS units that were in Cmx1. I hope to see the Croc and AVRE at some point in the non-too distant future too!
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Wow. Is that even possible in RL? It sounds quite hard to believe. Sherman Turrets are not M10 turrets.
I know it was very frustrating. There was some debate if I recall about exactly how far those Panther shells could penetrate. I can't remember exactly what was said but some people believed it possible. (These Shermans were all in line and there was hardly any distance between them). Some people also expected a bug! I guess BFC will have addressed this with the next module if it is a bug. I've also reasonably frequently been on the end of Panther shells that have penetrated bocage, or armour, and gone straight through and killed infantry behind. I thought it was a pretty common occurence?
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A Panther shot an M10 through the turret on the side. The round went through the M10's thin turret armor, out the other side, and hit another M10 behind the first one, brewing it up. The exploding M10 was previously unspotted to me until I saw a giant explosion in thin air.
Ah that's a good one! I've experienced something similar now you mention it, but maybe even more extreme. One AP shot from a Panther took out 3 Shermans. Talk about bad luck. The shell penetrated the turret of the first, went straight through the turret of the second and ended up in the hull of the third. The first two Shermans brewed up, and the third was stopped dead in its tracks. The crew successfully bailed from the third Sherman but all 10 crew members were burnt to a crisp in the first two.
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CMSF is totally amazing. It's diverse as well as immersive. But Normandy is an incredible piece of work too. I can't help feel that SF is just that tiny bit more polished as it stands. There certainly appear to be less complaints abouts SF now, than there is regards Normandy. But I guess this is par for the course. I'm sure when we see forthcoming modules and new patches with new content (fire, etc etc
) things will balance out. -
I was busy avoiding an artillery barrage on the other side of the map at the time so I didn't pay close attention. But I swear when my recon team spotted the assault gun initially it was just your 'standard' Stug. But I realise there are no assault gun placeholders or anything like that. It was only when I got my men closer that they identified the type of assault gun. I couldn't see any of the crew beforehand remember, but when my men got closer, they could see the crew commander unbuttoned. I'd say that's partial ID working there?
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Save the game every other turn. Then reload that turn and try again. That's what I do when I run into a minefield. They pee me off too.
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How did you know that a contact was a "possible armoured contact" before you know that it was a Stu?
For me, I think that contacts are either "something is there, no idea what" or "fully identified". Am I missing some valuable in between state?
GaJ
That's a good question. It was identified as an 'assault gun' but it wasn't confirmed when I first looked. It was a generic Stug graphic as far as I could tell, I suppose it could have been any model. I had to get my recon team up close and it took a couple of turns before I could tell exactly what it was. At least, that's how it panned out for me.
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Bizarre. I'm still amazed at that Stug being knocked out by a single 81mm airburst. Never seen that before.
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..and another somewhat surprising moment. A 60mm mortar squad drop a few rounds on top of a Marder III. Boooooom! Nice result there too.
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Aspects of this game never cease to amaze me.
I am using split squads to recon areas before I advance. I'm taking my time, and one 2-man squad identify a possible armoured target behind a hedgerow. I manage to creep my guys a bit closer and spot it's a Stug III. It's a really awkward target for me as I can't flank it easily, and it has direct LOS to all my infantry units in front of it. Nightmare! So I decide to drop a few rounds of 81mm on top of it, thinking the best I can do is dislodge it from its hull down position and perhaps expose a side to a bazooka later on in the mission.
A couple of spotting rounds fall off target, but several airbursts land nearby, and follow the length of the hedgerow. Upon closer inspection it would appear the airbursts killed the crew, or at least some of the crew. The Stug III has now been identified as 'knocked out'. The crew were definitely exposed when I first spotted it, so I must have got lucky. What a result eh?
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I'm slightly disapointed to be honest. why is it that when ever a module comes out. the "axis" gets the smallest expansion. ?
there are plenty of vehicles to bulk the axis up with.
stug 4? brumbar? 251/22 (tho i think that'd be hard to model someone said in the past with incorperating at guns onto a vehicle model)
You need to consider the other modules - I'm sure some of the missing tanks will appear at some point.
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Speaking of that, do you just need an empty jeep to be nearby the mortar squads? Or does it need to be manned?
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It certainly is tough!
If it's the RTM campaign it's very challenging to say the least! I'm actually running through my second replay of the campaign now. I've learnt how to use suppression much more effectively. Suppression and smoke are definitely your friend. Some tips:- Use your MGs to cover any advances you make. Always keep an MG squad with one of your platoons, and use it whenever you can. It really helps. Secondly, where possible, keep a 60mm mortar squad with your platoon, but keep it well back. Those 60mm mortar squads are like gold dust. I've just had one take out a Marder! Be very careful with your engineers also, as they are vital at clearing the minefields.. Don't rush your tanks too! You don't get very many and you need to look after them. They provide vital support especially later on.
Be patient and keep on trying. Although the maps can lead to frustration, and there's a couple of killer missions later on, it's a very challenging campaign.
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Ah it would be fab if the Germans could have the K98 - it would help identify sound contacts this way for starters, plus it would sound much more authentic.
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Yeah mortars (and machine guns for that matter) can be tricky to setup effectively in my opinion, but they're so worth it when you finally figure it out. For the first time really, I've been able to use MG and mortar fire to suppress the enemy units. It's working a treat in the campaign, but you have to have decent LOS, that is the only problem of course. If you can see them, then you know damn well they can see you.
I'm sure someone will come in and correct me if I'm wrong, but I *think* you can call in rounds if you have a leader near a 'deployed' mortar. In the RTM campaign I'm playing through now I have mortars out of contact with their HQ but I can still call them in via other nearby leaders. I generally tend to leave 60mm mortars to their own devices however. They get through the rounds so quickly otherwise.
I check the graphic of the mortar or MG in the UI, if there's no 'not deployed' or whatever text then you know its ready for action. But I'm using a graphical mod which is different to the BFC one.
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Long distance seems to work best logically although I can't say I've ever had much success with sniper teams in Normandy.
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I suppose that's one way of looking at it Sixxkiller. Concealment is more effective than than actual cover. But in my experience, I quite often take casualties inside buildings even if my units are hidden. Moreso than if I place my men outside. But I wouldn't have a clue how to measure this, and it is my perception after all. It just *seems* that way to me. I don't like using buildings for cover/concealment as a result.
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Phil, I believe it depends on which man you lose.
Those teams you described have a leader, a radio operator and a soldier.
If the soldier(red shirt) buys it, then no worries.
If either the leader of the radio operator go down, then there is no longer a way to transmit info unless they are in shouting distance for radio loss.
Oh right, that's cool then
Actually, I presume, if the radio on the KIA is undamaged then there is a chance that it can be recovered. I've not seen this happen yet however.
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I'd definitely agree that buildings appear to offer much less protection than they should. Plus, units in buildings tend to be spotted far more frequently than perhaps they should, but these are just my observations. I guess there is an amount of abstraction at work behind the scenes that we need to consider.
I can't say I have specifically noticed the leaders becoming casualties more often than other squad members, but then I tend to keep the HQ's to the rear, where possible and out of the direct firing line.
Hopefully the buildings offering cover will be addressed in the commonwealth patch.
A little thing I find annoying, if I have an HQ support squad with three men, or an XO team with three men, providing FO duties and calling in artillery, if one of those men becomes a casualty, they instantly lose that particular ability.
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It's very easy to exploit the AI when you know its weaknesses and it has serious problems in an offense role. The biggest problem being the AI's lack of regard for flanks. The map designer can set it up so its flanks are secure but then if you penetrate its defenses the AI will not be able to reposition accordingly. AI plans can be used to pull AI troops back into another position preemptively or on a timer but still it's not truly reactive: in a recent game I played it was clear the designer had intended for the AI to reinforce a position immediately behind the main front line but I got through quickly I guess so the timing was completely off. Result: 6 fully loaded halftracks driving straight into my platoon of panthers, presumably to unload BEHIND where my units had already passed.
That's an interesting observation. I have seen what you're talking about to a degree. But even still with the flanks relatively unprotected I still suffer casualties above and beyond what I'd expect. I guess that is down to the map designer. At the end of the day, maybe we are expecting too much from simple AI.
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It's very interesting to see people's responses to the AI. I realise the AI is only ever going to be reasonably effective against a human opponent and I don't expect miracles but I find it challenging all the same. Obviously the longer you play this game the better you become too.
But as I said, I think it's due to the fact it 'rushes' the majority of it's force at you during an attack. So if you're up against the Americans, for example, you can really feel the effect of superior firepower against you. Those quick firing Garands (and plenty of them) can be a nightmare for defending forces.
Personally, I wouldn't want the AI to be any more effective. I don't think I'd enjoy it, and being honest, I'm sure there's a lot of you out there who feel the same. Sure, there's things I'd like to see. I'd like to see bailed crews actually retreating instead of charging the VP by themselves. I'd like to see passengers staying with the HT's and using the MG's instead of fighting on foot. There's plenty more besides. But overall, I think it's a good effort.
Can't wait for the new Commonwealth module!
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
Posted
Yep I read that too - but I was under the impression we wouldn't be seeing it anytime soon. I just assumed we were talking a while off. But fingers crossed that would be fantastic.