phil stanbridge
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Posts posted by phil stanbridge
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I've got an issue with corrupted text on my laptop - something to do with the native resolution and SF/Normandy not liking it even if I force the res in the txt file. Can't find a way round it unfortunately.
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Oh, in case you are interested my final score was a total victory with 114 KIA, 147 WIA no tanks or vehicles lost. I inflicted 765 KIA, 408 WIA, 43 MIA; killed 8 tanks and 2 armoured vehicles.
That sounds pretty good to me? Now go do it again.
I'm on mission 7 and have already lost around 60 KIA plus a couple of jeeps
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lol only 3?? I've only played 7 so far, and 3 of those I found more than challenging, so I expect it must be those ;-)
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What I really want to know is whether or not we will actually receive that mythical final patch for CMSF after the first CMBN patch comes out. I still can't play the German campaign due to those missing panzerfausts. I actually find myself longing for those vast open expanses after a few weeks in the bocage.
I don't need a release date, I just want confirmation that the thing will ever see the light of day.
Amen to that. I know exactly what you mean - I do really enjoy CMBN but I cant help feel that SF is just that little bit more refined at the moment. I did hear some time ago that the Normandy patch would be first, followed by the SF patch.
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Good review. My French isn't great - but I see they picked up on the problematic path finding.
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I don't think it applies to all the units in that campaign but yeah, you face some units you've fought before at times and their casualties\kill counts are carried over.
Wow, I honestly didn't know that. So if I kill a whole company, for example (wishful thinking on my part perhaps), that entire company will not be available further down the line to the AI - but certain core units will always be available? So in theory, this could mean you face a much smaller enemy the better you do?
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I have no idea. I didn't think the game tracked Campaign casualties on a regular basis. I didnt know it even tracked campaign kills.
It's fascinating - I'm looking at a German AI unit here that I KIA and they had 2 kills from a mission beforehand according to the stats. So this rifle team must have formed part of the defense from another mission who slipped through the net, so to speak - very interesting to know how that works in game. I didn't realise this could happen, I was under the impression the AI units are 'thrown together' per mission in the editor, by the designer, but this obviously means the AI has to a certain degree battle the elements of attrition and supply just like us. Ie, this rifle team was destroyed in mission 5 and will not be available in further missions. I can't understand how it works though.
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Can someone explain to me how casualties work in these campaigns? For example, I've just finished mission 7 in RTM with a total victory, which was well deserved. But I noticed the AI also had 'campaign casualties'. For example, one German two-man team which was left on the map at the end of play had 3 kills from a mission before. This obviously meant I had already faced this part of the battalion at some point! So does this mean the AI also faces the same problem with attrition and supply as the human player throughout the campaign? If I kill such and such a unit in mission 7, might they not appear later on, is bascially what I'm getting at.
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RTM is a good campaign - I'm liking it so far, and I'm on mission 6, but it is difficult. The German campaign is quite difficult too for different reasons, but you don't fancy that anyway which is probably just as well.
I think the C&F campaign is supposed to be more of a challenge than RTM?
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God I am not looking forward to that C&F campaign then! I almost exclusively play in WEGO which minimizes the issues of micro management as you take as long as you like. But I realise that is at the sacrifice of realtime movements and orders. It's a comprimise I'm prepared to make when you have battalion sized forces involved, although I have yet to see a CMBN battle which does utilize said forces.
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It's purely an 'administrative' thing. A Company's CO can provide direct C2 to elements from his company that are at the appropriate ranges, so you just have your 'chosen men' hang about in range of the captain, and don't worry that they're out of range of their nominal immediate superior, the platoon lieutenant.
Since we're offering tips, I'll point out that it is well worth making sure your fighting platoons that you want to keep going through taking fire and casualties are in command range of an officer who's got permission to motivate them. Without a leader, they will quickly become quivering ninnies who just want to go home, whereas with a lieutenant (or probably more likely his top kick) behind them, they'll fight like lions.
Okay I'm with you. I've also discovered the importance of effective C2. Even green troops can hold on slightly longer with a decent HQ. Out of interest, does it make more difference if the units have a + or - than the HQ?
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The sound effects are the single most important effect for added ambience within the game in my opinion. They can make or break, and they're an essential part of this game. They really need to be improved upon.
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Just curious, what campaign are you working through? Sounds like Road to Montebourg. In C & F, I think the first bad@ss mission comes on much earlier than #4.
Yes, RTM. I first attempted the German campaign, which was a mistake. That's a tough nut to crack as well! I didn't enjoy the first few missions at all and I ended up losing it by mission 5 I think it was. So I opted for the RTM which I thought was the 'middle ground' as far as the campaigns go. Because it is infantry centric it provides some interesting challenges that would otherwise be dealt with quite easily with a Priest or some heavy artillery.
Tips on things that are working for me:1. Scouts out: break out 4-8 2-man scout teams from a company (pick from the better squads). Fan them out to ID or annoy targets, moving a little (hunt and slow, 30-50 meters per hop), stopping to listen (use pauses liberally in WEGO). Always have overwatch in position, because it's the overwatch that will actually ID the enemy much of the time (not the terrified scouts). Scouts without overwatch are still useful, because you can find the enemy with your gods-eye view even if your other units don't 'see' the enemy due to C2, but not as useful. Especially vs. Human that will kill your scounts and run off before you can respond.
3. when moving up units to the next phase line - usually a hedgerow (particularly HQ's and FO's), SLOW them the last 10 meters into possible enemy LOS, combined with HIDE (make sure hide is selected, so they will autohide when reaching the end of waypoint). Then, unhide them selectively, insuring that they have their 30-meter cover arcs set (see #2 above).
4. Always keep a reserve force completely uncommitted - typically 1/3rd of your total force (1 platoon from a company, for instance). Pretend these guys don't exist and play with the other 2/3rd as long as humanly possible. You'll be thankful later. A nice variation on this, if you have a good company CO, is handpick squads/teams and assign directly to the CO. This way you keep 3 maneuver platoons, with an effective reserve force directly under the CO.
So much stuff to re-learn here, and I consider myself a CMx1 vet!
#1 is sound advice; I have been scouting with two man teams, but I haven't been providing overwatch. Not specifically anyway. I try to keep reserves back, like you say, perhaps a platoon or even two, depending on the mission. But attrition is killing my guys! I need to practice using single platoons with support as much as possible. I have tended to favour the flanking moves, and try to follow the mission objectives but I often find I don't have a strong enough force in the first instance to cover all the bases.
Regards #4, how do you assign a separate team to a CO? For example, can you reassign units on the fly? I must admit, I haven't read the manual!
Don't feel bad. I'm a Captain in the US Army and an Armor officer with 2 deployments to Iraq...this game kicks my ass on a daily basis.I just got done playing the second mission of the first campaign. It was uuuuuuuugly. I'll leave it at that before I embarrass myself and degrade everyone's thoughts of military officers :-)
My tactical nuggets:
-Always attack with a 3:1 ratio in forces
-Never attack without a base of fire - Make it rain! Keep their heads down and maneuver your forces while the enemy is suppressed.
-Always over-kill your enemy - I can't tell you how many times that I THOUGHT I had wiped out an enemy squad only to find 1 or 2 survivors jump up and fire a burst at my guys as they cleared the objective. Use the 'assault' or 'hunt' commands while clearing enemy positions.
-Cut your enemy's retreat - One thing I noticed in CM:BN that is much different from CM:SF is that the enemy will be much more sensible about retreating. I've been in a few situations where the enemy fell back to another location and continued fighting.
-Don't lose your "Tactical Focus" - I'm often guilty of my own advice. Some of these missions are complicated. Constantly evaluate your mission and review your objectives. In most cases your objective is terrain-based, not enemy based. You don't have to kill every single enemy - don't waste time or your men's lives if you don't have to.
That's cracking advice there too. But it's a lot to absorb! One thing that I am seeing reguarly, like yourself, is the AI tactically withdrawing, rather than completely routing. It's difficult to tell precisely on Warrior mode, but I am guilty of B. I never over-kill these guys, and I've become a casualty as a result. In one such instance, I thought I had destroyed a HMG and I lost 12 men to the same team as I tried to cross a road. It turned out it there was only a couple of man left manning the gun in the end, but they inflicted heavy losses all the same. I was quite shocked and the AI had done its job rather well. I've also seen AI armour (Marder's) withdraw into safer positions after I targetted it with small arms, which surprised me. The AI does seem somewhat improved from times of old.
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This has been my experience, only, and I'm speaking VERY generally here, but it is the rule, rather than the exception that the maps just don't allow enough room and/or, given advancing troops, time, for my spotters to be of any use. The small mortars which are organic to a squad, they'll follow along, but with the bigger stuff I take a use it or lose it approach with preplanned barrages on whatever looks to be likely defensive lines. I'm speaking very generally here.
This is my experience too - the maps are not big enough by far, and the time alloted per mission is not enough. But this has always been the way with CMx2 with the exception of a few missions in SF.
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By the way, I'm playing Warrior on WEGO. That might make a difference.
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I have always had problems with spotters too. It seems very hard to get them in a forward position where they can see the enemy without being seen themselves. I move them forward on slow and keep them 'hidden' but I have been wondering if a hidden unit is less able to spot than one that is not hidden? If so, maybe a small target arc is a better choice?
Yes I believe that is the problem - you need to use a cover arc rather than hiding them in order to be more effective at spotting. But I can't even get my FO's (or HQ's) close enough - they are a prime target for obvious reasons. By the time I have something resembling LOS it's normally too late for the artillery to be effective.
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High casualties were quite normal in Normandy. Especially during the early days. I am currently reading "Four Stars of Valor" which among other operations chronicles the situation the 505 PIR faced in Normandy. Here is a link if you are interested.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/four-stars-of-valor-phil-nordyke/1007989728
When I rack up casualties I have to remind myself that this is histrorical. I am used to lower counts from CMSF which also seems to be inline with the combat it portrays.
Thanks very much for this. I am currently reading Beevor's Dday and that is a fascinating insight into the hell hole that was Normandy during Dday - it is certainly food for thought what these guys had to endure. But in this campaign I am rewarded for taking less than 10% casualties which seems somewhat unrealistic considering the nature of the fight on the front line. For example, I just drew mission 4 because I suffered 32 KIA and about the same wounded. Obviously 10% or just over. Even though I acheived the objective - quite frustrating really, and a very difficult mission to boot!
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In general, I find that the biggest mistake I make in CMBN is trying to move too quickly. Take your time.
Roger that - perhaps that is one of my main problems. But I rarely find I have enough time to investigate everything - and in this campaign I am awarded for enemy kills as well as objectives.
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Just in general, Phil, use the basic fire and maneuver tatics, and never go up the middle. I've learned the hard way that the center is almost always a beaten zone, and just like in RL, flank attacks, when possible, rule. I sometimes even put all my weight on one flank, with nothing up the center or the other flank. It's counter-intuitive from my old boardgame days, but one of the many reason CMBN is such a good simulation. It rewards good tactics.
Most of the time, I end up not using all of my arty assets either, since the momentum of the attack often just doesn't make it worthwhile. It's a different story on defense, of course. And remember, in RL, it was a bloody, bloody business at the sharp end.
This is excellent advice and something for me to munch on. I have tended to use the flanks, but I thought this was considered 'gamey' - that said, a win is a win isn't it?
Another problem I am experiencing - my Pioneer dudes never carry enough HE and they are invaluable in this theatre. I had a whole squad virtually wiped out by a enemy mortar barrage which I wasn't expecting. I'm seriously down on engineers so I'm severely curtailed - I can generally only go up the 'middle' route which is obviously the most protected. It's catch 22.
I'm always ending the missions with artillery in reserve - because I can't get any LOS to the target - or by the time I do have reasonable LOS some other units have already advanced past it.
Maybe I am playing too fast?
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I could do with some tactical advice - I'm an armchair general no more no less, with plenty of experience with CMx1 and Shock Force. But this is something else. It's difficult for the most part.
I'm currently battling my way through one of the US campaigns, and am taking pretty heavy casualties. I am trying my best to find cover, and to 'soften up' areas with my mortars and artillery prior to an all out assault, but I struggle. The bocage and narrow lanes make LOS very difficult for my spotters. By the time I have a unit capable of directing fire in position he has more often than not already been spotted himself. I struggle with armour also - by the time I have one of my Shermans in position, he himself has probably been taken out. There is very little 'hull-down' so do I lead with the armour, (which I have little) or lead with the infantry and use them as bait? There are so many different ways of playing this game.
Surprisingly I've managed total victories in 3 out of 4 missions so far - with lowish casualties. But mission 4 was a PIG and I had 32 KIA and about the same wounded, plus I lost 3 tanks. I came out with a draw. If the missions get harder I am in trouble.
I'm also struggling a little with artillery - where are the big guns? So far I've only had access to 81mm mortar rounds and 105mm stuff. I thought the allies had some big guns available to them (and air support which I have yet to see at all) - does anything show up in the campaigns?
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This was a bug in SF too, but it was fixed in the latest patch.
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same here - although I am looking forward to the patch for NATO. We need those panzerfausts!!
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I am not prepared to be so dogmatic about ricochets. All I will say is that there were plenty in the above tests and no one got hurt.
I was absolutely stunned when I had a commander unit incapacitated by a ricochet from my own MG42 suppressing fire! It was quite bizzare as the ricochet actually landed quite some distance from the house I was targetting. I studied the WEGO replay time and time again because I have never seen that before.
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Just some friendly bumpage!! Plllllease release me.
No canister shot?
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
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I was under the impression some 251/9's carried some canister rounds - did they not make it into the game? Or was it a different model? I could have seriously done with some of that in the last mission