Louie the Toad

Aaaha ! why?

1. Why would my morale decrease by as much as 5 points in one turn (in a premade scenario) when I have taken no casualties in the turn? I am making very slow progress and I wonder if morale is somehow tied to game turns remaining to achieve the objective? I did have an officer team that turned around and ran back about 40m, but there was no morale effect showing in the information box. 2. Are there instances that will cause morale to go up? Curious Toad

Personally I am eager for the "early years" '39 to '43 or so, (western europe and the desert) and so I hope all resources after CMBB are used to develop this highly interesting and very exciting period.

Strat, Are you taking advantage of the AI by doing things you should not be able to do? Such as: viewing from a higher elevation than you realistically should; zipping around the battlefield with your mouse to view places and terrain which you should not be able to see; zooming in to view the enemy when your units do not have that capability; selecting enemy units with the mouse thereby letting the AI tell you more info than you should be able to know(see example below). Try using some or all of Franko's Iron Man Rules and see the difference. Oh, did I mention playing at the Realistic setting and using Level 1 except when your guys are in a two story building (level 2) and turning detailed hits off? Example: My Cromwell is waiting hull down and sees a PzIVj (not completely sure since my guys did not completely identify it) back up between two houses. The Cromwell shoots and gets what appears to be a hit. BUT, the enemy tank continues to back up and stops almost completely out of sight. The turn ends. Did I hit the PzIV, did I kill it? The enemy gun didn't appear to slew down as so often we see. There was no explosion. My tank crew didn't yell "we got him" which they have in the past. Some of the tank can still be seen. Do I click on the enemy unit to see what the AI says? NO. Absolutely not. Besides that, I have switched off Detailed Armor hits during Set Up. Do I use the Line of Sight tool to see what my guys can see. YES. But that is all. What I can see and hear is the only information I should be able to get. What happened? Fog of War happened. I could have flown with my mouse over to the enemy unit, examined it from all sides, toggled on the Detailed Armor hits, selected the enemy unit with the cursor to find out information. BUT -- "That would be telling" -- Number 6

I want to upgrade CMBO with the latest version which is 1.12 Can I go directly to this version and download it or must I download all the prior versions independently first?

Adam, Thanks for the help, I got it! Grateful Toad

Dear Gunnergoz, What would this same scene look like from view level 1 zoom x1 ? Curious Toad. :confused:

Help ! I have lost my bookmark to a tactical information and instructional site. These were essays by a person on the forum, currently or recently in the military. Featured were topics like: "The Infantry Platoon on the Attack" He even used maps to display the instruction. Can anyone help me locate this site? Forgetful Toad.

Realistic or 1. Sometimes higher during set up to make things easier. Realistic Toad.

Splash, What we are talking about here is Fog of War. As far as playing vs the AI is concerned it is a matter of taste. You like to know the details and are more meticulous. On the other hand if I see an enemy infantry figure in the distance I don't select it. I identify it the best I can with the zoom levels I think my units should have available and the LOS tool. The AI will also identify it at times, but often only with the "infantry ?" designation as you describe above. If I lose track of a target so be it. If we ever played against each other we would have to agree on the "rules" to use. Right now I am playing against a human opponent who has 3 pillboxes. Two have mg and one has an 88. Two have been very quiet for at least 7 turns, maybe more. I don't know if my extensive shelling has caused casualties or not? I observed no direct hits. Are the pillbox crews dead from near misses? BUT ...Is he low on ammo or Is he waiting to open up on my forces as I move into his los? As much as I would love to know the answers to these questions before I sacrifice some units to find out, I still don't think I should know what has happened inside the pillboxes. Thoughtful Toad :cool:

Splash, A good idea, sort of bookmarking the enemy's positions. Would going to view level 7 or 8 help? I use this with IM as if it was the HQ map. (IM purists would want me to print the map at the beginning of the game and refer to that print out. I suppose they would also say that I could update it by hand when I see an enemy unit. I say, use level 7 or 8 and assume it is the HQ staff and others who have updated the map.) Ok, I will stop now.

Dear Splash, This is a whole new way to play and enjoy this great game. I have been playing and play testing Iron Man Rules nearly every day for the past couple of months. I have played small (1000pts or less) unit actions. I can only imagine the complications of playing a large scenario such as August Bank Holiday (the last scenario I played before switching to IM). Yes IM takes more time to view but every squad/platoon is a situation unto itself with its own terrain and firefight problems. As commander you still have the organizational challenges. I think you will find that once into an IM game your review repeats will be necessary information and not considered wasted time. I use the Fast Forward key along with the Shift key while viewing the movie. This advances every 3 seconds rather than the 1 second or the 10 second advance with Fast Forward alone. I suggest giving IM a trial run with 500 pts. You can see for yourself. I have a list of 7 or 8 rules that I use. The hard core IM people probably have triple this number. I would be glad to e mail you this list. :cool:

Dear DasBaron, Try using the Iron Man Rules {Franko's Rules). Its a whole new ballgame. Much more difficult, due to the elimination of the "Eye of God" and other conventions used in the game that reduce the fog of war. :cool:

I got Teddy Roosevelt. BUT then I went back and gave the opposite answer to each question. I guess the evil twin of Teddy must be William Westmoreland.

Dear Deejay, IMHO clicking on an enemy unit will tell you what the AI knows about the unit, which can often be more than you should know. The LOS tool will tell you what you can see. "What you see is what you get" -- Flip Wilson

Dear Verge, I just wanted to explain why I play using level 7 or 8. I treat the view like a map that has been updated by the company staff, you know, those guys in the HQ. They get reports from radios and runners and the CO gets an updated map. I let the computer(company staff) so I dont have to do it by hand. I dont do any other game operation by hand so why should I do this.

In my experience you need level 7 or 8 to use as a company commander's map. ONLY to look, mind you, at the disposition of your units and the terrain, obstacles, objectives around you. You also need level 5 to negotiate ONLY in and around buildings and obstacles, such as to go to the corner of a second story building.

Can you use the Demo for a PBEM game?

Hi Michael, Yes he did. Thanks. I reminded him to thank you. But I think he has been distracted. In the last month he has landed a great job, found a new place to live and bought his first new car. When he gets his computer running I am going to send him the CMBO Demo. Wonder if he will ever play Ambush again.

Jarmo, I see you are a Blackadder fan. Observant Toad

Started a QB finding myself as German infantry and the AI as the French. As I approach this small French village at dusk I hear the faint sounds of music. Now I wear headphones when I play so as not to disturb anyone. But I can distinctly hear the strains of "The Bear Went Over The Mountain" (French drinking song) as if played on a concertina along with the ambient sounds of wind as I am planning my advance to the town. Now as my squads sneak forward I hear the French National Anthem! again played on that concertina. How can this be? I think. Could this have actually been modeled in the game? This is great, the French are in a Bistro and I am sneaking up on them. I take off my headphones. Nothing. Put them back on, its the French National Anthem again and my men are getting closer to town. I am intent on plotting my next move when I realize I am listening to the notes of "Strangers In The Night". Ok! not quite a song of the 40's. I get up and go into the kitchen. There's my teenage daughter with her new cell phone, playing all the built in tunes!

Dear TenFive, You may want to use level 7 or 8 to get your bearings every couple of turns. Also when you look around and see your own guys it is ok to select them and then tab to their position. I find it very interesting to discover my own difficulty in estimating where things actually are in relation to one another. At the end of a game on the white results screen when you can check out the enemy and all, I have been quite surprised as to the distance and bearing relationship between objects. JUST MORE FUN !!

The level 1 rules have also been called the Iron Man Rules (Franko's). Just ended a QB using them. Now into two games using them, one vs AI one vs pbem opponent for the first time. I posted the rules I use in another thread about a week ago. One crucial part of the rules is that you cannot click on an enemy unit -- ever(ok maybe if he is 5m away in open ground). You can use the LOS tool however. Also toggle off any hotkeys that will help you know stuff you should not know about the enemy such as detailed hits. You can only view from where your units are located and at the level they are located. So this makes 2 story houses key objectives. Also only HQ and FO, snipers and gunners on tanks and field guns can use zoom. 2X for HQ and 4X for the others. Definitely cheating to fly around the battle field at any level. I use some modifications: such as using level 5 to position a unit in a house and the like. But only for that particular position. Also use level 7 or 8 like a battle field map. But only for getting bearings not for moving. Mostly I use common sense. What should the unit be able to do/see realistically. I double dog dare you to try a company size quick battle using Iron Man. Its a whole new game.

GenSplatton, What size map were you using? IHABMC (it has always been my contention) that the maps are often too small for the battle. No room to maneuver. Dare we start this topic up again? :eek:

Thanks, Yes I know about the alternate realities that can result from your description above. Sometimes they are very different. I wonder if BTS will make some changes so that we can have mulitple player games.