Andrew H.
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Posts posted by Andrew H.
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If we only could look out of the eyes of our pixeltruppen that would be ok. But since we can view from any point we can always make out the exact source of the smoke. That would allow us to exactly pinpoint the location of the vehicle.
This happened in AK all the time, where it looked like an invisible vehicle was driving down the road leaving a perfect trail of dust.
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I do think that providing additional information about what's happening in larger battles might be useful. But I think that there's a danger that using a "teleprint" style notification will just cause more noise while not increasing the signal. A largish (but not huge) battle might have 2 battalions of soviet infantry, plus a bunch of support weapons, plus a number of vehicles. Many of the infantry squads might be split into half squads. So that's maybe - 100 units?
If they are engaged with the enemy, I'd be getting maybe 30-50? individual messages about each unit - and most of those wouldn't tell me anything that I don't already know.
The problem that I have (and YMMV) is that I don't notice that an unengaged platoon off on the flanks is taking fire because I'm too busy dealing with the main engagement. But I think that a message like [squad 1B, Platoon 3, Company A, Battalion 2, under fire] would be buried in the mass of other squads taking fire that I do know about.
I think what I'd prefer would be an indication on the unit icon itself that something is happening to that unit. The unit icon is already used like that to show that a unit is panicked, for example. As a rough idea, I'd like for a unit icon to turn red if the unit is affected by enemy action in any way - from taking casualties to stopping a "hunt" move due to encountering an enemy unit.
So if I scan the map, I might see a bunch of red icons in the center, where the main battle is going on - this I already know about and am taking care of. But I might *also* see a unit far off to the right which also has a red icon because a spotting round dropped nearby. This would let me know that I should pay attention to that area and is, I think, less likely to be lost that a one sentence message among many would be.
The icon should probably stay red (or whatever color is appropriate) to the end of the turn, so that I would catch it at the end of the replay and know that I should go back and review what's going on over there.
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Played it through once...
If you'd like details, I'll share. But, to me, part of the fun is trying to puzzle it out.
(And I did some "testing" near the end, not totally hard-core playing. No, I did not even look at this during beta-testing. My first look was at the public release.)
Now, if I share, you can't go telling other guys what I did. My reputation of driving my men to their deaths would take a bit of hit...
Ken
If you still had 42 men alive at the end of the battle, you weren't trying hard enough.
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If you have some BA-64B's*, they can be helpful in adding some additional firepower to your troops. Button them up and put them in the action spot behind your squads/teams. Us them to area fire. Their LMG is a nice addition to the firepower of your squad, and they are proof against small arms fire. They also carry 1k+ rounds. Because they have an actual turret, you don't have to worry about the gunner being picked off like with German HTs. (They are vulnerable to sustained MG fire, but that shouldn't be a problem if they are behind the infantry and there is a lot of area fire going on).
*This is the first game, including CMBB, where I've found the BA-64 actually useful. I've been playing small battles on huge maps, and they're good for scouting, too. They are toast if another vehicle finds them - but that's true of almost any recon vehicle.
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Maybe for a very limited amount of woods and you won't run out of ammo or time. Not very doable when you have a large map with a lot of woods. One still needs to send suicidal recon teams.
No, this is just an approach to mop up a small patch of woods with infantry while taking as few casualties as possible.
If you have a 1km x 1km forest, you'll need another approach. I don't think suicidal recon teams are the answer, since IME, they tend to be 8 parts suicide and two parts recon. And you rarely know what's in a forest that size - maybe it's just a FO or a LMG team. Or maybe it's an SMG company, split into halfsquads and arranged in a checkerboard pattern throughout the forest...
If your tanks and heavy stuff are keeping everyone off the actual treeline, why go into the woods at all? The Russians inside are powerless unless you step on them. Don't step on them.Simple.
In many cases, I think that this is just the right answer. In CMBN, I would always approach the objective through woods or similar cover if available. In RT, I never do that anymore; I bypass any large parcel of woods and try to screen myself in other ways. (RT does seem to have some woods that are long and narrow (~50 meters wide); these aren't hard to kill with armor on the outside shooting in and a couple of squads hunting through the center.
But sometimes there is a critical patch of woods in the VL that needs to be cleaned out, and I'm working on the best way to do that with infantry.
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I've been experimenting with a forest "battle drill"; it's still very much a work in progress, but it's working better than my previous attempts, at least. It's for the Sovs, but it should be adaptable.
Note: Use this drill when you know that there are nearby enemy units in the woods, not for general scouting.
Basically:
Put three squads on line, with an action spot between them. (Squad-Action spot- Squad -Action spot - Squad).
Every squad does area target light as far ahead as it can, for a full turn. If there are any tanks or armored cars nearby, have them do the same, into the same area, or at least into an area that may penetrate into the same area your other troops are shooting at. (Make sure that it is target light!). Depending on the shape of the woods, it may make sense for the armored vehicles to be outside the woods, on the flanks.
On the second turn, split on squad into two half squads. On the second turn, the two full squads and one of the half squad will continue with their area fire for the full turn. Give the other half squad a "target briefly"command, and extend it for 30 seconds. Then give that half squad a 30 sec pause order, followed by a "hunt" order, only extending for about 2 action spaces. (1 if you know that the enemy is really really close).
On the third turn, the advanced half squad area fires and his remaining half squad joins him.
Assuming you have no new sound contacts or other enemy contact, a half squad from each of the other squads can advance on line with the full squad, and the remaining half squads will join the next turn. Advance your armor if necessary.
Whenever you get a new contact, including a sound contact, area fire light on it for a full turn. Armor can use regular target or target briefly if your troops are not too close. (Note: I really like SU 76's for this role. (I really like them for infantry support in general, actually). Be careful with ISU 152's - I've had casualties from hits more than 100 meters away).
Also - if you are buying your own troops, think about getting a T-34/76: it carries 70 HE shells, which often turns out to be more useful than the 35? or so carried by the /85.
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You had tools to mill the metal?
In my day, we had to eat the metal and excrete the bullet, using nothing but our sphincter muscles to create the proper aerodynamic shape.
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Combat histories tend to suggest a maximum effective range of around 1600 meters for the 75L48 vs the T-34. Frequent penetrations beyond 2000 meters may suggest that CMRT has the T-34 armor too thin on the hull or too low quality, or a little of both.
Isn't that discussion about the 75L43 and not the L48?
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My mother once came home to find a soviet tank battalion (in 1/285) baking in the oven, as I had read that painting your miniatures and then baking them on a wooden surface* in a 200 degree other would set the paint and make it more durable.
There was no more WWII baking at home after that, either.
*You weren't supposed to use a metal cookie sheet; I'm not sure why.
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So one of my Soviet infantry platoons found a Wirbelwind today. As they where caught in the open they didn't live to tell about it. First burst, 20 WIA/ KIA! These things are insanely effective against infantry and a lot less fragile than the truck mounted flak guns.
They are also very effective against tank riders.
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I found this site and article today. I thought some of you may be interested.
http://www.allworldwars.com/Peculiarities-of-Russian-Warfare-by-Erhard-Raus.html
Ummm...I'm a little skeptical.
No one who belongs to the Western sphere of culture will ever be able to understand the Russian completely, or to analyze the character and soul of this Asiatic who has grown up on the far side of the border of Europe. The Russian is unfathomable. He swings from one extreme to the other without our being able to recognize the reasons for his behavior. It is possible to predict from experience how practically every other soldier in the world will behave in a given situation—but never the Russian. -
Speaking of buttoned tanks, is it possible in the future to show the buttoned status on the unit panel? Now the player has to navigate to the command panel or zoom in on the unit to get that knowledge.
This isn't a bad idea - although I would probably be happy if a modder made it more obvious on the command panel. Because even on that panel, the only way to tell is for my aging eyes to notice whether there is a dark grey shadow around the (lighter) grey "open up" button. And then I have to remember whether the button being depressed means that the tank is opened up, or whether the button not being depressed means that that the tank is opened up.
Yes, my life is hard...
Usually I just look at the tanks themselves, though.
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I'd like to see 20mm cannons leave decals on tanks. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with the decals as they are.
I think I would have some tanks with the paint stripped completely off of the front.
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Small arms doesn't leave decals.
Probably because it would clog up the engine.
Anything above 12mm will leave decals on vehicles and on wheels on tanks.
Anyihing above 37mm will leave decals on tanks.
That's what I've seen so far.
An ATR will leave a decal on the gunshield of a Wirbelwind. (The gunshield that is part of the gun; not the armor screens that fold down).
FYI.
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There was a reason why the Germans added armor to their tanks...
And came up with the Jagdpanther!.
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I am always surprised when I am presented with the QB screen only offering "German Army" - I've become spoiled by all the choices in BN.
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Saint Peter at the Gates: you did what with all that free time we gave you?!?
Meh, like there's no CM in heaven...
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I'm mostly a "reinforced platoon" kind of guy. But when I do play a big battle, I tend to kind of arrange my units in some sort of reasonable order and then send the entire battalion (or maybe individual companies) forward, usually on Hunt, sometimes on Move. And even once the fight is joined, I tend to use companies as the smallest maneuver unit. At that level, I don't have time for the whole "crossing their lines in the mist on our hands and our knees" thing.
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After all is said and done I think the AI triggers are the most exciting development/addition to the game series.
I think this might be right. Sometimes it feels like a completely different game. I.e. - yesterday my scouts move along, look over a hill, and are fired on by some German tanks. My scouts scamper down the back side and I start thinking about how to deal with them: can I flank? Should I drop arty? Can I get to a covered position and area fire near them?
And while I'm in the middle of moving troops around and thinking about things - the tanks and other vehicles I've spotted burst over the hill and start shooting things up! I wasn't expecting this at all. And this has huge ramifications for playing against the AI, where the danger usually doesn't (or didn't) come from units you've spotted (since they can be avoided or dealt with at your leisure), but from unspotted units. The best strategy against the AI has generally been: (1) spot thoroughly; and (2) defeat in detail. Defeating in detail usually isn't hard to accomplish because AI troops haven't really been able to come to the aid of other attacked troops not in their LOS. Although better scenarios made it difficult to isolate units, of course.
But now? Now there can be a reserve force completely out of LOS that won't be committed until something happens - and it will know where to go.
I suppose this might even allow the AI to use artillery intelligently?
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The AAR music is credited in the manual to Erik Haddad, who seems to be a professional composer. http://www.erikhaddad.com/ Presumably, BF bought the composition from him.
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I fixed it. Now using imgur. Much easier.
So, are my screenshots normal behavior?
That's how mine look.
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All of the above, plus stop a lot and use area fire.
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Cable TV was a novelty and for a princely sum of $20 you could get limited programming that would repeat the same stuff over and over again.
$20?!?
We got cable in 1981. Standard cable was $7.95. Premium channels, like HBO or Showtime, were another $7.95.
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It is nice to hear we can beat a 20 year old game
Steve
This does *not* go without saying. 90% of the time, devs lose track of what made the game good in the first place and serve up a fancy-looking game with none of the appeal of the original game.
The AI is brutal: need some real world tactics
in Combat Mission Red Thunder
Posted
Watching some of the AARs will give you a good grounding in some basic tactics.
But as a rough guide:
1. Scout with a screen of squads or half squads (across the entire map if you have enough troops). 3 man recon squads are even better. You want to make contact with the enemy with the smallest unit possible.
2. You mostly want to use "hunt" when scouting. Sometimes you want to put a covered arc on your scouts so they don't open up at long range on whatever they discover. (Although it's my subjective impression that the tac ai is better at not doing this than it used to be).
3. When your scouts discover enemy units that you want to deal with, maneuver appropriate forces behind your squad screen to do so. I.e., if you find an AT guy, send mortars; if you find flak or an infantry concentration, send armor; if you find armor, look for an opportunity for a flank shot from another position across the map.
This is just an outline, and there are exceptions to most of these rules and crucial refinements to all of them. But it's a solid basic approach.