Gpig
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Posts posted by Gpig
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Has your squad already traded fire with the enemy halftrack? Hiding them now might have little effect, as they are already detected. You might want to run them back out of sight, and then re-sneak them up to the front.
and/or
Have your platoon HQ set an ambush marker right in the middle of the woods, and HIDE your rebel squad, then have them target the ambush marker. Hopefully, the ambush marker's location will be far enough away from the enemy track that the halftrack won't trip the ambush, and your squad will remain hidden.
EDIT: This might have the effect of making your squad rotate to face the ambush marker (which is behind them most likely). You may NOT want that to happen. As any trouble to the front of their location would then require them to ROTATE back . . .
Gpig
[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Gpig ]</p>
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Thanks, Commissar.
(Oops. Should have done a search, first.)
Well, all's I can say to that is RATS!
It's still going to be my new favourite game. Guess I'll just have to learn how to read.
Gpig
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Yo.
I was wondering if the new manual might have some historical sections in it. Things like maps, major (and/or minor) engagements. Strategic zones/regions/objectives. Things that will help tie the whole eastern campaign together in my mind.
I'm mainly thinking about the great CloseCombat2 manual with all the great history and maps included. Kind of gave a nice overview. (I realize that encompassed just one operation, and not 5 years of war across vast distances.)
It's just that there might be some of us who don't know anything about the timeline of the eastern front war and what condition the forces were in during what year, etc.. And since I don't have the time and money to read/purchase an eastern front library, I would love a kind of a "Barbarossa to Berlin for Dummies," type overview in the manual.
I realize most players of this game have at least a passing familiarity with the history, but I'd LOVE to know more. And for some reason, I trust BTS to get it "just right." Like everything else they do.
Don't-cha think that'd be kewl?
Gpig
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Yo!
Someone else noted recently that Barbwire obstacles apply a CLEAR Line of sight (LOS) to whatever terrain feature they are emplaced in/on.
So if you place Barbwire in TALL PINES, the LOS through that tile is considered CLEAR. Interesting, no?
I was wondering if ROADBLOCK fortifications on/under rubble tiles might carry some of the same unintended results?
Since LOS is slightly obscured through a rubble tile, will having a roadblock (or 3) in the middle of it change the LOS in any way? Or what about cover?
Gpig
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Rats.
Nothing showing up 'cept "Image hosted by TRIPOD."
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This is quite a fun scenario.
Looks like it'll be a waxing for the poor germans.
(That's probably what happened in real life, too.)
But I'm only currently on turn or so. Maybe it'll get more challenging later . . .?
Can you imagine being a poor security trooper waking up one morning with a battalion of commandos knockin' on your door?
(With naval support!?!?)
Good one, fella.
Gpig
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Don't know if this has been discussed (and I have not done any tests), but I experienced something cool, the other day.
SPOILERS
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While playing Myers Wrath by WBW, I set up as the German defender on two hills, and awaited the poles.
On the right hill I placed my 88mm bunker on the top, in some woods. I figured on hiding it till the enemy was out in the open.
On the left hill, there weren't any real good spots to place my 75mm AT bunker. Until I noticed a little notch in the front side of the hill.
Into this notch I placed the 75mm AT bunker. During set-up I wiggled it round, and slid it about to make sure it got into a nice "hull-down" position. All the while, I checked out it's LOS to the approaching terrain.
While in this position, the ground immediately in front of it and out to about 250m was unobserbable. But I figured if the Poles got that close it was over anyways.
Turn one started and the Poles KO'd my 88 within 40 seconds. (He didn't even fire back, as he was still HIDING!)
My 75mm AT bunker survived to the end of the scenario and racked up an impressive tally. Somthing like 15 AFV's Tanks and halftracks. He came under fire quite a bit. But the shells seemed to always hit the little hill right in front of his position. Or whistle overhead.
I'm not sure if I just lucked out, or what. But there must have been 25 little shell holes in the ground around his position.
I guess it could be like a reverse slope defense, in infantry's case.
Anyhoo . . . thought I'd share.
Gpig
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Thanks for the swell suggestions, pals.
I tried the idea that Massattack spelled out and it looked pretty entertaining from the get-go. The approach was fun. However, once I started assualting the MAJOR VL enemy Flag towards my right flank (the only Major VL on the map), I discovered that the A.I. had chosen to defend this vital area with just 2 MMG and one HMG. Though overrunning it proved a TAD more difficult than I expected. Despite having two platoons of infantry and previously prepping the area with 105mm arty for 3 minutes, the enemy had placed a small rain cloud of his own (small calibre) artillery over my jumping off point. Thus I did sustain some casualties.
Anyways. the VL fell. But I soon discovered that my computer opponent had placed an entire platoon of defenders at the extreme edge of the map, FAR away from the action. FAR away from any VL. FAR away from ANYTHING important. He spent 4 minutes racing them back to the action. All the while under fire from my forces.
Sometimes, you just cannot have a good battle against the A.I.. It is just too stupid in it's set-up sometimes.
Gpig
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I'm looking to fill a half out here and there, with a rousing scrap 'gainst the A.I.
Most of these little 300pt dust-ups end up looking the same after a while.
Usually, I just pick random forces, and village/mod/small hills, and have-at-'er.
Any recommendations for settings in the Quick Battle generator that would provide an interesting and new challenge?
Thanks,
Gpig
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Yup. I've had this happen. It IS very frustrating.
I had a whole platoon of regular and veteran Pnzgrnders (under a Vet Leader with a +2 combat bonus) run through the woods to cut off a crack squad of American Paratroops (who were running from another ambush).
I knew where the squad was, but he had no idea where my mopping up platoon was. I snuck them through the woods closer, and closer to this crack squad of para's. At the end of the turn, the Para's spot all three of my squads and opens up on one of them (no casualties).
Next turn, I don't target the squad, I just let my A.I. take care of things. All three of my squads have unobstructed LOS to the Para squad.
A whole damn minute goes by where my platoon fires not one single shot.
I suffer 5 casualties, spread across two of my squads.
Next turn, I target all three squads on this para-pest, and only then do they do anything.
That one minute of inactivity was unexplainable. (Except that I did not give my men target orders, though I shouldn't have had to.)
Anyways, I'm with you. It sucks. Sometimes the A.I. has it's reasons, but he'll be damned if he's gonna share 'em with you!
Gpig
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Well, maybe he could use the "sharpshooter" unit identification. (Neither a squad OR a team.)
Then he'd just be a "sharpshooter" with grenades who could also carry special weapons (Gammon/faust/RG etc.) and who'd defend himself just like a squad would. He might NOT be as stealthy as a regular sharpshooter, but I don't know why he couldn't be.
(As an added bonus, you could pick them by their weapon types. BARgunner. SMGgunner. Rifleman. Who wouldn't pick a couple of Thompson gunners to run around with satchel charges, behind enemy lines. Eh?) (But I'm sure they'd only last about as long as it took to spot them, if there were heavy enemy presence nearby.)
Anyhoo . . . just dreamin' I guess.
Gpig
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Would it be possible for BTS to make a unit in CM that is just ONE soldier? (And I don't mean now, as I know that CM:BO is currently closed for business/renovation.)
But theoretically speaking . . . I think it could be real neat to have a unit that is just one soldier. Infantry man. Whatever. You could add him under the "Support" section of the unit purchase window. Kind of like you'd add a 1 man sharpshooter unit.
The difference is that with this soldier unit, you could add demo charges. Fausts. Gammon Bombs. What-have-you. The possibilities for scenario designers would be great! Lone soldiers with special roles. They could represent historical figures. They could be spies, or assassins. (Probably outside the scope of CM, you could say.)
I thought of this because I made a scenario based on the WWII war movie, "The Eagle has Landed." The only unit I could pick to represent the german spy "Ms. Grey" had to be a "sharpshooter. She turns out in game play to be much less deadly than in the movie.
Of course, any single soldier would be just as fragile as any single sharpshooter. But they would have grenades (and whatever else you loaded them with).
I was just wondering if any of you think it "could" be possible to do.
Also, I seem to have heard that CM:BB will have an option in the unit editing section where you'll be able to add casualties to a unit, before the battle. (eg. Pick a 12 man squad and edit it down to 3 men, for your scenario.) This could do the trick. But I wonder if a reduced squad would incur a morale penalty at the beginning of the game? (Probably.) Anyone else heard about this and CM:BB?
And if this was a unit you could pick, I guess you could pick nothing but single soldier units, and make a little 12 man squad scenario. Heh heh.
Well, I rambled on. Eh? Sorry 'bout that. Got some down time here.
Gpig.
P.S. where does the word "Soldier" come from.
[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Gpig ]</p>
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When I'm playing the AI, what is the best way to do it? Should I play set scenarios or QB's? If I'm playing a QB, should I attack, defend, probe, or play a ME? Is it better to let the AI buy units, or should I do it manually? If manually, should I do it for both sides, or just me?
Hey dude.
Other people will answer, but I think that when playing the A.I., human designed scenarios can be best. The authors usually try and make them interesting.
If playing against the A.I. you should almost always let it defend. It is not very focused on the attack. (See some of the threads in the main forum, about the A.I.)
Personally, a Probe against the A.I. with a +3 experience modifier is a tough fight. As you start out fairly balanced in size, and the computer will make you pay for mistakes.
Don't know about the buying of units, as I always let the computer pick.
Hope this helps.
Gpig
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I downloaded this last night and took a look at the map, and American forces.
Looks cool. Did you base the map on a real location? It seems to have that feel to it. (I can't wait to get my men dirty in the "pig farm.")
I'll take a stab at it this week (maybe).
I was wondering about the "*" real life names involved. Like what feats of valour should be associated with these names?
Gpig
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I'd say target the area of the ridge as close as possible to the enemy infantry. If you can see a portion of land within 10-20m of the enemy, and you're in dire straights . . . I'd let er rip with area fire.
Your flame tank (croc?) will shell the area infeffectively with it's HE (75mm?), but the FLAME weapon usually sends a spread pattern that is quite wide. I've seen my flame tanks squirt the ouchy heat in a WIDE area, when told to area target a specific spot. Most of your flame juice will probably end up well off target, but . . .
It way well turn out that your flame tank squirts a burst of flammen-fright right on top of the wooded area. Maybe even lighting the woods afire. That would surely help out, eh?
(Kind of a waste of ammunition, I admit.)
Gpig
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I'm playing this PBEM game, and I have a platoon of American Airborne (mostly Vet's) lined up at a treelined road. They are all hiding in Woods and the HQ unit is also on the frontlines, about 5m from the road (also in Woods).
I set him up front so he could pick an ambush spot that all of his squads could also see and target.
The Jerries arrive, with about two platoons, and a flak wagon/truck. The ambush is sprung and by the end of the turn, my HQ unit is under fire by the flak wagon and a couple of squads of german infantry. His state is "Alerted!" No casualties.
In the next orders turn, I tell him to "WITHDRAWL!" about 10m deeper into the woods. Then I hit go.
Next turn, I'm surprised to see him move from ALERTED to PANIC within one second. Then he hits the deck. And proceeds to get shelled by the 20mm gun, plus 3 squads of enemy infantry for a full 30 seconds before switching to BROKEN state and running for the hills. (But luckily, with no casualties!)
Anyways, my question is this. Should I just have used RUN or CRAWL to get him out of trouble? It seems the MORALE HIT he took when ordered to withdrawl was pretty intense. Maybe this particular HQ has a confidence problem, but Sheesh. From Alterted to PANIC in one second?
If I had told him to RUN or CRAWL there would have been an 8 second delay. I was afraid of the same thing happening during those 8 seconds (Cautious, shaken, PANIC etc.), thus my order to WITHDRAWL.
First time I've seen this quick switch. Anyone else?
Gpig
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I love this tactic, and use it whenever I can.
Finding a great spot for your HQ FO is key.
Once in a PBEM assault, my G.I. mortar park proved quite decisive. I had 5 60mm mortars and a company CO spotting for them.
They provided key smoke drops for my infantry rushes. They took out a 20mm gun. And the next turn, a PSW 20mm rolled out of cover. I targetted it with all 5 of my mortars and the thing was dead by the end of the next turn.
Made things nice and easy for my charging infantry. It's like having a little security blanket.
Gpig
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Wind direction and speed?
Yeah! Probably WILL affect smoke, and conflagrations.
Also, maybe it'll affect artillery/mortar rounds? I have no idea. Can you imagine targetting that nasty HMG position with your on board mortar, but having to adjust the AREA TARGET 10m more to the LEFT due to the wind pushing your rounds off target? Heh heh. That would be kinda neat. Actually, I'd hope my little digital men would figure that out for themselves.
This is going to be the best game in the whole world.
Gpig
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You have to look into the Unit Info for the MG rounds remaining for a vehicle (usually).
(Select unit, hit RETURN, look under armaments.)
You can, and do, run out of MG rounds for tanks and AFV.
Hope this helps,
Gpig
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Oh . . . my . . . Gosh!
This is just going to kill me.
That's it. I'm divorced.
P.S. Hilltopper . . . read the 1st post again CAREFULLY!
Gpig
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Actually, this brings up a point I'd like to share about that website . . .
I believe you (as the reviewer) should be able to go back and EDIT YOUR REVIEW.
I've made many reviews on the website, AND made my share of mistakes. (I happen to be blessed with the not so rare, idiocy gene.)
It would be nice to go back and edit some of my mistakes. As every time I visit the website, some of my glaring mistakes are just sitting there, mocking me.
Gpig.
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Ha! Awesome! Nice to know others have been enjoying it. Guess you feel the same way, eh?
Thanks for the warnings about #6 spoilers. I don't want to ruin it for myself.
I'll post my AAR about #5 after thanksgiving. (It was my toughest fight yet!)
Thanks for the link.
Gpig
P.S. Are you ever going to do some more of these fictional mini-campaigns? I was thinking it would be fun to do the life of an armored platoon. ('Course, you'd have to have some infantry thrown in . . . )
You know . . . a platoon starts out in Stugs. Graduates up to MkIV's. Then IV's. Then the big TIGERS.
(Not sure if this was the way that it happened . . . but it'd be kind of fun.) -
I've seen it happen more than a few times.
Maybe I've been lucky, but . . .
The only way your men are going to take out a tank using their grenades (and guts), is when the tank does not know they are there. In other words, pick your spots to ambush the tank. HIDE in Woods, or buildings and stay hidden. Then you really have to be lucky lucky lucky.
If, at the start of the next turn, the tank is within range (hopefully less than 20m) actually TARGET the tank with your rifle squad. It helps if you have a leader with a +2 combat bonus (obviously), but it's worked for me.
My favourite example of this was in First Clash at Cambes. I hid a platoon of Germans in the woods, along a tree lined road. They were my far right flank security. Then I promptly forgot about them because the action started heating up in another location.
About 20 turns later, I'm watching my turn and I keep hearing these KLANG penetration noises. I rewatch and rewatch the turn, looking for the tanks that are getting hit, but finding nothing. (It's a big map.)
Finally, I check out my far right flank and see a buttoned/immobilized sherman, sitting on the road next to my flank security platoon. HuH?
When I look at the turn again, this sherman rolls up. The commander and driver are both shot to pieces in the infantry ambush. The tank MUST be in a shocked state. A Panzerfaust misses the tank. Then, grenades start flying out of the tree line. All over the tank. (I imagine at least 8 of my men climbing all over the thing.)
First the tracks get blown off. The tank still is not responding. Then eventually, after what seems like 15 grenades, KLANG!! The thing is KO'd.
What happens as the crew emerges, I'll decline to describe. (yuck)
Anyways. You gotta be lucky, but it can be done. (With grenades that is.)
Gpig.
(Oh, also . . . it helps if the A.I. is the tank commander, as he tends to advance without friendly infantry support.
)[ 11-19-2001: Message edited by: Gpig ]</p>
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Hey Fred.
Well, I can understand the balance thing. Especially for this mini-campaign. And actually, the more I think about it . . . if the allied forces were any stronger, I'd really have been hard-put to pull out a victory.
I just finished the next one. And BOY! What a difference a battle makes. Turned out as a DRAW.
I'll post the AAR if you want.
Gpig
Even in points, uneven battle.
in Combat Mission Archive #4 (2002)
Posted
'ello.
I've been playing this game for what seems like forever, but have only recently begun analyzing things closely.
(Those who already sense what the heck I'm going to blab about can just ignore this)
While playing a QB versus the 'puter last night, I picked a 1000 pt ARMORED meeting engagement with the Allied attacker recieving a 10% force bonus.
The computer was allowed to pick for both sides.
I got:
1 PUMA
1 250/8 (75mm halftrack)
1 Marder III
3 StuG IV
3 StuG III
1 platoon of Fusilier (SMG troops)
1 platoon of Volksg SMG troops
2 panzershrecks
All my forces are Regular
The Allies got:
1 M4A1(76mm)W+
2 M4A3(75mm)W+
1 platoon of Engineers (incl. 2 flame teams)
1 bazooka team
1 M1919 MMG
1 Arty spotter (81mm, I think)
All of his forces were Veteran.
Now does that seem fair? I'd say NO!
I proceeded to wipe him off the map. Basically due to the fact that my 6 StuG's, all working with platoon cover/movement tactics were just to many for the allies to deal with.
(Now, the A.I. is sort of dense, but . . .) Each time one of the Shermans made an appearance, it faced a minimum of 3 StuG's. As I always had 3 of them in overwatch while the other three moved.
Also, I had twice as many troopers as him.
Off course. the map helped my cause. It was a LARGE map, with small hilliness. Moderate tree coverage still provided long range LOS from my small hill vantage points.
Also, the A.I.'s Arty Spotter still dropped nothing but smoke on one of my StuG platoons, before rushing the VL swinging his binoculars over his head like a bolo. (Killed him.)
The only bright spot for the A.I. was the long range (900m) tank battle between my Marder/PUMA ambush team, and his 76mm Sherman. He took BOTH my Marder and my PUMA out. That must have been a direct effect of having a VETERAN crew. (Though my Marder did bounce two shots off his turret.)
I guess the point of this topic is:
1) If this was a PBEM game with a live human opponent, don'tcha think the allied player would be a smidge peeved on the force balance?
2) Some vehicles are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP but they pay off in the manner of KILL KILL KILL!
3) Quantity over Quality is what I always say. (At least from now on!)
Blah blah blah . . .
Gpig