BloodyBucket
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Posts posted by BloodyBucket
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I've had teams run out of ammo, and yes it would be nice to have them re-arm with enemy weapons in a desperate situation.
Is it worth coding? I dunno. I'd be happy with the abstraction of teams that are out of all ammo being able to slowly gain a small amount for non crew served weapons and a few grenades from enemy casualties. Once they acquired that small amount they'd be unable to get more until they were completely out again. No blue on blue sounds like enemy weapons coding needed.
You can't model everything, of course, and I'd rather have hand to hand combat modelled and solve the "useless" team thing that way, but I imagine that would be a bear to make it look anything but silly.
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Anecdotal story.
My father told me when he first got to France he ran into a situation where his squad had occupied a position that had plenty of German weapons, including machineguns, machinepistols and "bazookas" (I think they were panzerfausts). They started taking fire from a treeline a ways off, and decided it would be good to let the Germans have what for with their own stuff. They put out as much fire as they could in a short time, got a short distance away and heaved some WP and frag grenades at the little depot, and scampered...shortly before the 60mm mortars started dropping.
When they got back and made contact with the Platoon commander, he was frantically calling for reinforcements to deal with "a heavy Kraut counterattack on our flank" and seeking permission to get heavier artillery involved. When they told him that they were the "heavy Kraut counterattack" he was none too pleased.
I can see using enemy weapons in a pinch, but on any sort of scale it probably wasn't done, especially by the side that enjoyed such superiority in supporting arms most of the time.
Perhaps it would be better to have the pixeltroopers show zero ammo, and be unable to fire at any distance, but be capable of firing a few rounds at extremely short range...sort of saving a few for emergency self defense.
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"AYE!" to the OP.
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I'm a fan of more "vanilla" QBs with forces resembling historical TO&E, but I've noticed that if I let the computer pick my forces in a company sized engagement, it's almost always Armored Infantry for the US...very rarely just plain ol' infantry.
Don't know why.
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I was just reading an account of how badly "unblooded" US infantry divisions performed when committed to action for the first time.
It's hard to quantify. A battle tested, veteran unit could be badly used by a boneheaded commander, and a green as grass formation that was well led or had a sprinkling of old hands might perform better than expected. My father often told me he firmly believed that his fate was influenced more by the presence of a WWI veteran NCO in his squad willing to act as a mentor than all the training he got in the USA and Wales.
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I think that's my father.
I know for sure he was 28th Div (uniform mod), 110th Regt, 2nd Bn, "E" Company, and I'm pretty sure he said he was "second all the way" as in second platoon, second squad.
When he hit Normandy in late July of 1944 he was the BAR man in his squad, so I'm able to trace it down to an individual in the game. Amazing granularity, when you stop to consider it.
I showed him CMBO when it came out. He got a kick out of it.
He's since passed on, but I wonder what he'd say if I showed him his virtual "self" in CMBN?
I've showed my two young boys, and told them, "Hey, that's your grandfather!" They think it's pretty cool...not so much that he was a WWII combat vet, but that he "made it into a video game".
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Maybe he's filling out his will and GI insurance?
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I think he meant "tarts".
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I've had pistol armed bailed tank crews scrounge SMGs, but never noticed a rifle for SMG swap.
I don't think that's a bug.
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Great idea for a mod. At first, I though "Eliminate The Red Cross" was a scenario title, and it had me worried.
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Thanks for doing this for all us small arms geeks.
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Lookeylou's link to that Few Good Men Forum seems like a pretty good resource.
I think a thread of favorite tricks and tips would be a good start here.
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You can just see the envy and admiration in Lt. Hanley's eyes. "Damn NCOs get the Thompson while I have to lug around this little Carbine!"
I'm curious if the ability to engage multiple short range targets is modeled. My anecdotal incidents of multiple casualties from a burst all involved targets engaged in a line.
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No problems, mate!
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Oh please don't make the core game easier... isn't that up to the scenario designer? There are so many suggestions on the forum that could help to improve the game - but surely dumbing down shouldn't be one of them.
Perhaps some kind of difficulty rating for scenarios could solve the problem some people are experiencing, or maybe the inclusion of interactive tutorials on tactics?
I don't think "dumbing down" the game is the answer, or even the question, really. The idea of difficulty rated scenarios and an interactive tactical tutorial are good. I'm sure BF doesn't want to turn off potential customers by making the learning curve too difficult, so there has to be a balance somewhere.
I was pretty surprised when I Googled "WWII Infantry Tactics" that there wasn't a torrent of information. Maybe that's a job for the community, especially as it relates to Combat Mission.
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Great stuff!
I may well be missing something, but the version at GreenAsJade's site only has a couple of infantry division folders, and one armored division. Is that correct?
Oh, the DLd zip file is 28.5 megs. Is that correct?
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I don't think the game ignores ROF or the physical effects of a lot of lead in a small area.
I've seen bunched up groups of my guys get torn apart by MGs and SMGs. I think the SMG toting CMBN soldier has an edge in close quarters fighting.
I don't know if the AI will judge the terrain or situation when making weapons swaps with casualties. I'm guessing it just lumps rifles, carbines and SMGs all in the same category when making that choice, so they don't dump one for the other.
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My advice: Don't give up. This game rewards patience and slow, methodical tactics...
Great advice. The only time for unbridled haste as a newer player is when moving out of the coming impact area when spotting rounds start falling nearby.
I'm no CM guru, but I've got a pretty good handle on infantry tactics from a military career, and the basics apply in game. Try to get on the flanks while you suppress and fix the enemy in place with fire. If you can't flank 'em, blow them away with superior firepower or supporting fires. If you can't do that, either be content to trade shots while you bring in more help or find another area of the map for your big play. Don't get impatient and charge!
There are some great tips on when to use what kind of movement in the manual, and that can be key. The manual has some pretty good overviews of tactics. Lots of info in there.
Every once in awhile I get cocky when I think I've got the AI on the run and that's when my men start dropping in droves.
I was giving the AI a sound thrashing in a Quick Battle today, and I was having so much fun with a squad I'd gotten in a flanking position I decided to move them in one big bunch on to the next block of buildings, using a wall hugging quick move order. A single head-on burst from an MG42 that was out of sight until I obligingly moved my guys out lined up and at the double toppled my GIs like tenpins. The few survivors of that squad went from Audie Murphy understudies to Brave Sir Robin in seconds.
Bad luck? Nope, impatient me. It would have only cost a minute to split the squad and send a scout team ahead. Even using a slower movement rate would have saved them.
Downloading or finding a copy of FM7-8, the US Army manual on infantry tactics, would be a good introduction to the basic principles, and it's interesting to see how well "the real deal" works in the game.
I'd stick with smaller battles until you start feeling confident, then move on to larger, more complex scenarios. Doing a bunch of infantry only quick battles might help you master the basics.
Maybe there should be a commander clinic thread, with a bunch of tips and thought on basic tactics.
Good luck, and once you start to figure it out it's an addicting challenge!
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I think I have my sound setup like I want it...almost.
Mord's American Voices. Check.
Dietrich's German Voices. Check.
Splash Music - Band of Brothers theme. Check.
End of Battle Music - Lili Marlene. Check.
Intro Music - Original CMBO Intro. Nostalgia Check.
Vein's Support Chatter. Check.
Vein's Sounds. Check? The rifle are a bit too "poppy", but it's good.
Somebody's SPR Bullet Zings. Check.
Mord's No Background Noise. Check? I am torn on this one, but the annoying wind tunnel is gone, even if I miss the background combat sounds.
The game is sounding great. Now, if only we can get some of the generic sounds split to specifics, I'd be in the sound version of hog heaven. I still think the MP40 should sound different than an M1A1, and they should both sound different than an M3, for example.
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I agree wholeheartedly - WeGo is the creative jewel in the CM series.
I think WeGo when I think CM, but to be honest the realtime with pauses is a great way to play...and I'd do it IF there was a way to review the action.
There is so much great stuff going on that I miss seeing when playing RT that even though I think that it's probably a better mode for solitaire, I'll play the vast majority of my games WeGo.
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Had a US squad come hightailing it (Move Quick) around a building corner in a solitaire QB in WEGO mode. Sure enough, just as they round the corner, out comes a couple of German infantrymen who've decided they have better places to be than that building that's getting hammered by .50 caliber area fire.
I'm zoomed out a bit and all I see see is an exchange of fire...one of my men drops, one of his is hit, and then the other German blows up. Huh?
I replay the turn, zoomed in to the action. His guy raises a K98 and fires. Scratch one GI. One of mine shoots the shooter with his Garand. Scratch one German. The other GIs open up all at once and the second German just blows up.
I look around for the hidden bazooka, and study my squad to see if somebody tossed a grenade or launched a rifle grenade. Nothing. Maybe a mortar? Missed shot with a panzerfaust launched by some hidden enemy? Maybe I can catch the incoming explosive with a tight view and find out.
When I get real tight on the exploding German, well, it turns out he had started to prepare a grenade to toss at my guys when he got hit by the mini fusillade of rifle fire. As he fell, it detonated right by his head. Ouch.
Amazing. Like a cheesy war flick, but in a good way. Makes me want to watch each little piece of the turn to see what else I'm missing.
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Yeah, he was 28th ID, 110th Rgt, 2ND Bn, "E" Co. He was a BAR gunner, and landed shortly after D-Day and became a guest of the German government on or about Dec 19th, 1944. I tracked him down to his Platoon commander in a couple books.
He passed on almost seven years ago, but I managed to get him to talk about the war on video tape at one point (that's where the interview came from). He often maintained that every year he got after "The War" was bonus time.
I got him to take a look at CMBO when it came out. I showed him a Bulge scenario that featured his regiment, and he was amused that he had been made "into a cartoon". He thought it was an amazing simulation but was lacking in certain visceral details.
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I don't think these guys are, or were, exaggerating their exploits in combat, at least not in the "My car is a Lamborghini" kind of way.
I do think think the average gamer grog here probably knows a Hell of a lot more about tech specs and TO/E than the average footslogging dogface or tank jockey ever did. I think the generically exaggerated descriptions are a combination of human nature seeing a mortal threat as big, a general lack of interest beyond making the threat go away, and that ol' Devil time fogging up the details.
When somebody is shooting at you, he's a sniper. When a big ass tank is trying to kill you, it's a Tiger. When the building you're in starts coming down around your ears, it's an "88" that's doing the dirty deed.
I recall interviewing my dad, after I'd gotten him loosened up with some booze, about his WWII experiences. At one point, I let my inner grog geek out, and told him that the 40MM gun on the German halftrack he was describing was probably really a 20MM. His response was something along the lines of "whatever, it really splattered two of my buddies all over me and that hill, so I guess it had enough millimeters, whatever it was."
I didn't do much "correcting" after that.
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For me it would be a couple of UI tweaks:
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- Keep KO and KIA squad members in the panel. Colour the weapons red or brown depending on status. Would give an instant view of how badly a squad has been mauled in the current scenario.
Hear, hear!
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No African American GIs?
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
Posted
I predict, that when the Bulge module comes out and they show GIs running around in white sheets, you'll be able to hear the heads exploding on this forum without having to use a sound mod.