Clubfoot

Thanx for the nod, fellas! Atlas, you are absolutely correct about the PBEM difficulty vs. a human opponent. I'm not sure why it's been voted up for head to head play, it really doesn't warrant high marks in that category. But I am happy to see it doing well in human vs. AI on the Scenario Depot. That is it's intended play mode. And thanks for the kind words! I/O, I'll ship you that zip file just as soon as I'm done trolling the board. I'm delighted to see that people are enjoying the Commando Skorzeny scenarios. I'm currently collaborating with MikeT and others on a desert warfare conversion for CM that is shaping up nicely, but after it's finished it'll be back to the adventures of Otto. Clubfoot.

Jeff, I believe what you are referring to is the graphical representation of the explosion's shockwave. It is useful and allows whoever is suffering the blast to get a feel on how far from the explosion's epicenter they must go to check for casualties. I believe you'll find that the game's creators are quite fond of the current shockwave's appearance, and so are most of us. Your best bet would be to request the option to turn this off in CM2, and hope someone hears. Just my .02 Clubfoot.

ez, A squad or crew's ability to hide and STAY HIDING when the enemy is near is directly related to their experience level. Clubfoot.

Pillar, Lucky for you, the skill level of your human opponent makes no difference if the little AI doughboy manning the AT gun decides HE wants to shoot at the scout car. Clubfoot.

Grossdeutschland, The "hard way" is the best way to learn the value of the sharpshooter. In a PBEM against a friend of mine, he pushed a scout car containing a crack sharpshooter up with remarkable speed, and took cover on a forested hill with a good view of my advance down a road (rain, mud, and whatnot). In the first 60 seconds after spotting my armor, he killed the first three tank commanders in a row, causing there regular crews to pull over into the scattered trees at the side of the road. All three Shermans then bogged, became immobile, and were eventually bailed out of. The end result. I paid for three pieces of armor and he paid for a sharpshooter. Clubfoot. [This message has been edited by Clubfoot (edited 12-18-2000).]

coralsaw, ***begin shameless pimp*** I've currently got five scenarios geared toward just this style of play. They are small platoon level commando actions based loosely on the exploits of Sturmbannfuhrer Otto Skorzeny and his elite commando unit. All five are best played as the axis player and put you in the shoes of a highly trained and motivated (yet small) group of men who typically face odds that are numerically superior. Lots of sneaking, hiding, ambushes and coordinated surprise attacks from multiple directions. They are available at CMHQ scenario depot under the titles: Der Commando Skorzeny. Higher ground. Squeeze play at Villers-Le-Bouillet. David & Goliath. & Hoofin' it. Or, I would be glad to send you a zipped up pack of all five scenarios, if you so desire! ***end shameless pimp*** Clubfoot. [This message has been edited by Clubfoot (edited 12-16-2000).]

Not only were there trenches on the east front, but the Russians were accomplished builders of such earthworks. I've seen photographs of intricate (and deep) defensive positions dug by the Reds (as well as pictures of the poor, frostbitten German pioneers whose job it was to defeat these fortifications with handgrenades and trenching tools). Clubfoot.

Done! Clubfoot.

MikeT, Actually, my meaning wasn't for you to release bits and pieces to the public in general, but terrain tiles and vehicle BMP's to a few of us who would love to make scenarios for such an endeavour. I would also be available to help with modding the appearance of the interface and the title screen (I went to school for graphic design)as well as scenarios & ops. It appears to me that a number of the folks on this thread (including yourself) have laid a lot of the foundation for such a project already. It would be fantastic to compile the work, give credit to all participants, and release one comprehensive desert warfare mod! If any of this sounds plausible to you, reply here or send me an e-mail! Clubfoot. [This message has been edited by Clubfoot (edited 12-12-2000).]

AussieJeff, I'm not sure how strapped you are for time, but you and MikeT might consider leading the desert-mod charge. Collaborate with each other on the terrain tiles and some initial vehicles (with help from others, cuz God knows they're out there). Then disseminate this information as a whole or in parts to a few of us who would LOVE to create some Afrika-corps missions (trundling through Egypt with Hans Von Luck's 21st Panzer Recon or Buzzing over the dunes of Libya with your elite British, MG jeep cruisin', LRDG "rat patrols" under the tutelage of 2nd Lt. David Sterling). Then, wrap it all up and release it complete with new terrain, vehicles, uniforms, scenarios, operations, modified interface with desert colors, and maybe even a new title screen and release it as one complete Desert Mod. What do you say? Clubfoot. [This message has been edited by Clubfoot (edited 12-11-2000).]

Rob, Send me the details as well. I'd be glad to help if I could. Clubfoot.

I agree with Doug that flamethrowers work best on "prepared" targets. You can usually pour enough lead on a particular(stationary) target with infantry and support teams to evacuate the location (be it a building, patch of woods, field gun or cluster of foxholes). But stubborn defenders (fanatics and/or vet. or better troops) need that extra boost. After, and only after, the aforementioned means of assault are being employed, bring in flamethrowers from the rear and jockey them into a favorable position. Usually in some protected vehicle (Brit 'roos work good!). If for some reason you have flamethrowers and don't forsee a use for them(?!?), they can make smoke! Burn the woods (the crowd roars!). Burn a building (they howl with glee!). Burn trees on either side of a roadway (the fire will often spread across the surface of the road, making it almost impassable and obscuring everything behind it!). Say, this all makes me wonder. Does anyone know if you can burn a wooden bridge? I'm off to try! BURN BURN!!!! Clubfoot.

I agree with Mikey. Smoke. If you have a slew of fire missions from FO's, smoke. If you have too few fire missions to "waste" them on smoke, there's a good chance you have too few to fire for effect anyway. So smoke. Tank smoke is good for covering immediate withdrawal, but not as well suited for advancing. I think your initial plan to scoot on into the village (thus gaining control of 1 of 2 victory objectives) was probably a sound one. If you could have found cover for your armor inside the village, you may have been able to work his flanks with sneaking infantry while entrenching the village with support crews to prevent his doing the same (in theory). As for the German player rolling his Tigers up and making them "killable", don't hold your breath. He simply doesn't have to. Having achieved a hull down on the retreating face of a ridge, I imagine he was more than content to sit on high and hurl his lightning bolts at you. If, however, he desperately wanted that victory flag in the village, he may have attempted to assault your entrenched position. This would be no guarantee of success for you, but he would have to roll his Tigers down the facing side of the ridge first, and then into YOUR village. Close proximity might even up the odds. (a little anyway.) .02 Clubfoot.

LOL!! Been there, my friend! (I lost an FO... ouch.) Clubfoot.

Hiram, The fact that you beat the AI because it smoked YOU out should tell you something. I spend plenty of points on high volume, low yield FO's, and then smoke like hell. Mechanized infantry push on 1 flank? Smoke it! Light and med. infantry support tanks rushing the other flank? Smoke it. It's all well and fine for a Tiger to sit out at 2000 meters plus and "plink" stu's and shermans. But if you're IN those stu's and shermans and have limited cover or map area to rape his flanks, then your best bet is usually to get right in his face as quickly as you can. Smoke your advance. Smoke a faux advance for feint. Upon arrival, smoke HIS position and roll in amongst him. If you can make use of allied turret speed in close quarters, it might make the difference. (roll a sherm. up behind a KTiger and watch his gunner scramble to turn the turret when the smoke clears. It takes a day to swivel that hog!) Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! Anyway, these are merely my .02 Clubfoot.

M99, More experienced troops are far better at both ambushes and holding their water while hiding. Make sure all support teams are within range of a commanding officer (platoon HQ, or company HQ usually). With regular, green, and conscript troops, I've sometimes had to resort to physically removing them from line of sight of the target. Either toward the back of a building so they can't see out, or deeper in to woods, or even just the leeward side of a small ground depression. Out of site but close enough to put into play at a few seconds notice. Hope some of this helps. Clubfoot.

D.B., 'Dogs was Tarantino, I believe. Clubfoot.

Harv, Sounds great! This proves yet again what I think everyone on these boards already knows... The CM gaming community is the hardest working and hardest playing bunch of blokes on the net. Salud, fellas! Clubfoot.

Harv, I'm not quite sure what you mean, Harv. Do you maintain a scenario site? Is there a comprehensive CM scenario database? (just give me an electronic slap in the face if I'm being obtuse). If so, then yes, a specialized prefix would indeed be nifty. Currently the available Commando Skorzeny missions include: Der Commando Skorzeny. Hoofin' it. David & Goliath. Squeeze Play. Higher Ground. They can all be found at CMHQ scenario depot. Clubfoot. [This message has been edited by Clubfoot (edited 12-06-2000).]

Glad to shoot 'em off, fellas. If you don't find the Skorzeny pack in your in-box by Friday (and probably a lot sooner), post here and I'll try again. On another note, MikeNascar, if you do not get the pack, it may be because my mail didn't pick up your entire e-mail address. If you don't see it soon, post your address to this board and I'll be happy to fire the pack out. Again, thanks for the patronage fellas. Clubfoot.

Sounds promising. Shoot me a copy. melton1911@aol.com

Soon to be up at CMHQ:Scenario Depot is the fifth Commando Skorzeny mission entitled Higher Ground. I've recieved a number of e-mails requesting another of these small unit, elite commando-style missions so here you go fellas (you know who you are ). Thanks to those of you who have offered both encouragement and constructive criticism. Your help is indeed invaluable. I've also packed all five Skorzeny missions into a single zip file. If your interested in recieving them, reply here or shoot me an e-mail at melton1911@aol.com. Clubfoot.

Has anyone played or seen Microprose's new Squad Leader game? I've read on these forums that CMBO was originally conceived and meant to be a comp. version of ASL. Did Microprose get Squad Leader rights on an "Oh hell, who's gonna develop this thing now?" basis? Is it any good? Is it too little, too late to compete with CM? Is it a mind-numbing turd? Just looking at the box(although a terrible basis for decision), the interface looks to be a cumbersome pain in the ass. Any thoughts? Clubfoot.

I've posted a new Commando Skorzeny mission at CMHQ Scenario Depot. It is entitled "Squeeze play at Villers-Le-Bouillet". The scenario details the desperate defense of an airfield by an understrength and inexperienced company of Fallschirmjager vs. a numerically superior free French armored force. Help comes from unknown quarters as Otto and the Commando Skorzeny hasten on-scene to attempt to turn the tide. (This has proven itself a brutal PBEM. A computer opponent will take his time moving the French force to assault the airfield. A clever human opponent, however, can be in your face in 2-3 minutes). Enjoy. Comments and criticisms encouraged. Clubfoot.

The new tree and foliage mod is pretty figgin' neato. I would, however, like to see the grass that's pictured in DD's screenies as well. Clubfoot.