Brian Smith

Rommel, just a little spello I think I saw on your Combat Mission page - scenarios spelt scenerios. Nice looking site though, must explore it... Cheers Smith [ 04-24-2001: Message edited by: Brian Smith ]

Porajkl You had me hook, line and sinker mate!

Is there a subtle difference in the order that orders are given? My guys were hiding, then I set the ambush marker and then issued target orders to the hiding squads, targeting the marker. They didn't pop up into kneeling position like they do when you give a normal target order, so I figured they would stay hidden. Maybe that's the problem...

Thanks 109 - I think they were more than 100 metres from the ambush marker.

Hi all, I just had an ambush go wrong because I think I placed the marker too close to the advancing enemy. Can anyone please tell me (and I have searched for this on both this forum and the general forum) at what range the ambush marker "activates" for infantry? My guys were veteran Brits, under command of an HQ with good stealth and the Jerries had got to about 100 metres away without detecting them. I placed a marker where they would cross it when they left the cover of the tall pines they were in, but as soon as the turn started my guys leapt up and started firing. They are now getting pasted without causing the sort of casualties I was hoping for. How close to my own guys should I place the marker so it doesn't go off "prematurely"? Cheers Smith

GenX Sorry for your loss (to quote NYPD Blue). However, I can assure you I will have no such luck in the PBEM battle we are having. In fact, even though you are not aware of it yet, you have already experienced lots of luck in the just two moves or so we have had....

Stix SPOILER ALERT * * * * * * * * * * * * * Your current strategy of smoking my pillbox is not bad, but you still have to get to it, and hope you don't run out of smoke. When I played the demo I managed to hit the firing slit with a Sherman 75 and knocked it out that way, but it cost me some tanks. The other strategy of covering the pillbox with smoke and working up the allied left flank is pretty good too. The AI is quite susceptible to that one, but human ain't! Cheers Smith

Yeah Alla I too have reloaded the demo to play Stix until he gets his full version - I'd forgotten what a well-constructed scenario Valley of Trouble is.

Stix Delivery time to Australia is about two weeks (got mine in 13 days around Xmas) Best place to start with mods in this brilliant game is CMHQ - find it at www.combatmission.com - there is a great guide to modding called MadMatt's Mod Guide - find it under the Third Party Mods section. The 'Mad Dog' packs are worth having. I think I still have both on CD-ROM, so depnding where you live I could send them to you, save you having to D/L (email me if you wish on bsmith@idx.com.au). Mods make a real difference. Another good spot is Combat Missions - www.combatmissions.net - got some great mods and advice on using different units. Cheers Smith

Thanks Joe Shaw for the hint regarding the jpegs of set up screens etc. Since I am still learning CM, I am finding QBs against humans to provide a good steep learning curve - but I have found most smallish QB maps (700-800 points) to have almost identical units picked by the computer, for the British in combined arms or even mechanised forces. You usually end up with 3 or 4 Daimler scout cars and regular or veteran infantry. That combination, or 1 Sherman, 1 scout car and infantry. I guess if I want to learn to handle other types of units, I will have to change some other parameters, like more points, or go to armour. The point with maps 'favouring' one side or the other is more difficult - so far I find that difficult to judge. Without necessarily knowing what units your opponent has, the map would have to look pretty one-sided to qualify as being favourable to one side or the other. An example - in one ME PBEM I am currently playing, the computer generated a map that I thought favoured me pretty well. It had a cluster of buildings fairly close to my set-up area, including a church that I figured would be a good firebase with great line of sight. In reality though, the lines of sight on my side were limited for almost all my troops and my opponent slaughtered my guys inside the church with an armoured car while I couldn't move my tank without exposing its flanks. Maybe this is my inexperience, but I doubt my ability to pick a favourable map at this stage. My main reason for wanting to change a QB before starting it would be if the units were not different enough from the last game. However, to sum up, I think everyone is saying: 1. just send the first map the computer generates (in auto-pick QB games); 2. be clear with your opponent what the variables are; 3. it's not really ethical to keep generating maps until you get one you like. I'm happy to go along with that. Thanks guys and gals. Smith

Thanks for the replies so far - from what I am reading, it seems the computer-picked QB is about the challenge of making do with what you have been given, which seems fair enough. So, does everyone else just send the first map generated?

When the map is generated you get to see the actual units the computer has selected (I left this out - I am talking about the computer automatically selecting units, within the constraints of "mechanised, German (Heer)" or the like). So when you get the map, you also get to see if you have three kangaroos or 1 Sherman etc. Hope this is clearer.

I have just started some PBEMs and the first two set-ups were sent to me by my opponents. Now I am starting to generate QBs for PBEM and sending them back for subsequent games, so I wanted some of your thoughts on the ettiquette of QB map and force selection (did a search, but this particular issue didn’t seem to be covered). I’ll start by saying I trust the two guys I am playing, so I have no problems with the maps and set-ups I got from them (we discussed what forces, hills, weather etc beforehand), but now that I am setting up QBs, what is the appropriate ettiquette? For instance, if we agree on force make-up, points, weather and map size and hilliness etc, should I just send off the first random map and force that is generated, or is it okay to keep generating QB maps until I get one that seems to favour me (although, as a newbie I have found that set-ups that I at first thought favoured me rapidly proved not to be the case)? Say I want to play with a force that has tanks rather than a mess of armoured cars, or I want veteran troops rather than a greater number of regulars, or I want to try a QB with a spotter? Can I generate QBs until I get one that seems to meet my requirements and then send it off, or should I take pot luck? In playing future QB PBEMs, should I assume that my opponent has chosen the map and force mix that they think best favours them, or is it more likely that it is purely random for both of us?

In a current PBEM game (you know who you are Keefek), I had two veteran Piat teams have about 6 shots at a stationary German halftrack at 70 metres or less and miss every time. One of the teams then missed an armoured car from side-on at 90 metres. Bloody hopeless - I am yet to get a kill with a Piat, yet I have watched two of my Shermans get toasted by 'schrecks. Sometimes, the angels just aren't on your side.

I copied mine using Adaptec on my burner no problems - I try never to put the original disk in the machine after install (the way the Aussie dollar is, it would soon cost me a thousand dollars to replace it!). Rommel, could your problem be copy protection (ie do you have a CD/DVD drive?). Smith

alla Please let me know if you didn't receive my last turn okay last night. My ISP bumped me just as I was sending the file (midnight Sydney time) and I'm not sure it got through complete. smith bsmith@idx.com.au bsmith@ppk.com.au

Speaking as a newbie in my first 2 PBEMs, the sequential numbering method works best for me. Most of the time I have no idea what file I am sending (movie, orders, whatever) or looking at - in fact in one PBEM, I hit go without giving any orders for turn 1!

I got the Voodoo3 3000 beta drivers as well as DX8.0a and using them both fine in CM and Rowan's Battle of Britain. I guess they are beta because 3DFX went under, but I understand they were developed by the same team. Smith

Saw a review on Combatsim before they went subscriber-only. I mainly play flight sims but downloaded the demo, loved it and bought the game a month later.

Folks Since changing back to low-res trees, I haven't had any more white-outs on my V3, 3000. I have upgraded to DX8.0a and the beta drivers for the Voodoo. All pretty okay expect for stuttering sound hold-up every now and then.

I couldn't find that post either, because I wanted to recommend Guy Sajer's Forgotten Soldier.

40 here.

I found the scenario Just Three Little Stuarts lots of fun - lots of scooting out of and into cover.

I'm no pro, but there is a tutorial scenario that relates to the tutorial in the manual, plus some scenarios are labelled as training ones (such as Grafenwhor for infantry tactics etc). I found it useful to try those out. Best of luck, it's great fun learning.

Ditto that - I am happy to keep posting my experiences as I learn the game, if I am going to get such useful comments and advice in return. Plus, this board is a really friendly place too! Cheers all. Smith