c3k

Yeah, a "use satchel (or demo)" command would be nice, but rarely used. I'm curious about the rifle fire vs. a Tiger. Was the TC exposed? Also, the game tracks which team-member has the satchel. Unless it was just a single para (in Hilts' example, above), the satchel guy may've been unable to use it. FWIW, in CMFI, I had 4 satchels thrown at a German halftrack. Each one missed, behind it, as it careened through my platoon. Ken

^^^ Nice edit! Thanks. Ken

^^^ As stated.

Anecdote: Two days ago I was driving in rural America with my 16 yr. old son. Cattle spread amongst low rolling grasslands with light woods. There was one steer (? forgive my imprecise terminology: if it's not on my grill, I don't know much about it ) standing off to the side of a tree. Odd, because it was HOT out, and there was plenty of shade at the base of the tree. It caught my eye as I closed on it from a mile or so. As we came abeam it, about 50-100 yards to the side of the road, only then did I realize that the "shadow" at the base of the tree was a friggin' herd of about 40 head, just lying there. My son was equally taken in by the "illusion". (This is where grogs can talk about the physio/psycho aspects of vision and how the brain processes imagery. The startle reflext is a great place to start.) So, about a minute of observation, tall grass, but we started above them, and 40 cattle were "invisible" until we came abeam them. Focus, attention, oddness, lighting, all played a role. There are LOTS of ways to trick the brain's idea of what it sees. Magicians rely on it. Ken

Well, I've got an AAR going in the Normandy forum, go check it if you want to see my style of play (more to be posted Monday). Otherwise, you should actually PLAY this game and find out. And yes, I'm posting this "for the encouragement of the others". (I'll allow someone more skilled than I to put it in its original French.) Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a second time! Ken

Penry, Oh, these are the turns that test one's mettle. Nice...for him. Just console yourself with all the hurt you're doing to his men that you just can't see. False comfort is better than no comfort, no? R35's: There was a reason why tanks (helped) turn the tide of WWI's trench warfare. A mobile cannon and machinegun behind armor is DEADLY. Sure, it's just got a little ol' popgun and a finicky Italian machinegun. But it is impervious to your small arms and (probably) your light mortar. As far as you're concerned, they're like miniature death stars! Your best weapon against it would be the .50's on your halftracks, and those from the flank or rear. If your tactics DEPEND on a bazooka, you're already in a bit of a bind. SLOW moving: You're going to kill your men. They'll end up Fatigued and Exhausted. (Whichever is worse.) Keeping them low may be necessary. In that case, one action spot, then a turn or THREE of rest, then another action spot. They won't get anywhere soon. Better, possibly, to HUNT with a tight covered arc, then SLOW one action spot (just to get them away from the last seen position). Wait a turn, then repeat. My .02. And I've got a pocketful of change leftover. Ken

The gun! TURN the gun FASTER! The atg vs. elefant duel looks to be a good one. Ken

Let's see that Elefant strut its stuff! Get it in there! Ponderously creeping forward and machinegunning everything at point blank range! You know it's the right thing to do... Ken

Congrats! Now kick him while he's down!

Though their bodies are willing, their spirit is weak! I will imbue them with the requisite martial spirit very soon...

This is unfolding in a similar manner. Of course, it is different in outcome... My thread http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=110256 will tell more in a few days. Off to play 4 days of paintball at D-Day Oklahoma. Check it: http://www.ddaypark.com/ That has been my attempt to derail this defense. Carry on. Ken

Now that he has punctured your defense you have the opportunity to crush his flanks and surround him! Excellent... Or, allow him to surround YOU. That way, all you need to do is aim outside the circle and you're eventually bound to hit someone! Ken

Be careful: some designers put EXIT zones -inside- your SETUP zone. It's a very cool mechanism, but if you place a unit in the exit zone, you won't have it for the battle. I've only seen it with campaigns. That allows you to keep certain units safe. Example: several trucks in an obviously bad area. You can acquire the ammo you want from them, put them in the exit zone, and they're safe. (Designer may not resupply the trucks for the next battle.) Lots of cool things can be done with exit zones. Ken

Well, the inherent characteristic of unintended consequences is that they were unforeseen. So, you're asking me to foresee the unforeseeable. My statement, however, stands: if you're asking to include an entirely new, and parallel, comm channel to the game, you need to be careful of the unintended consequences which may follow. One, easy, one: how would the game deal with the same information being relayed at different times?

Um, Peter? I barely know you. Ken

I'd argue that they want to run around and shoot. Not too many folks really want to get shot at.

Well, pure similitude would mean actually doing all the things we see. So, the perhaps the appearance of reality is what I'd like to avoid, since all we do is LOOK at a computer screen. I mean, who wants to actually run around getting shot at for entertainment? Ken

The German battalion switchboard was a VERY valuable piece of equipment to a unit in the field. I'd hate to simulate that nodal failure point. There's a balance between accurate verisimilitude and game play. Having served 26+ years (active and currently reserve) in the military, give me game play over verisimilitude every time. I've done enough milling about aimlessly for hours only to rush back to where I'd started, to last me a lifetime. I do NOT want my leisure time devoted to military administrivia. I'm not saying that comms could not be done better. (Nice double negative, no?) I'm saying that the current system is okay. There are a lot of areas needing work. Does comms rate that status? If so, let's think carefully about unintended consequences. Ken

The armor game can turn so quickly. Bad luck having your Tigers matched against the Firefly. Imagine if they'd been over on the other side? Yeah, hindsight, etc. Obviously, you need to SLOW a sufficiently dedicated tank-hunter team across the map to engage the enemy's tanks. 4 PF should do...

High praise indeed! Whereas some talk about recon-pull this or command-push that, I merely attack as and where I will. I don't care which formation the enemy is from, I only want to know where they are. To the sounds of the cannon! Ken

Bounding overwatch is such a basic technique, it has probably been in use since cavemen first hunted pterodactyls. Or somesuch. I'll move: you watch.

^^^ A very quick idea of the top o'me head is to have a "trace" following behind every HQ unit. That would represent the wire network. If arty hits, the wire is cut. Let it self-heal, representing repair teams. The tracing would be historical movement data. I'd imagine that would be tough to code, as well as visually just a tangled mess. (Obviously every unit would have its own colored trace. Of course.) Ken

Turn 2: The situation on the left continues to develop... On the far side, C/1 is still in reserve. C/2 is moving up. (C/1 is in blue circles. C/2 is SELECTED, so their icons are orange.) We also see what C/3, the platoon just right of the road, is facing... It looks like that bocage "block" has plenty of juicy targets. I want them to stay there so I can kill them. I'll ooze around the flanks whilst TARGETING the spots. I'll also call in some arty. Again, this is the "sell". I want sfhand to worry about a direct thrust into the village. Over on the far righ, I've got Company B performing its initial scouting... B/3 has been given the honor of leading the penetration. B/1 is behind them, setting up a base of fire across the tall grass field. B/2 is my eploitation force and will be held back. The Stuarts will not enter a field until I'm reasonably sure it won't get toasted. The best way to do that is to move fast and in an unexpected direction. That's where the (few) demo charges will come in.

What makes you think that isn't currently modeled? Tracing wire breaks, repairs, fresh wire, etc., was a HUGE part of warfare up to the most recent times. Some commo wire and a crank-powered handset could keep the 2 man outpost in comms with the platoon HQ. A delay for C&C to be imposed COULD be the delay in establishing wire comms. Or runners. Or pigeons.

Turn 1, continued... Company B is compressed on the right. Although in a small area, I’ve tried to disperse the various elements so that one artillery round will not cripple an entire unit. Overview at the end of turn 1...