c3k

Man, you're just cold. That poor guy obviously got hit with a case of the shakes. It happens. I just grabbed the file. Thanks for putting it up there... It will be presented to the powers-that-be, behind the walls of Mordor.

"Units" They do get down to the "team" rather than the "squad". But the game does NOT represent individual soldiers...or else you'd have an icon and an order for every soldier. You may be getting hung up on a pedantic definition of "represent".

Back to the first turn recon squad. Even I have never given such an order! If, at any point, that recon team ran into the enemy, there's no way for them to get back. Sure, dead scouts DO tell tales, but that mission, as ordered, was something that even Carlos Hatchcock would refuse to do. If the scouts got down the first leg of the "U", they'd be behind enemy lines with no options and no support. Sweeping across the setup zone (bottom of the "U") would be HIGHLY unlikely to be survivable. The return up the final leg was merely offered to give them hope, yes? I mean, there's no way a team could survive moving up behind an assault force and then pass through them into friendly lines, right? I like the idea of a deep-recce. Some tight covered arcs would be needed, and a target location as a hole-up OP would be better. E.g., go deep and hide. The big sweep? Sure, they had 3 MPs, and that kraut-coolness factor, but even that would not suffice for three men to emerge from this mission. In this kind of low-vis, perhaps several teams, sent ahead of the first line of resistance, as listening posts/pickets, would be best? Hindsight is 20/20, even in low vis.

So, you're saying Truman was right about "the domino effect"? Great video and lesson.

??? Shrug. Good luck.

I've ordered (direct from LeapingHorseman.com ) all of Jason Marks books; a total of 10-12. I cannot recommend them highly enough. If you have any interest in this subject matter (and why else would you be here?), you'll enjoy the Leaping Horseman products. They are well worth the price.

@semmes, Here is a suggestion: try the SAME battle you mentioned at the top of this thread. But, this time, play it as WeGo, 2 Player Hot Seat. Keep your guys how you had them and have them open fire at the same time. Obviously, push the "enemy" into the same locations they were in. Use plenty of savegames. Watch the "?" pop up over your troops. Why and when did they occur? Reload the turn. Instead of "Move", try "Quick". Maybe getting there earlier will help. Or use "Hunt": perhaps a more cautious approach is needed. Keep trying different techniques and watch how and when the enemy becomes aware of your forces. Sometimes the enemy becomes aware of your units through their internal command and communications. This is modeled. So, if one unit sees your guys, that information propagates through the enemy forces until they all know about your guys. Once your guys open fire, their "?" status changes to known, and the enemy opens up. A lot of the folks posting here (myself included) have 1,000's of hours of playtime. A lot of experience helps. You're getting some good advice.

Internally, I've raised this same question several months ago: there was no definitive answer. I've since forgotten some of what I've learned. It happens. Even to me. I thought that there have been some time zone changes wrt Russia, Ukraine and the old USSR since WWII, but the gist of the changes is that it is now back to where it had been. The Soviet Union used Moscow time for their ops, Germany used Berlin time. The only check I could offer would be to find some sort of astrological calendar and time zone map. Say, Moonrise at a specified longitude on a certain date. Then, set the game to that date/time and look for the moon? Or sun. Whichever heavenly body you're more drawn towards. In fact, if you do that, give me a notice, @c3k style, if you don't mind. (I only just thought of this idea.)

Umm, that next installment? C'mon, man! We're on the edge of our seats waiting for your counter-attack to develop! Only 1/3 of your force going into the "sickle cut"? Bah. Put 'em ALL in there and SWEEP the enemy from the field. It would be gloooooorious!. More postings are needed.

Great way these two are showing each others' perspective. Nice!!

I have no idea what all this Mett and TAI talk is all about, but you've got some cool red arrows! (And who doesn't like tai food?) In a bit of seriousness, I'm enjoying this. The approach and the graphics are very much on a Bil Hardenberger level.

Great. I'm looking at some other stuff at the moment. Shhhhh. If you can find an example, that'd be a time saver. Otherwise, I'll look for it, too. Even if it is verified and an sample is saved and submitted, that's not a guarantee that it'll get fixed.

Have you got a savegame? If so, quote me in the reply so I get notified. I'll look at it and send it on in... Ken

I hate it when someone tries to steal my thunder.

Looking at what @MarkEzra has done, and continues to do, I don't think he EVER sleeps. I vote he take a nap. We can't afford to let him burn out.

Let me say this in sburke's defense... (crickets) Hmm. FWIW, from my perspective, I'd love to say something about behind the scenes stuff, but I'm not allowed to do so. It's up to Steve. It's frustrating to see/work/know what's going on, but be prohibited (for good reasons) for posting about it with the other aficionados of our shared passion. If it helps, Steve is very aware of the pleas for more information.

I always thought I was fairly decent at tank recognition...until the Soviets/Russians started with the whole T-72 family and the various offshoots. Sigh.

Thanks. I've never seen it or heard of it, but we have a couple of gents right here talking about it. If it exists, we must find it and we must kill it.

There goes my plan to poke a tank gun muzzle into a building's window, pull the trigger, and then storm in with my troops. Brings a whole new level to the idea of a flash-bang.

Savegame?

Savegame?

Based on my experiments with accelerants, campfires, and alcohol, I do not think that momentary flashovers would have much combat effect. Just sayin'...

Remember, the lower the experience level of the unit, the LESS likely it will obey the Target Arc. Your vet sees a juicy target...surrounded by autocannon...he holds his fire. Your green troop? Yeah, he's ready to get some. Bang! Oops. Incoming fire will also cause the target arc order to be ignored in some cases. (Seems to be an experience/incoming/suppression kind of mix.) So, don't make obeying a Target Arc order the linchpin of your plan's success.

So, I was thinking about this. At first, I tried to find blast and overpressure numbers. Yeah: not available. Next, I looked for safety zones, but a lot of that is populated with range safety (berms, clear zones, etc.). Others are only due to sabot petals. Lastly, hearing damage zones are delineated. Nothing that would work for my purposes. Finally, I had a realization: the energy spent expelling the round is created by releasing the same amount of chemical energy. This is the same as what an explosion does. The Abrams, firing an M829 round (rough numbers, so don't hold me to A1 through A4), releases about 27 MJ of energy. (KE=1/2*m*v^2) That should be the starting point to compare the muzzle blast with an explosion. Some differences: Muzzle blast is directional. Someone 1m in front of the muzzle would get a much greater effect than someone 1m behind the muzzle. A conical spread would probably model it best. There is no fragment damage. Sure, rocks, pebbles, etc., will get hurled about, but this is not an explosive held in a case until it overcomes the case's internal tension. The sabot petal danger is negligible in comparison to a bomb/shell casing. Related to the above, the blast may be mitigated by not being held until the pressure overcomes the shell casing. So, it'd be a "soft" explosion. So, perhaps comparing the muzzle blast to an explosion would work. The propagation front would be a fractal dimension: more than 2D, less than 3D, and directional. What is the equivalent energy release for an RPG7 launch? Or bazooka/panzerfaust? These backblast weapons cause pinning/suppression in game. Well, how much "oomph" do they have in comparison to the M256 cannon on the Abrams? Anyway, that's how I'd approach this issue to model it.

Hey! Don't blame me: sburke brought it up! And it's not a concussion if you don't lose consciousness, right?