Biltong

I agree. However, its possible to roll 50% casualties as early as the last week of October. I guess I'd suggest decreasing the DRM to gradually ramp up the % more slowly. Aaron </font>

Good point Aaron, However, some points to take into consideration: 1) Weather: extreme cold with no cold weather gear did cause havoc amongst the Germans the 1st winter.. losses to frostbite etc etc were enormous. Other factors that this emulates: vehicles and armor inoperable; roads non-existant during mud/rain season; morale drop in winter; bad visibility causing whole formations to get lost; food & ammo and other supplies not arriving etc etc 2) Replacements immediate, but casualties not? I agree, this is not very realistic, but we are working within the constraints of CMBB... It can be circumvented, but the rules and calcs that will be needed, will complicate things out of proportion to the gain in realism. Bottom line: Full replacements every time were unlikely, so casualties are used to reduce the Battle Group to a more likely state for that time. Taking each on it's own does not look good, but the combination of the two results in a 'realistic' state for your Battle Group before a battle commences Dec 41 - Jan 42 a lot of units had even less than 50% of their men available for action.

Not so sure about that myself... good sources very hard to come by. Read/serached the web/asked the grogs for some input, but even they did not have much. Got a very good idea when snow/blizzards/mud & rain started and ended, but the individual temperatures?? Most good reports centre around battles. Some temperatures I took from other years, e.g.: Stalingrad etc... Lots of pure guesswork. If Moscow had -30 the Kiev had -15... that type of thing... I hope in time some Grogs will question some of the modifiers and come up with more reliable sources. If you have anything please let me know. Biltong

Hi Stonehouse, Another player had the same problem some time ago and I added a line to prevent it happening again: 36 Calculate Force Size Enter the Purchase Points for each Task Force category on on your Parameter Sheet from (29 to 35) Total up the Purchase Point Total. That is your Battle Group (including Attached Units) plus the Task Force you have just rolled up. I've also changed: 28 Large Battle 1-6 No to 1-6 Normal Battle to make that clearer. Thanx for the feedback Biltong

Good idea Zig - we need more of those... Most designers are scared of the small open maps since they are quite difficult to make interesting... It takes guts to tackle the difficult ones first

BTW guys, Some of you, esp. the new guys, might feel ashamed to ask questions. Don't be - if you have a question it means the Player Guide/Rules aren't clear enough. As the questions come in I try to clarify it in either one or both the documents... so your questions serve a usefull purpose. Keep em coming - you are doing all new (and even some of the old) guys a favour. The updates will be released at regular intervals... Next update of 41 due this week-end! [ February 19, 2003, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

For ever improving Great example Manstein!!

So true - the 1st players have just entered the winter and it seems to be just what the Axis experienced Nope - No Crack troops after only 2 months in the field Lucky bugger - enjoy the fireworks Correct - This point came up before, so I've now amended the rules to read: "36 Calculate Force Size Enter the Purchase Points for each Task Force category on on your Parameter Sheet from (29 to 35) Total up the Purchase Point Total. That is your Battle Group (including Attached Units) plus the Task Force you have just rolled up. "Now Calculate the Provisional Force Size...." I.e.: before the 1st QB - reason being: 1) you need a Force Size in any case to generate the 1st QB 2)You need a 'large' force size for the 1st QB to give the player a larger pool of units out of which to choose his Task Force units. 3) You also need a Force Size for the Real Battle QB Using the same Force Size for both QB's works well on all counts. No - Rules are rules!! War is hell and BCR even worse :mad: Come on - what's a couple of 1000 Ruskies here or there - BCR players are tough!!

Biltong Sir, Wow!! I’m moving up in the world – This is the 1st time I’ve been called Sir around here Download PDF sheets Player Guide,Rules,Parameters radom number sheet numbers 1- to 10.Battle Group sheet and Favor sheet. and a dice roller. Good. Help me get started I guess Die means Dice roll. for random Parameters settings? Yes – that is right. My dice program has a D-10 is this the one I use? Yes – that sounds right. shows things like number times, modifier, Result. I’m not too sure about the other things the dice program offers.. I haven’t used it yet – I think it’s one that the web master: SuperSulo provided? But you will be looking for a ten sided roll – i.e.: numbers between and including 1 to 10. Don't known how to use radom number sheet? I just never played any games with dice rolls. Just print the sheet – take a pen or coki and mark the 1st number that strikes your fancy – anywhere on the sheet. Use it to determine the 1st modifier. Then take the number next to the 1st and do the same for the 2nd modifier etc etc You can go left to right or up and down – it does not matter – all the numbers are random from 1 to 10. My First Parameter ask for date? On QB I see 1941 June to Dec. Do I pick a month by dice roll to start? No – Read the Player Guide starting at page 1 – it will tell you what you have to do – step by step… and you talk about week and Day I don't see these settings on QB setup? I am trying to understand rules to get started Thank's for any help. Just all greek to me now. Regards, Lane From the USA You’re welcome Lane – Hope you enjoy it! If you have any further questions – post it on the board where all the new guys can see the answer – some of them might have the same question, but be too embarrassed to ask. Biltong

I must agree - ME's are a gift (most of the time). Frag your CO - He volunteerd the F%$@!! Yep - Casualties is a pain - once you hit the winter you will see what the German CO's had to contend with - This also models vehicles; reserves; food & fuel not pitching... The deeper you venture into Mother Russia, the worse it gets. Esp. when rain/mud/snow/blizzards/extreme cold etc took it's toll... Logistics was a nightmare. Remember - you don't always have to fight! Sometimes a minor defeat is the easy way out (as it was in real life). Fight the battle you can win... Hint: The Allies have the stupid habit to come looking for you, if you take your time Thanx for the feedback Biltong

Great AAR's Super - send some more!!

Skip the most important battle of the whole war!! I don't think so BTW - Peter Molloy has volunteered to do the maps for the 15 days you'll spend in Stalingrad and planning is well on it's way. If it's anything like what he's doing with Kiev, it might be worth your while to hang around Talking about escape... Yep, that will come into it, but not the way you think... [ February 18, 2003, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

Hmmm... well obviously you adapted the rules to your own taste - no problem there, but, I can't cater for everyone's mods... The 42 upgrade is quite a radical one if you stuck with the 3 suggested armor units for 41: 1 x Panzer IIC; 1 x Panzer IIIG; 1 x Panzer IVE. There's method in my madness when I suggest something... I know there's 5 years to go and rushing into the luxury class too fast could lead to problems later. I'm afraid now you'll have to mod to 3 platoons of panthers to keep your excitement going? BTW - keep in mind that upgrading armor might make the task of the Axis too easy - you might have to change some of the modifiers as well to avoid boredom.

There's a Player Guide that will hold your hand through the 1st battle... (in Word this time - download it at the same place - 1st post in the Biltong thread has the site addresses. Hope that will help As for 'BCR for Dummies' - no use writing it - don't have any Dummies playing BCR Seriously - don't be scared off by the rules - don't try and read through the whole lot - just use the Player Guide and roll up the parameters one by one. Once you've rolled up and played a single battle it will all fall into place. Enjoy Biltong

Here's the latest version of the changeover rules for 42: Appendix B - Crossing over from 41 If your Battle Group was decimated 3 times in a row in Dec 41 and you were pulled out of the line for a month, you are no longer in your CO's good books. In fact your Favor is zero! Once you have proven yourself worthy by accumulating 100 'new' favor points with your CO you can use these points to obtain the favors below... However, if you managed to survive the horrors of the winter of 41, then your excellent performance has not gone unnoticed. Proceed with the rest of this appendix and receive your just rewards. You are hereby appointed to a new command. Your new Battle Group consist of: "1 Fallschirmjager Company (German/Airborne) - Points: 510 - Regular - Experience: 20. 1 Platoon of 3 x Sturmgeschutz IIIB - Points: 244 - Regular - Experience: 15. 1 Platoon of 4 x Panzer IIIJ (Short) - Points: 306 - Regular - Experience: 10. " "1 Kubelwagen - Points: 22 - Regular - Experience: 17. 1 Truck - Points: (25) - Green - Experience: 8. 1 Truck - Points: (30) - Veteran - Experience: 37. " "1 SPW 251/1 - Points: (57) - Regular - Experience: 11. 1 SPW 251/1 - Points: (67) - Veteran - Experience: 48. " Obviously you lose any Attached Units you had in 41. You might prefer to stay with your Motorized Inf Company that bled with you through the long winter months!! In that case, decline the new command. But, you will still be rewarded: Your Motorized Inf Company has just received some transport: "1 Kubelwagen - Points: 22 - Regular - Experience: 17. 1 Truck - Points: (25) - Green - Experience: 8. 1 Truck - Points: (30) - Veteran - Experience: 37." "1 SPW 251/1 - Points: (57) - Regular - Experience: 11. 1 SPW 251/1 - Points: (67) - Veteran - Experience: 48. " "Two Tank Hunter Teams have also been assigned permanently to your Company: 1 T/H - Points: 16 - Crack - Experience: 73 1 T/H - Points: 14 - Veteran - Experience: 25" "Your armor is also replaced with: 1 Platoon of 3 x Sturmgeschutz IIIB - Points: 244 - Regular - Experience: 15. 1 Platoon of 4 x Panzer IIIJ (Short) - Points: 306 - Regular - Experience: 10. " If you wish you can keep your original armor crews and use them to replace the crews of some of the new armor units. You choose which crews you wish to replace (if any). If your original crew are too few to man a new armor unit, you will have to use some of the new 'replacement crews' to make up the shortfall. Use Note 18 - After Replacement Experience Calculation as per normal. However, your 'old' men need to go through a learning curve with the new armor and each 'old' crew lose 10 experience points. Gain some lose some!! If you need to add 'new replacements' to an old crew to make up the necessary numbers, the 'old crew' loses the 10 experience points before the calculation in Note 18 is done. In this case you also get to keep the Attached Units you had when exiting 1941. As you'll notice - there are 2 Battle Group Sheets to cater for whichever choice you make. Any comments welcome. Biltong

Hi Kenm, What do you mean 'nobody shows up'? You never saw the Allies? Then there's something very wrong somewhere... You were Assaulting - did you get to the flags and there was no-one there :confused: Wish I get some like that. In fact if it was possible (within the BCR framework) it would be fun to set up one like that just to see the players faces - all the suspense & tension of slowly.. carefully advancing and finding no-one! As for the Huge map delay - any craters/fires? What was the damage setting? Damage can cause a huge load on the engine. Thanx for the feed back Biltong

Thanx Theike, Would be nice if all the CMBB map designers were so accomodating It might be some time before I get to them - 1st have to finnish 42 South. Maybe this week-end? You don't have a zip with all of them included that you can send me and save me the downloads? Much appreciated Biltong

Hi Nikke, It looks like you might be playing against the AI? In that case you might want to try BCR (see sig below). BCR has modifiers taking care of the Quality/ammo/fitness etc differences between the Axis/Allies at the different times of the year. You might enjoy the added realism. Ignore the guys jumping on you - most of these guys will swop their wifes for The Game. Come to think about it - so will I Biltong [ February 17, 2003, 07:59 AM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

Hi Yheike - I had a quick look and they look great!! Are you offering them? BCR's maps are primarily for the campaign, which means they might have to be modified in some cases... Allied setup zones moved closer to flags; and variations made for the different Battle Types (eg an Axis Probe map will be very different from an Allied Assault map etc..) Your maps will be mostly suitable for human ME's I would imagine...? So - 3 questions: 1) Would you want to make the changes yourself? or 2) Can one of the BCR team make the changes for you? 3) You are aware that we offer maps for use by anyone, anywhere - no strings attached... If a person wants to put the maps into his own map pack and offer it to players - great - no insistance on permission or even recognition - Anyone can do with them whatever they want. LOL - think about it and if you still want to join in, you're very welcome Biltong

Hi Noobie, No we don't have one like that (yet)... should be quite easy to make one yourself - give it a try - making maps can be great fun

Hi Apache, I'm not sure what I can farm out - if any. I've got the date modifiers in place already. At the moment I'm busy with drawing up tables for Division availablity ... Boring.. Something you (and everyone else) can maybe help with: Suggestions as to how to make the Attachment rules more realistic... E.g: New Attachments must come from Task Force units that survived the previous battle. But what happens if that unit suffered some casualties? Their experience? Not rolled up specially, but taken from the Task Force experience that they belonged to. What happens if you already have 3 - how do you upgrade? Just send the weakest one home and take the new 'better' one in it's place? etc etc Any Thoughts?

LOL - so you're turning down the promotion are you?? Those winter months cuddeling with your troops got you rea/ly close to them heh? Ok ok - since you are now the most senior player here I imagine I better accept your 'good faith' and not have you shot :mad: How about: Appendix B - Crossing over from 41 Changes Your excellent performance during 41 has not gone unnoticed. You are hereby appointed to a new command. Your new Battle Group consist of: "1 Fallschirmjager Company (German/Airborne) - Points: 510 - Regular - Experience: 20. 1 Platoon of 3 x Sturmgeschutz IIIB - Points: 244 - Regular - Experience: 15. 1 Platoon of 4 x Panzer IIIJ (Short) - Points: 306 - Regular - Experience: 10. " Obviously you lose any Attached Units you had in 41. However, You might prefer to stay with your Motorized Inf Company that bled with you through the long winter months!! In that case, decline the new command. But, you will still be rewarded: Your Motorized Inf Company has just received some transport: 1 Kubelwagen - Points: 22 - Veteran - Experience: 50. 2 x Trucks - Points: (2 x 26) - Veteran - Experience: 30. 2 x SPW 251/1 - Points: (2 x 67) - Veteran - Experience: 40. Two Tank Hunter Teams have also been assigned permanently to your Company: 1 T/H - Points: 16 - Crack - Experience: 73 1 T/H - Points: 14 - Veteran - Experience: 25 Your armor is also replaced with: 1 Platoon of 3 x Sturmgeschutz IIIB - Points: 244 - Regular - Experience: 15. 1 Platoon of 4 x Panzer IIIJ (Short) - Points: 306 - Regular - Experience: 10. " If you wish you can keep your original armor crews and use them to replace the crews of some of the new armor units. You choose which crews you wish to replace (if any). If your original crew are too few to man a new armor unit, you will have to use some of the new 'replacement crews' to make up the shortfall. Use Note 18 - After Replacement Experience Calculation as per normal. However, your 'old' men need to go through a learning curve with the new armor and each 'old' crew lose 10 experience points. Gain some lose some!! If you need to add 'new replacements' to an old crew to make up the necessary numbers, the 'old crew' loses the 10 experience points before the calculation in Note 18 is done. In this case you also get to keep the Attached Units you had when exiting 1941. As you'll notice - there are 2 Battle Group Sheets to cater for which ever choice you make. Comments guys - speak now or forever hold your peace/piece? I'll be posting '42' changes here for discussion... Let me know if you don't agree - even if it's just 'gut feel'. far easier to discuss/vote now on issues than later when the 42 rules are nearly finished. Thanx HB - You got the ball rolling

Anybody else, besides HB, beyond, in or close to Dec 41?

Hist Buff, 42 has proved more difficult than I thought - a lot of battles, so there are more date modifiers... it's going to take at least 4 or 5 days for a beta version. [ February 15, 2003, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Biltong ]

yes please, i like small maps are there any maps that has a small village in the middle and i can have it encircled? i know one of old dogs maps had such a scenario </font>