James

Try playing with yourself, (no I dont mean that!) I mean try playing against yourself in a hotseat game. It may sound redundant, that it may not hold surprises knowing both sides dispositions and intentions, but you'll be surprised at the results. Take yourself on and play both sides to the best of your ability - you'll actually get a really challenging and exiciting solo experience. The opposition, you, will always be exteamly hard to beat, however hard you try to outdo yourself yourself will always out do you! Another way to do it is to act the roles of both the commanders and their suborninates from their point of view, even get into character deciding realistically just how each officer would act and react in the given situation, what orders they'd give and how they interpret orders. Its like witnessing the whole battle from the perspective simler to that of a very realistic warfilm, your both director and audience. In short you simulate the human side while CM handles the physics. Alright before you say it I know you cant beat a good tpc/pbem game. But this post is about solo play and solo play useally means ok experiences against a defending AI and pretty poor ones against an attacking one! For a new challenge give it a go, rediculous it may sound a hot seat against yourself is damm good. I've been playing myself for the past week, if I dont stop I may go blind, from eyestrain that is.

and thanks from me too.

You know, the flames sound when ever a building/tank/terrian tile is on fire. I find it too loud and want to attempt to mod it so its quieter or even silent. Trouble is which wav file is it? Anyone know? [ October 26, 2002, 06:37 AM: Message edited by: James ]

More use of the move to contact order by the AI infantry, esp in meeting and probe senarios.

Definatly have a command & control AI for both sides as in AA. The player can stil micro manage every squad if he wants or command from a higher level. But equally important the AI side would improve dramatically as it would use platoon and company coordination, not just a mass of individual squads. Just play AA or read of it in the products section of battlefront, it explains it well. If the AA system was scaled down so squads were the smallest manover element it would work. Weather you order a battaleon to take that town or a platoon to take that house the principles of command & control are the same.

Just need to know this one, i'm building an operation. Also, could the casulty ratio make an attacking AI more cautious if its losses were to cause a larger point loss than the defenders? Any help from you grogs out there will be welcome.

The manual doesnt explain the attacker casulty ratio. Does say 200% mean the attacker can sustain 2-1 casulties and still have the same point loss as the defender or does it mean the attacker gets double the point loss - which way round is it?

So, does the AI use move to contact?

Maybe, but with extream FOW I've never seen AI inf under fire suddenly halt and return fire which is how inf with MTC act. They always either keep moving or are suppressed. Use of MTC by the AI would make a harder & more realistic opponant

just bumping this one up

I've been building an infantry probe senario and after many tests observing the attacking AI side with no FOW I've never seen them use move to contact. This new feature would improve the AI results on attack no end because they could suppress the defenders in a firefight before moving in. But they dont use it. Move to contact esp in meeting and probe engagements should happen as it seems by far more realistic. Ok maybe the AI does use it and in becoming too narrowly focusd on observing my one senario I've missed it in others. If this is the case please tell me. If not I think it would be a greater challenge if the OP/AI used the move to contact order in the first few turns of a meeting/probe battle. PS: Sorry to windge, CMBB is otherwise bloody excellent!

Sure you could do a WW1 style battle but the infantry weapons would still be WW2, SMG's for example. Unless there are squad types with no smg's. (I havent got CMBB yet!) [ October 07, 2002, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: James ]

Why all the fuss over the size of manual? Surly its the game that counts. How many of you still re-read your CMBO manual?

So its reality vs gameplay. I would go for reality and make HMG's fragile.

Just a quick question to pass the time of day: Why dont routing HMG crews just ditch their heavy weapon & ammo and make a proper run for it? In the Yelnia senario I had some HMG crews routing chased by T34's and hordes of infantry, but they still hung onto their HMG moving slowly - as a result they didnt make it. Another case was a HMG team reduced to 1 man routed but was "immobile". The crews are not chained to their weapons, and routing is meant to be the state where their running for their lives every man for himself.

Im a bit puzzled that single squads can adopt the human wave stance. I'm not widely read on the russian front (so please correct me if i'm wrong)but the examples I've read of russian infantry in human wave are always of 100's useally 1000's of men . I can understand masses of men doing the human wave assault as they'd take on the collective mood of the crowd instinct, but a single squad of 11 linking arms and going hurrah doesnt seem realistic. Apart from that the infantry behavior is spot on.

When I was waitng for CMBO to be born I spent every day for weeks in a state of agonised waiting. It was like waiting for Christmas as a kid but worse. When it finally arrived I was so wasted that it was almost an anti climax. So my advice to you all out there waiting on the edge of your seats is forget it till you get it: throw yourselfs into your normal lives, your wifes, girlfriends, kids, work, friends, bars, DIY, trainspotting, gardens ect because when CMBB arrives all these will be 2nd place. I for one wont seen all winter. Oh, and keep off these boards, they'll only feed your obbesional anxiety as you wait. So see you all after the 20th, I'm off to throw myself into a bar. And remember: Forget it till you get it! [ September 03, 2002, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: James ]

Oh well, I was always a terrible speller, eshpeshally with Russian names. Anyway enough hair splitting, time for whoever chose that track to stand up and take a bow.

I want to concratulate whoever thought of using Missorski's Night on a Bare Mountain as the opening music, a brilliant choice! Its both Russian and exciting, rather like this game.

The infantry Tac AI is excellent, realistic, believeable. A vast improvement over CMBO's suicidal infantry.

Thanks Capt, forewarned is forearmed.

Soon I'm starting yenlia stare as the russians and I'm considering the tactic of having the infantry follow close behind the T34s using them as mobile cover. In CMBO tanks didnt block line of sight, has this been fixed in CMBB?

To all those who say a "no" to the concept because they like to micromanage: You still could move every single unit by direct order, so the choice of higher command or mircromanagment to up to the individual player. What also has been forgotton but doubley important is the improvements in the enemy AI. C&C AI simulates how military formations think and fight a battle instead of just abstracting it. Ok an Example - : CM - An AI enemy company in attack Vs your battalleon. First of all the squads are mixed up - they run up against your battaleon and depite the superior firepower & numbers launch uncordinated single squads against companies which are wiped out. They will carry on regardless until they've all routed. All for the sake of VL flag. Example 2: AA ai in a simler situation with orders to attack against superior forces: First of all a coordinated battle plan is generated, each unit playing its part. The attack starts, after an initital probes and firefight the suborinate units sensibly realise the odds against them and stay in cover - the battle plan is then altered to a coordinated reargaurd withdraw to a secure position. Which of the two seem the most realistic outcomes? Those who say C&C command is really an operational thing only are wrong because C&C command in real life goes right down to the squads. It exists even in the smallest skirmish.

But you could control as little or as much you wanted - even every last move of each and every single section each and every minute. Sorry for the overkill on this point, I posted simultaniously with wacky. My were both very keen on this one! [ April 21, 2002, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: James ]

Not to mention the effect of shock & concussion on crew cohesion. The effect of large HE shell exploding against the armour right next to you may also convince a green crew they'd been Ko'd. Panic and premeture bailing out may follow.